In my very first Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough, I was overwhelmed—in the best way. Between character creation menus, subclass options, and spells with names that sounded like came from a fantasy recipe book, it was easy to overlook something deceptively simple: cantrips.
I used to think of cantrips as filler spells. Y’know, the weak sauce you throw out between real spell slots. But after dozens of hours in Faerûn and more close calls than I care to admit, I’ve come to realize that cantrips are quietly clutch. If you’re building your caster or playing around with hybrid classes, understanding how cantrips in Baldur’s Gate 3 scale, work, and how to use them is crucial.
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What are Cantrips in BG3?
You can think of cantrips as your magic bread and butter. Cantrips are spells you can cast unlimited times in Baldur’s Gate 3 without requiring spell slots. They don’t drain your resources, need prep, and are available from Level 1. If it sounds underwhelming, the utility and even damage potential are there if you know what you’re doing. Unlike higher-tier spells, which are typically one-and-done until you long rest, cantrips give you staying power in longer fights and exploration-heavy segments.
One thing I messed up in my first campaign was assuming that cantrips were stuck at their base power. Nope. Cantrips scale with your character level, not your class level, which is great for multiclassing. So even in the case of Warlock or Bard, your mainstay cantrips like Fire Bolt or Eldritch Blast will grow with you. They jump in power at levels 5 and 10 (and further at 17), making them viable long-term with the right stack modifiers.
Another thing worth mention, cantrip accuracy and damage rely on your spellcasting ability, which changes based on your class.
- Wizards use Intelligence
- Clerics and Druids rely on Wisdom
- Warlocks, Sorcerers, Bards? Charisma all the way
So, for a Sorcerer with a 9 in Charisma, don’t expect your Ray of Frost to land unless RNG loves you that day.
A Few Best Cantrips in Baldur’s Gate 3
- Eldritch Blast: It’s the Warlock’s signature move for a reason. You can upgrade it to push enemies, scale it with your Charisma mod, and fire multiple blasts at higher levels to turn your Warlock into a laser turret.
- Fire Bolt: Ideal for early-game damage and lighting the arena on fire, which matters in this game. It combos nicely with oil barrels or surfaces and is direct line of sight only, though, so don’t try any wild angles.
- Poison Spray: Deals a fat 1d12 in melee range. High risk, high reward, but it’s saved me when I needed the last oomph in close. Keep in mind it is a Constitution save, so it’s not great against beefy tanks.
- Mage Hand: In combat, I’ve used it to shove enemies off cliffs, trigger traps, or block chokepoints. It lasts 10 turns and can be cast from a distance, which is tactical gold if you know how to handle the things.
- Dancing Lights & Light: But when you’re bumbling through the Underdark or creeping around a crypt, lighting your environment properly is game-changing. Especially if you play without Darkvision.
Cantrips Can Be Attacks, Saves, or Utility
There are basically three “flavors” of cantrips:
- Attack Roll Cantrips – Think Fire Bolt, Shocking Grasp; you roll against the enemy’s AC.
- Saving Throw Cantrips – Like Acid Splash or Sacred Flame. The enemy rolls to avoid.
- Utility Cantrips – Light, Guidance, Blade Ward, Mage Hand, etc. Often used out of combat or to manipulate the battlefield.
The type matters because it affects how you think. To target low-Dex enemies, use Dexterity save-based cantrips, and for reliability, pick cantrips that don’t rely on saves or rolls.
Underrated MVP
You slap Guidance on someone, and they get a d4 bonus to skill checks. I spam this before every dialogue, lockpick, and trap check like Bardic Inspiration, but free and always ready. If you’re playing Warlock and not leaning into Eldritch Blast with invocations like Agonizing Blast, you will leave damage on the table. The build potential around the single cantrip is absurd. It even pushes enemies off ledges with Repelling Blast.
BG3 is full of environmental puzzles, social encounters, and stealth segments. Cantrips such as Minor Illusion, Mage Hand, Friends, and Thaumaturgy give you tricks up your sleeve that other party members might not cover. One time, I used Minor Illusion to bait a patrol away from a trap-filled hallway. No spell slot burned.
I used to treat cantrips like throwaway picks—something to spam when I was out of real juice. But in Baldur’s Gate 3, especially with Larian’s environmental and tactical flair, they’re more your magical Swiss Army knife. They don’t just fill the space between Fireballs. They are the combat opener, your skill check buffer, and puzzle solver. So, spells are flashy, but cantrips are constant.
