Baldur’s Gate 3has received enormous praise as the game submerges players in its endlessly expanding world to explore, all the while introducing many interesting characters.
One of the most intriguing characters is, undoubtedly, Shadowheart. Her healing prowess is something any player should be looking to utilize to the maximum and build around. This is the best way to build Shadowheart in BG3, so she can reach her full potential.
Updated on May 26, 2025, by Rei Penber:Shadowheart is a powerful companion any player should definitely not pass on. Not only that, she has one of the most fascinating stories in Baldur’s Gate 3, and her character development is unmatched. All of this makes Shadowheart a stand-out character that is definitely worth investing the player’s time in to make her into the best version of hers. This guide has been updated to improve Shadowheart even further, so follow along.
Who Is Shadowheart And Where To Recruit Her
Shadowheart is one of the very first characters the player will encounter, specifically, during the prologue of Baldur’s Gate 3, onboard the Nautiloid Ship. When the player advances through the prologue with Lae’zel, they will eventually find a woman stuck in a pod – Shadowheart. The player can free her using various ways. They can also leave her to her fate, although freeing her will definitely help the player with what’s to come on this ship.
Whether the player decides to free her or not, they’ll be able to recruit her almost immediately after the crash of the Nautiloid Ship.
Out of all of the available companionsthe player has, Shadowheart definitely stands out as one of the most interesting. Recruiting and using her throughout the playthrough will definitely be rewarding to the player with her compelling story.
Default Shadowheart
One of Shar’s dark disciples, Shadowheart was sent on a suicide mission to steal an item of great power. While wrestling with her faith and strange, untamed magic, Shadowheart has enemies on all sides - and a long-buried secret to uncover.
Shadowheart is one of the game’s origin characters, meaning the player has the option to play as her if they so wish.
She is a Half-Elf,specifically a High Half-Elf.Her class is that of the Cleric, which means she will offer one of the best ways for the players to heal, especially early on in Baldur’s Gate 3. Specifically, she is a Trickery Domain Cleric, with her deity being Shar, the greater deity of Darkness. Her background is the Acolyte, giving her insight and religion proficiencies. She also has Medicine and History proficiencies.
When it comes to her starting statistics, here’s what she has:
13
14
10
17
8
Best Shadowheart Build
When it comes to turning Shadowheart into the best possible version of herself for the player, changing her subclass might be the best option to start with. Indeed,she starts as Trickery Domain Cleric, which is her canon subclass, however, if the player plans on making her an amazing healer, the better option is the Life Domain Cleric instead. The earlier she is reclassed, the better.
However, if the player doesn’t want her to solely be a healer they should consider the Light Domain instead, as it has a great balance between healing and offensive. The player should definitely avoid leaving her subclass as the Trickery Domain as it is extremely lackluster compared to the other options.
Overall, though, it is probably better to make Shadowheart a specialized healer as it will be a huge leverage for the player, so the Life Domain is the first option for her. With this domain, she will acquire many powerful features and spells that will elevate her healing power to the next level, one example being Blessed Healer at level 6 or Preserve Life at level 2.
At level 9 especially, she will get Mass Cure Wounds and Greater Restoration. With these spells, the player’s party will be unstoppable thanks to her superior healing.
At levels 4, as well as 8 and 12, she will get to choose a feat. Some good options for her to consider would be Ability Improvement (specifically for her wisdom ability), Magic Initiate: Cleric, Magic Initiate: Druid, and Tough. The player can go for either the Cleric or Druid spell list as they both use Wisdom as the spellcasting ability.
Avoid Magic Initiate: Bard, Magic Initiate: Sorcerer, Magic Initiate: Warlock, as well as Magic Initiate: Wizard at any cost as their spell casting ability is Charisma for all except Wizard, which uses Intelligence. Shadowheart’s statistics in Charisma and Intelligence are not great so she will be a weak spellcaster.
Shadowheart will unlock new spellsand cantrips as she levels up.Luckily for the player, since she is a Cleric, she can change her spells outside of just leveling up. That gives the player the option to explore and try many of her spells to see what works best for them.
Level 6 spells
Best Multiclass Build for Shadowheart
While many players might find that Shadowheart as a Cleric is perfect the way she is, some might want to dip into multiclassing to experiment with what they can do.
When it comes to multiclassing with a Cleric, it can be a bit complicated to pull off, compared to other classes. Not many classes have good synergy with Clerics, stat-wise, but it can surely still be done.
For Shadowheart, her multiclassing will explore a mix of War Cleric and Gloomstalker Ranger. This is especially because both of these classes use Wisdom as their spellcasting ability, making the switch easier without hurting Shadowheart’s output power.
To start, the player should have Shadowheart change her Cleric domain at level 1, going from trickery domain to War Domain. Her deity will remain the same. Thanks to her domain, she’ll also unlock these two:
Besides that, she’ll also get Heavy Armor Proficiency, Martial Weapon Proficiency, as well as War Priest. The War Priest Feature will grant her the ability to make an extra attack as a bonus action by spending War Priest charges.
At level 2, the player should stick with the War Domain Cleric. She will receive Channel Divinity charges, as well as Turn Undead. From her subclass, she will receive Guided Strike.
At level 3, it’s time to switch to the Ranger Class. This would make Shadowheart a 2 Cleric - 1 Ranger. At level 1 of Ranger, the player can pick 1 Favored enemy, and the player should Mage Breaker. The player also has to choose one Natural Explorer Environment. They should go with Wasteland Wanderer: Fire.
At Cleric 2-Ranger 2, the player will be able to pick a fighting style, and Dueling fits Shadowheart the best.
At level 3 of the Ranger class, which would make Shadowheart a Cleric 2 - Ranger 3, the player will unlock quite a lot. Firstly, the player needs to pick the Gloom Stalker subclass. With that, the player unlocks the following:
All of these will help Shadowheart be more stealthy.
At Cleric 2 - Ranger 4, Shadowheart will get to choose a feat. A good option would be Mobile, as it increases her movement speed and makes her capable of not provoking enemy attacks after making her own attack.
At Cleric 2 - Ranger 5, Shadowheart will unlock a great feature, the Extra Attack. With this, she can dish out one more attack after she made one before.
Now, it’s time to switch back to being a Cleric. At Cleric 3 - Ranger 5, Shadowheart will unlock more Domain spells, notably:
Later, at Cleric 4 - Ranger 5, Shadowheart only gets a feat. The best option here would be Shield Master, as most players will definitely have her wielding a shield.
At Cleric 5 - Ranger 5, Shadowheart unlocks Destroy Undead. She also gets more domain spells, these being:
At Cleric 6 - Ranger 5, she expands her Channel Divinity Charges feature. Interestingly, she also gets the War God’s Blessing, which can grant an ally a +10 bonus to their attack roll.
At Cleric 7 - Ranger 5, Shadowheart unlocks Domain Spells, here being:
This concludes Shadowheart’s Multiclass, where she becomes great at casting spells, but also a tough attacker if needed.
Best Items For Shadowheart
Items can make a huge difference when building up a character, andhere are some good recommendations for Shadowheart:
Baldur’s Gate 3 is now available on PC and PlayStation 5.
Baldur’s Gate 3
WHERE TO PLAY
Abducted, infected, lost. You are turning into a monster, but as the corruption inside you grows, so does your power. Forge a tale of fellowship and betrayal, sacrifice and survival, and the lure of absolute power. Caught in a conflict between devils, deities, and sinister otherworldly forces, you and your party will determine the fate of the Forgotten Realms.THE ULTIMATE D&D EXPERIENCEChoose from a wide selection of D&D races and classes, or play as an origin character with a hand-crafted background. Adventure, loot, battle, and romance as you journey through the Forgotten Realms and beyond. Play alone or as a party of up to four in multiplayer – and select your companions carefully.A CINEMATIC STORYTELLING EPICForged with the new Divinity 4.0 engine, Baldur’s Gate 3 gives you unprecedented freedom to explore, experiment, and interact with a world that reacts to your choices. A grand, cinematic narrative brings you closer to your characters than ever before, as you venture through our biggest world yet. Romance, deceive, aid, obstruct, and grow alongside your friends thanks to Larian’s next-generation RPG engine.
