dnd 5e paladin handbook

Introduction

Paladins are the most durable, survivable, and self-sufficient class in the game. As such, they both make excellent solo characters and are excellent additions to nearly any party regardless of existing capabilities. In a party, they serve as a Defender, Face, and Striker. They do have some healing and utility options, but not enough to replace a full spellcaster in most parties. Your choice of subclass will influence which of those roles your character emphasizes, though typically it’s just a sliding scale between Defender and Striker, much like the Barbarian and the Fighter. The Paladin’s healing capabilities can mostly replace a full spellcaster as your party’s Healer, though paladins lack critical options like Healing Word.

Paladins are extremely durable and can survive a long hard day of adventuring, but none of their abilities except Channel Divinity recharge on a short rest, so you need to ration your resources more strictly than some classes. They also have nearly no options for fighting at range, which means that nearly every paladin is a heavily-armored melee monster, occasionally throwing javelins when there simply isn’t another option.

Paladins are also one of the more complex classes to play. They have a long list of class features, touching on most of the game’s core mechanics. While this sometimes makes them challenging for new players, this also makes the Paladin a great introductory class because the player needs to learn so much to play it. This complexity phases in gradually over the first three class levels, which is a perfect trajectory for a new player to settle into the game and their character.

The Paladin is an excellent addition to any party, and I strongly recommend them for experienced players playing among new players. The combination of durability, healing, protection, and smite damage makes it easy to support your party without going all-in on a support build or a healbot. I’ve had a lot of success doing this alongside new players, and the ability to rescue them when things went wrong has always felt very satisfying.

After reading this handbook, I encourage you to read our other supporting articles:

Table of Contents

Disclaimer

RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks, which is simple to understand and easy to read at a glance.

  • Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
  • Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
  • Green: Good options. Useful often.
  • Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character. Useful very frequently.

We will not include 3rd-party content, including content from DMs Guild, in handbooks for official content because we can’t assume that your game will allow 3rd-party content or homebrew. We also won’t cover Unearthed Arcana content because it’s not finalized, and we can’t guarantee that it will be available to you in your games.

The advice offered below is based on the current State of the Character Optimization Meta as of when the article was last updated. Keep in mind that the state of the meta periodically changes as new source materials are released, and the article will be updated accordingly as time allows.

Paladin Class Features

Optional Class Features are detailed below under Optional Class Features.

Hit Points: d10 hit points is standard for a martial fighter-equivalent class.

Saves: The Paladin’s saves will keep you from being charmed or mind controlled, but you’ll have problems with Constitution saves, in which Barbarians and Fighters both get proficiency. When you pick up Aura of Protection, you suddenly get a huge boost to all of your saves, potentially giving you better saves than a Monk with Diamond Body. Even so, many paladin spells require Concentration, so consider Resilient (Constitution) or invest heavily in Constitution.

Proficiencies: All armor, all weapons, and two skills from a decent skill list which the Paladin actually has the ability scores to use effectively.

Divine Sense: Certainly better than relying on Insight.

Lay On Hands: This is among the most efficient healing options in the game. Since it has such a deep pool and allows you to pick exactly how much you heal, it’s actually viable during combat (healing in combat is typically a poor tactical decision). With such a large pool you can easily bring many allies from 0 to nearly full health in a single Action, or you can spend 1 point to bring them back to consciousness long enough to finish a fight so that they can rest and spend Hit Dice.

Fighting Style: Paladins get a smaller list than Fighters, but your choice will frequently define how you approach combat.

The options below include the optional fighting styles introduced in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Check with your DM before assuming that those styles are allowed.

For more detailed advice on Fighting Styles, see our Practical Guide to Fighting Styles.

  • Blind FightingTCoE (Optional): This one is hard. Blindsight, even at just 10-foot range, is extremely useful. It solves issues of invisible enemies, it helps make up for lack of magical options for Darkvision, and it addresses effects which block line of sight like fog, magical darkness, or other stuff. But those effects don’t appear in most encounters, so this is only situationally useful. When it works it’s great, but the rest of the time it’s useless. Unless you have allies in the party who plan to frequently use magical darkness or other options to obscure vision I would skip this.

    Races which suffer from Sunlight Sensitivity might consider this as a solution to their sunlight issues. If you don a blindfold (or close your eyes), your DM may allow you to overcome the effects of Sunlight Sensitivity by willingly blinding yourself. The text of Sunlight Sensitivity isn’t perfectly clear if it only applies to attacks which rely on sight, so this may not work RAW, but the idea makes sense.

  • DefensePHB: Not very exciting, but since AC scales so little in 5e a +1 can be a big difference.
  • Blessed WarriorTCoE (Optional): Access to cantrips allows the Paladin to build around spellcasting as their primary combat option. Unlike the Ranger with Druidic Warrior and Shillelagh, this doesn’t mean using a magically-enhanced weapon. Instead, it means switching to offensive cantrips. I recommend Word of Radiance so that you can handle crowds plus one offensive option with longer range and ideally a damage type other than radiant (though Sacred Flame is a perfectly fine choice).

    Unlike the Ranger’s Druidic Warrior, Blessed Warrior doesn’t have any effect on the Paladin’s armor choices. You’ll do just fine marching around in heavy armor, though you may want 15 Strength to avoid the 10 ft. speed penalty. It’s hard to run into melee to use Word of Radiance when you’re stuck at 20 ft. speed.

    You might (and probably should) ask yourself: If I want to use Blessed Warrior, what am I getting mechanically that I couldn’t get from playing a cleric or a divine soul sorcerer instead? That’s a great question. The paladin has some unique defensive options like Aura of Protection, plus their subclasses are really neat. That might be enough. If it’s not, maybe stick to a full spellcasting class.

  • DuelingPHB: Note that this works while using a shield. 2 damage closes the damage gap between a longsword and a two-handed weapon (4.5->6.5 vs. 6.5/7).
  • Great Weapon FightingPHB: This adds just over 1 damage per attack on average, and even then only with a greatsword. If you’re using a greatsword, the average increase in damage per round is roughly equivalent to Archery, but if you plan to use two-handed weapons other than a greatsword, consider picking Defense instead to compensate for the alack of a shield. Note that the reroll is not intended to apply to Smite damage dice.
  • InterceptionTCoE (Optional): Conceptually similar to Protection, but there’s no nuance in how the two styles protect your target. Protection imposes Disadvantage, so if there’s a good chance that the attack would miss it’s the better choice. Interception reduces the damage, so it always worksuse but for big attacks it won’t negate the whole attack. The decision between the two comes down to who you’re going to be protecting. If you’re protecting other allies with decent AC (a melee cleric or rogue, for example), go for Protection. If you’re protecting allies with awful AC (most wizards), Disadvantage won’t help much so go for Interception.
  • ProtectionPHB: Tempting for Defender builds, but allies need to remain adjacent to you for this to work. Being adjacent to the front line tank is generally a bad place to be unless you can do so safely without someone defending you. This also appeals to mounted combat builds because you can use it oato compensate for your mount’s relative fragility.

Spellcasting: Paladins get a nice mix of buffs and healing options, but they also get a set of mostly exclusive “smite” spells. Instead of relying solely on Divine Smite, they can cast various smite spells which deal damage and sometimes have rider effects, like Searing Smite.

Divine Smite: This will eat through your spell slots very quickly, but it’s also the Paladin’s greatest source of damage. When you get this at level 2, the base damage plus a longsword is enough to one-shot a decent chunk of the enemies you might encounter. However, you need to resist the temptation to feed all of your spell slots into Divine Smite as quickly as possible, or you will find yourself out of options at the end of the day.

You should also consider the utility of smite spells. Searing Smite, Thunderous Smite, and Wrathful Smite can do comparable damage with helpful rider effects which may be more appealing than the small amount of extra damage that Divine Smite provides. The biggest appeal of Divine Smite over those spells is that you can choose to use it after you’ve rolled a critical hit, guaranteeing that you’ll double the additional damage dice and therefore getting considerably more out of your spell slot than you might
otherwise.

Divine Health: Diseases can be very problematic, but you already have the ability to cure them with Lay On Hands, so this isn’t terribly helpful.

Sacred Oath: Paladin subclasses are briefly summarized below. See my Paladin Subclasses Breakdown for help selecting your subclass.

  • Oath of Conquest: Use crowd control and defensive options to crush your foes in combat.
  • Oath of Devotion: The iconic paladin, Oath of Devotion provides a diverse mix of options to heal, to defend yourself and your allies, and to smite your foes.
  • Oath of Glory: Strive for perfection and glory, making yourself the greatest hero and athlete that you can be.
  • Oath of Redemption: Focused on nonviolent solutions to problems, Oath of Redemption adds spells and abilities to protect yourself and your allies, and to inhibit enemies without harming them.
  • Oath of the Ancients: Use the power of nature to ensnare and restrain your foes.
  • Oath of the Crown: An excellent Defender, Oath of the Crown offers new ways to defend your allies, including forcing foes to attack you instead of your allies.
  • Oath of the Watchers: Guard the material world against extraplanar foes like elementals, fey, and fiends.
  • Oath of Vengeance: Focused primarily on Offense, Oath of Vengeance adds powerful new ways to boost your damage output and destroy your foes through force of arms.
  • Oathbreaker: A paladin who has broken their oath, the Oathbreaker gainsa evil abilities to harm their foes and to fight alongside undead and fiends.

Extra Attack: A second attack is a sharp increase in your damage output, but you’re still reliant on Divine Smite to keep up with Barbarians and Fighters.

Aura of Protection: Better than proficiency in every save. You can potentially have +15 in a save before the possibility of magic items.

It won’t benefit you directly, but your allies can apply this bonus to death saves if they’re within the area. Even though they’re not tied to an ability score, they’re still a saving throw, and accordrating to Jeremy Crawford, “If all saves are affected by a thing, death saves are affected.”

Aura of Courage: Fear effects generally won’t kill you, but they’re certainly inconvenient and it’s nice to be able to ignore them.

Improved Divine Smite: Paladins don’t get as many attacks as Fighters, but this will help with your damage output.

Cleansing Touch: Fantastic for removing pesky effects like paralysis or charm.

Optional Class Features

Introduced in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, Optional Class Features offer ways to add additional features or replace existing ones. These rules are optional, and you should not assume that your DM will allow these features without consulting them first.

Assessments and suggestions for specific Optional Class Features are presented here, but for more information on handling Optional Class Features in general, see my Practical Guide to Optional Class Features.

Additional Paladin Spells (Addition): Few in number, but some interesting options mostly borrowed from the Cleric’s spell list.

I recommend allowing the expanded spell list on all paladins. The Paladin gets just 5 new spells, few of which are truly fantastic for the Paladin. Warding Bond is the only spell which I would rush to suggest, but the other spell options do have some niche use cases. There’s nothing here that’s going to unbalance the game, and the fact that Warding Bond wasn’t already on the Paladin’s spell list feels like an oversight.

Fighting Style Options (Addition): Exciting new options. Blessed Warrior is notably exclusive to the paladin, allowing players to explore a more casting-focused paladin and potentially build around Charisma rather than Strength or Dexterity. The new options are all interesting new build concepts, though they’re no more powerful than those which are already available.

I recommend allowing the new Fighting Style options on all paladins. I don’t expect the new options to supplant existing options as the best options for the Paladin, but the new options introduce exciting new build possibilities. Plus, paladins still only get one unless they spend a feat or multiclass.

Harness Divine Power (Addition): For paladin subclasses with poor or situational Channel Divinity options, this offers a great way to make use of a resource which might otherwise be ignored for several sessions at a time. It also helps stretch the Paladin’s extremely limited number of spell slots.

I recommend allowing Harness Divine Power on all paladins who take oaths which I have rated green or lower. It’s a great way to round out subclasses which are generally good but fall short with their Channel Divinity options.

Martial Versatility (Addition): Being locked into your choice of Fighting Style at level 2 gives you very little time to decide on how your paladin is going to fight. The ability to change styles occasionally makes that decision less permanent, and allows you to change styles if something happens like you find a cool weapon or you need to switch roles within the party.

I recommend allowing Martial Versatility on all paladins. Like with other retraining mechanics, players still can’t have more options at the same time than they could get if they didn’t retrain, so players will be more satisfied with their character but won’t actually be any stronger than they could be.

Paladin Ability Scores

Paladins have three important stats, but also have three dump stats. That makes them a bit MAD, but as long as you’re using point buy ability generation it doesn’t really matter. You don’t even have to worry about saves much since you can rely on Aura of Protection to boost your weak saves.

Str: Paladins don’t get access to any ranged combat styles, so Strength is typically a given. However, if you want to go for a Finesse build you can dump Strength. If you’re building around Charisma, you may still want the 15 Strength required to avoid a speed penalty from heavy armor.

Dex: Dump it and grab some Full Plate unless you want to go for a Finesse build.

Con: All martial characters need Constitution, but it’s especially important for Paladins since they don’t get proficiency with Constitution saves.

Int: Dump.

Wis: Dump unless you want a decent Insight score.

Cha: Charisma fuels many of the Paladin’s abilities, including their spellcasting, Aura of Protection, and several Paladin skills. If you choose Fighting Style (Blessed Warrior), you may also use it as your primary offensive ability.

Strength-BasedDexterity-BasedCharisma-Based
Point BuyStandard ArrayPoint BuyStandard ArrayPoint BuyStandard Array
Str1515881514
Dex88151588
Con151315131513
Int810810810
Wis812812812
Cha151415141515

Paladin Races

Bonuses to the Paladin’s three big ability scores are important since the Paladin is so MAD. You can get by on increases to two, especially with a Blessed Warrior build, but three is ideal. More durability is certainly tempting, but beware of the tank fallacy.

For help selecting a race, see our Paladin Races Breakdown.

For a classic paladin feel, consider the Half-Elf, which meets yourhe ability score needs and gives you two extra skills even if you’re using the classic PHB version. For a durable build, consider the Dwarf, the Goliath, or the Warforged. For an aggressive build, consider the Eladrin, the Orc, or the Shadar-Kai.

Paladin Skills

  • Athletics (Str): Very tempting for Grapple and Shove, but Paladins don’t have enough attacks in a round to make knocking enemies prone a particularly good option.
  • Insight (Wis): Helpful for a Face, but you may not have enough Wisdom to back it up.
  • Intimidation (Cha): Important for any Face.
  • Medicine (Wis): This skill is useless. Medicine is best done magically.
  • Persuasion (Cha): The king of Face skills.
  • Religion (Int): One of the most important knowledge skills, but you probably dumped Intelligence.

Paladin Backgrounds

This section does not address every published background, as doing so would result in an ever-growing list of options which don’t cater to the class. Instead, this section will cover the options which I think work especially well for the class, or which might be tempting but poor choices. Racial feats are discussed in the Races section, above.

Paladins make an excellent Face, but with only Persuasion on their skill list you will want to find Deception and Intimidation from your background. Bonus languages also help since Paladins can’t cast Comprehend Languages or Tongues.

If you’re having trouble deciding, here are some suggestions:

  • AcolytePHB: Two skills from the Paladin list and two languages, but neither of the skills fit the Paladin’s ability scores particularly well.
  • City WatchSCAG: Athletics and Insight are both fine choices, and two languages are great.
  • CourtierSCAG: Two Face skills, but they’re the two that are already on the Paladin’s skill list. Better than Guild Artisan because you get a second language instead of artisan’s tools.
  • Faction AgentSCAG: Insight, plus the mental skill of your choice allows you to pick up Deception or Intimidation, and you get two languages. I don’t think it was the intent of the background, but I can’t see a reason why your faction couldn’t be a church or a knightly order of some sort.
  • Far TravelerSCAG: Insight and Perception are both great skills, but Paladins frequently dump Wisdom. The bonus languages are also nice.
  • Guild ArtisanPHB: Two Face skills, but they’re the two that are already on the Paladin’s skill list.
  • Knight of the OrderSCAG: Half of the benefits are mostly wasted, but you get Persuasion and a free language.
  • Mercenary VeteranSCAG: Athletics and Persuasion are both great, but they’re already on the Paladin skill list. The gaming set and vehicle proficiencies are situational.
  • SoldierPHB: Athletics is helpful, and you get one of the two Face skills missing from the Paladin skill list. The gaming set and land vehicles might matter depending on the style of your game, but they’re not guaranteed to be useful.
  • Urban Bounty HunterSCAG: The skill options are great, and Thieves’ Tools might work for a finesse build.
  • Uthgardt Tribe MemberSCAG: Athletics and a language aren’t terrible, but they’re also not great.

Paladin Feats

This section does not address every published feat, as doing so would result in an ever-growing list of options which don’t cater to the class. Instead, this section will cover feats which I think work especially well for the class or which might be tempting but poor choices.

  • AlertPHB: Going first isn’t terribly important for the Paladin.
  • AthletePHB: Awful.
  • ActorPHB: Acting and infiltration don’t really fit the Paladin’s skillset.
  • CartomancerBoMT: The card spell effectively lets you choose one spell from your spell list (not from your prepared spells) and quicken it ahead of time. You do still need to spend a spell slot, so this isn’t any better than quickening a spell with Metamagic Adept, and you give up the ability to change which spell you quicken. This isn’t bad, it’s just not as good as Metamagic Adept for prepared spellcasters.
  • ChargerPHB: Not a terrible option, but it’s hard to bring into play more than once in a combat, and several Paladin Oaths get Misty Step, which allows you to cover the same distance and use your Action instead of making a single attack as a Bonus Action.
  • ChefTCoE: The issue isn’t that Chef is bad. It’s a good feat with good benefits for the Paladin and many other characters. The issue is that Inspiring Leader is a much better fit for the Paladin, providing considerably more total temporary hit points with less time and effort, and removing the need to constantly eat snacks in combat.
  • Crossbow ExpertPHB: Paladins are terrible at ranged combat.
  • CrusherTCoE: Without a way to improve your chance of scoring a critical hit, you’re primarily taking this for the ability to reposition enemies once per turn. If you’re going that route, consider if Shove would be a suitable replacement.
  • Defensive DuelistPHB: Paladins don’t have a lot of built-in abilities which rely on their reaction, but Defensive Duelist only prevents damage, and Paladins have plenty of ways to heal damage.
  • Dual WielderPHB: Improved Divine Smite applies to every attack, and TWF grants you an extra attack. Paladins do very little with their bonus action, so TWF might be a decent option.

    If you’re considering two-weapon fighting, be sure to consider taking Fighting Initiate for Fighting Style (Two-Weapon Fighting). The numeric bonus to damage is more effective offensively than upgrading from d6 to d8 damage dice, though you do lose the AC bonus.

  • Dungeon DelverPHB: Paladins have neither the skills nor the abilities to back this up.
  • DurablePHB: Paladins have plenty of healing options.
  • Fey TouchedTCoE: Misty Step is great and isn’t available to most paladins. The 1st-level spells are hard for the Paladin. Bless is a solid buff, but without proficiency in Constitution saves it can be hard to maintain Concentration, though Aura of Protection helps a lot. Hex is a good offensive option, but with only two attacks it may not be especially helpful.

    For more advice on Fey Touched, see my Spellcasting Feats Breakdown.

  • Fighting InitiateTCoE: Paladins already get a Fighting Style, but more certainly won’t hurt, and the Fighter gets more options than the Paladin. This likely won’t be as impactful as something like Polearm Master, but it can still be very effective.
  • Gift of the Chromatic DragonFToD: Chromatic Infusion is a nice damage boost once you pick up Extra Attack, and Reactive Resistance will reduce damage from effects which don’t care about your high AC.
  • Gift of the Gem DragonFToD: Telekinetic Reprisal is good, the ability score increase can only go into mental stats. Blessed Warrior builds can use this easily, but other paladins should probably wait until you’ve raised your Strength or Dexterity to 20.
  • Gift of the Metallic DragonFToD: Protective Wings is really nice as a substitute for Shield, but if you want to protect an ally, take Fighting Style (Protection) or (Interception).
  • GrapplerPHB: Just a terrible feat in general. You don’t need it to grapple successfully.
  • Great Weapon MasterPHB: Paladins have several options for boosting their attack rolls, so you can find a way to offset the -5 penalty to attacks for that huge pile of extra damage.
  • HealerPHB: Paladins have plenty of magical options for healing.
  • Heavy Armor MasterPHB: If you find that you’re drawing fire effectively but can’t keep your hit points up, Heavy Armor Master is an excellent choice.
  • Inspiring LeaderPHB: Temporary hit points are great, and you have the Charisma to back this up.
  • Keen MindPHB: Awful.
  • LinguistPHB: Use magic.
  • LuckyPHB: Good on anyone.
  • Mage SlayerPHB: Too situational.
  • Magic InitiatePHB: Paladins get a spell list which meets their needs very well, and there isn’t much the Paladin gets from most cantrips. If you plan to pick up War Caster, Magic Initiate combines well if you pick up cantrips like Booming Blade. If you want to rely more directly on cantrips, consider Fighting Style (Blessed Warrior) instead.

    For more advice on Magic Initiate, see my Spellcasting Feats Breakdown.

  • Martial AdeptPHB: Not useful enough with only one superiority die.
  • Medium Armor MasterPHB: Paladins do heavy armor or light armor; never medium.
  • Metamagic AdeptTCoE: Powerful, but the Paladin doesn’t get enough spellcasting to make this an easy choice. For advice on Metamagic Adept, see my Sorcerer Metamagic Breakdown.
  • MobilePHB: Running away isn’t typically something a Paladin does.
  • Mounted CombatantPHB: Paladins have exclusive access to the Find Steed spell, granting them access to a magical mount. However, this mount is little better than a mundane horse, and making the mount intelligent may actually make it *less* useful in combat because it then acts as an independent creature, making it move on its own initiative and requiring a bunch of frustrating coordination between you and what is essentially an NPC.m

    If that sounds too frustrating, ask your DM if they’ll let you control your mount like a non-intelligent creature. Assuming that’s not an issue, a medium player may be tempted to take this feat. Big sections of the monster manual are medium or smaller, so you have easy access to Advantage. The rest of the feat also makes it considerably easier to keep your mount alive, which is a constant problem since your mount’s stats never improve (at least until you get Find Greater Steed).

    Regardless of how you handle your mount, be sure to read my Practical Guide to Mounted Combat.

  • ObservantPHB: Paladins don’t have the abilities to back this up.
  • PiercerTCoE: The damage reroll mechanic notably applies to the bonus damage dice applied by Divine Smite, allowing you to boost your damage by rerolling the lowest die. This synergizes well with Polearm Master, but remember that the spear’s d6 damage die isn’t going to do much so you may want to drop your shield and grab a pike for the d10 damage die. You also get a +1 Strength or Dexterity increase, which makes this easy to fit into your build.
  • Polearm MasterPHB: A fantastic and popular option for Paladins. The ability to attack with the opposite end of the polearm adds an excellent readily-available use for your Bonus Action, and Paladins don’t normally have a good go-to use for their Bonus Action except for smite spells which consume your extremely limited spell slots. This is especially useful once youf get Improved Divine Smite, or if you have options like Hunter’s Quarry (see Oath of Vengeance) or Aura of Hate (see Oathbreaker). The ability to make Opportunity Attacks when enemies move into your reach gives you a good way to use your Reaction consistently, especially if you use things like Compelled Duel to motivate enemies to attack you. You can even get away with using a quarterstaff or spear and a shield (spear was added in errata in 2018).
  • ResilientPHB: Paladins don’t get proficiency in Constitution saves, and while Aura of Protection is typically sufficient you may still want extra protection. Many of the Paladin’s spells require Concentration, and without proficiency in Constitution saving throws it’s really easy to lose one of your extremely limited spell slots since you’re on the front lines drawing attacks.
  • Ritual CasterPHB: Leave this for full casters if you can.
  • Savage AttackerPHB: This is a bad feat. The largest damage die (d12), yields an average of 2 extra damage per turn. Your best bet is to use it when you crit and use divine smite to toll a big pile of dice, but even then it’s a tiny amount of damage.
  • SentinelPHB: Combines very well with Polearm Master, but I wouldn’t take it unless I already had Polearm Master. The reaction option also makes things like Fighting Style: Protection redundant.
  • Shadow TouchedTCoE: False Life and Invisibility might be worthwhile, but there are few options here which work well for the Paladin.

    For more advice on Shadow Touched, see my Spellcasting Feats Breakdown.

  • SharpshooterPHB: Paladins are terrible at ranged combat.
  • Shield MasterPHB: Sword-and-board is a good option for Paladins, and with high Strength and access to Athletics, shoving enemies with your shield is a great use of your Bonus Action.
  • Skill ExpertTCoE: There aren’t any skill combinations which are as obviously effective as they are for other classes like the Fighter. Face skills like Persuasion are safe choices, but it may be more effective to spend your Ability Score Increases to increase the Paladin’s multiple important ability scores.
  • SkilledPHB: You can get all the skills you need from your race, class, and background.
  • SkulkerPHB: Sniping is for Rogues.
  • SlasherTCoE: The speed reduction is a great way to keep enemies from escaping you. The critical hit benefit is great, too, but you can’t count on critical hits so you need to consider the ability increase and the speed reduction as the core of the feat. Like Sentinel, this is a great way to address the “Tank Fallacy” because it makes it so much more difficult for enemies to simply ignore you and walk past you to attack your allies.
  • Tavern BrawlerPHB: Leave grappling for people with more attacks.
  • ToughPHB: With numerous healing options readily available, Paladins don’t need to dump a ton of resources into hit points.
  • War CasterPHB: Paladins don’t have spells to use with War Caster’s reaction mechanic. Advantage on your save to maintain Concentration is a solid bonus for Paladins since many very effective buffs require Concentration, but I would consider Resilient before you consider this. If you can pick up a Cantrip like Booming Blade or Word of Radiance, this becomes considerably more interesting.

Paladin Weapons

This section covers weapons which specifically appeal to the Paladin. For more advice on choosing weapons, including those not addressed here, see our Practical Guide to Weapons.

  • Halberd / Glaive / Pike: Want reach? Get a polearm. Works best when combined with Polearm Master and Sentinel.
  • Javelin: Likely your go-to ranged option.
  • Greatsword / Maul: The go-to two-handed options if you don’t need reach.
  • Longsword / Morningstar / Warhammer: The go-to one-handed options.
  • Rapier: Go-to option for finesse builds.
  • Quarterstaff / Spear: Go-to option for Polearm Master builds if you want to use a shield.

Paladin Armor

  • Chain Mail: Starting armor.
  • Shield: Unless you want the Great Weapon Master feat, you’re going to be using a one-handed weapon with the Dueling style, so a shield is a given.
  • Studded Leather: Armor for finesse builds.
  • Full Plate: Nearly every Paladin’s best option.

Multiclassing

This section briefly details some obvious and enticing multiclass options, but doesn’t fully explore the broad range of multiclassing combinations. For more on multiclassing, see our Practical Guide to Multiclassing.

  • Barbarian: As much as I would love to put Reckless Attack on a paladin, the Barbarian’s class features often don’t function in heavy armor and going for light or medium armor means that your paladin suddenly needs four high ability scores, which is simply unattainable in DnD 5e.
  • Fighter: Fighters get better choices of Fighting Style, and a class dip is the Paladin’s only option for getting a second choice unless you can spare a feat for Fighting Initiate. Still, you don’t need Second Wind, and you already get all of the proficiencies granted by multiclassing into Fighter. I’m not sure that Fighting Style is worth a level. If you do go this route, consider starting with a level of fighter to get proficiency in Constitution saving throws.
  • Sorcerer: If you want more spell slots to fuel your smites, Sorcerer isn’t a terrible choice. It will advance your spellcasting twice as fast as Paladin levels, and a single level gets you cantrips and access to the 1st-level abilities of a sorcerous origin. Dexterity-based paladins may enjoy the Draconic origin for Draconic Resilience’s AC, while other paladins may like Wild Magic for Tides of Chaos. If you want offensive spellcasting, Divine Soul unfortunately doesn’t get you cleric cantrips, but you can still get options like Booming Blade and Sword Burst.
  • Warlock: A common, popular, and effective option. The Warlock’s spell slots recharge on a short rest, giving you a reliable way to fuel Divine Smite. And yes, Divine Smite can definitely use Warlock spell slots According to Sage Advice. I wouldn’t go past 3rd level. 3rd level gets you Pact Boon, and if you select Pact of the Blade you can retrain your Eldritch Invocation gained at 2nd level to get Improved Pact Weapon (+1 to attacks and damage!).

    Though other patrons have plenty to offer, Hexblade is simply too good to pass up. Hexblade’s Curse is a fantastic offensive option for paladins, and Hex Warrior allows you to almost totally ignore your Strength and Dexterity in favor of your Charisma, though you’ll need Improved Pact Weapon if you want to use two-handed weapons.

Paladin Magic Items

Common Magic Items

  • Moon-Touched SwordXGtE: This solves two problems for the martial characters. First, the sword glows almost as brightly as a torch, allowing you to see in dark places without devoting a hand to a torch and without asking your allies to cast light or something. Second, and more important, it allows you to overcome damage resistance to non-magic attacks. Resistances like this are common as you gain levels, and the Moon-Touched Sword is an inexpensive way to overcome them until a better weapon comes along.
  • Ruby of the War MageXGtE: Paladins can emblazon a holy symbol on a shield, which solves the same problem that Ruby of the War Mage solves.
  • Staff of Adornment/Birdcalls/FlowersXGtE: Works as a quarterstaff, and it can overcome damage resistances to non-magical attacks. The actual magic stuff is amusing, but probably not important. Most melee fighters will prefer a Moon-Touched Sword, but for polearm masters this is your best bet at this rarity.

Uncommon Magic Items

  • Adamantine ArmorDMG: Curiously, due to the insanely high price of full plate and the inconsistent price of magic items, adamantine full plate can often be less expensive than regular full plate. Based on the expected gold awarded per level, most characters can’t afford full plate until around level 5 without borrowing from their party, while Uncommon magic items may be available several levels earlier. This mechanical oddity is a popular trick in Adventurer’s League.
  • Amulet of the Devout: +1 to spell attacks and save DC’s, and you get an extra use of Channel Divinity per day. If you’re using the Harness Divine Power Optional Class Feature, this effectively serves double duty as a spellcasting focus and as a Pearl of Power.
  • Boomerang, +1DMG: Helpful for Strength-based builds that need an occasional ranged option, but javelins are cheaper and you won’t feel the need to rush to recover them.
  • Boomerang ShieldBoMT: An interesting solution to range weaponry, providing the benefits of a returning weapon while also providing the benefit of a shield. You don’t get a bonus to attack and damage, so this only better than a non-magic javelin in that you don’t need to juggle items and that it’s magical. It’s not a perfect solution for a thrown weapon build, but those are few and far between without an artificer in the party.
  • Broom of FlyingDMG: Easily overlooked, but one of the best ways to get flight for any character. It doesn’t require attunement, and has a fly speed of 50 feet, though many medium characters will exceed the 200 pound limit to reduce the speed to 30 feet, but even then 30 feet fly speed with no duration cap and requiring no action after speaking the command word is absolutely incredible. The only drawback is that you’re using the item’s speed rather than giving yourself a fly speed, so things that improve your speed won’t make the broom move faster, and you can’t Dash with the broom. Even so, I honestly can’t justify why this is only Uncommon considering how exceptionally good it is.
  • Cloak of ProtectionDMG: Good on any character, but it requires Attunement and it’s not very interesting.
  • Gauntlets of Ogre powerDMG: Maybe helpful for Dexterity-based builds. If you dumped Strength to 8, going straight to 19 can be helpful. But at that point you’re mostly using it for saves and for Athletics checks.
  • Goggles of NightDMG: Crucial for races which don’t get Darkvision, especially if your party can’t cast the Darkvision spell for you.
  • Gloves of Missile SnaringDMG: Similar to the Monk’s Deflect Missiles feature, this is an interesting defensive option for melee characters. However, ranged missile attacks are relatively rare since so many monsters can’t fight at range and many ranged enemies will be spellcasters, so this is situational by nature.
  • Guardian Emblem: This can prevent a ton of damage to your party. Three times per day may not sound like much, but it’s still enough to make a huge impact.
  • Lantern of RevealingDMG: An excellent counter to invisible enemies for a class without a built-in way to handle them.
  • Mistral MantleGotG: Cold resistance and you can knock an enemy prone just my moving near them. The save DC isn’t especially high, but considering this doesn’t eat into your action economy, it’s still very good.
  • Mithral ArmorDMG: Negate the Disadvantage on stealth checks imposed by half plate. Just as effective as +1 Breastplate, and it’s one rarity lower.
  • Pearl of PowerDMG: Get back a spell slot and turn it into another Divine Smite.
  • Saddle of the CavalierDMG: Mounted combat is really hard because mounts tend to be frail, and without the Mounted Combatant feat they’re an easy target for your enemies. If you like to fight while mounted but can’t spare a feat, this is almost as good as Mounted Combatant.
  • Sentinel ShieldDMG: Going first isn’t critical for the Paladin, but Advantage on Perception and Initiative is still really good. Make sure you take proficiency in Perception if you can manage it without sacrificbing a Face skill.
  • Shield, +1DMG: +1 AC, no attunement. Nothing fancy, but very effective.
  • Stone of Good LuckDMG: Excellent on literally any character, but if you just want better defense a Cloak of Protection may be more effective. Stone of Good Luck shines if you’re heavily reliant on skills and ability checks.
  • Weapon, +1DMG: A numeric bonus to attack and damage is hard to beat. As you gain levels,your weapons more interesting than a +X bonus to attack/damage may be more interesting and more effective, but at the Uncommon rarity nothing can compete with a +1 Weapon for your offensive needs.
  • Winged BootsDMG: In heavy armor, winged boots are a safer choice than a Broom of Flying because they don’t have a weight cap. Lightly-armored paladins might still prefer a Broom of Flying.

Rare Magic Items

  • Amulet of HealthDMG: Setting your Constitution to 19 means that you don’t need to put Ability Score Increases into it unless you’re really certain that you want 20 Constitution. Less ASI’s into Constitution means more room for feats.
  • Amulet of the Devout: +2 to your spell attacks and spell DC’s. See Amulet of the Devout under Uncommon Magic Items for more.
  • Armor of ResistanceDMG: Excellent, but unpredictable in most games since you can’t perfectly predict what sort of damage you’ll face. Fire and poison are safe choices.
  • Armor, +1DMG: +1 AC, no attunement. Nothing fancy, but very effective.
  • Belt of Giant Strength (Hill)DMG: The fact that this item exists makes putting ability score increases into Strength feel a bit silly. Imagine rushing to get to 20 Strength then finding an item that raises your Strength to 21 (more with higher rarities). Still, if you can get one you absolutely should.
  • Cloak of DisplacementDMG: Among the best defensive items in the game. Taking damage from any source (spells, etc.) suppresses the effect temporarily, so make a point to kill anything that can damage you without an attack roll.
  • Devotee’s CenserTCoE: The damage boost stacks with Divine Smite and Improved Divine Smite, and thematically it makes a lot of sense for the Paladin. However, a +2 weapon is the same rarity and will be considerably more effective. A +2 weapon will yield comparable improvements to damage output, and once you add Improved Divine Smite the extra reliability from the +2 attack bonus will yield more total damage output than the 1d8 damage from Devotee’s Censer. The healing effect may be helpful since paladins don’t have any group healing options, but the healing is slow so
  • Fate Dealer’s Deck +1BoMT: Amulet of the Devout will be more consistently useful on many builds and is one rarity lower for the same bonus, but this still have some neat things to offer. The bonus to spell attacks and DCs is good, but Amulet of the Devout’s is +1 better at the same rarity, which makes it hard to justify intentionally selecting this. Still, the ability to spend hit dice to heal or deal damage is interesting even if it’s not especially powerful. For a back-line healer, it’s a great way to turn unused hit dice into something helpful. The damage notably doesn’t allow a save, either, which is neat but not reliably useful since it’s so little damage.
  • Necklace of Prayer BeadsDMG: Unpredictable, but potentially very powerful. You’ll get an average of 4.5 beads, and the effectiveness of the item varies wildly depending on what you get. You can notably cast every spell from the beads as a Bonus Action (yes, including Planar Ally which normally has a 10-minute casting time), allowing you to quickly heal allies or get Bless running while leaving your Action for attacks or cantrips.
  • Periapt of Proof Against PoisonDMG: Poison damage is very common across the full level range, so immunity to it is a significant improvement in your durability.
  • Ring of EvasionDMG: A great way to mitigate damage from AOE spells and things like breath weapons which can often be problems from front-line martial characters, especially if you’re not built around Dexterity.
  • Ring of ProtectionDMG: Cloak of Protection is lower rarity and has the same effect.
  • Ring of ResistanceDMG: A fine item in a vacuum, but a Ring of Spell Storing full of Absorb Elements will be much more effective.
  • Ring of Spell StoringDMG: Fill it with Absorb Elements and Shield and recharge it whenever possible and this is a spectacular defensive asset on almost any character.
  • Shield, +2DMG: +2 AC, no attunement. Nothing fancy, but very effective.
  • Sun BladeDMG: Basically a +2 rapier that deals radiant damage and does a bit more damage to undead. It’s not significantly better than a +2 rapier in the majority of cases. Radiant damage is great, but most creatures with resistance to weapon damage types are affected normally by magic weapons so the benefits of radiant damage compared to piercing or slashing damage from a magical we oapon are minor. It works, but I’m not certain that it’s worth Attunement compared to a +2 weapon unless you can expect to face fiends and undead with some regularity.
  • Sword of WoundingDMG: Persistent damage that stacks with itself. It’s only 1d4 and only once per turn, but it stacks with itself and “once per turn” means that if you can attack again outside of your own turn (Opportunity Attacks, etc.) you can get additional dice very quickly.
  • Warrior’s PasskeyBoMT: +1 sword, does force damage, casts Knock at will. Arguably better than a +2 weapon, though it can’t be every type of weapon and the action economy to draw it could cause you trouble.
  • Weapon, +2DMG: Mathematically spectacular. It’s difficult to beat the math here.
  • Wings of FlyingDMG: Broom of Flying is much better, lower rarity, and doesn’t require attunement.

Very Rare Magic Items

  • Absorbing TattooTCoE: Good, but too high rarity to devote to a single damage type. Get a Ring of Spell Storing and fill it with Absorb Elements.
  • Amulet of the Devout: +3 to your spell attacks and spell DC’s. See Amulet of the Devout under Uncommon Magic Items for more.
  • Animated ShieldDMG: Tempting for anyone not fighting with a one-handed weapon, but a Cloak of Protection is two rarities lower, works persistently, and arguably provides a better numeric bonus.
  • Armor, +2DMG: +2 AC, no attunement. Nothing fancy, but very effective. If you plan to get full plate, get Dwarven Plate instead.
  • Armor of SafeguardingGotG: A bunch of extra HP plus Beacon of Hope once per day. +2 armor will likely mitigate much more damage over an extended adventuring day. Beacon of Hope is neat, but it’s not consistently useful and you can already cast it.
  • Belt of Giant Strength (Frost, Stone, Fire)DMG: Much like a +X weapon, it’s hard to beat the math here. For a Strength-based character, raising your Strength above 20 is a massive benefit, and going up as high as 25 is spectacular. Add a +X weapon on top of that, and you hit so reliably that you almost can’t miss with your attacks.
  • Bloodshed BladeGotG: The Con bonus to damage can’t compete with the math of a +3 weapon. Invoking the rune on Bloodshed Blade lets you perform a once-per-day nuke which should nicely eliminate whatever thing to drop all of your hit dice on top of.
  • Dancing SwordDMG: A great way to spend yourfo Bonus Action if you don’t have many uses for it, but the sword only uses your attack and damage modifiers, so it can’t benefit from feats, class features, etc.
  • Dwarven PlateDMG: Basically just +2 full plate but it can reduce forced movement a little bit.
  • Dwarven ThrowerDMG: The pinnacle of thrown weapons, the Dwarven Thrower is an impressive weapon for several reasons, but it’s most noteworthy ability is that you can attack by throwing it and it immediately returns, never leaving you without a weapon in hand and saving you the trouble of carrying a stack of javelins or something.
  • Frost BrandDMG: Less damage than the Flame Tongue, but higher rarity and it requires attunement. Yes, you get resistance to fire damage, but you can get that from dozens of other sources by this level.
  • Manual of Bodily HealthDMG: Permanent Constitution bonus and raises your cap by 2. Unless you’re using a magic item that fixes your Constitution as a specific score, this is excellent.
  • Manual of Gainful ExerciseDMG: Unless you are struggling with the cap on attuned items, a Belt of Giant Strength is a better choice.
  • Manual of Quickness of ActionDMG: Spectacular for Dexterity-based builds.
  • Scimitar of SpeedDMG: Among the best weapons to use with the Dueling style, you get two-weapon fighting action economy on a single weapon.
  • Shield, +3DMG: +3 AC, no attunement. Nothing fancy, but very effective.
  • Spellguard ShieldDMG: A minor upgrade from the Mantle of Spell Resistance, the Spellguard Shield protects you not just from spells, but from all magical effects.
  • Staff of Thunder and LightningDMG: Great for Polearm Master builds, this is effectively a +2 quarterstaff with some active abilities. It’s more complicated than a +3 quarterstaff, but if you can make good use of the active abilities it’s worth the loss of a +1 bonus to attack and damage.
  • Tome of Leadership and InfluenceDMG: Permanent Charisma bonus and raises your cap by 2. Increasing your Strength or Dexterity may be more important, but if you can get both you absolutely should.
  • Weapon, +3DMG: Mathematically spectacular. It’s difficult to beat the math here.

Legendary Magic Items

  • Armor of InvulnerabilityDMG: Resistance (immunity sometimes) to non-magical damage may protect you from most weapon attacks. At high enough level that you might have this item there will definitely be enemies with access to magic attacks (spellcasters, magic weapons, natural weapons which count as magical, etc.), but in many encounters this will still provide a great deal of protection.
  • Armor, +3DMG: +3 AC, no attunement. Nothing fancy, but very effective. It feels underwhelming at this rarity, but the math is good.
  • Belt of Giant Strength (Cloud, Storm)DMG: As good as a +4 weapon for Strength-based character, and that doesn’t even consider Athletics checks or saves.
  • Blood Fury TattooTCoE: The first ability provides a great damage boost which also heals you, and since it’s “extra damage” the damage is multiplied on a critical hit. The second ability provides a way to counterattack using your Reaction, and with Advantage on that attack it’s an easy and reliable boost to your damage output.
  • Cloak of InvisibilityDMG: Invisibility is extremely powerful in 5e. Note that this is just the invisible condition, not the spell have Invisibility, so you can still attack or whatever while invisible. Unless you’re playing a Defender and actively trying to draw attacks away from your allies, this is absolutely amazing.
  • DefenderDMG: Given the choice, I would trade this for a +2 weapon and a +2 shield and consider that a very good trade.
  • Efreeti ChainDMG: Even at high levels fire damage is a frequent problem, so immunity is really nice, but the AC simply isn’t good enough.
  • Holy AvengerDMG: As good as a +3 weapon and a Mantle of Spell Resistance combined, plus bonus damage against fiends and undead and the resistance against spells works in an aura which matches your Aura of Protection, so even your allies will be excited for you to get this.
  • Ioun Stone (Mastery)DMG: Proficiency Bonuses apply to a lot of things and a +1 bonus goes a long way. But Attunement is precious and you’ll probably only get one legendary item. You can get +1 to all saves and all ability checks with a Stone of Good Luck rather than just ones where you have proficiency, and they’re Uncommon so they should be easy to find by this level. This isn’t to say that Ioun Stone (Mastery) is bad; just that a Stone of Good Luck will be a better value for the Paladin.
  • Luck BladeDMG: Bonuses to attacks and saves, a once per day reroll, and it can cast Wish a few times (maybe. 1d4-1 could be zero). Green if it can’t cast Wish.
  • Ring of Spell TurningDMG: Given the choice, I would much rather have a Mantle of Spell Resistance simply because the Ring of Spell Turning doesn’t provide any protection against area effect spells. Otherwise, this is a really fun item, and if it provided Advantage on saves against area of effect spells it would shoot straight up to blue.
  • Ring of Three WishesDMG: Use this to do one of the things that risks permanently removing the ability to cast Wish, such as granting 10 creatures permanent resistance to once damage type. If you lose the ability to cast Wish, pass this off to another ally who will never be able to cast Wish by any other means. Repeat until the last charge is used.

    For more help with Wish, see my Practical Guide to Wish.

  • Rod of Lordly MightDMG: Allows you to easily change your weapon damage type, and provides three powerful offensive abilities which work in a variety of situations. Unfortunately all of the weapon types (with the exception of the Flametongue) aren’t appealing to Dexterity-based builds.
  • Scarab of ProtectionDMG: An upgrade from the Mantle of Spell Resistance, the Scarab of Protection adds a limited benefit against necromancy and undead creatures, and doesn’t take up your cloak slot, leaving you free to take items like a Cloak of Protection or Cloak of Invisibility instead.
  • Talisman of Pure Good / Talisman of Ultimate EvilDMG: An Amulet of the Devout will be more broadly useful, but the unique ability to save-or-suck an evil is a great way to instantly defeat major enemies. You may also be able to weaponize the on-touch damage, but I think the intent is that the creature needs to willingly touch or try to pick up the talisman rather than being struck with it.
  • Vorpal SwordDMG: Mostly useful as a +3 weapon. Paladins don’t get more than two attacks, and without something like Reckless Attack to provide guaranteed Advantage, rolling a natural 20 is infrequent.

Example Paladin Build – Dragonborn Paladin (Oath of Devotion)

Abrash Delmirev the Dragonborn Oath of Devotion Paladin

The play of sunlight over the dragonborn’s jet-black scales is the first thing you notice about the paladin standing before you, imposing in his height and heft, as well as the scrapes and scuffs on his warhammer and chain mail, signs of recent combat. Yet his eyes, a reptilian, slitted green, seem entirely incapable of embracing malice, an observation that is reinforced by the holy emblem displayed prominently on his burnished shield.

— Boxed text provided by dScryb (affiliate link)

This is a “Staple Build”. This build is simple, and relies on options from the SRD and the Basic Rules wherever possible. If you need a functional build with nothing fancy or complicated, this is a great place to start.

For a Paladin, this is a very simple build. I’ve left the spell preparation up to you, but the advice provided above should give you all the information you need.

Abilities

We will assume the point buy abilities for a Strength-based Paladin suggested above. That gives us a character who excels at paladin things, but is otherwise very limited. If you’re willing to give up some Constitution, reduce your starting Strength and Constitution each to 14, and distribute those points elsewhere, and at 4th level put the full Ability Score Increase into Strength. Lay on Hands gives you a generous pool of hit points to fall back on, so you’re perfectly fine with 14 Constitution.

 BaseIncreased
Str1517
Dex88
Con1515
Int88
Wis88
Cha1516

Race

Classic Dragonborn. Strength and Charisma is a great ability score spread, and a breath weapon offers a good way for us to handle groups of enemies, which is typically a problem for paladins who lack options for handling crowds.

Skills and Tools

We have a lot of flexibility here. I definitely recommend Persuasion, but your other choices can be dependent on the makeup of your party. Religion is a good choice, but if you have a Cleric in the party you may not need it. Athletics is a great choice too because it makes grappling and shoving good options. If you’re the only Face in your party, you may want to pick up Intimidation.

Background

Acolyte, Noble, and Soldier all work really well for this build.

Levels

LevelFeat(s) and FeaturesNotes and Tactics
1Divine Sense
Lay on Hands
For your starting equipment, take a warhammer, a longsword, or a battleaxe, a shield, five javelins, and either pack. You’re locked into Chain Mail, but with 8 Dexterity that’s what you want.

At first level you’re very similar to the Fighter. Divine Sense gives you a taste of real divine power. It won’t be useful especially often, but it’s one of the paladin’s only ways to locate invisible creatures.

Lay on Hands is an excellent healing resource. It allows you to precisely apply healing without any of the randomness of hit dice or healing spells, so you can easily fill in the last two or three hit points to get someone to full health without the risk of running over and wasting limited resources. Try to keep 1 point on hand at all times in case you need to save a dying ally.

Despite your high AC from Chain Mail, I really recommend sticking to sword-and-board at first level rather than going for a 2-handed weapon. Even with Lay on Hands, 1st-level characters are frail and a single attack could take you from full hit points to 0. A shield goes a long way to make sure you reach 2nd level.
2Fighting Style (Any except GWF)
Spellcasting
Divine Smite
2nd level is where things really pick up for the paladin. Fighting Style helps define your role in the party. I recommend anything except Great Weapon Fighting. Even if you go for two-handed weapons, GWF doesn’t pay off. If you want to use two-handed weapons, take Defense to compensate for your lack of a shield.

At this level, you have twice as many spells prepared as you have spell slots. I recommend preparing defensive buffs like Compel Duel and Shield of Faith, but it doesn’t hurt to bring some Smite spells. Often using a spell will have a bigger impact on a fight than burning the spell slot for Divine Smite, but sometimes you just need a little extra damage to kill something in a hurry.
3Divine Health
Sacred Oath (Oath of Devotion)
Channel Divinity
– Sacred Weapon
– Turn the Unholy
Divine Health is a good passive defense. Diseases can be really nasty, and they’re commonly communicated through melee attacks from things like demons and dire rats.

Channel Divinity (Sacred Weapon) is an excellent buff. You already have 16 Charisma, and a +3 bonus to attacks is massive in 5e. The 1-minute duration means that it won’t last longer than a single fight, but if you can activate Sacred Weapon just before jumping into a fight you will start with a huge advantage.
4Ability Score Improvement (Strength 17 -> 18, Constitution 15 -> 16)Since we have two important ability scores at odd numbers, we can split our Ability Score Increase to make them both even and increase both of their modifiers. This means better attack and damage bonuses, more hit points, and better saves. Don’t forget that increasing your Constitution modifier increases your hit points retroactively, so you get an extra hit point for every previous level, too!
5Extra Attack5th level is really fun. Not only do you get Extra Attack, you get your first 2nd-level spell slots. You’ll be able to prepare a total of just 5 spells at this level, so you’ll need to be very picky.
6Aura of ProtectionAura of Protection is one of the best defensive class features in the game. You and any ally within 10 ft. gets +3 to all of their saving throws. This is a great reason to keep your allies close to you, but remember that you’re intended to draw attacks away from your allies so it may be safer for your allies to stay further away to avoid AOE damage.
7Aura of DevotionImmunity to Charm is more useful than it appears at first. Many spell effects won’t function if you’re immune to Charm.
8Ability Score Improvement (Strength 18 -> 20)Not very exciting, but more Strength is very important.
99th-level brings 3rd-level spells.
10Aura of CourageFear becomes more common as you gain levels and encounter crazy things like ancient dragons and powerful undead.
11Improved Divine SmiteA straight damage boost for your weapon attacks.
12Ability Score Improvement (Charisma 16 -> 18)An extra point of Charisma modifier means more prepared spells, better spell DCs, and a better bonus from Aura of Protection.
1313th level brings 4th-level spells. Use Find Greater Steed as soon as possible to get yourself a cool new mount.
14Cleansing TouchCleaning touch is really good for removing pesky debuffs and other ongoing spell effects that will be more common at this level.
15Purity of SpiritPurity of Spirit makes you much better at fighting foes of the affected types, but doesn’t require Concentration or a spell slot or anything so you’re always ready to go.
16Ability Score Improvement (Charisma 18 -> 20)An extra point of Charisma modifier means more prepared spells, better spell DCs, and a better bonus from Aura of Protection.
17 –17th level brings 5th-level spells at long last.
18Aura ImprovementsAt this level all of your 10 ft. auras expand to 30 ft., allowing your allies to remain at much greater distance from you while still benefit from your excellent protections.
19Ability Score Improvement (Constitution 16 -> 18)This is basically an extra ASI. Spend it on whatever you want, but Constitution is a good choice.
20Holy NymbusIn a fight with several enemies, this will deal a ton of damage very quickly, but even against single foes it may be a good option to turn this on and focus on just staying alive while you wear down difficult foes.