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The defining feature of the Paladin class is their Oaths. Oaths are vows that determine how the Paladin roleplays within the world of Baldur’s Gate 3, and following them is only barely optional. What you pick, is what you are stuck with – provided you don’t change your class via Withers, of course.
Outside of roleplaying, Oaths have a substantial effect on what abilities your Paladin unlocks over time. This can – and will – drastically change how your Paladin functions in combat. In this article, we are going to rank each Oath based on its raw power and effectiveness.
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Oath Of Ancients
Paladins who take on the Oath Of Ancients are staunch defenders of life in all of its forms. In practice, they are very similar to Druids, although they lack the diversity that class offers. Harnessing the powerful healing rituals and the raw fury of Nature, these Paladin are capable of keeping their allies alive and their foes controlled.
Oath Specific Unlocks
Level One
Healing Radiance – Healing Radiance is an AOE heal that is especially good if your party excels at operating as a tightly-knit team. It will heal once when cast, and then send out a second healing wave on your next turn.
Level Three
Nature’s Wrath – A simple ability that allows the Paladin to ensnare any opponent they strike as a Reaction. Very useful for keeping powerful enemies locked in place.
Turn The Faithless – Fey and Fiend creatures will flee from the Paladin. This ability is a bit niche, but nice to have on occasion.
Speak With Animals – This allows the Paladin to communicate with any animals they meet. A lot of information can be gleaned from this Spell, making it very handy to have on hand.
Ensnaring Strike – Similar to Nature’s Wrath, Ensnaring Strike allows the Paladin to ensnare an enemy, only this time it’s a spell (not a Reaction), and it can be used at a range.
Level Five
Misty Step – A powerful mobility spell that allows the Paladin to teleport to a nearby location. Ideal for hunting down ranged enemies and repositioning.
Moon Beam – A rather unique damage spell that deals decent damage as a beam from the heavens. It can even be moved each turn to allow it to hit enemies repeatedly.
Level Seven
Aura Of Warding – A very powerful ability that allows the Paladin to take less damage from spells. Not only that, but the Paladin can grant this buff to an ally in addition. Perfect for keeping a key party piece alive.
Level Nine
Protection From Energy – A protective buff that allows the Paladin to take reduced damage from a chosen source of damage. Handy in a pinch.
Plant Growth – The Paladin can ensnare enemies with a large AOE cast. Very handy for controlling the battlefield. It comes a little bit too late in the Paladin’s career, however. Many other classes gain similar spells far earlier.
Whilst all Oaths are powerful, we find the Oath Of Ancients to be the most underwhelming. The abilities gains and the spells learned don’t have the same impact as the other Oaths. They find themselves stuck between Druid and Cleric whilst not bringing enough of either’s strengths to be worth the investment.
Oath Of Devotion
If you want to be a knight in shining armour – a defender of the people and an exemplar of righteousness, then the Oath Of Devotion is for you. When it comes to embodying the holy light in all of its divine glory, you need not look further. Devotion Paladins are mighty warriors capable of smiting their foes whilst protecting their allies with powerful buffs.
Oath Specific Unlocks
Level One
Divine Rebuke – This allows the Paladin to place a protective ward on any target. When struck by a melee attack, Divine Rebuke will trigger causing high Radiant damage. This is excellent when applied to yourself, or another melee character.
Level Three
Sacred Weapon – Sacred weapon is a buff that turns your Charisma modifier into damage. Since Charisma is one of your higher stats as a Paladin, this is a sold buff.
Turn The Unholy – Turn the Unholy is very similar to Turn Undead, an ability used by Clerics. It’s far weaker, however, it’s still very useful. In short, undead enemies will run away from the Paladin.
Protection From Good and Evil – A fairly powerful protective spell that mainly gains use as a buff against undead and fiends. It can be useful in certain scenarios, but its single-target nature holds it back.
Sanctuary – This is an incredibly powerful defensive buff that makes it so you are immune to all single-target damage. The downside is you also can’t attack without breaking the spell. This is especially good at preventing alpha strikes.
Level Five
Lesser Restoration – A simple spell that removes things like poison and disease from an ally.
Silence – Silence is incredibly powerful at shutting down magic-based enemies. Not only that but it can also be used to gain immunity to Thunder damage. Whilst its secondary effect is more than a little bit niche, you may find some use in silencing your party from time to time.
Level Seven
Aura Of Devotion – Charm is a pretty rare ailment in Baldur’s Gate 3, so it’s unlikely to be much of an issue. However, for those times it does crop up, Aura Of Devotion ensures it does nothing to you, or nearby allies.
Level Nine
Beacon Of Hope – A situational ability that can be used to maximise your dice rolls when healing. Very useful when combined with a Cleric or the Lay On Hands ability.
Remove Curse – Curses, like Charm, are pretty rare. However, having the ability to remove them on hand at all times, is very nice.
Overall, this Oath is pretty solid. It has some niche quirks here and there, but overall, we find the Oath Of Devotion to be more reliable and ultimately more useful than the Oath Of Ancients. It’s a nice mix of offence and defence and embodies the ‘white knight’ archetype it’s aiming for.
Oath Of Vengeance
In our opinion, the Oath of Vengeance is the best Oath in the game. Unlike Ancients or Devotion, Vengeance is laser-focused on doing one thing, and that is delivering justice. Justice in this case tends to be in the form of holy wrath and divine smiting. If you want oodles of damage, this is the Oath for you.
Oath Specific Unlocks
Level One
Inquisitors Might – This is a flat damage boost to either your weapon or allies. The damage boost is equal to your Charisma modifier, which is a primary stat for Paladins. Great way to maximise your damage output.
Level Three
Abjure Enemy – This allows the Paladin to frighten Fiends and Undead enemies, which can be handy against certain powerful bosses.
Vow of Enmity – This is a powerful debuff that allows the Paladin to strike with an advantage on a chosen target for 10 turns. Not only that, this is a Bonus Action, so it can be cast without removing your ability to strike that turn. Always useful.
Bane – Bane is like Bless, but in reverse. Instead of buffing your allies, Bane debuffs your enemies making them easier to hit in addition to making them less likely to pass skill checks.
Hunters Mark – Hunters Mark is another powerful debuff that allows the Paladin to deal extra damage to the marked target. When combined with Vow Of Enmity, the Paladin becomes devastatingly effective at eliminating single targets.
Level Five
Hold Person – This allows the Paladin to lock three humanoid enemies in place, preventing them from moving or attacking. Sadly, this ability is very specific, and sadly, there aren’t many ‘humanoid’ enemies in the grand scheme of things. You are probably better off just hitting something.
Misty Step – Identical to the Oath Of Ancients, Misty Step allows the Paladin to teleport. This is great for hunting down fleeing enemies, closing the distance, and generally being a sticky nuisance.
Level Seven
Relentless Avenger – A fantastic reaction that allows the Paladin to gain a substantial movement speed buff after they perform an attack of opportunity. This allows the Paladin to stick to a target and make sure they can’t escape your righteous fury.
Level Nine
Haste – Haste is the best spell in Baldur’s Gate 3 by a country mile. It allows the caster to increase the number of actions a character can take. When applied to a level nine Paladin, you can look forward to attacking a minimum of four times per turn. Considering how powerful the Paladin is, this can delete most enemies – and even some bosses – with a single cast.
Protection From Energy – A fairly underwhelming protective buff that does work when you know what you are up against. Pales in comparison to Haste.
Oath Of Vengeance is almost comical in terms of its reliability and damage output. Despite its focus on damage, it still has access to the core lineup of Paladin spells, which means you get all the power Vengeance, without really losing the versatility of the class as a whole. Easily our favourite way to run Paladin.
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