Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build Guide
Jan. 11, 2023Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build Guide
Baldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build Guide– In thisBaldur’s Gate 3 Circle of the Land Druid Build Guide, I’m going to cover myDruid Build, and show you what I’ve found to work best. I’ll be doing moreBuild GuidesforBaldur’s Gate 3, but let’s look at how you can use aCircle of the Land Druideffectively.
Be sure to check out our other Baldur’s Gate 3 Builds including:Circle of the Moon Druid,Wild Magic Sorcerer,Wildheart Barbarian,Draconic Sorcerer,Berserker Barbarian,College of Lore Bard,College of Valour Bard,Oath of Devotion Paladin,Oath of the Ancients Paladin,Oathbreaker Paladin!
The Circle of the Land Druid deals devastating damage brought about by theSpellsthey learn. These are both natural and stem from their strong ties with different lands. For example, they can castHasteto increase theActionsan ally can perform in a single turn! Unlike theCircle of the Moon Druid, they don’t frequently make use ofWild Shapebecause thisClass Featureis considered an Action. Moreover, the number of creatures they can transform into is fewer.
Should they decide to pursue this route on top of casting Spells, it’s important to note that each of these animals has its own Hit Points,Abilities, and Attacks, as well as various features that allow the Druid to do other things. For instance, theSpidercan trap targets by shooting a web in their direction. Circle of the Land Druids can only shapeshift at most 2x before needing aShort Restto recover this ability.
In this section, we’ll take a look at how to set up your Druid duringCharacter Creationfor the best results.
For Background, I suggest taking any that provides you with Wisdom Skills since Druids need a good amount of this Ability to hit targets with their Spells. These areAnimal Handling,Insight,Medicine,Perception, andSurvival. Ideally, you’d have all 5 of these but you’re more likely to get 3 or 4 out of 5 withAcolyte,Charlatan, orFolk Hero.
The first Race that works well for the Druid isGold Dwarf. Gold Dwarves haveDwarven Resilience, Darkvision, andDwarven Toughness. Dwarven Resilience makes it so that they gainSaving ThrowAdvantageagainst Poison and have resistance to Poison Damage so they’ll only receive half the damage. And then they have Darkvision to help them see and attack more accurately in the dark together with Dwarven Toughness that raises their Max HP by 1 every time they level up.
Wood Elfis also a decent choice because it has Darkvision andFey Ancestry. Darkvision helps them see and attack better in the dark, and finally, Fey Ancestry makes it so that they have aSaving ThrowAdvantage against the effects ofCharmedand Sleep. Remember you’ll get the Weapon and Armor Proficiencies (ClubandShield) you need simply by being a Druid.
Note that while using Wild Shape yourStrength,Dexterity, andConstitutionModifiers will be replaced by those of the creature you shift into, though you’ll retain yourIntelligence,Wisdom, andCharismaModifiers. For this reason, Strength is not needed for the Druid. However, because you cannot cast Spells while shifted, you’ll benefit from Dexterity and Constitution when you’re not.
For Skills again it’s not super important, but you’ll have high Dexterity and Wisdom, so selecting Skills that fall under these Abilities is ideal. Dexterity hasAcrobatics,Sleight of Hand, andStealth, and I’ve already listed what Wisdom Skills there are.
Your primary Ability as a Druid is Wisdom as this makes your Spells more effective in combat, and can even increase the damage you deal in melee combat if you use theShillelagh Cantrip. For this reason, you’ll want at least 16 in this Ability during Character Creation and likely 18 later on.
Constitution and Dexterity are really the only other Abilities that matter, but they have no effect when you’ve shifted, so they aren’t as useful as they could be. Because of this, you’ll only need to get them to at least 14 each. Higher Constitution allows you to passConcentrationchecks more easily should you get hit whileConcentratingon a Spell. Note thatMedium Armoronly allows a bonus of +2 Dexterity, so you don’t need more than 14 Dexterity. You can dump Intelligence, Charisma, and Strength if you want, but you won’t be able to use the best Medium Armor if you have less than 10 Strength. Your Ability Spread should look something like this:
During Character Creation, you’ll be givenCantripsand Spells to choose from. But unlikeWizards, you won’t have to “Prepare” Spells from a Known Spell List to use them. Instead, you learn a limited number of Spells, which are readily available. As such, you must be very selective about the ones you intend to learn since Druids don’t have access to ALL of their Spells.
Here are good Cantrips the Druid should prioritize at Level 1:
Thorn Whipdeals damage and pulls enemies toward you. This is great for fights that include elevation, as it allows the Druid to pull targets down from below, thereby removing theirAdvantage. When they fall, it can even damage or kill them outright.
Shillelaghbuffs the Druid’sStaffor Club where the Damage Roll of eitherWeaponchanges to 1d8 Bludgeoning Damage plus your Wisdom Modifier. This same Ability Modifier will also be used for yourAttack Rollsinstead of Strength. Circle of the Land Druids engage in melee more often, making Shillelagh nice to have. It doesn’t require Concentration, so you should have the Cantrip active constantly.
Some Cantrips and Spells have effects that are dependent on the Druid’s Concentration to remain active. Concentration is broken if you cast another Cantrip or Spell that also requires Concentration. You can tell which these are because it will say so on the Spell itself. For example, if you castFaerie Fire, but then you castEntangle, you would stop “Concentrating” on Faerie Fire and begin Concentrating on Entangle.
Moreover, if you take damage while Concentrating on a Spell, you must make aConstitution Saving Throw, and if you fail, then the effect of that Spell ends. Should you succeed in your Saving Throw, you maintain your Concentration and the Spell continues. This is why it’s vital for Druids to have average to high Constitution because of the Spells that require this Ability and is wasted if it’s constantly broken.
Druids have a wide variety of Spells that differ from other SpellcastingClasses. A couple Level 1 Spells I highly recommend are Entangle,Thunderwave, Fairie Fire, andHealing Word.
Entangle allows you to crowd control a group of enemies in an area if they fail a Strength Check. This can be great in fights where you’re outnumbered, or you need to cover your flank.
Thunderwave is an excellent AoE that can knock enemies backward, often to their deaths, but has a short range. Use this when enemies get near you. However, remember that allies can also be harmed if they’re nearby so carefully position Thunderwave’s cast.
Fairie Fire is an AoE that gives you and your party an Advantage on all Attack Rolls versus affected targets but requires Concentration to maintain. This can seriously change the direction of battle as long as you can maintain it.
Healing Word can revive fallen teammates and heal them from a distance. What’s good about this, is it’s a Bonus Action so you can still attack or cast another Spell.
For this Build, we’re going to choose Circle of the Land, which focuses more on casting Spells as opposed to transforming into a creature. The reason is that this Subclass’s Wild Shape is an Action instead of a Bonus Action like for the Circle of the Moon Druids.
Note that you can certainly shapeshift but it won’t be as efficient because you won’t be able to cast Spells and transform in the same turn. Nevertheless, if you decide to follow this path, remember that you can maintain Concentration while Wild Shape is in effect so it’s better to cast any Concentration Spell like Faerie Fire first prior to changing forms. It’s also worth mentioning that the animals available for Circle of the Land’s Wild Shape are limited to theBadger,Spider,Dire Wolf, andCatwithout thePolar Bear, which would’ve served as your party’s tank.
Additionally, you gainNatural Recovery. This lets you replenish consumed Spell Slots outside of combat. In Early Access, however, it’s not as useful. You can easily take aLong Restwithout having to worry about depleting your Camp Supplies since these are currently abundant but it may change when the full game launches.
For the Cantrip, I suggest selectingGuidanceto gain a d4 bonus on Ability Checks, which will come in handy in dialogues. This doesn’t only benefit you but your allies as well.
For the Spell, it’s good to pickGoodberry. Goodberry can provide a near-infinite amount of consumable healing items, which is very useful. Other friendlies are able to make use of it as well, allowing you to provide healing for the group.
At Level 3, you gain another Level 1 Spell Slot and 2 Level 2 Spell Slots. What’s great about the Circle of the Land Druid is their affinity with nature, thereby granting them extra Spells that their Circle of the Moon counterpart won’t get access to. This means that you have a special connection with a type of land, which would provide you with Spells that are Always Prepared. Here, you’ll want to chooseMountainto be able to castSpike GrowthandMirror Image.
Spike Growth allows you to control a large space of the battlefield with thorns that slow creatures down and damage them if they try to move through it. This is an excellent way to keep enemy melee units from getting to your allies and can be invaluable when you’re outnumbered.
Mirror Image is a very good Spell, which conjures 3 illusions of yourself, each granting +3 AC for a total of +9. Every duplicate will only disappear when an attack is evaded but until then, you can continue to keep it up for at most 10 turns without needing Concentration so you can cast other Spells afterward. Additionally, you’ll be able to retain these illusions even after you shapeshift, meaning your AC will start off as high.
For the other Level 2 Spells, I highly suggest takingMoonbeamandHeat Metal.
Moonbeam hits like a truck for 2-20 Radiant Damage in a small AoE that persists on the ground after it’s cast, dealing damage every round. And what’s really great about this, is that you can spend an Action to move its AoE up to 18m. So you only need to cast Moonbeam once per combat while conserving valuable Spell Slots.
Heat Metal allows you to deal 2-16 Fire Damage to a target that is wielding a metal Weapon orArmor. They’ll either let go of this Weapon or incur aDisadvantageon Attack Rolls and Ability Checks until the next turn. That’s all on top of being able to cast it again as a Bonus Action on the target, provided they’re still touching the metal item, thereby dealing damage and reapplying Disadvantage. In short, this is a great Spell to lock down tough enemies.
Lastly, at Level 3, you’ll be able to cast some Level 1 Spells as Level 2 versions, using Level 2 Spell Slots instead of Level 1 Spell Slots. This works out tremendously for the Circle of the Land Druid Build because it lets you cast some of the better Level 1 Spells as more powerful versions. For instance, you can cast Thunderwave at Level 2 for an extra 1-8 damage.
At Level 4, you can choose aFeat, and here you’ll be takingAbility Improvementto place 2 points into Wisdom to get to 18. As a Druid, you simply cannot have enough Wisdom, so this is the obvious choice.
You’ll also gain another Level 2 Spell Slot, and here I recommendFlame BladeoverFlaming Sphereif you’re going to mostly spend your time dealing melee damage. Flame Blade inflicts greater damage than Shillelagh since you literally conjure a sword, which deals 3-18 Fire Damage. What’s more, is that it’s a Bonus Action so you can cast another Spell in the same turn. Just make sure that it won’t require Concentration so you can continue wielding this Weapon until you decide to use another Concentration Spell or take a Long Rest.
But if you prefer to attack multiple targets from a distance, then the Flaming Sphere might be well-suited for you. With the sphere you conjure, you can initiate combat. It deals 2-12 Fire Damage to nearby enemies while acting as an additional light source in dark areas. Furthermore, the sphere can’t be damaged, and as long as you maintain Concentration, you’ll be able to consistently control it and attack targets for up to 10 turns.
At this level, you can also shapeshift into aDeep Rotheto castDancing Lightsfor those who can’t see and attack well in the dark as well as Charge to potentially knock targetsProne.
At Level 5, you get to pick another land with 2 Spells that are Always Prepared. For this one, I highly recommend takingArctic, which grantsSleet Stormand Haste.
Sleet Storm is an incredible crowd control Spell because it creates an icy surface, which lowers the Movement Speed of affected targets while potentially knocking them Prone. What’s more is it can meddle with the Concentration of Spellcasters to stop the effects of their Spells so you’ll definitely want to use this against Druid, Wizard, andClericenemies.
Haste, which is also available to theSorcerer, grants multiple benefits that greatly outweigh the disadvantage of briefly becoming Lethargic when the condition ends. Not only will your ally take one extra Action every turn, but they also gain +2 AC as well as an Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws. When Haste is cast on a Martial Class like aBarbarianwho gainsExtra Attackat Level 5, they’ll be able to take a total of 4 Actions in a single turn, allowing them to slay multiple enemies.
Additionally, you’re able to select other Level 3 Spells, and here I suggest takingCall Lightning.
Call Lightning is a powerful Spell that lets you deal 3-30 Lightning Damage. As long as you maintain Concentration, you can recast this in succeeding turns by simply spending an Action to trigger Activate Call Lightning.
At Level 6, the Circle of the Land Druid gains access to Land’s Stride, which allows them to easily traverse nonmagical difficult terrain and plants without incurring conditions like Slow. Furthermore, they gain a Saving Throw Advantage against magical plants that reduce the effectiveness of their Movement Speed.
At Levels 7 & 9, the Circle of the Land Druid will be able to cast a total of 4 Circle Spells corresponding to their chosen Lands. To check what these Spells are, be sure to check theCircle of the Land Druidpage on ourBG3 Wiki.
At Level 8, the Druid’s Wild Shape is improved such that the beasts they transform into no longer have limitations, and, their Challenge Rating (CR), or how difficult they are to fight against, is going to be higher.
Additionally, you’ll be able to select another Feat and I recommend going forWar Casterbecause you need to maintain Concentration since the majority of your power Spells rely on this mechanic. So successfully pulling off one Constitution Saving Throw after the next when getting hit is your top priority. With War Caster, you gain an Advantage on Constitution Saving Throws, thereby making it easier to prolong the effects of your Spells.
At Level 10, the Circle of the Land Druid gains access to Nature’s Ward. This prevents you from beingCharmedandFrightened, and you become immune to Poison.
Lastly, at Level 12, you’ll pick your final Feat. Instead of boosting Wisdom to 20, I highly suggest takingResilient (Constitution). Since combat will be more challenging at this stage of the game, you want to make sure that your Circle of the Land Druid continues to succeed in their Constitution Saving Throws to be able to maintain their Concentration. With Resilient, they gain additional proficiency in this aspect.
Since the Circle of the Land Druid has decent Dexterity, they’ll want to equip a Ranged Weapon of some type together with a Club orQuartstaffshould they decide to buff it with Shillelagh instead of wielding the Flame Blade. All of these Weapons can be used with a Shield in your offhand, thereby increasing your AC by +2.
Druids can wear Medium Armor, and while this won’t matter while Wild Shape is active, it’ll be useful when they’re not. Currently, the best Medium Armor is eitherLae’zel’sGithyanki Half PlateorScale Mail +1. With the Shield and Mirror Image Spell, your max AC will be 28 while you’re in human form. This is huge!
When it comes toAccessories, you’ll be equipping theAbsolute’s TalismanandBoots of Striding. The Absolute’s Talisman works well for this Build because Circle of the Land Druids will likely be in combat while infrequently using Wild Shape. In the event that their HP reaches low levels, they automatically regain 1-8 HP upon dealing damage. The necklace can be found in theShattered Sanctum.
Meanwhile, Boots of Striding is another essential item since most of your Spells require Concentration. While Concentrating, your Movement Speed increases by 3m, making it extremely beneficial for the Gold Dwarf. Moreover, you can’t be pushed back or knocked Prone. Boots of Striding is dropped byMinthara.
As a Circle of the Land Druid, you have the choice to shapeshift into creatures like the Deep Rothe to crowd-control enemies by knocking them down. But remember that you’ll need at least two turns to do this since the Subclass’s Wild Shape is an Action. As such, you may also want to consider that in human form, you gain access to numerous powerful Spells, which the Circle of the Moon Druid can’t cast such as Mirror Image and Haste.
Should you have 2 Druids in the party, you’ll have more flexibility when it comes to combining Druid Spells. For instance, casting Sleet Storm and Call of Lightning will electrocute affected targets resulting in taking extra d4 Lightning Damage over time. Be sure to experiment with more Spells, especially since casting them is the forte of the Circle of the Land Druid.
Lastly, since you won’t have the ability to effectively serve as a tank for your allies given the absence of the Polar Bear Wild Shape, it’s probably a good idea to retainShadowheartorLae’zelas yourCompanions. Just make sure that there’s at least one member who can absorb damage effectively. If you need to support them better, then choose the Level 2 SpellLesser Restorationto cure them of diseases and conditions. It doesn’t require Concentration, only a single Action.
Stay tuned for more Baldur’s Gate 3 content as we update the otherBuilds, and be sure to drop by ourTwitch Channelif you have questions about the game. If you need something specific, check out ourBaldur’s Gate 3 Wikiwhich is being worked on night and day, as well as ourBaldur’s Gate 3 Guides.
Reiku
Writer at Fextralife. I enjoy playing RPGs, narrative-driven games, and platformers. Outside of gaming, I like watching meaningful movies and reading sci-fi and dystopian books.
We’re slowly working through all class guides then making beginner builds for each class.
Please update this build for the full release versionI’d love to try this on my druid
