There are no shortage of spells in Baldur's Gate 3 for the party to learn as they set off to save the world. While most spells found will use up precious spell slots, from low-level buffs to powerful sixth-level crowd control, there are a small number that can be cast out of combat free of charge as a ritual spell. Among these fantastic spells are utility spells, buffs for the party, and those where strategic use can change a battle in the party's favor.

Ritual spells are lifted straight out of Dungeons & Dragons, and offer a way to get some powerful effects without using a spell slot so long as they are cast out of combat. All the ritual spells in Baldur’s Gate 3 are available at low levels, meaning they can be easily used by any party almost immediately after crashing onto the beach. Even better, every class can learn at least two ritual spells with the Ritual Caster feat, which can be picked up at level four.

9 Detect Thoughts - Level Two Divination

Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard, Great Old One Warlock, Circle Of Spores Druid, Arcane Trickster & Eldritch Knight

There are times in Baldur's Gate 3 when NPCs may not be forthcoming with information, and in those situations, detect thoughts can provide more insight into a situation. The second-level spell is available to bards, sorcerers, and wizards at level three, along with Great Old One warlocks and Spore druids. Then, at level eight, Arcane Tricksters and Eldritch Knights have the opportunity to pick up this useful spell.

There are some downsides to using detect thoughts, with the main one being that if the skill check for the spell is failed, there is a chance the target will become hostile to the party. The other downside is that detect thoughts is a concentration spell, which means it could override another useful spell if they are already focusing on something else. Overall, detect thoughts is the least useful ritual spell, as the same effect can be achieved with a Potion of Mind Reading which also lasts until a long rest.

8 Enhance Leap - Level One Transmutation

Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard, Ranger, Githyanki, Arcane Trickster & Eldritch Knight

Enhance leap is a brilliant mobility spell in Baldur's Gate 3 that has good uses both in and out of combat. The premise of the spell is simple because, as its name suggests, characters affected by enhance leap can jump further. This level one spell triples a character's jump distance, which is amazing, especially for high strength characters like fighters or barbarians. Enhance leap is available for a great number of classes and subclasses by default, as well as any githyanki once they reach level three.

The githyanki racial version of enhance leap can only be cast once per long rest.

The effects last for 10 turns but don't require concentration, which means it can be paired with other spells like feather fall. While it does have some use in combat, enhance leap is best used for exploration, to make sure no corner of the map is left uncovered. There are several areas in all acts of the game where chests are tucked away or alternative routes into areas only accessible through jumping, such as Baldur's Mouth Gazette during the quest "Stop of Presses."

7 Disguise Self - Level One Illusion

Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard, Arcane Trickster, Eldritch Knight & Gloom Stalker

Disguise self is such a fun spell, and it's a shame that there aren't more opportunities for it to be used in BG3. That said, the times when the spell is useful are fantastic. This level one spell is available for a lot of classes and subclasses, as well as gold/fire ancestry Draconic Bloodline sorcerers. Warlocks even have their own version with Mask of Many Faces, which also doesn't use a spell slot.

Disguise self allows a character to transform their appearance into male or female versions of any of the playable races. This can really come in handy for unlocking race-specific dialogue, items with race-locked features, and chatting with the recently departed if the party killed them. Disguise self is also great for escaping jail and evading the guards; however, this trick will only work once per prison location before the guards catch on to the party’s shenanigans.

6 Feather Fall - Level One Transmutation

Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard, Arcane Trickster & Eldritch Knight

Blood of Lathander weapon has been activated.

Whether jumping down the side of Lenore's Arcane Tower in the Underdark or misjudging a leap from a balcony in Baldur's Gate, dying from a fall is an unfortunate way for a party member to go. When cast, feather fall will affect all allies within a nine-meter/30-foot radius and will last for 10 turns. Feather fall pairs very well with enhance leap when exploring hard-to-reach areas or haste escapes from enemies.

5 Silence - Level Two Illusion

Bard, Cleric, Ranger & Oath Of Devotion Paladin

Enemy spellcasters can be the bane of any party’s travels and silence is the perfect way to deal with and control any battle with them. This level two spell creates a six-meter/20-foot radius dome of absolute silence. This prevents any spells with verbal components from being cast and also makes all those inside the dome immune to thunder damage. Stealthing up to unsuspecting enemies and then casting silence as a ritual will often initiate combat, but also prevent reinforcements from being called in.

The dome of silence will last for 100 turns, until the spell is canceled, or until the caster loses concentration on the spell. In combat, silence is great for controlling enemy spellcasters, but outside of combat, it is perfect for going unnoticed, such as sneaking up on sleeping enemies or knocking down walls. Sneak attack works wonderfully with silence, allowing the spellcaster to set up an area for the rogue to sneak into for maximum damage.

4 Find Familiar - Level One Conjuration

Wizard, Ranger, Eldritch Knight, Arcane Trickster & Pact Of The Chain Warlock

Baldur's Gate 3 has some awesome little helpers that can be summoned using the spell cool BG3 pets can help out in combat, provide distractions, or find hidden items. Each familiar will come with their own skill set, with some being better suited to combat than others, and some best suited for scouting ahead.

BG3 even has some unique familiars that are only available under certain circumstances or to specific characters. Shovel the quasit can be summoned after her summoning scroll is found in Act 1's Apothecary's Cellar, while Scratch will journey with the party once he has given his ball to a character. Meanwhile, Boo will only fight alongside Minsc, who can summon the miniature giant space hamster to blind enemies in battle.

3 Longstrider - Level One Transmutation

Bard, Druid, Wizard, Ranger, Arcane Trickster & Eldritch Knight

Longstrider is an often overlooked spell, but once it starts to become part of any party's routine in BG3, it changes everything. On the surface, this level one ritual spell doesn't seem to do anything special, simply boosting a target's movement speed by 3 meters/10 feet. This may not sound like a lot, but can make all the difference for a melee fighter to close the gap in one turn without using dash, or for a spellcaster to stay out of reach in combat.

Unpreparing longstrider will remove the buff. However, the casting party member can be left at camp, which is a great use for hirelings in BG3.

However, what makes longstrider so wonderfully broken is that, unlike its DnD counterpart, BG3's version lasts until the next long rest. In DnD's 2014 fifth edition, longstrider only lasts an hour and takes an action to cast, making the BG3 version significantly more powerful and useful. Casting this on every member of the party at the start of every day means that they will all have its benefits immediately should they end up in combat.

2 Speak With Dead - Level Three Necromancy

Bard & Cleric

As the only third level ritual spell in BG3, speak with dead is amazingly useful for gathering information. As the name suggests, this necromancy spell allows the caster to talk with the dead, and ask them five questions from the options that appear. Speak with dead is fantastic for learning about aspects of the plot, getting hints for quests, and finding out where some NPCs have hidden their valuables.

While a lot of dead can be spoken to in BG3, any killed by acid, fire, lightning, necrotic or radiant damage will be too damaged to talk to. So it's important to keep this in mind if planning to speak to a particular NPC after a fight.

Available for bards and clerics once they reach level five, the spell can also be gained by any class through two other means. Very early in Act 1, the party can find the Amulet of Lost Voices in Withers' tomb, allowing the spell to be cast once per long rest. Another source is if a character reads the Necromancy of Thay, also found in Act 1, which will also allow speak with dead to be cast once per long rest after successfully reading one page.

1 Speak With Animals - Level One Divination

Bard, Druid, Nature Cleric, Ranger, Oath Of Ancients Paladin, Wildheart Barbarian & Forest Gnome

Without a doubt, the most useful ritual spell to have at the party's disposal is speak with animals. It's hard to describe just how much this single spell can change a playthrough of BG3, as it opens up a whole new roster of characters for the group to talk to. Speak with animals does exactly as it describes, allowing the caster to speak to and understand beasts and animals until their next long rest.

Along with just being a lot of fun to chat with animals, speak with animals can open up new quests and make some others much easier to complete. From the wonderfully helpful Scratch and rat merchants, to film noir cats and a very strange ox, this spell is an utter joy to have permanently active during a Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough. And considering just how many classes and subclasses have access to this level one spell, along with forest gnomes, there is no excuse not to run around and gossip with every critter in sight.