Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid Build Guide: Embracing the Hybrid Role With the Circle of the Spores

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When talking about the best Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid build, we have to consider the overall capabilities of the class. While we can become a traditional spellcaster or boost our Wild Shape transformations, there’s still a viable third option. Our Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid build guide discusses the Circle of the Spores, which turns you into a hybrid combatant.

Our Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid build guide takes a look at the Circle of the Spores, owing to its various utility effects, bonus necrotic damage, summons, and even zombie allies. We also have a Druid class overview that takes note of ideal selections during character creation.

As an aside, we opted to focus on a build that avoids multiclassing. However, you’re able to respec and change classes when you see fit, if you want more flexibility.

Druid Build Summary
As cited in our overview, we’re going to boost our Druid further to ensure that we make the right choices for spellcasting and melee combat in support of our team. We recommend the following for the Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid build:

Race: Duergar Dwarf or Wood Elf
Background: Any will do, though Folk Hero and Outlander are decent.
Abilities: 12 STR; 14 DEX; 14 CON; 8 INT; 17 WIS; 10 CHA.
Weapons and armor: Don’t forget that Druids are proficient in light armor, medium armor, and shields, so get those defenses ready if you want to engage in melee.
The Symbiotic Entity action gives temporary HP, added necrotic damage to your attacks, and boosted Halo of Spores damage.

Druid Leveling Progression
Our Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid build guide takes note of good options for when you need to choose spells during character creation. Later, we detail what makes the Circle of the Spores quite unique for the class.

Level 1
Cantrips:
– Guidance – Grants 1d4 bonus to ability checks.
– Thorn Whip – Deals 1-6 piercing damage and pulls your target toward you.

Spells:
– Healing Word – Heals a target for 4-7 HP.
– Thunderwave – Deals 2-16 thunder damage and pushes back all creatures in a frontal cone in front of you.
Optional/Lore-friendly: Speak with Animals – Converse with beasts and pets.
Optional/Lore-friendly: Animal Friendship – Convince a beast not to attack you.
Optional: Ice Knife – Throw a shard of ice that deals 3-22 cold damage; the projectile explodes and deals cold damage to other nearby creatures.

Level 2
At level two, you gain Wild Shape, which lets you turn into a cat, badger, spider, or wolf. Moreover, you’ll now be able to choose a subclass. As cited earlier, our Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid build guide focuses on the Circle of Spores, which gives the following benefits:

Cantrip: Bone Chill – Deal 1-8 necrotic damage; prevents the target from healing; undead targets also have a disadvantage on attack rolls.
Halo of Spores – This reaction deals 1-4 necrotic damage to a target.
Symbiotic Entity – This gives you +8 temporary hit points, while boosting attacks to deal extra 1-6 necrotic damage. Casting Halo of Spores also doubles its damage while this is active. The lasts until your next long rest, but it ends prematurely if you use Wild Shape.
For the most part, you’re looking at a hybrid playstyle where you cast Halo of Spores for temporary HP, as well as the necrotic damage boost. If ever you’re unable to cast spells or you don’t want to expend spell slots, then you’ll also want to get into the thick of the fray.

Level 3
Prepared Spells:
– Blindness – Limit an enemy’s sight range, causing it to miss more often.
– Detect Thoughts – Read the thoughts of other creatures.

Spells:
– Moonbeam – Call down a beam of light that deals 2-20 radiant damage; you can use an action to move the beam.
Optional: Spike Growth – Turn a portion of the ground into a spiky area, causing 2-8 piercing damage and limiting movement range for anyone inside it.

Level 4
Cantrip: Pick anything that you prefer.
Wild Shape: Deep Rothe – Can cast Dancing Lights and is able to charge foes.
Feat: Ability Improvement – Add +2 points to Wisdom, and don’t forget to beat Auntie Ethel for a reward that grants an extra point. This lets you reach the 20 Wisdom cap.
The Circle of the Spores Druid can have a bunch of summons, ranging from forest creatures to fungal zombies.

Level 5
Class Feature: Wild Strike – Make an additional attack after doing an unarmed strike while in Wild Shape.

Spells:
– Call Lightning – Zap foes within an area for 3-30 lightning damage; you can call down another lightning strike within 10 turns, and this does not cost a spell slot.
Optional: Sleet Storm – Disrupt the concentration of spellcasters, douse fire, and create an ice surface.
Optional: Plant Growth – Make weeds burst from the ground to cover an area; enemies moving through it will have their movement range quartered.

Level 6
Class Features:
– Panther – Become a panther than can prowl around invisibly.
– Owlbear – Become an owlbear that can rupture the ground and become enraged.
Subclass Action: Fungal Infestation – Raise the corpse of a beast or humanoid and turn it into a zombie ally. You have multiple charges that get replenished when you do a long rest, which means you can also raise several zombies to fight by your side.

Level 7
Prepared Spells:
– Blight – Deals 8-64 necrotic damage; plants are more susceptible to this spell; no effect on undead and constructs.
– Confusion – Befuddle a group of creatures, which make them attack at random, wander around aimlessly, or skip turns in a stupor.

Spells:
– Ice Storm – Make hail rain down from the sky, causing 6-40 cold damage. The patch of frost that forms can also cause creatures to slip and fall prone.
– Conjure Woodland Being – Spawn a dryad to fight by your side. It can use Nature’s Step and Entangle, as well as summon a Wood Woad.
Optional: Stoneskin – Concentrate to buff a target’s defenses; they take only half the damage from all non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
Optional: Grasping Vine – Concentrate to summon a giant vine that can pull enemies toward itself.

Level 8
Feat: Elemental Adept (Cold) – You’ve likely been using spells like Ice Storm and Ice Knife, so this makes the most sense to grab.

Level 9
Spells:
– Conjure Elemental – Summon an elemental ally to fight by your side.
Optional: Insect Plague – Locusts attack everyone within range, causing 4-40 piercing damage; affected area becomes difficult terrain that imposes disadvantage on Perception checks.

Level 10
Class Feature: Improved Wildstrike – Make two additional attacks after making an unarmed strike while in Wild Shape.

Wild Shape: Dilophosaurus – Transform into a dinosaur that can use Corrosive Spit to lower a target’s armor class.

Subclass Feature: Spreading Spores – While Symbiotic Entity is active, you can cast Spreading Spores in an area. Hostiles take 2-16 necrotic damage per turn, while

What are some recommended spells to choose when leveling up a Circle of the Spores Druid

In our Baldur’s Gate 3 Druid build guide, we explore the Circle of the Spores as a unique and powerful option for Druids. This build allows you to become a hybrid combatant, combining spellcasting abilities with melee combat skills.

To start off, we recommend choosing a race that complements your Druid abilities. Duergar Dwarf or Wood Elf are both good options. For your background, Folk Hero or Outlander are decent choices.

In terms of abilities, we suggest allocating points as follows: 12 STR, 14 DEX, 14 CON, 8 INT, 17 WIS, and 10 CHA. Remember that Druids are proficient in light armor, medium armor, and shields, so make sure to equip the appropriate defenses if you plan on engaging in melee combat.

The Circle of the Spores offers various utility effects, bonus necrotic damage, summoning abilities, and the ability to create zombie allies. One of the key features is the Symbiotic Entity action, which grants temporary HP, adds necrotic damage to your attacks, and boosts Halo of Spores damage.

When it comes to leveling up your Druid, here are some spell choices to consider:

– Level 1: Guidance (grants a bonus to ability checks) and Thorn Whip (deals damage and pulls your target towards you)

– Level 2: Bone Chill (deals necrotic damage and prevents healing) as a cantrip, Halo of Spores (reactive ability that deals necrotic damage), and Symbiotic Entity (boosts attacks and grants temporary HP)

– Level 3: Blindness (limits enemy’s sight range) and Detect Thoughts (reads the thoughts of other creatures)

– Level 4: Choose a cantrip that suits your playstyle and improve your Wisdom score (+2) through the Ability Improvement feat

– Level 5: Gain the Wild Strike class feature, which allows you to make an additional attack after an unarmed strike in Wild Shape, and consider spells like Call Lightning and Sleet Storm for combat versatility

– Level 6: Unlock the Panther and Owlbear forms for your Wild Shape, and enjoy the unique abilities they offer

The Circle of the Spores Druid also has the ability to summon various creatures, including forest creatures and fungal zombies, adding to your combat options.

Remember, this build is just a suggestion, and you have the flexibility to respec and change classes as you see fit. Experiment with different abilities and spells to find the build that suits your playstyle.