Eldritch Knight Subclass Guide and Build

The Eldritch Knight is a Fighter subclass in Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3). Check out our guide for how to unlock the Eldritch Knight subclass, its features, as well as the best builds.

Fighter Subclasses Fighter Class Guide
Champion	Battle Master	Eldritch Knight

Eldritch Knight Subclass Overview

Eldritch Knight Basic Information

Subclass Overview
	Eldritch Knight Eldritch Knights study magic to supplement their weaponry, allowing them to overcome resistance from the toughest foes.
Main Class	Fighter
How to Unlock	Reach Fighter Level 3.
Spellcasting Ability	Intelligence Uses the spells from the Wizard spell list.
Starting Subclass Features
・Level 1 Spell Slots Unlocked ・Weapon Bound Class Action ・Grants 2 Wizard Cantrips ・Grants 3 Level 1 Wizard Spells ・All Fighter Class Features and Proficiencies.

The Eldritch Knight subclass expands the Fighter's offensive capabilities by giving them access to three Level 1 Wizard Spells, allowing your Fighter to deal damage at range with Magic Missile, or apply self-buss like Blade Ward and True Strike.

Paired with the Figther's Action Surge and Extra Attack, the Eldritch Knight can attack a nearby enemy twice then fling spells or debuffs at a distant enemy all in one turn!

How to Unlock the Eldritch Knight Subclass

Available Once Your Fighter Reaches Level 3

The Eldritch Knight subclass becomes available once your Fighter reaches Level 3. In order to earn EXP and level up in Baldur's Gate 3, players will need to complete quests, discover new areas, or defeat enemies they find in the world.

Eldritch Knight Subclass Features

Level 1 Wizard Spells

At Level 3, Eldritch Knights unlock 2 level 1 Cantrips and 3 Spells from the Wizard Spell List to expand your Fighter's capabilities.

Though restricted to level 1 spells, many synergize well with the Fighter's main martial skills such as the True Sight and Blade Ward.

Weapon Bound Class Action

At Level 3, Eldritch Knights also unlock the ability to use the Weapon Bound class action, which is useful for preventing your Fighter from being disarmed in the middle of battle.

Bound weapons will also automatically return to you when thrown, giving you another way to attack enemies at range and comes in handy when you run out of spells!

War Magic

At Level 7, Eldritch Knights gain access to a bonus action that you can make whenever you cast a cantrip.

This makes your Figther very efficient, allowing you to debuff an enemy with True Strike and attack them immediately all in one turn!

Eldritch Strike

At Level 10, Eldritch Knights expand their combat utility with Eldritch Strike. When you attack an enemy with a weapon, they receive a disadvantage on the next spell you use against it within your turn.

This means you have a higher chance to poison an enemy with Ray of Sickness or make them prone with Grease provided you successfully hit them with your weapon beforehand!

Eldritch Knight Level Progression

Best Races for Eldritch Knight

Githyanki

Githyanki make excellent Eldritch Knights thanks to their multiple martial superiorities and their great mobility in battle, able to jump higher and even teleport across distances using Misty Step.

Manipulate Objects with Mage Hand

Githyanki Psionics: Mage Hand allows you to create a spectral hand that can manipulate objects. Though not useful in a straightforward fight, you can control the hand and make it interact with background elements while you focus on fighting enemies.

Higher Jumps

Githyanki Psionics: Jump allows Githyanki Eldritch Knights to jump farther than other races, which is very useful for heading up higher elevations to get an advantage against enemies with your spells.

Better Positioning with Misty Step

Misty Step allows Githyanki Eldritch Knights to teleport to a chosen location they can see, allowing them to reach foes in higher or lower places instantly without having to walk.

Githyanki Race Guide

High Elf

High Elves get an extra cantrip of their chose, allowing you to cast an offensive or utility spell even before becoming an Eldritch Knight.

Proficiency in Short and Longswords

High Elves are a great choice if you want to play an Eldritch Knight that focus more on dueling thanks to their proficiencies in Longswords and Shortswords.

See in the Dark with Darkvision

High Elves also don't incur a penalty in dark locations thanks to their Darkvision, and make them great choices to fight against spellcasters that utilize the Darkness spell.

Immunity to Sleep and Charms

The High Elves' Fey Ancestry gives them immunity to Sleep and Charms, with the latter being very useful to protect your party against a charmed Eldritch Knight that can attack several times in one turn.

High Elf Subrace Guide

Best Eldritch Knight Ability Score

Warped Headband of Intellect Spread

Your Eldritch Kngight's starting Ability Score should focus on Strength first so you deal as much damage as possible with your weapons, while Constitution boosts your max HP and for Heavy Armor bonuses.

Although Eldritch Knights use spells, we start with only 8 since you'll use the Warped Headband of Intellect to boost your Intelligence to 17, allowing you to allocate points to other stats.

Best Eldritch Knight Fighting Style

Great Weapon Fighting

Great Weapon Fighting is a strong choice for Eldritch Knights as it's possible to get a very strong two-handed melee weapon at the start of the game, and allows you to hit very hard in case you run out of spells.

Two-handed weapons are also a great choice to cast Weapon Bound to as they have higher damage when thrown.

Dueling

Dueling is a great alternative to Great Weapon Fighting, particularly if you want to use Versatile Weapons one-handed since the it works with a shield.

This gives you an additional 2 damage with your weapon while still getting the benefits of wielding a shield!

Best Eldritch Knight Builds

Baldur's Gate 3 Related Guides

Fighter Class Guide

All Fighter Subclasses

All Fighter Subclasses
Champion	Battle Master	Eldritch Knight