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What is Shadow Magic in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Shadow Magic is a Sorcerer subclass whose powers are tied to the Shadowfell. The BG3 Wiki presents its flavor text as: “You siphon your powers from the Shadowfell itself, the light in your soul snuffed out by an unsettling darkness.” The subclass arrived in Patch 8, which Larian Studios announced on April 15, 2025, as its final major patch introducing new content. Sorcerers choose their subclass at level 1. BG3 Wiki: Shadow Magic · Larian Studios: Patch 8 is now live
Shadow Magic features by level
| Character level | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eyes of the Dark | Grants dark vision up to 24 m (80 ft). |
| 1 | Strength of the Grave | When you reach 0 hit points, you can regain 1 hit point instead of becoming downed. |
| 3 | Darkness | Uses an action and a level 2 spell slot to create magical darkness. |
| 3 | Eyes of the Dark: Darkness | Uses an action and 2 Sorcery Points to create magical darkness. |
| 6 | Hound of Ill Omen | Uses a Bonus Action and 3 Sorcery Points to summon a creature of darkness; recharges on a Short Rest. |
| 11 | Shadow Walk | Uses a Bonus Action to teleport to an obscured location; your next spell that turn gains Distant Spell without spending Sorcery Points. |
The distances and costs in this table are the subclass’s reported in-game values. BG3 Wiki: Shadow Magic
What the two level 3 darkness options do
Both options create magical darkness that heavily obscures the area, blinds creatures within it, and prevents ranged attacks into or out of the cloud. Their core battlefield effect is similar; the practical difference established by the feature descriptions is how you pay for access.
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| Option | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Darkness | Action and one level 2 spell slot | Creates heavily obscuring magical darkness that blinds creatures inside and blocks ranged attacks into or out of it. |
| Eyes of the Dark: Darkness | Action and 2 Sorcery Points | Creates the same core type of heavily obscuring darkness, with the same blindness and ranged-attack restrictions. |
Neither is an at-will ability: each spends a limited resource. The regular Darkness option draws on a spell slot, while Eyes of the Dark: Darkness uses Sorcery Points. The detailed feature reference also says the caster has an effect equivalent to Devil’s Sight while concentrating on Eyes of the Dark: Darkness; that benefit is conditional on maintaining concentration, not a general always-on subclass trait. BG3 Wiki: Eyes of the Dark: Darkness · BG3 Wiki discussion: Shadow Magic
Hound of Ill Omen at level 6
At level 6, Hound of Ill Omen summons a creature of darkness. Activating it takes a Bonus Action and costs 3 Sorcery Points; the feature recharges on a Short Rest. The sourced feature description establishes those activation and recovery details but does not provide a basis here for assessing the hound’s damage, durability, or comparative strength against other summons. BG3 Wiki: Shadow Magic
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Shadow Walk at level 11
Shadow Walk is a Bonus Action teleport to an obscured location, with a listed range of 18 m (60 ft). After using it, the next spell you cast that turn gains Distant Spell without a Sorcery Point cost. The free Metamagic benefit applies to that next spell as part of Shadow Walk; it is not a permanent increase to your spell range. BG3 Wiki: Shadow Walk
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Patch 8 context
Larian’s April 15, 2025 announcement introduced 12 new subclasses in Patch 8, including Shadow Magic Sorcerer, and described the update as its last major patch to add new content. The announcement allowed for minor bug fixes to continue, so “final major content patch” does not mean the game could receive no further fixes. Larian Studios: Patch 8 is now live
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