Monks rely on DEX and WIS for the majority of their abilities, and Way of Shadow Monk builds are no different. Choose a background that either fits with these types of skills for further bonuses to your rolls, like the Criminal which grants proficiency to Stealth (used for Hide) and Deception.
Ward yourself or an ally against enemy attacks. Until the affected entity attacks or harms another creature, it cannot be targeted by enemy attacks. However, it can still take damage from spells that influence a large area.
Create a sphere of cold blackness, teeming with unknown horrors. Creatures starting their turn in the take 2d6 Cold damage. Creatures ending their turn in the area possibly take 2d6 Acid damage. The area is Difficult Terrain and creatures within are Blinded.
Your attack summons thorny vines, dealing Weapon Damage and possibly Ensnaring your target. Ensnared creatures cannot move and take 1d6 Piercing damage at the start of each turn. An ally can use its help action to try and tear away the vines.
Summon a flaming sphere that deals 2d6 Fire damage to nearby enemies and objects. It also sheds bright light in a 6m radius, and dim light for an additional 6m. On a successful save, enemy creatures still take half damage.
Inflicts Produce Flame. A flickering flame appears in your hand. It sheds bright light in a 3m radius and deals 1d8 Fire damage when thrown. Throwing the flame immediately after you conjure it does not cost an action. Extinguishing or throwing it on subsequent turns costs an action
The Paladin Class in Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the game’s most restrictive, as their core Class features and spells are determined by an Oath they are bound to. The Paladin Class is a Heavy armor user with Cleric-like healing and support abilities, but make a wrong move either in or out of combat, and you might lose access to Oath-based powers, the core part of each Paladin build.
For Way of Shadow Monks, stealth is the name of the game, and these two abilities give them more ways to get into position faster without being seen. Some other decent racial options for Monks include the Drow, for their proficiency in Stealth, or the Wood Elf, for their extra movement speed.
Shoot a green arrow that covers the target and the ground with acid. Deals 4d4 Acid damage immediately and 2d4 Acid damage at the end of the target’s turn. If the spell misses, the target still takes half the initial damage.
The max level in Baldur’s Gate 3 is Level 12, and most of the time, each level you gain will grant something new for your Paladin build. In character creation, you gain the basics for the Paladin class, then steadily gain Feat Choices, new spells and abilities, subclass features, and increase your Proficiency Bonus.
Updated April 6, 2025 by Erik Petrovich : Patch 8 for Baldur’s Gate 3 is right around the corner, and though lots of the new subclasses seem like a lot of fun to play, the base game still offers some very powerful options for the best Monk build in BG3. The Way of Shadow Monk is still the best Monk build in BG3 – but that could change with the release of Patch 8. Until then, stick with this Way of Shadow Monk guide to learn the best Monk build tips, what makes the Way of Shadow such a powerful subclass for the Monk, and other information that will help you min-max your Monk character. This Monk build guide has been updated to add in-game flavor descriptions of the class and subclass, Larian Studios updates as well as a new small section with the best consumables for the Monk, including both potions and elixirs, in the Equipment section.
Interrupt a creature in the process of casting a spell, making it fail so it has no effect. The higher the level of the spell being cast, the harder it is to interrupt. You can always interrupt spells of 3rd level or lower.
Here’s a list of all the Conjuration Spells in Baldur’s Gate 3. Click on the Spell in the table below to learn more about each individual item. Each post shows a tooltip with more information including Spell properties and other helpful information.
Conjure a flaming scimitar in your hand that deals 3d6 Fire damage and sheds bright light in a 3m radius and dim light in a 6m radius. The blade can be unequipped and equipped again, but has to stay on the spellcaster’s person.
Your attack summons thorny vines, dealing Weapon Damage and possibly Ensnaring your target. Ensnared creatures cannot move and take 1d6 Piercing damage at the start of each turn. An ally can use its help action to try and tear away the vines.
Paladins have three unique features that the class gains at different levels. At Character Creation, Paladins gain access to Lay on Hands, a spell that can heal or cure disease and poison afflictions and is limited by Lay on Hands charges. They also gain Channel Oath abilities and charges, which fuel unique skills related to one’s chosen Oath.
Your attack summons thorny vines, dealing Weapon Damage and possibly Ensnaring your target. Ensnared creatures cannot move and take 1d6 Piercing damage at the start of each turn. An ally can use its help action to try and tear away the vines.
