Healers and support casters are some of the most recognizable RPG archetypes players have come across over the years. This is also true of the modern classic Baldur's Gate 3 with its surprisingly powerful and versatile Cleric class. Honestly, everyone's favorite romance option, the Trickery Domain Cleric Shadowheart, might have something to do with it too.
Whether you want to be a reliable tank for your party and send out healing spells to your heart's content or just grill your enemies in the holy light, the Cleric is an incredibly fun class to play. Here are some of the best talents you can use to make your holy servant even more effective.
Updated on September 24, 2024 by Britt Poteet: This article has been updated to include information from recent game updates and patches, including new images.
11 Guardian
Be the target
Sentinel is one of the most powerful abilities in the game, no matter what class or build you're playing. It's versatile and gives you numerous bonuses. Sentinel focuses primarily on your attacks of opportunity, giving you additional triggers, perks, and additional effects on hit.
As a Cleric, you're likely to be one of the characters in the party with the highest Armor Class (AC), and therefore can more easily fend off incoming attacks. In this case, keeping dangerous enemies close to you and preventing them from leaving your vicinity to harm your other party members is very useful. Sentinel is the perfect ability to do just that.
10 Hard
Maximize your health
It's hard to heal your injured party members when you're bleeding out yourself. While clerics usually have high ACs, a decent amount of HP is also invaluable. Thankfully, Tough is a big help with this. It's a very simple feat that gives you two extra HP per level.
While this may seem inconsequential, it's actually great in the long run. At level 10, you'll have 20 extra HP, which can be enough to survive three to four extra hits. This can practically be the difference between victory and death, which is what makes Tough so worthwhile.
9 Ritual magician
Magic versatility
Although Clerics are considered the dedicated healers of any group, they are surprisingly versatile. They can cast incredibly powerful spells and useful magic simultaneously. Ritual Caster adds another dimension to their versatility, which is always welcome.
This talent gives you access to two ritual spells from a list of very useful spells. These are all quality of life spells, including great spells like 
Talking to the dead, 
Dress upAnd 
Finding something familiar. While Ritual Caster may not be as game-changing as other talents on this list, it can be incredibly helpful.
8 Warcaster
Concentration is the key
War Caster is a good choice for those who place less emphasis on utility and want to shoot their enemies back where they came from. It provides advantage on concentration saving throws and allows you to 
Shocking grip Spell as an attack of opportunity.
Clerics have some of the best concentration spells on their list, so War Caster seems like the perfect choice. With options like 
Shield of Faith, 
Be silent, 
Spirit Guardian, 
exileand more: Clerics can be incredibly powerful if they can focus on a specific spell at a specific time.
This talent does not add the Shock Grasp spell to your spell list, so you can't use it unless you react.
7 Resilient: Constitution
Saving Throw Competence
Speaking of concentration, another way to improve it is to get the Resilient talent and choose Constitution as the stat. This talent increases the corresponding ability by one and grants competence on its saving throw. Clerics, unlike wizards, are not naturally competent on their Constitution saving throws, so this is the perfect choice for them.
This talent could also help you round your Constitution score up to an even number if it's an odd number. While it's often a difficult choice between being a war wizard and a resilient one, clerics can benefit from both.
Your ability score modifiers only increase at each even number. Try to round all scores up to the nearest even number to maximize bonuses.
6 Heavily armored
Impossible to meet
While armor-related skills are usually overlooked in Baldur's Gate 3 and D&D, there are certain cases where they can be very useful. Clerics are the best examples of this. Typically, a cleric will start the game with only light and medium armor proficiency, which isn't even that bad.
However, clerics work best when they're nearly impossible to hit, as they keep their party healthy, so upgrading to heavy armor with this ability can be absolutely worth it. Clerics can also carry shields, so once you equip full plate armor or something similar, you can easily get your AC above 20. After that, you can just cast spells every round and watch incoming attacks miss you.
5 Shieldmaster
Perfect defense for area spells
Speaking of sturdy, Shield Master also fits very well into a defensive cleric build. This talent gives a +2 bonus to your Dexterity saving throws when you carry a shield. Additionally, you take no damage on a successful Dexterity saving throw or half damage on a failed one.
Because clerics' typical AC is so high, they're often hit by area of effect spells and AoE attacks. Shield Master is the perfect remedy for this, making it even harder to take down your cleric. The fact that there are so many great shields in the game is the icing on the cake.
Assuming you're competent, use a shield even if you don't use this feat. The +2AC is well worth it.
4 mobile
Increased movement speed
Mobility is one of the best skills for clerics in Baldur's Gate 3. By increasing your movement speed, you can quickly dodge attacks and heal allies on the other side of the battlefield.
Difficult terrain does not slow you down when you sprint, allowing you to maneuver through the combat zone faster than your enemies. After attacking, the targeted enemy cannot use an attack of opportunity against you, further benefiting your cleric in combat.
3 Magic Sniper
Increased critical hit range
While playing as an immortal tank can be incredibly fun, clerics are capable of much more. In fact, under certain circumstances, they can rival wizards or warlocks with their damaging spells, so why not double down on your offense and grab the Spell Sniper talent? This talent gives you an extra spell, but more importantly, increases your critical hit range with spells.
This means that the chance of scoring a critical hit with your attack spells, of which you have a lot, is twice as high. Spells like 
Firebolt, 
Guide boltAnd 
Inflict wounds are good reasons to get this talent, and it even works with spells you can get from items or other sources, which is wonderful.
2 Elemental Adept
Ignore resistance
Elemental Adept is an ability geared more towards explosive classes; classes like Wizards or Mages whose primary role is to deal high damage through spells. However, a tailored Cleric is just as effective at dealing magical damage and can absolutely take advantage of Elemental Adept.
With this talent, you choose a damage type and ignore your enemies' resistances to that damage type. It also gives your damage a slight boost with that type. Clerics have some great damage spells, such as 
Glyph of Defense And 
Flame strikein addition to other spells you receive from your subclass.
With this talent you can only ignore resistances, not immunities.
1 Experience
Ready for anything
When looking at the best talents, people tend to focus on the ones that provide the greatest statistical advantage in combat. However, a talent can be amazing even if it doesn't provide a material advantage. For example, Dexterity gives you three more skill levels. This is a perfect fit for a cleric; a wise and dedicated warrior who knows a lot about the world.
Clerics are wisdom-based wizards, so high Wisdom is already strong. Crucial skills like Insight, Perception, Survival, and Medicine are based on Wisdom to begin with. A cleric should also have some level of knowledge of religion, history, and arcana in terms of lore. This skill is perfect for those looking for a way to delve even deeper into the world.
