The Baldur’s Gate 3 best illithid powers are generally those that are useful in almost all instances rather than just a few. Given that there are only so many tadpoles that you can find in the game, you only have a limited number of opportunities to upgrade your party members with illithid powers. Of course, if you’re reading this, you’re probably already fine with the consequences of absorbing the mind flayer parasites (to keep it vague, it will impact the ending). Here’s a list of the illithid powers, ranked in a tier list to make it easy for you to concentrate on the best mind flayer abilities in BG3.
Baldur’s Gate 3 best illithid powers tier list
The following is a breakdown of the illithid powers your party can acquire, sorted into S (the best), A, B, C, and D tiers. We’ll explain our picks for the best illithid powers after the list below.
- S Tier
- Favorable Beginnings, Luck of the Far Realms, Mind Blast, Freecast, Perilous Stakes
- A Tier
- Force Tunnel, Shield of Thralls, Cull the Weak, Psionic Backlash, Psionic Dominance, Mind Sanctuary, Black Hole, Ability Drain
- B Tier
- Transfuse Health. Stage Fright, Illithid Expertise, Repulsor, Displacer Beast Shape, Fly, Charm
- C Tier
- Concentrated Blast, Psionic Overload*, Absorb Intellect, Fracture Psyche
- D Tier
- Displace
All of the mind flayer abilities in S or A tier are useful to some degree and tacticians will be able to combo them together in clever ways.
Some of our picks for S tier speak for themselves, really. Favorable Beginnings makes any attack roll get an extra chance to hit, while Mind Blast (the signature illithid power) can stun multiple enemies at a time. Freecast is pretty much ridiculous for casters just to put down any spell they want without a resource cost.
Luck of the Far Realms and Perilous Stakes are also extremely powerful, especially on paladins with divine smites and rogue with sneak attack. Luck of the Far Realms makes a hit an auto-crit, while Perilous Stakes when placed on an enemy makes them receive double damage automatically. Stack these two together and there’s no foe that can really stop your party.
As for Psionic Overload, we placed an asterisk on this because it’s extremely good for barbarians, like Karlach, to maintain rage. The automatic 1-4 psychic damage per round will make sure that they won’t lose rage just because there are no enemies around, and barbarians have the HP to absorb small bits of psychic damage anyway.
BG3 Best Illithid Powers FAQ
A: The S Tier illithid powers, which are considered the best, include Favorable Beginnings, Luck of the Far Realms, Mind Blast, Freecast, and Perilous Stakes. These abilities offer a significant advantage in battles, from granting extra chances to hit to being able to cast spells without any resource cost.
A: Luck of the Far Realms and Perilous Stakes are powerful when combined because the former makes a hit an auto-crit, while the latter ensures that an enemy receives double damage automatically. When both are used together, they can significantly enhance the damage output, making it challenging for enemies to withstand your party’s attacks, especially when paired with abilities like paladins’ divine smites or rogues’ sneak attack.
A: Psionic Overload is beneficial for barbarians, such as Karlach, as it helps them maintain rage. The ability inflicts 1-4 psychic damage per round, ensuring that barbarians won’t lose their rage even if there are no nearby enemies. Given the high HP of barbarians, they can easily absorb these minor psychic damages without significant consequences.
For more Baldur’s Gate 3 guides, here’s where to find all Umbral Gem locations and whether you can romance multiple companions at a time.
