The best Baldur's Gate 3 party composition and team members will vary depending on what you're going up against, as well as your preferred strategy and what class you yourself are playing as - after all, how often is a team going to need two bards, except for duets? With that in mind, we'll cover the best team comp in Baldur's Gate 3 for any situation, and what companions you want to have ready to go in a pinch.
Recent updates
This BG3 party composition guide was updated on 9 November, clarifying details in the wake of recent updates and ensuring that the information displayed here remains relevant.
The best party in Baldur's Gate 3
For the best party comp in Baldur's Gate 3, you generally need at least one character who can heal, one who can charm, one to draw damage and one who can do damage - though exactly which teammates and characters fulfil those roles is up to you, depending on how you build them. These should complement your chosen Baldur's Gate 3 class as needed, swapping yourself out for one of the four and filling in the blanks with a companion or BG3 hireling as needed.
Here's a selection of team builds for various situations in Baldur's Gate 3, and how you want to spec them (characters are also arranged in terms of priority: highest on each list is most essential).
- All-purpose Adventuring Party
- Shadowheart (Healing/stealth/protection)
- Astarion (Stealth/lockpicks/disarming traps/sneak attacks)
- Karlach (Tank/weapon attacks/pack mule)
- Wyll (Charisma/diverse spellcasting)
- Combat-focused Party
- Shadowheart (Healing/tank/buffs)
- Gale (High damage spells)
- Lae'zel (Tank/melee damage)
- Astarion (Stealth/sneak attacks)
- Stealth/social Party
- Shadowheart (Stealth/Buffs)
- Wyll (Charisma/all-purpose spellcasting)
- Astarion (Stealth/lockpicks/disarming traps/sneak attacks)
- Gale (Control/enchantment spells)
You'll notice that we've omitted you, the player character (usually known as Tav). That's because considering there's no shortage of classes and builds to work from, we have no idea what you'll be playing - in which case, you should work out which character you're most like, and then leave that character at home. For example, if you're a multi-purpose Charisma spellcaster, like a Bard with a well-chosen Baldur's Gate 3 background, you probably won't need Wyll around much. If you're a tanky fighter or Barbarian, Lae'zel or Karlach are clearly less essential to your team composition.
You'll also notice that Shadowheart comes up a lot - and frankly, with good reason. She heals, buffs, has a few damaging spells, Guidance is a completely overpowered cantrip that actually came first in our list of the best Baldur's Gate 3 spells, and despite being pretty well-defended, Pass Without Trace means she can give everybody a major stealth bonus. There's no party she can't fit into, especially if you give some thought to her build.
How to change party members in Baldur's Gate 3
You can change party members in Baldur's Gate 3 by returning to camp and speaking to your companions. Here, you can speak to various teammates and ask them to stay behind, which will open up new spaces in your party of four. At this point, you can then go to any team member and ask them to join that emptied spot.
You can also tell active Baldur's Gate 3 companions in your party to go back to the Camp during your adventures if you've run into a new one you'd like to add while exploring,
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