10 most popular classes and races in Baldur’s Gate 3

Based on Reddit polls and official Larian Studios reports, we know the 10 most popular classes and races in Baldur’s Gate 3. Some of them may surprise you while others definitely won’t be surprising.

A week before the official full launch of Baldur’s Gate 3, a poll of more than 5,000 people on the Baldur’s Gate 3 subreddit voted on what class and race they’re picking for their first playthrough. And to me, the results are surprising. There are 12 classes, 46 subclasses, 11 races, and 31 subraces to choose from in Baldur’s Gate 3 and all of them are interesting and exciting in their own ways. So, what are the most popular classes and races in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Note: While learning the most popular race and class in Baldur’s Gate 3 is interesting, what’s more interesting is learning about what the best party class compositions are in this game.

According to the opening week numbers presented by Larian Studios, the most popular class is Paladin. Here are the 10 most popular classes according to Larian Studios’ numbers:

  1. Paladin
  2. Sorcerer
  3. Warlock
  4. Rogue
  5. Bard
  6. Barbarian
  7. Fighter
  8. Ranger
  9. Wizard
  10. Monk

The two classes that didn’t make the top 10 are Druid and Cleric. I’m very surprised that Druid didn’t make top 10 as that class is very different from the other play styles, but I’m not shocked to see Cleric in dead last.

Overall, this list makes sense to me. I’m excited to see Sorcerer so high because I think that’s a really fun class. I’m very interested as to why Ranger is so high. I’d expect Ranger and Druid to switch positions, but those are the stats.

According to a poll taken before the launch of Baldur’s Gate 3, brought to us by Fable_Nova on Reddit, the most popular class in Baldur’s Gate 3 is Paladin at 16.5%. I’m honestly not surprised that Paladin is the most popular class because they are great at everything — tank, DPS, healing, etc. They are a really fun class and, while there is one Paladin companion you can get, she’s not the easiest to get along with (you’re given a quest to kill her).

What really surprised me is that Bard is the second most popular class at 14.6% in the Reddit poll. Out of all the classes, Bard seems like it’s one of the hardest to play. But, considering the audience of the BG3 subreddit, I can imagine the majority of people that voted in this poll are experienced with D&D and Larian Studios’ games.

Here’s the entire list of popular classes as ranked by the Reddit poll:

  • Paladin – 16.5%
  • Bard – 14.6%
  • Sorcerer – 11.5%
  • Warlock – 9.4%
  • Monk – 6.9%
  • Ranger – 6.6%
  • Wizard – 6.4%
  • Druid – 6.32%
  • Undecided – 5.9%
  • Fighter – 4.3%
  • Barbarian – 4.1%
  • Rogue – 3.9%
  • Cleric – 3.6%

What’s shocking about this list compared to the official Larian Studios one is that Rogue is so low here and so high in the opening weekend stats. Everything else basically lines up with the opening weekend stats which is interesting in itself.

According to Larian Studios’ opening week numbers, the most popular race in BG3 is Half-Elf. This makes a lot of sense as people want to play an exotic race while also keeping some human relatability.

Here is the top 10 most popular races according to Larian Studios:

  • Half-Elf
  • Human
  • Elf
  • Dragonborn
  • Tiefling
  • Drow
  • Half-Orc
  • Dwarf
  • Gnome
  • Halfling
  • Githyanki

Again, this list makes a lot of sense to me. If you’ve talked to anyone about Baldur’s Gate 3 races, you’ll know how the look of Githyanki isn’t appreciated. Also, the short races — Dwarves, Gnomes, and Halflings are considered not the best options since they don’t offer as many race perks as Elves do… but I still love playing short races.

When it comes to the most popular race in Baldur’s Gate 3 according to the Reddit poll, Drow takes first place at 18.2%. This is really surprising to me because, although Elves are generally the most popular races in BG3, Drows are considered the “dark elves” that are usually a little on the evil side. Looks like the Reddit voters want to play chaotic evil.

Half-Elf is the second most popular race in BG3; no surprise there. Not only are Half-Elves good characters for basically any class, but they also are easiest to roleplay since they resemble humans but also have that fantasy flair.

Here is the full list of popular races in Baldurs’ Gate 3 according to the Reddit poll:

  • Drow – 18.2%
  • Half-elf– 13.9%
  • Dragonborn – 13.5%
  • Human – 11.3%
  • Tiefling – 10.9%
  • Half-orc – 7.9%
  • Elf – 7.2%
  • Undecided – 6.3%
  • Dwarf – 3.6%
  • Gnome – 2.9%
  • Halfling – 2.8%
  • Githyanki – 1.6%

This list basically follows the Larian Studios list. Dragonborn is an exciting race because you get to be a dragon. I’m a little surprised Human is so high because when I play fantasy games, Human is the last thing I want to be.

It makes sense that Dwarf, Gnome, and Halfling are the lowest on the list because they don’t have many standout race perks. Githyanki, while upsetting, isn’t too surprising.

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