Paladin and Warlock go so well together for a powerful melee combatant since they both use Charisma for spellcasting. Furthermore, you can Divine Smite more often due to your Short Rest-recharge Warlock spell slots. With that in mind, here’s my best Paladin Warlock Multiclass BG3 build.
Best Paladin Warlock Multiclass Build in Baldur’s Gate 3
This Paladin Warlock Multiclass BG3 build is all about creating a powerful melee character that has excellent CC and range spell options from the Warlock class. Let’s start with the basic outline and then discuss strategy:
- Race: Zariel Tiefling for Smites or Githyanki for Misty Step.
- Background: Noble, Artisan, Criminal, and Charlatan work well for Persuasion or Deception since you’re scaling Charisma.
- Class Leveling: On non-Honour mode, your goal is to get at least 5 Levels in Paladin and 5 Levels in Pact of the Blade Warlock since their Extra Attack features stack allowing us to attack three times with our Action. You can reach this combination of levels however you prefer, just note that getting either the Paladin or Warlock Extra Attack at Level 5 of their respective classes is your priority for DPS early.
- Your first level should be Paladin for Heavy Armor proficiency.
- Level 2 Paladin for Divine Smites, then grab Pact of the Blade ASAP for the weapon Charisma scaling.
- From there, at Level 10, you can pick your last two levels in either class, but I like the defensive Aura of Protection, so I went 5/7, favoring Paladin. However, if you’re on Honour mode, then go Warlock 3 or 4/Paladin 9 or 8, depending on if you want a third fear. This change is because Extra Attack features don’t stack on Honour.
- Stats: Max out Charisma then Constitution since Pact of the Blade makes all attacks scale with Charisma. Dump Dex since we’re in Heavy Armor.
- Subclasses: Oath of Vengeance (Paladin) and Fiend or Fey (Warlock).
- Feats: Polearm Master and either Sentinel or ASI (Auntie Ethel’s Hair gets you 18 Charisma).
- Gear: Magic Polearms like Halberd of Vigilance or Shar/Selune Spear and Magic Heavy Armor. Grab a Magic Shield once you get Shar/Selune Spear.
Paladin Warlock Multiclass BG3 Build Guide
Essentially, with Pact of the Blade, all of our Paladin attacks, including Divine Smites, will scale with Charisma, so you can go hard on a single stat with Constitution as backup for HP and Concentration saves. You’ll have amazing melee burst damage, especially on Level 10 (Paladin 5/Warlock 5) when the two Extra Attack features stack for 3 attacks per round plus 1 with our Bonus Action with the Polearm Master feat.
Moreover, the best part about the PAM feat is that it allows you to Divine Smite on it as well, so you can potentially have up to 4 Smites per turn at Level 10. Keep in mind that the Warlock slots you use for smites recharge on a Short Rest. One combo I also really like to do is use the Illithid power Luck of the Far Realm on a high-level Smite from a Warlock slot to guarantee a critical hit.
All of our many attacks can even be made with Advantage thanks to Vow of Enmity from Vengeance Paladin. This subclass generally suits this melee playstyle quite well. Heavy Armor will keep you beefy with the Armor of Agathys spell from Warlock, and if you have Karlach or Lae’Zel in your party, you can pair them up with your Lockadin with the True Love’s Caress/Embrace Rings for extra tankiness. Don’t forget to equip a shield like Viconia’s Walking Fortress once you switch to the Shar/Selune spear.
As for our other spells, Hex is great early on since you’re attacking multiple times with PAM. Bless is also a great option from Paladin, as well as Shield of Faith. You’ll also have a decent range option with Eldritch Blasts and the Agonizing Blast invocation. I would also take the False Life invocation for some extra temporary HP. Furthermore, once you get some higher-level spells through Warlock, you’ll have Level 3 slots. I recommend Shatter, Hypnotic Pattern, and Fireball for AOE damage/crowd-control but also Counterspell or Fear for some utility.
That’s it for my guide on the best Paladin Warlock Multiclass BG3 build. I also recommend checking out the best Paladin magic items for this build and more on our Baldur’s Gate 3 hub.
