This guide focuses on the best Wizard build in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Transmutation subclass, and includes all components to create a powerful character.
This build page has been updated for thePatch 8 versionof Baldur’s Gate 3.
The Wizard class in Baldur’s Gate 3 is a powerful spellcasting class that has access to a wide variety of spells. Wizards are masters of the arcane arts, and they can use their spells to damage enemies, control the battlefield, and buff their allies. Wizards can choose to specialize in a particular school of magic, such as Evocation, Abjuration, or Necromancy. This allows them to gain additional benefits for their chosen school, such as increased damage or reduced spell costs.
For this build, we will be using the Transmutation school subclass. The Transmutation subclass emphasizes the power to change matter and energy. They are known for powerful spells like Haste, Polymporh, and Great Invisibility. This build will use the utility of the subclass, with Wizard raw area-based damage.
Patch 8 Changes to Transmutation Wizard Build
The most important change to the Wizard is the addition of Bladesinging subclass and Booming Blade Cantrip. This allows the Wizard to play effectively in melee range. The downside however is losing out on more spellcasting potential of the Transmutation subclass. Additionally, the Wizard can use the Hexblade subclass one level to start and gain many proficiencies that can aid in combat. This gives the Wizard many more options for dealing with combat.
Transmutation Wizard Class Mechanics and Features
Here are the essential Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build features and mechanics to focus on:
Wizard Spell Casting Explained
For the list of the best spells for the Wizard, look below in level progression.
Transmutation Subclass
The Transmutation Wizard subclass in Baldur’s Gate 3 is a powerful and versatile subclass that focuses on spells that alter energy and matter. Transmutation Wizards are masters of elemental magic, and they can use their spells to buff their allies, debuff their enemies, and create powerful effects on the battlefield. Transmutation is a great subclass if you want to play a more supportive spellcasting role.
The Transmutation Wizard School subclass unlocks the following features and spells:
Transmuter’s Stone Explained
The Transmuter’s Stone is a subclass feature unlocked at level 6. This will create a stone that you carry about with you giving a passive bonus until Long Rest or until you cast a level 1 Transmutation spell or higher. Below are the passive bonuses from Transmuter’s Stone:
This is a useful bonus which you can only have one active at a time. If you are playing with a race that does not have Darkvision, then Darvkision passive is your go-to. Resistances are always helpful and Constitution saving throws are nice if using concentration-based spells.
Character Creation
Recommended Backgrounds
Sageis the bestbackgroundfor the Transmutation Wizard Build because you gain two intelligence-based skills. This choice mostly influences roleplaying and dialogue options aspects and allows you to create unique characters. Additional choices for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build are:
Best Race Choice for Transmutation Wizard Build
The best overall race for Transmutation Wizard Build is the High Half-Elf because they get an extra cantrip, light armour, and shield proficiency. High Half-Elf can pair a quarterstaff with a shield at level 1 for extra Armour Class (AC) along with Darkvision making it the best race for Transmutation Wizard in BG3. TheHumanrace also has Civil Militia traits with extraskillproficiency and additional carrying capacity making it a great secondary choice.
The Wizard’s racial choice will not influence ability score, as everyone should get a +2 and +1 to spend regardless. This frees your race choice up to not completely hinder yourself based on ability score, but race features. Each of these races offers unique advantages that can enhance your combat prowess, survivability, or utility. Additionally, consider the roleplaying opportunities and character concepts that resonate with you when playing the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide.
Recommended Skills for Transmutation Wizard Build
InvestigationandReligionare the best skills for our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide because they complement your class abilities and enhance your effectiveness in various situations. In Baldur’s Gate 3, skills represent the abilities and proficiencies of your character that allow them to perform various actions and interact with the game world. Skills are associated with specific attributes and are used to determine the success or effectiveness of certain actions or abilities. They can be edited during character creation or with companions, during respec or reroll screen.
Here are the bestskillsfor Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3:
Best Wizard Ability Scores
Below is the bestability scoreto unlock the full potential of the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide:
The best Transmutation Wizard ability score is 16 Intelligence because it increases spells’ chance to land and damage along with 16 Dexterity. Dexterity and cloth will help with yourArmour Class(AC), and combine 16 Dexterity with Mage Armour spells you have 16 AC at the level and a much better chance to avoid spells.
During character creation, the game will automatically distribute your abilities in the character creation abilities tab. You will need to reprioritize the stats for the chart for the Best Wizard build. Simply use the plus-minus in the character creator and ensure you have the suggested race, or the numbers will be off when playing the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide.
Best Companions for Wizard Build
The best companion for a Wizard Build in Baldur’s Gate 3 is Lae’zeal because she’s a melee-focused damage dealer. She will engage enemies and take the pressure off your ranged-focused build, allowing you to free-castspells. Having a heavy focus on melee will keep you in the distance while applying pressure, snaring, and debuffing the opposition.
Ultimately, you can respec and reroll any companion so consider this a well-balanced setup. Pick the companion’s stories that fit with your character and adjust for a good group synergy when playing the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide.
Transmutation Wizard Spell Slots
Here’s a chart that shows the levels and spell slots unlocked for the Wizard class in Baldur’s Gate 3:
Transmutation Wizard Illithid Powers
Illithid Powersare unlocked later in the game when you learn more about the Mind Flayers and tadpoles. You can gain jars of Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens, and consume them to gain one point. This is essentially another skill tree advancement with some very strong powers. If you decide to advance this skill line, these are the choices we suggest.
Here are the best Illithid Powers for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide:
Keep in mind, that you make an important decision in Act 3 of the game to advance these powers or not. For the sake of not spoiling things, realize there will be consequences when taking these powers with the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide.
Transmutation Wizard Level Progression
Alternative Transmutation Build Melee Wizard
For an alternative melee focused Wizard build, use the newest subclass for the WizardBladesinging. This build gives you incredible melee damage and movement while maintaining spellcasting potential. However, you will have to multiclass to make the most out of the build, requiring more complexity and gear specific items.
Level one follow our character creator to pick all correct background, race, skills, and ability distribution focusing on intelligence and dexterity. You want to use cloth and a quarterstaff. If you’ve picked a High Half-Elf or a Human, you can equip a shield with a Quarterstaff for some extra AC. At Level 1 the Wizard will unlock the following: three cantrips, two Level 1 spells slots and learn six spells. Below we will walk you through every level playing the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide.
Cantrip Selection
Spell Selection
Arcane Recovery: you may recover two spell slots. The number allows you to either restore two level 1 spells or one level 2 spell. It’s a simple mechanic that you can use to prevent endless Resting in between fights. Expect a lot of rest at lower levels where your spell slots are limited.
At level 1, your gameplay will revolve around the following spells Magic Missile for single-target damage, Chromatic Orb for some area damage, Sleep and Thunderwave for crowd control.
Transmutation Wizard Gameplay & Priorities
The most important thing to remember when playing a Wizard is that you use Mage Armour immediately following every long rest. This will boost your Armour Class to 16. Moreover if you can also equip a shield, you’ll reach 18 AC.However, to equip a shield you need a race like Half-Elf or Human!
Next, you want to focus on crowd control. This can be done with Sleep, Grease, and Fire Bolt combination. Additionally, you can use Thunderwave as a knockout, and Chromatic Orb for stuns. Chromatic Orb can be cast using Ice which can knock enemies prone, essentially skipping their turn. Wizards become much more powerful at level 5 but expect a slow start until you reach there. Your priorities early are:
In summary, you want to have a knockback, area damage, single target damage, and stuns. The default spell selection will give you this, but you can freely swap in and out spells as you learn what’s best for your party composition.
Transmutation Wizard Level 1 Prepared Spells: Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Sleep, and Thunderwave.
Level two the Wizard picks their subclass (obviously we will be choosing Transmutation School here), they get two spells and will have a total of 5 prepared spells. You get access to two subclass features from the Transmutation school.
Transmutation Wizard Level 2 Gameplay
At this level we select two utility spells, Grease and Find Familiar. As a Wizard, you can prepare spells outside of combat so feel free to flex spells in and out depending on your situation and what you find useful. Grease is helpful with Fire Bolt cantrip to light on fire a large area and knock prone enemies. Find Familiar is a utility skill where a small critter can enter areas your main character cannot.
Level 2 also unlocks your subclass features Experimental Alchemy. This isn’t that helpful, due to the high 15 DC to craft another potion. The powerful potions early on are Potion of Speed which gives two actions per turn for three turns. You also won’t have to activate anything for this passive to activate when crafting.
For prepared spells, take Chromatic Orb because it allows you to pick the elemental type and does some area damage. If you find yourself struggling with survival, drop Orb for Shield. If you want more crowd control, select Grease. Your build should have some good single target spells (Magic Missile), area based (Chromatic Orb), and crowd control (Sleep, Thunderwave). As we progress, you will get more utility for survival like Misty Step, Mirror Image and so forth. Expect a big power spike at level 5.
Transmutation Wizard Level 2 Prepared Spells: Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Sleep, Thunderwave, and Chromatic Orb.
At Level 3 our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide unlocks two level 2 spells and gets to select two new spells with a total of 6 prepared spells.
At this level, we are going to pick up Flaming Sphere which acts as a decoy and damage dealer. This is a summon spell that requires concentration and is very powerful at lower levels. It will do damage for you, soak up damage from enemies, and help your party. Hold Person is a powerful crowd control ability and as you level, Sleep becomes less and less effective due to increased hit points.
Another good option is Enlarge, which is a support spell increasing a member who uses a strength build like Barbarian or Fighter. Mirror Image is an amazing survivability skill and Scorching Ray is a great ranged damage spell. I suggest dropping Sleep and preparing both Hold Person and Flaming Sphere.
Transmutation Wizard Level 3 Prepared Spells: Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Chromatic Orb, Flaming Sphere, and Hold Person.
At level 4 the Transmutation Wizard unlocks 1 new cantrip, two spells, and your first feat. Below are our suggestions at level four:
Level 4 we unlock a lot, including Misty Step and Scorching Ray. Misty Step is a bonus action mobility tool that can be used to charge in or get out when in trouble. Always keep a level 2 spell slot ready for this. you may also get a necklace and boots that give you a free cast so check the gear sections below.
Taking +2 to Intelligence at this level will help with your spells power, chance to land and expand your spell book by one. After you accept the level, you can open up your spellbook and immediately prepare another spell. Take both Misty Step and Scorching Ray to give you mobility and good ranged damage.
Transmutation Wizard Level 4 Prepared Spells: Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Chromatic Orb, Flaming Sphere, Hold Person, Misty Step, and Scorching Ray.
At level 5 our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide unlocks two level 3 spell slots and selects two spells with other prepared spells. Below are our suggestions at level five:
At level 5, you gain access to two extremely powerful spells: Fireball and Counterspell.Counterspelluses a spell slot to negate an enemy spell. This is incredibly helpful in avoiding crowd control spells like Hold Person, which can completely disable one of your teammates.Fireballis the best area-of-effect spell early and late in the game. The downside of your subclass is that it has “friendly fire,” meaning that if you cast it in a radius that hits a friendly target, it can take damage if it fails a saving throw. The Evocation subclass is the only Wizard build that avoids friendly fire.
You should still pick up Fireball and use it early in fights, especially since enemies are often clumped together at the start. Once you’ve cast Fireball, you can move on to single-target spells. Drop Chromatic Orb for Fireball, and prepare Counterspell as well.
Transmutation Wizard Level 5 Prepared Spells: Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Flaming Sphere, Hold Person, Misty Step, Scorching Ray, Counterspell, and Fireball.
At level 6 the Transmutation Wizard unlocks a subclass feature and selects two spells. Below are our suggestions at level six:
Your subclass feature gives you a long-term buff you can use per long rest. This can help with your resistance, particularly before a tough fight where you anticipate fire or psychic damage. Use this ability post long-rest like Mage Armour to give yourself a buff. You can recharge this spell by casting a level 1 or higher Transmutation spell and that’s why we are going to prepare two new ones.
Haste is a great utility spell that gives the users two actions per turn. It requires concentration, and if yours breaks, it will give the lethargic condition which will skip one turn. Enlarge is a great spell to buff Barbarians or Fighters because they get help with strength checks and saving throws. Drop Flaming Sphere for Enlarge and prepare Haste.
Ending Act 1 with a Transmutation Wizard
By Level 6 you should be close to completing Act 1 content. Make sure to check traders and stock up on camp and alchemy supplies. Additionally, look over thebest Act 1 items. There are alsopermanent bonusesyou shouldn’t pass up in Act 1. Lastly,Grymforgehas powerful armor and weapons (Adamantine) that can aid you well into Act 3. Consider taking the time to craft some items before transitioning to Act 2, because you won’t be able to come back to this map.
Transmutation Wizard Level 6 Prepared Spells: Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Chromatic Orb, Scorching Ray, Misty Step, Counterspell, Fireball, Hold Person, Haste, and Enlarge.
At level 7 our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide unlocks 1 level 4 spell slot and selects two new spells to learn. Below are our suggestions at level seven:
Banishment acts as one of the best single target stuns in BG3. You remove one creature from the battlefield for two turns, giving you time to clean up additional enemies. Drop Hold Person for this spell as it’s a better stun and crowd controls spell in general. Ice Storm is also useful because of its massive area damage, though be careful targeting friendlies. If you drop Hold Person, you can prepare both spells and only cast one per long rest at this level so be careful.
Transmutation Wizard Level 7 Prepared Spells: Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Chromatic Orb, Scorching Ray, Misty Step, Counterspell, Fireball, Haste, Enlarge, Ice Storm, and Banishment
At level 8 the Transmutation Wizard unlocks another level 4 spell slot, learns two new spells, and selects one feat. Below are our suggestions at level eight:
Level 8 you want to select Warlock Magic Initiate. This will unlock Eldritch Blast which is a powerful force cantrip and it doesn’t consume a spell slot. Hellish Rebuke is also handy when you are getting attacked to return fire. Blight is an incredible medium-range single-target spell with Necrotic damage. Animate Dead is helpful because it can summon a corpse to fight with you in battle until a long rest. If you stumble upon a corpse outside of combat or return to an area after a long rest, you can use your spell slot and bring the corpse with you the entire time! Next level you get even more powerful spells for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide.
Transmutation Wizard Level 8 Prepared Spells: Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Chromatic Orb, Scorching Ray, Misty Step, Counterspell, Fireball, Haste, Enlarge, Ice Storm, Banishment, and Blight.
At level 9 our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide unlocks 1 level 5 spell, learns 2 new spells, and has 13 prepared spells to select from. Below are our suggestions at level nine:
Level 9 we have enough spell slots to pickup two additional summons with Conjure and Minor Elemental. Both of these “stack” alongside Animate Dead, meaning you can have three summons at one time until long rest. While this isn’t a conjuration or necromancy build, it will aid you in combat dramatically, as each of these do not require concentration and frees you up to cast support spells. If you are not making use of Enlarge, drop that spell and prepare both new Conjuration.
Transmutation Wizard Level 9 Prepared Spells: Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Chromatic Orb, Scorching Ray, Misty Step, Counterspell, Fireball, Haste, Enlarge, Ice Storm, Banishment, Blight, Conjure Elemental, and Conjure Minor Elemental.
At level 10 the Transmutation Wizard unlocks another level 5 spell slot, subclass feature, learns one new cantrip, two new spells with a another prepared spells. Below are our suggestions at level ten:
For this level we pickup one more area-based spell Cone of Cold and a utility spell Greater Invisibility. Cone of Cold is great medium ranged area damage because you can aim it and it’s not in a radius like Fireball. Use this when close to allies and trying to avoid friendly fire. Greater Invisibility is a flex spell, you will have limited Level 5 spell slots so pick something that fits your character to aid outside of combat primarily.
Transmutation Wizard Level 10 Prepared Spells: Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Chromatic Orb, Scorching Ray, Misty Step, Counterspell, Fireball, Haste, Enlarge, Ice Storm, Banishment, Blight, Conjure Elemental, Conjure Minor Elemental, and Cone of Cold.
At level 11 our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide unlocks one level 6 spell slot and learns two spells with another prepared spell. Below are our suggestions at level eleven:
At level 6, you gain access to the highest tier of spells. However, you only get one level 6 spell slot unless you have one of the two most powerful quarterstaffs in the game: theStaff of SpellpowerorMarkoheshkir. These two staves have a passive effect that gives you a free cast of a level 6 spell, allowing you to cast two spells per long rest rather than one. These are priority weapon choices in Act 3 so you can cast both Disintegrate and Chain Lighting.
Disintegrate is the most powerful single-target spell in the game, while Chain Lighting is one of the best area-based damage spells. You will now have a good loadout with elemental variety which is useful when targets are immune or resistance to different damage types.
Transmutation Wizard Level 11 Prepared Spells: Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Chromatic Orb, Scorching Ray, Misty Step, Counterspell, Fireball, Haste, Enlarge, Ice Storm, Banishment, Blight, Conjure Elemental, Conjure Minor Elemental, Cone of Cold, and Disintegrate.
At Level 12 the Transmutation Wizard learns two new spells and one feat. Below are our suggestions at level twelve:
At this level, we will increase intelligence to 20 with another +2. You can then immediately prepare another spell. Depending on your playstyle, Create Undead can be a useful level 6 spell to summon yet another creature to aid you in combat. Stoneskin is a lower-level spell but is very helpful to resistance weapon types of damage. Consider this a flex skill, but find some level 3, 4, or 5 spells that have utility because you will only be able to cast one or two level 6 spells per long rest. That’s our build section, make sure to check below for the recommended gear for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide.
Transmutation Wizard Level 12 Prepared Spells: Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Chromatic Orb, Scorching Ray, Misty Step, Counterspell, Fireball, Haste, Enlarge, Ice Storm, Banishment, Blight, Conjure Elemental, Conjure Minor Elemental, Cone of Cold, Disintegrate, Create Undead, and Stoneskin.
Best Gear for Transmutation Wizard Build Guide
Beginner: Starting the Game
Here’s the best beginner gear for the Transmutation Wizard Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:
Here’s the best beginner gear for our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide:
Advanced: End-Game
The following table presents the best advanced and end-game gear for our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide:
Below is the best Act 3 Armor, Weapons, and Equipment for Transmutation Wizard in BG3:
Best Transmutation Wizard Consumables, Potions, and Items
The following list represents the best individual useconsumableitems that will aid in our Wizard Build:
Permanent Bonuses
Throughout Baldur’s Gate 3, you will have the ability to gain permanent bonuses to your character. These can grant additional spells, ability scores, and other bonuses. Permanent Bonuses are not displayed throughout the campaign but are vital to increase overall combat performance. We have all permanent bonuses here in a guide, but the most important ones for you to collect are listed below.
Transmutation Wizard Gameplay Tips and Tricks
Remember, this build guide serves as a foundation, and you can always adapt it to suit your preferences and the needs of your campaign. Enjoy playing as a formidable the best Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide!
Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide Summary
Looking For More About Baldur’s Gate 3?
Thank you for reading Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Transmutation Wizard Build Guide. We provide the latest news and create guides for Baldur’s Gate 3. Also, watch me play games onTwitchor visit myYouTubechannel!
