Paladin Multiclass Guide: Best Options for D&D 5e
Paladins already hit hard as single-class characters, but multiclassing opens up some genuinely powerful combinations that can make them lethal in new ways. The real trick is knowing which classes synergize with paladin’s strengths—divine smite, spellcasting, and battlefield control—without forcing you to abandon what makes them work in the first place. This guide breaks down the best multiclass options and explains exactly why they work together so effectively.
Rolling with a Dark Heart Dice Set emphasizes the moral complexity many multiclass paladins explore when stepping away from strict oath limitations.
Multiclassing a paladin requires careful consideration. Unlike some classes that benefit from shallow dips, paladins have compelling features at nearly every level, particularly the game-changing Aura of Protection at level 6 and Improved Divine Smite at level 11. Every level you spend elsewhere delays these power spikes. The multiclass combinations that work best either provide something you absolutely need, or synergize so well with your core abilities that the delay becomes worthwhile.
Paladin Multiclass Prerequisites and Mechanics
Before exploring specific builds, understand the barrier to entry. Multiclassing into or out of paladin requires both Strength and Charisma scores of 13 or higher. For most paladin builds, you’ll already prioritize these attributes, making the requirement straightforward. The real cost comes from delayed progression in your primary class features.
When you multiclass, you gain hit points, proficiencies, and class features from your new class, but not all starting equipment or initial proficiencies. Paladins multiclassing into another class keep their existing armor and weapon proficiencies. Characters multiclassing into paladin gain light and medium armor, shields, simple weapons, and martial weapons—a considerable upgrade for most spellcasters.
Your spell slots combine from both classes using the multiclass spellcasting table, but you only learn and prepare spells as if you were a single-class member of each class. A Paladin 6/Sorcerer 3 has the spell slots of a 6th-level spellcaster, but only knows 2nd-level paladin spells and 2nd-level sorcerer spells. This matters significantly for Divine Smite, which can consume any spell slot regardless of source.
Best Paladin Multiclass Options
Warlock: The Hexadin
The paladin/warlock combination, commonly called the Hexadin, ranks as one of the most powerful multiclass builds in 5e. Warlock brings short-rest spell slot recovery, meaning more Divine Smites without draining your limited paladin slots. A typical split runs Paladin 6 or 7/Warlock X, prioritizing Aura of Protection before committing to warlock levels.
Hexblade is the obvious warlock patron choice. Hexblade’s Curse amplifies your damage output, while Hex Warrior lets you use Charisma for weapon attacks, allowing you to focus entirely on Charisma after meeting the minimum Strength requirement. This synergy transforms you into a Charisma-based powerhouse who can smite repeatedly without exhausting resources.
The Eldritch Smite invocation at Warlock 5 stacks with Divine Smite, letting you burn two spell slots on a single hit for devastating nova damage. Warlock also grants Eldritch Blast as a reliable ranged option, covering the paladin’s traditional weakness against flying or distant enemies.
Sorcerer: The Sorcadin
The paladin/sorcerer multiclass produces one of the game’s most efficient smite engines. Sorcerers bring flexible spellcasting and metamagic, while sharing Charisma as their primary spellcasting ability. The classic Sorcadin build runs Paladin 6/Sorcerer 14 or Paladin 2/Sorcerer 18, depending on whether you prioritize martial or spellcasting prowess.
Sorcery points allow you to convert spell slots into more smite fuel through Font of Magic. Quickened Spell lets you cast a spell as a bonus action, then make weapon attacks—or hold your action—creating flexible tactical options. The Divine Soul sorcerer origin grants access to cleric spells, expanding your support capabilities beyond the paladin spell list.
A shallow 2-level paladin dip on an otherwise full sorcerer gives you Fighting Style, heavy armor proficiency, and Divine Smite without significantly delaying your spellcasting progression. This works particularly well for Divine Soul sorcerers who want to function as armored battle clerics. The reverse—heavy paladin with sorcerer levels—trades spell progression for earlier access to critical paladin features like Extra Attack and Aura of Protection.
Bard: The Charismatic Commander
Bards and paladins both rely on Charisma, making this a natural multiclass for support-focused characters. A Paladin 6/Bard X build creates an armored support character with incredible versatility. You maintain Aura of Protection while gaining Jack of All Trades, Bardic Inspiration, and access to the bard’s exceptional spell list.
The synergy runs deeper than shared ability scores. Paladins lack ritual casting; bards gain it naturally. Paladins have limited spell choices; bards learn spells from the game’s best support and utility list. The Paladin’s Charisma modifier applies to saves through Aura of Protection, while the Bard’s Inspiration dice can apply to attack rolls, ability checks, and saves—your entire party becomes more effective.
College of Swords and College of Valor provide martial benefits that complement paladin abilities, though College of Lore’s additional Magical Secrets give you access to spells no paladin would otherwise learn. Starting with Paladin 1 or 2 before committing to bard gives you heavy armor proficiency that bards lack.
Fighter: The Martial Specialist
Fighter multiclassing enhances a paladin’s martial capabilities without diverting from physical combat. The most common approach takes Fighter 1 or 2 early for Defense or Dueling fighting style, Action Surge, and Second Wind. Action Surge alone justifies the dip—taking a full round of attacks twice in one turn creates devastating alpha strike potential when combined with Divine Smite.
Deeper fighter investment becomes attractive for paladins who want to emphasize weapon combat over spellcasting. Fighter 11 grants three attacks per Attack action instead of two, though reaching this requires significant paladin feature delays. The Champion subclass extends your critical hit range, creating more opportunities for double-damage smites. Echo Knight provides battlefield control and mobility that paladins typically lack.
Unlike spellcasting multiclass options, fighter levels don’t advance your spell slot progression. You’re trading magical versatility for pure combat effectiveness. This works best when your party already has strong spellcasting support and needs a optimized frontline damage dealer.
Cleric: Divine Synergy
Paladins and clerics worship similar deities and share divine spellcasting, making this thematically appropriate despite being mechanically awkward. Both classes want high Wisdom or Charisma, creating MAD (Multiple Ability Dependency) problems. However, certain cleric domains offer features that don’t rely on Wisdom.
The Dawnblade Ceramic Dice Set captures that radiant, divine energy perfectly when your smite damage calculations determine whether encounters swing in your favor.
War Domain provides bonus action attacks and weapon proficiencies. Forge Domain grants armor bonuses and crafting abilities. Life Domain amplifies healing—Lay on Hands becomes more effective, though it doesn’t technically count as a spell for Life Domain features. The primary benefit comes from expanding your spell list and gaining additional prepared spells without consuming paladin slots.
A one-level cleric dip grants three cantrips, including damage options like Sacred Flame and utility picks like Guidance or Mending. You also gain domain features and ritual casting. Cleric/paladin builds work best as primarily one class with shallow dips in the other, rather than balanced splits.
Paladin Multiclass Timing and Progression
When you multiclass matters as much as what you multiclass into. Delaying Extra Attack past level 5 significantly weakens your effectiveness through the crucial mid-levels. Most successful paladin multiclass builds follow one of these patterns:
- Start Paladin, reach level 6 for Aura of Protection, then multiclass
- Start Paladin, reach level 2 for Fighting Style and Smite, then multiclass
- Start with a different class for level 1 proficiencies, then commit to paladin
The Paladin 6/X split has become standard because Aura of Protection provides such immense value. Adding your Charisma modifier to all saves for yourself and nearby allies dramatically improves your party’s survival against status effects and area damage. Multiclassing before level 6 means operating without this defining feature for much of a campaign.
Starting with one level in another class before taking paladin levels can optimize your proficiencies. A Fighter 1 start grants you Constitution save proficiency, which paladins lack. Sorcerer 1 provides Constitution saves and four cantrips. Warlock 1 gives you Wisdom saves. Since you only get the multiclass proficiencies (not the starting proficiencies) when you take your second class, starting in your secondary class and then going paladin maximizes what you gain.
Feats and Ability Score Priorities
Multiclass paladins face tighter ability score constraints than single-class characters. You need Strength 13 and Charisma 13 minimum, but you want much higher scores in both (or just Charisma for Hexblades). Wisdom affects your Insight and Perception checks. Constitution determines your hit points and concentration saves. Dexterity helps with initiative and saves.
Prioritize maxing your primary attack stat first—Strength for traditional paladins, Charisma for Hexblades. After that, raise Charisma for spell save DC, aura strength, and social checks. Constitution comes third for survivability. Without the ability score increases from a single-class progression, you’ll likely cap your main stat later, making your feat choices more critical.
Polearm Master and Great Weapon Master dominate melee builds, giving you bonus action attacks and damage spikes. Sentinel makes you a superior defender. War Caster helps maintain concentration on buff spells during combat. Resilient (Constitution) shores up your concentration saves if you started without Constitution proficiency. Lucky remains universally powerful, letting you reroll critical saves or attack rolls.
Common Paladin Multiclass Mistakes
The most frequent error is multiclassing too early. Taking warlock or sorcerer levels before Paladin 5 means entering the middle tiers of play without Extra Attack, severely limiting your effectiveness. The damage from a single attack, even with smites, can’t compete with classes making two or more attacks per round.
Spreading levels too thin dilutes your effectiveness. A Paladin 4/Warlock 4/Sorcerer 4 character has interesting options but lacks the powerful features that define these classes. You’re better served committing to one primary class with a focused dip in a secondary class.
Ignoring your party composition creates redundancy. If you already have a dedicated healer and support caster, your paladin’s spell slots serve you better as smite fuel than as healing or buffs. Conversely, if you’re the party’s only source of healing, multiclassing away from paladin spell progression might leave critical gaps.
Finally, forgetting that your spell slots combine for smite purposes while your spells known don’t can lead to resource management confusion. You’ll have more slots than spell options, which works perfectly for paladins since Divine Smite consumes any slot. But you can’t, for example, cast higher-level paladin spells than your paladin level allows, even if your combined slot progression gives you those slot levels.
Building Your Paladin Multiclass Character
Start your character planning by identifying what you want to achieve that a single-class paladin cannot. Need more spell slots for smiting? Consider warlock or sorcerer. Want better utility and support? Look at bard. Seeking pure combat optimization? Fighter might be your answer. Your campaign’s expected level range matters too—builds that shine at level 15+ won’t help if your campaign ends at level 10.
Consider your subclass choices carefully. Some paladin oaths synergize better with specific multiclass options. Oath of Conquest paladins benefit from fear effects and control spells that sorcerers and warlocks provide. Oath of Devotion’s sacred weapon combines well with rogue or fighter dips for extra damage. Oath of Vengeance already provides excellent damage output, making support-focused multiclassing more attractive.
Most importantly, ensure your paladin multiclass concept fits your campaign’s themes and your table’s playstyle. A highly optimized Hexadin might overshadow other characters in combat-heavy campaigns. A support-focused Bard/Paladin might underperform in dungeon crawls with constant fights and few social encounters. The best multiclass is one that enhances your fun and your group’s experience, not just the one that maximizes damage per round on paper.
Most tables running multiclass experiments keep a Bulk 10d10 Assorted Ceramic Dice Set nearby since you’ll need extra d10s for paladin spell slots and warlock invocations alike.
The best paladin multiclass for your table depends on what role you want to fill and which mechanics excite you most. A warlock dip transforms your smites into a resource-generation engine, while sorcerer gives you spell slots and metamagic shenanigans, and bard adds support tools the party might desperately need. Pick the combination that matches your character concept, and you’ll have a build that’s both effective and fun to play.