Shadowheart is a particularly endearing companion in Baldur’s Gate 3. Discover the best build for the essential Cleric of Shar.
Very early in the adventure of Baldur’s Gate 3, you will meet the mysterious Shadowheart. This half-elf Cleric hides many secrets, and carries with her an artifact with strange powers.
If, like many players, you have chosen to trust Shadowheart and integrate her into your group of adventurers, it is better to know how to make the Cleric as effective as possible, with a build perfectly suited to her class and your needs.
In this guide, we explain in detail how to make a powerful healing build that will make Shadowheart a key part of your team, in combat, but also during your dialogues and exploration phases.
Summary:
- The best subclass (domain) for Shadowheart
- Best features for Shadowheart
- The best spells and cantrips for Shadowheart
- The best donations for Shadowheart
- The best equipment for Shadowheart
- Shadowheart build progress
- Tips and tricks
The best subclass (domain) for Shadowheart
When you recruit Shadowheart as a companion or select her as an origin character, the latter is a Cleric of the Domain of Cunning.
In order to make Shadowheart an effective healer, we advise you to respec her as quickly as possible, and to choose the Domain of Life. This subclass has access to excellent healing spells, divine channeling in the form of a huge AoE heal, and a passive to buff all of your healing.
If you don’t know how to change Shadowheart’s subclass, we invite you to consult our respec guide in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Best features for Shadowheart
A healing Cleric must have characteristics perfectly suited to his role, namely healing as much as possible, hitting his control spells, maintaining concentration and surviving as much as possible. Here are the features you will need:
- Wisdom (16 at level 1): This is the Cleric’s spellcasting characteristic. Wisdom improves the hit chance of your offensive and control spells and increases the value of your healing. In addition, it is also the stat that influences the bonuses of certain important skills like Perception and Survival.
- Constitution (16 at level 1): This characteristic is essential for all characters, since it considerably increases the maximum Life Points. Additionally, you will be required to make a Constitution saving throw to maintain your Concentration spells when you take damage. As a Life Domain Cleric, you will use a lot of spells with Concentration.
- Dexterity (14 at level 1): We enter the secondary characteristics with Dexterity. The main interest of this stat is the initiative bonus it gives. To get Shadowheart to buff your team at the start of the fight, it’s best to try to get her into play as early as possible. Dexterity will also help you avoid damaging spells, and increase your Armor Class at the start of the game, until you find good Heavy Armor.
- Strength (10 at level 1): A characteristic that is not very useful for a Cleric. However, it allows you to increase the jumping distance and the portable charge.
- Charisma (10 at level 1): If you do not want to regularly use Shadowheart Spirit during your dialogues, 10 Charisma is more than enough. If she is the face of your group, do not hesitate to increase Charisma to 12 or 14 by lowering Dexterity.
- Intelligence (8 at level 1): Your stat dump should be Intelligence. This is the least used characteristic during saving throws, and it is also not linked to essential skills.
The best skills
- History and Medicine if you don’t plan to use Shadowheart for your dialogues
- Story and Persuasion if you plan to use Shadowheart for your dialogues
The best spells and cantrips for Shadowheart
The best cantrips
Two cantrips really stand out among the Cleric’s list of cantrips:
- Assistance: An essential buff giving the target a 1d4 bonus to all ability checks. This is the ultimate cantrip to spam all your dialogue.
- Resistance: The equivalent of Assist, but for saving throws. The latter will sometimes be useful to you in dialogue, although this remains quite rare.
The other Cleric cantrips are pretty mediocre. Shadowheart doesn’t really need Holy Flame since his race gives him Fire Bolt which is a better damage cantrip. Thaumaturgy can only be used on the launcher and is therefore of little use if you do not use Shadowheart for your dialogues. Light can occasionally be used in dark areas.
The best spells
You will unlock many Cleric spells as you progress in Baldur’s Gate 3. Here are the most important ones for your Healing Cleric build:
- Healing Word (level 1 spell): A must-have, allowing you to heal from a long distance for a Bonus Action
- Blessing (level 1 spell): An excellent buff spell, to apply to your entire team at the start of combat. It increases attack and saving throws
- Tracing Ray (level 1 spell): The Cleric’s main damage spell heals for many levels
- Humanoid immobilization (level 2 spell): This powerful control spell has the only drawback of only working against humanoids. Casting at a higher level allows you to affect multiple targets
- Group Healing Word (level 3 spell): A group healing costing only a small Bonus Action. If its healing is minor, the group Healing Word becomes overpowering with a build increasing the healing
- Group Heal (level 5 spell): A huge heal for all your allies in a large area. If it costs an Action, this spell can prove crucial in getting your team back on its feet
- Pillar of Flames (level 5 spell): Even a Healing Cleric sometimes wants to atomize a group of enemies. When the mood strikes you, Pillar of Flames is your best ally
- Feast of Heroes (level 6 spell): Your single level 6 spell point should often be used to cast Feast of Heroes. This spell offers significant buffs to the entire team until the next long rest.
The best donations for Shadowheart
If you choose to make Shadowheart a pure Life Domain Cleric, you will be able to choose a feat at level 4, 8, and 12. Here are the best feats for this build:
- War Mage: This gift allows you to use Electric Grip as an attack of opportunity, but also and above all to benefit from an advantage on saving throws to maintain your Concentration. As support, Shadowheart will abuse powerful Focus spells like Blessing or Humanoid Control. Ensuring that your Concentration will be maintained is therefore essential.
- Gift to choose at level 4
- Characteristic Improvement (Wisdom +2): Improving your wisdom has many benefits as part of a Healing Cleric build. Wisdom improves your healing, increases the chance that your control spells will succeed, boosts key skills like Perception and Survival, and allows you to resist many very common spells.
- Gift to choose at level 8 and level 12
The best equipment for Shadowheart
As a support character, Shadowheart does not seek to do maximum damage, and can therefore direct his equipment towards powerful utility effects.
First, you should equip Heavy Armor, or even Intermediate Armor since your 14 Dexterity allows you to benefit from the +2 bonus to armor class.
Since your weapon damage is of little importance, opt for a one-handed weapon with interesting effects, and equip a shield in your free hand.
Accumulate as much healing-boosting equipment as possible. Anything that allows you to heal more or apply beneficial effects to your team is good to take.
Shadowheart build progress
Now that you have understood the components of a good Lore of Life Cleric build for Shadowheart, here is a progression guide to help you choose your spells and feats at each level gained in Baldur’s Gate 3.
| Level | Class | Progression |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleric 1 | Subclass: Domain of Life – Minor Spells: Assistance, Resistance, Light – Spells: Healing Word, Injunction, Create or Destruct Water, Tracing Ray |
| 2 | Cleric 2 | Spells: Sanctuary |
| 3 | Cleric 3 | Spells: |
| 4 | Cleric 4 | Cantrips: Thaumaturgy – Spells: Silence – Gift: War Mage |
| 5 | Cleric 5 | Spells: |
| 6 | Cleric 6 | Spells: Deliver Curses |
| 7 | Cleric 7 | Spells: Freedom of Movement |
| 8 | Cleric 8 | Spells: Banishment – Gift: Characteristics improvement (Wisdom +2) |
| 9 | Cleric 9 | Spells: Pillar of Flame, Planar Shackle |
| 10 | Cleric 10 | Cantrips: Weapon Protection – Spells: Animation of the Dead |
| 11 | Cleric 11 | Spells: |
| 12 | Cleric 12 | Spells: Healing – Gift: Characteristics improvement (Wisdom +2) |
Tips and tricks
- The Disciple of Life passive (obtained at level 1) significantly improves the effectiveness of healing. Take advantage of this to keep your team alive.
- The Preserve Life class action (obtained at level 2) is an excellent area healer available at low level. Abuse it since you regain your Divine Conduits with each short rest.
- You can only use one Concentration spell at a time. At the start of combat, determine whether it is better to buff your allies (Blessing), use a damaging spell (Guardian Spirits, Blade Barrier), or control an enemy (Humanoid Restraint, Banishment, Planar Restraint).
- Give Shadowheart as much initiative as possible so she can buff your team before your other characters play.
This concludes our guide to playing Shadowheart well in Baldur’s Gate 3. Are you still unsure about your character’s class? Take a look at our tier list of classes in Baldur’s Gate 3.
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