Baldur's Gate 3: Every Druid Subclass, Ranked
Baldur's Gate 3 Is Finally at Full Release, Which Means That More Players Than Ever Are Looking to Roll up Their Very Own Character. While the Most Important...
Baldur's Gate 3 is finally at full release, which means that more players than ever are looking to roll up their very own character. While the most important step is, of course, choosing the class you'll play - you'll also need to choose between about three subclasses (some classes have more).
For those who have had their eye on the Druid, your choices will be the Circle of the Moon, the Circle of the Land, and the Circle of Spores. At least for now! For everything you need to know about these subclasses — such as what they excel at, and how they rank compared to each other - keep reading.
Updated by Jeff Brooks on September 12, 2023: This list has been updated to include more in-text links throughout to help guide readers to relevant and valuable content to enhance their Baldur's Gate 3 experience.
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3 Circle Of The Moon
Moon Druids are known for their ability to transform into stronger beasts than other Druids, frequently fighting enemies as a bear. Other Wild Shapes you'll be able to take advantage of include the Dire Raven, Spider, and Wolf — although these are generally regarded to be inferior to the Bear. While Circle of the Moon Druids tend to dominate the early level of D&D 5e before falling off later, this isn't nearly as true in Baldur's Gate 3. The Combat Wild Shape has been pretty substantially nerfed in the early game — your bear form, for instance, can only multi-attack once per combat instead of every single turn.
However, that's not to say that the Circle of the Moon is substantially behind the other two classes in power level — it's just lost some offensive capability at early levels. In exchange, Moon Druids gain a self-heal with Lunar Mend, and a better power curve with powerful late-game Wild Shape options, such as the Deep Rothé, which can deal devastating damage with its charge ability and even cast Dancing Lights innately. If you go down the Illithid Skill Tree, you can even become a Displacer Beast. As a result of all of these changes, Moon Druids stay relevant later on in the game and also become better at tanking. Additionally, they're the only option that is well suited to using their Wild Shape in combat because it takes your full action to transform for all other subclasses.
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2 Circle Of The Land
Circle of the Land Druids are the quintessential caster Druids, rarely using their Wild Shape in combat. Sadly, this subclass has an unfortunate reputation in the D&D community as being boring or basic. While this is probably exaggerated in the tabletop version of the game as well, it's most definitely misplaced here. Circle of the Land Druids will be able to cast spells more often than other subclasses with the ability Natural Recovery, and they will get access to better spells at earlier levels than other Druids (or in some cases spells that other Druids can't have at all). Additionally, they are one of the best zones of control classes in the game, with the ability to make large swaths of area difficult or dangerous terrain.
With eight themes of terrain to choose from: Arctic, Forest, Desert, Coast, Underdark, Mountain, Swamp, and Grassland you'll be sure to find something that suits you. While several of the terrain options have strong spells, Grassland is one of the best. It grants you access to Pass Without Trace, Invisibility, Daylight, and Haste — all extremely powerful spells. Underdark is also a strong contender, letting you have Web, Misty Step, Stinking Cloud, and Gaseous Form essentially for free.
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