In Baldur’s Gate 3, you are limited to a four-person party unless you use mods. With only four people, you will often be outnumbered by enemies, leaving you to rely on superior tactics to win the day. One tactic that works really well is to summon reinforcements.
Summons are vastly improved from their tabletop origin. Gone are the concentration requirements for elementals. Gone is the risk your summons turn against you. You can call a half dozen allies, or more, to a single party with the right spells. Which ones should you choose?
10 Skeleton
Skeletons are born from the third level Animated Dead spell where you call it forth from the corpse of a humanoid. While they aren’t going to sway a battle in your favor all on their own, they give good fire support from a distance, or extra bodies in the way of your real party members.
While Zombies can be spawned from the same spell, a Skeleton’s range and superior damage make it the better pick. Their attacks hit harder than expected, gaining an extra d10 of necrotic damage on all attacks. Wizard Necromancers can buff them to have greater health and damage.
9 Elemental Mephits
Conjure Minor Elemental is the fourth level spell required to summon a pair of either ice or mud Mephits. Gaining two allies from a single spell is what gets the Mephits decent usage since they are somewhat weak alone. Both Mephit types are best used supporting your party with their ranged attacks.
Ice Mephits create ice surfaces which can make enemies fall prone and miss their turn, while Mud Mephits restrict and restrain enemies with mud. They’re decent just beyond melee range since their breath can hit multiple targets, but you don’t want them too close to your party in battle. They will explode when they die, damaging everyone nearby.
8 Cambion
The lowest of the three summons offered by the Summon Planar Ally spell, the Cambion joins the fray as your ally from hell. It wages war using its grave, Rays of Fire, and charms. With the power of flight, the Cambion gains substantial movement capabilities to gain high ground in fights.
Its most powerful ability is Rays of Fire, which launches an improved version of the Scorching Ray spell. While not weak exactly, the problem with the Cambion is that Fire is a common resisted damage type, and its weapon attacks are quite weak. While it can do psychic damage through Draining Kiss, that requires the Cambion to charm a creature first, making it take two turns to do one attack. Some enemies can’t even be charmed. Considering you have two other, better choices from Summon Planar Ally, the Cambion is a mediocre summon at best.
7 Mummy
Mummies are powerful undead created from the sixth level Create Undead spell from the corpse of a humanoid. While in no way a weak creature, it does compete for the sixth level spell slot against more powerful competition. However, compared to other summons, it does have more resistances and can be quite tanky, so long as your enemies don’t use fire.
The Mummy’s attack hits very hard in a mix of bludgeoning and necrotic. Each attack has a chance to inflict Mummy Rot, lowering the enemy’s health and preventing healing as well. The Mummy can also attempt to frighten a creature for two turns, and it gains an extra attack against any frightened creature. With some support from a Fear spell, the Mummy can deal massive damage, but there are other summons that can reach similar heights under their own power.
6 Dryad
Dryads are Fey beings you can summon for help using the Druid’s Conjure Woodland Being spell. As summons go, the Dryad is an excellent choice. As a fourth level spell, Conjure Woodland Being doesn’t compete for your highest slot, and it’s certainly worth the benefit. The Dryad is the only summon in the game that has a summon of her own in a Wood Woad.
Dryads have empowered Shillelagh, letting them be decent in melee. They also summon entangling vines on enemies while making nearby allies immune to difficult terrain. Their Wood Woad is a tanky but slow ally, capable of regaining health when standing on the Dryad’s magic vines. You get two summons for one mid-level spell.
5 Ghoul/Winged Ghoul
Animated Dead gains a special up-cast ability when you cast it at fifth level. Instead of offering a zombie or skeleton, you can create ghouls. Wizard Necromancers get even better usage from summoning them since they can make an additional undead. Ghouls are powerful melee fighters due to the toxin applied to their claws.
In addition to dealing decent damage, Ghoul claws can paralyze your target. Since paralysis is extremely good, guaranteeing critical hits on the target, these ghouls can take enemies out of the fight on their own. Regular ghouls have more health, while Winged Ghouls sacrifice their durability for the ability to fly. Of the two, the Winged Ghouls mobility makes them a stronger choice.
4 Elemental
Elementals can be drawn from the elemental planes using the fifth-level Conjure Elemental spell. When casting the spell, you can choose between four different flavors of Elemental: fire, water, earth, and air. They all share some similarities, but each does have some differences to set them apart.
They’re all good. Each elemental has an AoE, a single target ability, a means to debuff, and a multi-attack. Because they all stem from the same spell, you can only have one Elemental at a time, but that also means you can choose which one to fit your needs. Examine what enemy you’re fighting, and then choose the best ally for your cause.
3 Djinni
Djinnis are powerful elementals also called to your side by the Summon Planar Ally Spell. The Djinni specializes in dealing AoE damage and debilitating enemies at the same time. Its weapon attacks, and its unique Drunken Inhale ability, deal poison damage, which is unfortunately a common resistance.
Its remaining abilities, however, still see the Djinni become a powerful teammate. It can cast an amplified Thunderwave every turn to deal damage and push enemies. Sweetplum Gales allows you to restrain multiple enemies at once with powerful winds. While not as damaging as other summons, the Djinni can provide your party with some crowd control it may be lacking.
2 Deva
Deva’s are angelic allies summoned from the higher planes as the final summon from the Summon Planar Ally spell. These angels specialize in dealing massive damage to a single enemy at a time. While they wield a simple mace, each of their attacks is imbued with radiant power similar to Divine Smite.
They can also cast Wrathful Smite to deal psychic damage and terrify enemies. With flight, they can close with any target, regardless of verticality, and strike them. Your Deva can even revive a party member when they die, and it can use helpful actions that elementals can’t. It gives a little more Smite to your party.
1 Elemental Myrmidon
Conjure Elemental gains a powerful upgrade when up-casted to sixth level. Instead of a regular Elemental, you can summon an Elemental Myrmidon. Myrmidons are the best summons in the game; they have all the best points from Elementals amplified. There are four different kind, just like Elementals, but even if they were made from separate spells, they would still be the top four picks for your party.
Myrmidons can deal high damage to both single targets and groups. They each now have a new support ability alongside their more potent debuffs and stronger attacks. Myrmidons can teleport around the battlefield as a bonus action, ensuring they’re always in the best spot to be the most effective. With high health and high damage, they are almost as powerful as a full party member.