Baldur's Gate 3 Shadowheart actor says she "would respec" the Trickery Domain Cleric companion while playing the RPG "personally," as she just "ain't that"

Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing companion Shadowheart, a young half-elf woman with long tied-back black hair
(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur's Gate 3 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 actor Jennifer English wouldn't opt to play Larian Studios' Dungeons & Dragons RPG as is – she says she'd rather respec Shadowheart, her own character.

English, who plays Shadowheart in Baldur's Gate 3, reveals as much in a new video from Fall Damage on YouTube. While competing in a "Shadowheart quiz" alongside her partner and performance director Aliona Baranova, she correctly responds to a question regarding the race, class, and subclass of Shadowheart. As English recalls, Shadowheart is canonically a half-elf Trickery Domain Cleric – but that's not how the actor prefers her.

She'd rather swap the companion's subclass. "In my head," explains English, "trickery should be like Puck from Midsummer Night's Dream, and she ain't that." She continues, revealing that she doesn't personally understand Shadowheart's "canon" class: "I don't really get it, but I would respec her personally. Hot take."

A hot take indeed – although it isn't actually one that most players would disagree with themselves.

Shadowheart's Actor and Director Take a Shadowheart Quiz - YouTube Shadowheart's Actor and Director Take a Shadowheart Quiz - YouTube
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As Larian Studios revealed earlier this month, Shadowheart is the most respecced Baldur's Gate 3 companion – and it's not even close in number. A whopping 4,890,005 campaigns saw the Cleric's subclass changed, while the second most respecced character – Wyll – was only swapped 1,417,506 times in comparison. It's an unsurprising figure if you ask me (and English, apparently), as Shadowheart just makes more sense as a Life or Death Cleric.

It's always affirming to hear that a genuine member of the cast agrees with you, though, and at least four million other players, give or take. The sheer amount of Shadowheart respecs also potentially points to something else: the Cleric's popularity among all the Baldur's Gate 3 companions. It makes sense, I suppose… After all, she is "God's favorite princess" – and there can only be one (sorry, Karlach and Lae'zel).

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Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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