The Circle Of Stars In Baldur’s Gate 3 Will Provide A Fun New Way To Use Wild Shape (2025)

Baldur's Gate 3's eighth major patch is coming in 2025, and it will bring 12 new subclasses into the mix for players to choose from. For druid characters, their new option is the circle of stars, originally introduced to D&D in the Tasha's Cauldron of Everything sourcebook. While the subclass features that the circle of stars provides will undoubtedly receive changes for the video game format, it remains one of the more unique options for druid characters.

That is predominantly due to the way the stars druid can use its wild shape, forgoing the usual animal transformation for a power called "starry form." Wild shape is already a powerful feature in both D&D and BG3, but starry form presents an all-new way to use it, and some players may find that they prefer harnessing the power of the cosmos to taking the shape of an owlbear or dinosaur.

Taking The Form Of Constellations

Empower Your Druid With Starlight

At second level, the circle of stars subclass grants druids the guidance cantrip and the guiding bolt spell, but more importantly, it lets them use their wild shape charges to activate a starry form. Doing so takes a bonus action, and allows the druid to take on the powers of one of three constellations: the archer, chalice, or the dragon. Each comes with its own unique set of powers, and sheds bright light in an area around the druid.

The fact that this transformation only takes a bonus action makes it faster than most ways the druid can use their wild shape, aside from the moon druid's combat transformation. It also leaves the druid in their humanoid form, meaning they can still use their actions to cast spells and use other features that druids can't while in animal form. It acts less like a shift into a whole new creature, and more like a temporary powered-up state the druid enters to enhance their existing powers.

Making Your Druid A Sniper, A Healer, Or A Superior Spellcaster

Understanding Each Of The Starry Forms

The three starry forms the circle of stars grants access to each start with certain abilities, but gain more as they reach higher levels. Tee archer allows the druid to use their bonus action to shoot a radiant ranged attack at a nearby foe, granting the character a higher damage output each turn. The chalice form enhances healing spells, allowing the druid to heal multiple allies with single-target spells like cure wounds and healing word.

The dragon constellation is a little more complicated. At second level, it makes failing an intelligence or wisdom check near impossible, as well as ensuring success on concentration checks for spells. At higher levels for the other two starry forms, they simply receive more dice when rolling for damage and healing, but the dragon form gains a new feature altogether: the ability to fly. This is cool, but may vary in usefulness in Baldur's Gate 3, since there are so many other ways for any character to gain flight.

The Starry Forms Outperform Some Druid Transformations, But Not Others

Turning Into An Owlbear May Still Be The Best Move

In comparison to other druid subclasses in Baldur's Gate 3, the circle of stars druid is lacking in certain ways. Most notably, unlike every other use for wild shape, the starry forms do not grant extra hit points. Druids are a popular option for tanking damage in BG3, given that their wild shape can essentially grant them an extra pool of health. But the stars druid lacks that particular strength.

That being said, most other druid transformations will be lost if the druid loses all the extra health the transformation grants. Animal forms dissipate if the druid runs out of their health, and the spores druid only keeps its powers as long as its temporary hit points remain. The stars druid is perfect for characters that simply want to enhance their healing and spell damage output while retaining access to all of their class features, without worrying that a big hit from an enemy might waste their wild shape charge in Baldur's Gate 3.

Baldur's Gate 3

RPG

Franchise

Baldur's Gate

Released

August 3, 2023

Developer(s)

Larian Studios

Publisher(s)

Larian Studios

Multiplayer

Local Multiplayer

Number of Players

1-4