As with many RPGs, Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) is fertile soil for modders, so I’ve created a list of five categories with the 15 best mods between them. Some are musts, some add improvements, others are just fun for occasional use, but all deserve recognition.
How to Make Mods Work in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)
Many games with a vibrant mod community have one or two “base” mods that are a must. In the case of Baldur’s Gate 3, that comes with three: Baldur’s Gate 3 Mod Fixer, BG3 Script Extender, and ImprovedUI. Anyone using mods for Baldur’s Gate 3 needs to download the Mod Fixer, as it ensures mods run smoothly in the game, and Nexus staff have marked it as the de-facto mod fixer for the game. Similarly, the ImprovedUI mod prevents annoying pop-ups warning about mod usage and improves user interface overall. The BG3 Script Extender, meanwhile, allows certain script mods to function.
Though these are no-brainers for anyone running a modded BG3, their requirements for most mods make them a must on this list. Don’t forget to also download ImprovedUI’s optional file, ImprovedUI Assets. It ensures custom icons appear in the game, as some mods have caused them to disappear.
Best Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) Mods For Gameplay Mechanics
Nexus Mods boasts a ton of exceptional gameplay mods for Baldur’s Gate 3, making this a tough one to narrow down. That said, there are a few that target some of the game’s key aspects in a way that I find makes them required downloads.
5E Spells
Baldur’s Gate 3‘s basis in Dungeons & Dragons gives fans a treasure trove of content to inspire mods. With 5E Spells, players get a vastly expanded spell list utilizing those from Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Besides adding some greats like Green Flame Blade, an optional version includes beneficial tweaks to existing spells like Fireball.
Camp Event Notifications
This mod to add Camp Event Notifications makes building relationships with your companions much easier. Baldur’s Gate 3 features several time-sensitive cutscenes, events, and dialogue options. Sometimes, not taking enough long rests can cause players to miss important moments, potentially changing the course of the story or even closing the doors on certain romances. This mod takes the guess work out of deciding when you need to long rest for plot points, not just low health or spell slot expenditure.
Show Approval Ratings in Dialogue Choices
As an RPG, the relationship between the player’s Tav and their companions makes up a significant part of the game. This Show Approval Ratings mod can be a game-saver for those struggling to gain approval, especially with romanceable characters (looking at you, Astarion). During dialogue, the mod shows players what potential approval/disapproval their response options might accrue. Instead of repeated saves to make sure you don’t disappoint your fav (or if you want to make Gale stop romancing you for being a reasonable person), this one is a must.
Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Mods For Character Customization
BG3 offers a great deal in character creation, but its set faces and other limitations may leave players wanting more. Several mods offer expanded options in the character creator, including more races, hair styles, and presets.
Fantastical Multiverse
Simply put, Fantastical Multiverse adds a ton of new races and subraces to the character creator. Some, like Changeling and Aasimar, appear in Baldur’s Gate 3 but not as playable races. Over time, the mod aims to include all races featured in Dungeons & Dragons 5E. While I haven’t personally tried all of the options, the thought of facing down Ketheric as a Kobold is infinitely amusing.
Tav’s Hair Salon
Tav’s Hair Salon adds over 100 new hairstyles to Baldur’s Gate 3, vastly expanding on what is already present in the game. Some of these appear as reworked base game designs, but most are entirely original. The styles range from modern chic to anime main character and largely follow BG3‘s hair animation rules.
New Character Creation Presets
As with Tav’s Hair Salon, the New Character Creation Presets mod gives players a plethora of new choices for character faces. Unlike similar RPGs, Baldur’s Gate 3‘s character creation does not come with sliders for each facial feature. In the base game, each race and gender has a set of half a dozen or so faces to choose from. The New Character Creation Presets adds dozens more, giving you many unique options for creating your Tav.
Best Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) Mod For Class/Subclass
BG3 offers the tried and true 12 base classes from Dungeons & Dragons 5E Player’s Handbook: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard. However, it its selection of subclasses remains somewhat limited and it neglects the 13th official class and some of the most popular fan-made options. These mods help to address that.
Hexblade Subclass
Despite its popularity among DnD players, the Hexblade subclass does not officially feature in Baldur’s Gate 3. The Hexblade Subclass and New Invocations mods (featured on the same page but as separate files) seek to integrate it seamlessly as it would appear in an official release. Besides effectively adding the Hexblade subclass, the mod also pairs with 5E Spells to include spells for it from DnD that aren’t already in BG3. Additionally, the optional file includes new Invocation options for players specifically applicable to the Hexblade.
Artificer Class
Dungeons & Dragons 5E’s 13th class, the Artificer, only appeared in the TTRPG starting with Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. The Artificer Class and All Subclasses mod brings the absent class to BG3, giving players who favor the Intelligence-leading characters another option. As with the Fantastical Multiverse mod, NPC’s do not respond to the custom class — in this case, Artificer’s show up in dialogue as Wizards. Though it isn’t as attuned to the game as the official classes, it is still an incredibly fun mod.
Blood Hunter Class
Of all the fan-made classes for DnD, the Blood Hunter from Critical Role Dungeon Master Matt Mercer (and the voice of Minsc in Baldur’s Gate 3) is the best known and closest to official of them all. It remains the only one of its type to appear as a usable option on D&D Beyond. This mod currently gives players the choice between two subclasses, Lycan and Ghosthunter. For those of us (like myself) who count the Blood Hunter as one of DnD‘s most fun classes, this is easily one of the best BG3 mods around. It would be my runaway favorite if it had the Profane Soul subclass.
Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Mod For Gear
Overall, Baldur’s Gate 3 has a vast array of gear options for characters of all classes. Still, players have come up with multiple gear mods that make it much easier to emulate your character’s vibe from the outset. There are, of course, also a number of gear mods that make BG3 ridiculously easy. Like, over-powered easy. Apart from the first one here, these mods may be better applied situationally rather than as permanent add-ons to your game.
Purchasable Camp Clothing
One of my very few complaints about BG3 is the lack of camp clothing options for much of the first two acts. Sure, you can grab a decent assortment at the Githyanki creche in the Mountain Pass, but I found it mildly irksome that it wasn’t easier to obtain something other than the bland shirt/pants option until many hours in. The Purchasable Camp Clothes and Underwear mod fixes that problem by adding a selection of choices to several shop keeps in Acts 1 and 2.
Basket of Equipment
For players wanting the easy route to powerful gear or zesty styles, the Basket of Equipment provides hundreds of options right from the beginning. The basket appears first on the Mind Flayer ship in the room Tav/Dark Urge wakes up in, though it has other locations elsewhere for players who use the mod later in the game. Unique armors improve as the character levels up, and every item has a magical use. Though not as game-breaking as the last on this list, the Basket of Equipment gives players an assortment of every gear type that can easily last them for the whole game. It comes in four options: NSFW Version, SFW Version, Camp Clothing, and Underwear Slot.
Underwear of Ability Scores
The title probably speaks for itself. For those players who want things even easier than Explorer or Custom modes allow, the Underwear of Ability Scores mod turns BG3 into a walk through the park. Options include +1, +3, +5, +10, or +20 to all ability scores by wearing magic underwear. This means that, apart from the dump stat, all ability scores total at 30 max, even from the start of the game. If you want to play as an invulnerable Superman, this is the mod for you. It also helps you to breeze through certain sections when you want to, like when you come up with a new character concept and want to reach the Druid grove ASAP. Game-breaking for sure, but incredibly fun and useful under the right circumstances.
The scope and variety of Baldur’s Gate 3‘s mods make it challenging to narrow down the best to one list. There are a ton more well worth trying out on Nexus Mods. With its devoted fanbase and decades’ worth of Dungeons & Dragons content to draw on for inspiration, it seems inevitable that BG3‘s mod community will continue to thrive.
