Nice to smite you: Paladins are Baldur's Gate 3's most popular class

11.08.2023 - 20:11 / pcgamer.com / Class

When I made my Paladin in Baldur's Gate 3, I thought I was being different. Surely others will pick one of the cooler Baldur's Gate 3 classes—aloof rogues or self-serving sorcerers—and not a stodgy devotee to divine virtue, right?

Nope. In a big statistics dump from Baldur's Gate 3's first week, Larian revealed that Paladin is the most-picked class so far. Here's the full list, from most to least-picked:

I guess I'm not special after all, but I'd already figured that out after I noticed how many PC Gamer staff members were Paladins, too, despite Fraser telling us all that Bard is the best. 

I fell for the cognitive error of believing my thoughts are unique, but I don't regret the choice: Paladins kick ass. They fit in well with any mix of companions, offering high AC tanking, support buffs, healing, and big damage. I also like how picking an oath simplifies roleplaying: Instead of worrying about whether a decision is going to lead to a good or bad outcome for me or the characters, I just pick whatever feels true to my Oath of Devotion. Virtue ethics are way more fun than gloomy, calculating utilitarianism. Sometimes people die, but I can hardly be blamed for that with this pristine moral record.

If you want more spice, though, you can break your oath and become a whole new Paladin subclass, which Lauren says is also a lot of fun. You just can't lose with a Paladin.

Sorcerer, Warlock, Rogue, Bard, and Barbarian seem about right as the next most-picked classes. Assuming a lot of people are rolling with Gale and Shadowheart in their parties, it makes sense to me that Wizard and Cleric aren't getting much love. I feel like Monk is underplayed, though. No one wants to punch people? That'll be my second custom character, if I ever get around to finishing the game with this one. (Maybe that's what everyone else is thinking, too.)

It's also interesting that the vast majority of players, over 93%, are making their own characters instead of picking an Origin character. That is how Larian CEO Swen Vincke suggested playing Baldur's Gate 3 for a first run, saying before the launch that Origin characters «work better if you've played the game already once because then you see it through their eyes,» so I guess we're being a good, obliging audience.

Those who are playing as Origin characters are favoring Gale, followed by Karlach, Astarion, Shadowheart, Wyll, and Lae'zel. Gale would probably be my last choice, personally, but I don't even want to think about a third playthrough.

These stats come from anonymized data collection which can be turned off (there's a setting in the launcher if you didn't know), so they don't represent every single player in Baldur's Gate 3, but probably a very large proportion. You can