Best Feats For Paladins In Baldur’s Gate 3

Summary

• Durable Feat is essential for quick healing, +1 to Constitution. Good for classes needing fast HP recovery.
• Charger allows Paladins to charge at enemies without provoking attacks. Useful for close combat situations.
• War Caster provides Concentration advantages and allows casting Shocking Grasp as a reaction. Helpful in tough battles.

The Paladin class is the image of the typical hero, clad in shining armor and armed with a mighty sword, and some types of games dictate that they should only be of a Lawful Good moral alignment. They’re one of the most popular classes to play in Baldur’s Gate 3 and like every other class in the game, they’re getting a new subclass in the near future.

Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t have many restrictions when it comes to conduct or ethics, but different builds offer players options like the Oath of Vengeance or the Oathbreaker. These are subclasses for those holy knights who walk in the dark as they serve the light, and whether or not each Paladin is a defender, a healer, or a damage dealer, there are ideal Feats for every unique build.

Updated January 17, 2025 by Kristy Ambrose: The original combo class, the Paladin continues to be popular in RPGs, including BG3, given its versatility and performance. Although they are often put in a defender role, they can also be impressive as melee damage or as a caster and healer. This list of ideal Feats for Paladins has been updated with more ideas for any party role or role-playing angle, be they offensively or defensively-minded.

1

Durable

Handy For Defenders And Front-Line Paladins

• Stats: Allows full healing with one Short Rest, +1 to Constitution

This is a handy Feat for any class that needs to regain the majority of their hit points quickly, perhaps without the aid of potions or spells. The Durable Feat improves the Constitution level by one, which improves how many hit points players have, and the other benefit is the extra healing.

Most of the time, a character needs a Long Rest to restore all of their hit points, but if they have the Durable Feat it only takes one Short Rest. This isn’t just a way to quickly heal with limited time, it also saves spell slots for healing, CC, and Divine Smite.

2

Sentinel

Protect Your Companions

• Stats: Grants the abilities Sentinel: Vengeance, Sentinel: Snare, and Sentinel: Opportunity Advantage

It’s an essential Feat for any defender build, but it can also work with any character designed for melee fighting. Each of the skills granted by the Sentinel Feat is focused on striking targets as they’re attacking allies and limiting the movement of enemies.

Vengeance allows the Paladin to use a Reaction to attack an enemy that’s targeting an ally, but this only works if the ally doesn’t have the Sentinel Feat themselves. When the Paladin makes an Attack of Opportunity, Snare makes sure the target can’t move for the rest of its turn, and Opportunity Advantage, just like the name says, gives the Paladin Advantage on Opportunity Attacks.

3

Actor

Improve The Most Important Staff

• Stats: Increase Charisma by +1, gain expertise in Deception and Performance

The most important ability score for a Paladin is Charisma, which is the spellcasting modifier, with Strength being a close second. This Feat gives them a boost to this stat, provided it isn’t already at 20, which is a crucial improvement.

Characters with a high Charisma are going to get better rolls anyway, and expertise in these two skills makes them even better at interacting with both friends and enemies. Depending on the Background the player has chosen for the Paladin, it’s like they have proficiency in Deception and Performance anyway, and in the event they don’t this neatly fills that gap.

4

Charger

One Way To Organize The Battlefield

• Stats: Charge forward towards an enemy without provoking an Attack of Opportunity, works for weapon attacks, and the Shove action

Ideal for any character that’s often in melee combat, Charger gives the Paladin two extra abilities that can be used in close quarters, one with a weapon and one unarmed attack. The Charger: Weapon Attack allows them to charge forward and strike the first enemy in front of them, without provoking Attacks of Opportunity.

It’s a handy way to focus on important things or people during a battle, and once the Paladin reaches their target, this Feat also gives them a bonus Shove action. This is the same as the regular Shove that all characters have, except this one can target any character that happens to be in this Paladin’s way.

5

War Caster

Concentration And Melee Spellcasting

• Stats: Advantage on saving throws for Concentration, the ability to cast Shocking Grasp as a reaction

There are a lot of Paladin spells that require Concentration, like Bless and Elemental Weapon, and War Caster is a Feat that gives an Advantage to players’ saving throws. War Caster: Concentration can be a crucial ability during a tough battle when everyone in the party needs every buff possible.

The other feature granted by the War Caster Feat is the ability to cast Shocking Grasp as a reaction. Shocking Grasp is an Evocation spell that plenty of casters use as a cantrip, and even if the character already has it, they’ll now be able to cast it separately as a reaction in battle. When the Paladin can make an Attack of Opportunity, they have the option of using Shocking Grasp.

6

Heavy Armour Master

Improves An Existing Paladin Ability

• Stats: Strength stat increases by 1, magical damage decreases by 3

Not all classes have the ability to wear heavy armor, but the Paladin can, so why not capitalize on that with this Feat? Heavy Armor Master is only available if the character already has Heavy Armor Proficiency, and any melee-fighting class needs the best AC possible.

Strength is the Paladin’s most important stat, and this Feat increases it by one point but maxes out at 20. It also decreases any damage taken from magical attacks by three, provided the player is wearing Heavy Armor.

7

Athlete

Leap Into Action With Speed And Grace

• Stats: Recover from the Prone condition without using an Action. Increases Strength or Dexterity by +1 and increases jumping distance by an additional half

Anything that improves a character’s mobility is good, and for a Paladin, one of the better ways to do so is by using the Athlete Feat. It has several benefits that serve them and their Companions in various situations in and out of combat along with improving basic stats. Extra jumping power is handy for both exploration and battlefield mobility.

A Paladin’s most important ability is Strength, so most of the time this is the choice players will make, but it’s not mandatory. The Prone condition can be caused by a variety of encounters, either with rough terrain, spells that cause wet or icy surfaces, or spells or actions that cause Thunder damage.

8

Magic Initiate: Bard

Multiclass Without Multiclassing

• Stats: Learn two cantrips and one first-level spell from the Bard class.

For those players who are building a Paladin that’s intended to take more of a healer or support role, this Feat gives them extra spells from another class also known for its versatility, the Bard. Both classes use Charisma as their spellcasting modifier, which is why it’s an ideal choice for a Paladin Feat.

Spells from the Bard class are similar to Cleric spells and include very handy incantations like Command
and Sanctuary
, along with a choice of healing spells. Paladins who want more spellcasting power of a DPS nature can also choose the same Feat but with the Sorcerer or Warlock, classes which also rely on the Charisma ability score.

9

Shield Master

• Stats: The abilities Shield Master and Shield Master: Block

Paladins prioritize the Ability Scores of Strength and Charisma, with the former being the stat for their hit power and the latter acting as their spellcasting modifier. However, Dexterity is also an important stat for characters that deal physical damage, and this Feat includes bonuses to Dex saving throws.

Shield Master gives the Paladin a +2 to all of their Dexterity saving throws, along with Block, an extra defensive ability against spells. If the Paladin is the target of a spell and they have to make a Dexterity saving throw to dodge it, players can use a Reaction to mitigate the damage.

10

Great Weapon Master

For Those Using Two-Handed Or Versatile Weapons

• Stats: Get a bonus attack with a Critical hit, two-handed and versatile weapon attacks get a +10 to their damage rating

Not all Paladins are the sword-and-shield type. There are plenty of nice two-handed warhammers, greatswords, and battleaxes in the game that would be even more lethal if the character using it had Great Weapon Master. It gives players a bonus attack when their character lands a critical hit, and their weapon attack gets a +10 to its damage.

Those who are more interested in dealing damage than protecting their allies, which may be the case for Oath of Vengeance Paladins, it’s an essential part of the build, but it does have a downside. The damage might be more, but the Attack roll takes a -5, and how bad that is depends on their Strength modifier.