Baldur’s Gate 3: How Do Spell Slots Work (2024)

Baldur's Gate 3 follows the Dungeons and Dragons ruleset for all its mechanics, which, for players unfamiliar with the tabletop game, can get very confusing very fast. One aspect where this is the most apparent is spellcasting.

Spellcasting in Baldur's Gate 3 relies on spell slots. If a character has spell slots, they can cast spells; if not, they're out of luck. However, there are multiple layers of intricacies underneath the surface. This guide covers everything there is to know about spell slots and how to use them correctly in Baldur's Gate 3.

Spell Slots Explained

At a basic level, spell slots are easy enough to wrap your head around. There are six levels of spells and each spell can only be cast using a spell slot of an appropriate level. So, if a character wanted to use Fireball, a level 3 spell, they'd need to unlock a level 3 spell slot to use it. If they don't have the spell slot but learned it anyway (possible as a Wizard), they'll just have to wait until they level up their caster class to get that spell slot.

Once spent, spell slots can mainly be restored by long resting at camp. However, in certain cases, short rests and equipment effects can also serve as substitutes.

Let's take a Sorcerer in BG3 as an example. At level 1, a Sorcerer will have two level 1 spell slots. On the character creation screen, the Sorcerer will be able to choose 2 level 1 spells and four cantrips. This means the Sorcerer can cast a level 1 spell two times before being unable to cast level 1 spells anymore. However, since cantrips don't cost any spell slots to cast, they don't have this limitation. This way, after all spell slots are expended, the Sorcerer still has cantrips to fall back on.

When the Sorcerer levels up to reach level 2, they'll receive an additional level 1 spell slot, meaning the total number of level 1 spells they can cast before needing to rest is now 3.

When the Sorcerer levels up to level 3, they'll receive another level 1 spell slot, bringing the total to 4, and on top of that, they'll unlock two level 2 spell slots. Since the Sorcerer now has level 2 spell slots available, they can cast level 2 spells using those spell slots.

How Does Upcasting Work

Let's continue with the example of level 3 Sorcerer, with 4 level 1 spell slots and 2 level 2 spell slots. Now that the Sorcerer has spell slots of differing levels, they can choose to cast a previously level 1 spell as a level 2 spell using a level 2 spell slot. Doing so will 'upcast' the spell, increasing its effectiveness. The way this effectiveness increases is individual to each spell, and not all spells can be upcast. If a Sorcerer casts a Magic Missile, for example, as a level 2 spell instead of a level 1, the number of darts that will be thrown with the spell will increase, going from 3 to 4. On the other hand, if the Sorcerer upcasts Thunderwave, the spell will deal an extra 1d8 damage.

Keep in mind, however, that upcasting doesn't necessarily always mean an increase in effectiveness. Fear, for example, has the same effect whether it's cast using a level 3 spell slot or a level 6 one.

Read the description for upcasting when you're planning to upcast to know how the spell will work. A small text just below the spell slot selection will indicate what the effect of upcasting will be. If it says, "Casting this spell at a higher level doesn't grant any additional benefit." there is no point in using a higher-level slot.

How To Increase Spell Slots

The spell slot level increases with the class level. This means that if you level a Sorcerer up to level 12, you'll gain access to level 6 spells - the strongest in the game. However, this increase is not directly proportional, meaning you won't get access to level 3 spells at level 3 Sorcerer or level 5 spells at level 5 Sorcerer. The following table explains the exact number and level of spell slots available at each tier:

Other than the normal route, there are two more options for players looking to increase their natural number of spell slots obtained via level up.

• Equipment: Certain items like the Spell Savant Amulet can also give players an additional spell slot, but these items are rare finds.
• Mods: Players can increase the number of available spell slots using mods, among other things.

Full Casters vs. Half Casters vs. Third Casters

Per the DnD 5e ruleset, there are three types of casters in Baldur's Gate 3, and the spell slots for each type don't increase at the same rate:

To simplify things, Full Casters level spell slots normally, and at level 12, they'll have the following distribution of spell slots: 4/3/3/3/2/1 (with 4 being the number of level 1 spell slots and 1 being a level 6 spell slot).

For Half Casters, this progression is halved. So, at level 12, a Paladin or a Ranger will have 4/3/3 (4 level 1 slots, 3 level 2 slots, and 3 level 3 slots). They won't be able to cast level 4 or above spells using their natural ability.

For Third Casters, this progression is split by thirds. So, a level 12 Arcane Trickster will have 4/3 (4 level 1 slots and 3 level 2 slots).

How Do Warlock Spell Slots Work

In Baldur's Gate 3, a Warlock's spell slots function differently than all the other classes because of their class trait, Pact Magic. A Warlock has a shared pool of spell slots that can be used to cast spells of any level. This means that the same spell slot that can be used to cast a level 1 spell can also be used to cast a level 6 spell.

However, the level at which a spell is cast depends on the level of the Warlock. If, say, a Warlock is level 10 and casts Fireball, instead of being cast at level 3 like a normal Fireball, this spell will be cast at level 5 through upcasting, accounting for the Warlock's level. Warlocks naturally have a very limited pool of spell slots. However, it balances out since they can restore their spell slots just by short resting.

Baldur's Gate 3

Franchise

Baldur's Gate

Platform(s)

PC , Stadia , macOS , PS5 , Xbox Series X

Released

August 3, 2023

Developer(s)

Larian Studios

Genre(s)

RPG