Best Gale Build Guide – Baldur’s Gate 3
Oct. 27, 2023Best Gale Build Guide – Baldur’s Gate 3
In this Baldur’s Gate 3 Gale Build Guide, I’ll be showing you how to play Gale in Baldur’s Gate 3 if you want to make him into a Wizard who can handle any situation thrown at him. Wizards have the flexibility to change spells when things aren’t working for them, and they can also learn spells fromScrolls, so they have an advantage over Sorcerers in some ways. In this Gale Build Guide I’ll also cover Ability Scores, Class Features, Equipment, and I will provide tips on how to get the most out of Gale when played this way.
Being aWizard, Gale has a large selection of Spells he can learn, and it allows him to have the right Spell for the situation. The reason this is an Elementalist Build, is because he can swap Spells when needed to the right damage type to avoid Resistances and Immunities, making him more effective than a 1 or 2 element caster would be some of the time.
The general strategy with this Build is to build up Reverberation or Radiating Orb stacks on enemies with Gale’s AoE Spells, so that enemies take more damage and hit your party less often. Additionally, I’ve added a way for Gale to gain Arcane Acuity easily, which makes his Spells more difficult to save against, which makes him particularly deadly in combat.
I decided not to Multiclass Gale for this Build, giving him the most possibleSpellsas quickly as possible, and the Evocation School has some nice benefits at levels 2, 6, and 10. You could actually Multiclass Gale with aFighterfor 2 levels to pick upAction Surgeif you wanted to, but I don’t think it’s necessary for this Build.
SinceGalebegins BG3 as a Wizard, his Ability Scores are in line with what a typical Wizard might have. However, you will want to respec him eventually to get the most out of him, otherwise he will not be optimized for much of the game.
Starting Ability Scores
Ideal Ability Scores
You can see that we’ve evened out many of his Abilities to provide more benefit. I’ve set CON to 14 here because we don’t really use many Concentration Spells, and Gale does not tend to get hit much with this Build. The extra DEX allows him to go sooner in combat by increasing his Initiative, and gives him an additional Armour Class to help protect him from being hit.
Gale has Proficiency inArcanaand History from hisBackground, so you cannot change these. However, he’s an Intelligence-based Class so these are actually good for him to have. I suggest takingInvestigation, Nature and Religion to round out his Skills, giving him Proficiency in all 5 Intelligence Skills. It’s not likely if you’re playing with Gale that you will be using another Intelligence-based character, so this is great.
I like to keep myCompanionsat least theClassthey begin the game with, since it feels like that is how Larian intended for them to be played, and it’s no exception with Gale. Gale begins the game as a Wizard, but he does not yet have a school of Wizardry, and here I’ve selected Evocation. This is an extremely new player friendly school that boostsEvocation SpellDamage, and allows you to fling hostile Evocation AoEs in to friendlies (including Gale) without damaging them.
Level 1 – Wizard
At level 1 of Wizard Gale will gain his firstSpellsandCantrips. I really like a mix of offensive Cantrips likeFire Bolt,Ray of FrostandShocking Grasp, but eventually you’ll want Acid Splash as well. This sets you up nicely with 3 different damage types, and gives you a melee range spell incase enemies get close.
For Level 1 Wizard Spells I recommend the following:
Mage Armouris a staple for increasing Gale’s AC through out the game and you only need to cast it once each Long Rest. Shield will protect him if he gets attacked in combat, and can be a lifesaver.False Lifeis used to buff Gale with Temporary HP before a tough fight, and you won’t use it all the time.
Magic Missilecannot miss and does Force Damage giving you yet another damage type, andThunderwavecan knock things to their death or away from you and deals Thunder Damage (another damage type).Ice Knifedoes Piercing Damage and Cold Damage, and is an Attack Roll that targets AC.
Arcane Recoveryallows Gale to replenish a Spell Slot without Resting, which can be a great way to keep him going without using valuable Supplies. The higher level he gets in Wizard the higher level Spell Slots he can recover.
Level 2 – Evocation Wizard
At level 2 of Wizard,Galewill get to select a school of magic for his Subclass. Evocation is what we’re going with in order to pick up Sculpt Spells which prevents Gale’s Evocation Spells that hit in an area from damaging friendlies. This is a lot stronger than you would think and makes life playing Gale a lot easier, particularly if you’re a new player.
You can pick up Burning Hands here, as well as something likeChromatic Orb, both are Evocation Spells.
Level 3 – Evocation Wizard
At level 3 of Wizard, Gale will gain access to Level 2 Wizard Spells, and gain Level 2 Spell Slots. He can also upcast Level 1 Wizard Spells using these Slots for increased effect. Magic Missile generates another Missile, Thunderwave, Ice Knife, Chromatic Orb and Burning Hands do more damage, and False Life gives you more Temporary Health. Shield and Mage Armour cannot be upcast, so try to avoid using higher level Spell Slots to cast them.
For Level 2 Wizard Spells I recommend the following:
Blur is probably going to be the onlyConcentration Spellyou use with this Build, and that’s because it makes enemies have Disadvantage when they attack you. This helps make them miss, which prevents the need for a Concentration Saving Throw a lot of the time (not all).Misty Stepis used for positioning and is a Bonus Action, so you can use it and still cast another Spell on the same turn.
Scorching Ray is excellent at hitting many targets, but also triggersHat of Fire Acuityfor each beam that connects, drastically increasing the chance for your Spells to deal full damage and not Miss.Melf’s Acid Arrowis a good Acid Damage spell, giving you a reliable Acid Spell.
Level 4 – Evocation Wizard
At level 4 of Wizard, Gale will get to select anotherWizard Cantrip, and I recommend taking Acid Splash here if you didn’t take it earlier.
You’ll also get to select Gale’s first Feat, and I highly recommend taking Alert here. This will improve his Initiative significantly, allowing him to go earlier in combat. His big damage spells later on can change the outcome of combat very often, so by going sooner he has a chance to prevent damage to his team.
Level 5 – Evocation Wizard
At level 5 of Wizard, Gale’s Cantrip damage will increase, allowing him to do more damage with them by about double. This helps somewhat him keep up with martialClasses, though they can usually attack twice at this level of the game.
He will also gain access to Level 3 Wizard Spells and Spell Slots, and I recommend the following Spells:
Fireball and Lightning Bolt both hit for damage in large areas, dealing damage even if enemies save, and both are Evocation Spells. Counterspell can be used as a Reaction to shut down hostile Spells if you need to.
Level 6 – Evocation Wizard
At level 6 of Evocation Wizard, Gale will gain Potent Cantrip. This allowsAcid SplashandPoison Spray(if you have it) to deal at minimum, half damage even if the target Saves against them. Gale won’t take advantage of this much, but it’s still good to have.
Level 7 – Evocation Wizard
At level 7 of Wizard, Gale will gain access to Level 4 Wizard Spells and Spell Slots and I recommend the following Spells:
Ice Stormis a huge AoE that creates andIcy Surfacethat enemies can slip on for 2 turns, and does Cold and Bludgeoning Damage. Gale will use this one because of its large size quite often, and the fact it applies damage twice allows him to take advantage of gear that adds damage when spells deal damage too.
Blight is good for a large Necrotic Damage AoE when you need it.Conjure Minor Elementalcan be used to get another body or two onto the battlefield, and doesn’t require Concentration, which we are trying to avoid.
Level 8 – Evocation Wizard
At level 8 ofWizard, Gale will gain his second Feat and I highly recommend taking Ability Improvement and increasing Intelligence. You want his Spells to connect more often, so this helps a lot. Additionally, he will be able to Prepare an additional Spell and once he’s level 10 that Intelligence will help contribute to Spell Damage.
Level 9 – Evocation Wizard
At level 9 of Wizard, Gale will learn level 5 Wizard Spells and Spell Slots, and I recommend the following Spells:
Cone of Cold is a high-damage Cold Spell that hits in a cone in front of you. Better for smaller groups than Ice Storm, but you will probably use it less. Conjure Elemental is a Spell that helps get you another body onto the battlefield, one that can be used in conjunction with Minor Elementals, and again doesn’t require Concentration.
Level 10 – Evocation Wizard
At level 10 of Evocation Wizard, Gale can select another Wizard Cantrip and I recommend eitherBone ChillorPoison Spray. His Cantrips also increase in damage once again, making them more effective.
He will also gain theEmpowered Evocationpassive feature that will automatically add his Intelligence Modifier to the damage of all Evocation Spells he casts (including Cantrips). This will further boost the damage of these Spells and is particularly good on Evocation Spells that hit multiple times like Magic Missile, Scorching Ray, Ice Storm and Ice Knife.
Level 11 – Evocation Wizard
At level 11 of Wizard, Gale will gain access to Level 6 Wizard Spells and 1 Spell Slot. I recommend the following Spells:
Otiluke’s Freezing SphereandChain Lightingare both high damage Evocation Spells, so Gale will make great use of them and safely! Sunbeam gives Gale a good Radiant Damage option, and even though it does use Concentration, you will not need it often. Disintegration is a high damage single target Force Damage Spell for those times you need it.
Level 12 – Evocation Wizard
At level 12 of Wizard Gale will gain his final Feat, and I suggest taking Ability Improvement once again to get his Intelligence to 20. This will allow him even more success with casting Spells, and further improve his damage.
Gale Armour
As a Human Wizard, Gale will only have access toClothing,Light Armour, andShields. For Armour you’re really looking for anything that increases his Spell DC like The Protecty Sparkswall. This one is particularly good as it provides him with +1 to AC and Saving Throws when he has Lightning Charges, and also can be used with Mage Armour.
Gale Weapon
I tried a lot of differentQuarterstaffswith this Build, and any with an increase to Spell DC are good to have, as these make his spells more difficult to Save against. However, we have other ways to make his Spells more effective so I opted for a Staff that boosted his damage and that was The Spellsparkler.
This Staff gives himLightning Chargeswhen he casts Spells, and this adds damage to the Spells he casts. It’s not a ton, but it adds up over time. It can also help to trigger Reverberation when usingGloves of Belligerent Skies, which reduces the Saving Throws of enemies.
Gale Shield
I have Ketheric’s Shield for this Build as it increases Gale’s Spell DC even further, making his Spells even harder to Save against while also providing Gale some extra AC.
Gale Accessories
For helmet, I like Hat of Fire Acuity. This allows you to boost Gale’s Spell DC by up to +7 by simply castingScorching Rayon an enemy. This will make it much harder for enemies to Save against subsequent Spells, though he will lose a stack of Arcane Acuity each turn.
For cloak, I likeCloak of Protection. This is good on any character, but the extra AC is great for him, since he’s not really wearing any on his chest slot. The extra +1 to Saving Throws is also nice.
For gloves he’ll be using either Luminous Gloves OR Gloves of Belligerent Skies. Luminous Gloves makes it so when Gale deals Radiant Damage the target gains a stack ofRadiating Orb, reducing their hit chance by 1 for each stack. This maxes out at +7, which can make enemies really struggle to hit your party.
Gloves of Belligerent Skies makes it so whenever Gale deals Thunder, Lightning or Radiant Damage enemies gain stacks of Reverberation. Reverberation penalizes Saving Throws to CON, STR and DEX by -1 for each stack (up to 7). This allows Gale to seriously debuff enemies so that they are far less likely to save against his deadly AoEs.
If you have a more martial-focused party, use Luminous Gloves. If you have a more caster-focused party, use Gloves of Belligerent Skies.
For necklace I recommendNecklace of Elemental Augmentation. This allows Gale to add his Intelligence Modifier to his Cantrip Damage, and this stacks with Empowered Evocation, so his Cantrips will hit harder.
For rings, I likeCoruscation RingandCallous Glow Ring. Coruscation Ring makes it so when Gale deals Spell Damage while illuminated by a light source, he adds 2 stacks of Radiating Orb to the target. This happens quite often, and as enemies getRadiating Orbthey will also start to become light sources, so this gets easier and easier over time.
Callous Glow Ring makes it so Gale adds 2 Radiant Damage to his damage when hitting enemies that are illuminated. Radiating Orb illuminates them, and this applies to each source of damage. So if you hit withMagic Missilefor instance, it would do 2 additional Radiant Damage for each Missile, which would then also apply 2 Radiating Orb for each Missile you hit with. This turns Gale not only into a nuker, but also a debuffer simultaneously, which helps prevent party damage.
Make sure that you buff Gale withMage Armourafter every Long Rest if he is not using Light Armour. This will help increase his AC by +3, which is significant.
Don’t be afraid to useFalse Lifebefore tough fights and Upcast it with higher level slots so that Gale is protected from a good chunk of damage. You can replenish the Slot withArcane Recovery, which you will likely not want to use during combat anyway, since it consumes an Action.
Blur is Gale’s way of avoiding most direct attacks, so you’ll want to either cast this before combat, if it’s predictable or decide when during combat would be a good time. A lot of times you’ll be better off using an AoE first, but it really depends on the fight.
UseMisty Stepto reposition Gale if needed. Sometimes he can reach more enemies if he teleports, or maybe he’s surrounded and you need to get him out of there. It’s a Bonus Action, so he can still cast on the same turn.
That wraps up our Baldur’s Gate 3 Gale Build Guide! 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.
Castielle
Senior Editor at Fextralife. I enjoy gaming, playing and watching sports, cooking yummy food, watching a good movie and hanging out with Fex.
