Baldur's Gate 3 races: which race should you pick?

Which Baldur’s Gate 3 race should you pick?

Some RPGs with multiple races don’t limit you too much depending on which you choose to play, but most RPGs also don’t have 11 choices as Baldur’s Gate 3 does. Your race will obviously be a massive cosmetic choice, with your choices ranging from normal Humans to scaly Dragonborn and stout Dwarfs, but the effects of this choice will ripple throughout your playthrough. Your race can have a huge impact on the various stories in Baldur’s Gate 3 since some characters will react to your race differently, but you’ll never know how that will play out until you come across them. What we can help you with when creating your character is selecting the best race to pair with your class in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Elf

The Elf is typically seen as a ranger or a more dexterous race, which holds true for Baldur’s Gate 3. They come with two extra stats in Dex and are proficient with both long and shortwords, as well as long and shortbows. They also have two important traits, the first being Darkvision which lets you see up to 12 meters in the dark. The second is Fey Ancestry which gives them a bonus to saving throws when they are being charmed, plus can’t be put to sleep using magic. This is a great race to pair with a Ranger or Rogue class.

Tiefling

The demonic-looking Tiefling is a very unique race with its horns and pointed tail. This class doesn’t come with any bonus stats, but also comes with Dark Vision to see up to 12 meters in the dark, plus Hellish Resistance. This makes your character naturally fire-resistant, and will only take half damage from any fire type. This race can pair well with most classes, but make sure to check out the differences in the subraces to see what stat advantages each gives to best suit your class.

Drow

You may not know the name, but Drow are essentially your dark elf equivalent. They come with a nice +2 to Dex and +1 to Charisma, plus are equally as versatile as an Elf in terms of weapons. They even have Superior Darkvision, which gives you vision up to 24 meters in the dark, plus Fey Ancestry like normal Elves. A final perk is the Dancing Lights Cantrip that you can use to summon some light whisps to light up an area. Rogues, Rangers, or even Fighters work well for this race.

Human

Hey, no one will judge you for picking a human! This is your all-around class that gets +1 in all stats and Base Racial Speed of 9 meters. There’s not much really to say here except, when in doubt, Human is the way to go.

Githyanki

The Githyanki are described as powerful warriors from the Astral Plane known for riding dragons. While you won’t be riding a dragon just by picking this race, you do get +2 Strength and +1 Intelligence, plus the Githyanki Psionics: Mage Hand that lets you manipulate a spectral hand to interact with objects. Being proficient with light and medium armor, plus all sword types, this is a race to pick if you want to focus on melee combat like a Barbarian or Fighter.

Dwarf

The first of our vertically challenged races is the stout Dwarf. You likely know what Dwarves are about, which is being tough axe-wielders. To reflect this, Dwarves get +2 constitution, Darkvision, and Dwarven Resilience. The latter gives you an advantage for saving throws against poison, plus natural poison resistance. If you want to play the role of a tank, this class will fit the bill.

Halfling

Not to be confused with a Hobbit, Halflings aren’t built for being a frontline fighter. They come with 2 extra Dex stat points, as well as the special Lucky trait. Whenever you roll a 1 on an attack, ability check, or saving throw, Lucky lets you reroll and use the new result to try and save yourself. This race suits Rangers and Rogues.

Gnome

And let’s wrap up this short section with the Gnome. If you want to have a fun-sized magic user, the Gnome is the class for you. They come with +2 Int, as well as Gone Cunning which gives you an advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws. Any magical-focused class will work well for this race.

Dragonborn

No, you won’t be doing dragon shouts or riding a horse up 90-degree cliffs like in Skyrim. The Dragonborn in Baldur’s Gate 3 is a human-dragon hybrid that has some nice stat bonuses in +2 Strength and +1 Charisma, but you will really want to pick this race for the Draconic Ancestry and Breath Weapon features. The Ancestry trait will let you pick what elemental defense your dragon has, which also reflects in a different skin (scale?) color. Breath Weapon gives you a natural AOE breath attack also based on your ancestry. This is a fantastic Fighter or Barbarian race.

Half-Orc

And last up we have the Half-Orc, which you can probably guess a lot about already. This is another race with +2 Strength and +1 Constitution, but they have some unique perks to make them even fiercer fighters. Relentless Endurance makes it so that even after your HP is fully depleted, you can survive with 1 HP, and Savage Attacks allow you to roll a second time after scoring a crit with a melee weapon to add even more bonus damage. You also get Darkvision, which is nice, as well as Menacing for out-of-combat to boost your Intimidation skill. If you want to be a forceful, ruthless Barbarian, you have to go Half-Orc.

Elf