Best Class Respec Options For The Baldur’s Gate 3 Companions

All the companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 already have the perfect classes picked out for them, personality and backstory-wise. However, with the game being out for so long, it’s understandable that many players want to see some change in their campaigns. One way they can do this is to respec their party members, and changing their classes will provide a radical shakeup.

If you’re bored with your current party set-up and want to change your companions’ classes and stats to something that won’t be too jarring alongside their stories, here are a few suggestions outside their default builds. For more minor adjustments, subclass alterations can also be nice, but choosing a new class entirely will make for a fresher campaign experience.

Astarion

He Deserves His Charisma Back

It would be fantastic to see Astarion as a College of Glamour bard. Many people assumed he was going to be a bard over a rogue in the early developments of BG3, and it certainly wouldn’t feel out of place to see Astarion utilizing the typical bardish charm to seduce someone, or using Vicious Mockery to its fullest extent.

We see lots of examples of Astarion’s charisma in action, but his default score in the game is actually quite low, so he would definitely fit that of a charisma-based class instead of a rogue. You could even respec him to be a College of Swords bard if you still want to keep him as a martial fighter.

Another powerful subclass that also matches with Astarion’s backstory is the Gloomstalker Ranger, especially if you decide to keep him as a spawn. It’s quite a befitting class for a vampire who has to stick to the shadows to pick off their enemies – or victims. Since none of Baldur’s Gate 3‘s Origin characters are rangers by default, it can be nice to have someone lean into the art of the bow.

Gale

He Suits Most Of The Spellcasting Classes

Gale’s story is heavily linked to him being a wizard, but he surprisingly fits the role of many other classes. You can really take your pick of any other spellcaster and flavor it accordingly. Trying to make him a martial character, however, will result in a more dissonant experience.

Though it feels silly to imagine Gale as a sorcerer, given the banter he can often have with custom sorcerers, one subclass fits him quite well – the Shadow Magic sorcerer from Patch 8.

Gale can interact with the Shadow weave in Act Two, and is slightly implied to have had innate magical abilities as a child, which could be read as him having some sorcerous abilities. A campaign where Gale defies Mystra and decides to focus on channeling this power instead could be an interesting concept.

Gale could also be interpreted as a College of Lore bard. He’s always happy to dramatically retell the stories of Karus as well as his own misadventures, and having a romantic history with a goddess feels like stereotypical bard activity.

Another class that a lot of players could probably see Gale as is a Knowledge Domain cleric of Mystra, but that’s likely the most obvious choice. You could also reimagine their dynamic with Gale as a warlock, though none of the available warlock subclasses perfectly describe Mystra.

Halsin

There’s More Than One Way For Halsin To Channel His Bear Energy

Halsin’s bear form is a large part of his character, but he’ll still retain his bear wildshape if he changes class. There’s a theory that he may even be a werebear, as he often transforms due to great emotion, which isn’t typical of his other wildshape forms or druids in general.

The Wildheart barbarian with a bear bestial heart might be the second-best choice for Halsin. If you’d like to consider him to be a werebear in the same way I do, you could decide to flavor his rage as his bear characteristics peeking through.

Barbarians are a strength-focused class, which seems to be more appropriate for Halsin when it comes to immersion compared to his default strength of 10.

Jaheira

She Feels Incomplete With Only Levels In Druid

In the original Baldur’s Gate games, Jaheira was a fighter/druid multiclass. In Baldur’s Gate 3, however, her fighter background gets pushed to the side in BG3, and she’ll join your party as a full druid.

If you want to reclass her in a way that will fit her character, giving her some levels in fighter with the Two-Weapon Fighting passive can help restore her former glory and allow her to effectively use her twin scimitars. There isn’t an obvious option for her subclass due to her original build following different rules to DnD 5e, but I think Battle Master suits her the best.

If you choose not to take Jaheira in a fighter direction, other martial classes like monk, rogue, or ranger can fit her perfectly well. Magic-focused classes besides druid, on the other hand, stray a bit further from her basic nature.

Karlach

Righteous Anger Sounds Like A Certain Paladin Subclass

According to BG3’s second anniversary statistics shared by Larian, Karlach is often respecced into an Oath of Vengeance paladin by players, which works surprisingly well for her.

Though it’s hard to see Karlach acting particularly “holy,” it’s undeniable that her anger is born of righteousness. The first thing you have to do in a companion quest is take her to enact vengeance on the fake paladins of Tyr, and you could definitely flavor her grudge against Gortash as an unbreakable oath to tear him down and save the city of Baldur’s Gate.

Of course, following a Paladin oath will place certain limits on Karlach, as even companions can break oaths in Baldur’s Gate 3. Simply being present for some misfit behavior on the party’s part isn’t a problem, but if Karlach does anything directly herself that contradicts the Oath of Vengeance, she could land in a more complicated situation.

Lae’zel

Too Focused To Be A Barbarian, But Not A Righteous Paladin

Lae’zel is probably the trickiest companion to class outside her canonical build, but such a determined and disciplined warrior might suit the monk class the best. Players will often see her practicing martial arts in camp, so this can give you the chance to see her efforts truly come to fruition.

It’s difficult to see her as anything but a martial fighter, but she’s definitely too meticulous to be a barbarian. She could work as a paladin of Vlaakith, but if you plan to side with Orpheus, then this falls a bit flat from a narrative perspective if you don’t want to become an Oathbreaker.

You’ll probably want to keep a few levels of fighter to make the most of all the githyanki-specific items in the crèche, but a full monk build can be very powerful as well.

Minsc

Play Minsc With His Canonical Strength

Barbarian seems the obvious choice for Minsc – he has been around since the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons, and was essentially a barbarian before the core class even existed. His status as a ranger in Baldur’s Gate 3 sticks to his official history, but it’s arguably a less accurate representation of his nature than a barbarian would be.

Minsc is repeatedly shown to possess almost inhuman strength and can fly into a blind rage. He’s introduced in BG3 punching through walls, so it feels odd that he starts with a measly 12 strength.

Though it’s typically rangers that have animal companions, Minsc is able to summon Boo no matter what he has been respecced to. The Berserker subclass is perfect for him, since he already refers to himself as a berserker in regard to his role back in Rashemen.

Minthara

Clerics Don’t Have To Be Soft

A lesser-known fact is that Minthara was originally a cleric before her class was changed to a paladin in an early access patch. You can actually see a glimpse of this in the fact that her default weapon, Xyanyde, is a mace, which is something more commonly wielded by clerics.

This change was likely made because most players will have Shadowheart stay in their party, no matter if they raid the Emerald Grove or not. Minthara makes a lot of sense as an Oathbreaker paladin as opposed to a Vengeance paladin, given how she has disgraced multiple deities, but respeccing her to a war domain cleric fits her well and pays homage to her original concept.

This can be an especially good choice if you don’t plan on keeping Shadowheart around, or if you embrace the idea of swapping Shadowheart’s class as well.

Shadowheart

The Most Respecced Companion – For Good Reason

As a Selûnite, the way to respec Shadowheart is quite obvious – it’s no surprise why a large portion of players switch her domain from Trickery to Life, as the latter provides some of the best healing in the game, and Shadowheart is often the party’s designated healer. Shadowheart could explore more of her softer side when rediscovering her Selûnite roots, which may extend to her powers.

The Light domain is also a great choice for any Selûnite character – it may not provide the same healing benefits, but it does allow you to deal some intense fire damage, and the “light” element makes the most sense for a cleric of Selûne.

As a Sharran, the Death Domain is an obvious option. However, when she becomes a Dark Justiciar, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to see her as a War Domain cleric or even a paladin to suit her new armor and weapons. You could even respec her to be a warlock if you want to move away from her being a support-based character, as the balance of Baldur’s Gate 3 often tends to favor an offensive approach.

Wyll

The Only Companion To Have A Canonical Class Change

Wyll being a warlock is central to his character, and it’s difficult to assign him any other subclass, with his story having a heavy focus on the Hells, Mizora, and his friendship with Karlach. He certainly isn’t happy about his predicament, though.

If Wyll breaks his pact by the end of the game, he’ll focus his battle prowess elsewhere and become a ranger. He appears to be a Beastmaster ranger specifically, as he’ll mention his new wolf companion, Lily. You could somewhat recreate this in-game, even if the character of Lily isn’t actually present in the way that Minsc has his companion Boo.

I’d be inclined to believe that he could’ve become a College of Swords bard had he never encountered Mizora due to his love of dance and storytelling, though his sense of justice and righteousness could also justify him having a few levels in paladin, perhaps with the Oath of the Crown. Paladin/Warlock is already one of the most powerful multiclasses in Baldur’s Gate 3, so it wouldn’t be a bad way to give Wyll a new suite of abilities.