Baldur's Gate 3 Concentrated Blast: Selecting Illithid Powers for Optimal Gameplay

If you’ve chosen to embrace your inner brain tadpole in Baldur’s Gate 3 and dabble in the mystical Illithid Powers that the game offers, you may find yourself pondering which ones are worth your while. Fret not, as we’re here to assist you in making the right choices. After all, you wouldn’t want to devour those parasites for no good reason!

Unleash Your Potential: Selecting the Best Illithid Powers in Baldur’s Gate 3

Unlocking Illithid Powers in your game is an exhilarating experience, but it requires a special encounter with an NPC in a dream. If you haven’t unlocked them yet and are doing some research, don’t worry, just continue playing until you reach that point in the story. However, it’s important to carefully consider whether you want to use Illithid Powers or not.

One crucial thing to keep in mind is the connection between an active Tier 1 and an active Tier 2. You need to be able to establish a link between these two tiers when deciding which powers to use.

Tier 1 Powers

Favorable Beginnings: The first Attack Roll or Ability Check you make against any target gains a bonus equal to your Proficiency Bonus.
Force Tunnel: Charge forward, pushing objects and creatures in your path 4 meters away from you. This action won’t provoke any attacks of opportunity.
Concentrated Blast: Can only be cast when concentrating on another spell. Inflict 6-36 damage on the target of a spell you cast, healing yourself for the same amount. This power breaks the concentration of the target’s spell if applicable.
Transfuse Health: Sacrifice half of your current hit points to heal a target for the same amount. Ideal for keeping fragile allies alive.
Psionic Overload: Deal additional Psychic damage (1D4) with your attacks, but suffer 1D4 damage per turn. This power lasts for 10 turns.

Best Tier 1 Illithid Spell

Among the Tier 1 powers, Favorable Beginnings stands out as the clear winner. It provides benefits to any class, regardless of specific actions or tactics, and is useful both in and out of combat. However, Transfuse Health is an excellent choice for tanky characters who want to keep their fragile teammates alive through self-sacrifice.

Tier 2 Powers

Stage Fright: Gives your targets Disadvantage on attack rolls and deals 2D6 Psychic damage when they miss. Lasts for three turns or until the target makes a successful attack.
Repulsor: Push targets back by six meters and inflict 2D6 force damage.
Luck of the Far Realms: Allows you to turn a successful attack against an enemy into a Critical Hit.
Charm: Use your tadpole to Charm any enemy that attacks you, preventing them from doing so until their next turn.
Ability Drain: Reduces the ability score used to make an attack against an enemy by one. This power can only be used once per turn.
Shield of Thralls: Grant yourself ten temporary hit points by creating a shield around you. When all points are depleted, the shield bursts, stunning nearby enemies.
Psionic Backlash: Allows a reaction against casters within nine meters, inflicting psychic damage of 1D4 per spell level when they attempt to cast.
Perilous Stakes: Make a target Vulnerable, but allow them to heal when they attack. Lasts for three turns.
Displace: Inflicting fall damage on a target causes them to take additional damage.
Cull the Weak: Creatures die when reduced to a number of hit points less than your evolved Illithid Powers. Nearby creatures also take 1D4 psychic damage.

The Best Tier 2 Illithid Spell

Similar to the Tier 1 spells, the best Tier 2 spells tend to lean towards being passive rather than active. Stage Fright is amazing because it significantly hampers your targets’ ability to damage you. Charm adds to your defensive options without requiring additional resources to cast, and Ability Drain can be a game-changer in long fights against powerful enemies, gradually weakening their main ability score. In the late game, Cull the Weak can come in handy, eliminating enemies from the board one turn earlier than you would have been able to without it.

All Illithid Powers: Unleash Your True Potential in the Game

Illithid powers are notorious for their extraordinary strength and versatility in the game. As a player, it can be overwhelming to keep track of all the different abilities available. But fear not! We have compiled a comprehensive list of all the Illithid powers you can harness in the game.

Favorable Beginnings	Feature	The first Attack Roll or Ability Check you make against any target gains a bonus equal to your Proficiency bonus.
Force Tunnel	Action	Charge forward, pushing all objects and creatures in your path 4m away from you. Doesn’t Provoke Opportunity Attacks.
Concentrated Blast	Action	You must be concentrating on another spell to cast this. If the target was concentrating, you heal as much as the damage that was dealt to it. The spell you were concentrating on will end.
Psionic Overload	Action	Your attacks deal an additional 1-4 Psychic damage, but you take 1-4 Psychic damage every turn.
Transfuse Health	Action	Sacrifice half your remaining hit points to heal a target for the same amount.
Luck of the Far Realms	Reaction	When you make a successful Attack Roll against a foe, you can change that hit into a Critical Hit.
Perilous Stakes	Action	Invest a creature with power that heals it when it attacks, but also make it Vulnerable to all damage.
Shield of Thralls	Action	Conjure a volatile shield around yourself or an ally, granting the target 10 temporary hit points. If these temporary hit points are lost due to incoming damage, the shield bursts, possibly Stunning nearby foes.
Displace	Feature	Creatures suffering Falling damage because of your actions take an additional 1-8 Psychic damage.
Cull the Weak	Feature	When you bring a creature down to fewer hit points than your number of evolved Illithid powers, it dies, and all nearby creatures take 1-4 Psychic damage.
Psionic Backlash	Reaction	When an enemy within 9m casts a spell, you can use your reaction to inflict 1d4 Psychic damage to the caster per the spell’s level.
Ability Drain	Feature	Once per turn, when you make an Attack Roll, the attack reduces that target’s corresponding Ability by 1. The Ability that is reduced is the same as the one used to make the Attack Roll. For melee weapons, this is usually Strength, for ranged weapons usually Dexterity, and for spells usually your Spellcasting Ability.
Stage Fright	Action	Your targets have Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and take 2-12 Psychic damage each time they miss. Targets overcome their Stage Fright early when they succeed an Attack Roll.
Psionic Dominance	Reaction	When an enemy within 18m targets you with a spell of a Level that is lower than or equal to your Proficiency Bonus, you can use your reaction to nullify the spell.
Absorb Intellect	Actions	Gobble up a foe’s intellect, lowering their Intelligence by 1 per turn and healing your wounds for 5 turns.
Mind Sanctuary	Actions	Sculpt a magical nexus that allows those within to take actions and bonus actions interchangeably.
Fracture Psyche	Actions	Invade a target’s mind and disrupt its defenses. The target’s Armor Class is reduced by 1. If the target dies while its psyche is fractured, you can cast Shatter Psyche on another target.
Black Hole	Feature	Create a point of intense gravity that pulls in all nearby enemies and possibly Slows them. Five more black holes can be summoned after this spell’s initial casting. Afterwards, you must Short Rest before casting it again.
Mind Blast	Action	Spew forth a conical wave of psychic energy and possibly Stun targets within.
Illithid Expertise	Feature	You have deepened your sense of self, gaining Expertise in Persuasion, Deception, and Intimidation Checks.
Repulsor	Action	Push anything and anyone back 6m. On Save: Targets still take half damage.
Freecast	Feature	You have discovered a marvelous adaption within yourself. Spell slots, charges, and similar resource costs for your next action or spell are removed. Refreshes after a Short or Long rest.
Displacer Beast Shape	Action	Transform into a displacer beast that can Displace itself and enemies and has 85 hit points. You take on the attributes of a displacer beast but maintain your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. When your displacer beast form drops to 0 hit points, you revert to your original form.
Fly	Action	Fly to target position.
Charm	Reaction	Channel the dark allure of the tadpole to Charm an enemy that attacks you, preventing them from attacking you until their next turn.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Concentrated Blast: Selecting Illithid Powers for Optimal Gameplay