Baldur’s Gate 3 Oathbreaker Paladin Build Guide
Dec. 21, 2022Baldur’s Gate 3 Oathbreaker Paladin Build Guide
Baldur’s Gate 3 Oathbreaker Paladin Build Guide– In thisBaldur’s Gate 3 Oathbreaker Paladin Build Guide, I’m going to be covering myPaladin Build, and showing you what I’ve found to work best. I’ll be doing moreBuild GuidesforBaldur’s Gate 3, but for now, let’s look at how you can use anOathbreakerPaladineffectively.
The Oathbreaker Paladin is aggressive when it comes to dealing massive damage at point-blank range andFrighteningtargets. They’re highly skilled when placed in situations that’ll put them at risk, often retaliating by dishing out considerable Fire Damage thanks toHellish Rebuke. The Oathbreaker is theSubclassto pick if you’re keen on inflicting the most destruction possible compared to the others.
If you suddenly want to break your oath to try it, you can do so at any level. Progression will be retained, which means that if you’re a Level 2Oath of Devotion Paladin, you’ll become a Level 2 Oathbreaker.
In this section, we’ll take a look at how to set up your Paladin duringCharacter Creationfor the best results.
ForBackground, I recommend taking any that providesStrengthandCharismaSkillssince these are your primaryAbilities. So you can choose theGuild Artisan,Outlander, andSoldieras they grantAthleticstogether withIntimidationorPersuasion.
The firstRaceI recommend taking is theZariel Tiefling. The reason is that when you reach Level 3, you’ll acquire the Legacy of Avernus: Searing Smite, which is stronger than the Paladin’sSearing Smite Spell. Instead of dealing an additional 1-6 Fire Damage, you’ll inflict +2-12 Fire Damage. Moreover, it doesn’t use aSpell Slotso you can keep casting this to your heart’s content.
As a Zariel Tiefling, you also gainDarkvisiontogether withHellish Resistanceand theThaumaturgy Cantrip. Hellish Resistance makes you resistant to taking Fire Damage, thereby cutting the damage by half, whereas Thaumaturgy grants anAdvantageon Intimidation andPerformanceChecks.
The second Race to consider is theDrowwho not only hasSuperior Darkvision, allowing them to see twice as far in the dark as the Wood Half-Elf but alsoDancing Lights. This Cantrip will serve as a light source to benefit allies who need it. They also gainFey Ancestrythat grants aSaving ThrowAdvantage to reduce the chances of beingCharmedand to avoidSleepingentirely when cast with a Spell.
Regardless of the Race you choose, you won’t have issues with Weapon and Armor Proficiencies since the Paladin has access to each and every one of them.
The Subclass you choose here won’t matter if you intend to become an Oathbreaker later on so feel free to pick Oath of Devotion or Oath of the Ancients. Regardless of what you choose, you gain access to Divine Sense and Lay on Hands. Divine Sense is aBonus Actionthat grants an Advantage onAttack Rollsagainst specific enemies such as the Undead and Fiends. Lay on Hands is more versatile thanCure Woundssince it gives the option to heal allies or cure them from conditions like poison.
ForSkills, you can select the other Charisma Skills not present in the Background you’ve chosen such as Intimidation or Persuasion.
Your primary Abilities as a Paladin are Strength and Charisma, with the latter determining the effectiveness of your Spells. For this reason, you’ll want to invest 16 points into both of them. Other than that,Constitutionis the ability to gain higher HP and to maintainConcentrationfor Spells that require it. You can then add points into Wisdom as your Saving Throw. Additionally, keepingDexterityat 10 is fine since you’ll be wearingHeavy Armor, which doesn’t account for Dexterity Modifier bonuses but yourACwill continue to be high. In the meantime, you can borrowLae’zel’sGithyanki Half Plate Medium Armorto boost your AC to 15. In conclusion, your Ability Spread should look something like this:
By the time you reach Level 2, you’ll have the option to change your Paladin’s Subclass to Oathbreaker. If you want to give this a try, you need to break your promise but spoilers ahead for those who want to figure it out on their own. The fastest way is to agree with the Tieflings to free Lae’zel and then join her in attacking them. TheOathbreaker Knightwill then appear in your Camp and talking to him will officially let you switch Subclasses!
At Level 1, you won’t get anything new but at Level 2,Holy RebukeorHealing Radiancefrom the other Paladin Subclasses will be replaced bySpiteful Suffering, which also consumes 1 Channel Oath Charge. It’s a decent Action at lower levels because, in addition to the 4-7 Necrotic Damage, you gain an Advantage on Attack Rolls against the target.
Choosing to become a Paladin comes with certain strengths and among them include the Smite Spells. Starting off withDivine Smite, you’ll be able to deal an additional 2-16 Radiant Damage on top of your Melee Weapon Damage together with an extra 1-8 Damage against Fiends and the Undead! For instance, with theSword of JusticeTwo-HandedWeapon, you can deal as much as 32 Damage in total!
In terms of Spells, you can generally cast 4-5 of them based on the Race you’ve chosen in Character Creation. Similar toWizards, Paladins need to Prepare Spells before using them. The two must-have Spells are Compelled Duel andDivine Favour. You’ll notice that they both require Concentration for their respective effects to persist.
Concentration can be broken if you cast another Spell that requires Concentration. So for example, if you cast Compelled Duel on an enemy, but then cast Divine Favour, you would stop “Concentrating” on Compelled Duel and begin Concentrating on Divine Favour. But, that is not the only way Concentration can be broken. If you take damage while Concentrating on a Spell, you must make a Constitution Saving Throw, and if you fail, the effect of that Spell ends. Should you succeed in your Saving Throw, however, then you maintain your Concentration and the Spell continues. This is why it is important for Paladins to have high Constitution because they have Spells that require Concentration and they are wasted if it’s constantly broken.
Since you gain the same set of Spells as the Oath of Devotion andOath of the Ancients Paladin, the strategy will remain the same. You can choose between casting Compelled Duel or Divine Favour depending on your focus. Either of them is compatible with Spiteful Suffering since they’re both Bonus Actions. Compelled Duel is a classic taunt move that will let you command a target to attack you so if there’s a pesky enemy on the horizon, it’s best to cast this to protect your allies.
Comparatively, Divine Favour imbues Melee and Ranged Weapon Attacks with 1-4 extra Radiant Damage so if your primary goal is to deal the greatest amount of damage possible, then you should certainly prioritize this one. Divine Favour shines when combined with Divine Smite against a target with high HP but remember that you’ll end up using all 2 Level 1 Spell Slots in a single turn. In total, you’ll be able to stack the damage from your Melee Weapon, Divine Favour, and Divine Smite.
You can then chooseThunderous SmiteandBless. Thunderous Smite lets you push back an enemy to make themPronewhile dealing additional 2-12 Thunder Damage. But remember that casting Thunderous Smite as well as Searing andWrathful Smiteconsume a Bonus Action and Action so you need to avoid performing other Bonus Actions to be able to use them in a single turn. Meanwhile, Bless grants an additional 1-4 Attack Roll bonus on several party members at this level.
Next is theFighting Style. For this Paladin Build, you’re better off pickingGreat Weapon Fightingas it lets you perform another Damage Roll if the initial result was 1 or 2, provided that you’re wielding a Two-Handed Melee Weapon. Alternatively, you can go forDefenseto get the extra +1 AC, making it harder for enemies to hit you.
At Level 3, you gain access toDivine Health, which prevents you from taking any disease. As an Oathbreaker, you also receive certain Features and Spells likeControl Undead, which is self-explanatory,Dreadful Aspect, Hellish Rebuke, andInflict Wounds.
Dreadful Aspect is another great way to control enemies because its AoE is not only huge but also renders them Frightened. As such, they incur aDisadvantagewhen making Attack Rolls and they’re unable to move for up to 10 turns unless they successfully roll a Wisdom Saving Throw. As such, Wizards andRangerscan easily destroy them from afar.
The next two Spells are equally powerful. Hellish Rebuke is very useful in the melee range since you’re constantly exposed to taking loads of damage, especially after casting Compelled Duel. Because of this, there’s a high chance to trigger it. As aReaction, meaning you can’t initiate Hellish Rebuke yourself, you end up dealing 2-20 Fire Damage when you receive damage, potentially killing enemies with low to average HP. However, remember that it can’t be triggered more than once in a single turn and when you run out of Level 1 Spell Slots, otherwise, you’ll continue reaping the benefits.
Meanwhile, you’re given another way to handle targets up close and personal. With Inflict Wounds, you’re able to deal at least 3-30 Necrotic Damage. Upon reaching Level 5, it can be upcast, thereby letting you inflict an additional 1-10 Damage amounting to 4-40! This can be combined with another Bonus Action such asTyr’s Protectionif you’re wielding the Sword of Justice.
At Level 4, you can opt to go with theAbility Improvement Featto place 2 points into Charisma, given the volume of Spells you’ll cast. Doing so will improve your chances of hitting enemies with them and dealing greater damage.
Alternatively, you can pick theGreat Weapon Master Featsince you’re going for the Two-Handed Weapon setup. What this does is it allows you to execute Great Weapon Master: Bonus Attack afterward provided that you either kill your previous target or critically hit them with your Heavy Weapon. Additionally, you gain a +10 damage bonus, which is massive! The only drawback is your Attack Roll will have a -5 penalty when performing Melee Attacks but this can be offset by Bless where you only take a few of them or none at all when upcast.
You’ll gain another Spell Slot here but you can opt to wait for Level 5 when Level 2 Spells become available.
At Level 5, you gainExtra Attack, which as the name implies, lets you perform another Weapon Attack in a single turn without cost. This is a super fun feature for Martial Classes because it can kill targets effectively.
You also get 2 more Spell Slots on top of Level 2 Spells for your Subclass, specificallyCrown of MadnessandDarkness. Crown of Madness lets you charm a target into attacking one of their own. When it works, it’s good but most of the time, enemies in Baldur’s Gate 3 will be able to successfully roll a Wisdom Saving Throw, making the Spell ineffective.
Conversely, Darkness allows you to conjure a dark sphere to Blind affected creatures. Doing so will impose a Disadvantage on their Attack Rolls whereas your party gains an Advantage instead. But note that if you or a teammate happens to step inside the sphere, you’ll also get blinded. Additionally, no ranged attacks will be able to penetrate the darkness so you’ll be forced to execute melee hits against them.
Remember that you won’t need to prepareBranding Smiteif you’re a Zariel Tiefling because you’ll be given the Legacy of Avernus: Branding Smite. Similar to Legacy of Avernus: Searing Smite, you won’t be spending your Level 2 Spell Slot upon cast. You’ll want to use this over Divine Smite to prevent your target from going Invisible like in fights against duergars in theUnderdark.
At Level 6, the Paladin is blessed with theAura of Protection. This grants you and your ally a bonus corresponding to your Charisma Modifier every time you roll for a Saving Throw. In effect, you’ll most likely receive little to no damage.
At Level 7, the Oathbreaker Paladin gains access to the Aura of Hate Feat, which not only benefits them but also any of the Fiends or Undead nearby. This Feat grants them a Melee Weapon Damage Roll Bonus whose value is based on the Oathbreaker’s Charisma Modifier so this is huge! If you’ve invested +2 to Charisma at Level 4, then you’ll always deal extra +4 Melee Damage.
At Level 8, you’re going to select another Feat. You can either go for Ability Improvement or Great Weapon Master, whichever you didn’t choose at Level 4.
At Level 9, the Oathbreaker learns to cast 2 new Necromancy Spells, specificallyAnimate DeadandBestowCurse. Animate Dead affords you the ability to summon either a Zombie or Skeleton to fight alongside you until you take aLong Rest. Between the two though, I highly recommend going with the Zombie as they’re skilled in the Melee Range. This synergizes well with Aura of Hate due to the extra +4 Melee Damage they’ll deal thanks to your high Charisma Modifier.
Meanwhile, Bestow Curse lets you curse the target near you. It can be in the form of applying a Saving Throw Disadvantage, increasing your Necrotic Damage against them, or even reducing the outcome of their Attack Rolls to lower the chances of hitting you. Bestow Curse is a powerful Spell that can last for 10 turns provided that you’re able to maintain your Concentration for that long.
At Level 10, the Paladin is bestowed the Aura of Courage, which prevents them from getting Frightened. Because of this, you won’t become immobilized, nor will you incur a Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks.
Meanwhile, at Level 11, you gain the Improved Divine Smite Feat, allowing you to deal additional 1-8 Radiant Damage on your Melee Weapon Attack. To make matters better, this added damage stacks with Divine Smite’s extra damage so you’ll likely finish off targets more quickly.
When you reach the maximum level in BG3 at Level 12, you’ll be able to choose a final Feat. You can continue to invest in your main Ability to reach 20 Charisma but you may also want to tryChargerorDefensive Duelist. Charger is an Offensive Feat, which provides a Bonus Action to the Baldur’s Gate 3 Oathbreaker Paladin upon usingDashin a straight line with a distance of at least 10 feet. If you choose to Shove the target, you’ll be able to push them 10 feet away from you. But I think the better option is to execute a Melee Attack to consequently gain a +5 Damage Roll Bonus.
On the other hand, Defensive Duelist is a Reaction where you’re able to boost your AC the moment you’re attacked in the Melee Range, which happens often. So you’re definitely going to reap the benefit of this Defensive Feat, allowing you to remain extremely resilient in combat.
When it comes to the Oathbreaker’s Paladin’sEquipment, you’ll want to wield a Two-Handed Melee Weapon such as the Sword of Justice fromAnders. Aside fromCleaveandLacerate, you gain Tyr’s Protection, allowing you to bestow +2 AC on an ally or yourself. Be sure to activate Lacerate instead ofMain Hand Attackwhen facing a dangerous target to also have the chance to inflictBleeding.
Heavy Armorlets you allocate points to other Abilities that are not Dexterity so can get your hands on theChain MailArmorby defeatingLurganin the Underdark. With Tyr’s Protection, your AC goes up to 18. You’ll be able to increase AC to 20 if you also take the Defense Fighting Style and wear theAdamantine Splint ArmorfromGrymforge.
ForAccessories, you’ll want to takeAbsolute’s TalismanandHaste Helm. Since you’ll be absorbing damage, there’s a higher chance of hitting less than 25% HP. If this happens, you automatically regain 1-8 HP the moment you deal damage. Meanwhile, Haste Helm increases your Movement Speed by 3m for 3 turns at the start of every encounter. This is important considering that you’ll often be positioned in the melee range.
If you decide to become an Oath of Devotion or Oath of the Ancients Paladin even at Level 5, you’ll still be able to reclaim your Oath. Simply go back to the Camp to speak with the Oathbreaker Knight and pay him 2,000 gold. Doing so will let you go back to the Subclass you’ve chosen in Character Creation. Your progress will also be retained so you’ll gain all the available Features accordingly.
When choosing the Great Weapon Master Feat, you’re more likely to cast Bless yourself unless you have a spellcaster who can in order to reduce the Attack Roll penalty as much as possible. The Feat also works well with Divine Smite due to the Melee Weapon Attacks using your Two-Handed Weapon. Additionally, taking Great Weapon Master is ideal if you’ve chosen the Zariel Tiefling or Drow Half-Elf since you’ll have reached 16 Strength and 16 Charisma at Character Creation. As such, your Spells are not only effective from the get-go, but your Melee Weapon Attacks are equally impressive, making you a dangerous opponent to face.
An alternative to Sword of Justice is theExterminator’s Axe, which grants a whopping 5-21 Weapon Damage with the potential to deal extra 1-6 Fire Damage against specific enemies like plants and insects. On top of Cleave and Lacerate, you can perform thePrepare Weapon Actionto sacrifice a portion of your Movement Speed for extra Slashing Damage in the same turn. Now in terms of Ranged Weapons, you can equip a Bow but note that you won’t be effective from afar due to your low Dexterity. So it’s ideal to pair up with Ranged Damage Dealers like Wizards andWarlocksto inflict the most carnage.
Speaking of carnage, being able to cast an Entrapment Spell such asEnsnaring Striketo pin enemies in the dark would be beneficial. This will prevent them from stepping out of the sphere to keep them blind for a long period of time.
Stay tuned for more Baldur’s Gate 3 content as we update the otherBuilds, and be sure to drop by ourTwitch Channelif you have questions about the game. If you need something specific, check out ourBaldur’s Gate 3 Wikiwhich is being worked on night and day, as well as ourBaldur’s Gate 3 Guides.
Reiku
Writer at Fextralife. I enjoy playing RPGs, narrative-driven games, and platformers. Outside of gaming, I like watching meaningful movies and reading sci-fi and dystopian books.
Why does Oathbreaker rely on two-handed weapons when Devotion is sword and board?
Also, do you think they will fix issues with breaking your oath when fighting mobs that are hostile to your party by launch? Paladin is the class I always play in every game that offers it, but constantly having the oath broken due to bad story logic and/or poor handling of hidden tags on monster attributes is kind of a deal breaker. Defending my party shouldn’t be violating my oath.
