Baldur’s Gate 3: The BEST Shadowheart Companion Build

Make the most out of your Shadowheart companion by giving her the best build in Baldur's Gate 3!

Baldur’s Gate 3 presents players with the option to have a companion by their side during their gameplay, and this companion can not only be personalized, but players can also have a specific build for their companion. Such is the Shadowheart, and players might want to know a few subclass options alongside an overview of a few Baldur’s Gate 3 Shadowheart Build. 

Important: Players need to free Shadowheart before they can recruit and build her!
Key Takeaways
  • The Shadowheart companion in Baldur’s Gate 3 will focus on having a healer or a melee War Domain build. 
  • She will start with a Half-Elf race, allowing her to see in the dark and have features like Civil Militia, Darkvision, and Fey Ancestry. 
  • Players will want the Life Domain subclass for their Healer to build. 
  • Players can choose the War Domain to gear more toward a melee build. 

Baldur’s Gate 3 Shadowheart Build 

The Best All-Rounder Shadowheart Build In BG3.

Below is my overview of the best builds for Shadowheart companion, including a Healer and War Domain subclass build:

Baldur's Gate 3 Shadowheart Companion BuildDescription
Starting DomainTrickery
Starting Race Half-Elf
ClassCleric
Life Domain FeaturesDisciple of Life, Bless, Cure Wounds, Heavy Armor Proficiency
Life Domain SpellsBless, Cure Wounds, Aid, Lesser Restoration, Beacon of Hope, Revivify, Death Ward, Guardian of Faith, Greater Restoration, Mass Cure Wounds.
War Domain FeaturesWar Priest, Shield of Faith, Divine Favor
War Domain SpellsDivine Favor, Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Spiritual Weapon, Spirit Guardians, Crusader's Mantle, Stoneskin, Freedom of Movement, Flame Strike, Hold Monster.
  • Gain Weapon Proficiencies with melee weapons.
  • Focuses on healing allies.
  • Encourages using Heavy Armor.
  • Versatile.
  • Reliable and consistent.
  • Does require strong offensive support.
  • Magic utilization can be slightly better.
  • Why I Chose This: Clerics are very hard to make use of properly, but the build listed below with Shadowheart will give you the best performance in most scenarios.

Starting Race 

At the start of recruiting her, she will already have a race that will be assigned to her, and it ranges from quite a few options of races such as the Dwarf, gnome, elf, Half-orc, and many others. 

Race
Race (Image Credits Exputer)

She is a Half-Elf race, which grants creatures of this race the ability to see when it is incredibly dark. She also has a few key features as she is a Half-Elf that I have listed below: 

Race Features Effects
Civil Militia Players can get weapon proficiency with Halberds, Pikes, Spears, and even Glaives. 
Darkvision A creature can see in the dark within a range of 12 meters. 
Fey Ancestry Your mind will veil it, and you get an advantage over your Saving Throws against being affected with Charm. 
Base Racial Speed Trait for Half-Elf

Cleric Class 

In my experience, the Cleric class primarily emphasizes Wisdom as its main ability, with Saving Throw Proficiencies in Charisma and Wisdom. Clerics excel in providing support through healing spells and applying debuffs to dangerous enemies.

Cleric Class Overview
Cleric Class Overview (Image Credits Exputer)
  • Players can choose a few domains for their Shadowheart Build, but players would mostly want to focus on choosing a class that can allow them to flourish as a healer/support. 

The class options are as follows. 

Cleric Subclasses Features 
Life 
  • Heavy Armor Proficiency 
  • Disciple of Life 
  • Bless 
  • Cure Wounds 
Light 
  • Warding Flare 
  • Faerie Flare 
  • Burning Hands 
Trickery 
  • Charm Person 
  • Disguise Self 
  • Blessing of the Trickster 
Knowledge 
  • Sleep 
  • Command 
  • Blessings of Knowledge 
Nature 
  • Acolyte of Nature 
  • Shillelagh 
  • Animal Friendship 
  • Speak With Animals 
Tempest 
  • Fog Cloud 
  • Wrath of the Storm 
  • Thunderwave 
  • Bonus proficiencies
War 
  • War Priest 
  • Divine Favor 
  • Shield of Faith

Shadowheart Healer Build 

In the time I have spent with her, Shadowheart mostly served as a support and healer, as that playstyle can take advantage of the healing spells and cantrips.

Subclass 

I recommend you choose the Life Domain class, where Wisdom serves as the primary ability, and proficiencies include Charisma and Wisdom saving throws.

Features 

Life Domain
Life Domain (Image Credits Exputer)

When it comes to the overall features of the class, there are a total of 4 that I have listed as follows. 

Life Class Features Effects
Disciple of Life The player’s devotion will determine the number of healing spells they can use. When you cast a healing spell, the target will get extra hit points. 
Bless Players can bless a total of 3 creatures and get a bonus towards their Saving Throws and Attack Rolls.
Cure Wounds  Heal a creature that you can interact with. 
Heavy Armor Proficiency Wearing heavy armor won’t cause you to have a disadvantage in your attack rolls or your spell-casting. 

Other than that, they also have a few other features that players will be able to take advantage of, which are as follows. 

  • Wisdom Saving Throw Proficiency
  • Light Armor Proficiency
  • Charisma Saving Throw Proficiency
  • Medium Armor Proficiency
  • Shield Proficiency
  • Simple Weapon Proficiency

Level Progression 

As you progress while being a Life Domain central, you can unlock a few different features, actions, and spells that can gain you an advantage for a Shadowheart. 

Level Progression Features/Action/Spells
1 Domain Spells Unlocked 
1 Players gain Heavy Armor Proficiency 
1 Disciple of Life 
2 Preserve Life 
3 Aid and Lesser Restoration spells 
5 Beacon of Hope and Revivify spells 
6 Blessed Healer 
7 Death Ward and Guardian of Faith spells 
8 Divine Strike (Life) 
9 Greater Restoration and Mass Cure Wounds spells 

Cantrips 

Cantrips
Cantrips (Image Credits Exputer)

Regarding the cantrips, you can choose from a wide selection, as follows. 

Cantrips Effects
Thaumaturgy Players can manifest a fourth power that can give them an advantage in their Performance and Intimidation checks. 
Sacred Flame  You can bring forth a flame-like radiance that can deal with radiant damage. 
Guidance  Grant guidance to your teammates. 
Light  Infuse any object with light. 
Blade Ward  Players can take half damage from all types of attacks, such as Piercing, Slashing, or Bludgeoning attacks. 
Produce Flame Fire damage cantrip. 

Spells 

Life Spells
Life Spells (Image Credits Exputer)

As far as the spells are concerned for the Shadowheart Build, specifically for the healer build, I suggest going for spells that capitalize on healing and enhance it. 

Spells  Effects 
Healing Word  Players will be able to heal a creature that they can see 
Bless  Go ahead and bless a total of 3 creatures, and they will get a bonus to their Attack rolls and Saving Throws. 
Cure Wounds  Interact with a creature to heal them up. 
Protection From Evil and Good  Protect any teammate against attacks launched by aberrations, celestials, the undead, or even fiends. 
Aid  Bolster forth your teammates using toughness and enhance their overall max hit points. 
Lesser Restoration  Cure any features that have been poisoned, is paralyzed, or is blinded. 
Prayer of Healing  Heal teammates that are in your field of sight. 
Beacon of Hope  You can bolster your teammates using vitality and hope; they will get max hit points. 
Mass Healing Word  You can call out restoration words to heal 6 creatures. 
Revivify  Teammates can get revived, and they will get revived with one hit point. 
Remove Curse  You can interact with a creature and object to remove curses from it. 
Guardian of Faith Creatures that are hostile within a 10-foot radius of the garden must succeed with a dexterity save. 
Death Ward  If the target drops to 0 HP for the first time, it regains it back to 1 HP. 
Greater Restoration  End any one condition (either being charmed or petrified) or even HP reduction. 
Mass Cure Wounds  It can affect a total of 6 creatures. 
Heal  One creature can regain 70 HP and will be cured of all diseases. 

War Domain Subclass Build 

For a specialized Shadowheart build, consider the War Domain subclass. If Shadowheart needs more support, equip her with heavier armor and choose spells that enhance her build.

Subclass 

The War Domain subclass will focus on the primary ability also being Wisdom, while the Saving Throw proficiencies will focus on Charisma and Wisdom. 

Features 

War Domain Features
War Domain Features (Image Credits Exputer)

The features of the War Domain class are as follows: 

War Domain Features Effects 
War Priest  Anytime you make a weapon attack, you can spend a War Priest Charge to cast out an extra attack as a bonus. 
Shield of Faith  Players can surround a creature using a field of magic to enhance its overall armor class by 2. 
Divine Favor  Your prayers will be able to empower you further with radiance, and the attacks will deal extra radiant damage. 

For the other features, they are primarily proficiencies such as: 

  • Wisdom Saving Throw 
  • Charisma Saving Throw 
  • Light Armor 
  • Shield 
  • Medium Armor 
  • Simple Weapon. 

Level Progression 

Level Progression
Level Progression (Image Credits Exputer)

The below-listed level progression will occur as you figure out how Baldur’s Gate 3 How To Free Shadowheart and use her with the War Domain subclass. 

Level Progression  Features/Spells/Actions 
1 Divine Favor and Shield of Faith spells 
1 Proficiency in Martial Weapon 
1 Proficiency in Heavy Armor 
1 War Priest
2 Guided Strike 
3 Spiritual Weapon and Magic Weapon spells 
5 Crusader’s Mantle and Spirit Guardians spell 
6 War God’s Blessing 
7 Freedom of Movement and Stoneskin spells 
8 Divine Strike (Warmaster) 
9 Hold Monster and Flame Strike spells

Spells 

As far as the spells are concerned, there are a few that players can use as they level up, and they are and are specific to the War Domain. 

Class Specific Spells  Effects 
Divine Favor  Players can have their prayers empower them further using divine radiance, and the weapon attacks will also deal extra Radiant damage. 
Shield of Faith  Use a field of magic around a creature to increase the Armor Class by 2. 
Magic Weapon  You can infuse a weapon using arcane energy, and the weapon will become magical, and you get a +1 bonus to Damage and attack rolls. 
Spiritual Weapon  If the spell attack ends up hitting, then you can deal damage. 
Spirit Guardians  Call forth spirits that will protect the area that surrounds you, and the enemies close by will take in radiant damage. 
Crusader’s Mantle  Friendly creatures tha are present in a 30 feet radius will end up dealing extra radiant damage anytime they are hit with a weapon attack. 
Stoneskin  Turn the flesh from a creature stone-like. 
Freedom of Movement  The target’s movement won’t get slowed by spells, topography, or water. 
Flame Strike  Creatures within a 10-foot radius will need to succeed with a Dex save. 
Hold Monster Players can paralyze a creature, and it won’t be able to act or move at all. 

My Tips On Using Shadowheart

I have played BG3 a number of times, and each and every time, I always save Shadowheart. She is simply too fun not to have around you at all times. 

ibrahim bg3 save slot
My Baldur’s Gate 3 save slot (Image by eXputer)

Personally, I run a hybrid damage and healer build with Shadowheart. It helps me deal consistent damage with a safety net to fall back on. Additionally, in the case I am demolishing my opponents, Shadowheart gets to join in on the fun.

And that’s just about it! All that players need to know about the Baldur’s Gate Shadowheart Build guide, and with that, let’s wrap up the guide! While you’re here, why not read up on the BG3 All Feats New Old guide, which tells you all that you need to know about the feats present? Besides that, the Baldur’s Gate 3 Halsin guide will tell you about Halsin as a companion!

The Strange Ox guide will also make you read about the mystery behind the Strange Ox. Wanna make love with a bear? (I’m judging) The BG3 Bear Scene guide can showcase exactly that.

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Ibrahim Akhtar is a guides & features writer at eXputer. He uses his passion for gaming to provide insightful takes in his articles. Ibrahim spends most of his time defending Baldur's Gate from the forces of the Absolute. He has accumulated more than 15 years of gaming experience, having 1000 hours in The Witcher 3 and twice as much on Skyrim V. Ibrahim has previously worked at TopTierList. You can keep up with his Steam account to stay up to date on his latest explorations.

Experience: 1+ Years || Previously Worked for TopTierList || Education: Bachelors in Data Science.

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