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There are hundreds of spells in Baldur’s Gate 3 for players and enemies to cast, many of which are lifted directly from Dungeons & Dragons. In the transition from TTRPG to video game, many of these incantations have undergone changes to their mechanics and power levels. Many spells have gotten better, and are more useful in combat scenarios.
But others have gotten worse, in some cases significantly. It makes sense that many of the open-ended spells in DnD would not work in a more restricted medium, given how much they rely on specific player choice. These 10 spells tend to suffer the most in their comparisons to their DnD counterparts when cast in Baldur’s Gate 3.
10
Mage Hand’s Short Rest Limitation Holds It Back Significantly
Cantrips Don’t Usually Have Casting Limits
is a powerful cantrip in both BG3 and DnD, able to move objects and some creatures from a great distance. It’s great for interacting with stuff while keeping your characters out of harm’s way, or if the party doesn’t have a flying speed, but Baldur’s Gate puts a significant constraint on its use.
Related
One Low-Level Baldur’s Gate 3 Spell Is Incredibly OP If You Know How To Use It
Baldur’s Gate 3 may have a plethora of powerful, high-level spells, but one low-level spell can be just as powerful if a few items are equipped.
Players can only cast the cantrip once per short rest, and it will only last for one minute, or until it is destroyed. The measly three hit points it has means it will only survive for one or two rounds in a fight at best, and the minute time limit means it can’t last very long in exploration, either. The githyanki and Arcane Trickster rogue subclass versions of this cantrip are far better, both invisible and with a longer duration, but the default version of the spell is too limited to stand up to its DnD counterpart.
9
Arcane Gate Is Held Back By The Size Of BG3’s Maps
A Spell Intended For Larger Battlefields
While mage hand is limited by its duration, 
is held back by its range and the size of Baldur’s Gate 3‘s maps. Much like dimension door, arcane gate is a spell intended for covering very long distances, with ranges of 300 or even 500 feet. But the range of each of these spells has been cut down significantly, to 100 feet for dimension door and 120 for arcane gate.
Unlike other teleportation spells, arcane gate leaves two lasting and connected portals for other creatures to use. The issue with this is that, for a sixth-level slot, the distance this spell covers is not sufficient, and enemies can make use of it, as well. The reason for these decreased distances is likely the smaller scale of BG3‘s maps, which is fair, but it does make them inherently less useful than they could be in more varying dungeons in DnD.
8
Glyph Of Warding’s Uses Have Been Shrunken Down
A Simpler Version Of This Complex Spells
In DnD, 
is a powerful spell that can essentially contain a casting of another spell, which won’t activate until certain criteria are met, as set by the spellcaster. As such, it can be useful for setting up complex and creative traps, as well as makeshift magic items for the players to use. But in BG3, the immensity of that kind of choice would obviously create a problem.
Glyph of warding does have a significant gold cost per use in Dungeons & Dragons, which helps to balance out the enormous potential it holds.
Instead, glyph of warding can be used to create one of several different kinds of floor traps, which deal different kinds of damage or knock enemies away. This can definitely still be useful, but there’s no debating that this version of the spell is less useful than DnD‘s can be. It is a good way to cast an AOE spell with different damage types as needed, but it can no longer be used to store casts of hold or charm person, or to store mass healing word to be activated in moments of need.
7
Conjure Woodland Being Doesn’t Offer Much Choice To Its Caster
A Downgrade That Was Probably For The Best
Conjure woodland beings, and other spells like it, can be used in DnD to bring forth certain fey creatures of the player’s choice. The woodland beings in question could be quicklings, pixies, and so on. In BG3, the spell is used to specifically summon a dryad, a creature with some power, but it lacks the variety of choice that the original spell brings to the table.
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Why Druids Are Secretly The Most Overpowered Class In Baldur’s Gate 3
Druids are quite overlooked in the Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons fanbases, but can actually be one of the most powerful classes.
This is not necessarily a critique of Baldur’s Gate; after all, allowing for the summoning of many different kinds of fey would be chaotic, and using this spell to conjure up eight pixies is already broken in DnD. But it’s more a reflection of the general nature of spellcasting in video games versus TTRPGs: there must be some constraints set for the video game player that invariably limit the freedom and chaos a tabletop game includes.
6
Grasping Vine Is Almost Useless When It Has Health
Turning A Niche Spell Into A Complete Joke
is not a good spell, in DnD or in BG3, though it’s certainly worse in the latter. The primary issue with the spell is that it’s a fourth-level concentration-reliant spell used exclusively to move enemies around the battlefield. It’s a summon that only lasts one minute, goes away if the caster loses concentration, and can’t move from the spot it started. This is true for both versions of the spell, save for the concentration requirement, already making it only useful in niche situations.
The enemy versions of grasping vine that show up in Act Two’s Shadow-Cursed Lands highlight the weakness of this conjured ally, with low HP and mobility.
But the issue with the spell in BG3 is that, instead of requiring concentration, the vine itself has an armor class and hit points. The AC is pitiful at only 13, and the HP total is 20, meaning that by the time players can cast this spell, there’s a good chance that enemies could one- or two-shot this summon with ease. Using a fourth-level slot to create an ally that can’t deal damage, can’t move, and goes down upon the first hit is simply never worth it.
5
Greater Invisibility Tends To Fail At Inopportune Moments
This Heightened Version Of Invisibility Is Not Worth The Higher Spell Slot
Becoming invisible in both DnD and BG3 is very helpful, preventing enemies from taking opportunity attacks, providing advantage on attacks, and letting characters avoid the sight of guards. The lower-level version of this spell, invisibility, has one major downside: it goes away the minute the character it’s cast on interacts with another creature or object. In DnD, greater invisibility is a higher-level solution to that issue, since it lasts for a minute regardless of what the affected creature does.
But in Baldur’s Gate, this spell is markedly worse. Instead of providing fool-proof invisibility, it requires constant stealth checks to maintain when the affected creature interacts with something. This is fine for a rogue or ranger, whose stealth skill is probably quite high, but makes the spell hard to use for wizards, sorcerers, and other casters that can actually cast it. It is simply unreliable, as players can’t count on it to stay up when they need it to.
4
Polymorph Received Some Obvious Downgrades
Making A Great Buff Spell Into A Middling Debuff Option
Polymorph might be the spell that has most difference between its Baldur’s Gate 3 and DnD versions. In the TTRPG, this spell allows the caster to turn a creature into a beast of their choice, as long as it has an equal or lower CR (or level) to the target. This meant that, on top of potentially turning enemies into rats or cats, it could turn allies into direwolves and bears, even dinosaurs at higher levels.
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One Baldur’s Gate 3 Decision Turns Tav Into A Powerful Cheese Wheel
Among the many secrets hidden in the world of Baldur’s Gate 3, there is a special interaction that transforms players into a sentient wheel of cheese.
Instead, BG3′s polymorph can only turn the affected creature into a sheep. That makes it still useful for shutting down enemies, but it can no longer buff members of the party, vastly decreasing its utility. There are certain exploits in the game, which allow players to use this spell on enemies and instantly knock them unconcsious, but looking at the intended uses for this spell, it is nowhere near as strong as the version in DnD.
3
Gust Of Wind’s Change To An Instantaneous Spell Hurts Its Utility
One Case Where Making A Spell Concentration Would Have Been Better
Concentration is usually viewed as a weakness on a spell’s part, since it means the caster has a chance of losing it when taking damage. But gust of wind is one spell which has likely suffered due to the removal of its concentration component. In DnD, the spell creates a continuous line of strong wind that emanates from the caster, and can be changed in its direction on their turn. It can be used to delay enemy movement, keep the battlefield clear of certain AOE spells, and even keep objects suspended in the air.
Gust of wind does apply the “off-balance” condition, which it doesn’t in DnD, since that condition was created for the video game; however, the benefits of this condition do not tend to outweigh the effects of controlling enemy movement.
In Baldur’s Gate 3, the spell creates one instance of strong wind in a line, potentially knocking back enemies and instantly clearing out gases in its wake. But the instantaneous nature of the spell makes it very similar to a non-damaging 
. While it can be useful to get rid of cloudkill areas or fog, it is again hindered by its instant nature, since it can only clear one part of an area. All in all, it has very little use in BG3.
2
Charm Person Is Rendered Useless By An Updated Cantrip
This Spell Needed Something More To Make It Stand Out
The thing about 
is that it isn’t a terrible spell when viewed in a vacuum. It grants the caster advantage on charisma checks in dialogue, and if enemies fail the saving throw, they can’t target the caster with their attacks. But the existence of a certain cantrip, friends, makes charm person virtually obsolete.
requires no saving throw and provides advantage on charisma checks in dialogue, working identically to charm person. It can’t be used in combat, but spells like sanctuary and compelled duel are better for shifting enemy aggression anyway, since they have a better chance of taking effect. Put simply, there is almost never a reason to cast a first-level spell when a cantrip will accomplish the exact same thing.
1
Seeming Is Woefully Underpowered For A Fifth-Level Spell
A Powerful Incantation With Hardly Any Uses
There are a number of problems with the spell 
in BG3, but it is useful in many circumstances. It can’t make your characters resemble any specific people, as it can in DnD, but it can change your race, which is useful for certain dialogue interactions, using certain equipment, and speaking to the dead. However, the same cannot be said for the fifth-level spell 
, which works the exact same as disguise self, only it affects the entire party.
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A Baldur’s Gate 3 Clever Trick Can Help Your Companions Equip Better Gear
Baldur’s Gate 3 players are making clever use of an easy spell to help make their gear a lot better than it normally would be without the added magic.
There are maybe one or two times that it could be useful for all four party members to be disguised, but it is definitely not worth it to learn this spell for those cases. Only one party member will usually be in dialogue at a time, so the uses of a disguise in dialogue aren’t helped by this, and it can’t affect summons, so certain creatures in the party may remain themselves. This isn’t the most useless spell in Baldur’s Gate 3, but it’s certainly the least useful for its spell level, and it pales in comparison to the wonders seeming can work in Dungeons & Dragons.
Source: Larian Studios/YouTube (1, 2)
Developed and published by Larian Studios, Baldur’s Gate 3 is an upcoming role-playing game set to release in August of 2023. Players will create a character to embark on a large-scale journey and can do so solo or cooperatively with a friend. Combat is a turn-based style this time around.
- Platform(s)
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PC, macOS, PS5, Xbox Series X
- Released
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August 3, 2023
- Developer(s)
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Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
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Larian Studios
- Number of Players
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1-4
- Local Co-Op Support
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1-2 Players
- Split Screen Orientation
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Vertical Only
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
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