Paladins have always been popular in Dungeons & Dragons. They have a great mix of toughness, damage output, and utility. Choosing the best feats can make your Paladin more effective than ever, so let’s dive into some of the best Paladin feats in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Top 10 Paladin Feats in BG3
The Paladin is a very versatile class. It offers so many great options for weapon setups, many of which are made viable through feats. You might find some other feats work better for your specific playstyle, but these are the ones we like the best.
10 – Alert
- Provides a +5 bonus to initiative and ensures your Paladin is never ambushed.
- Best if your build benefits from going first in an encounter.
Alert is a feat that might seem minor but can drastically shift the dynamics of combat. It provides a +5 bonus to initiative and ensures your Paladin is never caught unaware. This guarantees almost immediate readiness for battle, allowing your character to act swiftly at the onset of combat. With Alert, your Paladin might cast a vital spell or strike a key blow before your foes can even respond, offering a tactical edge akin to a battlefield sixth sense.
9 – War Caster
- Helps you maintain spell concentration and allows you to cast spells as a reaction.
- It works best if you integrate spellcasting into your Paladin’s build.
War Caster is invaluable for any Paladin who integrates spellcasting into their combat strategy. This feat affords you an advantage on saving throws made to maintain spell concentration, significantly reducing the likelihood of spell disruption upon taking damage. Additionally, War Caster permits casting spells like Shocking Grasp reactively to enemies exiting melee range, crucial for protecting vulnerable allies from bypassing foes.
8 – Savage Attacker
- Allows you to roll damage dice twice for melee weapon attacks and select the higher roll.
- Best if you are going for a high-damage melee build.
Savage Attacker significantly enhances your Paladin’s damage potential. With this feat, you roll damage dice twice for melee weapon attacks, selecting the higher roll for damage. This increases the chance of dealing substantial damage per strike, making your Paladin a formidable adversary. Whether contending with a single strong enemy or multiple weaker ones, Savage Attacker ensures impactful hits.
7 – Heavy Armor Master
- Grants damage reduction from non-magical attacks by three points while wearing heavy armor.
- Best if you’re building your Paladin as a tank.
Heavy Weapon Master is tailored for Paladins who opt for heavy weaponry. This feat offers damage reduction from non-magical attacks by three points while wearing heavy armor, enhancing your Paladin’s resilience against physical attacks.
6 – Tough
- Increases the maximum hit points by 2 for each level gained.
- Best if you intend to be the focus of your enemies’ attacks.
Tough improves your Paladin’s survivability by increasing the maximum hit points by 2 for each level gained. This allows your Paladin to endure more attacks, reinforcing their role as a dependable frontline fighter. Whether bracing against a multitude of enemies or a formidable single opponent, Tough ensures your Paladin remains engaged in battle longer.
5 – Dual Wielder
- Grants the ability to wield two weapons even if they aren’t classed as light.
- It’s best if you want to try out dual-wielding with Strength instead of Dexterity.
Not what you’d have in mind for your typical Paladin! They’re mostly known for going sword and shield or a powerful two-handed weapon. In Baldur’s Gate 3, though, this is an excellent option if you want to try out dual-wielding.
Think how cool it would be to run something like dual hammers on a Paladin. This feat grants you the ability to wield two weapons even if they aren’t classed as light, which opens up a whole lot more options for what you can dual-wield. You also gain a +1 bonus to your Armor Class while dual-wielding, which can do wonders for taking less damage in combat.
4 – Shield Master
- Grants a +2 bonus to Dexterity-based saving throws while using a shield and allows a special reaction to shield yourself from spells.
- Best if you prefer the classic sword and shield setup for a tank Paladin build.
Sword and shield is a classic Paladin setup that always works very well. It’s a good balance of offense and defense and there are certainly some cool shields in BG3. The Shield Master feat takes this classic setup to the next level, though. You’ll gain a +2 bonus to Dexterity based saving throws while you’re using a shield. This makes it much, much harder to take down your Paladin.
The best part is that when you’re targeted by a spell and have to make a Dexterity-based saving throw, you get to use a special reaction. This reaction lets you attempt to shield yourself from the spell. If you succeed, you take no damage from the spell. If you fail, you still only take half the damage you otherwise would have taken. This is pretty huge for your Paladin’s survivability, as there are a lot of strong spells out there to deal with from enemies!
Related: Baldur’s Gate 3 Player Discovers How to Recruit Minthara Without Killing
3 – Great Weapon Master
- Significantly increases your damage output when using a great weapon.
- Best if you’re going for a high Strength and high Constitution build focused on dealing damage.
This feat is incredibly powerful and is all about you absolutely crushing enemies with a heavy weapon. Whenever you Crit or take down an enemy with a melee weapon attack, you’ll get a bonus action that will allow you to make another weapon attack.
Chaining two attacks together can result in some truly devastating damage being dished out. If you have proficiency with a heavy melee weapon, then that’s even better, as this feat will grant you +10 damage in trade for a -5 Attack Roll. This can be toggled on or off, but if you can find a way to boost your attack rolls to counter the downside that’s a free extra 10 damage each attack.
2 – Sentinel
- Lets you attack an enemy who attacks a nearby ally as a Reaction.
- Best if you’re running a melee tank and want to make sure you can control the battlefield.
No matter your choice of weapon, Sentinel is a great all-around Paladin feat. It provides great synergy if you have a fellow melee user in the party. Sentinel lets you make a counterattack against an enemy attacking a nearby ally in melee range.
This is some nice free damage and can turn the tide of a fight. You also gain advantage on your opportunity attacks and when you make a successful opportunity attack you immobilize the enemy you hit. This gives you better control over the battlefield.
Related: How to Complete the Self-Same Trial in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)
1 – Polearm Master
- You can make opportunity attacks when an enemy comes within your melee range.
- Best if you’re willing to trade defense for a little more damage and control over the battlefield.
Polearm Master is my favorite Paladin feat in Baldur’s Gate 3. Sure, a polearm isn’t most people’s go to for a Paladin, but it’s a very, very good weapon type to try out. The reason being the much larger range it has compared to other melee weapons.
You’ll make attacks that you wouldn’t be able to with a sword, and you’ll have a range advantage over other melee fighters as well. With this trait, you’ll even gain the ability to make opportunity attacks when an enemy comes within your large melee range. This means you’ll permanently have a radius around your Paladin that will net you free damage on any poor fool wanting to move past you.
Those are the top 10 traits to try out with your Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3. All of these traits can really add some power to the Paladin class in their own way and really define how you play the class!
If you’re looking for more guides for the game, check out our advice for completing the Soft-Step Trial in Baldur’s Gate 3.
The above article was updated on April 28, 2024 by Escapist Editorial to provide more Paladin feats and tips.
