Baldur's Gate 3 has been widely praised by Dungeons and Dragons fans for just how close the RPG feels to playing a D&D campaign. BG3 is set in the Forgotten Realms, an official part of D&D lore, but it brings a lot more than just the lore of Dungeons and Dragons to life – it also adapts the majority of fifth edition D&D races, combat mechanics, and classes for the video game medium.
However, Baldur's Gate 3 is missing a few choices from the official materials for Dungeons and Dragons, most notably the Artificer, and several iconic subclasses that completely revolutionize how each of the standard classes are played. There is one other class – the Blood Hunter – that theoretically could be added to BG3 from spin-off Critical Role materials, too.
The Artificer
The Artificer is one of the most iconic classes in Dungeons and Dragons, but it's not actually a class that's included in the base edition of the fifth edition of the TTRPG. Added with Eberron: Rising from the Last War (and also included in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything), the Artificer is a master of the arcane and of mechanical invention. The class is capable of manipulating objects with magic the same way others may manipulate the elements themselves.
Artificers are often played as engineer or mechanic-type characters, and even have a subclass that lets them create a Steel Defender construct companion. But the class wasn't included in the base edition of Baldur's Gate 3. Larian Studios isn't known for doing DLC, but with the overwhelming success of BG3, some players wonder if the developer may revisit Baldur's Gate and introduce Artificers at the same time.
The Blood Hunter
The Blood Hunter is not an "official" Dungeons and Dragons class. Instead, it's a class that was introduced exclusively for Dungeons and Dragons Beyond as a partnership with the popular D&D show Critical Role. The Blood Hunter is a versatile, hybrid caster who uses enemies' own blood against them with profane magic called Hemocraft.
Because it is only available via Wizards of the Coast's official online D&D service, and because it's uniquely tied to Critical Role, it's unlikely that the Blood Hunter would ever be added to Baldur's Gate 3.
Baldur's Gate 3: Best Wizard Class Build
In Baldur's Gate 3, Wizard builds that take the Evocation subclass will get more damaging spells and prevent themselves from hurting party members.
However, Matthew Mercer – the dungeon master for Critical Role – is also a prominent voice actor, and the voice of none other than Minsc in BG3. If Mercer is already involved in BG3, there's the slimmest chance that the Blood Hunter might make it to BG3 eventually. Until then, players can only wait for a dedicated modder to bring this unique class to life.
Major Expansions To Existing Classes
The fact that Baldur's Gate 3 was able to adapt 12 of the 13 official Dungeons and Dragons classes – alongside most of their official standard subclasses – is impressive. There's a lot of variety to the game and how players can take on its expansive world, but it doesn't feature a complete, one-for-one recreation of official D&D classes and subclasses.
Baldur's Gate 3: Things To Do After Beating The Game
After beating Baldur's Gate 3, the adventure has only really just begun – aside from starting a new playthrough, there's still plenty to do.
In fact the number of missing subclasses, including those added in additional official materials, rivals the number of subclasses that did make it into the game. D&D subclasses that didn't make it into BG3 include:
- Bard – College of Glamour, Eloquence, & Creation
- Barbarian – Path of the Totem Warrior, Ancestral Guardian, Beast, & Zealot
- Cleric – Death, Forge, Grave, & Twilight Domains
- Druid – Circle of the Stars, Dreams, & Shepherd
- Fighter – Arcane Archer, Cavalier, Psi Warrior, & Samurai
- Monk – Way of Mercy, Astral Self, Drunken Master, & Sun Soul
- Paladin – Oath of Conquest, Glory, Redemption, & The Crown
- Ranger – Fey Wanderer, Monster Slayer, & Swarm Keeper
- Rogue – Inquisitive, Mastermind, Phantom, Soulknife, & Scout
- Sorcerer – Abberant Mind, Clockwork Soul, Divine Soul, & Shadow Magic
- Warlock – The Celestial, Fathomless, Genie, Hexblade, & Undead
- Wizard – Bladesinging, Order of Scribes, & War Magic
It would be a monumental challenge to bring literally everything from Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition and its official expanded volumes into Baldur's Gate 3. Hopefully, in time, Larian Studios may release some expansions to the twelve existing BG3 classes. Until then, players can look to modders to fill in the blanks.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available for PC and PlayStation 5. A version for Xbox Series X|S is currently in development.