Baldur's Gate 3 Character Tournament

Welcome to the BG3 Tournament blog! Here, we run... BG3 tournaments. Below, you'll find a list of previous tournaments' results.

Suggestions for future tournament themes are always welcome! After each tournament concludes, a poll is posted with a shortlist of submitted ideas to determine the next one. :)

Current Tournament: TBA

Results

Round 1 — Match 88 / 152 — Scorching Ray vs. Zephyr Break

Scorching Ray is a level 2 evocation spell. It allows spellcasters to hurl 3 rays of fire at one or more targets within range. Each ray has a separate Attack Roll and deals Fire damage.

"one of those spells where upcasting actually feels exciting because every spell level is ANOTHER BEAM"

"You can dump every ray into a boss for concentrated single-target damage, split them between several nearly-dead enemies, or redirect later rays instead of wasting the entire spell on something the first hit already killed. And because each ray is its own damage source, bonuses that apply per hit can get ridiculous very quickly."

vs.

Zephyr Break is a weapon action granted by users of Nyrulna that pushes enemies and deals weapon damage.

"6d6 thunder damage. giant gust of wind. YEET."

Round 1 — Match 87 / 152 — Shar's Aegis vs. Magic Weapon

Shar's Aegis is a level 1 abjuration spell. It allows spellcasters to surround themselves with Shar's protection and gain a bonus to their Armour Class, reduce incoming damage and apply Necrotic damage to all attackers.

vs.

Magic Weapon is a level 2 transmutation spell. It allows spellcasters to infuse a weapon with arcane energy, making it magical.

Round 1 — Match 86 / 152 — Darkness vs. Thaumaturgy

Darkness is a level 2 evocation spell. It allows spellcasters to conjure a cloud of darkness in an area within range which obscures and inflicts Blindness to those within it.

"One of my favourite uses for Darkness is honestly just dropping it on my own party when there are too many archers or spellcasters around. BG3 straight-up prevents ranged attacks into or out of magical Darkness unless the attacker has a way to see through it, so you can duck inside, force enemies to move closer, and then decide when you actually want to come back out and engage. For a level 2 spell, being able to make an entire patch of battlefield effectively inaccessible to normal ranged targeting is ridiculous."

vs.

Thaumaturgy is a cantrip (Transmutation). It temporarily improves the caster's Intimidation and Performance checks.

"proficiency in intimidation + advantage from thaumaturgy + barbarian dialogue options is an extremely fun way to be the party face without making another charisma caster"

Round 1 — Match 85 / 152 — Wall of Stone vs. Mass Healing Word

Wall of Stone is a level 5 evocation spell. It allows spellcasters to create a solid stone barrier.

"wall of stone during the halsin portal fight is SO satisfying because the enemies are on a timer and suddenly half of them have to spend that timer going the long way around an actual BUILDING you just put in front of them. then they bunch up at the edges and you can fireball"

"you can build yourself a little elevated firing position with wall of stone + crates and honestly THIS is why i play wizards. gale did not spend years studying the weave so he could respect the battlefield the game designers gave him. he is constructing a sniper nest out of magic masonry halfway through combat."

vs.

Mass Healing Word is a level 3 evocation spell. It allows spellcasters to heal several allies that they can see within range.

"six people. eighteen metre radius. BONUS ACTION. if half my party and two summons have all been smacked around at once i do not want to spend the next three turns individually nursing them back to health, thank you."

Round 1 — Match 84 / 152 — Shatter vs. Booming Blade

Shatter is a level 2 evocation spell. It allows the spellcaster to generate a deafening noise explosion that can damage multiple creatures and objects. This spell is especially potent against inorganic targets, which must make their Saving Throw at Disadvantage.

"stone creature? construct? excellent, apparently my bard has discovered the ancient tactical weakness of BEING REALLY LOUD AT IT"

"Shatter was my go-to AoE before Fireball arrived and I still think it deserves more love after that. The radius is smaller, sure, but it’s only a level 2 slot, hits objects as well as creatures, scales by another d8 when upcast, and thunder resistance is often less annoying to run into than fire resistance. Warlocks getting it is especially nice because their slots automatically scale, so it stays a respectable “there are several people over there and I dislike all of them” option rather than immediately becoming obsolete at level 5."

vs.

Booming Blade is a cantrip (Evocation). It allows the caster to strike with their melee weapon, dealing further damage if the target moves afterwards.

"BOOM. my eldritch knight does a billion attacks on you now. the immeasurable reality altering power of BOOM ruptures your eardrums. you are so stunned by its glory you can't move. the sound of BOOM makes me ascend to the higher consciousness. you die. fuck you you in particular"

Round 1 — Match 83 / 152 — Blight vs. Animal Friendship

Blight is a level 4 necromancy spell. It allows spellcasters to drain the moisture and vitality from a target creature using necromantic energy. It is especially effective versus plants.

vs.

Animal Friendship is a level 1 enchantment spell. It charms a beast, convincing it that the caster means no harm.

"this is MY social skill tree and unfortunately half the people i specialise in talking to are cows"

Round 1 — Match 82 / 152 — Fog Cloud vs. Fire Bolt

Fog Cloud is a level 1 conjuration spell. It allows spellcasters to summon a sphere of Fog on an area in range and heavily obscure the area. Creatures within the area are Blinded.

"for stealing :) seriously though being able to heavily obscure a merchant, hide and pickpocket them without every random civilian in a fifteen mile radius watching astarion commit crimes is an INCREDIBLY valuable form of utility magic"

vs.

Fire Bolt is a cantrip (Evocation). It allows the caster to hurl a bolt of fire at an enemy.

"fire bolt has been carrying my barrelmancy career since the nautiloid. smokepowder barrel over there, safely standing over here, IGNIS, problem solved. no spell slot required. genuinely one of the most useful buttons in the game if your inventory contains an irresponsible amount of explosives"

"Fire Bolt is probably the spell that first taught me to actually look at BG3’s environments instead of treating every fight like an empty arena. Oil barrel? Ignite it. Grease under a group of enemies? Set it on fire. Torch or brazier needs lighting from across the room? Easy. Somebody has thoughtfully arranged explosive barrels beside the people I was going to fight anyway? Well now the encounter has practically solved itself. And after all that utility it’s STILL a perfectly respectable damage cantrip that scales automatically with character level. I know Fireball gets the iconic wizard explosion reputation, but its tiny level-zero sibling has probably caused more property damage across my playthroughs purely because I can cast it whenever I want."

Round 1 — Match 81 / 152 — Possession vs. Fireball

Possession is a level 5 enchantment spell. It allows spellcasters to possess a creature, forcing it to do their bidding and dealing Necrotic damage every turn.

vs.

Fireball is a level 3 evocation spell. It allows spellcasters to unleash a streak of fire from their hands which ignites into a large explosion at a chosen point within range.

Round 1 — Match 80 / 152 — Detect Thoughts vs. Flesh to Stone

Detect Thoughts is a level 2 divination spell. It allows spellcasters to telepathically link to unprotected minds and hear the thoughts of targeted creatures while talking to them.

"It scratches the same part of my brain as Speak with Dead - I’m not necessarily doing it for optimisation, I’m doing it because I want every scrap of extra story the game will give me."

vs.

Flesh to Stone is a level 6 transmutation spell. It allows the caster to Atrophy a foe, Restraining them until they temporarily turn to stone.

"permanent petrification!!!! PERMANENT!!! the description is misleading, if they actually make it all the way to stone they stay like that unless somebody cures them with basilisk oil/greater restoration"

"I had pretty much written Flesh to Stone off because four failed CON saves is a massive ask for a sixth-level spell, and then I saw people using it before combat on non-hostile bosses. Apparently the target doesn’t immediately aggro while the petrification saves are happening, so with enough spell-save gear and a conveniently low-CON victim you can stand there having an entirely normal conversation while their body is gradually becoming masonry. Once they actually petrify, your concentration is freed and they’re stuck that way. It is spectacular cheese and exactly the kind of bizarre interaction that makes me want to keep trying supposedly “bad” spells."

Round 1 — Match 79 / 152 — Githyanki Psionics: Mage Hand vs. Lesser Restoration

Githyanki Psionics: Mage Hand is a cantrip (Conjuration). It conjures an invisible spectral hand that can interact with objects.

"githyanki getting an INVISIBLE mage hand for free at level 1 is such a nice little racial perk"

vs.

Lesser Restoration is a level 2 abjuration spell. It allows the spellcaster to cure an adjacent creature.

Round 1 — Match 78 / 152 — Ray of Frost vs. Branding Smite

Ray of Frost is a cantrip (Evocation). It deals ⁠Cold damage to the target and slows it down.

vs.

Branding Smite is a level 2 evocation spell. It causes a spellcaster's weapon to gleam with astral radiance, allowing them to mark targets with light, preventing them from turning Invisible.

Round 1 — Match 77 / 152 — Bane vs. Blade Barrier

Bane is a level 1 enchantment spell. It allows the caster to temporarily curse enemies, making their attacks miss more often and weakening their Saving Throws.

"the incantation literally translates to “you are nothing” and honestly that alone is excellent cleric spell flavour. especially on a vengeance paladin because imagine some poor bastard getting personally condemned by an angry holy warrior and then for the next ten turns they keep missing attacks and failing saves because apparently god agrees. mean little spell. big fan."

vs.

Blade Barrier is a level 6 evocation spell. It allows spellcasters to summon a wall of cutting blades.

"the globe of invulnerability + blade barrier combination is EVIL and i highly recommend it. put your party somewhere safe, blades between you and everything trying to reach you, then start firing ranged attacks through the murder corridor. watching enemies willingly slog through the barrier because they have to get to you while you're all standing there completely fine is the exact kind of late-game nonsense i want after dragging this party all the way to level 11."

"I tend to hoard sixth-level slots because they feel too valuable to waste, but Blade Barrier is one of the spells that actually feels worth spending one on when the battlefield suits it. One cast can damage a whole procession of enemies repeatedly instead of dumping all its power into a single target, and you can keep attacking normally while the barrier continues doing its job. Against a big melee-heavy group it can contribute an absurd amount of total damage before the fight is over."

"clerics spend most of the game getting associated with healing and support and then at level 11 they get to summon a gigantic WALL OF RAZOR BLADES"

Round 1 — Match 76 / 152 — Greater Restoration vs. Vampiric Touch

Greater Restoration is a level 5 abjuration spell. It allows spellcasters to removes any kind of charm, petrification, stun, or curse effect from a creature.

vs.

Vampiric Touch is a level 3 necromancy spell. It allows spellcasters at melee range to siphon the life force of their target.

"I really enjoy spells that can push you into playing a class differently rather than just giving you another flavour of ranged attack."

Round 1 — Match 75 / 152 — Gaseous Form vs. Sleet Storm

Gaseous Form is a level 3 transmutation spell. It allows spellcasters to transform themselves or an ally into a cloud of mist to avoid attacks, reduce size, and gain Advantage on some Saving Throws.

"tiny hole in the wall? pipe? barred door? horrible trapped corridor? okay cool i'm a cloud now. there are so many little routes through bg3 that become available once being a solid person is no longer a requirement and i LOVE poking around to see where the game will actually let me go"

vs.

Sleet Storm is a level 3 conjuration spell. It allows spellcasters to call forth a storm that douses fire, creates an icy surface, and disrupts the concentration of spellcasters.

"sleet storm has saved my ass in fights with huge groups more times than i can count. the area is MASSIVE, everyone trying to cross it gets slowed down by difficult terrain and keeps eating shit on the ice, and meanwhile my ranged characters are just standing safely on the other side picking them off."

"I ignored Sleet Storm for ages because I saw “0 damage” and moved on. Huge mistake. Keeping an entire section of the battlefield covered in ice for ten turns can be absurdly strong, especially in fights like the duergar/Nere encounter where lots of melee enemies need to cross open ground to reach you. Every failed Dex save knocks somebody prone, getting back up eats movement, and then they have to keep trudging through difficult terrain and risk slipping AGAIN. One level 3 slot can waste a ridiculous number of enemy turns."

"this spell is a must have for every playthrough imo but ESPECIALLY for the shadowfell portal fight by the inn in act two. holding out for five turns of combat is kinda hard with that many enemies, and you can scrape by with various aoe spells, but plop this one down just to the left of the portal and you've basically cut out 2/3s of the enemies. it's so big that even if your spell save DC isn't that great, everyone has to walk through so much ice they're bound to slip at some point before they get out. top tier spell tbh"

Round 1 — Match 74 / 152 — Protection from Energy vs. Ensnaring Strands

Protection from Energy is a level 3 abjuration spell. It allows spellcasters to grant a creature they touch Resistance to an element of their choice.

"protection from energy is VERY encounter-dependent but I actually like having spells like that. if I know a fight is going to be throwing fire or lightning at one character over and over, cutting that damage in half for potentially the whole day is a pretty significant safety net. fire especially comes up often enough that i've gotten real use out of it"

vs.

Ensnaring Strands is a level 1 conjuration spell. It is an item spell similar to Ensnaring Strike which can be cast while wielding Cruel Sting.

"sometimes i simply want the horrible dangerous enemy to stay EXACTLY where i put them while lae'zel and karlach beat the shit out of them with advantage. thank you spider sword for understanding my needs"

Round 1 — Match 73 / 152 — Grant Flight vs. Greater Invisibility

Grant Flight is a level 3 transmutation spell. It allows spellcasters to grant a creature they touch the ability to fly.

"I used this mostly on exploration-heavy runs and it completely changed how I looked at maps. BG3 loves putting little balconies, platforms, and shortcuts just out of normal reach, and having someone who can fly makes you start checking places you would have ignored before."

vs.

Greater Invisibility is a level 4 illusion spell. It allows spellcasters to provide a more resilient form of Invisibility for their allies.

"astarion + greater invisibility + pass without trace was one of those things i tried because somebody told me it was good and then immediately understood why lol. sneak attack, still invisible. attack again, STILL invisible. keep picking people off while the rest of the party hasn't even properly joined in yet. honour mode makes the checks ramp up way nastier now so you can't keep it going forever like you used to, but getting even a handful of attacks out of it is lovely"