Radiant smites, sacred oaths, and divine power – the Paladin stands as Baldur’s Gate 3’s most righteous powerhouse. But which subclass turns faith into unstoppable might? Here’s how to build the perfect holy warrior, from the best Oath to the feats that make every strike divine.
Paladins are bound to uphold justice as they have taken a holy vow to stand against evil. They train their combat prowess to fight the wicked and protect the innocent. In doing so, they need to increase their Strength, their primary ability score.
There’s no single best class in Baldur’s Gate 3, and the game gives you as many opportunities for creative problem solving as it does for punching. Finding the best class really just boils down to how you want to play. Even when playing solo, you’ll still manage the rest of your party, so you’ll get to experiment with multiple classes at once.
Read on to find out everything you need to know about the Paladin class in Baldur’s Gate 3, and learn all about the best Paladin subclass, feats, and build.
Update (April 15): Added details of the new subclass introduced in Patch 8, which also adds cross-play support and a photo mode.
Is Paladin the best class for you in BG3?
Paladin suits players who enjoy balancing combat strength with divine abilities and moral choices. It rewards those who value role-playing a character bound by sacred oaths and personal conviction while still excelling in frontline battles. If you like mixing heavy armor, supportive healing, and powerful smites, the Paladin can provide a flexible and satisfying experience across different party compositions.
Baldur’s Gate 3‘s Paladins are a well-balanced blend of melee and caster roles, but balancing their stats is more complicated than other classes. Because they can play the role of both tanky melee fighters and support healers (and casters in general) at the same time, it’s hard to make them really good at both at the same time.
That said, Paladins are a great way to dabble in spellcasting and healing without fully committing to a caster class – you can always fall back on sheer physicality when you run out of spell slots.
Paladin class features
Paladins in Baldur’s Gate 3 combine martial skill with divine power, gaining abilities that make them strong defenders and powerful damage dealers. Their class features include Divine Smite, which channels spell slots into radiant bursts on melee hits, Lay on Hands for healing allies, and powerful auras that protect nearby companions. Each subclass enhances these core traits-some focusing on offense, others on defense or control-making the Paladin a versatile choice for both front-line combat and party support.
Hit Points
- Hit Dice – 1d10
- Hit Points at 1st level – 10 your Constitution Modifier
- Hit Points at higher levels – 6 your Constitution Modifer per paladin level after 1st
Actions
You’ll have one of four actions depending on your subclass.
- Oath of the Ancients – Healing Radiance
- Oath of Devotion – Holy Rebuke
- Oath of Vengeance – Inquisitor’s Might
- Oathbreaker – Spiteful Suffering
Proficiencies
- Weapons – Simple Weapons, Martial Weapons
- Armor – Light Armor, Medium Armor, Heavy Armor, Shields
- Skills – Choose two from Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion.
- Saving Throws – Charisma and Wisdom
Paladin subclasses
Paladin subclasses in Baldur’s Gate 3 define your oath, shaping both your combat abilities and roleplaying options. Each oath-Devotion, Ancients, Vengeance, and Oathbreaker-offers unique powers, spells, and roleplay consequences tied to your moral choices. The Oath of Devotion focuses on purity and protection, the Ancients favor nature and resilience, Vengeance targets foes with relentless justice, and the Oathbreaker embraces dark magic after forsaking faith. Choosing your subclass not only affects your spell list and aura bonuses but also influences dialogue options and party dynamics throughout the game.
The Paladin has a total of five subclasses, four of which are unlocked at the beginning of the game. During character creation, you must take a sacred oath by vowing to stay on the path of righteousness. The Oathbreaker subclass, meanwhile, can be unlocked once you’ve broken your oath and you’ve veered off of the path.
Oath of the Ancients
Paladins who have taken the Oath of the Ancients follow the principles of good, pushing aside any concern for law or chaos. They fight against despair and try to preserve the joy and beauty of the world. By taking the Oath of the Ancients, you’ll gain the action “Healing Radiance,” which will heal yourself and all nearby allies. You’ll also gain the subclass feature “Oath of the Ancient Tenets,” which is what you’ll need to abide by.
Oath of Devotion
Paladins who have have taken the Oath of Devotion can be seen as the knights in shining armor as they’re honest law-abiding warriors. By taking the Oath of Devotion, you’ll gain the action “Holy Rebuke,” which will grant an ally an aura that deals Radiant damage to anyone who hits them with a melee attack. You must also abide the “Oath of Devotion Tenets,” which is your subclass feature.
Oath of Vengeance
Paladins who have taken the Oath of Vengeance seek to punish those who have committed heinous sins. They sacrifice their own purity to bring about justice. By taking the Oath of Vengeance, you’ll gain the action “Inquisitor’s Might,” which will cause your attacks to deal an additional 2 Radiant damage and daze enemies. You’ll follow your subclass feature, the “Oath of Vengeance Tenets.”
Oathbreaker
The Oathbreaker is a hidden subclass that is only available to those who have broken their oath. Once you’ve broken your oath, you’ll be visited by the Oathbreaker Knight, who’ll inform you of your actions and wait for you in your camp. After speaking with them, you can choose to become an Oathbreaker or pay a fee of 2000 gold to retake your oath. As an Oathbreaker, you’ll gain the action “Spiteful Suffering,” which will deal Necrotic damage to enemies and make them vulnerable to attacks.
Oath of the Crown
Added in April 2025’s Patch 8, Paladins can now take the Oath of the Crown, which provides you with some powerful supportive abilities. These Paladins can interrupt enemies with taunts, grant allies additional proficiency bonuses to their attack rolls with Righteous Clarity, and absorb damage taken by teammates with Divine Allegiance.
Best Paladin subclass and build in BG3
The Oath of Vengeance Paladin stands out as the strongest subclass in Baldur’s Gate 3 for its relentless focus on single-target damage and crowd control. Pair Vow of Enmity with Hunter’s Mark to shred bosses, while Smite spells amplify every crit from Extra Attack. Build around Strength 17, Charisma 16, and Constitution 14 at level 1, grabbing Great Weapon Master at level 4 for massive two-handed weapon swings. Respec at camp to hit 20 Strength by level 9, add Alert feat to act first, and cap with Improved Critical for more Smites. This setup dominates Honour Mode with 100+ damage turns against dragons and tough foes.
Baldur’s Gate 3 races don’t really have any direct impact on your class, but certain races and subraces come with features that play well with certain classes like extra movement or proficiency with certain weapons. Paladins already come with an impressive array of weapon and armor proficiencies, so it’s better to focus on movement or Saving Throws:
- Wood Elves and Wood Half-Elves get an extra 5 feet of movement and their Fey Ancestry means they have advantage against being Charmed.
- All three subraces of Tiefling have resistance to fire damage
- All three Dwarven subraces have Dwarven Resilience and resistance to poison damage, and Gold Dwarves get an extra hit point per level.
- Halflings have advantage against being Frightened
- Gnomes get advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws.
- Each Dragonborn subraces has a resistance to a thematic type of damage
- Half-Orcs‘ Relentless Endurance gets you a free hit point if you fall to zero (one time per long rest) and their Savage Attacker feature means they deal extra damage on a Critical Hit.
When you’re creating and leveling up your Baldur’s Gate Paladin, Strength is your most important stat (for hitting things). After that, you’ll have to balance Constitution (for the HP) and Charisma for the spellcasting. Since your best Paladin spells (well, spell-like actions) are channeling divine magics, though, you’re safe to focus on Constitution first. Make Strength your highest stat and Constitution your second highest.
You’ll pick your Paladin subclass at level 1. Oath of Devotion and Oath of Vengeance Paladins get better offensive actions, but the best (and most utilitarian) subclass is Oath of the Ancients – you’ll get plenty of use out of their Healing Radiance spell that heals all of your allies.
Best Paladin Feats in BG3
Paladin feats shine by boosting Oath spells, smites, and survivability in Baldur’s Gate 3. Great Weapon Master delivers massive two-handed damage with bonus attacks on crits or kills, pairing perfectly with Divine Smite for nova bursts. Polearm Master adds opportunity attacks when enemies approach, controlling the battlefield while generating Advantage through Sentinel. Ability Improvement pumps Strength or Charisma to 20, maximizing to-hit rolls, spell save DCs, and Aura of Protection bonuses. Resilient Constitution shores up saves against crowd control, keeping you in the fight longer. Alert ensures first initiative dominance, letting you lock down foes before they act.
Every four levels, you’ll get the option to either increase your stats or choose a Feat. Feats are special talents that add features to your character. If you’re happy with your stats and start taking Feats, Paladins can benefit from:
- Actor. Your Charisma Increases by 1, to a maximum of 20. Your Proficiency Bonus is also doubled for Deception and Performance Checks.
- Athlete. Your Strength or Dexterity increases by 1, to a maximum of 20. When you are Prone, standing up uses significantly less movement. Your Jump distance also increases by 50%.
- Charger. You gain Charger: Weapon Attack and Charger: Shove.
- Durable. Your Constitution increases by 1, to a maximum of 20. You regain full hit points each time you take a Short Rest.
- Great Weapon Master. When you land a Critical Hit or kill a target with a melee weapon attack, you can make another melee weapon attack as a bonus action that turn. Attacks with Heavy melee weapons you are Proficient with, can deal an additional 10 damage at the cost of a -5 Attack Roll Penalty.
- Mobile. Your movement speed increases, and difficult terrain doesn’t slow you down when you Dash. If you move after making a melee attack, you don’t provoke Opportunity Attacks from your target.
- Savage Attacker. When making weapon attacks, you roll your damage dice twice and use the highest result.
- Shield Master. You gain a 2 bonus to Dexterity Saving Throws while wielding a shield. If a spell forces you to make a Dexterity Saving Throw, you can use a reaction to shield yourself and diminish the effect’s damage. On a failed Saving Throw, you only take half damage. On a successful Saving Throw, you don’t take any damage.
- Tough. Your hit point maximum increases by 2 for every level you have gained.
Best starter race for a Paladin build in BG3
Half-Orc emerges as the best starter race for a Paladin build in Baldur’s Gate 3.
It boosts frontline survivability and damage output through Relentless Endurance, which prevents dropping to 0 HP once per long rest, and Savage Attacks for extra crit dice on melee weapons-perfect for Divine Smite combos.
This edges out mobility-focused options for beginners needing durability early on.
Top Race Alternatives
Githyanki ranks highly for free Misty Step at level 5 and Enhance Leap, solving melee positioning issues without items.
Mephistopheles Tiefling adds fire resistance, Darkvision, and spells like Burning Hands for Charisma-based attacks.
High Half-Elf offers cantrips like Fire Bolt, Perception proficiency, and charm resistance for hybrid utility.
Why Half-Orc for Starters
Pair with high Strength and Charisma starts (e.g., 17 STR, 16 CHA) to maximize smites and auras from level 1.
Relentless Endurance shines in tough Act 1 fights, letting new players recover from mistakes.
Savage Attacks amplify crits from Hold Person or Vow of Enmity, scaling into Honour Mode.
Which race gives the best Strength and Charisma bonuses for a Paladin
Half-Elf provides the best Strength and Charisma bonuses for a Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3.
It grants +2 Charisma and +1 to two other stats of choice, allowing +1 Strength and +1 Constitution for optimal melee-spellcasting synergy from level 1.
This outperforms Dragonborn (+2 STR, +1 CHA) by offering flexibility to hit 17 STR/16 CHA starting scores easily.
Key Stat Bonuses Comparison
| Race | STR Bonus | CHA Bonus | Other Benefits for Paladin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half-Elf | +1 | +2 | Flexible +1 (e.g., CON), Fey Ancestry, skills |
| Dragonborn | +2 | +1 | Breath weapon, resistance |
| Mountain Dwarf | +2 | +2 CON, armor proficiencies | |
| Half-Orc | +2 | Relentless Endurance, crit damage |
Why Half-Elf Excels
Assign bonuses to reach 17 STR, 15 CON, 16 CHA at creation, maxing both primaries fast via level-ups.
Fey Ancestry resists charm/sleep, aiding frontline auras and dialogue checks.
Superior to pure STR races for Vengeance Paladins needing CHA for smites and oaths.
