Utility spells inBaldur’s Gate 3see a lot of action and are perhaps much more important to have in a spellcaster’s arsenal than direct damage spells. Not only do they add different avenues in combat, giving players new options on how to approach encounters, but they see a lot of use outside of combat.
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These spells affect everything fromdialogue choices, rolls of dice, perception checks, and stealing, to things like terrain traversal. All spellcaster classes have access to utility spells of different natures, butWizardsandBardshave access to the most variety.
Updated by Hamza Haq on August 16, 2025:We’ve updated the list with five new utility spells that players will find extremely useful during their adventures in Baldur’s Gate 3. New links have also been added to bring the article up to date with the latest in BG3.
15Minor Illusion
If you appreciate a little bit of cheese here and there,Minor Illusionis a great spell to make difficult encounters trivial. Thiscantripcreates a small illusion that will attract enemies towards it to investigate.
The main use of this spell is to separate enemies from larger groups by casting it on the fringe of the battlefield and taking them out with a sneak attack. The best thing about it is that it’s a cantrip, so it can be obtained easily by level 1.
A level 2 Illusion spell,Silenceis a pretty useful tool in combat that can allow you to cut off spellcasters like Wizards andWarlocksfrom their spells in an area of effect. However, what most players fail to recognize is that Silence is a powerful tool to have in your arsenal outside of combat too.
When cast, Silence creates an area of effect with no sound. No sound escapes or enters this area. Sneaking past a guard, and he noticed you? Cast Silence, and now no one can hear him. Sneaking inside a castle and a door stands in your way? Cast Silence and then Fireball to destroy the door. With Silence, that means no one heard the door blown to smithereens.
A spell you’ll see in the game straight from the get-go,Jumpis a level 1 Transmutation spell available to Druid, Eldritch Knight, Ranger, Sorcerer, and Wizard. Larian has done its best to incorporate verticality into Baldur’s Gate 3 as much as possible, giving players a true three-dimensional playground to mess around with.
Jump takes full advantage of this focus. With it, players can straight up ‘jump’ from one area to another without having to search for a ladder or ledge to hang on to. With Feather Fall activated, Jump becomes a truly powerful traversal spell you can use to fall down to explore deep pits.
12Speak With Animals
TheSpeak With Animalsspell is available to Druids, Bards, Rangers, Warlocks, Oath of the Ancient Paladins, Wildheart Barbarians, and Warlocks. Gnomes also gain access to this spell as part of their racial traits.
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This spell is absolutely crucial to have in your party, especially on your first playthrough. Speak With Animals allows you to converse with any cow, mouse, squirrel, or owlbear you see anywhere in the game. Without it, you’d be locked out of interacting with these dialogues and miss out on a lot of content.
11Enlarge/Reduce
If you’ve been exploring every corner of the map in search of hidden treasures and locked-away chests, then you’ve most likely come acrosssmall burrow holesthat no character of yours can enter and explore.
Enlarge/Reduce not only has its uses in combat, but it also allows you to use Reduce in tandem with Disguise Self to make your character small enough to be able to enter these small burrow holes and discover what’s within.
10Speak With Dead
Like Speak With Animals,Speak With Deadgives players the option to talk to NPCs that they normally couldn’t talk to. In this case, the dead. You can revive anybody and talk to their dead body, gaining the ability to ask them five questions before they go back to being dead.
The dead are surprisingly talkative, given a chance, and will share a lot of important, relevant information with players that they don’t want to miss out on. Entire quests can be solved and mysteries uncovered by talking to the right dead person.
9Disguise Self
Disguise Selfis an iconic Dungeons & Dragons spell that allows players to change their appearance to anything they wish. A Tiefling character that would be discriminated against if they talked to a group of humans can use Disguise Self to appear as a Half-Elf to blend in and gain information without being suspected.
Disguise Self is also quite useful when using Speak With Dead to talk to enemies that the player character killed themselves. These murdered enemies will refuse to talk to their killer at any cost. But with Disguise Self, the player can fool the corpse into thinking it is talking to someone else. Useful indeed.
Creating a Dome of Absolute Darkness in an area of effect,Darknessis an incredible spell inside and outside of combat. It is a level 2 Evocation spell available to Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard, and Paladin.
When cast on a group of enemies, Darkness blinds them, meaning they have to move out of the area to see again or swing inside blindly, severely hampering their ability to deal damage. Blind is a powerful debuff that renders archers and long-distance spellcasters essentially useless.
7Longstrider
A level 1Ritual spell,Longstriderincreases your movement speed by 3 meters. It doesn’t sound quite that powerful at first glance, but it’s an incredible utility spell that will only benefit you with no downsides.
It can be cast on your entire party and lasts until the next long rest, making it a cast-and-forget type of spell. And most importantly, you don’t even need to have the spellcaster in your party for the spell to retain its effects. Have a caster in your camp cast Longstrider on every party member you plan to adventure with. This way, you’ll have an entire party buffed with Longstrider and no expended spell slots to sacrifice for it.
6Mage Hand
Available to Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard, and Eldritch Knight,Mage Handis an iconic D&D spell Larian has spent a lot of effort getting right. Mage Hand is exactly as it sounds like, giving players an ethereal, disembodied hand that can do everything a regular hand can but at a distance.
Related:Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Party CompositionsIn combat, you may use Mage Hand to throw items like explosives or knives at enemies to deal damage. Outside of combat, you can pull levers, push buttons, open chests, and shove people.
