barb dip for paladin? good weapon?

[Maus91]

We rp'd my barbarian out of my current campaign (I loved him too much and when the opportunity came to get him out safely, I took it) and I get to build a new L11 character. We need someone to fill a similar tank role and I'm trying to construct an L11 Oath of the Ancients Paladin. I've never played a paladin before. I'm very interested in the L7 aura giving resistance to all spell damage for this new character. To further get him out of damage, I was considering taking 1-2 level dip into barbarian:
L1 - Rage granting resistances to melee damage
L2 - Advantage on DEX saving throws
I'm also going to put him in some decent armor and he'll have a ring of protection (+1 AC and +1 on saving throws). I was thinking possibly taking the Defense fighting style for the +1 AC, but I was considering instead taking Dueling (+2 Damage) and carrying a shield with a one-handed weapon. Our DM is giving me a free feat, and I was thinking of taking Mobile to get to move without Attacks of Opportunity. I want this guy to be really slippery and hard to get a real good hit on.

How do we feel about this? Specifically wondering if you all think it's worth taking any dips into barbarian or just playing a straight paladin.

Also, I do want to be able to do some decent damage, of course, so how about a weapon - Greatsword or Long Sword OR how do we feel about a Pike with Sentinel feat? It will probably be a +1 weapon whatever I choose.

And just to give you an idea of where this is heading, we're at level 11 now and I would think we are going to about level 17, probably not 20, so not too worried about getting any capstone.

[CTurbo]

I'd rather have a level 11 Paladin than a level 11 Paladin/Barb. Yes adding some Barb levels could be fun and add some extra tankiness, but pure Paladin is going to be better IMO. Thousands of people are going to come in telling you to take some Hexblade Warlock levels and that is mechanically good as well, but pure Pally will always be better IMO.

I'd go Ancients with PAM and a Glaive and the Defense Fighting Style and wear Plate. If your rolls are solid grab Sentinel too, but if you're going point buy or standard array, just bump Str and Cha to at least 18 if not 20.

Paladin 11 gets Improved Divine Smite which adds an extra d8 to each hit making the bonus action PAM strike even better. Don't forget Find Greater Steed at Paladin 13.

[heavyfuel]

Something important to note is that Barbarians - for some stupid stupid reason - cannot Rage in Heavy Armor.

So at best, you'll end up with lower AC by going Barbarian, being forced to go Half-plate instead of Plate.

Here's what you gain from going Barb for 2 levels:


+2 HP (going from d10 to d12)
2/day resistance to BPS that (again, for some stupid reason) eats your Bonus Action
2/day extra 2 damage
Advantage on some Dex saves
Reckless Attack


Out of all these things, Reckless Attack is the only really good one. Now here's what you lose:


Improved Smite (this alone should make you consider going full-pally)
Paladin spell progression (another huge bonus you lose)
Paladin ASI progression (yet another huge bonus you lose)
Lay on Hands progression (surely this worth more than the extra 2 HP)
2/day you cannot cast spells or concentrate on them
1 point of AC
The ability to dump Dex


Starting at level 11 is amazing because you get to enjoy that sweet Tier 3 bonus that all classes gain right from the get go.

[Topgoon]

Building on heavyfuel's analysis above - it's also important to take into account what you'll be missing out on the next few levels. For example, by the time the Barb/Paladin catches up to getting improved divine smite at level 11, the single class paladin will be getting level 4 spells at level 13.

Personally, for me, one of the biggest power spikes a high level Paladin gets is getting level 4 spells at level 13 and thus Find Greater Steed - which mechanically gives tons of mobility and some nice RPing options too.

With that said, it does depend on your play style. In your original description, you talked about "filling a tank role". If this means your game plan is to always dive in headfirst and draw as many attacks to yourself as possible... than yeah, the two barbarian levels might be worth it (but at that point, why choose a Paladin in the first place?)

[JackalTornMoons]

Something important to note is that Barbarians - for some stupid stupid reason - cannot Rage in Heavy Armor.

You can still rage in heavy armor, but you gain none of the typical rage benefits. There are some subclass bonuses that still work while wearing heavy armor (level 3 Bear Totem being a common one).