Baldur's Gate 3 Cantrip Tier List

OMG stop tier listing everything jesus

i use Sacred Flame more than any other spell/cantrip by a LONG margin. It's so good with tonnes of build synergy available (esp with a encrusted frosty sorc to give near guaranteed hits), and the whole not needing LOS is just clutch sometimes. Once you hit Act 2, Shadowheart is just a walking Sacred Flame machine. Minimum A tier. If Shocking Grasp is S tier, then Sacred Flame is SS tier.

what weapons does he have that are glowing blue?

Don't forget with Eldritch blast with a +5 to charisma that each bolt will do a +5 with agonizing which means if you do all 3 beams you have a 3d10+15 which is already a really high number for even end game

told myself if you pronounced things sounding like free I was out

Vicious mockery should be S tier just for the things the characters say tbh

I will say if no one has mentioned it; one thing that makes acid splash useful is its ability to take out sturdy metal objects. Even metal doors.

Mage hand and minor illusion have so much utility in their own respects, especially in tactician, that I'm actually baffled how you put them in lower than A tier

"Produce flame", which is light+minor fire bolt, is lower then "light", which is just light...

I consider Ray of Frost's rider to be more valuable than 1-2 damage from firebolt.

Acid Splash is A tier. It's damage TYPE is very consistently effective, it's one of the ONLY AoE cantrips, which means you can use it against targets that have cast sanctuary, and it targets a saving throw that enemies can be reasonably expected to fail at a decent rate.
Blade Ward IS F. NEVER is when you should cast this spell. Your healer should have the gauntlets that automatically apply the Blade Ward effect when you are healed, and that's all you need.
Bone Chill is C Tier. It's the worst of the attack cantrips. Necrotic damage is frequently resisted, monster healing is almost never relevant if you have good builds and good party composition, and there's MUCH less gear that will buff/scale the damage of this cantrip compared to others.
Eldritch Blast, S yup obviously.
Um technically cantrips scale at level 11 not 10.
Firebolt has more gear options that scale it, and feat options that scale it. I agree S below Eldritch Blast, or A rank.
Friends is B tier. It's okay, but it's not required, and there are plenty of other ways to get advantage on Charisma checks, without taking a bad cantrip or risking social repercussions.
Guidance is S.
Light is C tier. It makes light. Nothing else. It has utility, but it's NOT a top pick.
Mage hand is B tier. There are some things where it's VERY useful / required.
Minor Illusion is B. It's not bad, but not a game changer.
Poison Spray is C tier. Poison is VERY often resisted, Undead are immune to poison, enemies often pass Con saves, range is terrible.
Produce Flame is a High B low A. It's straight up better than Light. It provides light, AND can deal fire damage so it has all the same utility as Fire Bolt although slightly less damage. On a cleric, I'd pick Produce Flame over Light EVERY time. Even on Shadowheart. I'd say Produce Flame is better than her racial Fireblot, assuming you play her as a cleric. Because firebolt will run off your Wisdom, NOT your Intelligence like Firebolt does. M8, the damage is the same as Bone Chill, it's better DPS than Bone Chill because it benefits from gear items that buff elemental damage.
Ray of Frost is high B low A. It's better than Bone Chill for the same reasons Firebolt and Produce Flame are better.
Resistance is B tier. Never cast in combat, but there are plenty of times you'll want to buff your saving throws, and resistance saves you a level 1 spell slot for bless.
Sacred Flame is B tier. It's not amazing, but cleric doesn't have many options, and having some variety in your cantrip damage is good.
Shillelagh is SOLID C. I keep the buff going whenever I have a Bonus Action I don't need, so that if I ever have to make a reaction attack, it hits, and does SOME damage. It's never going to be a top tier dps spell, but it has it's place. It's also good if an enemy gets in your face, because it means you can deal damage without attacking at disadvantage.
Shocking Grasp is A tier. NOT S. Mages shouldn't be TRYING to get into melee unless you're built to take a hit. Shocking Grasp is best for getting away from dangerous enemies while still doing some damage on your turn. It's a tool in your belt, not the primary weapon. At least.. in most cases.
Thaumaturgy I give a C tier. Not because it's bad, but because the main class that will have the option to select this spell is Cleric, clerics shouldn't be performing Charisma checks typically, and there are much better spell pics for a cleric character. If you get this as part of your Tiefling race, fine... but that's not picking a cantrip. That's picking a race.
Thorn Whip is A, for utility + damage.
True Strike is F. Never select this cantrip, and never cast this cantrip unless it's free from an item.
Vicious Mockery is C. Damage is terrible, utility is minimal. Unfortunately it's pretty much the only damage option for bards. But you're almost always better off shooting a bow than casting this cantrip. Assuming you have ~16 dex for Armor Class.

HAHAHA! I've been using True Strike wrong this hole time. I've put it on my own guys thinking it would give them advantage when attacking.

I think ray of frost is defiantly S tier later in the game.
1. From late Act 1 to Early Act 2 there are a lot of items that synergize well. turning it into an AOE and buffing weapon damage for an off hand bonus attack.
2. with high DC the ice pool it makes constantly knocks enemies down (there are boots you can put on your mele to make them not fall on ice)
3. It causes a chill effect that will make a target weak to ice damage even if they were previously resistant to it.

Do you have a list for non-consumable items, such as rope; hammers etc.? I really need to know.

The Mockery has 80 different replicas voiced by all the characters. It

Agree with the list for the most part, but I do have some comments and a few tier disagreements

- Acid Splash: A-tier. Solid damage type, and decent AoE size. It's also really easy to give enemies disadvantage or auto fail on Dex saves, such as by getting them to slip on ice you made using Ray of Frost.

- Blade Ward : Agree on the tier, though it's also worth pointing out that it can be combined with spells like Armor of Agathys for more aggressively defensive playstyles

- Dancing Lights : Agree on tier. In most cases it's actually worse than you pointed out because you can just keep pre-lit torches in your inventory and fling them for the same effect. Only benefit is Dancing Lights can't be doused...but that's not worth concentration. It does have a niche use though, if you have a Wizard or w/e and have them do a certain something in Act 1 so their Concentrated Blast illithid power costs a Bonus Action, they can then use an Action plus Bonus Action plus Concentration to land guaranteed 3d6 psychic damage, and in some cases self-heal. Not an awful option, but also still very niche due to opportunity cost.

- Fire Bolt : Nah, this is A-tier, edging on B-tier. Only barely does more damage than the average damage cantrip, and Fire is a poor damage type choice. Slightly better than Produce Flame due to its range. If you need to ignite something from a distance, just use that Action to throw a pre-lit torch. Torches are invincible, so you'll always be able to pick them right back up to reuse later.

- Mage Hand : This is EASILY S-tier, and is arguably tied with Eldritch Blast for strongest cantrip in the game. At the cost of just one Action (which doesnt even have to be done in-combat, especially for AT Rogues whose Mage Hand has infinite duration), you gain a low-threat ally that can fling everything from healing potions, to bombs, to buff potions, to water jugs (!), to the aforementioned torches at no further action cost or concentration. It also scales up in power as you get further into the game, because you get access to better things for it to throw. This makes it single-handedly as good or better than any other support spell that takes an Action, and even more useful than the 5th level spell Telekinesis! The only caveat is you need to remember to stock up whever it's stationed with items it can fling, and keep it away from danger, which isn't too difficult in most cases. It's just annoying that its main application is in-combat, unlike the TTRPG. Arcane Trickster also gets a souped up version, and there are a couple of magic items that can be used to turn this into a Bonus Action cast, and it's a fantastic candidate for Quickened Spell for the same reason. It's also a fantastic choice for Transmutation Wizards who can double their alchemy output to fuel it with.

- Ray of Frost : Easily S-tier. Water surfaces are abundant, which means this can both be used for large-scale CC and damage. Wet is also easy to inflict and has no save. Can be comboed with Mage Hand flinging water flasks to easily double your damage output.

- Resistance : C-tier. Even in combat, it's hard to predict who will need to make saving throws

- Shillelagh : C-tier, edging on D. Even at low levels it's not THAT great, and any character that gets access to this will likely just be able to use either a finesse melee weapon at low levels or a bow of some kind for comparable damage.

- Shocking Grasp : Easily S-tier for a lot of the same reasons Ray of Frost is easily S tier. Messes with enemy action economy, gets situational advantage, allows casters to deal damage and also pseudo-disengage, AND just like Shocking Grasp you can use it on water surfaces for CC, and the Wet condition for 2x damage.

Dancing lights can trigger traps and close vents (and the ONLY cantrip that can do so). It is not usefull in combat at all but can be EXTREMELY usefull out of it, albeit in a limited amount of situations. It is at least C-tier.

mage hand actually is quite usefull to rogues, it's trigger the condition for sneak attack, i'll put it in B tier

Light is really good during act 2 because if you cast it on a character you have frontlinr and have an ally using Blood of Lathander in the backline you can almost completely ignore the main debuff of act 2

Guidance can actually be pretty good if there's a dialogue check before a fight, like convincing Yurgir in the House of Hope, as it can be used to get a guaranteed Concentrated Blast, which can even be a bonus action if you went to the Creche earlier on

The control/effect riders of bone chill and Ray of Frost are fairly unique, such that I'd put it in S-tier and certainly above firebolt (whose out of combat utility is less than ray of frost being able to put out fires and can be substituted by abundant alchemist fire). The damage of cantrips already lag a good martial quite a bit, so i would not give up unique control option just to go from d8 to d10.

Produce flame also I'd rate higher because cantrip slots are so scarce, having one pull double duty to free up a slot for something more situational is a lot of value

Feels a bit cursed mage hand and blade ward in the same tier, mage hand was really usefull in my first playthrough, casting 2 of them before a hard combat just spaming smokepowder bombs and similar stuff

Agreed that the opportunity cost for True Strike is too high....BUT, if you have a character who is an Eldritch Knight, it can make sense to use True Strike in a situation where you have been given Disadvantage. Then you can use True Strike to counteract that. It could be better than going two turns or more missing your attacks. Still not a great cantrip, and definitely situational, but does have a clear use.

Thorn Whip has the highest possible damage out of any cantrip. If you're near a cliff or high place that causes death from falling, it will attempt to pull them off into the abyss

Controversial idea: get shillelagh via spell Initiate on a monk (take guidance as the other cantrip and longstrider as your level 1 spell)

They implimented True Strike in Baldur's Gate 3 to make sure there wouldn't be an argument which the worst Cantrip is. True Strike deserves it's on category.

Shadowheart: "IGNIS!"
miss

Shillelagh is kinda underrated. Allows u to completely ignore a stat like strength so u can pump con and combined with arcane synergy that 1d8+5 becomes 1d8+10.. nothing to scoff at.

there were a few times i used mage hand for exploration but there was one time, which was unplanned i dont even remember why i cast it in the first place, in cazador fight it actually helped me so much when the fight started it didnt go into combat and i freely used it to shove astarion close to my party. i was so amused while pushing astarion over and over and no one wondering "huh how can he move by his own?? like??" it was so fun 😭😭

When you use True Strike from hiding it doesnt make you enter into battle, you can enter turn based mode and attack with advantage, it is good for one shoting people actually. So if you use it with sneak attack, you have a higher chance to land a critical.

Another BG3 tutorial said don't miss out on status spells, but apparently damage spells are the safer pick here

what build is halsin that looks like such a fun time 😮

Wow it's cool how we have completely different priorities when it comes to cantrips. I would put Blade ward as top tier actually. If you use that illithid concentration spell you simply cast the spell then blade ward up when you're done provided you can cast the illithid spells as bonus actions

Also sacred flame does not require line of sight to hit which makes it really good for cheesing fights where the enemy cant hit you but you can hit them

the only use i have found for true strike is if you have illithid powers as a bonus action, you can use it to set up concetrated blast (since it requires you to be concentrating)

you forgot to mention that shocking grasp can be used as an opportunity attack if you have the warcaster feat

Minor illusion does make enemies walk towards it on my bard, they have to fail a role check. I use it on Nellie enemies to get them an extra 1 or 2 m sway from me if a shove didn't work.

I ALWAYS roll 1 level of wizard because being able to learn most spells in the game is a pretty sick feat, especially if you roll a class that is not spell heavy.

*also also note that Ray of Frost can extinguish fires, wich can be useful sometimes, just another thing it can do

Acid splash is the GOAT, break all the pots, guaranteed damage to a group of enemies w/ the right build, decent range, wipe out hoards of wimpy mobs, acid condition, and the command word for it is hilarious. Oh and almost nothing has resistance to acid type damage, unlike cold, fire, poison, etc.

I've used mage hand to throw literal backpacks full of explosives into/on to enemy groups. The packs would break and then I would set everything off for doing damage with no actual action points. Mage hand is super useful.

A note about produce flame, the light on your hand persists into wildshape, so for moon druid it has some merit for act 2 where you need some persistent light for a portion of it. Can't throw it while wildshaped though lol

Even after downloading a mod that rebalanced True Strike and Blade Ward to take Bonus Actions instead of your full Action, there were still very little scenarios in which I thought to myself, "Ah yes, I should absolutely use True Strike right now". The cantrips are just incredibly underwhelming because of how little value they provide.

It's often been said, but I definitely feel like the 5e rules heavily favor pumping damage over everything else. Damage progresses a fight, anything else just makes it last longer. You're better spent getting buffs and bonuses from passives like gear or feats, than from a cantrip :/

Acid Splash got nerfed in the new patch, HAVE to target a foe now, makes it significantly worse

A small note about cantrips with concentration, they're a great catalyst for if you're building a character with Concentrated Blast, the Illithid power. Start up battle with a Guidance or Dancing Lights active beforehand, and you can do a quick pop of guaranteed damage at the early stages of a fight before casting your concentration spells, as a bonus action if you completed a certain event. This effectively turns any of these support cantrips into handy ambush cantrips.

This doesn't require that you take the cantrip at level, but if you have access to them naturally it's easier to weaponize. Since both Concentrated Blast can be used every turn, and Cantrips as well, it's easily renewable damage.

I'm surprised you've ranked Mage Hand so low as there's so much setup you can do with throwing items. Even in combat it can be worth casting it and just dropping a bunch of potions or objects for it to throw, which gives it multiplicative action economy since a throw is an action. This also works well with high ground rules, as when you throw an object, it gains damage based on how high vertically it travels. You can drop a handful of junk items on the roof next to you (dropping objects in combat costs no actions), summon Mage Hand, and go on about your day as it throws healing pots, potions of speed, or bombs foes with shoes or well, actual bombs.

Gith can cast mage hand as a bonus action with an armor piece, and it’s invisible when they cast it

This guy sounds like medic from lol casting haha

You mentioned that fire bolt can't be increased in damage, but that's not quite right, there's both a ring (found in the creche iirc) that makes it so that you can add casting ability modifier to damage or the draconic ancestry of sorcerer for any of the fire dragons as well at level 6. Also, resistance to fire damage can be subverted by the elemental adept feat. (I know it's already S-tier, but D&D player, semantics, you know how it is.)