Spiritual Weapon
Spiritual Weapon is a Level 2 Evocation spell that summons a floating spectral weapon as a controllable combatant for a limited time.
Key Takeaways
Spiritual Weapon is a Level 2 Evocation spell that creates a temporary, selectable weapon-shaped summon rather than equipping a conventional melee weapon. Its value comes from adding an independent combatant to the initiative order while retaining control over its attacks.
A summoned weapon, not an equipment item
When cast, Spiritual Weapon produces a floating spectral weapon and lets the caster choose a form such as a Greataxe, Maul, or Spear. The selected form affects its available weapon actions.
It occupies its own place in combat
The summon has its own hit points and initiative position, so it can attack independently and draw enemy attention. This gives the spell tactical value beyond its direct damage.
The spell is available through specific sources
Clerics and Oath of the Crown Paladins can access Spiritual Weapon as a spell. Certain items, including Sethan and Harper Sacredstriker, can also provide access.
A durable temporary combatant
The summon is immune to psychic and poison damage and resistant to other damage types. It is therefore useful for absorbing attacks or harassing targets that are difficult for the party to reach.
Its duration does not require Concentration
At its base casting level, Spiritual Weapon lasts for 10 turns and is not a Concentration spell. The summon can still be removed before then if its hit points are depleted.
Upcasting improves both offense and durability
Higher-level spell slots increase the summon’s hit points and add force damage at the stated upcast intervals. These improvements apply to the summon, not to a permanent weapon upgrade.
Its role differs from an ordinary melee weapon
Unlike a normal weapon, Spiritual Weapon does not depend on an equipped weapon’s proficiency, enchantment, or permanent upgrade path. It trades lasting equipment value for a temporary extra body on the battlefield.
Overview
Spiritual Weapon is a Level 2 Evocation spell in Baldur’s Gate 3 that creates a temporary floating weapon, rather than adding an equippable weapon to the caster’s inventory.
Spiritual Weapon occupies an unusual place among Baldur’s Gate 3 weapons: it is a spell-created combatant, not a permanent item that can be equipped, sold, or upgraded through the normal weapon systems. When cast, it produces a floating spectral weapon that joins the fight for a limited duration. The caster selects its weapon form, with options including a Greataxe, Maul, and Spear.
Its defining feature is that the summoned weapon functions as an independent entity on the battlefield. It has its own hit points and initiative position, allowing it to take part in the turn order rather than serving only as a single instant attack. This gives Spiritual Weapon a role beyond direct damage: it can occupy space, pressure a target, and draw attacks that might otherwise reach the party. The summon is not a concentration effect, so casting it does not itself require the caster to maintain concentration.
The spell is notably different from ordinary melee weapons and from many temporary attack effects. Its selected form determines the weapon actions available to the summon, while the spell’s damage and duration come from the spell’s rules rather than from an item enchantment or a character’s physical weapon. The summon deals force damage and remains present for 10 turns at its base casting level, giving it a continuing battlefield role instead of resolving entirely when the spell is cast.
Spiritual Weapon is therefore most relevant to characters who can access the spell or obtain it through a compatible item, including Clerics and the Oath of the Crown Paladin. It is useful when a party benefits from another body on the field, especially for occupying enemies or reaching targets without exposing the caster to melee. Higher-level spell slots improve the summon, but the result remains a temporary magical ally rather than a replacement for a character’s equipped weapon.
How to Obtain
- A character must have access to the Cleric spell list and reach Cleric level 3 to prepare Spiritual Weapon normally.
- The Oath of the Crown Paladin subclass can also provide access to Spiritual Weapon through its subclass spell progression; the relevant Paladin level must be reached before preparing or casting it.
- No Baldur’s Gate 3 DLC, New Game Plus, or special story branch is required for the ordinary Cleric spell-list route. A spell slot is required to cast it unless an item grants the spell separately.
- 01Treat Spiritual Weapon as a spell-based summon rather than a physical weapon pickup. The standard route is to use a Cleric: reach Cleric level 3, when level-2 Cleric spells become available, then prepare Spiritual Weapon from the Cleric spell list through the character’s spellbook or prepared-spell interface.
- 02After preparing the spell, cast it with an available spell slot during play. The spell is not bought from a vendor, awarded by a quest, or obtained as an enemy drop, so there is no specific region, NPC, mission, boss, or guaranteed loot location to visit.
- 03Spiritual Weapon is also associated with certain item-based casting options, including Sethan and Harper Sacredstriker. Those are alternative access routes rather than prerequisites for the Cleric route; use the item’s own acquisition conditions if pursuing one. The spell itself is not a missable or one-per-playthrough reward.
Availability
Requires Cleric access to Level 2 spells.
Spiritual Weapon is a spell rather than a conventional equippable melee weapon. No separate vendor price or DLC requirement applies to this class-based access.
Requires Oath of the Crown Paladin access to Level 2 spells.
This subclass can access Spiritual Weapon through its spell list. Availability depends on the character being an Oath of the Crown Paladin; it is not a universal Paladin spell.
Requires Access to an item that grants Spiritual Weapon, including Sethan or Harper Sacredstriker.
The item route does not require the character to learn the spell as a Cleric or Oath of the Crown Paladin. The item and its casting limitations determine access.
Mechanics and Handling
Spiritual Weapon is handled as a temporary summoned combatant rather than as an equipped melee weapon. Casting creates a floating spectral weapon that joins the initiative order as its own controllable entity, with its own hit points and attack options. The practical consequence is that its value comes from adding another body and turn to the fight, not from changing the caster’s normal weapon attacks.
Weapon form determines the attack profile
At the time of casting, choose the weapon form, such as a greataxe, maul, or spear. These forms are not merely cosmetic: each supplies its own attack pattern and weapon actions. Select the form according to the target and battlefield rather than treating Spiritual Weapon as a single fixed melee moveset. The spell does not use firearm-style ammunition, reloading, drawing, or magazine management.
The summoned weapon is most effective when it can reach a useful target without forcing the caster to abandon a safer position. Its independent presence lets it pressure an enemy away from the caster, attack a distant target when the selected form can reach it, or occupy attention while the party handles another threat. Because the summon is a separate creature, its attacks and movement should be planned around its place in the turn order rather than folded into the caster’s own attack sequence.
A temporary body with unusually strong defenses
Spiritual Weapon lasts for 10 turns and does not require concentration, so taking damage or concentrating on another spell does not end it through concentration loss. Enemies can target the summon directly, and its hit points therefore matter as much as its damage output. Its resistances make it more than a disposable visual effect: it has resistance to damage types other than psychic and poison, and immunity to psychic and poison damage according to the spell’s Baldur’s Gate 3 implementation.
Those defenses support using the summon to absorb pressure or harass enemies, but they do not make it indestructible. Protecting it from attacks that can still damage it preserves its extra turn presence, while allowing it to take a hit can be worthwhile if that prevents damage to a party member. This is a tactical trade rather than a permanent weapon durability system; when the summon expires or loses all its hit points, the spectral weapon leaves the encounter.
Damage and upcasting
The base attack deals 1d8 + 1 force damage plus the caster’s spellcasting modifier. The dice notation is the relevant mechanical value; it should not be replaced by an average when evaluating the spell’s roll. Force damage is part of the summon’s attack rather than a separate rider that the caster applies with an ordinary weapon.
Casting Spiritual Weapon with a higher-level spell slot increases the summon’s hit points by 8 and adds 1d8 force damage for every two slot levels above the spell’s base level. These improvements apply to that summoned weapon for its duration. The spell therefore gains both offensive and staying-power benefits from upcasting, although the decision still depends on whether a longer-lived additional combatant is more valuable than another use of the higher-level slot.
Upgrades and Variants
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- It adds a separate controllable combatant rather than requiring the caster to make every attack, giving the party another body with its own place in the initiative order.
- The summon does not require Concentration, so it can remain active alongside a Concentration spell such as Bless, Spirit Guardians, or Hold Person.
- Its force-damage attacks avoid many ordinary physical damage resistances, while its resistance to most damage types and immunity to psychic and poison damage help it survive incidental attacks.
- The selectable weapon forms provide different weapon actions, allowing the summon to contribute more than a uniform basic melee attack.
Weaknesses
- Casting it spends a Level 2-or-higher spell slot and a bonus action, so it competes with other bonus-action spells, class features, and tactical actions at the start of a fight.
- It is still a melee summon: enemies that move away, occupy inaccessible terrain, or cannot be reached efficiently reduce the value of its attacks.
- Its own hit points make it a temporary combatant rather than a permanent frontline replacement; focused enemy attacks can remove it before its duration expires.
- Its contribution depends on the caster's spellcasting modifier and on the chosen weapon form, so it is less attractive when the caster cannot safely maintain useful positioning or when the summon has no viable target.
Best uses
- Add a second melee presence during a crowded encounter while the caster preserves Concentration for a more important spell.
- Pressure isolated or distant enemies by sending the summon toward them without exposing the caster to the same melee position.
- Use the summon to absorb or draw attacks that would otherwise target a vulnerable party member, accepting that its hit points are a limited resource.
- Choose a weapon form whose available actions suit the encounter, particularly when the party benefits from an additional source of force damage and controllable melee pressure.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Weapon or spell | Role and battlefield presence | Concentration / persistence | Control and positioning | Choose it when... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spiritual Weapon | No concentration; lasts 10 turns | A controllable summon with its own initiative and hit points; its selected weapon form determines available actions | You want a low-level, non-concentration summon that adds another body to the battlefield without occupying your concentration slot | — |
| Flaming Sphere | Requires concentration; lasts while concentration is maintained | Can be moved and used to threaten nearby spaces, but competes with other concentration spells | You prefer area pressure and movement control over a weapon-shaped summon, and can spare concentration | — |
| Guardian of Faith | Does not require concentration; remains until its attack limit is reached or the spell ends | Provides zone control but cannot pursue targets across the battlefield | You need to defend a doorway, objective, or narrow approach rather than chase mobile enemies | — |
| Mordenkainen's Sword | Requires concentration; its persistence is tied to maintaining the spell | Offers a more advanced weapon-summon role but competes with powerful high-level concentration options | You want the same general concept at later spell levels and can justify spending a high-level slot and concentration | — |
Trivia
- In Baldur’s Gate 3, “Spiritual Weapon” is a summoned combat entity rather than an equippable weapon. Its apparent weapon type is selected when the spell is cast, so the chosen greataxe, maul, spear, or other form does not become permanent inventory equipment.
- The spell’s implementation differs notably from its tabletop counterpart: the spectral weapon occupies its own place in the turn order and can be targeted as an independent creature, rather than functioning only as an extension of the caster’s attacks.
- Each visual weapon form is more than a cosmetic choice. The selected form determines the set of weapon actions available to the summon, giving the spell several distinct manifestations without creating separate inventory items.