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The Death Cleric released with Patch 8 ofBaldur’s Gate 3is a unique subclass in its incredible range of versatility. Capable of holding its own in any situation and at any position on a battlefield, the Death Cleric is a Necrotic powerhouse capable of destroying or reviving.
With this class, you’ll be capable of killing enemies and raising them to fight on your behalf. Of course, your Necrotic powers can also be used to undo enemy strategies to heal themselves or to simply erase them from existence. But tanking everything on the frontlines is best suited for your lesser minions, no?
Best Death Cleric Races And Backgrounds
The Death Cleric is a very versatile midrange class that prefers to leave a lot of the heavy-lifting for undead summons while cleaning up the midfield with their necromantic powers.
Functionally,the best races for the Death Cleric are:
For Backgrounds,Backgrounds featuring a Wisdom skill will always serve you:
The Dark Urge is certainly thematic for this build. While there’s nothing particularly helpful about the boons you receive as the Dark Urge, it is very fitting for this particular subclass from a roleplay perspective.
Multiclassing As A Death Cleric
The first multiclass that comes to mind as a Death Cleric isthe Necromancer Wizard. While this is possible,it has just as many positives as it does negatives.
Pro
Con
You can summon an additional undead and give your undead more health upon their summon.
You’ll have to invest at least 6 levels into Wizard to do this, sacrificing higher learned spell levels.
You’ll have more variety in your attacks and spell options.
There aren’t any Necromancy spells a Wizard can learn that the Death Cleric cannot, and the Death Cleric is meant to deal Necrotic damage.
You’ll gain the Grim Harvest feat, giving you additional health for killing enemies.
Healing for a Cleric that can already heal with bonus actions isn’t as necessary. You’ll also have to time the appropriate window for multiclassing without falling behind in Act Two due to the Wizard’s poor HP growth.
Furthermore,the Wizard class is Intelligence-based. To make Wizard spells work and gain their benefits fully, you’ll have to dump Strength, Dexterity, and Charisma to have a passable Intelligence score (or give up your hat slot for theWarped Headband Of Intellect).
For this build,a better multiclass option might be the Fighter class.Both Battlemaster and Champion have their perks.
A good spread would be an 8:4 ratiowith Cleric being the greater investment. This will give you access to a few important things:
You can use the Arcane Archer for a multiclass with the Death Cleric as well. Pairing it with the Banshee Bow and using Arcane Shot: Enfeebling Arrow can be a deadly combination. However, like the wizard, your Spell Save DC will be dependent on Intelligence. You’ll have to rearrange your stats to account for this.
Six
Create Undead,Blade Barrier
The spells you want for the Death Cleric class are mostly prepared for you.With Bone Chill, Vampiric Touch, Animate Dead, and Blight already fixed and available, your primary concerns are already taken care of.
Beyond those,there are a few prioritiesyou’ll want to focus on:
There are a few other spells that can do the Cleric good. As always,healing spells likeCure WoundsandHealing Wordare crucial.
However,many of the late-game spell slots don’t have much to offerthe Death Cleric. Level 5 and Level 6 spells are not necessary for a successful Death Cleric, though extra spell slots for Inflict Wounds and Spirit Guardians are nice.
Create Undeadis very useful for this class, but it should be noted that you can already gain the spell for free via the Crypt Lord Ring. Granted how common corpses are in Act 3, it generally isn’t worth wasting the spell slot on.
Your greatest concern with spells is in Act Two.
Many enemies will be immune to Necrotic damage.Though your 6th Level class feat, Inescapable Destruction, allows you to normally damage resistant foes, you cannot overcome immunities.
Therefore,having Spirit Guardians (Radiant),Sacred Flame,Glyph of Warding, and a reliable melee weapon will be very important for this section.
11
12
13
14
Auntie Ethel’s Hair (OR: Athlete instead of +2 Wisdom Ability Score)
16
-
8
20
10
As a cleric,this subclass is a Wisdom-based caster.Although focused on Wisdom naturally,you’ll also want to grow your Constitutionto increase your success in Concentration rolls.
Dexterity comes into focus as well.Although we’ll be using Heavy Armor and Dexterity won’t be used for your AC, it will be used for the bow we’ll be carrying.
Strength will be increasedto a rounded number via the feat:Heavily Armored.You cantake this feat either at Level 4 or Level 8since the heavy armour we want to use is not available until post-Act Two.
Otherwise, your other two feats will feed into yourWisdommodifier bychoosing in the Ability Score Increase.
We don’t want to give up the Necromancy of Thay knowledge for this class, so it’s best to keep it instead of the stat bonus.
Circle of Bones
2
Gain the ability to cast Create Undead without a spell slot. All summoned undead within 6m become Resistant to Bludgeoning, Slashing, and Piercing damage.
Reaper’s Embrace
Gain AC 19, the inability to be moved by force, and the ability to use Howl of the Dead which numbs foes to halve enemy movement speed and give disadvantage on saving throws for three turns.
Gloves of Baneful Striking
1
Creatures have -1d4 on saving throws against your spells after striking them with a weapon attack.
Sold by Lady Esther on the Mountain Trail on the way to Rosymorn Monastery (close to Waukeen’s Rest exit).
Disintegrating Night Walkers
Gain free cast ofMisty Stepand cannot slip. Wearer cannot be Enwebbed, Ensnared, or Entangled.
Helldusk Boots
3
Cannot be forcibly moved and ignore the effects of Difficult Terrain. Additionally, gain the ability to auto-succeed on a Saving Throw you failed and to teleport while dealing 2d8 Fire damage where you land in a 3m radius.
Cloak of the Weave
Gain +1 to spell attack rolls and Spell Save DC. When taking elemental damage, take half damage and deal 1d6 of that damage type on your next attack.
Ring of Exalted Marrow
Gain Ghoulish Touch (a Necromancy cantrip that may paralyze) and Exhort the Risen (Command for Undead).
Inside a chest at the top of Moonrise Towers; available post-Ketheric Thorm first fight.
Gain a free Create Undead spell.
Given by Thrumboafter completing theFree the Artist questlineand defeating the Mystic Carrion.
Amulet of the Devout
Gain +2 to your Spell Save DC and an additional Channel Divinity charge.
Inside the offering chest under the Stormshore Tabernacle (in the basement).
Staff of Cherished Necromancy
Deals +1d4 Necrotic damage. Creatures have disadvantage against your Necromancy spells. When you kill a creature, you can absorb its essence to gain a free spell slot for any single Necromancy spell.
Shield of the Undevout
Gain an additional 1st Level spell slot and +2AC. Additionally, creatures have disadvantage against your spells and actions that cause Fear.
Bow of the Banshee
Chance to inflict fear with every strike.
Sold by Corsair Greymoon in Grymforge.
Much of the wanted gear for this class is unfortunatelynot found until late in Act Twoand beyond. The Death Cleric will have to make it work until the appropriate items become available.
Some early game items that you may usein the meantime are:
However, the list of equipment above allows you to do a few things.
Foryour undead summons,
Abyss Beckonerscan be really useful as well by giving resistance to all damage (except Psychic) for your summons regardless of distance. However, it comes with a caveat of making your creatures go Mad and turn against you. For us, it is too much of a risk, but it’s tempting for those willing to make it work.
When it comes toyour Necromancies,
The final piece of this puzzle isthe fear bonus.
The Cleric is a midranged optionthat can play in melee but should really stand back for the safety of the whole team. Since Divine Strike requires the use of melee weapons,this build focuses on using the Bow of the Banshee to create openings.
With the Shield of the Undevout included, you canstrike enemies for extra Necrotic damage and have Advantage on locking them in place with Fear. The Gloves of Baneful Striking also reduces their chances of success against Fear by 1d4.
By locking them in place,you can:
How To Use A Death Cleric - Battle Tips, Strategy, And Analysis
By the conclusion of the game,your Death Cleric should look similar to:
12 (+1)
14 (+2)
16 (+3)
8 (-1)
20 (+5)
10 (0)
99-103
21
Inflict Wounds,Spirit Guardians,Hold Person,Bestow Curse,Glyph of Warding
Feats
Fey Ancestry, Reaper, Inescapable Destruction, Destroy Undead, Channel Divinity, Heavily Armoured, Divine Strike: Necrotic,
The primary strategy of the Death Cleric is to create openings and become a midrange supportfor the team. Granted, you’re able to play this class solo, but that’s not where it most easily shines.
As with many spellcasting classes,the Death Cleric struggles in the early gamewith poor hit-rates and offensive versatility.
You’ll likely spend most of your time usingChill Touchto shut down healing potion regenerations and clearing small clustered groups.
As you evolve in strength, however, the Death Cleric will get its hands on better weapons,Spirit Guardians, andAnimate Dead.
The primary strategy with a Death Cleric is toloosely follow these guidelines:
There will be times when you’ll either be forced into or prefer to be in melee. In these instances, you canuse your melee weapon with Divine Strike and Channel Divinity: Touch of Deathto deal punishing damage.
When you’re out of Channel Divinities and need to do higher levels of damage, you’re able to alwaysturn to a high-level cast ofInflict Woundsor your Ghoulish Touch.
If you’re facing an opponent immune to Fear, you can alternatively prepareHold Person. This will also be a great opening for your own melee attacks since a creature under Hold Person will always receive critical damage from melee hits.
As a Cleric, you’ll still beresponsible for healing other teammates(unless your only teammates are undead!)and laying on curses and debuffs to enemiesto provide openings for your allies.
With the ability to heal, stun, reanimate, and fight at melee or range, this extremely versatile class is a jack-of-all-trades that is a solid choice for any team.
