Oathbreaker Subclass Guide and Build

The Oathbreaker is a Paladin subclass in Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3). Check out our guide for how to unlock the Oathbreaker subclass, its features, as well as the best builds.

Paladin Subclasses Paladin Class Guide
Oath of the Ancients	Oath of Devotion	Oathbreaker	Oath of Vengeance

Oathbreaker Subclass Overview

Oathbreaker Basic Information

Subclass Overview
	Oathbreaker You have broken your sacred Oath in pursuit of power and ambition. Only darkness remains to fuel you now.
Parent Class	Paladin
How to Unlock	Can be unlocked by breaking your Paladin's Oath during your playthrough.
Spellcasting Ability	Charisma
Starting Subclass Features
・Gains the: Spiteful Suffering Class Action. ・Follows no Oaths or Tenets ・All Paladin Class Features and Proficiencies.

The Oathbreaker Paladin wields necrotic energy against any who would stand against it. With spells that affect allies and enemies alike, selecting where and when to cast these spells is pivotal when playing as this subclass.

How to Unlock the Oathbreaker Subclass

Break Your Paladin Oath and Speak to the Oathbreaker Knight

Unlike the other Paladin subclasses, the Oathbreaker Paladin will not start off as an Oathbreaker. Instead, you must first create a Paladin that follows one of the other 3 Oaths (Ancients, Devotion, or Vengeance), before breaking it in order to unlock the Oathbreaker subclass.

You will know that you have successfully unlocked the Oathbreaker subclass once you trigger the Oathbreaker Knight cutscene (after breaking your Paladin's Oath). Speak to the knight back at camp to fully switch to the Oathbreaker subclass.

You Can Return to Your Original Subclass via the Oathbreaker Knight

The Oathbreaker Knight allows you to restore their old Oath if you do not want to play as an Oathbreaker Paladin. To do this, speak to the Oathbreaker Knight back at camp and pay him 1,000 Gold in order to reclaim your Oath.

Note: The price of returning to your Oath increases each time you break it. For example, if you've broken your Oath twice, the cost of taking up your original Oath a second time will be 2,000 Gold instead of the original 1,000.

Oathbreaker Subclass Features

Oath Tenets

Having broken their sworn Oaths, Oathbreaker Paladins do not follow a creed, nor do they have any morals they need to uphold, essentially becoming something akin to a Deathknight.

Channel Oath

As an Oathbreaker Paladin, your Channel Oath powers will focus on weakening your enemies while making yourself stronger. Eventually guaranteeing yourself an advantage, regardless of how bad the start of the fight is looking.

Much like regular spells, the Channel Oath action will have you spend a Channel Oath Charge and an Action or Bonus Action before you can cast it. You will have 1 Charge to use. To replenish your Channel Oath Charges, simply perform a Short or Long Rest.

Channel Oath Powers

Oathbreaker Spells

Oath spells exist within a unique category in that once they have been learned through leveling up, they will always be available for you to cast. This means that your Paladin will always have these spells equipped, regardless of having prepared them or not.

Furthermore, these Oath spells are what differentiate each of the Paladin's subclasses, with Oathbreaker Paladins learning spells that draw from the unholy to deal damage against enemies. Furthermore, one of the final spells learned by the Paladin, Bestow Curse has 9 different variants, allowing the caster to choose the curse that will hamper the target most.

Oathbreaker Paladins will first gain access to these spells at levels 3, 5, and 9, with each milestone granting access to 2 Oath Spells.

Oathbreaker Spell List

Aura of Hate

The Aura of hate grants the Oathbreaker and any nearby fiends or undead a +2 Damage modifier when striking with melee weapons.

This aura functions as a double-edged sword, as the nearby creatures that belong to the affected races are typically hostile. Meaning they may deal more damage to you and your party members.

Oathbreaker Level Progression

Best Oathbreaker Builds

Baldur's Gate 3 Related Guides

Paladin Class Guide

All Paladin Subclasses

All Paladin Subclasses
Oath of the Ancients	Oath of Devotion	Oathbreaker	Oath of Vengeance