Unless you are playing a four-player multiplayer campaign and have no room in your party for more characters, companions are essential in Baldur’s Gate 3. Since you need companions on your journey through Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll benefit from knowing who the best companions are. After reading this guide, I’m confident you’ll be confident in selecting the best companions in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Best Companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 Tier List

Since Baldur’s Gate 3 is fully out now, there will likely be more companion characters to discover as we play through the Acts. However, we know about 10 (well, 22 actually) companions you can have in Baldur’s Gate 3. Here is my ranking of the best companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 and why.

1. Shadowheart, the Cleric

   Recruited after talking to her on the beach after freeing her from the mind flayer pod. If you didn’t do that, Shadowheart can still be recruited on the beach but you won’t start with her being thankful to you.

2. Astarion, the Rogue

   Found west of the crashed ship standing in an open area. Recruited after scaring the boar away and talking to him.

3. Lae’zel, the Fighter

   Found on the north side of the beginning area past the ship. Talk to the two Tieflings guarding the cage holding Lae’zel (and for extra credit, I recommend doing a Persuasion or Intimidation check to scare them away without killing them). Free Lae’zel by shooting the bottom of the cage, talk to her, and she’ll join your team.

4. Karlach, the Barbarian

   Recruited after finishing the Hunt the Devil sidequest.

5. Minthara, the Paladin

   Found and recruited at the Shattered Sanctum.

6. Jaheira, the Druid/Fighter

   Found and recruited at the Last Light Inn.

7. Wyll, the Warlock

   Found in the first major camp you find after fighting the goblins. Go through the gates, into the encampment, and straight to the training grounds. There, you talk with Wyll and recruit him to your team.

8. Gale, the Wizard

   Found northeast of where Astarion is found. Look for a rune in a rock wall. Pull Gale out of the portal and talk to him to recruit him.

9. Halsin, the Druid

   Found and recruited at the druid grove past where you recruited Wyll.

10. Minsc, the Ranger

    Location not known yet.

11. Hirelings

Note: Strangely enough, if you don’t select to play as The Dark Urge, the Dragonborn, you can find them as an NPC in the open world, but you can’t recruit them as a companion. This isn’t the case with any other companion and Origin character in Baldur’s Gate 3; I guess The Dark Urge is special in that way.

The best companion in Baldur’s Gate 3 is Shadowheart. I don’t care what anyone else says, Shadowheart is the best companion because Clerics are the necessary class to have in your party but nobody actually wants to play Cleric. Her story is really cool and unique and Shadowheart just rules in every party – definitely have her on your team.

The next best companion in Baldur’s Gate 3 is Astarion. Honestly, I don’t really like Astarian – I find him kind of annoying – but having a Rogue on your team is essential for lockpicking, sneaking, and spying traps. If you’re already playing a Rogue, then you don’t need Astarian on your team, but if you aren’t a Rogue, Astarian is great in and out of combat.

The third-best companion in Baldur’s Gate 3 is Lae’zel because of how good of a fighter she is. She’s kind of insufferable, but a sturdy Fighter is good in any party. If you can’t stand her, Karlach is really cool and an amazing Barbarian to have on your team. Both Lae’zel and Karlach fill the same spot of big DPS and damage-taking, so pick your favorite.

Besides the top three companions in Baldur’s Gate 3, Minthara is great; her backstory is cool and Paladin is a good class to have in your party. Jaheira is really unique since she is a multiclass of Druid and Fighter. Wyll and Gale aren’t the best companions, as cool as they are. If you need a spellcaster in your party, I would recommend Gale for a ranged role and Wyll for a melee role.

How to Get Hirelings in Baldur’s Gate 3

While you can respec every Origin character and companion in Baldur’s Gate 3 to make the perfect party composition, doing that will definitely muddle their story. For example, turning Wyll from a Warlock who gets his power from a demon to a regular Ranger will drastically change his personal quests, which is no fun. Instead, you can recruit hirelings!

There are 12 hirelings in Baldur’s Gate 3, one for each class. Every hireling has a predetermined name, backstory, race, and appearance. Building the best party composition isn’t hard when you use hirelings, but you won’t get a fun set of individual character questlines like you do with the other main Origin and companion characters.

Oh, and you can respec every hireling and turn them into a different class, so if you really want to, you can make an entire party of Wizards (I don’t advise doing that).