Combat Wild Shape | Baldurs Gate 3 Wiki

Combat Wild Shape is a Feature in Baldur's Gate 3. Features provide unique abilities or effects and can be acquired depending on the Character's Race, Class and level. In Dungeons and Dragons 5e, Wild Shape can be used in different situations both inside and outside of combat for various situations. The same can be said for Baldur's Gate 3, but naturally tailor-fit for the video game format. That being said, each transformation provides different uses and functions for a variety of situations. In the tabletop format, a Druid can stay in their Wild Shape form for a specific number of hours determined by half of the character's Druid levels (rounded down). As Combat Wild Shape is used as a Bonus Action.

See Wild Shape Action for the effect and different types of transformation

Combat Wild Shape Information

• As a bonus action, you can assume the form of a beast. You may transform twice per Short Rest.

How to unlock Combat Wild Shape

Combat Wild Shape can be acquired by

• Circle of the Moon at level 2

WILD SHAPE BONUS ACTION INFORMATION

• Magically assume the shape of a beast. While in animal shape, you can't talk or cast spells.
  You take on the game statistics of your beast form -excluding your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. When your beast form drops to 0 hit points, you revert to your normal form, with the number of hit points you had before transforming. If your hit points dropped below 0 in beast form, that damage is applied after you revert. Spells that require concentration are not broken by turning into an animal. Your equipment merges into your animal form and won't have any effect until you revert.
• Wild Shape: Cat: Take the shape of a cat that can avoid attention or distract enemies.Your cat shape has 2 hit points.
• Wild Shape: Badger: Take the shape of a giant badger that can burrow into the ground. Your badger shape has 13 hit points.
• Wild Shape: Bear: Take the shape of a polar bear that can goad enemies into attacking it. Your bear shape has 30 hit points.
• Wild Shape: Wolf: Take the shape of a dire wolf that can increase its allies' movement speed and leave its enemies exposed by guaranteeing a critical strike. Your wolf shape has 18 hit points.
• Wild Shape: Spider: Take the shape of a giant spider that can enweb enemies. Your spider shape has 20 hit points. 
• Wild Shape: Dire Raven: Take the shape of a dire raven that can avoid attention and Blind enemies. Your raven shape has 21 hit points.
• Wild Shape: Deep Rothé: Take the shape of a deep rothé that can cast dancing lights and charge its enemies. Your deep rothé shape has 23 hit points.
• Wild Shape: Owlbear: Take the shape of an Owlbear.
• In 5e, Druids under the Subclass Circle of the Moon are eventually able to transform into Elementals by using up two usages of Wild Shape instead of one. It is yet unknown if this will be implemented in the full version of the game or not.
• Type: Bonus Action or Action, depending on the Subclass chosen
• Range: N/A

How to Use Combat Wild Shape in BG3

The different Wild Shape transformations have different Actions and Skills along with different spreads in Abilities. The available transformations in the game have certain uses. Wild Shape: Cat is not really intended to be used for combat. The form can be used stealthily to move across the field or to infiltrate certain Locations, but not for fights, except maybe to attract attention from your allies, but staying in cat form is pretty much a death sentence with its low health and Armor Class. Wild Shape: Bear transformation can siphon aggression with Goading Roar to serve the same function but with combat-attuned stats. The Wild Shape: Badger transformation's Burrow Action can render Enemies who're clumped together Prone, giving your team a good window to execute any plans. The Wild Shape: Spider transformation's basic Action provides a chance to poison Enemies, while its Web Action renders them immobile, which is also good crowd controlling multiple Enemies. It's worth noting that while the game says the webs are flammable, hitting them with any type of flame does not trigger any reaction. The Wild Shape: Dire Raven transformation allows fast, safe movement around the battlefield, which also allows it to take the Wild Shape: Cat's role in a fight, with an added capability of Blinding Enemies, and higher health stats. As you'd expect, the raven transformation can also allow you to traval greater heights than the other transformations, while the Wild Shape: Badger can't climb at all. Finally, the Wild Shape: Wolf transformation has a more synergistic type of play, with Exposing Bite allowing any next hit on the target to automatically become a critical hit, and Inciting Howl granting allies more Movement Speed. 

Given that players are able to use Wild Shape twice for every short rest, players can combine two of these transformations as the situation requires in battle. For example, the character can fly up to an Enemy situated on a higher area and then transform into a bear to unload some damage. Players can also attempt to keep Enemies in place using the spider's web, and then keep them from doing anything for longer using the badger's Burrow Action. As this version of Wild Shape is used as a Bonus Action as well, allowing even more intricacies in what players can do, as it allows for characters to transform and use a different Action in a single turn.

Combat Wild Shape Tips & Notes

• The main difference between Combat Wild Shape (Circle of the Moon) and Wild Shape (Circle of the Land), is that the former consumes a Bonus Action while the latter requires an Action.