Sorcerer vs Wizard comparison - Sharing my Knowledge and tips - Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)

Many people who play Baldur's Gate 3, usually go for two caster archetypes - Wizard and Sorcerer. The goal is to reach that fantasy of a spellcaster that deletes foes with huge Fireball spell or almight Lightning Bolt strikes.

There are other casters - Druid, Cleric and Bard, which also can serve a similar playstyle, albeit with more optimizations.

The short answer, if we are looking from combat potential - Sorcerer blasts everything out of the way. You may ask why? The answer is simple - metamagic:

• Metamagic: Extended Spell that has various powerful interactions, like Arcane Acuity stacking with Booming Blade
• Metamagic: Quickened Spell - if you played the game already, you know that bonus action might be left unused on the caster; this metamagic is a solution

There are other features, of course, but these, at a glance, make Sorcerer take the top position. Now, I would like to dive deep into each subclass's features, as they still provide an interesting approach to combat and what you can do with them.

Wizard Overview: the bad, the good, the ugly

I have covered multiple Wizard Builds on the website, and from my experience, this is an especially good class for those that might want to roleplay or have strict rules on how they play (I will get into these things in a bit).

However, it does fall off in the feature department even when looking at each subclass. 

The Good

• You can scribe spells from scrolls. Meaning that you can learn a lot of spells and some even unique ones like Dethrone, Find Familiar: Cheeky Quasit and others. These can be very powerful spells, and do help in various ways.
• Spell preparation is a good mechanic that allows you to switch between spells. For example, while exploring you might need Enhance Leap, but when you see combat, you could have Wall of Fire added.
• Arcane Recovery Charges are a nice addition to restore a high-level spell slot.
• A few subclasses get their core features very early - Abjuration Wizard (one of the best tanks in the game with Arcane Ward), Bladesinger (a spellsword type subclass with Extra Attack) and Divination with Portent to change the dice rolls.
• This is big. Even with a 1-level dip via multiclassing, you can scribe high-level spells like Globe of Invulnerability if you have level 6 spell slots. Same for spells like Cone of Cold where you would need a level 5 spell slot. This does open up plenty of utility, where you might want to have a party member with a particular spell.

The Bad

For Wizard, I think this is an important aspect to keep in mind. This is especially relevant if you want to give a shot to Honour Mode or custom difficulties.

Abundance of Scrolls

Although the features sound nice, the scribing part and spell preparation falloff thanks to the vendor and pickpocketing systems. The game loads you with various spell scrolls - Scroll of Cone of Cold, Scroll of Confusion, Scroll of Lightning Bolt and many others. So with well prepared party, you can have almost any of the characters constantly spewing Fireball from scrolls.

Of course, the spells cannot be upcast, but in Act 3, when you have Scroll of Chain Lightning it's easy to evaporate enemies.

With this in mind, Wizard features become its limitation, especially if you are not having strict rules on your playstyle. 

Subclass features limitations

Wizards have a lot of subclasses - Necromancy, Transmutation, etc. However, they are very limited, and their main features might not appear until very late.

• Evocation wizard gets its capstone feature Empowered Evocation only at level 10.
• Necromancy Wizard's only highlight is the Undead Thralls: Additional Undead and Undead Thralls: Better Summons which you might find disappointing
• Other subclasses have not that useful features, that have easy substitutes.

So should I play it?

Even though Wizard does have negatives, and quite substantial ones, I think it serves as a perfect springboard for more roleplay-focused players. Other people also limit themselves by not using Scrolls all the time, or taking everything from vendors, which makes the playthroughs a bit more balanced.

Moreover, builds like Necromancy Wizard, Abjuration Wizard, and Bladesinger provide truly unique experiences. The setups unlock different playstyles and deeper game mechanics.

Sorcerer Overview: the powerhouse

So, Sorcerer is the ultimate offensive caster if you know what you want and are okay with limited spell selection in your spellbook. I have a lot of Sorcerer Builds covered, as it is also an excellent multiclass option. The features are also solid, as each subclass provides certain benefits that are valuable at different stages of the game, and they are accessible pretty early.

The Good

There is a lot of good stuff that you should know, as it will allow you to make Sorcerer a truly outstanding caster

Metamagic

I already mentioned this at the start, but Metamagic is an extremely powerful tool to have. I really like Metamagic: Quickened Spell for its simplicity. You get a solid use for bonus action, which when needed can eliminate a group of foes with multiple offensive spells.

A really solid combo can be achieved with Fire Sorcerer. Once you get Hat of Fire Acuity you can use Scorching Ray to build up Arcane Acuity. After that, activate Metamagic: Quickened Spell and use a control spell like Confusion or Hypnotic Pattern , which will have a 100% success chance. Groups of enemies will be disabled, allowing your party to safely eliminate them.

Another metamagic option is Metamagic: Extended Spell. This might not seem very powerful at first. However, certain spells like Command can greatly benefit from it, by getting 2 turns' duration.

But there are more powerful options. For example, you can use Shadow Blade + Gloves of Battlemage's Power + Metamagic: Extended Spell and then use Booming Blade to get instantly 8 stacks of Arcane Acuity. This opens up a really interesting playstyle, which is used by Storm Acuity Controller and Shadow Magic Sorcerer.

Metamagic: Distant Spell metamagic is pretty interesting, especially if you want to have a semi hit & run playstyle.

Sorcery Points

So to use Metamagic you need to have Sorcery Points. This is a resource available only to Sorcerer. They play a big role in the whole combat loop and allow you to utilise Metamagic.

The points can be pretty limited if you heavily utilize them. You can work around this by using Create Sorcery Points​ and consuming spell slots. They are important for spellcasting, so using all of them is quite expensive for Sorcery Points. However, 2 items in particular give free spell slots:

• Pearl of Power Amulet - restores up to a level 3 spell slot, so 3 Sorcery Points
• Spellcrux Amulet - allows restoring up to a level 6 spell slot, but Create Sorcery Points​ only works max on a level 5 spell slot.

So with these, you can get 8 Sorcery points every long rest, which is substantial and can help you use something like Metamagic: Quickened Spell​ or Metamagic: Extended Spell​ multiple times per long rest.

Of course, you can go crazy and use Potion of Angelic Reprieve, which allows you to restore level 1-2 spell slots, where you can end up with 20 or even more sorcery points. This is kind of a glitch, so I leave this to your discretion.

The Saving Throw proficiency

The major benefit of Sorcerer is that they are a perfect option to maintain your spell Concentration. They get a Constitution Saving Throw proficiency, meaning that when you get hit while concentrating, the roll will get a growing bonus (depends on your level) to the roll. This makes it much easier to maintain spells like Haste, Confusion, Hypnotic Pattern, etc.

The other class that has this proficiency is Fighter, which does not help you with spell slot progression.

Charisma-based class

For a lot of newer players that want to experience all the dialogue options, having high Charisma is a godsend. You can have proficiencies in Intimidation, Persuasion or Deception, which ends up reaching high bonus points to the dialogue rolls.

So I would say, this is a perfect main character pick, where you want to talk a lot, and see more options in the dialogues.

The Subclass Features

Without the base stuff, Sorcerers come with a few nice additions from their subclass

Draconic Bloodline is a safe and solid pick, if you are decided on which element you want to use. It is a solid option and works well with multi-hit attacks or spells - Scorching Ray, Lightning Bolt, etc. The attractive point is Elemental Affinity: Damage, that it gives a damage bonus on each hit. There are great builds like Fire Sorcerer and Lightning Caster Build if you want simple yet effective offensive setups.

Storm Sorcerer is a true powerhouse. Probably the most famous setup is the Storm Acuity Controller, which creates electrified water surfaces and constantly builds Arcane Acuity. It is both a perfect controller and combat caster. The nice addition is Heart of the Storm that can do a lot of damage if you invest in appropriate items like Phalar Aluve and Callous Glow Ring.

I would also like to mention Shadow Magic Sorc. it's feature set is somewhat wide, but not as strong. Still, if you want to roleplay a dark caster, and use Darkness, this is a good pick. You also get Hound of Ill Omen , which is a nice addition to the darkness theme.

The Bad

There are still a few caveats that I think should be known when playing this class:

Big dependence on Spell Slots and Long Rests

As you can see from all the features, Sorcerer is extremely hungry for spell slots. First, it uses them for spells, which is normal. Second, you use Sorcery points for Metamagic, and if you are out of it, you will use Create Spell Slot to consume them. Then, when using Metamagic: Quickened Spell you will also use the full spell slot of the spell again.

So to unlock the full potential, you will have to long rest a lot, but this offers a truly powerful caster setup.

Parting Words

Hope you enjoyed this read, and I think I covered the core aspects of the Wizard vs Sorcerer. This should make it easier to decide which one you want to play and use for your playthroughs. Sorcerer is the ultimate combat caster, but for a more roleplay focus or niche requirements like scroll scribing, Wizard is there to take its place