War Domain Cleric Build - War God's Priest - Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)

War Domain Cleric Build - War God's Priest

On most occasions, a War Domain cleric is picked as a dip to get access to War Priest for various martials classes. However, with this build, the goal is to have this cleric subclass as the main one and utilize all of its benefits.

The main idea of this build is to have a solid character that may not be doing the most damage but covers the party and ensures its survivability. The main features will be Spirit Guardians​ and War God's Blessing​ which debuffs enemies and makes it easier to land attacks.

Still, I wanted it to do a bit more and this is where the Paladin's Divine Smite​ will come in, allowing you to combo the normal attack with War Priest​ for 2 powerful attacks, when you have a free action point. To be fair this allows you to go into a group of enemies with Spirit Guardians​ and later pummel your foes with radiant attacks.

I found this build to fit the perfect playstyle of how I like to play clerics and gives them some powerful combat options on turn 2, when usually they are on "maintenance mode" and just debuffing enemies.

So let's go into the build!

Class Contribution

The build consists of 3 classes and each of them brings plenty of improvements to the overall setup:

9 War Domain Cleric

• Additional bonus action weapon attack with War Priest​. These will recharge each long rest.
• Access to healing and support spells - Mass Healing Word​ and Healing Word.
• Guided Strike​ will help you land attacks and War God's Blessing​ works on allies, which uses a reaction.
• Divine Strike: Radiant​ gives an additional radiant damage bonus when attacking with a weapon.
• Can apply wet status for other casters with Create or Destroy Water, helping to make enemies vulnerable to Lightning and Cold damage.
• Spirit Guardians​ - the ultimate cleric spell, to debuff enemies, making them miss their attacks. To make the most out of it you will need some gear.
• Proficiencies with shields, medium and heavy armor, allowing to improve defensive capabilities further

2 Paladin

• Channel Oath ability, based on the subclass pick - Healing Radiance, Inquisitor's Might, etc.
• Fighting style, to improve combat performance like Defence​.
• The almighty Divine Smite​ greatly improves the weapon damage by using spell slots.

1 Storm Sorcerer

• Provides Constitution Saving Throw proficiency which will help maintain spell concentration.
• Access to Shield, which is an excellent cheap survivability boost if the situation demands it. The +5 Armour Class is a huge boon, allowing you to avoid deadly attacks.
• Access to a variety of cantrips like Friends, which are especially useful if you are the main character, as you can win over some of the dialogues with low charisma.
• Unique Storm Sorcerer feature - Tempestuous Magic, giving a huge boost in mobility.

Leveling Overview

Here is a concise table with all the main picks during your leveling progression. For more detailed reasoning, I go further in the article. Also, do not forget to check the recommended gear as it is crucial.

Level	Class	Selection
1	Cleric 1	Cantrips: Sacred Flame, Thaumaturgy, Guidance​
		Subclass: Knowledge Domain
		Recommended Prepared Spells: Guiding Bolt, Command, Inflict Wounds, Sanctuary, Healing Word​
		Abilities: STR - 8, DEX - 16, CON - 15, INT - 8, WIS - 16, CHA - 10
		Skills: any
2	Cleric 2	-
3	Cleric 3	Recommended Prepared Spells: Lesser Restoration, Enhance Ability, Hold Person, Spiritual Weapon​
4	Cleric 4	Cantrips: Light​
		Feat: Ability Improvement - +1 Wisdom, +1 Constitution
5	Cleric 5	Recommended Prepared Spells: Spirit Guardians, Glyph of Warding, Mass Healing Word​
6	Sorcerer 1	Cantrips: Friends, Minor Illusion, Blade Ward, Mage Hand.
		Spells: Magic Missile, Shield​
		Subclass: Storm Sorcery
7	Respec Character: Level 1 - Sorcerer Level 2 - Paladin Level 3-7 - Cleric	Subclass: Oath of Vengeance or Oath of the Ancients
		Abilities: STR - 8, DEX - 16, CON - 15, INT - 8, WIS - 16, CHA - 10
8	Paladin 2	Fighting Style: Defence​
9	Cleric 6	-
10	Cleric 7	-
11	Cleric 8	Feat: Ability Improvement +2 Wisdom or War Caster: Concentration​
12	Cleric 9	Recommended Prepared Spells: Flame Strike​

Starting the Game - Level 1

This section covers the creation screen and what would go into the best Races, Abilities, and Skills for the War Cleric build. If you have already started playing feel free to do a respec at Withers and follow along. This will make it easy to follow the build step by step.

Races

Picking a race provides various benefits - abilities, dialogue options, looks, etc.

Race	Features	Description
Wood Half-Elf	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Fleet of Foot - your movement speed is increased by 1.5m.	The race picks are very similar, the main difference is weapon proficiencies. However, the cleric subclass will already provide everything that you need. The most important aspect is the increased movement speed that you will need when using Spirit Guardians.
Wood Elf	Elven Weapon Training​ Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Fleet of Foot - your movement speed is increased by 1.5m.
Half-Orc	Savage Attacks​ Relentless Endurance​ Darkvision​	Fits the "war" theme of the build and comes with unique effects to slightly improve the combat capabilities.
Githyanki	Martial Prodigy​	The githyanki race fits the theme of "war". Moreover, it comes with Misty Step​ and other good bonus actions to help in world exploration and combat.
High Half-Elf	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry	The High subraces of elves can be useful as they give access to cantrips like Friends, which are especially good for the main character.
High Elf	Elven Weapon Training​ Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry

Class

Overview
Cleric
Clerics are representatives of the gods they worship, wielding potent divine magic for good or ill.
Features
Spell Slots	These can be used to cast spells and are restored each long rest.
Domain Spells​	Unique spell list accessible based on your cleric subclass.

Cantrips

Cantrips	Description
Sacred Flame​	The main damage cantrip of clerics deals radiant damage. Early in the game, it is underwhelming, due to low Spell Save DC, but later it can be a decent option when you are saving spell slots.
Thaumaturgy​	Especially recommended if you are the main character as it will help with Intimidation checks.
Guidance​	The most important cleric cantrip, which improves various ability rolls, works on yourself and party members.

Subclass

Overview
War Domain
Features
War Priest​	Allows to use War priest charges to attack with bonus action.
Divine Favour​	Gives a bonus of 1d4 radiant damage.
Shield of Faith​	A concentration spell that gives a slight Armour Class boost to improve survivability.

Deity

As the build name implies, I recommend going with Tempus, Bahamut, or Gruumsh. These picks are mostly for roleplaying reasons and will have no impact on the build performance.

Spells

Clerics get plenty of good level-1 spells. You might not have enough slots to equip them all but don't worry, more will be available as you level up. Choose your preferred ones.

Spells	Description
Guiding Bolt​	The main, long-range damage spell for the cleric in the early game.
Create or Destroy Water​	Excellent spell to keep on hand. It can be useful when allies will cast Cold or Lightning spells to double their damage.
Inflict Wounds​	If enemies are close to you, this is the go-to spell, which a strong damage rolls. It can also crit, inflicting even more damage.
Command​	One of the best control spells in the game, if you have a high chance of landing it. What makes it special is that it does not use a concentration slot.
Sanctuary​	Use this spell to make the ally untouchable, for example, if they have low HP, or you want to divert the enemy's attention.
Healing Word​	The best healing spell, due to its cheap cost and ability to revive downed targets without wasting action points. Moreover, later with The Whispering Promise ring you can buff specific allies.
Bless​	This is an excellent spell, however, I would only use it before combat and in the early game. It loses value later on, especially with some excellent items you can get in Act 1 like The Whispering Promise.
Shield of Faith​	Excellent early game spell, that can be used to improve defensive capabilities. I would not use it too much at higher levels as you get better use for concentration slots.

Background

Backgrounds are mostly for role-playing and you can pick whatever you prefer. If you want to optimize, then it would be good to pick backgrounds that are based on your ability points.

Abilities

Now let's take a look at the abilities of the War Cleric build. Correct allocation will allow you to maximize the early gameplay and get good modifier bonuses.

The core mechanic to understand for ability points is that they give "ability modifiers" that apply to various skill checks. For example, Charisma works on Intimidation and persuasion checks. Wisdom on Survival or Animal Handling and so on.

You get a higher ability modifier on even values - 10, 12, 14, etc. So keeping it on odd may be useless. However, there are various +1/2 modifiers in the game, specifically Auntie Ethel Hair or Feats that help round this up.

Ability	Value	Description
Strength	8	Not relevant ability
Dexterity	16 (15+1)	Improves the initiative and Armour class bonus to medium armors.
Constitution	15	The constitution will play a major role in maintaining spell concentration and HP pool. If you will be getting Auntie Ethel's Hair, set this to 14, and put 2 points elsewhere.
Intelligence	8	Irrelevant stat.
Wisdom	17 (15+2)	The main spellcasting ability for clerics. This should be maximized to have success with spells.
Charisma	8	If you set Constitution to 14, you can allocate 2 points here.

Skills and Expertise

Overall, the skills should be impacted by your roleplaying and background decisions. However, you would still want those that will give you the best benefits. My recommendations are to pick those at which you have a high ability modifier and these are Wisdom-related.

• Animal Handling
• Insight
• Medicine
• Perception
• Survival

Leveling Progression - Levels 2-12

Here is the detailed progression for the War Domain Cleric build to get you started. You can use it as a guideline because early games can be daunting and overwhelming. Later on, once you get a feel for the class you can start picking your options.

For the perfect progression of this build, you should do two respecs at levels 6 and 7. However, to simplify progression and to stick to some of my unwritten rules I only go for 1 at level 7, when all the classes can be picked. This fixes some issues with spellcasting modifiers and getting correct saving throw proficiencies.

Level 2

This is where you will have left the tutorial area, and will start exploring the world. 

Action	Description
Turn Undead​	Excellent against undead enemies, making them run away.
Guided Strike​	A great way to ensure you land attacks when attacking with a weapon.

Level 3

At this level the Cleric gets access to Level 2 spells, further expanding the spellbook. Moreover, new always-ready spells are introduced.

Spells	Description
Magic Weapon​	This is a reasonably good spell. However, you will have plenty of Concentration spell options, so this will be left unused most likely.
Spiritual Weapon​	Gives a good use for bonus action. The weapon deals okay damage and can act as a distraction.

Prepared Spells

Spells	Description
Lesser Restoration​	I recommend being aware that you have this spell, as there are situations where it might be useful. It does not have to be always in the prepared spell list.
Warding Bond​	Excellent spell, that you can use to greatly improve the survivability of one of your party members.
Hold Person​	Can be situationally useful, especially if you have an 80%+ chance to land it. It can also shine if you start using the Scorching Ray​ + Hat of Fire Acuity combo.
Enhance Ability​	Almost a mandatory spell to have by someone in the group. This can help with various ability checks and turn the tables to your side.

Level 4

Level 4 brings the first feat, it will be a huge improvement.

Cantrips

Cantrip	Description
Light​	This cantrip will be useful together with the Coruscation Ring or Callous Glow Ring to enable their effects.

Feat

Here you can select from a few choices, based on your playstyle and what kind of playthrough you are doing.

Level 5

This level is a huge milestone, and that is why no multiclassing happened before. Access to level 3 spells makes Tempest Cleric an extremely powerful build.

Feature	Description
Destroy Undead​	When you use Turn Undead, you will also deal bonus radiant damage. I think this is a good addition, but nothing fancy as it has niche uses.

The Tempest Domain subclass also gains special spells:

Spell	Description
Spirit Guardians​	This is one of the strongest cleric spells, that will be your bread and butter throughout the game. It will be used to weaken enemies using the Radiating Orb status effect.
Crusader's Mantle​	Applies a buff that gives a 1d4 radiant damage bonus. This does use a Concentration slot and greatly limits the cleric's combat potential.

Prepared Spells

Now, this is probably the most important section as you will gain some game-changing spells, allowing you to win many encounters.

Spell	Description
Remove Curse​	This can be useful throughout the game in case you or a party member gets cursed.
Glyph of Warding​	You can use this Glyph to apply various damage types and effects. For example - fire, cold, lightning, etc. The main highlight is Sleep, which works on multiple enemies and can outright win you an encounter.
Mass Healing Word​	Using this as a bonus action together with The Whispering Promise will buff all allies with the Bless​ effect.

Level 6 - Sorcerer Lv 1

This level is a stepstone to unlock the full potential of the build. Here are the benefits of Sorcerer:

• (Next level after respec) get proficiency in Constitution Saving Throws. This is important as it allows you to sustain Concentration on spells while being hit.
• Access to defensive spells like Shield.
• Improved mobility after casting spells and using Tempestuous Magic.

To multiclass into another class, use the level-up screen:

Cantrips

Offensive cantrips use Charisma as a spellcasting modifier so you want to avoid those, and only take the utility ones.

Cantrip	Description
Friends​	If you are the main character and do most of the dialogues, this is also a good choice as it gives an advantage during rolls.
Blade Ward​	Can be useful in some situations, where an ally might be in a pinch, and you have no good use for action otherwise.
Minor Illusion​	You can use this cantrip to pull enemies together before an encounter.
Mage Hand​	Can be used to solve some puzzles and overcome obstacles.

Spells

Spells	Description
Shield​	Very good spell that can ensure +5 Armour Class giving a good survivability boost.
Magic Missile​	I recommend this spell. It is not very powerful, but it can be used to specifically hit a foe, with multiple attacks and using Callous Glow Ring apply a lot of Radiating Orbs to weaken its hit chance.

Subclass

Overview
Storm Sorcery
Features
Tempestuous Magic​	After you cast a Level 1 spell or higher you can Fly as a bonus action until the end of your turn without receiving Opportunity Attacks.

Level 7 - Paladin Lv 1 and major Respec

So now the build will need to use 3 different classes, which creates some problems. First, you will want to have level 1 as Sorcerer to ensure you get the Constitution Saving Throw proficiency. Second, there is a need to fix the spellcasting modifier. When casting spells with items (Blood of Lathander, Spell Scrolls). The spellcasting modifier is based on the latest level 1 multiclass you picked.

So you will go to the 1st level - Sorcerer, 2nd - Paladin, and the other 5 levels as Cleric, and pick spells and cantrips, that you picked before. This ensures that items use Wisdom as a spellcasting modifier and you have everything set up correctly.

So for level 1 take Sorcerer:

• Cantrips: Friends, Minor Illusion, Mage Hand, Blade Ward.
• Spells: Magic Missile, Shield​
• Subclass: Storm Sorcerery
• Abilities: STR - 8, DEX - 16, CON - 15, INT - 8, WIS - 17, CHA - 8

Now continuing with Paladin for the second level:

Class

Overview
Paladin
Features
Lay on Hands​	Use your blessed touch to heal a creature or cure it of all diseases and poisons.
Divine Sense​	Gain Advantage on Attack Rolls against celestials, fiends, and undead.
Channel Oath Charges	You gain the ability to channel the power contained in your Paladin Oath, which you can use to fuel certain actions.

Subclass

You can pick Oath of Vengeance or Oath of the Ancients, depending on which unique action you are interested in - Inquisitor's Might​ vs Healing Radiance.

Overview
Oath of Vengeance
Features
Inquisitor's Might​	Improves weapon damage based on spellcasting modifier, but most importantly weapon attacks can daze enemies.
Oath of Vengeance Tenets​	Requirements that you need to meet to uphold the oath.

Now multiclass into Cleric and go through its levels 1-5, with the spell and cantrip picks you did before

Level 8 - Paladin Lv 2

This level will give a few great benefits and further cement the playstyle of this build

Action	Description
Divine Smite​	A very powerful action unique to Paladins. It will allow you to empower weapon attacks at the cost of spell slots. Use it when you need high damage to take out a foe as fast as possible or land a critical hit. Using higher-level spell slots will improve Divine Smite​ damage.

Fighting Style

Style	Description
Defence​	Provides +1 Armour Class, slightly boosting the survivability of the build.

Prepared Spells

To be fair, you can pick anything, sadly none of these will be much of use especially, as the Cleric has a different Spellcasting modifier.

Level 9 - Cleric Lv 6

This level unlocks one of the major features of Nature Cleric:

Feature	Description
War God's Blessing​	An excellent Channel Divinity use that gives improved attack rolls, especially useful for allies that use Great Weapon Master: All In​ or Sharpshooter: All In.

Level 10 - Cleric Lv 7

Level 4 spells are unlocked, also new permanent spells are added:

Spells	Description
Stoneskin​	A good spell, which unfortunately will not be used much due to taking up a Concentration slot.
Freedom of Movement​	Can help allies in a dire situation where their movement becomes limited.

Prepared Spells

Sadly, there is nothing much to recommend. The spells can be situationally good. However, none of them will change the core rotations of War Cleric.

Level 11 - Cleric Lv 8

A new subclass feature is unlocked. Moreover, you can select one more feat.

Feature	Description
Divine Strike: Weapon​	Deal an additional 1d8 weapon damage once per turn. A pretty decent boost.

Feat

Feat	Description
Ability Improvement	+2 Wisdom is the optimal pick here. War Caster: Concentration​ would be relevant if you do not have items with a Concentration Saving Throw advantage.
War Caster: Concentration​	This will help maintain spell concentration while being hit. Some items give the same effect, but these will most likely go to other characters.
Alert​	If you constantly want to go first and avoid any surprise rounds, this feat guarantees that. Great for jumping on enemies with Spirit Guardians​ and weakening them.

Level 12 - Cleric Lv 9

Level 9 gives access to a few additional nature-themed spells and a new list of level 5 prepared options.

Spell	Description
Flame Strike​	Deadly spell that creates a pillar of fire dealing both fire and radiant damage.
Hold Monster​	Situationally useful spell, that can paralyze some of the strongest enemies in the game.

Prepare Spells

Spell	Description
Greater Restoration​	Removes negative status effects, that can be useful in some situations.
Insect Plague​	Can be used to cover an area with insects, making it a Difficult Terrain and inflicting piercing damage.

Maximizing Ability Scores

Now, as the build progression is covered there are a few aspects and important decisions you will have to make throughout the game. These will decide your final score for abilities.

Wisdom

1. 17 Wisdom - the base from character creation.
2. Feat - Ability Improvement - +1 Wisdom.
3. Feat 2 - +2 Wisdom
4. Act 3 - Mirror of Loss - pick +2 Wisdom.

These will allow you to reach 20-22 natural Wisdom, which should be high enough to successfully land most of the spells.

Potions, Elixirs and Consumables

Let's take a look at what consumables you can use to further empower the build.

Potions

These are general consumables, and most of them are activated for a few turns. Potions are separate from Elixirs and can be active together.

Consumable	Description
Potion of Speed	In case you or your other casters have a Concentration spell slot taken and cannot cast Haste, use this potion. It acts similarly, but the effect is just for 3 turns.
Potion of Animal Speaking	Although not something powerful, it is worth stocking up and saving a spell slot.
Potion of Invisibility	Can be used to get a perfect position before the encounter starts or leave the encounter if it comes to worst.
Potion of Angelic Reprieve	Gives a short rest effect and restores level 1 and 2 spell slots. Excellent for restoring some spellslots to use Shield​ or Divine Smite.
Potion of Angelic Slumber	A few can be obtained throughout the game, but most of them are found in Act 3. Gives the effects of long rest, perfect for restoring spell slots.

Elixirs

Unfortunately, only one Elixir can be active at a time. However, the good thing is that they last until a long rest, making them very useful and economical.

Be sure to activate them before combat as otherwise, you will need to use Bonus Action.

Consumable	Description
Elixir of Bloodlust	Very effective elixir that gives another action point if you kill an enemy. I would say this is the best one to use to maximize your output through the turn.
Elixir of Hill Giant Strength	Sets strength value to 21 until the Long Rest. This will enable the Cleric to easily land melee hits with various weapons and compensate for low ability scores. Here is a farming guide for Elixir of Hill Giant Strength
Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength	An upgraded version that is available mostly in Act 3 via crafting or purchasing. Sets Strength to 27, the highest value possible.
Elixir of Battlemage's Power	Gain 3 stacks of Arcane Acuity. I would say this should be the most used elixir for higher spell success.
Elixir of Peerless Focus	Another good choice that allows to better maintain spell Concentration.
Superior Elixir of Arcane Cultivation	Grant's a single level 3 spell slot. Could be useful in case you are preparing for a longer encounter.
Supreme Elixir of Arcane Cultivation	Grant's a single level 4 spell slot. Could be useful in case you are preparing for a longer encounter.
Elixir of Vigilance	For some encounters, you will want to go first. This elixir will ensure that it overcomes even surprise mechanics. However, if you have Alert​ this becomes redundant.

Illithid Powers

This special mechanic in Baldur's Gate 3 allows you to consume tadpoles and unlock special Illithid Powers.

At first, you can only use the base powers. As you move to Act 3, you will be able to unlock the outer ring powers also called Elite.

Illithid Power	Type	Description
Favourable Beginnings	Base	Beneficial power to take as it does not have any costs, and provides only benefits on the first hits with attack rolls.
Luck of the Far Realms​	Base	An easy way to ensure you land critical hits. Works well with the melee hits on War Cleric.
Cull the Weak​	Base	Can help to kill an enemy faster if it is left with a few HP.
Psionic Backlash​	Base	A great way to weaponize your reaction before obtaining Counterspell.
Illithid Expertise​	Elite	Can be used to maximize the effectiveness of charisma-based skills, especially relevant to the main character.
Black Hole​	Elite	Very powerful spell that can be used to pull enemies together. You can then follow up with area-of-effect spells or attacks. In general, it is a very effective action in the hands of any character.
Psionic Dominance​	Elite	Can be used to save yourself from a deadly spell. This is especially relevant as you will have a disadvantage on mental saving throws.
Freecast​	Elite	Remove the cost of spell slots or charges.
Mind Sanctuary​	Elite	You can now use action and bonus action interchangeably, giving two full spell casts each turn. It's not as important for you, but it will help other casters in the group.

Equipment Recommendations

Now I would like to go through some gear recommendations to maximize the Stormfrost Sage Build. Items are especially important as they take the build to the next level thanks to their unique effects.

Act 1

For most of Act 1, your melee weapon slots will be free, so use anything there.

Slot	Item	Description
Melee (One-Handed)	Blood of Lathander	Extremely good weapon if you do not care about Phalar Aluve unique effects. The Lathander's Light​ effect will help you activate additional debuffs from enemies and make combat easier in Act 2.
	Phalar Aluve	This is one of the best weapons in the game for a supporting class like Cleric. If you can precast its Phalar Aluve: Melody before combat, I recommend using it both to improve companion damage or attack rolls.
	Defender Flail	If you do not care about the unique effects, this is a go-to choice. The bonus Armour Class will help you avoid enemy hits and activate Holy Lance Helm.
Ranged	Bow of Awareness	Gives bonus initiative, allowing one to go earlier in combat.
Shield	Adamantine Shield	It provides a substantial defensive boost by reducing critical hit damage.
	Safeguard Shield	Gives a bonus to saving throws, easily accessible early in the game.
Head	Holy Lance Helm	A solid helmet that will deal 1d4 radiant damage if the enemy misses you. Moreover, it will also activate any reverbation effects from Gloves of Belligerent Skies.
	Haste Helm	Improves movement speed, allowing one to reach important targets easily, early in the game.
Cloak	-	Nothing relevant for the build
Armor	Luminous Armour	This is the best armor for the whole game.
Gloves	Gloves of Belligerent Skies	One of the best gloves for builds that apply status effects via various damage sources. This will create Reverbation, increasing the chance of making the enemy Prone.
	Hellrider's Pride	Defensive gloves that give damage resistance to those that the Cleric heals. Perfect combo to be used with Healing Word​/Mass Healing Word​ + The Whispering Promise.
Boots	Boots of Stormy Clamour	The best boots in terms of offensive damage. They will give Reverbation stacks when you apply status effects, for example, Spirit Guardians.
	Disintegrating Night Walkers	One of the best boots, giving a total advantage for movement on difficult surfaces. It also gives Misty Step​ to increase that mobility.
	Boots of Speed	Excellent boots that improve movement capabilities, especially useful when you are running around with Spirit Guardians​ active.
Amulet	Amulet of Restoration	The best cleric amulet early in the game. Use the spells together with The Whispering Promise to apply buffs on your allies.
Rings	The Whispering Promise	The best ring for a cleric early in the game. This will apply Bless​ to allies when you use a healing spell like the Mass Healing Word.
	Crusher's Ring	Excellent ring that will allow you to move around more. This is especially useful before you obtain Tempestuous Magic​ from Sorcerer dip.
	Ring of Protection	The bonus Armour Class is a great boost for survivability.

Act 2 - mid-game

So once you unlock Paladin multiclass, the build can now effectively land melee hits. However, there are some issues. Overall you have a decent Dexterity of 16. Finesse weapons like Phalar Aluve can be used with this ability and get a decent hit chance.

However, for weapons like Blood of Lathander you will need high strength. You can, of course, shuffle around with ability points, decrease Dexterity, and call it a day. But in that case, the build loses a lot of potential and I would rather recommend using Elixir of Hill Giant Strength. This will set the strength to 21.

With hit chance fixed you can then land successful hits with Divine Smite​ and greatly improve the cleric damage output.

Slot	Item	Description
Melee (One-Handed)	Blood of Lathander	The weapon is a perfect pick, if you are okay with using Elixir of Hill Giant Strength.
	Phalar Aluve	Use this weapon if you do not plan on using the Elixir of Hill Giant Strength to improve the hit chance.
Ranged	Bow of Awareness	Still the best bow, as initiative plays a vital role for Light Cleric.
Shield	Ketheric's Shield	The best shield for casters as it gives +1 Spell Save DC, increasing spell success.
	Sentinel Shield	What makes this shield amazing is that by wearing it you will be going first most of the time during encounters. This is a great way to apply Radiating Orb and Reverbation on enemies using Spirit Guardians.
Head	Fistbreaker Helm	Adds +1 Spell Save DC improving spell success.
Cloak	Thunderskin Cloak	Because most of the enemies you come across will have Reverbation this cloak will further help to weaken those foes.
	Cloak of Protection	Improves survivability and Saving Throw success. You want to equip this cloak to maintain that good Armour Class.
Armor	Luminous Armour	The best armor for clerics using Radiant damage.
Gloves	Gloves of Belligerent Skies	Stil the best gloves for the Nature Cleric.
	Luminous Gloves	Alternative option, that will add 2 more Radiating Orb stacks as you inflict damage.
Boots	Boots of Stormy Clamour	Still the best boots in terms of applying various conditions.
Amulet	Amulet of the Harpers	Allows casting a Shield​ spell, and can be a lifesaver if attacked heavily for one turn.
Rings	Callous Glow Ring	The ring's bonus radiant damage will help activate Gloves of Belligerent Skies and get more Reverbation stacks.
	The Whispering Promise	The best ring for a cleric early in the game. This will apply Bless​ to allies when you use a healing spell like the Mass Healing Word.
	Coruscation Ring	This will help with building Radiating Orb stacks. However, with all the effects you will be applying, this might be overkill as you will already be proccing Luminous Armour.
	Ring of Mental Inhibition	Excellent ring that can be used to apply Mental Fatigue from failed Saving Throws against your spells.
	Ring of Spiteful Thunder	Adds another Dazed effect that can be procced after 5 Reverbation stacks are activated and Thunder damage gets applied.

Act 3 - Final Build setup

This is the last act of the game, where you will get access to the most powerful items. To get them as early as possible you will need some planning, but overall, it should not be a problem.

Slot	Item	Description
Melee (One-Handed)	The Sacred Star	An interesting weapon that applies Radiating Orb on a hit. It's not better than other options, but definitely an alternative if you want to try out something new.
	-	Weapons from previous acts.
Ranged	Hellrider Longbow	The bonus initiative is an excellent boost to go early in combat. If it is not a surprise round, it is almost guaranteed.
	Gontr Mael	Can be used to cast Haste.
Shield	Viconia's Walking Fortress	One of the best shields in the game. Overall, it serves more of a defensive role giving advantages on Spell Saving Throws.
	Ketheric's Shield	The best shield for casters as it gives +1 Spell Save DC, increasing spell success.
Head	Hood of the Weave	One of the best headwear for spellcasters, giving +2 Spell Save DC. This can be contested by other casters as it is in high demand.
Cloak	Cloak of The Weave	Improves Spell Save DC. However, the main caveat is that this cloak is in demand by all casters.
	Cloak of Displacement	Provides an increased chance of avoiding enemy attacks with attack rolls.
Armor	Luminous Armour	Still the best armor in the game for cleric build.
Gloves	The Reviving Hands	Gloves for buffing allies with healing spells.
	-	Reuse the same gloves from previous acts.
Boots	-	Reuse the same boots from previous acts.
Amulet	Amulet of The Devout	Provides +2 Spell Save DC. However, it is better used on Cleric to get the bonus Channel Divinity charge.
	Spellcrux Amulet	Allows restoring any level of spell slot.
	Fey Semblance Amulet	An excellent amulet to improve the rolls against mental saving throws.
	Khalid's Gift	It can be used to get the Aid​ spell and increase Wisdom by 1.
Rings	Ring of Feywild Sparks	A somewhat overlooked ring, but it gives +1 Spell Save DC. It can help land that initial spell.
	-	Rings from previous acts

Build Mechanics

In this section, I would like to dive deep into how to play the War Domain Cleric Build. This will help you utilize it to the fullest and correctly use various actions and spells throughout the game.

Important Mechanics and Combos

Let's go through key mechanics and tips on how to use the build effectively.

War Domain Cleric support

The War Domain subclass comes with a decent Channel Divinity that can help both yourself and the allies. The first one you obtain is Guided Strike. It is fairly decent and will help you to land that crucial strike when you are about to finish off a foe.

At level 6 War Cleric you obtain War God's Blessing​ which is an upgraded version, that can now help allies to land their hits. This is especially useful when you have other martials with Sharpshooter: All In​ or Great Weapon Master: All In​ which receive a penalty to attack rolls but hit like a truck.

In addition to this, you gain Divine Strike: Weapon​ which slightly boosts your weapon damage and is an overall great addition once per turn.

Healing and Buffs

The main misunderstanding about clerics is that people assume they should only be healing and supporting. However, this is far from the truth. In general, the best healing mechanic is just throwing potions, which is efficient, and cheap in comparison.

Overall, healing should be limited and in my opinion, used sparingly. My recommended spells are Healing Word​ and Mass Healing Word. These are cheap to use and cost only bonus action, which does not interfere with your important spells that will be covered later.

However, the major highlight is that those healing spells activate The Whispering Promise ring buffing your allies. This is very valuable early in the game, so that your party has a higher hit chance, making combat easier.

In addition, there are other items that you can use - Hellrider's Pride or The Reviving Hands later in the game with more defensive bonuses.

Spirit Guardians - Cleric's bread and butter

So the most important spell for Cleric is Spirit Guardians. With the correct gear that I recommend each enemy you touch, will apply various status effects like Reverbation, Prone, and Radiating Orb.

So you are like a running Beyblade damaging everything that you touch and also weakening their combat potential. Just remember the core items to make this work - Luminous Armour, Boots of Stormy Clamour, and Gloves of Belligerent Skies. There are some other options, but overall these are the best picks.

So the idea is to run around and have as many as possible enemies touched by your light. However, this might be limiting in some cases, where enemies might be on higher ground or behind covers. This is where the next step comes in...

Tempestuous Flight

Taking a level 1 dip into Sorcerer unlocked one of the features that will greatly improve Light cleric mobility - Tempestuous Magic. This will allow you to fly at the cost of bonus action, not use movement speed, and avoid opportunity attacks.

While flying any enemies you touch with Spirit Guardians, will be affected by it. This is an excellent way to spread Radiating Orbs and debuff most of the enemies in the combat zone.

Reverbation and status effects

The main highlight of the Light Cleric build is the sheer amount of status effects that you will be applying - Reverbation, Prone, Radiating Orb, Daze, etc. This can greatly weaken foes and make them harmless to your group.

The main highlight in my opinion is Reverbation. This at first weakens enemy strength, dexterity, and constitution saving throw proficiencies. As it stacks to 5, the enemy will get damaged with 1d4 thunder. This is finished by making the enemy prone if they fail a saving throw.

Once the enemy is prone they are easy pickings for your melee characters and waste their precious movement speed to stand up. To get these effects consistently be sure to use Boots of Stormy Clamour and Gloves of Belligerent Skies.

Divine Smite usage

The key aspect of any build that involves 2 levels of Paladin is Divine Smite. It is one of the coolest actions punishing your targets with a ray of light. To use it effectively there are a few tips that I have.

First, update your reactions and make sure the Divine Smite​ has a reaction on critical hit and asks you to use it:

This way you will not waste your time with unnecessary popups and can use it when needed. For example, using a critical hit Divine Smite​ on a weak foe with a few HP will feel like a waste. However, you still might want to use it on the boss even if it has few HP to finish them off.

Here are a few tips to boost Divine Smite​ damage:

• Use it on Undeads and Fiends. This gives an additional 1d8 damage roll, boosting the possible damage.
• Hit paralyzed enemies from spells like Hold Person​/Hold Monster. This guarantees a critical hit and results in double dice rolls, giving a huge damage boost.

If you want to use the normal smite, just activate it from the quick bar by selecting Divine Smite​ action. It also synergizes well with Luminous Armour for a Radiant Shockwave effect, so you apply more Radiating Orbs.

Early Game Combat

Let's cover how you should progress combat levels 1-6.

• For early encounters use normal spells like Guiding Bolt and, Inflict Wounds. To save spell slots I would prioritize Produce Flame​ followed by Sacred Flame​ to inflict damage
• If you can use Bless​ to buff allies before combat. Once you get The Whispering Promise, you can forgo the spell and use Healing Word​ or Mass Healing Word​ to buff your allies.
• Create or Destroy Water​ is an excellent spell if you have other casters that use Cold or Lightning spells.
• Once you obtain Spirit Guardians​ use these to run around the battlefield and debuff the enemies. Check the equipment section for the items that work the best with it.
• Your bonus action has plenty of uses. The already mentioned healing spells, but you can also summon Spiritual Weapon, which can deal additional damage and distract foes.
• Glyph of Warding​ can be used to put enemies to sleep without a Concentration slot. It is excellent if you see a few of them grouped up.
• If things are turning for the worse, you can always use Sanctuary​ to save an ally or use it to flee combat.

Mid to Late Game Combat

This is where you will get access to all the classes and can use the build to its full potential.

• Spirit Guardians​ are still your bread and butter for most of the combat encounters. You want to weaken most of the enemies before they get their turn.
• Flame Strike​ is an excellent spell when you just want to dish out damage, especially on the second turn, once you have prepared everything and weakened foes.
• War God's Blessing​ is a powerful tool to help allies land their hits, especially if the enemy is close to dying.
• To dish out good melee damage use Divine Smite​ with Guided Strike​ to guarantee a hit. I do recommend this when you want to make sure that the enemy dies when they are on low HP.

So what's my favorite rotation? Here is how I mostly enter combat:

1. If you can, do some prebuffing, like Phalar Aluve or Healing Word​ + The Whispering Promise, before a combat encounter.
2. Start combat and activate Spirit Guardians.
3. If enemies are close just run to them, if they are further away cast Tempestuous Magic​. This allows them to move between enemy groups to make sure that Spirit Guardians​ hit everyone. Otherwise, you can cast something like Spiritual Weapon​ to help.
4. On the second turn, you can cast a spell or hit using a melee weapon and Divine Smite​ for bonus damage.
5. Run around enemies and reactivate Spirit Guardians​ for more Radiant Orbs and damage.
6. Using the War Priest​ effect you can attack with bonus action for additional attack.

Build Variations

Here are some variations that work similarly and utilize the same classes at their core.

Setup	Description
10 War Domain Cleric 2 Paladin	A slightly simpler version of the build. This does lose you Storm Sorcerer, but you gain Divine Intervention​. This is a very powerful spell on Honour Mode, that can be used a single time per game. You can still change to 9 War Cleric/1 Storm Sorc after you use it.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading the War Domain Cleric Build - War God's Priest for Baldur's Gate 3. I hope this gives you inspiration on how to well utilize the subclass and play it together with Paladin for the best effectiveness. All of the class picks enhance the core of the build and make it a late game powerhouse.

Cheers!