Best Shadowheart Build - The Maiden of Choice - Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)

The Maiden of Choice - Shadowheart Build

For a pretty long time, I wanted to make a powerful cleric build for Shadowheart. She is one of the "must-have" companions for many people. Moreover, she is a major star both storywise and in character development. So I wanted to make a truly great cleric build specific to her. The build name also somewhat implies her importance to the whole game story, and oh boy, is it impactful!

I also leave the build open to various paths. I do not want to spoil anything, but depending on how you play, you may feel inclined to go with different cleric subclasses, and that's fair. So the core of the build does not depend on the subclass. This will work well with anything, be it Knowledge Domain, Light Domain or even Trickery. This is a flavour that you can choose.

Of course, as always, for cleric build, Spirit Guardians plays a vital role. If you want to avoid this spell, and maybe go for something more unorthodox, check out the Life Cleric Build - Life Fortress, which can also be used by Shadowheart, and takes more of a "Protector" approach.

Another addition is the Druid, this kinda resembles her peculiar relationships with animals, which is one of her weak points. Of course, to also be a strong build, I pick Stars subclass, which enables Starry Form: Dragon, with a very powerful feature set. The main one would be Dazzling Breath and fixed minimum Constitution Saving Throw roll at 10. This might seem like not much, but once you see, that its almost impossible to lose Concentration, you will have no fear standing on the frontlines.

I think this build is perfect for those who want a customizable yet very powerful Shadowheart build

Let's go!

Class Contribution

The build consists mainly of 2 classes:

10 Cleric

The main class of the build:

• Proficiencies in a wide array of armors and weapons.
• Access to support spells like Healing Word, Mass Healing Word, Sanctuary, etc.
• Aid​ to empower the ally's survivability with a solid HP boost each long rest.
• 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.
• A solid list of cantrips - Thaumaturgy, Toll the Dead, etc.
• Divine Intervention - a nice addition for that "oh shit!" moment, once per playthrough

2 Stars Druid

• Enables effective melee weapon hits with Shillelagh.
• Starry Form: Dragon​ gives a huge boost to constitution saving throw rolls, making it very hard for you to lose spell Concentration.
• Dazzling Breath​ - area of effect radiating attack that applies debuffs.

Build Variations

As with all characters, you can set up any kind of build for Shadowheart. So you are not limited to just this one. Let me give you a few examples of other setups:

Setup	Description
Stars Cleric Build 9 Cleric 2 Stars Druid 1 Storm Sorcerer	This is a very similar variation to this build. The main difference is that you get Sorcerer, which you will want to take as a first level (usually via respeccing). Sorcerer gives Tempestuous Magic, Shield, and Constitution Saving Throw proficiency.
6 Cleric 2 Stars Druid 4 Sorcerer	This variation is I would say for more advanced players. We sacrifice higher level spells from Cleric, but instead this unlocks Metamagic. This is an extremely powerful mechanic that has effects like Metamagic: Quickened Spell or Metamagic: Extended Spell. They give very powerful effects that greatly empowers you as a full caster.
Dark Justiciar Build 6 Shadow Monk  6 Cleric	This build is more relevant once you reach a "certain story point" in Act 2, and take a specific decision. Will not spoil anything, but the build uses a key item - Shar's Spear of Evening to create a semi-melee combatant.

Build Overview

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

Leveling

Level	Class	Selection
1	Cleric 1	Cantrips: Sacred Flame, Thaumaturgy, Guidance
		Subclass: Trickery Domain or any other
		Abilities: STR - 8, DEX - 16 (15+1), CON - 14, INT - 8, WIS - 17 (15+2), CHA - 8
		Skills: Medicine, Persuasion, Insight
2	Cleric 2	-
3	Cleric 3	-
4	Cleric 4	Feat: Ability Improvement - +1 Wisdom, +1 Constitution
5	Cleric 5	-
6	Cleric 6	-
7	Druid 1	Cantrips: Shillelagh, Thorn Whip
8	Druid 2	Subclass: Circle of Stars
9	Cleric 7	-
10	Cleric 8	Feat: Ability Improvement +2 Wisd, Magic Initiate: Sorcerer, Alert
11	Cleric 9	-
12	Cleric 10	Cantrips: Any

Gear Choices

Synergy with other builds

This type of build for Shadowheart is very powerful and I think there are only a few limitations where it has negative synergy. One of the core things is that you can switch up the subclasses, depending on what you need or want to roleplay. 

So feel free to use any build you like. I will list out a few options, and caveats that you might like to know, if you really want to utilize the build to the MAX.

Shadow Blade users

So Shadow Blade gives and easy source of Advantage if you are fighting in Lightly Obscured areas. This is a very powerful boost. The main anti synergy is that clerics with Spirit Guardians will apply Radiating Orb which illuminates the area around it. This means that you lose the Advantage.

Is this a big problem? Not really! Shadow Blade does not need feats like Great Weapon Master: All In and Advantage is easily obtained from other sources like Prone, which cleric has an easy way of applying.

So feel free to use those ridiculously overpowered builds like Bladesinger, Eldritch Hexknight, etc.

Lightning/Cold Party

A cleric can easily apply Wet​ on enemies using Create or Destroy Water​ spell. This does impede your own action economy, but opens up your party members for huge damage potential:

• The main highlight would be Land Druid. A very popular variation of it is Thundersnow Herald, which comes with both Cold and Lightning spells for total annihilation.
• Sorcadin with access to Lightning Bolt.
• Many of the Sorcerer and Wizard variations - Storm Sorcerer, Talos Dragonling Build, Cold Sorcerer, Abjuration Wizard, etc.

Melee Builds

A cleric with Spirit Guardians and Dazzling Breath can make enemies harmless to most of the party thanks to the Radiating Orb and Reverberation which results in Prone. So any frontliners, get easy source of Advantage and can easily avoid enemy attacks. Here are a few recommendations of builds that you can use:

• Paladins - Sorcadin, Oathbreaker, Ancients, etc
• Fighters - Eldritch Hexknight, Battlemaster, etc
• Others - Open Hand Monk, Bardadin, Hexblade, etc.

Level 1 - Character Creation

This section covers the creation screen and what would go into the best Races, Abilities, and Skills for the Shadowheart build. If you have already started playing or using this on your companion, feel free to do a respec at Withers and follow along. This will make it easy not to miss out on anything that the build needs.

Races

As this is Shadowheart setup, the race is picked by default:

Race	Features	Description
High Half-Elf	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry	This is the default race, that Shadowheart starts. It is a decent pick and allows choosing an additional cantrip.

High Elf Cantrip

Cantrips	Description
Friends​	This is an excellent pick for the main character as Advantage helps pass dialogue checks. Be careful, when playing on higher difficulties, as when canceled enemies may attack you. So only cancel its effect when you are further away.
Minor Illusion​	This is a very powerful cantrip that can trivialize a lot of encounters. If you have Trickery domain, you can use Channel Divinity: Cloak of Shadows to be invisible and pull enemies together before combat.
Mage Hand​	This summon is useful in some combat encounters as you can make it throw items. Moreover, it can shove foes giving additional offensive action to the group.

Class Choices

This section will cover what class-related choices you should pick for the optimal setup

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​	For now, take this with cleric, later on it can be switched out, once you get Druid multiclass.

Another good option can be Produce Flame as an alternative to Thaumaturgy.

Subclass

This is one of the usual problems for Shadowheart. She starts with Trickery Domain, which people say is usually "the worst". It's not, all cleric subclasses are powerful, and just the core of the cleric class is already a very powerful kit.

Overview
Trickery Domain
Features
Blessing of the Trickster​	Gives an Advantage on stealth checks. It can be useful in some situations but does consume the Concentration slot. Can be used for some early game encounters, but overall loses value as the game goes on.
Charm Person​	Gives an Advantage to charisma checks in dialogues, but overall has limited uses.
Disguise Self​	More of a roleplaying spell that can help avoid various situations or pass racial dialogues. For example, Drows have special choices and an easy way to pass through fights in Act 1.

Of course, if you decide to go with any other cleric subclass, here is short overview of why each of them are attractive. Each of them offers a slightly different spin on the cleric:

Subclass	Description
Light Cleric	A powerful subclass that offers access to a plethora of Fire spells - Scorching Ray, Fireball, etc. It works well with items like Hat of Fire Acuity. Light Cleric also offers Warding Flare,​ which works both on oneself and allies, helping to avoid enemey attacks. Another powerful addition is the area of effect radiant spell - Radiance of the Dawn,​ allowing you to apply all those sweet debuffs in a huge area.
Tempest Cleric	The storm variation offers various features related to lightning and thunder elements. The biggest highlight is Destructive Wrath,​ which deals maximum damage with lightning spells. This can easily be doubled using Wet, making it a cakewalk to eliminate a group of enemies with one spell. You also get Thunderbolt Strike,​ which helps to push enemies around the field. The main highlight is the radiating electrified water, enabled using items like - The Watersparkers + The Sparkswall + Callous Glow Ring.
Death Cleric	A new subclass that offers feature-stacked early levels and, to be fair, a nice flavour of necromancy. Reaper​ is a powerful feature allowing double necrotic cantrip casting. Channel Divinity: Touch of Death​ is a fun and powerful channel divinity to maximize melee attack and Inflict Wounds​ damage. The subclass can also fully utilize necrotic Spirit Guardians​ thanks to the Callous Glow Ring; this way, all the standard revorb gear works. Moreover, all of the necrotic damage ignores resistances thanks to the Inescapable Destruction​ feature.
Nature Cleric	A flavourful and enjoyable subclass with a nature theme. It gets access to plenty of features. From the start, you can be one of the strongest melee hitters thanks to Shillelagh​ + Torch. As you progress and unlock Spike Growth,​ you can create debuffing fields that weaken foes and stop them in their tracks. Dampen Elements​ is a solid reaction, giving elemental damage resistance when needed. All of this is topped off with nice nature spell list - Grasping Vine, Sleet Storm, etc.
Life Cleric	One of the more controversial subclasses. It's goal is to maximize healing, which by itself sounds nice. Sadly, it does drain you of important resources - actions, that can be used to weaken or even kill foes. Still, when the whole party needs healing Preserve Life​ + Blessed Healer​ + Disciple of Life​ does the job in a spectacular way to save the day.
War Cleric	A powerful level 1 dip, but as a full class it has much to ask for. It does serve well as a buffer for your martials with War God's Blessing​, to make sure that an ally hits an enemy, especially useful on Great Weapon Master: All In​ users. Otherwise, it offers all the standard stuff cleric has.
Knowledge Cleric	This is fully roleplay option, that gets a ton of skill proficiencies. Still, it also get's cool control spells - Hold Person​, Confusion​, Slow​, etc. When well used, these can result in easily winning full encounter.
Trickery Cleric	In correct hands, this is a very powerful subclass. You gain 2 actions - Channel Divinity: Cloak of Shadows and Minor Illusion. These can be used to prepare the battlefield, and clump enemies into one place for a powerful area-of-effect attacks - for example, surprise Spirit Guardians. For the early game Invoke Duplicity​ is a very nice tool, which creates a double, which can give an easy Advantage. Other features offer stealth themed actions like Blessing of the Trickster​ or Pass Without Trace​.

Prepare 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, for the very early game, until you obtain The Whispering Promise, which combines well with Healing Word. It loses value later on, so it can be phased out. The boost to attack rolls is significant, making it easier to dispose of enemies.

Background

Backgrounds are mostly for role-playing and you can pick whatever you prefer. However, as Shadowheart, you will start with Acolyte, which cannot be changed.

Abilities

Now, let's take a look at the abilities of the Shadow Sorc build. Correct allocation will allow you to maximise the early gameplay and get good modifier bonuses.

Skill Proficiencies

Overall, the skills should be impacted by your roleplaying and background decisions. However, you would still want those stats which will give you the best benefits. For Shadowheart, there are not many choices, so I would go with these:

• Medicine
• Persuasion
• Insight

Act 1 - Levels 2-6 - Wilderness

By this time, you should have landed on the Ravaged beach already and started exploring the initial area. You might need 1 additional encounter if you did not obtain enough XP in the Nautiloid.

Leveling Progression

Level 2

Action	Description
Turn Undead​	Excellent against undead enemies, making them run away.
Invoke Duplicity​	A useful talent that can draw enemies' attention but also gives an easy way to obtain an Advantage. This will increase the chances of hitting enemies with melee attacks or spells like Inflict Wounds​ which use attack rolls.

Invoke Duplicity to help with attack rolls

One of the core mechanics that Trickery Domain unlocks is Invoke Duplicity​. This is especially useful in the early game if you have melee martials like Fighter or Paladin. The created illusion enables an easy source of Advantage on attack rolls. This also works with Inflict Wounds​ spell which is very powerful in the early game.

It is best to cast before combat (if you know that a combat encounter is coming) and save action points. Then you can attack with an Advantage on the initial turn.

Level 3

Spells	Description
Mirror Image​	A truly powerful spell that can almost guarantee the avoidance of 3 attacks. This is great for improving survivability and maintaining Concentration. I would use this if possible before combat, which saves a full action point.
Pass Without Trace​	This can be used in tandem with other characters to give them a boost to stealth checks. You could pair this with builds like Gloomstalker Assassin, to maximize the "out of combat" ranged damage, before enemies even see you.

There are a few good spells to keep in mind and add/remove them when needed:

Spells	Description
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.
Aid	An excellent spell that gives a flat health boost to all party members, even summons, depending on the spell slot level used. In the late game, this can result in hundreds of additional HP applied to all party members.
Warding Bond​	Excellent spell, that you can use to greatly improve the survivability of one of your party members. However, it does overlap with Hellrider's Pride if you use them.
Hold Person​	Can be situationally useful, especially if you have an 80%+ chance to land it. This then opens up an easy way for Advantage and guaranteed critical hits from the 3-meter range.
Blindness	This is an excellent spell as it does not use Concentration while applying Blinded on enemy, greatly reducing their combat potential.
Spiritual Weapon​	Gives a good use for bonus action. The weapon deals okay damage and can act as a distraction.
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.

Level 4

Cantrips

Cantrip	Description
Produce Flame​	It can be used to light the area around you, but also deals 1d8 fire damage. This is a good cantrip to have on hand, especially if enemies have high Wisdom and Sacred Flame​ has a low chance of hitting.

Here is what I recommend for the feat

Effectively choosing cantrips

One trick that I first missed is correctly choosing which cantrip to use. This is more important early in the game, as later, it's easy to get a high success chance. The idea is that some spells like Bone Chill​ use attack rolls, and Toll the Dead​/Sacred Flame​ target enemy saving throws.

What this means is that enemies that have low armour class are better targets for attack roll spells. However, if the enemy has a low target saving throw stat (Wisdom, Charisma, etc.), you are better off using spells that use Saving throws

As you can see, the difference can be huge. So, try to use the one that is most appropriate against a specific enemy and their stats.

Level 5

This level is a huge milestone, and that is why no multiclassing happened before. Access to level 3 spells makes 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 Trickery Domain subclass also gains special spells:

Spell	Description
Bestow Curse​	Can be used to weaken an enemy. However, it targets only a single foe which makes it a weak option most of the game.
Fear​	A truly powerful control spell that can disarm foes and force them to run away. It has a short range, so you should be close to the foes.

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

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.
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.

Spirit Guardians, the ultimate cleric spell

Now, at level 5, with access to level 3 spell slots you can learn Spirit Guardians. This spell is probably the most powerful one in the cleric spell list, enabling you to trivialize many of the game encounters. The main trick is to pair it with a few items:

• Luminous Armour - can apply multiple Radiating Orb via Radiating Shockwave
• Boots of Stormy Clamour - applies Reverberation on each enemy hit. Might activate only one time, as it can be inconsistent.
• Gloves of Belligerent Skies - another gloves that will give more Reverberation stacks
• Other items

So now you can become a "Radiant lawnmower" which inflicts radiating damage, weakens enemies and makes them harmless. 10 stacks of Radiating Orb is like +10 Armour class. While Reverberation can result in Prone which gives an easy Advantage.

Level 6

This is pretty big for most of cleric subclasses as you get another mainline feature unlocked:

Feature	Description
Channel Divinity: Cloak of Shadows​	As this is bugged, it works even without obscuring. This is a great option to be used in combat, for example, when you need to run away. Or you want to approach enemies and land a spell like Spirit Guardians on top of them.

Gear Recommendations

Gameplay and mechanics

In this section, I would like to cover a few tips on how to use the build and add the main combat steps.

The healing items and heals

The main misunderstanding that people have about clerics, is that they should be concentrating on heals and buffs. Sadly, this is a very inefficient approach to one of the best classes in the game. The problems with healing:

• Generally, enemies will deal more damage with single attack, then the amount you heal
• Healing spells use full action point (there are alternatives, which I will cover below)
• The enemies can still attack the next turn, without being stopped

So more or less, by healing you are hiding a problematic approach to combat strategy, that you should try to find - do you lack initiative? Is the damage lacking? Maybe your party is inefficient?

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 a bonus action, which does not interfere with your important spells.

Of course, this does not mean that healing should not be used.The two mentioned spell pair well these items The Whispering Promise and Hellrider's Pride. Both of them apply Bless and damage resistance, for the affected targets.

So your main action is free, which you can use for spells, and bonus action buffs allies, all in one turn, without limiting your combat potential

The recommended combat loop

• For early encounters, you can use offensive cantrips like Toll the Dead​, Sacred Flame or, if you need more damage, spells like Inflict Wounds​ or Guiding Bolt.
• 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​ instead to buff your allies.
• Create or Destroy Water​ is an excellent spell if you have other casters that use Cold or Lightning spells.
• Use Invoke Duplicity to give an easy Advantage to melee combatants and significantly improve their hit chances.
• If you have a high spell success chance Command can be a gamechanger.
• Use Sanctuary for "oh, shit" moments to either protect yourself or allies.
• I recommend precasting Aid after each long rest. This can help improve the total health pool. Same for Warding Bond which can be applied to one or a few characters. However, it does overlap with Hellrider's Pride if you use them.

From level 5:

• The best option for casting at this stage is radiating Spirit Guardians​ + Luminous Armour + Boots of Stormy Clamour. This allows for easily debuffing multiple enemies.
• Glyph of Warding​ can be used to put enemies to sleep without a Concentration slot. It is excellent if you see a few of the targets grouped up.

Act 1.5 - Level 7 - Rosymorn Monastery

I will assume that you will reach level 7 as you explore the Rosymorn Monastery Trail. It has plenty of stuff to explore and some important story bits. The whole map also contains significant gear that you should be on the lookout for. 

Leveling Progression

Level 7 - Multiclass into Druid Lv 1

So now we take the first multiclass. I think Druid somewhat fits her if we follow along with the story. She has an innate feature of Fear of Wolves. Naturally, one of the ways to try to overcome that is by getting closer to the animals. This is all roleplay speculation, but I leave it for you to decide.

Moreover, Druid comes with a stacked feature set, which will make the build outright more powerful, maybe even too powerful, hehe

So, now in the level-up screen, you can start multiclassing:

Let's go through the Druid choices now:

Overview
Druid
Druids channel the elemental forces of nature and share a deep kinship with animals. Mastery of Wild Shape allows them to transform into beasts from all over the Realms.
Features
Spell Slots	These can be used to cast spells and are restored each long rest.

For Cantrips:

Spells	Description
Shillelagh​	Enables you to effectively use stave weapons using your Wisdom modifier. Although not that important, you might still want to have this cantrip on hand.
Thorn Whip	You can use this to pull enemies toward yourself. With Spirit Guardians active, you can have enemies pulled toward you in case you are not able to reach them.

For prepared spells, there are a few overlaps with Cleric. So, for example, you could mix and match various options, like taking Create or Destroy Water from Druid, so that you could add another spell in the cleric spell list. Here are my recommendations, for Druid:

Spells	Description
Longstrider​	Improves movement speed. It is free to cast outside of combat, and can also be used on allies. One party member should have this spell, and apply it after each long rest.
Enhance Leap​	Enables easier exploration via jumping long distances
Speak with Animals​	A decent utility spell, especially if you forget to stock up on Potion of Animal Speaking.
Thunderwave	You can use this to push enemies from high ground, which can result in instant kills.
Create or Destroy Water	Although you get this from cleric, you can still prepare it from Druid, so the cleric could choose another spell to include.

Gear Recommendations

There are a couple of items that I would take a look here; otherwise, the previous Act ones are already enough

Gameplay and mechanics

The recommended combat loop

No major changes here, you are still mostly relying on the same rotation with Spirit Guardians. It is now even stronger if you start using Gloves of Belligerent Skies, while Holy Lance Helm rewards you with damage reflection and more conditions if avoiding attacks.

So try to provoke enemies with Opportunity Attack.

Act 2 - Level 8-10 - Shadow Lands 

Depending on your choices, you might even reach Act 2 at level 7, so check the previous recommendations. In most cases, people will enter Act 2 via Path to Rosymorn Monastery Trail

Leveling Progression

Level 8 - Druid Lv 2

This is a huge upgrade to the build and this level is stacked with various features:

Overview
Circle of Stars
Features
Wild Shape Charge	Allows you to turn into one of the Starry Form.
Star Map	Gives charges to cast Star Map: Guiding Bolt, which does not consume a spell slot.
Starry Form​	Unlocks new forms that each give different actions or bonuses. The most important one here is Starry Form: Dragon.
Star Map: Guiding Bolt​	Similar to a normal Guiding Bolt, but uses Star Map instead of a spell slot.
Guiding Bolt​	The base spell from the cleric list.
Guidance​	Gives the spell without needing to choose it as a cantrip.

Starry Forms

The highlight of Circle of the Stars druid is his special Starry Form​. This will be the cornerstone of this build, and give a huge versatility to the build. Here is a short overview of their use cases and how powerful they are:

Starry Form	Uses	Description
Starry Form: Dragon​	Close-range debuffing Concentration spell sustain	First, the most powerful and the most used one is Starry Form: Dragon. This sets your constitution saving throws to roll 10 at minimum, and you get Dazzling Breath​ action. For this type of build, this is a huge buff; you can safely use Concentration spells like Spirit Guardians without losing it to a small damage number. In addition, the Dazzling Breath​ allows for radiant area damage and applies debuffs like Radiating Orb​ and Reverberation,​ depending on the items you have equipped.
Starry Form: Archer​	Long-range debuffing	Specifically for this build, it does not provide many benefits. Generally, it could be used to provoke Counterspell from enemies, but thats all, more or less.
Starry Form: Chalice​	Support and Buffs	This is perfect to be used with The Whispering Promise and Healing Word. The extra heal will offer an additional target to apply Bless. I recommend this when running party members with Great Weapon Master: All In​ and Sharpshooter: All In​ feats.

Level 9 - Cleric Lv 7

Trickery Cleric spells:

Features	Description
Polymorph	A funny spell to use, however, as it uses Concentration and only targets one enemy, its usefulness is limited.
Dimension Door	This is pretty cool spell, that gives a way to teleport. Can be useful in various combat situations and works on yourself and your allies.

Overall, this level does not bring much, just a few optional spells that might be situationally useful:

Spells	Description
Freedom of Movement​	As this spell does not use Concentration, it can be a great helper in certain situations. However, the level 4 spell slot is a huge cost.
Death Ward	Can be used to protect yourself or allies from dying, especially useful in Honour Mode.

Level 10 - Cleric Lv 8

The last subclass features are unlocked. These are either types of Divine Strike, like Divine Strike: Elemental Fury, Divine Strike: Necrotic,​ or just Potent Spellcasting depending on the subclass you have. For Trickery Domain:

Feature	Description
Divine Strike: Poison	Poison is pretty weak element, and you will not be hitting much with your weapons, so I would disregard this.

There are plenty of feats to choose from

Feat	Description
Ability Improvement - +2 Wisdom	Improves your spellcasting modifier further and making it easier to land spells.
Magic Initiate: Sorcerer	This is where things can get interesting, especially with Trickery Cleric. Take Minor Illusion and Shield spell. As you have Channel Divinity: Cloak of Shadows you can become invisible and use Minor Illusion to pull enemies into one place. Then start combat with a Surprised to force enemies skip their turn. The main problem is that Channel Divinity: Cloak of Shadows has 2 turns of effectiveness, making it quite intense to use it correctly...
Alert	Gives a significant boost initiative, ensuring that you go first in most combat encounters.
War Caster: Concentration	Gives Advantage on the Constitution Saving Throw, which will further boost your spell Concentration. However, I would not emphasize this too much, as Starry Form: Dragon already covers this part.

Gear Recommendations

Gameplay and mechanics

This is an important section, as the build gains major changes in how it plays, thanks to various unlocked items.

Working with Arcane Acuity

The main addition and combo that you can do now, is to use Gloves of Battlemage's Power to build Arcane Acuity using Spirit Guardians. At first, this might not seem much, but this enables you to get +10 to Spell Save DC. The result is that your spells reach almost 100% spell success chance.

For example, you can now use Command, which does not use Concentration to disable groups of enemies. Another nice option is to use Command: Approach to force enemies to be near you so that they constantly get damaged by Spirit Guardians.

Another nice option is Hold Person, which can guarantee critical hits for your allies. So the build becomes not only good at weakening enemies, but also at outright disabling them.

The recommended combat loop

• So Spirit Guardians is still your top spell and more or less should be used in most encounters. However, Act 2, contains few enemies with Radiant Retort so be careful, these are mainly dark justiciars inside Gauntlet of Shar Main Floor
• If you use Gloves of Battlemage's Power, you can easily build Arcane Acuity with Spirit Guardians. Once you have a high spell save DC, I recommend following up with a powerful spell like Blindness, Command to weaken or disable enemies to a ridiculous degree.
• Use the Starry Form: Dragon most of the time. It will help maintain Concentration. However, another cool thing is Dazzling Breath which gives a powerful bonus action option, while also resulting in lots of debuffs via Reverberation and Radiating Orb in a cone.
• Try to position yourself close to enemies, this way both Dazzling Breath and Spirit Guardians can be the most effective.

Act 3 - Level 11-12 - Rivington and Lower City

You are close to reaching the game finale, or so you think. The last part of the game is huge and can be both intimidating and overwhelming.

Here are some recommendations from me:

• You don't need to do all the side quests here; they can take up to 40 hours or more, depending on what you decide to do
• Leave some quests for other runs. As you reach the maximum level, the game might become less satisfying. This will give a new perspective for your next playthroughs, to find novelty and discovery.
• There is a lot of good gear in this Act, but you don't need to get it all. I recommend prioritizing the most important ones for your builds. You can plan this with the Act 3 Checklist.

Leveling Progression

Level 11 - Cleric Lv 9

A few more goodies are added for this level, lets go through them

Features	Description
Dominate Person	Theoretically, this should be a very powerful spell. In reality, with a well-made party you will be immobilizing humanoid enemies quite easily, before this spell would even become useful.
Seeming	Not many uses for this spell late in the game, as it uses a level 5 spell slot.

Now here are a few prepared spells, that I think are good to have:

Spells	Description
Flame Strike​	A simple yet effective area of effect spell that inflicts both radiating and fire damage. This will activate Reverberation​ and Radiating Orb​ if wearing appropriate items.
Insect Plague​	Excellent spell, that deals piercing damage and applies Difficult Terrain. If you have a party member with Bhaalist Armour, it can apply Aura of Murder​ for double damage.
Greater Restoration​	Not required spell, but can be useful in certain situations.

Level 12 - Cleric Lv 10

This is the last level of the build:

Feature	Description
Divine Intervention​	Once per playthrough action that can be used to activate special effects. To be fair, I usually forget to use it, but it can be extremely useful during Honour Mode playthrough.

You can choose one cantrip:

Gear Recommendations

Gameplay and mechanics

In general, Act 3 does not bring much in terms of how the gameplay changes. It's just optimisations to your gear and higher-level spell unlocks

The recommended combat loop

As I mentioned, the combat loop stays more or less the same from the previous Act 2 (check that out if you missed it). 

• Spirit Guardians to melt enemies and apply debuffs
• If using Gloves of Battlemage's Power use control spells without Concentration once you have high Arcane Acuity - Command, Glyph of Warding: Sleep, etc.
• Spells like Insect Plague can be extremely powerful if placed in a well-targeted position. Use this to cover choke points.
• Flame Strike is an outright "finisher" spell where you want to inflict lots of damage in a small area. It also has two damage types, and one of it is Radiant. This will result in it applying various conditions from your gear.
• Divine Intervention - as oh shit option in case you need an instant resurrection.

Maximizing the Build - Abilities, Illithid, Consumables

Maximising 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. First Feat - Ability Improvement - +1 Wisdom. The second point will go to the Constitution.
2. Second Feat - Ability Improvement - +2 Wisdom.
3. Act 3 - Mirror of Loss - pick +2 Wisdom.

These will allow you to reach 20-22 natural Wisdom, which is enough for a good Cleric setup.

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 both with spells and normal attacks.
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 weaponise your reaction, especially if you do not have access to Counterspell
Shield of Thralls​	Base	Excellent option for bonus temporary HP. It can also apply Stunned on foes, after the shielding is destroyed.
Illithid Expertise​	Elite	Can be used to maximise 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 nullify lower-level spells which are equal to your proficiency bonus.
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.
Fracture Psyche​	Elite	Weakens enemies by reducing their Armour Class. Now it's easier to hit them.

Potions, Elixirs and other 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	This is a very powerful potion. It gives an additional action point, which can be used to cast a spell or attack. The activation is generally by drinking using a bonus action. However, you can stack together with party members and make one member Throw​ it on the ground, giving Hastened​ to everyone.
Potion of Invisibility	It can be used in two ways - the first one is to enter combat with a Surprised​ round, causing enemies to skip their turn. Another option is to leave combat if you see that it is not going in your favour.
Potion of Animal Speaking	An easy way to get the Speak with Animals​ effect.
Terazul	Gives Hastened​ and stacks with other sources of it. This is a late-game consumable.
Potion of Angelic Reprieve	Restores level 1 and 2 spell slots.
Potion of Angelic Slumber	Acts as a Long Rest, restoring all 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	The elixir gives an easy option to get an additional action point - just kill a foe. This can then be used to attack one more time or cast a full spell.
Elixir of Battlemage's Power	Improves Spell Save DC, making it easier to land spells.
Elixir of Peerless Focus	Makes it easier to maintain spell Concentration
Elixir of Vigilance	For some encounters, you will want to go first. This elixir will ensure that it overcomes even Surprised​ mechanics.

Scrolls

This is one of the most overpowered mechanics in the game. At first, it might seem that you earn those old, boring spells that you can learn yourself. However, as you play more and more, and get higher-level spells, you can see - wait, I can save a spell slot casting this.

Yeah, and this is where their power comes. During the whole playthrough, you will probably collect a lot of these, so I recommend using them whenever you can.

Conclusion and Credits

Thank you for reading the Shadowheart Build - The Maiden of Choice for Baldur's Gate 3. This is one of the variations of the companion build, that I think is vanilla, easy to use, and is perfect for those first-time players.

Cheers!