D&D 5E Paladin: Why Are They Often Considered Highly Powerful?

[Gadget]

The Paladin has a fair amount of flexibility in the specific spell lists they get (Oath of Vengeance does get haste, iirc) that can support and compliment their fighting ability. Auras are really a great source of party defense/buffs. And spending spell slots for smites can really up the damage at key points. Particularly in the seemingly somewhat common less-than-six-to-eight-encounters-a-day scenario. In short, depending on what flavor you like, they are kind of the ultimate Gish class (barring some multi-class combos, some of which feature the Paladin anyway) with abilities that really supplement and support their fighting. Unlike the Eldritch Knight, with many abilities that seem to compete with her fighting skills, rather than supplementing and enhancing them and come on line a bit late with less ummph; or the Blade'lock which requires a fair bit of system mastery and build prowess (or multi-class) to realize the promise of Gishness implied in the sub-class.

While I don't feel that they are the most powerful, I feel that they are the focused on doing what they do best while incorporating the implied flavor of the class reasonably well.

 

[Leatherhead]

Paladins are, by and large, the "Flashiest" class in the game. Not only do they have a solution to nearly every problem in the game, they have ways of doing something when it counts the most. Their M.O. is pure Shock and Awe, and the side effects of using such tactics creep into everyone's minds while talking about them.

Lets start with Lay on Hands: This ability literally saves people from dying all the time, and they get it at level one.
Divine Smite is another huge calling card, seeing as how you can use it after you know you are going to crit (thus getting extra-extra damage out of it), it really ramps up the Paladins burst potential. And as we all know from the countless threads about GWM, getting big numbers sometimes draws far more attention than steady stream smaller numbers, even if the steady stream is better in the long run.
Aura of Protection is the last of the Paladin powers that most people see, and perhaps the one that causes the most frustration to DMs. Giving everyone a +3 (or even higher) bonus on their saving throws is going to declaw scores of baddies.

And those are just the main attractions. There are oodles of lesser ways that Paladins dominate the table. Having a decent Cha score and an Oath means they are going to be talking during every social encounter. Access to fighting styles can give some reliable forms of dice manipulation. Last but not least, Spells, including a few signature spells of their own, add the icing to the cake that is the Paladin.

 

[Xaelvaen]

Fighter 7 (Eldritch Knight) / Paladin 2+

From here dipping a few levels into Warlock for guaranteed smites every short rest, and it is truly a destructive combination. Use Green Flame or Booming Blade, throw a smite on it; bonus action melee attack, throw a smite on it. From all I've found on Sage Advice, it is considered legal. Ran a party starting at level 12 very recently and this was one of the characters. (Above, +3 Warlock).

I didn't find it overpowered, just obviously focused on a task (as @Gadget mentioned). I imagine if you allowed Matt Mercer's Blood Hunter class, this would become even stronger.

It's honestly the charisma bonus to all saving throws (I forget what level) that I find much more broken than Divine Smite; with bounded accuracy, that becomes a bit silly.

 

[Lost Soul]

Paladins are completely OP in almost every way imaginable. Best armor & weapons, auras that grant Charisma bonus of up to +5 on all saves. Other major aura bonuses such as 1/2 damage on spells. Smites that go off twice per round for mega damage that far exceeds what spells of appropriate level can achieve and they can call those smites after they roll and on crits for double damage. Smites are so OP that many paladins in my games don't bother to cast divine spells as well and just smite like crazy. Add in the additional D8 for damage rolls they gain and the conditional D8 for fiends & undead and they are completely overpowering all martial characters even the rogue in the damage department. Especially if you allow overpowered feats like great weapon master to factor into the equation. 5E really dropped the ball on class balance issues with the paladin. They are far above almost every single class in what they can achieve and really step on many other classes toes (fighter, rogue, cleric, wizard just to name a few)

 

[Mort]

Smite does a bucket-load of damage on a crit. Take few levels of fighter and you crit on 19-20. Then take a couple levels of barbarian and you attack with advantage all the time. Then take the rest of your levels as sorcerer and you have lots of spell slots to use for smiting. While this is happening take the Defense fighting style, put on some plate armor and sling a shield and you have a decent armor class. And if you play your cards right you have a nice Charisma bonus that provides one of the best buffs in the game.

That's an interesting build and may be effective but wow is it a delayed payoff!

You're delaying extra attack to at least 6th level, minimum, possibly longer .

You're spellcasting, and therefore smite, is so far behind the standard paladin until late into the sorceror levels that you may as well not have it.

You technically only need STR and CHA but your not likely to benefit from the CON benefits of the barbarian (and you're wearing armor anyway).

Are you ever getting the biggie of Paladin abilities, Aura of Protection? Likely not.

Any more than 2 encounters or so between tests will likely utterly frustrate the player.

So seems interesting and possibly fun, assuming you get past mid level play, but I don't see the big power.

To answer the question. Paladins can nova like no other class and, especially the vengeance pact, can deal single target damage like no other melee class. In a vacuum it looks overpowered.

But this is offset by a massive burning of resources, and the DM should have little trouble challenging the paladin.


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[renevq]

I wouldn't go so far as calling it OP, but it most definitely is in the running for best-designed class, in terms of both effectiveness and mechanical verisimilitude. It contributes meaningfully in all three pillars of the game. In combat it has top tier burst damage, reliable DPR, and among the best defenses with access to all armor and shields and aura of protection. Its high charisma and skill selection means it will always be a player during interaction sequences. Even in exploration, abilities like Divine Sense and Lay on Hands give it an active role to play. Its spell selection can aid in all three. This is just the basic paladin, without feats of multi-classing. On top of that, all its abilities mesh and synergize in a way that makes it feel very paladin-y, in my opinion more so than other classes feel like their class. Of course, this perception is heightened by the fact that its logical point of comparison would be the other half-caster in the PHB, the ranger, which is (sadly, it being my favorite class as a concept) lacking. All in all, it's very effective, efficient and definitely fun to play.

 

[Dausuul]

Paladins combine the steady damage output of the martial classes with the nova capacity of a spellcaster. In addition, paladins choose to smite after seeing the result of the attack roll; so any time a paladin crits, she can throw a maximum-level slot into smiting and get double value out of it. Vengeance paladins can exploit this to the hilt in boss fights by swearing a Vow of Enmity. Advantage on every attack, with Extra Attack, means you get 20 attack rolls in a 5-round combat, and odds are that at least one of them will crit.

Add to that a formidable array of defensive abilities. Paladins can buff the saving throws of the whole party. They have limited but potent healing. They have access to an assortment of defensive and combat utility spells like protection from evil, and misty step for two out of three Oaths.

Paladins are just all-around powerhouses. Now, keep in mind that "powerhouse" is relative; the 5E paladin does not come within miles of the kind of brokenness that a 3E spellcaster could achieve. But as 5E classes go, paladins are top tier.

 

[Mistwell]

Paladins are completely OP in almost every way imaginable.

OK let's drill down on that.

Best armor & weapons,

I don't think anyone cares about this. They're a fighter type. Pretty much all the classes can achieve a good armor class if they want, and get the at-will damage they want. No biggie here.

auras that grant Charisma bonus of up to +5 on all saves. Other major aura bonuses such as 1/2 damage on spells.

I agree the save bonus at level 6 is meaningful.

Smites that go off twice per round for mega damage that far exceeds what spells of appropriate level can achieve and they can call those smites after they roll and on crits for double damage. Smites are so OP that many paladins in my games don't bother to cast divine spells as well and just smite like crazy.

A few claims in here. First, smites that go off twice per round. It's a limited resource applicable only to when you hit with a weapon, which isn't by definition twice a round. It is limited by spell slots as well, and you don't get a whole lot of spell slots. The actual damage from the smite isn't itself more than what spells can do, and in fact it's on average less from the smite itself. For the obvious example, a 3rd level spell slot used for a smite is 4d8 (average 18) and to only one target. A fireball of the same spell slot is 8d6 (28) and to many many targets. Even if the targets save, they're still taking almost the same damage as the smite (which again is only one target).

As for crits, they're quite rare, and usually already over-damaging the target beyond their hit point total.

Now you still have the weapon damage. But it's pretty ordinary weapon damage, which you had to hit with. And as you don't have a lot of the special abilities of a ranger or extra feats of a fighter, you're likely not hitting as often as they do.

Add in the additional D8 for damage rolls they gain

What now? You mean from higher level spell slots? As mentioned above, that's not actually a very good payoff for those higher level slots sometimes.

and the conditional D8 for fiends & undead and they are completely overpowering all martial characters even the rogue in the damage department.

I disagree. The rogue can do it all day. The Paladin can only do it a very limited number of times. They really don't get many spell slots. You're basically saying a Paladin can nova better than a rogue, which is true. But, so? A rogue can outlast them. So, seems pretty even to me.

Especially if you allow overpowered feats like great weapon master to factor into the equation. 5E really dropped the ball on class balance issues with the paladin. They are far above almost every single class in what they can achieve and really step on many other classes toes (fighter, rogue, cleric, wizard just to name a few)

I really have no idea why a Paladin steps on a cleric or a wizard. That's a very apples to oranges comparison that would need a lot more support.

 

[CTurbo]

I'm one of those people who consider the Pally to be among the most powerful classes, if not the single most powerful.

Pretty much everything has been mentioned at this point, but I'd like to point out one thing that has only been hinted at.

Having a Paladin in the party makes the entire party better, and noticeably so. I don't think any other class can have such a huge positive impact on an entire party as the Paladin can. The Cleric is runner up IMO.

Pretty much all of their Auras(spells and features) are REALLY strong. Never worry about failing a save again if you're a pally or standing near one.

 

[Immoralkickass]

Most people mention smites, but I think the one feature that is really too good is Aura of Protection. If you look around, its rather difficult to increase your saving throws in 5e, or gain proficiency in saves that you are not already proficient in. One way is to take Resilient feat, but it only applies to one ability score of your choice. The most comparable feature is Monk's Diamond Soul, which grants proficiency in all saving throws. But the monk gets it at level 14, while the paladin gets it at level 6. Also, Diamond Soul only benefits the monk himself, but the paladin's version is an aura.

The aura's in general are crazy good and guaranteed to work with no chance of failure, as long as you are conscious. By level 10, if you are a Devotion Paladin, you are immune to Disease, Charmed, Frightened, and have +3 to +5 to all your saves. You are not immune to Poisoned, but it only cost 5hp of Lay on Hands to remove it. Its pretty ridiculous.