We tell you how to break the oath of allegiance, retribution or the ancients and become an oathbreaker. Or how to restore your original oath.
Paladin is one of the most physically powerful classes in Baldur’s Gate 3. This is mainly due to the many, varied skills that you get when choosing one and subclasses (oaths). The main requirement when choosing a subclass is to follow all the rules of the oath, which determines how the paladin must act in certain situations. However, just because you made an oath doesn’t mean you can’t break it. If you want to break free from the path of your chosen oath, you can become an Oathbreaker Paladin.
Taking this path will cause you to lose all the abilities associated with taking an oath, but will open the way for the character to new skills and, as you would expect, dialogue options. Below I will detail how to break any of the three default oaths available and become an Oathbreaker.
First of all, choosing to break your oath in Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t mean you’re making the Paladin an evil character. While you can, of course, go down that path if you so choose, the Oathbreaker is first and foremost a free person. A character who deviated from his original oath to follow his own set of rules.
As you progress through Baldur’s Gate 3, you will encounter scenarios more than once in which you will have to decide what to do. At the same time, playing as a paladin, you will have to focus on the current oath, which determines how you should act. If you decide to go the other way and break the oath, this will result in the character becoming an Oathbreaker Paladin.
However, finding the right scenarios is not as easy as it seems at first glance. Therefore, below we have outlined all the ways in which you can break your oath. Each subclass requires different actions to become an Oathbreaker, so choose the section below that matches the character you created.
Oath of the Ancients
The official in-game description of this oath reads: “You stand on the side of light in the eternal struggle against darkness to preserve the value of life and the beauty of nature.” In order not to break this oath, you will have to act like a “good man” every time. And here are some ways to break the oath of the ancients and become an oathbreaker:
- Kill an innocent person.
- Free the goblin Sazza in the Emerald Grove.
- Kill Baby Bear and Baby Bear in their cave.
- Use Aunt Ethel’s wand to revive Mairin’s husband.
- Kill the tiefling Pandima in the Emerald Grove.
Oath of Vengeance
The official in-game description of this oath reads: “Abandoning even your own purity in order to right injustice, you bring justice to those who have committed the gravest sins.” This oath will require you to immediately and quickly condemn any person who has committed an atrocity, regardless of why they committed these acts. Here is one specific action by which you are guaranteed to become an oathbreaker:
- Free Sazza in the Emerald Grove.
Pledge of Allegiance
The official in-game description of this oath reads: “Following the ideals of knights in shining armor, you act with honor and virtue in the name of the greater good, protecting the weak.” In accordance with this oath, you are required to uphold the values and beliefs of the knight. Protecting the weak and persecuting the strong are critical to following the Pledge of Allegiance. Here are a few ways you can break it and become an Oathbreaker:
- Decide to torture Liam – a man tied to a plank in the ruined sanctuary in the goblin camp.
- Destroy the goblin camp after convincing Mintara not to attack the Emerald Grove.
- Kill the tieflings near the cage after they free Laeelle at the start of the game.
- Let Arka kill the goblin Sazza in the Emerald Grove.
- Kill a weak person for no reason.
Conclusion
After you perform any of these actions, you will see a cut-scene with the appearance of an Oathbreaker Paladin. He will offer to meet during the rest in the camp. The Paladin will be waiting at the camp and you can talk to him to learn about his backstory and what it means to be an Oathbreaker.
After that, you can choose new skills related to the Oathbreaker subclass, or pay for penance and return to your oath. Thus, if you want to become an oathbreaker, you do not need to pay anything. Instead, embrace your new path. New Paladin abilities are now available to you, which you can pin to the hotbar.
