If you want a balanced yet powerful build for your Paladin character, the Oath of Devotion build in Baldur’s Gate 3 is the answer. These Paladins offer a versatile role in their party, which ranges from providing support to dealing damage. Although Barbarians and Fighters are the primary tanks in BG3, the Oath of Devotion Paladins can fill that role easily.
To make this build, you will have to make some specific choices in character creation. These will allow you to improve your build and create a character that can weather anything the game throws. Oath of Devotion is also one of the best builds for Minthara, as she is also a Paladin. You can also read our article on how to make a tank in bg3.
Is Oath of Devotion Paladin any good in BG3?
Oath of Devotion Paladins serve as a compromise between the Oath of Ancients and the Oath of Vengeance. They are good healers who support party members and have decent firepower. They are also proficient with Heavy Armor, eliminating the need for an additional tank character in your party.
However, like the rest of the Paladin sub-classes, they have limited spell slots and are very complex. They are the upholders of the tenets of virtue and goodness. Doing anything that goes against these rules will change you into an Oathbreaker.
Starting Abilities and Skills for Oath of Devotion Paladin in BG3
| Class | Paladin | – |
| Sub-Class | Oath of Devotion | – |
| Race | Zariel Tiefling | It provides access to a ton of unique abilities to our character. These include Searing Smite, Branding Smite, and Thaumaturgy. All of these are obtained gradually at progressive levels. Zariel Tiefling’s Searing Smite is better at dealing Fire damage to targets than the regular Searing Smite spell of Paladins. Moreover, it does not even need you to expend a spell slot. |
| Ability Points Distribution | 16 STR, CHA 16, 14 CON | Keep the rest at default |
| Skills | Athletics and Insight | Athletics has Strength as its main attribute, and Insight has Wisdom as its main attribute. All this results in an increased overall efficiency of the build. |
Best Background
The best background choice for the Paladin Oath of Devotion build can be a Soldier. A soldier is a battle-hardened veteran with the endurance and expertise needed in combat. Moreover, this one has Athletics and Intimidation proficiencies that are exactly in tune with the innate proficiencies of Paladin.
Outlander is also a considerable background, owing to its Athletics and Survival proficiencies.
Best Feats for Oath of Devotion Paladin Build in Baldur’s Gate 3
You can choose a feat from an extensive list after every four levels of a class in BG3. So, this selection can be done at 4, 8, and 12 of the character levels. The first Feat most people, take is the Ability Improvement, which rivals all the other counterparts due to its utility.
You will always have a choice between increasing up to 2 points in your favorite abilities and choosing a feat instead.
| Level | Feat | Description |
| 4 | Ability Improvement | Invest both ability points in Charisma. |
| 8 | Alert | This feat gives a +5 bonus to your Initiative. This means that you are always going to get your first turn in combat. |
| 12 | Defensive Duelist | When attacked while wielding a finesse weapon, you can use a reaction to add your proficiency bonus to your Armor Class, possibly causing the attack to miss. The prerequisite is that you should be proficient in the finesse weapon in your hands. |
Best Spells for Oath of Devotion Paladin Build in Baldur’s Gate 3
Indeed, Paladins are not as adept in spellcasting and magical prowess as Sorcerers or Bards. However, they get a handful of spells at progressive levels that give them the upper hand in combat and dialogue options.
Level 1 Spells are unlocked when your character reaches level 2 in progression, before which only cantrips are available. Below, we have put the best spells you can consider at different Devotion Paladin levels.
| Level | Spell | Description |
| 1 | Divine Favour, Compelled Duel | Divine Favour allows you to perform a prayer, empowering you with divine radiance. This way, your weapons will start dealing 1d4 additional radiant damage to targets. With the force of a divine command in Compelled Duel, enemies are forced to attack only your character and stop bothering your party members. |
| 2 | Protection from Poison, Magic Weapon | This spell allows you to neutralize the effect of all kinds of poison by touching a creature. Magic Weapon is a concentration spell that gives us a +1 to Attack rolls and Damage Rolls. |
| 3 | Blinding Smite | Allows you to summon a heavenly blaze, causing the target to go blind for a moment. In this duration, the enemy will have a Disadvantage in their Attack Rolls while you will gain an Advantage in your Attack rolls. |
Best Armor and Weapons
Below are the weapons, armor, and other gear options we have chosen for our Oath of Devotion build.
Weapon: The weapon you wield should be one-handed due to opting for the Dueling fighting style. The Pelorsun Blade is a good option for this. It deals 3-13 piercing damage and is proficient against undead enemies.
Shield: Go for a shield in armor choices to benefit from your fighting style, such as Abdel’s Trusted Shield. Adds +2 to your Armour Class and negates missile attacks. Push back enemies that melee attack you, making them prone.
Hands: Gloves of the Growling Underdog: Gives you an Advantage on melee attack rolls when two or more enemies surround you.
Helm: Grymskull Helm: This one is a decent headgear grating protection from Fire damage. It also protects you from getting critically hit by enemies.
Amulet: Amulet of Restoration: Gives the user two spells, Healing Word and Mass Healing Word.
Ring: Emerald Ring. Increases movement speed by up to 3m per turn.
Oath of Devotion Paladin Build Level Progression in Baldur’s Gate 3
Below is an overview of the notable changes at each subsequent level during character progression.
| Level | Unlocks | Description |
| 1 | Race, Background, and Ability Points Distribution. | Choose the ones we recommended above. |
| 2 | Dueling fighting style, Bless spell, Shield of Faith spell | You can bless up to 4 party members to gain a 1d4 bonus on Attack Rolls and Saving Throws. Shield of Faith increases AC by 2. |
| 3 | Divine Health class feature, Sanctuary, and Sacred Weapon sub-class features. | Protects you from any disease. Sanctuary protects you from being targeted unless you start a battle. Sacred weapon makes your weapon more precise. |
| 4 | The first Feat unlocks | Ability Improvement to increase Charisma ability to 18. |
| 5 | Level 2 spell slot unlocks, Extra Attack class feature. | Allows you to make an additional attack in the same turn without any cost. |
| 6 | Aura of Protection | With this, you and your party allies are given a Saving Throws bonus. This will likely save all of you from potential damage up to a great extent. |
| 7 | Aura of Devotion | Protects you and your party members from being Charmed by anyone. |
| 8 | The second Feat slot unlocks | Alert to gain a +5 bonus for your Initiative rolls. |
| 9 | Level 3 spell slot unlocks, Beacon of Hope, and Revivify spells | The former spell helps your allies get maximum hit points after being healed, while the latter brings one companion back to life with one hit point. |
| 10 | Aura of Courage class action | Saves us from being Frightened by enemies. |
| 11 | Improved divine Smite | With this, any melee attack from your side will deal an extra 1d8 radiant damage to the targets. |
| 12 | The final Feat slot unlocks | Use the Defensive Duelist to increase your AC by a good margin. |
