The 5e Paladin Handbook

Introduction

A holy knight, a conqueror, a cavalier; these are all terms you can use to describe a paladin. Fueled by their ideals of justice and righteousness, paladins are suffused with divine powers that they use to emforce their will. With shield in one hand and sword in the other, these valiant warriors channel this divine energy to smite foes, call upon various spells, and to protect allies.

This guide is meant to serve as both an overview of the paladin class as well as a general guide to the viable options one can take when playing a paladin and to guide rookie players into making sound choices in terms of creating a sound character from a mechanical perspective. This can also be seen as including elements of theory crafting.

When assessing the various options available in the game, I'm making several assumptions about the game that may or may not be true in your particular circumstances and games. I've outlined these assumptions below:

You are playing in a home campaign where all official Wizards of the Coast content is available (barring test material and most of the DMG material) and that the PHB+1 rule is not in effect.
Homebrew in the game is either nonexistant or minimal.
You are playing with a group of 4-7 player characters where there are enough people to cover basic party needs and, if not, the DM accomodates the campaign in minor ways to adjust to some of those needs.
Your party is mostly good or neutral aligned and most of the enemies you fight will be neutral or evil aligned.
The cast of monsters shown in the official Monster Manual is indicative of what kind of enemies you will be fighting in your average game.
The game is being ran with the recommended amount of encounters that the DMG prescribes in order to challenge players.
Magic items are either never seen or are only granted at very high levels.
And, finally, your character as well as the majority of your party can access the basic materials and gear they need in order to function.

Rating System

In addition, I shall be using a semi-objective barometer based off how I feel how powerful certain class features and options are. The scale is as follows:

A. One of the best options available. This is either a defining class feature or it's such a good option it is hard to pass up.
B. A very solid option. You can't really go wrong by picking this option or by having this feature.
C. Decent but suboptimal. You could likely do better, but you won't be dragging your party through the mud.
D. Very weak. The weaknesses outweigh the strengths.
F. Bad. Only choose if you're wanting to accomplish a certain character concept or challenge yourself.

In some section, due to the breadth of options or the difficulty in distinguishing in small differences in power level, a slightly more simplified rating system of Yay, May, and Nay is used in some sections. You can guess what those mean.

And without futher ado, let us take a look at the paladin class and its class features.

Class Features

Basics

Below is an overview of the class features the paladin gets.

Hit Dice. 1d10. Standard frontliner fair. You don't fall apart when you get smacked by the mooks.
Saves. Wisdom and Charisma. Our Dexterity saves are going to suffer, but Wisdom is a really nice save to get and our Constitution will be high enough to where we won't have too worry too hard about those saves. We won't have to worry too ba about any of our saves later anyways (you'll see why.)
Armor and Weapons. All of it. Won't have to worry about whether or not you have proficiency in a weapon, because you do.
Skills and Tools. No tools doesn't bother us too bad and our skill list doesn't look too shabby. Regardless of which of these skills you pick, you'll find some use for them here. Highlights are Athletics, Persuasion, and Intimidation.
Starting Equipment. You get options for most of the thing you could ever want, plus some of the best starting gold in case you don't like any of your options. Sounds like a win to me.

1st level

Divine Sense. A niche ability on a long rest. Essentially Detect Good and Evil lite. There won't be too many times when this will be relevant. But when it is and you get to use it, it may save your life. Otherwise, mostly a ribbon ability. D.
Lay on Hands. A rather sizable pool of healing you get to use. Regenerates over a long rest. In terms of healing, it doesn't do much besides get people up off the ground which is what I'd save this ability for. Your DM will hate you when you turn this into "bring a teammate back to life paladin level x 5 times a day." The disease curing likely won't come up often, but it's awesome to have when it does. You likely won't be curing diseases on yourself though. B.

2nd level

Fighting Style. Standard fare for a martial. Some nice little bonuses. We get locked out of some of the more playstyle defining fighting styles like two-weapon fighting and archery, though they aren't too sorely missed. C.
Spellcasting. You're a divine half-caster and you basically "know" the whole paladin spell list, you just have to choose what you can use during the day. This is arguably much better than being a wizard and being stuck with the spells in your book. Some of your spell options are solid and others dumpster though and you'll likely be wanting to focus on an attack stat over a casting stat, so you likely won't have a very high save DC. C.

Still, this is important for another key feature which is...

Divine Smite. Getting to choose whether or not you can deal bonus damage when you hit? It's a rarely resisted damage type? Disables undead foritude? Bonus damage whenever you smack the evil things you're likely fighting anyways? Yes please. All of it. This feature alone is what makes paladin a paladin. Every single high burst damage build that isn't a level 20 fighter goes paladin just for this ability alone. You will be reducing mooks the dust and leaving big, burning rips inside the more tanky bastards. A+++

3rd level

Divine Health. Nice ribbon for avoiding getting sick. It's been relevant a few times though it's unlikely to come up in your average game. D.
Sacred Oath. This is where you get to pick your archetype. I'll go over the individual archetypes in a later section, but keep in mind that your Sacred Oath won't change far too much as you bread and butter is your sword and your smite. ???.
Channel Divinity. This is determined by your oath. These options range from really good to damn near useless. ???.

5th level

Extra Attack. On other martials, this would be your standard damage increase but this really means a lot for paladin as they relish each extra attack they're able to get off. More attacks = more smites and more smites = more damage. A.

6th level

Aura of Protection. This is why I said we don't need to worry about saves too much. Assuming you're using a standard build, this likely means +2 to +5 to all your saves. Plus this extends to allies. Plus this extends to death saves (only to your pals though, sorry.) A.

10th level

Aura of Courage. Frightened isn't the worse condition in the world and this comes a bit late, but it does keep your allies from doing much while they're pissing themselves. Plus, a lot of higher level enemies get fear auras and this keeps you from getting unlucky at the start of the fight. Between this and your other auras, your allies will want to hug you. B.

11th level

Improved Divine Smite. Free damage. What can you say? B.

14th level

Cleansing Touch. This is essentially a 9th level Dispel Magic several times a day, assuming you'd only use Dispel Magic to end spells on allies that is. It's potent though it comes late in the game. B.

18th level

Aura Improvements. Your auras get bigger. Gives you a bit more breathing room so your allies don't have to hug you as hard. Nice, eh? C.

Overview

Looking at the paladin skillset, we can make an informed decision about what the paladin is and isn't good at. When it comes to the three pillars of the game, Combat, Social, and Exploration, here's how the paladin meets the expectations of those pillars.

Combat. A. Between being hard to kill with high AC, high saves, and high hit points as well as being one of the best damage dealers due mostly in part to its divine smite, it should come as no surprise that paladin is excellent in combat against a variety of enemies. Its strengths are survivability and damage output. Its weaknesses are mobility, ranged combat, and area of effect damage.
Social. B. You're no bard, but with your secondary ability score being Charisma as well as two of the most important social skills on your skill list, you can easily put yourself in the role of party face. Bumps up to A. for Redemption paladins.
Exploration. F. This is where paladins fall short. With no incentive towards investing in Intelligence, Wisdom, or their related skills, the only thing paladins get in terms of exploration is the ability to detect if a zombie or demon is in the room, but chances are you knew if that was the case or not already. High Strength and Athletics means climbing cliffs won't be too big of a deal in your clunky platemail but don't expend to cushion that fall with your Acrobatics. An easy patch for these exploration issues is the Outlander background.

Generally in terms of role in the party, paladins are typically your brick and anchor; they can take a beating and they can dish it out too. In addition, they have a great variety of utility options thanks to their spellcasting and class features. The party face is also a natural role for paladins and they excel in the hands of social players and those who take charge. They lack in exploration, particularly in wilderness exploration, and will likely be poor at any intelligence skills.

Character Options

Next, we're going to go over which options you can choose as a paladin player and which of them are most viable.

Playstyles

Classic Sword & Board: B. Sword and board on most other martial-like characters kinda sucks because of the amount of damage you lose out on from stuff like Polearm Master and Great Weapon Master but paladin functions fine due to the fact that most of its damage comes from divine smite and the +2 AC makes you really, really hard to take down. Go for the Defense fighting style and grab a longsword. This is the best way to play a Dexterity paladin if you so desire to.
Archery: F. You can't smite with a ranged weapon and you have no incentive to use ranged weaponry anyways. This should only be a backup option.
Two-Weapon Fighting: C. Not entirely awful. If you hit with your offhand strike, you can land a divine smite on it, potentially increasing your damage significantly. The lack of the actual fighting style is a real bummer though and this is immediately outclassed by Polearm Master. A viable option for Dexterity paladins.
Stick and Board: A. Little known fact; you can one hand a quarterstaff. Which means you can use a shield. And you can use Polearm Master. It's like the best of the sword & board and the two-weapon fighting style!
Great Weapon Master: B. Paladin unfortunately doesn't have as flexible tools for increasing accuracy like barbarian does with reckless attack or fighter does with battlemaster maneuvers. Two-handed weapons do deal a good chunk of damage regardless though, and paladin does still have tools for boosting its accuracy, namely shoves and ally support. Turns to an A if you're a Devotion, Vengeance or Conquest paladin. Combine with Polearm Master for cheese.
Support: F. Yes the paladin has a lot of support options. Yes they get spells. Yes they get healing. But these are options rather than the focus of the class. If you want to play a supportive holy warrior, war cleric should be your first choice.
Dexterity Paladin: C. As much shit as Dexterity paladin gets, it's not half bad. The better initiative, Dexterity saves, and improved options of ranged weaponry make this a solid option. You do lose out on damage however and your lower armor class means you'll likely want to play more like a skirmisher than a frontliner. Mobile is a highly recommended feat for this build.
Grappling: C. More of a meme build. You go variant human, grab the Prodigy feat for expertise in Athletics, then grapple and toss people to the ground and smite them with the back of your hand. Not particularly strong but it is incredibly fun and I highly recommend trying it out.

Ability Scores

Paladins are a frontliner class who gain heavy armor and have high incentives to increase their Charisma. Naturally, paladins are Strength and Charisma heavy characters with a leaning towards Constitution as a tertiary score.

Strength: A. Heavy armor will give you the best AC and the most damaging weapons. It's a no brainer. If for some reason you're going a Dexterity paladin, this becomes a D.
Dexterity: D. With no incentive to pick up a bow (aside from simply being proficient) and no class features to key off this, this is a nominee for a dump stat. Failing a Dexterity saving throw can mean the difference between 40 and 20 hitpoints sometimes though, so I'd be wary of dumping this to an 8, though you'll likely be fine if you did anyways. Becomes an A. if you're a Dexterity paladin.
Constitution: C. The stat everyone wants. Since you'll be up close, you'll want at least a 12 here, a 16 if possible and a 14 otherwise. 15 or 13 is doable if you plan on getting the Resilient feat.
Intelligence: F. Don't need it. You can live with an 8.
Wisdom: D. Like Dexterity, you have no incentive to drop this too low but you'll want at least a 10 just to avoid getting absued by stuff like Hold Person and Charm Person.
Charisma: B. What all your class features key off of. Strength is more important but this should be your second priority. Don't start without a 14.

Racism

When discussing character optimization, racism isn't such a bad thing. Some races are better suited to some roles than the other. Here in this section, I'll go over racial choices and how strong each one is.

Players Handbook

Human: C. Rather standard fair. You'll have a hard time ending up with a single negative abiility score due to all the +1s, but you don't really get much other than that.
Variant Human: A+++ It's no surprise that variant human is one of the most overpowered races in the game. It should also be no surprise that it is the go-to option for most paladin builds.
Dragonborn: C. Unfortunately dragonborn are rather underwhelming in this edition, even if the stats line up perfectly for a paladin. You'll likely want to go for fire resistance as your breath weapon will be easily outclassed by other options.
Dwarf (Mountain): B. Being able to easily start with a 16 Strength and Constitution are awesome and the poison resistance is icing on the cake. The bonus proficiencies are a waste though and the lack of Charisma bonus is noted.
Dwarf (Hill): D. The Constitution is nice but the Wisdom is wasted and the bonus hit points will mean very little in the long run. Unfortunately a lack of bonus to either of your key ability scores and slow speed holds this back too much from being a good option.
Elf (Drow): C. Doable for Dexterity paladins. Sunlight sensitivity will be a pain however as you rely heavily on being able to land attacks and thus land smites. The bonus spellcasting is a good bonus.
Elf (Wood): C. Good for Dexterity paladins. The bonus movespeed is great but the lack of a Charisma bonus sucks.
Elf (High): D. Worse than Wood Elves. Getting a free cantrip based off your dump stat isn't so nice. If you do go this, go for a utility cantrip like Light or Prestidigitation.
Half Elf: A. One of the best races. +2 Charisma and you can easily place the +1/+1 into Strength and Constitution. Two bonus skills helps shore up the paladins lack of skill options as well. A solid fit all around.
Half Orc: A. Good Strength, Constitution, and orcish ferocity make this a great choice. The lack of Charisma can be overlooked just for how good of a kit we get here.
Gnome (any): F. These are all awful choices. A bonus to a dump stat, cantrip based off a dump stat, and very little in return. The advantage on certain saves is nice but in the long run you'll be hurting for your ability scores and your small stature locks out a lot of the better fighting styles.
Halfling (lightfoot): B. The premier choice for Dexterity paladins. Unfortunately Brave is wasted in the long run, but Lucky turns a natural 1 into advantage which can be very, very useful.
Halfling (stout): B. Most of what was said about lightfoots is true here, though you're trading a more important ability score for a less important one and you also get poison resistance in return. It's not a bad trade at all.
Tiefling: C. The lack of a bonus to an attack score makes this hurt quite a bit. The features you get in return do make it a considerable option though. And yes, that's Hellish Rebuke as a second level spell.

Elemental Evil

Aarakocra: A. Yes, I'm valuing flight that highly. If you grab a rapier, a shield, and the Mobile feat, you'll be the fly-by paladin of death. Dive down twenty feet and smite your opponents skull then take off out of harms way.
Goliath: A. Very, very solid indeed. Takes off a skill tax (Athletics) and gives you a nice way to shrug off an enemy who may have hit you a little too hard. Seriously, Stones Endurance can mean the difference between life and death in a lot of situations, especially during the first few levels.
Deep Gnome: F. Everything I said about regular gnomes is just as true here. Nothing here makes this worthwhile.
Genasi (Air): D. Levitate once a day and not having to breath is a rather lackluster bonus unless you plan on going into a gasless void anytime soon.
Genasi (Earth): D. I mean, at least you get a Strength bonus. Cmons WotC, first you ruin dragonborn then you shit the bed with genasi.
Genasi (Fire): F. Frankly, this is just a worse Tiefling. The fire resistance and spellcasting does not make up for the lackluster stats.
Genasi (Water): D. Yet another lackluster option. This is at least a bit better than air genasi, though not by much.

Sword Coast Adventure Guide

Tiefling (Variant): C. I mean... maybe it's kinda worth it to trade CHA for DEX. Instantly turns to an A. if your DM loses his mind and lets you pick the winged variant.
Half-elf (Variant): F - A. The best options here are the aquatic half-elf with the swimming speed and the half-drow with the spellcasting. Every other choice might as well be an F, not because they're bad options but because they're objectively worse than just picking the normal half elf race.
Halfling (ghostwise): C. Is telepathy worth it? Maybe. But probably not.
Duergar: B. The biggest boon here is the ability to use Enlarge on yourself. Sunlight sensitivity is an issue, as always.

Volo's Guide to Monsters

Lizardfolk: D. In my eyes, this is just a worse half-elf, at least for paladin. Though its skillset helps shore up paladins biggest weakpoint, it also gives no bonus to your most important ability scores and gives you natural armor... on a class that gets full plate. It's an easy pass.
Kenku: F. Sorry, but it's hard to be the party face when all you can do is squawk.
Aasimar (Fallen): A. Primary ability scores? Check. Extra healing? Check. Badass angel of death ability? Check. One of the best paladin choices.
Aasimar (protector and scourge): C. The lack of strength really hurts. They still aren't bad at all considering how many features they get, but fallen is just way better.
Tabaxi: B. Feline Agility, a climb speed, and the perfect stats for a Dexterity paladin make this a rather solid choice.

Triton: A. Bonus to all your most important ability scores, a swim speed, and bonus spellcasting make this a hard kit to pass up.
Firbolg: C. Unfortunately the +2 Wisdom is kinda wasted. The Strength is nice and the bonus spellcasting is a good boon too, especially the invisbility.
Bugbear: A. The Dexterity is wasted but increased reach and the bonus sneak attack-esque damage make this a really solid pick.
Kobold: F. Meh... Pack Tactics would be really good... if you could use a greatsword.
Goblin: B. A solid choice for Dexterity paladins.
Orc: C. I probably would have rated this poorer if mobility wasn't one of paladins weak points. Aggressive is pretty nice. Otherwise, they're just a worse half-orc.
Hobgolbin: F. These are just weaksauce. You're getting nothing out of this. This is barely better than gnomes.
Yuan-ti: A++. It doesn't matter if you're missing out on your primary ability score. Advantage on all spell saves? Immunity to a common damage type and condition? Standard delayed spellcasting? Were Wizards on crack when they wrote this?

Other

Tortle: C. I can't say no to a tortle paladin. The natural armor is great and the Strength bonus is nice. Not too much to write home about otherwise.
Grung: D. Better hope theres some water nearby or else you're dry as a raisin.
Test Material: ???. I'm not going over test material in depth seeing as the guide presumes it's not being used. Some of the elf options are okay I guess for Dexterity paladins. Minotaurs and Warforges are decent. That's about it really.

Oaths

Beginning at 3rd level, you get to choose which Oath your paladin takes. Mechanically, this determines your bonus spells, Channel Divinity, and the features you get at later levels. Usually these later features are an aura or aura-like ability at 7th level, a defensive or offensive combat ability at 15th, and an "aspect" ability at 20th level. The general powerlevel of an archetype stems from its Channel Divnity options, its bonus spells, and its 7th level feature.

Oath of the Ancients

Overall Score: B.

Spells

B. There are some great options here, namely Misty Step, Moonbeam, Ice Storm, and Stoneskin and most of the rest help in term of exploration utility which is something paladins can always use.

Channel Divinity

D. Natures Wrath is awful and Turn the Faithless is decent at best.

Aura of Warding

A. The moment you get this ability, your DM will no longer bother throwing spellcasters at you because it's not worth trying anymore.

Undying Sentinel

C. Relentless Endurance once a long rest is nice but nothing to write home about at 15th level.

Elder Champion

B. This has the potential to be very powerful. Unfortunately, between smites and throwing spells around as bonus actions, it's hard to make the most of this. Still, it has the potential to be very potent.

Oath of Devotion

Overall Score: A.

Spells

C. Most of these spells are standard spells on the paladin spell list and the ones that were not are nothing to write home about. Sanctuary sticks out as particularly weak in most circumstances and Dispel Magic as the strongest.

Channel Divinity

A. Sacred Weapon combined with Great Weapon Master will be your bread and butter for quickly bursting down opponents. Turn the Unholy is basically a better Turn the Faithless.

Aura of Devotion

B. You definitely do not want to be charmed and neither do your allies because fighting your own friends sucks.

Purity of Spirit

A. This roughly works out to "at least a quarter of the evil baddies you fight can't hit you" and that's fucking rad.

Holy Nimbus

C. Although the automatic radiant damage is awesome, there's nothing else here entirely powerful.

Oath of Vengeance

Overall Score: A.

Spells

A. Some pretty awesome spells here. Hunter's Mark deals more damage than a smite if you can get at least three hits in, something that won't be hard past 5th level, especially if you have Polearm Master. Bane is a great debuff, Hold Person and Hold Monster are absolutely sick, Misty Step lets you keep on top of enemies, and Banishment and Dimension Door are fantastic utility. Easily the best spell list out of all the Oaths.

Channel Divinity

A. Abjure Enemy is rather solid namely because it actually does something if they pass the save. Vow of Enmity is awesome for laying the smack down in combination with Great Weapon Master and is better than Devotions similar accuracy boosting ability unless your Charisma is +4 or +5.

Relentless Avenger

C. My main gripe is that this requires you hit your target before you can gain its benefit. It otherwise stays at being just pretty decent.

Soul of Vengeance

A. As I've said before, more attacks = more smites = more damage. This is more attacks. At advantage. Do the math.

Avenging Angel

B. This is pretty nice. A fear effect on enemies that gives you advantage is prettty nice, plus you get the fly speed to chase them down when they flee. This unfortunately becomes very underwhelming once you start a fight with enemies who are immune to fear though.

Oathbreaker

Overall Score: A++ -ish...

To preface the rest of this, Oathbreaker is powerful but is only broken if the DM lets it be broken. What I mean is that Oathbreaker is strong in an 'average' scenario. However, if the DM tweaks his encounters (like he should) the Oathbreaker can easily get overwhelmed or feel useless or slightly below the weather. However, in these scenarios I'd still rate the Oathbreaker at least a B, maybe a C.

Spells

A. Good stuff splattered here and there. You're likely not going to get much out of Inflict Wounds and Crown of Madness, but Hellish Rebuke, Animate Dead, and Dominate Person are all really good options, especially Animate Undead.

Channel Divinity

A. Wow... mind control on undead and a fear effect that doesn't let the target repeat the save if you're next to them. Both of these can be potentially fight changing and are really powerful.

Aura of Hate

A. This is free damage for yourself which is alone powerful. The interesting part is that this extends to nearbly undead and fiends... whether you want them to get this bonus or not. However, this doesn't make the ability weak. Firstly, paladins are naturally good against undead. You can smite down most undead mooks by this level in a single hit so that's not an issue. Bigger undead that you can't quite immediately kill may pose a threat, but then again your Control Undead is a save or suck for any big baddies that wanna roll up and smack you. So swarming you with undead so that they can destroy you with your own ability is a little harder than it seems. The other option is to just not throw undead and fiends at you. But in the end, you've given yourself free bonus damage. Either way, you kinda win (well, as much as you can win D&D.)

Supernatural Resistance

A. Even though it comes late, this is a pretty solid ability. There's still quite a few enemies that don't bypass resistances and deal these damage types.

Dread Lord

A. This is really powerful for the disadvantage it imposes on attacks alone. The attacking shadows and damage against frightened creatures is just icing on the cake.

Oath of the Crown

Overall Score: D.

Spells

C. Command is solid but is already on the paladin spell list. The real standout is Spirit Guardians which is the real reason why you even took this archetype, lets be honest here, but it comes so late that it feels like you probably should have just been a cleric.

Channel Divinity

D. Champions Challenge is awful. It requires a save and all it does it keep enemies within 30 feet of you. Most fights, especially in close corridors, this will mean nothing. You will neither prevent your allies from being hit nor keep them from killing you. It's only useful in fringe scenarios. Turn the Tide is good but its potential is handicapped by requiring the allies hear you (can't hear you if they're unconscious) and requiring them to be below half hit points. Most of the time this will end up being the dollar store equivalent of fighters second wind, except you might get an ally healed too.

Divine Allegiance

D. Once per turn you can cause yourself to get nearly killed instead of your ally. Preventing damage in the first place is far better than this ability and the only thing that makes it worthwhile is the fact that you have the hit points and healing to take a beating.

Unyielding Saint

B. This is really good but unfortunately you have the anchor of the rest of this archetype holding this down.

Exalted Champion

B. This is... pretty good. It's a purely defensive ability but it's not bad at all.

Oath of Redemption

Overall Score: A.

Spells

A. Sleep and Counterspell alone make this hella good. Hold Person/Monster, Hypnotic Pattern, and Stoneskin are just icing on the cake.

Channel Divinity

A. A +5 bonus to Persuasion checks plus your Charisma, plus proficiency, plus the bard playing a sad tune to accent your cries of the plight of the people... yeah you're definitely passing that check. Rebuke the Violent is sick. Just save it for when the enemy crits and BAM they're dust! Both of these options are really solid!

Aura of the Guardian

C. This is far better than Crowns shitty excuse for an aura for one reason: it synergizes with your next ability.

Protective Spirit

A. Oh yes. You get something better than the Champions heal AND it's at an earlier level!

Emissary of Redemption

B. This is pretty solid. As long as you focus one mook, the rest will be barely damaging you. And between this and your other abilities, you'll be damned hard to kill.

Oath of Conquest

Overall Score: B.

Spells

B. Armor of Agathys is the highlight here. The rest of the list is pretty solid as well.

Channel Divinity

B. Conquering Presence is weak at first but definitely jumps in power once you hit level 7. Guided Strike is solid for guaranteeing a hit though it scales poorly.

Aura of Conquest

C. Assuming you can get fear effects off consistently, this can be pretty good. The main issue is getting fear effects off, but there are a few options for this, such as your Channel Divinity, spells, and the Dragon Fear feat.

Scornful Rebuke

A. Punishes enemies for focusing you with scaling damage thats a rarely resisted damage type. Sounds great to me.

Invincible Conqueror

A. Jeez, they weren't pulling any punches on this one. Resistance to all damage, an whole extra attack on your turn, and expanded critical range. Absolutely brutal.

Feats

As with all martial characters, feats are an important part of your build. Not all feats are made equal though. If you're unsure of whether or not you should get a feat, think to yourself; is this feat worth losing out on +1 to attack and damage? Is it worth loosing out on more spells, higher saves, and save DC? Is it worth losing out on several hit points? If the answer is no, then don't get it.

Below is a compilation of my opinions on various feats. Instead of my usual rating system, I'll put a "Yay, Nay" or "May." You can guess what those mean.

Mounted Combatant - May. Paladin is in the fortunate position of having a disposable mount in the form of a spell known as Call Steed. Unfortunately, many fights take place indoors and it may be hard to fit a large mount through, unless you're a small character with a medium sized mount. Still, this does have some niche uses.
Ritual Caster - Nay. Despite being able to pick from charisma casters, the feat still requires 13 INT/WIS and chances are you will not have the prerequisite ability scores. Unless your party desperately needs some rituals, this is a definite pass.
Resilient - May. Paladin has quite a few concentration spells, plus it could be temping to shore up your Constitution saves for general purposes. Still, it's hard to justify this over an normal ASI, especially since most of your spell slots will be for smites anyhow.
Sentinel - May. This particularly has synergy with Polearm Master and, as I've said before, more attacks = more smites = more damage. However, you're going to want PAM with this and giving up +2 attack and damage makes it really hard to justify the extra investment.
Magic Initiate - Yay. This is frankly not a bad feat. Grabbing Eldritch Blast to shore up your weak ranged options is an obvious choice here, but more likely than not you'll want utility cantrips like Light. Shield and Absorb Elements are great options for the extra spell. Do keep in mind it says you learn the spell. Depending on your DMs interpretation, this should mean you can cast it with paladin spell slots.
Defensive Duelist - Nay. Don't waste your time. Magic Initiate for Shield is far better than this and doesn't force you into a different playstyle.
Heavy Armor Master - Yay. I can't tell you how many times taking three less damage a hit could have saved myself hit points. I'd try and grab this as early as possible, otherwise I'd pass on it.
Polearm Master - Yay. More attacks for smites are more than welcome and it has especially good synergy with Great Weapon Master. This is easily the best feat you can get on paladin.
Tough - May. I'd very rarely pick this up. It's pretty weaksauce. Stacking meatpoints won't do you as much good as being able to kill the enemy in the first place in most circumstances. Save this feat for a later ASI because early on, 2-8 hit points is not worth it.
Great Weapon Master - Yay. This feat is pretty good. You'll be killing enemies a lot with your smites so you can fairly reliably pull off that bonus action attack. The power attack portion is a bit more niche but allows you to capitalize on advantage very well.
Mobile - Yay. Mobility in general in 5e is very underrated. Being able to attack and run away from a big baddie is a very powerful thing and as much as paladin lacks mobility, this can be very useful.
Dual Wielder - Nay. +1 AC makes this tempting but there's a couple of issues with this feat that make it not very worthwhile, namely that Polearm Master is just better.
Lucky - Yay. Widely cited as the most overpowered feat in 5e, I'd venture to say that's fairly accurate.
Martial Adept - Nay. The one maneuver and superiority die just really aren't worth it.
Shield Master - Yay. The bonus action shove for advantage on prone enemies is the main benefit here. Bonuses to saves is nice too. Don't bother on Dexterity paladins.
War Caster - Nay. You can use your shield as a holy symbol. If you're not using a shield, don't worry.
Medium Armor Master - Nay. Medium Armor Master is a funny feat. It kinda reads as "you gain +1 AC and no longer have disadvantage on stealth" but the first benefit only applies if you have 16 DEX. In most cases I'd say no but Dexadins may get some mileage out of this.
Orcish Fury (Racial) - Yay. This is just a really good feat. Bonus damage on hit? Extra attack? And some stats? A solid choice for half-orcs.
Dwarf Fortitude (Racial)- Nay. If you need to use your action to heal, you should probably use a spell or Lay on Hands.

Infernal Constitution (Racial)- May. If you find yourself getting hit by a lot of poison and cold damage, this may be worth a pickup. Otherwise, avoid.
Drow High Magic (racial) - May. Detect Magic at will is pretty damn good by itself. Dispel 1/day is also really good. It may be difficult to justify if you have plenty of casters with both spells on their list though.
Dragon Fear (racial) - Nay. Not worth it. Unless you're an Oath of Conquest, then it's a solid option.
Squat Nimbleness (racial) - Nay. I'd probably pass unless you find yourself grappled an annoying amount of times.
Fey Teleportation (racial) - May. Misty Step on a short rest is actually really damn good. It's hard to justify this feat over some other options, however.
Elven Accuracy (racial) - Yay. On the occasion that you multiclass hexblade, this becomes a must have.
Everything Else - Nay. Every other feat is either too niche to justify or just not cutting it. Paladins do not have as many ASIs to spare as, say, a rogue or fighter, so each one is important.

Spells

Preface

Paladins are divine casters, meaning that they technically know the entire paladin spell list. However, you pick half your paladin level + your Charisma modifier number of spells to prepare each day. What this means is that if you prepared a dud spell for one day, you can swap it out for another the next. Poor spell choices will not hurt you too much in the long run. In addition, like in the previous section, I will be using a Yay, May, or Nay rating system.

1st level

Bless: Yay. This spell is really potent, particularly in the earlier parts of the game where attack bonuses are rare. Though it does suck that you have to give up a 1st level spell slot and your action to do this when you could be smiting, it's not bad. Past 5th level, I'd likely prepare something else in its place.
Ceremony (XGtE): Yay. The sheer number of uses this spell can have make this definitely worthwhile. Coming of age, Dedication, and Wedding are easily the strongest options here though they are only usable once. Once you've gotten your mileage from this spell, replace it with something else.
Command: May. A pretty solid option though sometimes it's just worse than being able to attack. Main uses are to make someone waste their turn or to make someone drop to the ground.
Compelled Duel: Nay. The fact that this requires a saving throw AND concentration makes it a very weak option. It's theorestically powerful, being able to force someone to attack you and imposing disadvantage on attacks against anyone else, but its restrictions are too great to see anything more than niche use.
Cure Wound: Yay. This spell sucks on paladin. It really does. But I prepare it on every single paladin I make just so I have a backup healing option in case shit goes south. It's more of a contingency spell than anything else.
Detect Evil and Good: Nay. If you're within 30 feet of em, you're likely already fighting anyways. Besides, divine sense has you covered for half of these enemy types.
Purify Food and Drink: Nay. Wanna know what makes this obsolete? The Outlander background.
Divine Favor: Nay. Rather weak. When determining how worthwhile a damage buff spell on Paladin in, think if a divine smite would have been better. Divine Favor only becomes better than a smite if A. You're not fighting an undead or fiend and B. You land more than 4 attacks. For Vengeance paladins, Hunter's Mark is objectively better than this and does just enough damage to actually bother using.
Heroism: Yay. I think this spell speaks for itself. 2-5 Temporary hit points each turn is not bad at all. Depending on how long you can keep concentration, that's up to 50 hit points for a 1st level spell slot, assuming the enemy eliminates your temp HP each turn. The immunity to fear effects is great too in case an ally gets frightened. I'd likely prepare something else after level 10.
Protection from Evil and Good: Yay. You'll likely be fighting at least one of these creature types and this makes it much harder for them to harm you. An easy grab.
Detect Poison and Disease: Nay. You're immune to disease so the only use this has is for poison. Your cleric or druid should be preparing this anyways if poison and disease are relevant enough in your games.
Shield of Faith: Yay. The only thing that sucks is concentration, but the bonus AC helps keep you from getting damaged in the first place. Overall a solid choice.
Searing Smite: Nay. All it does is damage, it deals a worse damage type than a regular smite, and it only deals more after three turns, assuming the enemy doesn't pass its save. I'd pass.
Thunderous Smite: Yay. A really strong control option. Knocking an enemy back 10 feet and prone is easily worth the downgrade in damage from a regular smite.
Wrathful Smite: May. Really mediocre option. Unless you're a Conquest paladin, then this is a definite pickup.

2nd level

Aid: May. 15 extra hit points to your team is really weak for a second level spellslot, especially since you can deal about as much damage to an enemy by using that slot to smite and preventing that enemy from dealing damage in the first place. Gets much strong with upcasting.
Branding Smite: May. If you're having a hard time with invisible enemies, this may not be a bad idea. Its niche use makes it much weaker, however.
Find Steed: Yay. Most definitely pick this up. It's a free warhorse. You can't go wrong with this spell.
Lesser Restoration: Yay. Paralyzed and blindness are really nasty status effects. I'd definitely pick this up as a contigency spell.
Locate Object: Nay. Too niche. If your DM really wants you to find something, he'll let you find it. If he doesn't, you won't.
Magic Weapon: *May. I'd only get this if your DM hasn't handed out magic weapons yet and you're fighting a lot of enemies with resistances.
Protection from Poison: Nay. Too niche. An easy pass.
Zone of Truth: May. This is what I like to call the interrogation spell. As such, it's only useful out of combat but can be nice for getting information out of a stubborn NPC.

3rd level

Aura of Vitality: Yay. This has the potential to wrack up a LOT of healing if you get lucky on rolls and can maintain concentration.
Blinding Smite: Yay. It is most definitely worth losing out on a d8 of damage in order to potentially blind an enemy. Very strong.
Create Food and Water: Nay. Out. Lander. Back. Ground.
Crusader's Mantle: May. I'd consider this only if you have a lot of character who rely on multiple weapon attacks. Otherwise, I'd pass.
Daylight: May. It's not actual sunlight so...
Dispel Magic: Yay. On the off chance your wizard didn't prepare this, this can be a really useful utility spell. I'd prepare it on contigency.
Elemental Weapon: May. This is like Magic Weapon + Divine Favor tossed into one spell. I'd only grab if your DM isn't handing out magic weapons.
Magic Circle: May. Very niche uses. Though it's powerful when it's relevant, there aren't many scenarios where it is. Though with spells like these, creative use can be the difference between a useless spell or a great spell, so maybe I'm underselling this a bit.
Remove Curse: Yay. Another contingency spell. Very useful if curses come up in your game.
Revivify: Yay. Only you and the cleric get this spell. If you don't have a cleric, you better bet your ass is getting this spell.

4th level

Aura of Life: Yay. Yet another contingency spell. This can be powerful if you have a few allies that are downed and you need to bring them back up ASAP.
Aura of Purity: Yay. Advantage on basically every single condition in the book? Sign me up.
Banishment: Yay. Basically a save or suck for demons. I'd most definitely take this.
Death Ward: May. This is only really good if your DM has a habit of throwing massive burst damage at you, or instant kill effects.
Find Greater Steed (XGtE): Yay. This is Find Steed but, well, greater. This is an obvious pickup.
Locate Creature: Nay. Far too niche.
Staggering Smite: May. Though the debuff is good, it only lasts until the end of its next turn and it's a bit difficult to justify the loss in damage.

5th level

Banishing Smite: Yay. Does fantastic damage and banishes at the same time? Sign me the fuck up.
Circle of Power: Yay. Between this and your other auras, it'll be hard for enemies to use magic on you and your allies. A definite grab.
Destructive Wave: May. If you find yourself fighting large numbers of weak enemies, this can be good. The high damage and crowd control make it a pretty potent spell. But if you end up fighting mostly a few strong enemies rather than a lot of weaker enemies, this becomes much worse.
Dispel Evil and Good: Yay. This is Protection from Evil and Good plus Banishment all in one spell. It's rather solid.
Geas: Nay. This is better on wizards because they get it online much earlier and they can upcast it. You get it really late and can't.
Holy Weapon: Yay. This is like super hunter's mark. If you get three attacks off with this spell, it easily becomes worth the spell slot investment. If you get more than that AND can use its blind effect, it becomes awesome.
Raise Dead: Yay. For obvious reasons, you're going to want this.

Multiclassing

The righteous path of a paladin is a hard one and some find it easier when they can poach some useful features from another class. Paladin is especially powerful for multiclassing for a few different reasons, namely that they get a lot of proficiencies and because divine smite works with all spell slots. Classes that key off paladins main attributes, Strength and Charisma, are strong here. Classes that keep or even enhance paladins spellslot progression are even better. Here, I return back to my normal rating system.

Barbarian

Rating: D.

It's hard to justify a barbarian multiclass. You end up relying on too many ability scores; Strength, Charisma, Dexterity, and Constitution. Reckless Attack is the only real draw here. If you do end up choosing to multiclass Barbarian, go normal human so you can compensate for your ability score dependency. Maximize Strength and Constitution and keep your Dexterity and Charisma about even. Start in paladin for Wisdom saving throws. Take only two to three levels of barbarian and then the rest in paladin. The best barbarian archetypes for this build are Ancestral Guardian, Zealot, and Totem Warrior.

Bard

Rating: B.

With improved spellcasting and utility, bard makes a pretty solid multiclass option for paladin. The best archetypes here are College of Swords for mobility, Whispers for damage, and Lore for utility. Start in paladin for heavy armor and martial weapons. Your ability scores should be the same as a normal paladin build with a focus on Strength and Charisma.

Cleric

Rating: C.

Though the flavor is there, the mechanics aren't so much. Improved spellcasting, more utility, and better channel divinity options are nice, the main weakness is the multiple ability dependency. For this build, put only a 13 into your Charisma and prioritize Strength and Wisdom. Go only two levels in paladin and the rest in cleric. Up to five levels for multiple attack in paladin is justifiable but not optimal. The best domains are War, Death, Forge, Arcana, Grave, and Tempest.

Druid

Rating: C.

Similar to cleric, druid offers even less to paladin. Though you can smite while wild shaped, it's hard to justify a multiclass here. Build similarly to a cleric. The best archetypes are Moon and Shepherd.

Fighter

Rating: C.

Though fighter offers us a lot here, like an extra fighting style and action surge, it's hard to give up that much spell slot progression. The best archetypes are Eldritch Knight and Battlemaster. Build like a standard paladin.

Monk

Rating: F.

There is too much anti-synergy here that it's not worthwhile. The most synergy you'll get is smiting on Flurry of Blows, but you won't have enough ki nor enough spell slots to support that. If you really wanna make it work, choose Tortle as your race. Prioritize paladin levels over monk levels and choose Long Death, Open Hand, or Kensei as your archetype.

Ranger

Rating: D.

This may not be a bad option for more offensively focused paladins. You get to retain your same spell progression and you exchange durability in combat for nature utility and damage output. Most of the archetypes here are weak though Gloomstalker make the whole dip worthwhile. Bumps up to a C. if you go Revised Ranger Gloomstalker. Build similarly to a cleric.

Rogue

Rating: D.

The best paladin weapons are rarely good rogue weapons and giving up your spellslot progression for a weaker but more consistent form of burst damage is not worthwhile. Arcane Trickster is the recommend archetype here to retain some spell level progression. Prioritize Dexterity and Constitution and get just enough Strength and Charisma to allow multiclassing.

Sorcerer

Rating: A++.

Easily the best paladin multiclass by a mile. The highlights of synergy are cantrips like Booming Blade, increased spell slot progression, sorcery points to convert high level spell slot into lower level spell slots smites can more efficiently use, metamagic for bonus action Booming Blade, and keying off the same ability score. A really powerful multiclass. Go two levels in paladin and the rest in sorcerer. Start in paladin for heavy armor and martial weapons. The best archetypes are Divine Soul and Shadow.

Warlock

Rating: A.

There's a lot of draws to warlock. Dependency on the same ability scores, short rest spell slots, a solid ranged option in the form of eldritch blast, and pact of the blade. Hexblade is the best archetype here but Fiend is solid as well. Theres two main routes you can take in terms of a multiclass here. The first is to take three level in hexblade warlock for pact of the weapon and then take the rest of your level in Paladin for a purely single ability dependent build. Maximize Charisma and Constitution. The second is to take two levels in paladin and then the rest in warlock for consistent smites in the form of short rest spell slots.

Wizard

Rating: C.

The main draw here is better spell progression and arcane recovery for more smites. Recommended archetypes are abjuration, war magic, and divination. Multi ability dependency hurts this build a bit but not too much. Start in paladin and get just enough Charisma to multiclass out into wizard. Take two levels of paladin and the rest in wizard. Maximize Strength and Intelligence.

Closing Thoughts

Paladin is one of my favorite classes in 5th Edition. I surely hope this guide helped you think about the possibilities the class has to offer. Good luck and have fun smiting!