„Karlach as a Bard?” Baldur's Gate 3 subreddit discusses best alternate classes for companions

All the companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 come with a default class. Shadowheart is a Cleric, Astarion is a Rogue, and Lae’zel is a Fighter. But, just like how you can change your own class when you talk to Withers at any point in the game, you can also change the class of your companions. You could make Shadowheart into a Monk, Astarion into a Barbarian, and Lae’zel into a Wizard if you wanted to. Today on Reddit, players engaged in a discussion of what they have changed their companions to and what seems to fit best with each of them.

Baldur’s Gate 3 companions are not locked into their default classes, but what else fits?

There are plenty of reasons you might want to change your companion’s classes. For some, like the Reddit user Arthur-reborn, who posted this discussion on the Baldur’s Gate 3 subreddit, it might just be for party balance. In the description of the Reddit post, Arthur-reborn wrote: “…I changed Astarion to a Sorcerer, just because I wanted a magic user and I find Gale grating after a while…” But they also changed Karlach into a Paladin for a different reason: “…because I’ve done [Barbarian] so many times, and it just really fit.” Mixing up the default classes of the companions can give you a fresh experience on a new playthrough or let you experience playing as a class you’ve never tried before.

Talk to Withers and select the option "Can you help me change my class?"Baldur's Gate 3, Developer: Larian Studios

Pulling this off in-game is easier than it sounds. After Withers has joined your camp, simply talk to him to unlock access to the ability to change your class. Select control of the character you want to change, talk to Withers, and select “Can you help me change my class?” Every time you do it, it will cost you 100 gold though. But thankfully, this shouldn’t be too hard to come by. But if you’d like to change every companion’s class, the gold cost could start to add up. Also, don’t worry about stats. Changing your class with Withers also allows you to adjust your stats to match the new class.

If you change Shadowheart to a Monk, her stats change accordingly.Baldur's Gate 3, Developer: Larian Studios

In the top comments, there were some great and unusual choices for the companions' alternative classes. The most popular seemed to be changing Wyll from a Warlock to a Paladin, especially after he forgoes his oath to his fiendish patron and decides not to kill Karlach. Other popular choices were turning Lae’zel into a Paladin, focused on her oath to Vlaakith, though out of all the companions, Lae’zel had the widest variety, with people suggesting Monk, Cleric, Rogue, and Ranger as well. Many people also suggested Paladin for Shadowheart, which fits closely with her Cleric default.

Karlach also received a couple of votes for Paladin, but Fighter was the more commonly suggested option. Bard was a common choice for Astarion, and I didn’t see anyone suggesting a non-magical class for Gale. A Cleric of the Knowledge Domain was the only standout. Perhaps the most unexpected, but oddly interesting choice was one player who suggested Bard for Karlach, arguing: “She loves the circus. I think she would be a Bard if she was ever drafted into the war.” Not everyone agreed with this take, but I can see it being fun to tap into that more warm-hearted, friendly side of Karlach as a supporting role rather than a tank. No pun intended.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is so full of customization options and hidden secrets. I created several Dragonborn characters before I learned there was a simple option in the character creator to make them look so much cooler. One player recently boasted about creating an “untouchable” character with such high armor class that no enemies could land an attack. People are constantly discovering new things about this incredible game, and there’s no shortage of new ways to play and details to discover.

Baldur's Gate 3

August 3, 2023

Rate It!

• Overview
• Guide
• Maps
• Review

• team / companions
• Larian Studios
• Baldur's Gate (franchise)