Top 5 Best Paladin Races in Baldur’s Gate 3

Paladins tend to work best with races that provide either bonus melee offensive spells or some utility and mobility options. Luckily, there are plenty of great options that will boost your spell list. Here are my top 5 best Paladin races in Baldur’s Gate 3.

What Are the Top 5 Best Paladin Races in Baldur’s Gate 3

Zariel Tiefling

Zariel Tieflings work incredibly well with Paladin since they literally get two smite spells for free once per Long Rest. Searing Smite and Branding Smite allow you to fill out your smite spell selection with Thunderous and Wrathful Smite from your base class. Furthermore, Thaumaturgy is great for Intimidation which Paladins can excel at and Fire damage Resistance always comes useful.

Githyanki

Githyanki are one of the best races in the game overall, especially for relatively slower classes like Paladin. First off, you’ll get the incredible Misty Step spell for free once per Long Rest to catch up to key targets in combat. Then, you also get the Jump spell for free, which synergizes perfectly with your already decent Strength score. Finally, you get some utility with Mage Hand and free proficiency in all skills from one stat of your choice for the entire day. Overall, a powerhouse race.

Duergar Dwarf

Duergar are another race like Tiefling that add to your Paladin spell list with Enlarge and Invisibility. Enlarge allows you to control the battlefield with your large size, thus zoning off enemies who seek to attack your allies. Invisibility is great for setting up ambushes. Furthermore, as Duergar, you’ll also get Advantage on saving throws against Illusions and being Charmed or Paralyzed, which are all nasty conditions in the late game. As icing on the cake, you also get Dwarf goodies like Resistance to Poison, which is always useful.

Drow

Minthara has the right idea. The Drow fill a similar role as Duergar in that they provide your Paladin some extra utility spells. Mainly, these are Faerie Fire and Darkness. Faerie Fire is an AOE debuff spell that gives you Advantage on all affected enemies, which helps for landing Divine Smites. Furthermore, Darkness can be dropped on ranged enemies to debuff their attacks with Disadvantage. Just be sure not to enter your own Darkness spell. Last but not least, Drow have Superior Darkvision, are immune to magical sleep, and have Advantage on saving throws against being Charmed, which is great for Mind Flayers in Act 3.

Half-Orc

Half-Orcs are simple and effective. You get more damage on your Paladin critical hits due to Savage Attacks, which add an additional damage dice on natural 20s. I recommend wielding Glaives, Halberds, or Greataxes to get the best benefit here. However, the main reason why Half-Orc is great for Paladins is because they get to ignore dropping unconscious once per Long Rest. This works by getting you back to 1 HP once you’re downed, and this ability rests the next day. This ensures that you can tank a while longer and gives you an extra chance to heal your Paladin.

That’s it for my top 5 best Paladin races in Baldur’s Gate 3. For more Baldur’s Gate 3 guides, check out the best Paladin gear as well as my Paladin/Wizard Deathknight multiclass build.