You’ve decided it's time to take the plunge and try out the full range of the Illithid powers in Baldur’s Gate 3. Working your way down the Illithid skill tree can take some time, but adds so much to a playthrough, especially an evil one.
Maybe you’re making a Sith Lord or a tav who closely resembles The Joker or trying for a solo run as Gollum. Let’s face it, they’d all make full use of the Illithid powers were they available to them.
Either way, the sheer volume of power these features can offer makes for a downright fun playthrough. With limited tadpoles to consume and more worthwhile abilities than can fit on this list, what abilities are the most worth vying for? Which powers are the cream of the crop? Let’s get into it.
10. Illithid Expertise
Illithid powers can be either passive or cost action economy. While there are abilities that allow you to mitigate the cost of those actions, there is no denying the appeal of the passive, always on abilities. This is a third ring ability, so you won’t be able to take it until you have worked your way down the skill tree.
Illithid Expertise gives the feeling of being able to control the minds of those around you by improving your chance of succeeding at checks in terms of persuasion, deception, and intimidation. These checks come up frequently and the quantity of roleplaying potential this ability has is impressive. I only give this ability the tenth slot because you can tailor your character to be able to be an incredible face of the party without losing too much. If you don’t want to spend resources on these skills early but want the bonuses later in the game, this is a great way to do so.
Illithid Expertise Explanation:
This ability endows you with Expertise on Persuasion, Deception, and Intimidation skill checks. Expertise is a passive ability that allows you to add double your character's proficiency bonus on the intended skill check.
9. Ability Drain
This ability is powerful in any longer fight you might get into. Once per turn, a character will have the option to add a debuff to the character they are fighting. This can be stacked every turn making for a powerful debuff by mid-fight. I have placed this in the ninth slot because you do have to strategize around this ability to utilize it to its full potential.
This is a second ring ability, so you will have to work partway down the skill tree to reach it. There is no save for this ability making it a potentially powerful way to apply debuffs to the enemy you are engaged with.
Ability Drain Explanation:
This is a passive ability that is based on your character's attack type and its corresponding stat (strength, dexterity, wisdom, etc.) that can be used once per turn. Therefore, the attack type that you are making will cause a stacking -1 debuff to the corresponding stat on your enemy.
8. Displacer Beast Shape
This ability makes for an excellent bail out ability when your character is at risk of dying. It ends up being a free 85hp that the enemy has to cleave through in order to take you down while still allowing you to take actions such as attacking, hiding, or displacing. The shape itself is not terribly powerful, but being able to polymorph into an insane oversized black cat is fantastic.
This ends up in the eighth slot due to the fact it requires a long rest to utilize and is not as powerful as some of the other polymorphed abilities. However, for a character with no polymorph abilities, it is wonderful.
Displacer Beast Explanation:
You will use your action to polymorph into a Displacer Beast with 85hp and the abilities of the creature until you are either taken down to 0hp (where you will transform back into your original form) or you polymorph out of the ability. This can be done once per long rest.
7. Luck of the Far Realms
The Luck of the Far Realms is definitely intended for characters already capable of high damage crits. This will give your rogue, paladin, or whichever character class you give this to the ability to automatically turn a hit into a critical hit once per long rest.
While it does require a long rest to get it back up and running, the ability to choose to turn a hit into a crit at will feels superb for the right character.
Luck of the Far Realms Explanation:
Upon a successful attack roll, you will be able to use this feature to automatically turn this hit into a critical. It is important to note that this can only be used once per long rest.
6. Psionic Backlash
This passive feature allows you to do automatic psychic damage to a spellcaster based on the level of the spell they are attempting to cast. Being able to cause 1D4 psychic damage per spell level cast as a reaction is incredible. This will make high level spell casters easy to take down as long as you are within their vicinity when they cast their dreaded spells.
Immediately needing to focus on those pesky spellcasters can get troublesome in some fights, and this feature will make their takedowns all the more efficient. This does count as occurring before the spell is cast, therefore, if the spellcaster dies from this damage the spell’s casting will be prevented.
Psionic Backlash Explanation:
Using your character's reaction, this will cause 1D4 psychic damage per spell level being cast within a 9m or roughly 30ft radius. This is used once per round and does not require any rest to bring back up.
5. Psionic Dominance
Shutting down spellcasters is among my most satisfying actions in Baldur’s Gate 3, so an ability that allows you to do that automatically is right up my alley. Considering this ability has a range of 18m or roughly 60ft, that is going to be a majority, if not all, of the battlefield. This is on the final level of the skill tree, so it will take a little time to achieve, but once you do you’ll be so ready for it.
Psionic Dominance Explanation:
This passive feature will utilize your reaction to shutdown a spell casted that is below or equal to the level of your Proficiency Bonus within range (18m or roughly 60f radius). Nice and simple.
4. Mind Sanctuary
This is an ability that synergizes great with the other action based abilities on this list for your entire party. It will make any action taken interchangeable with a bonus action for you and any party members within a 9m or roughly 30ft radius around the character who takes the action for a limited time.
This allows for a great burst of action economy. Whether you need to lay down a Black Hole and cast a high level spell, you’ll be able to do it all in no time.
Mind Sanctuary Explanation:
As an action, your character will make a 9m or roughly 30ft radius around themselves that allows all actions to be taken as a bonus action (and vice versa of course). This effect will last for three turns and is usable once per long rest.
3. Black Hole
I always love abilities that pull enemies into a tighter cluster for ease of obliteration. This allows you to strategize the battlefield into a formation that is favorable for excellent damage. For optimal use, it should be reserved for a character with a high intelligence stat in order to utilize the Slow aspect of the ability. It does only end up lasting one turn, but once they are in position it is less likely that they will move out of it.
Black Hole Explanation:
This action creates a point on the battlefield that enemies are pulled towards with the chance of slowing them. While a successful intelligence save against the slow ability is possible, the enemy will be moved. Slowing a character causes their movement speed to be halved and their AC and Dexterity saves are reduced by 2. This lasts one turn, has a range of 18m or roughly 60ft, and requires a short rest to refresh.
2. Cull the Weak
The feeling of pulling off a scenario where Cull the Weak goes off in any group of enemies is so satisfying. This is definitely one you want to take once you’ve gained a few other Illithid powers as its hp threshold is directly dependent on how many Illithid powers you have unlocked on a character. However, there are 25 Illithid powers to be unlocked, and it is available relatively early in the skill tree.
Getting an enemy down to just a few hp can be downright annoying as you end up feeling like you have to waste an action in order to kill them. This feature nullifies that AND causes 1D4 psychic damage to all nearby enemies. Fantastic!
Cull the Weak Explanation:
Upon bringing an enemy down to an hp level lower than the number of tadpoles a character has consumed, it will die instantly and cause 1D4 psychic damage to all nearby enemies. This ability does not have a recharge and will go off anytime the conditions are met.
1. Fly
Lastly, the usefulness of Fly cannot be understated. This ability simply causes your movement speed to include the option to fly to a location as long as it is within range. This one does not take consuming a tadpole once you have the final ring of the Illithid skill tree unlocked.
Fly Explanation:
Using your movement speed, automatically fly to a location within 18m or roughly 60ft. Easy peasy!
