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If you went into Baldur’s Gate 3 expecting to sling every spell in your arsenal, you were probably disappointed when you found out about spell slots and having to prepare spells. Still, the game would get old quickly if you could just sling infinite fireballs at your enemies (actually, that sounds kind of fun).
Since you can’t do that, though, you’ll have to quickly get accustomed to preparing spells, changing them, and using your spell slots efficiently. Luckily for us, the devs made preparing spells as simple as possible so players unfamiliar with D&D’s spell system can jump right in. Here’s how to prepare and change spells in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Classes That Need To Prepare Spells vs. Classes That Don’t
There are plenty of classes in Baldur’s Gate 3 that cast spells, but not all of them need to prepare them. The easiest way to explain it is by looking at Wizards compared to Sorcerers. Wizards spend years studying and honing their craft, only being able to cast spells that they have prepared and focused on ahead of time. They can learn an insane amount of spells with no real limit.
Sorcerers, on the other hand, have access to fewer spells but get their power innately. They don’t have to study or prepare their spells and instead have access to their magic at any time. This allows them to cast any spell they already know, but they can only learn and prepare new spells by leveling up, limiting their versatility. Sorcerers basically won the genetic lottery, while Wizards had to take out student loans to get going in life. With that out of the way, here’s a quick rundown of the classes in BG3 that have to prepare spells versus the classes that have access to all of their spells.
Classes That Know All of Their Spells
- Bard
- Fighter’s with the subclass Eldritch Knight
- Ranger
- Rogue’s with the subclass Arcane Trickster
- Sorcerer
- Warlock
Classes That Have To Prepare Spells
- Cleric
- Druid
- Paladin
- Wizards
How To Prepare Spells in BG3
Preparing spells is fairly easy and can be done in about four steps. If you are one of the classes listed above who has to prepare spells, do the following:
- Make sure you’re not in combat. You can prepare spells just about anywhere so long as you’re not fighting something (and as long as something isn’t trying to fight you). You can prepare spells in the wilderness, Underdark, at camp—really anywhere.
- Open the Spellbook by pressing K (default key bind) or navigating to it after opening your inventory using the tabs at the top of the window.
- The top bar we’ve highlighted in the image above is all of your currently prepared spells. Remove spells by clicking on them. You can prepare new spells by clicking or dragging them to the same hot bar.
It’s as easy as that! If you remember to check your character’s prepared spells after a long rest, you’ll always be ready for whatever adventures are in store for you. Try to plan ahead and consider what is in store for you; consider your current quest and the enemies you’ll face in it. Since you can prepare spells whenever you’re out of combat, it helps to scout your next encounter and think about what spells will be needed for the fight.
If you’re one of the classes that know their spells, such as a Sorcerer or Ranger, you can swap spells upon level up. It’s hard to miss, as there’s a tab on the left side of the screen that you have to complete before you can finish leveling up. You can remove a spell that you have prepared and replace it with another spell from the section of known spells.
Hopefully, this quick guide on how to prepare spells helped you be a better spellcaster in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you still have questions or are unsure of something, leave a comment below, and we will try to answer any remaining questions you might have.
