Paladin Class Guide: Best Builds and Subclasses

The Paladin is one of the 12 available main classes in Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3). Check out our guide for an overview of the Paladin class, including its related subclasses, class features, best races to use, and best builds.

Paladin Class Overview

Paladin Basic Information

Class Overview
	Paladin Fuelled by the Oath you swore to uphold justice and righteousness, you are a beacon of hope in dark times.
Hit Die	d10
Primary Ability	Strength Charisma (for Spellcasting)
Saving Throw Proficiencies	Strength and Wisdom
Starting Class Features
・Access to the Lay on Hands Class Action ・Gains the Divine Sense Passive ・Light Armor Proficiency ・Medium Armor Proficiency ・Heavy Armor Proficiency ・Shield Proficiency ・Simple Weapon Proficiency ・Martial Weapon Proficiency ・Channel Oath Charges: 1

The Paladin is a melee-spellcaster hybrid, channeling divine power to heal and buff allies, all while striking down their foes with weapons infused by their divine might. The bane of fiends and undead alike, Paladins are one-man armies with amazing sustain and damage.

Paladin Skill Proficiencies

As a Paladin, your character can choose 2 out of the 6 skills below to be Proficient in. When you are Proficient with a skill, you get a bonus to any Checks tied to that skill. Proficiency bonuses increase as you gain levels for your chosen class.

Available Skills (Pick 2 of the 6)
Athletics (Strength)	Insight (Wisdom)	Intimidation (Charisma)
Medicine (Wisdom)	Persuasion (Charisma)	Religion (Intelligence)

What is a Proficiency Bonus?

All Paladin Subclasses

Unlike most classes in Baldur's Gate 3, your Paladin can immediately choose a subclass during character creation. Paladin subclasses take the form of a Sacred Oath that you must follow and uphold during your playthrough.

In Baldur's Gate 3, the Paladin will have 4 Subclasses to choose from: the Oath of the Ancients, the Oath of Devotion, and the Oath of Vengeance. The 4th subclass, Oathbreaker, can only be obtained by breaking your chosen Sacred Oath as a Paladin.

Subclass	Subclass Description
Oath of the Ancients	You fight on the side of light in the cosmic struggle against darkness to preserve the sanctity of life and beauty of nature. Subclass Starting Features: ・Grants Healing Radiance ・Available during Character Creation
Oath of Devotion	Following the ideal of the knight in shining armor, you act with honor and virtue to protect the weak and pursue the greater good. Subclass Starting Features: ・Grants Holy Rebuke ・Available during Character Creation
Oath of Vengeance	The Oath of Vengeance is a solemn commitment to punish those who have committed a grievous sin. Subclass Starting Features: ・Grants Holy Smite ・Available during Character Creation
Oathbreaker	You have broken your sacred Oath in pursuit of power and ambition. Only darkness remains to fuel you now. Subclass Starting Features: ・Grants Spiteful Suffering

What Happens When You Break Your Oath?

When Paladins break their oath, a cutscene will play (if you are in combat, it will play after the battle ends). Here you will meet an NPC called the Oathbreaker Knight who tells you that there is a path beyond your current oath.

To unlock the Oathbreaker subclass, speak to the Oathbreaker Knight in your Campsite. Go through the dialogue prompts and accept his offer to officially become an Oathbreaker Paladin.

All Paladin Class Features

Paladin Features
Divine Sense		Lay on Hands		Channel Oath
Fighting Style		Spellcasting		Divine Smite
Divine Health		Extra Attack		Aura of Protection
Aura of Courage			Improved Divine Smite
▼ Level Progression and Features Chart ▼

Divine Sense Grants Advantage Against Specific Enemies

At Level 1, Paladins will have access to the Class Action, Divine Sense. When cast, your Attack Rolls will gain Advantage against celestials, fiends, and undead enemies. This means that your swings will have a higher chance to hit when squaring off against these enemy types.

Lay on Hands Heals and Cures Ailments

As a Paladin, you will also have access to a healing skill called Lay on Hands. This particular Class Action has 3 variants: Cure, Greater Healing, and Lesser Healing. Both Healing variants do as advertised, while Cure allows you to dispel all diseases and poisons affecting the target.

To use Lay on Hands, players will need to be next to their target (it can also be self-targeted). Once positioned, simply spend a Lay on Hands Charge to use any of the 3 skill variants. As you level up, you will get more Lay on Hands Charges compared to your initial 3.

Naturally, Lay on Hands will not work when used against undead or constructs. If you happen to stumble across any zombie minions along the way, just know that this particular action won't be able to heal them.

Channel Oath to Gain Benefits from Your Oath

Paladins in Baldur's Gate 3 will have access to their subclass as early as character creation. This means that upon starting as a Paladin, you will already have the Class Action to Channel Oath.

To use Channel Oath, spend a Channel Oath Charge to call on the power of your Paladin's vow and cast spells that can heal, protect, and even turn undead. Channel Oath can be recharged once per Short Rest.

Fighting Style Grants Bonuses Based on Weapon Type

Once your Paladin hits Level 2, you will need to choose 1 of 4 different Fighting Styles as shown below. Pick one that best fits your future playstyle to gain the passive bonus tied to the Fighting Style.

Fighting Style	Passive Bonus
Defence	You gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class while wearing armor.
Duelling	When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no weapon on the other hand, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon, increasing your chance to do heavy damage.
Great Weapon Fighting	When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack with a Two-Handed melee weapon, that die is rerolled once.
Protection	When you have a shield, impose Disadvantage on an enemy who attacks one of your allies when you are within 1.5m. You must be able to see the enemy. This is a Reaction during your turn. It will automatically execute when needed.

Spellcasting Unlocks Buffs, Taunts, and Smite Spells

Upon reaching Level 2, your Paladin will now be able to learn, prepare, and cast Spells. A lot of your spells will revolve around buffing allies, applying Radiant Damage to enemies, as well as casting powerful Smite spells that make short work of your foes.

Like Clerics, Druids, and Wizards, your Paladin must prepare spells before they can be used in combat. The number of spells you can prepare and take into battle will depend on your level or Spellcasting Ability.

For the Paladin, their Primary Spellcasting Ability will be Charisma as it also determines the chance for your spell to hit as well as the damage it can deal. To replenish your all of your Spell Slots, you will need to take a Long Rest.

Paladin Spell Slots Per Level

Lvl	Spell Slots Per Lvl
	1st	2nd	3rd
1	ー	ー	ー
2	↑ 2	ー	ー
3	↑ 3	ー	ー
4	3	ー	ー
5	↑ 4	↑ 2	ー
6	4	2	ー
7	4	↑ 3	ー
8	4	3	ー
9	4	3	↑ 2
10	4	3	2
11	4	3	↑ 3
12	4	3	3

Divine Smite Allows You to Strike with Radiant Damage

Having unlocked Spellcasting, you will also unlock a brand new action called Divine Smite as soon as your Paladin hits Level 2. During combat, you can spend 1 Level 1 Spell Slot during your Action to strike enemies with additional Radiant Damage (2d8).

Naturally, Divine Smite is very effective when fighting fiends and the undead. If you cast Divine Smite against these enemy types, you gain a bonus 1d8 Radiant Damage die during your Attack Roll.

Upcast Divine Smite For Stronger Strikes

At higher levels, you will be able to upcast Divine Smite, spending either a Level 2 or Level 3 Spell Slot in order to cast it against your enemies. When you do this, Divine Smite will gain an additional 1d8 Radiant Damage die per level.

Divine Health Grants Disease Immunity

Once your Paladin reaches Level 3, they will get a brand new passive called Divine Health. This passive renders you immune to any type of disease effect in the game. This includes status effects that do not go away after a Long Rest.

Extra Attack Doubles Your Damage in Combat

Become even mightier once you hit Level 5 as your Paladin now gains an additional Attack Action during their turn. If you have enough Spell Slots and Bonus Actions available, you can chain together two Smite spells to deal massive single-target damage during your turn.

Aura of Protection Gives Bonuses to Ally Saving Throws

At Level 6, your Paladin gains an Aura of Protection, granting a Saving Throw bonus to any ally within its AoE. When your allies roll their Saving Throw against attacks or effects, your Charisma Modifier is added to the value. However, do note that your Paladin must be conscious for this passive to work (cannot be Incapacitated).

Aura of Courage Prevents Allies from Being Frightened

Much like your Aura of Protection, the Aura of Courage you unlock at Level 10 will prevent any allies within its AoE from being Frightened. Stand your ground alongside your allies with this passive aura in play.

Improved Divine Smite Buffs Regular Melee Attacks

Once your Paladin hits Level 11 you become even more holy than before. Divine Smite is improved and is now applied to all melee weapon swings. During your Attack Roll, add a 1d8 Radiant Damage die when calculating the damage you deal per melee weapon swing.

Paladin Class Level Progression

Lvl	Features Unlocked	Proficiency Bonus	Lay on Hands Charges
1	Divine Sense Lay on Hands Subclass (Sacred Oath) ・Oath of the Ancients ・Oath of Devotion ・Oath of Vengeance	+2	3
2	Fighting Style Spellcasting Divine Smite	+2	3
3	Divine Health	+2	3
4	Lay on Hands Charge Feat or Ability Score Improvement	+2	4
5	Extra Attack	+3	4
6	Aura of Protection	+3	TBD
7	Subclass (Sacred Oath) Feature	+3	TBD
8	Feat or Ability Score Improvement	+3	TBD
9	No New Unlocks	+4	TBD
10	Aura of Courage	+4	TBD
11	Improved Divine Smite	+4	TBD
12	Feat or Ability Score Improvement	+4	TBD

Best Paladin Builds

Best Ability Scores

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16(+2)	10-12	14	8	10-12	15(+1)

Strength and Charisma should be the highest scores for a Paladin to allow them to maximize weapon damage and spell power.

Dexterity Is not so important for Paladin's since Heavy Armor grants the highest AC at the cost of not adding your DEX modifier. Take Dex to 12 if you want a small boost to Initiative.

Constitution Is very important for a frontline class such as Paladin in both tanking and damage focused roles and should be high.

Intelligence is the dump stat for Paladins as they don't get much use for it.

Wisdom Will have a minor assistance in conversation and world exploration. Take WIS to 12 if you want a small boost to Insight, Perception, and Medicine.

Best Subclasses for Paladin

Oath of Vengeance for Damage

Oath of Vengeance is the best subclass if you're looking to build a damage oriented Paladin. Searing Smite expends Spell Slots to deal heavy damage to a single enemy, ideal for taking out high value targets swiftly.

Oath of Devotion for Tanking

Oath of Devotion on the other hand is ideal for tanky Paladins. Combined with the plethora of buffs and Compelled Duel to taunt enemies, Devotion Paladins are true tanks capable of soaking damage for their allies.

Best Paladin Equipment

• Armor: Heavy Armor
• Weapons Two-Handed Weapons for more offense. One-handed weapon and Shield for more Defense

Best Races to Use As a Paladin

Half-Orc

Half-Orcs are born to become Paladins as they have all the traits of a beefy bruiser who thrive in combat. With the various buffs from the Paladin class, they are ideal frontliners, able to make quick work of their enemies on top of their triple damage critical hits. On the rare occassion that the Half-Orc runs out of HP before the the fight ends, the Half-Orc refuses to stay down and gets back up to finish the job.

• Savage Attacks triples the damage of critical hits when attacking with a melee weapon. This has great synergy with Extra Attack at level 5, allowing you to roll for more critical hits.
• Relentless Endurance lets you avoid getting knocked down as you cannot go below 1 HP. This passive ability requires a long rest to recharge.
• Menacing gives Intimidation Proficiency allowing you to take another CHA based skill. This is also useful for upholding your Oath.

Half-Orc Race Guide and Best Classes

Gold Dwarf

Gold Dwarves make the ideal tank with their innately high HP that also scales with levels. Compelled Duel is a great tool to redirect enemy aggro and soak damage, protecting the less durable backliners.

• Dwarven Toughness increases your max HP by 1, and increases by another point every time you gain a level. This makes Gold Dwarves the perfect choice if you want an effective tank in your party.
• Dwarven Resilience grants Poison Resistance, and Advantage on Saving Throws against Poison.

Gold Dwarf Subrace Guide and Best Classes

Zariel Tiefling

If you prefer delivering sweet Paladin justice by Smiting your foes, look no further than Zariel Tieflings. As a Zariel Tiefling, you'll have two more Smites available in your arsenal, allowing you to effortlessly eliminate key targets and end fights quickly.

• Searing Smite deals extra Fire damage on top of your weapon damage. If this attack misses, the spell slot and Bonus Action are not consumed
• Branding Smite deals extra Radiant damage on top of your weapon damage and works with ranged weapons. Like with Searing Smite, the spell slot and Bonus Action are not consumed if this attack misses.
• Thaumaturgy is a cantrip that grants Advantage on Intimidation and Performance checks, which can be useful for keeping your Oath.
• Hellish Resistance halves Fire damage taken, which is useful in all stages of the game.

Zariel Tiefling Subrace Guide and Best Classes

Baldur's Gate 3 Related Guides

Class Guide: All Classes and Subclasses

All Classes

All Class Guides
Barbarian	Bard	Cleric	Druid
Fighter	Monk	Paladin	Ranger
Rogue	Sorcerer	Warlock	Wizard