Sorcadin

Sorcerer/Paladin multiclass build for burst melee damage with smite spells.

Open this split in the Build Planner →

Overview

The Sorcadin is an armored spellblade: just enough Paladin for Divine Smite and melee durability, with the rest in Sorcerer to fuel that smite with extra spell slots and warp the action economy with Metamagic.

Level Split

Recommended: 6 Paladin / 6 Sorcerer. This is the split most consistently recommended — it clears Extra Attack (Paladin 5) and Aura of Protection (Paladin 6) before moving into Sorcerer, so the build stays tanky in the early-to-mid game.

Sources disagree here, and by more than the live guide currently admits. Two of the four sources cited below prefer a lighter 2 Paladin / 10 Sorcerer dip — just enough for Divine Smite, prioritizing higher-level spell slots and Sorcery Points over Paladin durability. One of them calls it the split with “the least disruption to the player’s ASIs”.

So this is genuinely 2 versus 2, not a majority pick with a footnote. 6/6 is recommended here because it is more forgiving to play, not because it is the consensus. If you are comfortable playing a squishier caster who smites, the 2/10 dip is equally well supported.

You can compare both in the Build Planner — note that a 2-level Paladin dip still gets you your Oath, because BG3 selects it at level 1.

Levelling Order

The 6/6 split says where you finish. It does not say what to take when, and the two most detailed guides take opposite routes to the same destination. Both end at Paladin 6 / Sorcerer 6. Pick on how you want the first two acts to feel, not on which is “correct”.

Route A — Paladin first (Gamestegy)

Route B — Sorcerer through the middle (Hack the Minotaur)

Route B totals check: Paladin 1 taken at character level 1, plus Paladin 2–6 taken across character levels 8–12, is 6 Paladin levels. Sorcerer 1–6 across character levels 2–7 is 6 Sorcerer levels. Same 6/6 destination as Route A.

The trade-off. Route A gives you heavy armour, Extra Attack and Aura of Protection early, so Act 1 is forgiving and you are a functioning frontliner from the start — but you have no Metamagic until character level 8. Route B has Quickened Spell by level 4 and far more spell utility through Act 1, at the cost of being noticeably squishier until Paladin levels come back online late.

Route A is the safer recommendation for a first playthrough, because the build’s weak point is durability before Aura of Protection, and Route B extends that window considerably.

Subclass

Take Oath of Vengeance.

The sources do not settle this — they split 2 Vengeance / 1 Ancients / 1 explicitly “any” — so the recommendation rests on the build’s own mechanics rather than a head count:

The deciding fact: on a 6/6 split you never reach Paladin 7. Oath of the Ancients’ signature defensive feature, Aura of Warding (half damage from spells for you and nearby allies), is a level 7 Paladin feature. Neither recommended split gets there. So the main reason to run Ancients on a durability-focused Paladin is unavailable to this build specifically. Its level-1 offering is Healing Radiance, a bonus-action group heal — useful, but a single ability.

Both of Vengeance’s level-1 features, by contrast, feed exactly what this build does:

• Vow of Enmity — a bonus action granting Advantage on attack rolls against one enemy. Advantage means more critical hits, and a critical hit doubles your Divine Smite dice. This is the strongest single synergy available to a Sorcadin.
• Inquisitor’s Might — adds your Charisma modifier as radiant damage to weapon attacks and can Daze. It scales off the stat this build already maxes.

Vengeance also loses its level-7 feature (Relentless Avenger) at this split, so the comparison is level 1 against level 1, and Vengeance wins it clearly.

Run Oath of the Ancients instead if you are going deeper into Paladin than 6 — at Paladin 7 Aura of Warding comes online and the defensive case becomes real — or if you specifically want a bonus-action group heal and accept less damage. DualShockers recommends Ancients, and the live version of this guide previously led with it for that reason.

Whichever you pick, you choose it at Paladin level 1, at character creation. BG3 moves this earlier than tabletop 5e, where the Oath is a level-3 choice. This is why even a 2-level Paladin dip gets a full Oath.

For the Sorcerer half, Draconic Bloodline is the common pick — the bonus hit points per Sorcerer level directly patch this build’s durability problem.

Ability Scores

Charisma is the shared casting stat for both classes — the core reason this multiclass works.

Recommended array: STR 8, DEX 16, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 10, CHA 17. The two level-by-level sources give this array identically.

A third cited source disagrees fundamentally. DualShockers recommends STR 16, DEX 11, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 16 — a Strength-based build, not a Dexterity-based one, and it describes the build as multiple-ability-score dependent. That is not a tuning difference, it is a different character. Which array is right for you depends entirely on the question below.

The low Strength is deliberate and depends on a specific assumption: it assumes you will use Strength-setting items or elixirs, which override your Strength score entirely and make points spent there wasted. If you do not plan to rely on those, this array is wrong for you and Strength needs real investment instead.

Feats

• War Caster — advantage on Concentration saves, and lets you use Shocking Grasp as a reaction (opportunity) spell. Worth taking because this build leans on concentration spells like Hold Person and Mirror Image, and losing one mid-fight wastes the slot. It does not let you cast arbitrary spells on opportunity attacks.
• Ability Score Improvement (+2 Charisma) — reliably useful, since Charisma drives both classes
• Savage Attacker — named as a feat pick by both detailed sources, at the second feat slot in each
• Common alternatives depending on your weapon and how offensive you want to play: Great Weapon Master (two-handed melee), or Tough (extra HP). Damage-forward Sorcadin guides often prioritize these over War Caster.

Note the timing: on a 6/6 split you get exactly two feat slots, at Paladin 4 and Sorcerer 4 — not four. Neither class reaches level 8, so neither grants its second Ability Score Improvement. This catches people out. You can check this for any split in the Build Planner.

Metamagic & Key Spells

At Sorcerer 2, take Twinned Spell and Extended Spell; at Sorcerer 3, take Quickened Spell. This ordering is commonly recommended across Sorcadin guides — Quickened Spell in particular lets you cast a control spell as a bonus action while still swinging your weapon.

Key spells: Shield, Hold Person, Fireball/Lightning Bolt, Mirror Image, Counterspell.

Shadow Blade is worth calling out separately: it is a summoned weapon that scales with spell slot level, and one source builds the whole mid-game around it rather than around a found weapon.

Gear

Gear advice is the least consensual part of any BG3 build guide — the two sources consulted name almost entirely different items, which usually means several work rather than that one is correct. Treat this as a shortlist to watch for, not a checklist.

• Act 1 — Phalar Aluve, Adamantine Splint Armour, Gloves of the Growling Underdog (offsets the Great Weapon Master accuracy penalty), Diadem of Arcane Synergy
• Act 2 — Helmet of Arcane Acuity, Risky Ring, Killer’s Sweetheart, Shar’s Spear of Evening
• Act 3 — Bhaalist Armour, Helldusk Armour, Gauntlets of Frost Giant Strength, Band of the Mystic Scoundrel

Killer’s Sweetheart and Risky Ring are the only items both sources name, which makes them the safest bets on this list.

Playstyle

Get into melee range, land a hit, and dump a spell slot into Divine Smite for burst radiant damage. Use Metamagic-enhanced control spells (Quickened Hold Person, etc.) to lock down a target on the same turn you’re also attacking. Shield and Mirror Image cover the build’s lower AC in a pinch.

Where this build struggles

Worth saying plainly, because most guides only sell the upside.

• Resource dependence. Burst comes from spending spell slots on Divine Smite. Once slots and Sorcery Points are gone, you are a mediocre melee character until you rest.
• The early game, on Route B. Before Aura of Protection you are a lightly-armoured character with a melee habit.
• Single-target focus. Divine Smite hits one thing. Against crowds you are relying on the Sorcerer half, which is not what the build is optimised for.
• Charisma competition. If someone else in your party is the face, a large part of the Charisma investment stops paying for itself outside combat.