Building the Ultimate Necromancer in Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 offers a wide range of classes and archetypes for players to choose from, but one of the most powerful and fascinating is the Necromancer. As a Wizard subclass, the Necromancer excels at mastering the dark arts of death and the undead, making them a formidable opponent on the battlefield.

The Benefits of Playing a Necromancer in Baldur's Gate 3

Choosing the School of Necromancy subclass comes with several benefits, including:

• Grim Harvest (Level 2): Regain hit points equal to twice the spell's level or three times if it's a Necromancy spell when killing an enemy with a spell.
• Animate Dead (Level 6): Add the Animate Dead spell to your spellbook, allowing you to summon skeletons or zombies to fight alongside you.
• Undead Thralls: Additional Undead (Level 6): Raise an additional undead when casting Animate Dead.
• Undead Thralls: Better Summons (Level 6): The undead summoned with Animate Dead gain additional hit points and damage.
• Inured to Undead (Level 10): Resist Necrotic damage and prevent your maximum hit point score from being lowered.

With these abilities, the Necromancer becomes one of the best summoner builds in the game, also gaining access to Conjuration summoning spells like Conjure Elemental.

The Best Race and Feats for a Necromancer in Baldur's Gate 3

When choosing a race for your Necromancer, consider the following options:

• Asmodeus Tiefling: Offers Fire resistance, Darkvision, and extra spells as you level up.
• Githyanki: Grants Astral Knowledge, Martial Prodigy, and several spell-like abilities.
• Shield Dwarf: Provides Advantage on Poison saving throws and resistance to Poison damage, as well as Darkvision and several weapon proficiencies.

Regarding Feats, the following are the best choices for your Necromancer:

• Ability Score Improvement: Boost your Intelligence stat to 20 as soon as possible to increase your Spell Attack and Spell Save DC bonus.
• Ritual Caster: Use this Feast to cast spells like Longstrider or Find Familiar without spending precious spell slots.
• Spell Sniper: Learn Eldritch Blast, one of the best Cantrips in the game, and gain the ability to crit on a 19-20.

Best Stat Distribution for Necromancer

As a Wizard, prioritize the Intelligence stat, which increases spell damage and a chance to hit. Dexterity is the second most important, as it improves your mage armor and chance to avoid enemy spell damage. Recommended stat distribution:

• Strength: 8
• Dexterity: 16
• Constitution: 14
• Intelligence: 16
• Wisdom: 10
• Charisma: 10

Best Spells to Pick for Your Necromancer

As a Wizard, you can learn all the spells on your list, but you are limited in how many you can prepare each day. Recommended spells for your Necromancer:

• Cantrip: Bone Chill, Friends, Poison Spray
• Level 1: Find Familiar, Ray of Sickness, Magic Missile, Sleep, Grease
• Level 2: Blindness, Ray of Enfeeblement, Shatter, Web
• Level 3: Animate Dead, Vampiric Touch, Fireball, Haste, Counterspell
• Level 4: Blight, Banishment, Polymorph, Confusion, Wall of Fire
• Level 5: Contagion, Dethrone, Conjure Elemental, Planar Binding
• Level 6: Circle of Death, Create Undead, Eyebite, Disintegrate

The Best Party Members to Aid Your Necromancer in Baldur's Gate 3

When building a party for your Necromancer, consider the following members:

• Shadowheart: A healer and buffer who can support your Necromancer.
• Astarion: A striker and designated trap/lock breaker who can complement your Necromancer's abilities.
• Lae'zel or Karlach: A warrior who can provide additional combat support and protection for your Necromancer. Lae'zel's extra Feats and better armor options make her a better choice, but Karlach can also fill the role without issue.