Baldur’s Gate 3 has been the most celebrated game of 2023, arriving out of early access to much fanfare and celebration. It takes players on a breathtaking and exhilarating adventure throughout the world of Faerun, combining the rich world and lore of Dungeons and Dragons with Larian’s approach to RPG games.
As one might expect with this branded RPG, it does allow players a broad choice of vanilla classes and subclasses to choose from. But in addition to the choices the game provides, the modding community has created several mods to elevate the fantastic range of classes and subclasses.
Updated September 30, 2024, by Hamza Haq: Class variety in Baldur’s Gate is deliberately limited to maintain a delicate balance that makes all available options equally viable in most situations. But for players looking for more variety, the modding community has a good selection of class mods that add new classes, subclasses, class interactions, and new content that’s not present in the base game. Considering the sheer number of mods, it’s hard to choose which ones are worth using. With the release of Patch 7 and the BG3 Toolkit, a lot of old mods are now broken and need to be updated to work with the latest version of the game. For class mods, this mostly means that while the alterations made by mod technically work, the UI becomes messed up and the ability icons don’t show up properly. This list has been updated, and old mods that no longer work on Patch 7 have been removed.
12 Hexblade Class
Adds a New Curse-Focused Warlock Subclass
The Hexblade subclass leans into the aspect of a Warlock cursing their enemies with stacking debuffs to make them vulnerable to follow-up damage. The mod adds new spells that can be selected during level-ups, a way to deal extra damage to marked enemies, and a way to revive the specter of a recently killed character to fight for them.
On top of that, players can also choose to get the optional Invocation add-on to give their Hexblade Warlock access to alternative invocations. There are 11 new invocations to choose from, with effects ranging from animating undead without using a spell slot, to increasing the range of Eldritch Blast by 2.5x, to creating a domain of death and decay around the caster, and much more.
Mod’s original version is not compatible with Patch 7, but a fork that works with the latest version of BG3 has been made
here
.
11 Necromancer Warlock – The Dread Overlord
Offers a Unique Twist on the Necromancer Archetype
Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t explore the raising undead aspect of D&D lore beyond giving players ways to speak with the dead and some basic necromancy spells. The Necromancer Warlock mod fixes that problem by giving Warlocks a brand new subclass: the Dread Overlord.
The Dread Overlord’s kit revolves around raising armies of corpses, gaining power from the deceased, and creating Greater Undead, a variant not offered in the base game. The great thing about this mod is that it integrates extremely well within the existing storyline of BG3 through Profane Blessings. Profane Blessings are story-related, permanent buffs that only unlock after The Dread Overlord reaches certain milestones in the campaign.
10 Unearthed Arcana
Grants Access to New Class Features
Unearthed Arcana is playtest material for Wizards testing tweaks to features, classes, spells, and races. It tries to offer more balance and new, exciting gameplay, and now, BG3 players can experience some Unearthed Arcana material for themselves.
By installing the Unearthed Arcana mod, players can access Unearthed Arcana for all vanilla classes for new and fun gameplay, including all magic casters becoming capable of learning spells stored on scrolls. There is an impressive amount of depth and effort put into creating this mod, and it can be a refreshing breath of fresh air for players who feel like they have already experienced everything Baldur’s Gate 3 has to offer.
9 Magus Class
Grants Access to a New Class from a Different System
The biggest TTRPG competitor to D&D is Pathfinder, a fantasy role-playing game with a different world, lore, classes, and significantly higher numbers to make gameplay more crunchy. D&D fans have likely at least heard of, or even tried, this system for themselves.
Fans of Pathfinder who are delving into BG3 might be excited to hear that many members of the modding community are also fans of both systems. The Magus Class mod adds this Pathfinder class to the list of those available to the player in BG3. Players can wield arcane forces and weapons, making it a fun and versatile class mod that even non-Pathfinder fans should try.
8 Harlequin Class
Unlocks a Fun and Unique Homebrew Class
There are mods to expand on existing classes or add new ones that were missing, and then there is the Harlequin mod, which is a homebrew class that adds something completely new and refreshing for players to experience.
Straddling the line between bard and rogue, the Harlequin class seeks to beguile and deceive their foes and usually sow chaos wherever they travel, coming complete with 3 different subclasses that the players can choose from.
7 Diemnocturnum Class
A Unique Mod That Features a New Game Mechanic
Light and dark magic are common magical systems in works of fantasy. Even D&D has spells surrounding these two forces, giving players the ability to magically summon light or dark without much thought given to the in-between.
The Diemnocturnum Class mod is here to fill in this blank space, as it focuses on twilight rather than the two opposing forces. The mod includes unique spells, three disparate subclasses with their own focus on magic, and starter equipment. It even offers an original new game mechanic to make this class mod truly feel unique and stand out as someone’s creative invention.
6 Warlock – The Undead
A Warlock Subclass Focused On Necrotic Damage
Lore-wise, Warlocks are some of the most interesting characters in Baldur’s Gate 3, making pacts with divine beings for an increase in power that’s not entirely their own. The Undead Warlock is an alternate subclass for this class, introducing a pact between the character and one of six possible patrons: Archlich, Vampire Lord, Eldritch Undead, Specter, Nightwalker, and Greater Mummy.
The Undead Warlock also gains access to the Form of Dead class feature, which lets them transform into a zombie-like creature with additional hit points, the ability to frighten enemies, and immunity to the Frightened status. This Warlock also has the ability to passively convert all damage they deal into necrotic damage starting at Level 6. This mod is compatible with level 20 campaigns.
5 Blood Hunter Class
Offers Access to a New Witcher-Inspired Class
Born from the mind of Critical Role’s Matt Mercer, the Blood Hunter class has become popular among D&D players, making its way into many peoples’ home games. With the class license not owned by Wizards, it is sadly unlikely that it will ever be added to the game officially, but thankfully, this is what the modding community is here for.
The Blood Hunter class mod is exactly as the title implies, but it also includes the Lycan and Ghostslayer subclasses, 2 out of 4 total subclasses. Including all of the known features associated with the Blood Hunter, this mod holds impressive depth and is a must-have for any Blood Hunter fans.
Only works on Patch 7 with a hotfix detailed in the
Posts section
.
4 Death Knight Class
Allows Fans to Play a Famed World of Warcraft Class
The ever-popular MMORPG World of Warcraft contains numerous unique classes for players to choose from, each with a range of unique abilities or spells. One of these classes is the Death Knight, champions of the evil Lich King. The Death Knights have a unique class ability known as the Rune System and several other abilities and proficiencies.
The Death Knight mod is truly impressive. The creator of the mod has implemented a fully unique spell list, the Rune System, and two subclasses to choose from. This class mod should be on the radar of every WOW fan playing BG3.
3 Drakewarden
Adds A Ranger Subclass With A Dragon Pet
While Ranger is a perfectly serviceable class in Baldur’s Gate 3, it pales in comparison to the other classes on offer. To fix this, this mod adds a new subclass for Rangers, the Drakewarden. The Drakewarden is a ranger with Draconic abilities who keeps a Dragon as a pet. Just like other Ranger pets, this Dragon will grow and evolve with the player, undergoing physical evolution as the character levels up, transforming from a cute little four-legged flying companion to a fearsome fire-spewing dragon.
In addition to the class features, the Drakewarden also adds Draconic Gifts to certain vendors throughout the world, which are power-ups for the Drakewarden class that can be bought and consumed.
2 Unleashed Classes
Buffs All of the Vanilla Class
A series of mods known as (Class Name) Unleashed has made its way onto Nexus Mods. These mods are all about buffing the vanilla classes of Baldur’s Gate 3 to make players feel more powerful, and they can accomplish more before having to take a long rest and burn their way through precious supplies.
So far, the mod covers all vanilla classes that come with the game. If players want more bang for their buck, they need only download the mod that corresponds to their chosen class. Druid Unleashed is an example. These mods are a must for players who want to feel like heroes.
1 Artificer Class and All Subclasses
Adds a Whole New Class With All Subclasses
The Artificer is Wizard’s most recent class to be added to D&D, arriving with an impressive amount of powerful features that cleverly combine magic with technology, as is fitting with the setting they originate from. With them being an official class, many BG3 players hoped to see them added, but they have yet to receive an official release for the game.
Fortunately, the Artificer class mod is here to save the day, as this mod adds the class and all of its subclasses to BG3. With its own unique UI and icons, a lot of care and effort has gone into faithfully recreating the class in-game, and it continues to receive updates to provide an even better experience for players.
