Paladin is the most popular choice among players in Baldur’s Gate 3. MyMMO author Fabienne Kissel explains from her perspective what makes the class so good.
In Baldur’s Gate 3, players face the dilemma of choosing from a variety of classes, each offering unique abilities and playstyles. The Paladin stands out particularly in terms of popularity.
A statistic from Larian Studios revealed after the release weekend that the Paladin is the most played class in the game. And I can totally understand it. From my perspective, the Paladin offers many reasons why it is such a popular choice.
High Charisma
Let’s start with Charisma. As a Paladin, you have Charisma as your main attribute just like Warlocks, Bards, and Wizards, which can particularly help you in conversations. With high Charisma, you can be more convincing and enforce your intentions more easily. For example, if you want to talk your way out of a deception, a Charisma check may be required.
The following checks fall under that:
- Deception
- Intimidation
- Persuasion
- Performance
Charisma also affects the buy and sell value of items with merchants, which is especially helpful in Honour mode, because prices at merchants are even higher there.
Paladins can take a lot
Paladins have access to heavy armor because they are proficient in it and also have high hit points (HP) – making them quite tanky. With a high Armor Class (AC), you can withstand a lot in combat and are overall very versatile. You can act as a tank, support, or DD (damage dealer). Because Paladins are not only skilled fighters, they also have access to divine magic.
These range from the popular class ability Smite to healing and support spells. So overall, you are a Swiss Army knife in the team. You can deal significant damage with a Paladin, tank damage – but also support your group well.
Oath Decisions
Another incentive to choose a Paladin are the moral decisions you face. Paladins swear oaths that can influence their actions and decisions throughout the game. You receive specific responses in conversations based on your oath.
Depending on how you uphold your oath, you can prove yourself as a loyal servant of your god or risk becoming an Oathbreaker. So you are constantly faced with the question: What happens if I do this now? Will I break my oath?
In Baldur’s Gate 3, you can continue to play as an Oathbreaker or re-establish an oath with your god for 1,000 gold. However, it should also be possible just to go to Withers and reset the class.
However, you can also take the spell Hold Person
with many other classes and combine it with your Paladin, including: Bard, Wizard, Sorcerer, Cleric, and Druid.
Small conclusion: Its versatility in combat and ability to support the team make the Paladin, in my opinion, a good choice for many players in Baldur’s Gate 3. You receive good and versatile abilities as a Paladin at nearly every level, making the class itself overall very strong.
I personally enjoy the Paladin (preferably Oath of Vengeance) as it is, without building multiclass builds. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with a Paladin. For those who prefer multiclass builds, combinations of Warlock/Paladin or Paladin/Fighter might be recommended.
What do you think of the Paladin? Which class do you love? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
For me personally, however, the Cleric will always remain the best choice in my heart. Why I love this class so much, I have revealed to you here: The least played class in Baldur’s Gate is one of the strongest and I love it too
In this sense, Paladins can be viewed as extremely fanatical clerics who would do anything for their deity and would never violate their oath. Unlike Paladins, clerics do not have an oath that they can break.
Auras that are very strong
Paladins also receive auras that can strengthen themselves and their allies. These auras can be activated without consuming a spell slot and provide lasting benefits for the team. You can have all auras active at the same time.
At level 6, for example, you receive the class action Aura of Protection
with each subclass. This grants you and nearby allies a bonus of +X (depending on Charisma) on saving throws.
Aura of Protectionin detail
In addition to Aura of Protection, you also receive Aura of Courage with each Paladin subclass. With this aura, you and nearby allies cannot be frightened. The aura disappears as soon as you become unconscious. However, you can activate it again later.
You can maintain both auras simultaneously, which is quite strong. In addition to the mentioned auras, you also receive additional auras depending on the subclass (except Oath of Vengeance) that you can activate.
It is epic
When you imagine a Paladin, you often think of the ideals of bravery, honor, justice, loyalty, trust, and you immediately have an image of a legendary good
hero in mind – at least I do. I can easily imagine that many players (including myself) prefer to play characters that follow these ideals – and that is exactly what the Paladin offers in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Smite is just brilliant
As a Paladin, you have access to the action Divine Smite
, with which you can enhance your next attack against a spell slot. This adds extra radiant damage of 2d8 and an additional 1d8 per spell level (upcast). So you can deal between 40-90 damage per Smite.
At level 11, your attacks through the Passive Improved Smite
additionally deal 1d8 radiant damage, whether with Smite or as a normal attack. As a Paladin, you can deal significant damage with Smites. Against undead and fiends, you even add an additional 1d8 radiant damage.
The sound effect of Smite is so brilliant that it can become quite addictive. It feels so rewarding when you hit enemies with Smite. And the best part is that you don’t consume a spell slot if you miss your target.
As an Oath of Vengeance Paladin, you can also take the spell Hold Person
. If the spell succeeds against your opponent, you can then attack them with Smite
, meaning you will always deal critical damage (melee range attacks) when the opponent is held by the spell – and that means you deal double damage.
However, you can also take the spell Hold Person
with many other classes and combine it with your Paladin, including: Bard, Wizard, Sorcerer, Cleric, and Druid.
Small conclusion: Its versatility in combat and ability to support the team make the Paladin, in my opinion, a good choice for many players in Baldur’s Gate 3. You receive good and versatile abilities as a Paladin at nearly every level, making the class itself overall very strong.
I personally enjoy the Paladin (preferably Oath of Vengeance) as it is, without building multiclass builds. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with a Paladin. For those who prefer multiclass builds, combinations of Warlock/Paladin or Paladin/Fighter might be recommended.
What do you think of the Paladin? Which class do you love? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
For me personally, however, the Cleric will always remain the best choice in my heart. Why I love this class so much, I have revealed to you here: The least played class in Baldur’s Gate is one of the strongest and I love it too
