Baldur’s Gate 3’s strongest cantrip can only be used once

In both Dungeons & Dragons and Baldur’s Gate 3 cantrips are known for being relatively weak spells that players can use as often as they want, making them incredibly valuable for spellcasting characters. However, Baldur’s Gate 3 players have noticed one cantrip that breaks all of these rules.

As a screenshot shared to the BaldursGate3 subreddit shows, Gale’s Netherese Orb Blast is classified as a cantrip, leading the poster to joke, “This is a cantrip so I can use it as much as I want, right?”

This is a cantrip so I can use it as much as I want, right?
byu/Approximation_Doctor inBaldursGate3

Of course, this isn’t really a cantrip like Eldritch Blast or Mage Hand. The Blast is an action exclusive to Gale, whose storyline revolves around his history with the goddess Mystra and the Netherese Orb lodged in his chest.

Once you unlock the ability to use the Orb in Act 2, you can detonate it whenever you want, though doing so obviously kills Gale and anyone else nearby. This means most players either don’t use it or save it for the final battle, sometimes to ensure an Honor Mode victory.

This clearly sets it apart from actual cantrips, whose usefulness largely stems from being able to cast them over and over. Presumably, Netherese Orb Blast being classified as a cantrip is a failsafe to ensure players can detonate their Gale even if he has no remaining spell slots or has been respec’d into a non-magic class.

Still, that hasn’t stopped Baldur’s Gate 3 players from joking about the Blast being a cantrip that, as one player said, you can cast “as much as you want for the rest of your life.”

“Jumping from a plane without a parachute is also a cantrip,” said another.

Other commenters joked that you can cast the “cantrip” as much as you want, though you’ll need to start a new game or reload an old save.