The Paladin class is well-known for being holy warriors and righteous knights who protect the masses from forces of evil. They serve a deity like a Cleric does but have the martial prowess of the Fighter class. At level 3, a Paladin takes an oath for their god and gets powers in return. Those who break them become Oathbreakers. The Oathbreaker is a unique build for the Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3.
This is perfect for people who want to play an evil character but do not want to play a Warlock. You can start your Oathbreaker build in earnest when you get to select your subclass at level 3. This differs from other Paladin subclasses, so you must know what is new in this build.
Starting Abilities and Skills for Paladin Oathbreaker in BG3
You can choose any of the three subclasses from the Paladin Subclasses list at character creation. The only thing to remember is the specific oath your subclass takes and then break it somehow. For example, if a warrior with the Oath of Devotion build kills an innocent without a valid reason, he will break the oath to protect the weak and pursue the greater good.
This will unlock the Oathbreaker class and allow the player to go further in subclass builds. The Oathbreaker Paladin primarily focuses on two abilities.
Strength: This is the main ability of the Paladin Class in general and remains the same for Oathbreaker.
Charisma: Charisma is the primary spellcasting ability for the Paladin. That will also be the same here since you need it to cast your Oathbreaker spells.
Race: Half-Orc is the best race for the Oathbreaker build in Baldur’s Gate 3. You get the Relentless Endurance trait that helps you regain one hit point after dropping to zero hit points. Savage Attacks net you additional damage through critical melee hits. Darkvision is nothing short of a blessing in dark places.
Another racial choice to consider is Dragonborn. With this race, you get to choose 12 sub-races, all having Fire Breath action. The Draconic Resistance feature makes you resistant to the corresponding element of the subclass. You also gain the Breath Weapon feature and Extra Resistance as a Dragonborn.
Ability Point Distribution: Give 16 points to Strength and Charisma and 14 to Constitution. You can leave the remaining abilities as it is.
Skill Proficiencies: As far as skill proficiency is concerned, prioritize the following skills.
- Athletics
- Insight
Note that it is not carved in stone, that you cannot be proficient in other skills. You have to select skills and abilities according to the playstyle you are adopting in the game.
Best Background: The Noble Background will be the best choice for a Paladin’s Oathbreaker build. The Persuasion proficiency you receive from this background goes well with the Charisma ability. As an individual raised among the elites of society, you are respected by the people. This helps in dialogue scenarios.
Another decent choice would be Soldier. Its Intimidation and Athletics checks proficiencies will be phenomenal in fueling the aggressive behavior of Oathbreaker Paladin.
Best Feats for Paladin Oathbreaker Build in Baldur’s Gate 3
Feats are special talents (often passive) or areas of expertise that your character can unlock at certain levels. These levels are 4, 8, and 12 in Baldur’s Gate 3. At the same level that you can choose a feat, you also get the option to take an Ability Improvement. The latter allows you to increase any one ability score by two or two ability scores by one each. The only thing to remember is that you can only choose one of these.
Level 4 – Consider putting those extra two points into Strength or Charisma through Ability Improvement at Level 4. Many players may want to get to the 20-point score as early as possible.
Level 8 – Great Weapon Master: This feat is mainly for us Oathbreakers, who will use heavy melee or two-handed weapons in combat. The main benefit of this feat is that when your melee weapon makes a critical attack or kills a creature, you can make another melee attack as a bonus action.
Level 12 – You will have reached the peak of everything your character can get as an Oathbreaker Paladin. You now have the option to reach 20 Charisma or Strength through Ability score Improvement. However, you also can’t ignore tempting feats like Defensive Duelist.
Defensive Duelist: When a melee attack attacks you, the game will use your reaction to temporarily increase your AC by two. Doing that will also most likely make the melee attack of your enemy miss. The prerequisite is that you must use finesse weapons while also being proficient in them.
Best Spells for Paladin Oathbreaker Build in BG3
Aside from being physically damage-dealing and melee weapon expert class, Paladins also tend to use a handful of spells in their combat and other scenarios. On top of that, they get Divine Smite, which deals 2d16 Radiant damage and the damage inflicted by their melee weapon.
Level 3: Hellish Rebuke: It is an always-prepared reaction spell. If someone attacks you, Hellish flames will surround them, dealing a delayed 2d10 Fire damage. Inflict Wounds: Used to deal 3d10 Necrotic damage to the targets in your melee range.
Level 4: Shield of Faith: You add a concentration on Shield of Faith to increase your character’s Armor Class by 2.
Level 9: At this level, you will have a lot of spells in your Spellbook due to the addition of level 3 spells. So, you can replace low-level spells with much more potent ones. For instance, casting Elemental Weapon will add +1 to your Attack Rolls and also deal an extra 1d4 damage of your choice.
Best Armor and Weapons
The best gear options for our Oathbreaker build are as below.
Weapon: Sword of Justice – You can find this in the ruined house on the Risen Road. Kill Anders to get this weapon.
Boots: Boots of Speed – You can find these during the exploration at Underdark.
Armor: Adamantine Splint (heavy) Armor– You can get this chest piece at Grymforge, during The Adamantine Forge quest. Taking the Defense fighting style while wearing this armor will increase your Armor Class to 20.
Helm: Haste Helm– You get momentum for three consecutive turns at the beginning of a combat.
Amulet: Amulet of Restoration– Provides Healing Word and Mass Healing Word spells.
Ring: Ring of Psionic Protection– Found in the Myconid Colony in Underdark.
Paladin Oathbreaker Build Level Progression in Baldur’s Gate 3
Level 1: You won’t be an Oathbreaker right after character creation, as it happens as early as level 2.
Level 2: You get to break the oath of your subclass chosen at the start, leading to becoming an Oathbreaker. Breaking your oath can be done in many ways. One of them is to lie to goblin people near their camp and then finish them at the spot.
You will receive five prepared spells at this level, including Divine Favor and Cure Wounds.
Level 3: Upon reaching level 3, you get an extra spell slot and the Divine Health passive feature. This feature prevents all diseases from affecting your character’s body. You also get additional actions, namely Control Undead and Dreadful Aspect.
Level 4: At level four, you should add two points to Strength through Ability Improvement instead of choosing a feat. This will improve your attacks bringing the full damage potential this build has to offer.
Level 5: You get a new spell, Darkness, and can freely choose spells like Branding Smite.
Level: 6: We get Aura of Protection action. If it works correctly, it should give you and your party a bonus in Saving Throws.
Level 7: Level 7 introduces a new action, Aura of Hate. Aside from this, there will be a normal set of spells and nothing more than that.
Level 8: Depending on what you want your resultant build to look like, you can go for a feat or Ability Improvement at this level. In the case of feats, we recommend taking the same as discussed in the feats section above, i.e. Great Weapon Master.
Level 9: As you unlock many level 3 spells at this point, it will not be wise to stick with less potent ones from the level 1 spells list. For level 3 spells, consider selecting spells like Elemental Weapon and Crusader’s Mantle.
Level 10: We get one more action in the form of Aura of Courage. This action prevents you and your party members from Frighten.
Level 11: You should not expect many changes to your build at this level. The only few additions will be an extra level 3 spell slot and an Improved Divine Smite.
Level 12: You are at the final part of level progression for your Oathbreaker Paladin Build. You can go either for Ability Improvement to have 20 points (by adding 2) in your Strength or choose a useful feat like Defensive Duelist.
