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For most players seeking the strongest all-around oath, Oath of Vengeance is the best pick, followed by Oath of the Ancients, Oathbreaker, Oath of the Crown, and Oath of Devotion. That’s an editorial ranking of each oath’s added combat tools and party value—not a measured win-rate or damage leaderboard. Your level, party, multiclass plans, and preferred role can change the order.
There are five Paladin subclasses in the current BG3 class reference. Oathbreaker is the exception to the usual selection process: it becomes available after you break your oath rather than appearing as an initial character-creation choice.
How this Paladin ranking works
Every Paladin already brings core class strengths such as Lay on Hands, Divine Smite, Aura of Protection, and Improved Divine Smite. Those shared abilities are not subclass advantages. This ranking focuses on what each oath adds: its signature actions, prepared spells, level 7 feature, usefulness to allies, and the demands of keeping the oath.
The mechanics are documented in the BG3 Wiki’s Paladin reference; it does not establish a tested subclass leaderboard. The order below is a practical judgment about broad usefulness, not an objective result.
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1. Oath of Vengeance: Best for focused offense
Vengeance is the strongest all-around choice here if you want to pressure a dangerous enemy directly. Vow of Enmity gives you advantage on attacks against a selected target, making it easier to focus your attacks and Divine Smites where they matter. Its oath spell progression adds tools including Misty Step, Hold Person, and Haste.
That combination of target-focused offense and mobility is straightforward to use across many encounters. Vengeance suits players who would rather pursue a priority target than build their turn around protecting the whole group.
2. Oath of the Ancients: Best for party resilience
Ancients earns second place by supporting the party in two distinct ways. Healing Radiance heals the Paladin and nearby allies, then heals them again on the following turn. At level 7, Aura of Warding halves spell damage for the Paladin and nearby allies.
Rank #2
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It also brings Speak with Animals and Misty Step. Choose Ancients if group healing and protection from spell damage matter more to you than Vengeance’s concentrated offense. Its in-game oath description centers on preserving life and nature in a struggle against darkness.
3. Oathbreaker: Strong offense with an unlock requirement
Oathbreaker offers a darker offensive route rather than a standard oath choice. Its level 7 Aura of Hate adds the Paladin’s Charisma modifier to melee damage for the Paladin and nearby fiends and undead. Other tools include Spiteful Suffering, which deals recurring necrotic damage and grants attacks against its target advantage; Control Undead; and Dreadful Aspect, which frightens nearby enemies.
Its always-prepared spells include Hellish Rebuke, Inflict Wounds, Crown of Madness, Darkness, Bestow Curse, and Animate Dead. Oathbreaker fits players drawn to melee pressure, undead control, or a character whose story turns away from the original oath. The game’s description frames the subclass around having broken that oath and drawing on darkness; it does not require you to play the character as a conventional villain.
Rank #3
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4. Oath of the Crown: Best for an active protector role
Introduced in Patch 8 in 2025, Crown has a distinct focus on protecting allies by managing enemy attention and absorbing harm. Champion Challenge draws enemies toward the Paladin, Turn the Tide heals nearby non-enemies, and Divine Allegiance lets the Paladin take damage to heal an adjacent ally.
That toolkit makes Crown a natural choice if you want to act as an active protector. Its lower position in this broad ranking reflects its more specialized role, not a lack of party value.
5. Oath of Devotion: Best for a traditional knightly style
Devotion combines weapon accuracy with protections against particular threats. Sacred Weapon improves the weapon’s chance to hit; Turn the Unholy can drive off nearby undead and fiends; and at level 7, Aura of Devotion prevents nearby allies from being Charmed.
Rank #4
Those are useful tools, especially if protection from charm is relevant to your party. In this ranking, Devotion’s signature features are less broadly impactful than the other oaths’ combinations of focused offense, group resilience, or active protection. Its in-game description emphasizes honorable conduct, virtue, and defending the weak.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which Paladin oath should you choose?
- Choose Vengeance for target-specific attack advantage, mobility, and aggressive pressure.
- Choose Ancients for group healing and reduced spell damage for nearby allies.
- Choose Oathbreaker for its Charisma-scaled melee aura, necrotic tools, and undead control—if you are willing to acquire it through oathbreaking.
- Choose Crown if you want to draw enemy attention and take damage to protect an adjacent ally.
- Choose Devotion for a traditional knightly character and protection from charm.
A party that needs defense may value Ancients, Crown, or Devotion more than this order suggests. If direct offensive pressure is your priority, Vengeance and Oathbreaker are the leading options, but they approach it differently: Vengeance focuses advantage on a selected enemy, while Oathbreaker brings necrotic and control tools alongside its melee aura.
What to know before breaking an oath
Oathkeeping is part of the choice, and the triggers differ by subclass. The BG3 Wiki’s Paladin reference lists examples including harming non-hostile life for Ancients, attacking a non-hostile creature or acting dishonorably for Devotion, allowing the guilty to escape punishment for Vengeance, and breaking promises or opposing legitimate rulers for Crown. These examples are not an exhaustive account of every dialogue branch.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsAfter an oath is broken, the Oathbreaker Knight appears and Channel Oath actions are temporarily unavailable. You can speak with him to unlock Oathbreaker or restore your original oath. The listed restoration cost starts at 1,000 gold, then rises to 2,000 and 10,000 for successive restorations. The class reference also says Withers will not respec an Oathbreaker until the original oath has been restored. These constraints make oathbreaking a meaningful playthrough decision, rather than a reason to rule out the subclass.
Why older Paladin rankings may list only four oaths
Oath of the Crown arrived with Patch 8 in 2025, so older rankings that predate that update will not include it. The current Paladin class reference lists five subclasses: Ancients, Devotion, Crown, Vengeance, and Oathbreaker. Mechanics and balance details can change with patches, hotfixes, or mods; the ranking above is a broad comparison of the documented game features, not a claim about every setup or version.
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