Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Oathbreaker Paladin build: Race, spells, weapons & more

Jessica Filby
Baldur's Gate 3 Oathbreaker

Baldur’s Gate 3 allows players to choose from a plethora of classes and Oathbreaker Paladin is one such hidden sub-class in the game. Finding the right build for this class can be a complex yet fulfilling endeavor so we have compiled a guide that will help you craft the ultimate Oathbreaker Paladin.

Baldur’s Gate 3 offers extensive character customization, enabling players to delve into a variety of classes, subclasses, and races to create unique and powerful characters.

While there are tons of options, one can be a little hidden, as it’s inside another class. The Oathbreaker Paladin can only be achieved when breaking your oath, so has to be treated with care. So, to ensure you create this tricky character perfectly, here’s the best Oathbreaker Paladin build in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Contents:

How to become an Oathbreaker Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 paladin

Unlike the likes of a Necromancer, you can’t just become an Oathbreaker Paladin at the beginning of Baldur’s Gate 3. Instead, you need to choose an Oath and then break it, which will lead to you speaking to the Oathbreaker Knight.

So, to help you know how to break your Oath, here’s each Oath and the actions required to break it:

Oath of Ancients:

  • Kill the Owlbear and it’s cub.

Oath of Devotion:

  • Kill Findal under the Emerald Grove.

Oath of Vengeance:

  • Free Sazza
  • Kill Nymessa and Damays when you find Lae’zel.
  • Reanimate Mayina’s husband.
  • Complete the ‘Avenge Glut’s Circle’ questline.

If you’re looking for a quick and painless way to become an Oathbreaker, then we suggest choosing the Oath of Vengeance since you can either kill Nymessa and Damays near the beginning or just free Sazza instead. You should still be level 2 by the time you do this, meaning you can get the most out of the build and its features.

Best race for an Oathbreaker Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3

BG3 Half Orc

When it comes to the ideal race for an Oathbreaker Paladin, there are quite a few choices thanks to some handy features:

  • High Half-Elf
  • Human
  • Mephistopheles Tiefling
  • Half-Orc

With a focus on damage over any control spells, we suggest opting for the Half-Orc thanks to its Darkvvision, Savage Attack, and Relentless Endurance, as you’ll likely be upfront in battle. Alternatively, if you want a few more spells, we recommend going for the High Half-Elf.

Best background for an Oathbreaker Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3

Thankfully, the Oathbreaker Paladin isn’t too dissimilar from the traditional Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3, especially when it comes down to their specific base build, including race and background.

So, with that in mind, and in line with our Paladin build guide, we recommend choosing the Soldier background for proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation. Alternatively, if you want a bit more of a charisma-based character, then Noble is your best bet, for proficiency in History and Persuasion.

Best abilities for an Oathbreaker Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3

Best abilities for an Oathbreaker Paladin
Prioritise Strength and Charisma as abilities.

You need to allocate your points to the right abilities to make the strongest build. Here are the best options we found:

AbilityPoints to allocate
Strength16
Charisma16
Constitution14
Wisdom8
Dexterity10
Intelligence10

Best feats for an Oathbreaker Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3

Choosing the best feat for your Oathbreaker Paladin build

For a strong Oathbreaker Paladin guide, you will need stats that make your character hard-hitting. Here are some feats you can choose:

FeatEffect
Alert• Gain +5 Initiative.
• You can’t be surprised.
Great Weapon Master• Landing a Critical Hit or killing a target with a melee weapon can make another melee weapon attack as a bonus action that turn.

• You can deliver an extra 10 damage with attacks using heavy melee weapons that you are proficient with, but doing so will result in a -5 Attack Roll penalty. (You can switch this off)
Crusher• Gain +1 strength or constitution.
• Your target will move five feet when you strike with a weapon that causes bludgeoning damage.
• If you use a weapon that does bludgeoning damage and score a critical hit, all of your subsequent strikes against that target will have an advantage.

Best spells for an Oathbreaker Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3

an image of a Paladin in Baldur's gate 3

While spells aren’t a huge part of the Oathbreaker Paladin, some can greatly increase your damage and control over the battlefield:

  • Level 1: Bless
  • Level 1: Cure Wounds
  • Level 1: Compelled Duel
  • Level 1: Divine Favour
  • Level 1: Searing Smite
  • Level 1: Thunderous Smite
  • Level 1: Protection from Good and Evil
  • Level 1: Inflict Wounds
  • Level 1: Hellish Rebuke
  • Level 1: Heroism
  • Level 2: Crown of Madness
  • Level 2: Lesser Restoration
  • Level 3: Animate Dead
  • Level 3: Revivify

Best armor and weapon for an Oathbreaker Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3

Since your Oathbreaker Paladin will likely be up close and personal with the enemy, you need a good weapon and armor that will protect you from any oncoming hits.

For your weapon, you’ll want to keep an eye out for two-handed weapons, like Greatswords. We suggest looking for the Sword of Justice due to its cleave action and other features. You’ll find this with Anders in Act 1.

Then, for your armor, it’s good to look into Adamantine Splint Armor, which you can make from the Grymforge. It reduces your incoming damage and has some great features to keep you alive, as well as increasing your armor class tenfold in the game.

Best build for an Oathbreaker Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 Oathbreaker

Race: Half-Orc

Background: Soldier

Skills: Persuasion, Insight

Weapon / Armor: Sword of Justice, Adamantine Splint Armor

Companions: Gale, Shadowheart, Astarion

LevelFeatures
1Oath of the Ancients
2Spiteful SufferingDivine SmiteSpells: Cure Wounds, Compelled Duel — Fighting Style: Great Weapon Fighting
3Divine HealthControl Undead Dreadful Aspect Spells: Hellish Rebuke, Inflict Wounds
4Ability Improvement: Strength +2 — Spells: Searing Smite
5Extra Attack Spell: Crown of Madness, Lesser Restoration
6Aura of ProtectionSpell: Magic Weapon
7Aura of HateSpell: Thunderous Smite
8Ability Improvement: Strength +2
9Spells: Animate Dead, Revivify
10Aura of CourageLay on Hands Charge Spell: Blinding Smite
11Spell: Bestow Curse
12Feat: Great Weapon Master

Take a look at some of our other handy Baldur’s Gate 3 guides and content:

Best Sorcerer build | Best Bard build | Best Rogue build | Best Fighter build | Best Ranger build | Best Barbarian build | Best Druid build | Best Warlock build | Best Wizard build | Baldur’s Gate 3: What’s the max level cap? | Best Baldur’s Gate 3 classes tier list | How to revive characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 | Can you multiclass in Baldur’s Gate 3 | Baldur’s Gate 3 Soul Coins: How to get them & what they are | Baldur’s Gate 3: Fastest ways to get XP & level up | Baldur’s Gate 3: How to respec your character | Baldur’s Gate 3 Karmic Dice: What are they?

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About The Author

Based in Cumbria, England, Jessica is a Senior Games Writer who joined Dexerto after stints at Game Rant and The Gamer. You can find her covering everything from Minecraft, CoD, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Pokemon Go and more. You can contact Jessica at jessica.filby@dexerto.com