Ranking the Best Companions in Baldur's Gate 3

Like most CRPGs (including the rest of the Baldur’s Gate franchise), Baldur’s Gate 3 is extremely character-driven. Your custom character (or characters in multiplayer) will be a critical part of the party. But, you can also have access to a bunch of NPC companions, which you acquire over the course of your journey. Since you can have a maximum of 3 companions at a time, you’ll have to make rather critical decisions. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the Best Baldurs Gate 3 Companions.

The Top 5 Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Companions

Your party is only 4 large, so it’s critical to avoid getting two characters with the same role. Each of these characters have a class and role associated with them; if your custom character handles that role well, then you should shunt that NPC down to 5.

It’s also worth remembering that this game is excellent, and all of these NPCs are well done and interesting. Here’s the full list of companions:

Astarion
Shadowheart
Gale
Lae’zel
Wyll
Karlach
Halsin
Minthara
Minsc
Jaheira

While all of them are great, we’ve left a few off based on their availability. Sure, Minsc rules. But he won’t show up until fairly late in the game, making him a lot less useful than Gale or Astarion.

5. Lae’Zel – Frontliner

The first companion you get is not a bad character. Fighters have extremely high damage, and Lae’Zel is the best, most durable companion that we’re currently offered. She just… she has trouble walking to people. She’s not slow, but she has no good ranged options other than her Mage Hand ability, which has huge limitations. So she’ll have to start most combats moving at enemies, which can put her in dangerous situations, or pull more encounters.

She is at number 5 because she is just barely, and I mean barely, worse than your other options. D10 hit dice might be great, but the others can potentially do her role just fine.

4. Wyll – The Hybrid

Wyll is a Warlock of the Fiend. His bedevilment has filled him with such voracity that he’s good at using a blade and using his magic. What could go wrong?

Well, he put his stats in Constitution instead of Dexterity. His sword isn’t actually very useful, so you should just have him sit back and cast spells… but he’s so durable that you’ll want him in the frontlines. Gah! How uncomfortable.

Wyll is, once again, not bad. He’s a great “fourth party member” if you already feel confident that your other roles are filled.

3. Astarion – The Scout

Astarion is a vampire spawn. How did he get out of his predicament? We won’t say, but we will say that he’s a great Rogue! Fantastic Dexterity with above-average Constitution makes him a valid choice for melee combat, or ranged if your frontline is filled. Being able to Sneak Attack so early on is great… But, Astarion needs help to be most effective! He’s best in parties where there is one additional frontliner, be it a cleric or otherwise. And, unfortunately, while he is very skilled, magic is so very strong! That’s why he’s just under the two high-utility casters. Even so, if you need someone to Stealth ahead to see situations, Astarion is your… undead.

2. Gale – Offensive Magic

Gale is a wizard, with an explosive personality. Hah! Hmm. He’s a Wizard, so he’s so incredibly important for fights with a lot of random creatures. Wyll can try to fill his boots, but Gale’s magic is just really strong. He needs characters that can take a hit to be in front of him, so he doesn’t just keel over and die instantly. He also suffers a bit from “Early Game Wizard”; he doesn’t have many spell slots, and he will just fling cantrips when he runs out. However, with insane Intelligence, shockingly high Dexterity and Constitution, and even decent Charisma, you’ll find Gale to be a wonderful edition – even better once the Early Access releases Act II.

Oh yea, he’ll also ask if he can absorb your magical artifacts, so be ready for that.

1. Shadowheart – Divine Magic

At the top of our list is the Cleric. Clerics are… critical. Currently, the Cleric is the only class with access to any healing. And Clerics have always done their job the best! So, if you want any chance to pick people off of the ground during a fight, you need a healer.

Unfortunately, Shadowheart took the Trickery subdomain, making her not a great frontliner. She’s still the best option for healing if you don’t create a Cleric, but… you could make a better frontline Cleric than she is.

Conclusions – Best Baldurs Gate 3 Companions

This list has all of the characters in order, based on the role they serve in a party and how well built they are. However, if your party has specific needs, then change this list a lot. Lae’Zel is down at the bottom, but if your party is a Rogue/Gale/Wyll, you might need Lae’Zel to take hits for everyone. It’s entirely up to preference. And I might be biased, because I usually create Fighters in games like this!

Ranking the Best Companions in Baldur’s Gate 3