Paladins have always been a solid and much-loved class in Dungeons & Dragons, and that’s also true in Baldur’s Gate 3. These holy crusaders follow an oath and kick some serious ass while doing it! They have a whole host of powerful Smite abilities, which give them excellent attacking options. They can also perform multiple attacks in a single turn after level 5, and this is what the Crit Paladin build focuses on. Sometimes, you’ll be able to chain three attacks together, land a few Crits on those hits, and down even the toughest enemies very quickly. If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, continue on to the guide below to see exactly how the Crit Paladin build comes together in Baldur’s Gate 3.
How to Build the Best Crit Paladin in BG3
Best Race & Subrace
For the optimal race to support this build, you have two choice: Tieflings and Half-Orcs.
Tieflings are an amazing choice. They have Darkvision for seeing in the dark, which is very useful as you’d otherwise get disadvantage on attacks made in the dark. (See here for how disadvantage works.) They also take half the damage from fire attacks, and you’ll encounter quite a lot of fire attacks. They also have one of the best subraces for Paladins, that being the Zariel bloodline Tieflings. Zariel Tieflings are stronger and gain two Legacy of Avernus Smite Spells early on, which is very nice to have and suits the Paladin well.
Half-Orcs are another top-notch choice for the Paladin. Like Tieflings, they have Darkvision, but also have two other powerful passives. Restless Endurance is basically a self-revive they can use to get back up with 1 HP instead of being downed, while Savage Attacks lets them roll triple damage dice on a critical hit rather than double.
Best Paladin Subclass
For this Crit Paladin build in Baldur’s Gate 3, we’ll be taking the Oath of Vengeance subclass. It’s the one most focused on damage, buffing, and fear mechanics. Inquisitor’s Might is a Class action buff that comes with this Subclass. You can use it on yourself or party members to add 2 Radiant damage to attacks with the possibility to cause Daze on enemies.
Best Background
There are two top choices for the Background: Soldier or Noble. Noble boosts History and Persuasion skills which are both useful. However, I’d say the Soldier is the better option because its boost to Athletics and Intimidation really fits the playstyle we’re going for.
Ability Points
For Ability points you’ll want the following distribution:
- Strength: 17 +2 bonus
- Dexterity: 10
- Constitution: 14
- Intelligence: 8
- Wisdom: 10
- Charisma: 15 +1 bonus
How to Level The Crit Build Paladin
Level 2
At level two you gain some solid Divine Smite actions to add your list of skills. As for your choices, select the following:
- Fighting Style: Choose Great Weapon Fighting. This gives us re-rolls on low attack rolls when using a 2H weapon.
- Spell Choice: Choose Searing Smite, Thunderous Smite, Wrathful Smite, and Shield of Faith. All of these Smites have different damage typing and effects that are really strong.
Level 3
This is where the build starts to get even stronger. You’ll gain access to some Vengeance-specific Actions such as Abjure Enemy to inflict the frightened status and Vow of Enmity for advantage on attack rolls.
We also get our first race-specific Smite, the Legacy of Avernus: Searing Smite, which is a very strong early game Smite. Under prepared spells, you’ll now have Command, which is a hilarious spell that you can use to get even strong enemies to drop their weapons on the ground for you to then steal!
Level 4
The most important thing at this level is your choice of feat. For this build, you’ll want to choose the Great Weapon Master feat. Every time you land a Crit or kill a enemy with your weapon, you can use a bonus action to make another attack. This is a huge bonus and can result in a massive output of damage in a single turn.
Level 5
This is where we get another power spike for the build. This level up grants us an extra attack as a class feature. That, combined with the feat we unlocked last level, means we can have up to three attacks occurring in a single turn!
We also now unlock the second race-specific Smite, Legacy of Avernus: Branding Smite. This Smite is incredibly good against stealthy enemies, preventing them from becoming invisible. You’ll also gain Aid by default as a new prepared spell; you can swap this out for something else if you like.
Level 6
At level 6, all you’ll need to do is change out Branding Smite for Magic Weapon in your list of prepared spells. We have our Legacy of Avernus version, so we don’t need this Smite as well.
Level 7
Here, again, you’ll just want to swap out the Branding Smite, this time for Protection from Poison.
Level 8
Swap Branding Smite for Lesser Restoration. You also get your next feat at this level. I’d recommend going with Ability Improvement and increasing Strength and Charisma by 1 point each.
Level 9
This is where we gain access to level 3 spells! One of the best to pick up first is the Blinding Smite, which is a powerful Smite that can also inflict the Blind status on enemies. You’ll also want to take Elemental Weapon here; it adds +1 to attack rolls and deals additional damage.
Level 10
Take Crusader’s Mantle as your skill choice here. This skill allows us and nearby party members to gain additional Radiant damage to weapon attacks.
Level 11
Take Revivify as your choice of spell here. Having a castable revive whenever you need it is incredibly useful to save on Revivify scrolls!
Level 12
Level 12 is the final level currently in Baldur’s Gate 3. Here we gain our last choice of feat. The best one to take here is the Sentinel feat. This allows us to counterattack an enemy when they strike an ally within melee range. It’s very synergistic for the build!
That’s how you can build yourself a Crit Paladin in Baldur’s Gate 3, which is one of the strongest of the Class’s possibilities. You’re tanky, you’re versatile, and—best of all—an absolute damage-dealing unit. Find yourself a good 2H weapon, some nice armor, and watch as everything melts beneath your vengeance! And if you’re looking for more class builds or general tips on making it through the game, check out our full set of guides.
