Summary
All Druids inBaldur’s Gate 3have access to Wild Shape, a mechanic in which they transform into an animal, gaining their physical prowess while retaining their own mental capacities. The best part is that you get the health of the animal on top of yours, so if your Wild Shape health is depleted, you simply go back to your normal self.
RELATED:Baldur’s Gate 3: Complete Guide To Warlocks
This ability is particularly useful for Moon Druids, who get access to even more forms, but all druids have a use for them. They can save you from lethal blows and open up all kinds of ways to challenge the world, yet you could be overwhelmed by how many forms there are. Knowing which one is the best one will help you tackle the many dangers ahead.
12Badger
While the Badger can have its uses in certain combat scenarios, the reality is that there are already better options at level two. It can’t tank all that well, and its damage is outclassed by the rest of your forms, except, of course, the Cat.
If you do choose to use this form, it’s still functional. Since Baldur’s Gate 3 is so heavy on role play, should you choose to be a Badger Shape only Druid, you’d still fare reasonably well in combat, as long as you avoid Tactician mode.
11Cat
You might expect the Cat to be the worst Shape of the lot, but it just edges out the last spot because it can have its eventual uses. Its small frame allows it to enter holes and burrows, finding all sorts of secrets hidden to larger creatures, and it can even distract enemies.
Still, that role is best leftfor a familiar, something summonable by other classes, from Wizards to Rangers. Many players use the Cat familiar as a sort of sacrificial lamb for a perfectly placed Fireball. So if that Cat is actually a Druid, the strategy falls apart.
10Dilophosaurus
The Dilophosaurus Wild Shape is one of the final forms you can obtain in the game, and it comes with some nice perks like decent damage and a ranged attack that corrodes armor. While transforming into this dinosaur is great fun, it just comes too late to be of any use.
As a Moon Druid, level ten is also when you get the best Wild Shapes in the game, with too much utility for the small dino to compare. And if you’re not a Moon Druid, it means you’d rather be casting spells than becoming a spitting reptile.
9Spider
The Wild Shape of Spider allows you to become a giant variant of the eight-legged creature, letting you spit webbed areas to restrain your enemies and jump great heights. It has some great strategic uses, particularly for how early in the game you get access to it.
While quickly outclassed by other forms, the Spider can give you a lot of advantages in early areas, especially with encounters related to other wild Spiders. It’s true that you won’t use it that much later on in the game, but it’s a tool worth keeping in mind.
8Sabre-Toothed Tiger
A blatant direct upgrade to the Panther, the Sabre-Toothed Tiger ranks below it mainly because it arrives too late. Unlocked at level eight, it might become your go-to damage dealer for a while, but you’ll be hitting level ten in no time, unlocking the best Shapes in the game.
RELATED:Baldur’s Gate 3: How To Change Your Appearance
Besides all that, while it can deal more damage than the Panther (and has many of its abilities), it isn’t as good at stealth, meaning that even in particularly sneaky scenarios, you’d still be taking the lesser form over this one.
7Wolf
The Wolf is a Shape you’ll be using a lot of unless you’re a Moon Druid. If you don’t want to waste spells on a given encounter or an enemy gets too close to you, becoming the Wolf is the easiest way out. It’s even worth it to chase down fleeing enemies.
It takes a while for it to be outclassed, too; you do get a better tanking option later on, but it isn’t until level six that you’d start considering other Shapes for everyday combat. Again, Moon Druids are a different story, but when you’re lacking options, the Wolf is more than enough.
6Deep Rothe
The Deep Rothe is a more than welcome addition for other Druids. While not as good at dealing damage as the Wolf, more casting-focused Druids aren’t looking for that in their Wild Shapes.
The Deep Rothe makes for a great tank in planned or improvised situations alike. While it becomes outclassed in only two levels, these are harder to obtain early on, meaning that you’ll be using this Rothe to tank more hits than you realize.
5Panther
The Panther arrives at level six for all Druids, becoming a proper damage dealer while also gaining access to stealth options. That is exactly what Druid is about: having options to deal with plenty of encounters, whether with spells or shapes.
RELATED:Baldur’s Gate 3: Every Romance Option, Ranked
The Panther acts much like the Wolf in earlier levels, being a decent source of damage when you don’t want to waste spell slots. Yet, on planned stealth assaults, a Druid has a better time starting as a Panther, helping with the ambush at the beginning of battle.
4Bear
The Shape options that Moon Druids have end up being so powerful that it feels like they have fewer Shapes than the other Subclasses since you never Shape into something else. The Bear arrives at level two and becomes your go-to form until perhaps level six.
Barring specific scenarios, the Bear deals the highest damage while being the tankiest of Shapes, at least among the options you start with. You can now probablysee why Halsinwill only transform into a Bear; there was just no better option.
3Dire Raven
The Dire Raven can certainly hold its own in combat, being able to blind enemies and ignore harmful terrain. Yet the reason why it’s one of the best Shapes is because it gives you unrestricted access to flight from level four.
While there are other ways to fly at that point, they are either limited time only or usable by minions like the Imp. For a playable character to be able to fly without limit trivializes most puzzles and remains relevant all throughout the game.
