Summary
InBaldur’s Gate 3, hirelings can be used to round out your party dynamic or make up for dead companions and missing skill sets. Returned from the dead and powered by the mysterious magic of Withers, they can be an interesting addition to the team.
Although with enough tinkering, magic items, and spell choices, each hireling can bring something unique, but some come hot off the pan with essential skills and abilities. These hirelings will even make you consider using them in place of the original crew just for the sake of ease.
Hirelings can use Withers' class-changing service like any other companion. If you prefer a different species/class combo and don’t mind spending the gold, this can help curate the perfect hireling for your needs.
12Ver’yll Wenkiir
Lolth-Sworn Drow Ranger
Out of all the hirelings, there is none so unfortunate as Ver’yll, simply for the fact of starting out as a Ranger. For the purposes of a hireling, Rangers have thumbs in too many pies and don’t do anything expertly well that could be covered by other classes.
The only positive to Ver’yll is his Drow abilities, giving him access toFaerie FireandDarkness, but even then, they both require concentration and will stop you from usingHunter’s Mark, a Ranger’s strongest spell.
11Kree Derryck
Duregar Warlock
Kree is a pretty solid character on paper, especially for an origin Tav character, but as a Warlock, this hireling is too limited in what she is able to do, especially outside of combat. You will have to take even more rests and pick ideal invocations from the short list.
The Duregar magic is a nice addition, but it doesn’t compliment the Warlock’s abilities or are reasons enough to choose Kree over any other hireling besides Var’yll. If you do choose Kree,try multiclassing intoa Way of Shadow Monk to make better use of Duregar stats.
10Danton
Mephistopheles Tiefling Druid
Danton is an odd combination of a tiefling and a Druid that could have potential in combat but fall flat in most areas not concerning turning into a cat to fit inside small crevices and vents. Although his blue skin and history of turning into peacocks make him charming.
Danton’s main problem is trying to make the best use of his tiefling spells and wild shaping at the same time, making most Druid subclasses get in the way of his spellcasting rather than aiding it. If you can’t ignore his dashing good looks, just make sure to avoid choosing the Circle of the Moon.
9Varanna Sunblossom
Wood Half-Elf Fighter
Varanna is one of the strongest classes in terms of combat effectiveness but again falls victim to an unfortunate race and class combo that doesn’t make her stand out. It also doesn’t help that her backstory also makes her appear unsympathetic.
The worst thing about her being a wood half-elf is that she negates her Civil Militia feature for being a Fighter and has proficiency in a skill not many Fighters need to take advantage of. Although she is strong, she simply underperforms.
8Maddala Deadeye
Human Rogue
Maddala Deadeye is a middle-of-the-pack hireling with no excessively strong abilities or combinations that make her stand out. What lowers her on the list is that her Human Civil Militia ability gives her access to weapons that can’t trigger her Rogue Sneak Attack.
This means she can only make use of Human Versatility to gain more options for Expertise. Otherwise, having a Rogue on your team when Astarion is either dead or not your cup of tea could be useful for certain scenarios requiring stealth or lockpicking.
7Sir Fuzzalump
Rock Gnome Wizard
With the best name of all the hirelings, Sir Fuzzalump stands out as a charming companion and one of the most useful classes to aid any Tav. As a Wizard, Sir Fuzzalump can either be a damage powerhouse or useful for applying buffs and debuffs.
Sir Fuzzalump also strengthens the Wizard’s higher Intelligence and Wisdom saving throws with advantage, and their Darkvision can help cast spells in certain scenarios. Unfortunately, it might be a hard sell to spend gold on giving him your rare scrolls to learn unless you plan on taking him to the very end.
6Jacelyn
High Half-Elf Sorcerer
Jacelyn has one of the stronger race class combos with weapon and armor proficiencies from Civil Militia and additional cantrips to round out her Sorcerer spells. Althoughlacking the spell diversityof Wizards, Jacelyn can still provide much-needed support.
Although, if you want to make the best use of both skills, you should consider changing him from a Wild Magic Sorcerer to a Draconic Bloodline one, as the hit point and armor class buff are necessary for melee.
5Eldra Luthrinn
Gold Dwarf Barbarian
Eldra Luthrinn is the strongest hireling in terms of being a party tank more than any other companion in the game, especially due to her Dwarven Toughness and Barbarian’s Rage. This makes her the least likely team member to drop to zero and reliable for being a damage sponge.
Other than having the most magnificent beard, Eldra does have some unfortunate overlap with Dwarven Combat Training weapon proficiencies but is far from being the last pick. If you want the ultimate tank, make sure to choose the Wildheart subclass.
4Kerz
Half-Orc Paladin
Kerz takes the resistance of Eldra, the spellcasting of Jacelyn, and the combat effectiveness of Varanna and adds Savage Attacks from half-orcs. In terms of overall damage and utility, Kerz is consistently above average and can aid in almost every respect.
The only problem Kerz has is you may’t use him as often as other hirelings to complete dangerous or dodgy tasks, as he might break his oath and become an Oathbreaker Paladin. Although, to some, this isn’t always a dealbreaker.
3Sina’zith
Githyanki Monk
Although lacking the diversity of Kerz, Sina’zith makes up for it with an ideal race and class combo and the strongest melee class in the game with Monk. Other than having access to Misty Step and Jump, Sina’zith can make up for a lack of proficiencies with Astral Knowledge.
Also, Monks have superior actions in combat that both deal unbelievable amounts of damage and can apply crucial debuffs like prone and stun that aid the entire party’s chances in combat. If you are looking for a martial hireling, Sina’zith is the strongest choice.
