So, as title suggests I am going to be playing a warforged hexblade warlock, and while I do have roleplay covered and it is why I picked it up, I would like to make a build that would not set me or the party back. I should also mention, that I have not played hexblade before, so if someone here has done the build, how did you make it work?
Hexblades can be pretty straightforward; since you can use your Charisma to attack then it's usually going to be best to prioritise that.
Because you can use Charisma to attack, your Dexterity doesn't need to be high, especially if you opt for medium armour (which Hexblades are proficient in, though you'll need to ask your DM if you can start with medium armour, since Warlocks can normally only pick light armour as starting equipment, and you may not get enough starting gold to cover it). This can allow you to put more points into Constitution for the extra hitpoints so you can have HP more similar to a Fighter/Paladin/Ranger.
Spell choice is trickier; you might take Hex but keep in mind that you won't be able to activate it on the same turn you use Hexblade's Curse, however both are limited so it's not a bad idea to have both anyway (as you can use one when you run out of the other). For a defensive spell it's hard to beat Armor of Agathys as it lasts an hour so is easy to setup in advance of a fight, it upscales well, gives you a buffer of temporary hitpoints and it can deal extra damage. As a Hexblade you have access to a bunch of other defensive spells but I feel like they're all a bit lacklustre; Shield you don't have many slots to burn on, both Blur and Mirror Image require an action but only last a minute so are tricky to setup for a fight, meanwhile Blur also takes your concentration.
You'll usually want to take one of Booming Blade and/or Green Flame Blade as cantrip choices; while they limit you to one attack at later levels, they will do more damage in the right circumstances. Booming Blade pairs really nicely with either the Mobile feat, Misty Step or anything else that lets you get away from an enemy without risking an opportunity attack, as you can try to force them to move and suffer the extra damage (or stay put and do nothing).
For Eldritch Invocations I don't think there are any critical choices until you can take Thirsting Blade (for two attacks at 5th level); it will otherwise largely come down to personal preference or other details of how you want to play. Eldritch Mind is the most obvious for advantage vs. concentration checks (and you can swap it out later if you wan to take War Caster), since you'll be in melee so more likely to be taking damage compared to a dedicated ranged blaster. If you wanted to go armour-free for whatever reason (probably not on a warforged though) you might take Armor of Shadows, if you fancy fighting within magical darkness you could pair Devil's Sight with the Darkness spell (cast it on an object so you can take it with you, but be aware you'll be blocking line of sight for allies).
For a Pact Boon, Pact of the Blade is required for Thirsting Blade, so it's the obvious choice, however if you're happy to go all-in on Booming Blade and/or Green Flame Blade then you don't need the extra attack, in which case all of the other pacts are valid. Pact of the Chain giving you a familiar means you can have an easy source of advantage on your one attack by having the familiar take the Help action. Pact of the Tome gives you a load more cantrips and the option for ritual spells. Pact of the Talisman is a little weak unless you intend to pick up a lot of its invocations, but it has some fun support options (though you can actually wear the talisman yourself to just get some ability check bonuses).
Sorry for the text wall; I think Hexblade is a pretty straightforward sub-class, but a lot of fun, and there aren't really many "wrong" choices for a Warlock in general, if you have any other details about what you want the character to be like, or how you want them to play then it might be useful for giving some more specific suggestions?
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It depends on what type of character you want to play. Hexblade Warlocks are very versatile being comfortable both in melee or at range. Maxing your CHA stat should be first order of business before you go for any fancy feat. Hexblades and most Warlocks in general throws out a big spell in the 1st round of combat before changing into a character that cranks out consistent damage (like spamming Eldritch Blasts) like a martial character.
Feats like Fey Touched is very nice on a Hexblade if you need to round up a odd CHA score, the ability to cast Misty Step and whatever 1st level spell you pick without using your spell slots is very nice especially when your spell slots reach 4th or 5th level.
I hesitate to give any more advice until I know more about what type of Hexblade you plan to play. Are you a backline ranged damage dealer/support, a sword and board tank or a Great Weapon damage dealing beast?
I am planning on playing a full on melee hexblade, not yet sure if I go for greatsword or longsword and shield, but I definitely will get close and personal with enemies. I will take EB, but I am planning to use it only when I really won't be able to get closer.
I am planning on playing a full on melee hexblade, not yet sure if I go for greatsword or longsword and shield, but I definitely will get close and personal with enemies. I will take EB, but I am planning to use it only when I really won't be able to get closer.
Oh actually, one fun combo I forgot to mention, and a reason to still take Pact of the Blade at 3rd level, is that you can use it to create a glaive (or other weapon with the reach) and it still works with Hex Warrior. Reach weapons can be fun because you can use Booming Blade at 10-feet and then simply move away without provoking opportunity attacks (unless your target also has a 10-foot reach), plus if you take Polearm Master you get a reliable bonus action attack and a pretty reliable reaction attack.
A posible four attacks in a round with Hex or Hexblade's Curse on top (three if you need to activate them first) can enable you to put out some serious damage.
The main downside to this option is that you either need to use a different weapon for levels 1 and 2 (unless your campaign starts at 3rd, a bunch of mine have), or you need a good enough Strength to use it before you get Pact of the Blade (to enable it as a Hex Warrior weapon).
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
I mostly care about the correct Invocation and possibly feats. Spells I think I will be able to choose, but these cannot be changed that often, or at all, so I would really like to build them correctly. I am planning to go full melee with eldritch blast jsut in case, so I was thinking about Relentless Hex, but I am not sure if I should take it instead/sooner than other invocations, which for me feel really important for hexblade.
I mostly care about the correct Invocation and possibly feats. Spells I think I will be able to choose, but these cannot be changed that often, or at all, so I would really like to build them correctly. I am planning to go full melee with eldritch blast jsut in case, so I was thinking about Relentless Hex, but I am not sure if I should take it instead/sooner than other invocations, which for me feel really important for hexblade.
Ok here is something I did with the Hexblade I played a while back. Please note I played a cheesy custom lineage race as opposed to warforged so I was able to start with the Fey Touched feat with 18 CHA but in general you should be able to follow the build.
At level 3 my invocations were: Agonizing Blast (because why not?) and Improved Pact Weapon
At level 5 I grabbed Thirsting Blade
Levels 7 and 9 the invocations are not too important I just took what seemed interesting and useful for me which was Eldritch Sight and Maddening Hex.
At level 11 I decide Maddening Hex was crap and replaced it with Eldritch Smite (because when we only had 2 spell slots they were too precious to use for smiting) and at level 12 I picked up Lifedrinker.
That campaign never got to level 15 but if it did I would most likely have picked up Visions of Distant Realms for scouting purposes or Master of Myriad Forms because casting Alter Self at will just sounds like you can cause so much trouble with it lol.
In terms of ASIs/feats I went as follows: level 4 +2 CHA (maxing it at 20)
level 8 Great Weapon Master feat
level 12 Polearm Master feat
The reason I did not take Polearm Master up front was because my DM allowed me to summon a double bladed scimitar as my pact weapon which gave me a bonus action attack otherwise Polearm Master would be my bonus feat and it will push all the other feats and ASIs back one position.
This is my perspective as a Great Weapon Hexblade hope it helps.
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So, as title suggests I am going to be playing a warforged hexblade warlock, and while I do have roleplay covered and it is why I picked it up, I would like to make a build that would not set me or the party back. I should also mention, that I have not played hexblade before, so if someone here has done the build, how did you make it work?
Hexblades can be pretty straightforward; since you can use your Charisma to attack then it's usually going to be best to prioritise that.
Because you can use Charisma to attack, your Dexterity doesn't need to be high, especially if you opt for medium armour (which Hexblades are proficient in, though you'll need to ask your DM if you can start with medium armour, since Warlocks can normally only pick light armour as starting equipment, and you may not get enough starting gold to cover it). This can allow you to put more points into Constitution for the extra hitpoints so you can have HP more similar to a Fighter/Paladin/Ranger.
Spell choice is trickier; you might take Hex but keep in mind that you won't be able to activate it on the same turn you use Hexblade's Curse, however both are limited so it's not a bad idea to have both anyway (as you can use one when you run out of the other). For a defensive spell it's hard to beat Armor of Agathys as it lasts an hour so is easy to setup in advance of a fight, it upscales well, gives you a buffer of temporary hitpoints and it can deal extra damage. As a Hexblade you have access to a bunch of other defensive spells but I feel like they're all a bit lacklustre; Shield you don't have many slots to burn on, both Blur and Mirror Image require an action but only last a minute so are tricky to setup for a fight, meanwhile Blur also takes your concentration.
You'll usually want to take one of Booming Blade and/or Green Flame Blade as cantrip choices; while they limit you to one attack at later levels, they will do more damage in the right circumstances. Booming Blade pairs really nicely with either the Mobile feat, Misty Step or anything else that lets you get away from an enemy without risking an opportunity attack, as you can try to force them to move and suffer the extra damage (or stay put and do nothing).
For Eldritch Invocations I don't think there are any critical choices until you can take Thirsting Blade (for two attacks at 5th level); it will otherwise largely come down to personal preference or other details of how you want to play. Eldritch Mind is the most obvious for advantage vs. concentration checks (and you can swap it out later if you wan to take War Caster), since you'll be in melee so more likely to be taking damage compared to a dedicated ranged blaster. If you wanted to go armour-free for whatever reason (probably not on a warforged though) you might take Armor of Shadows, if you fancy fighting within magical darkness you could pair Devil's Sight with the Darkness spell (cast it on an object so you can take it with you, but be aware you'll be blocking line of sight for allies).
For a Pact Boon, Pact of the Blade is required for Thirsting Blade, so it's the obvious choice, however if you're happy to go all-in on Booming Blade and/or Green Flame Blade then you don't need the extra attack, in which case all of the other pacts are valid. Pact of the Chain giving you a familiar means you can have an easy source of advantage on your one attack by having the familiar take the Help action. Pact of the Tome gives you a load more cantrips and the option for ritual spells. Pact of the Talisman is a little weak unless you intend to pick up a lot of its invocations, but it has some fun support options (though you can actually wear the talisman yourself to just get some ability check bonuses).
Sorry for the text wall; I think Hexblade is a pretty straightforward sub-class, but a lot of fun, and there aren't really many "wrong" choices for a Warlock in general, if you have any other details about what you want the character to be like, or how you want them to play then it might be useful for giving some more specific suggestions?
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
It depends on what type of character you want to play. Hexblade Warlocks are very versatile being comfortable both in melee or at range. Maxing your CHA stat should be first order of business before you go for any fancy feat. Hexblades and most Warlocks in general throws out a big spell in the 1st round of combat before changing into a character that cranks out consistent damage (like spamming Eldritch Blasts) like a martial character.
Feats like Fey Touched is very nice on a Hexblade if you need to round up a odd CHA score, the ability to cast Misty Step and whatever 1st level spell you pick without using your spell slots is very nice especially when your spell slots reach 4th or 5th level.
I hesitate to give any more advice until I know more about what type of Hexblade you plan to play. Are you a backline ranged damage dealer/support, a sword and board tank or a Great Weapon damage dealing beast?
I am planning on playing a full on melee hexblade, not yet sure if I go for greatsword or longsword and shield, but I definitely will get close and personal with enemies. I will take EB, but I am planning to use it only when I really won't be able to get closer.
Oh actually, one fun combo I forgot to mention, and a reason to still take Pact of the Blade at 3rd level, is that you can use it to create a glaive (or other weapon with the reach) and it still works with Hex Warrior. Reach weapons can be fun because you can use Booming Blade at 10-feet and then simply move away without provoking opportunity attacks (unless your target also has a 10-foot reach), plus if you take Polearm Master you get a reliable bonus action attack and a pretty reliable reaction attack.
A posible four attacks in a round with Hex or Hexblade's Curse on top (three if you need to activate them first) can enable you to put out some serious damage.
The main downside to this option is that you either need to use a different weapon for levels 1 and 2 (unless your campaign starts at 3rd, a bunch of mine have), or you need a good enough Strength to use it before you get Pact of the Blade (to enable it as a Hex Warrior weapon).
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
I mostly care about the correct Invocation and possibly feats. Spells I think I will be able to choose, but these cannot be changed that often, or at all, so I would really like to build them correctly. I am planning to go full melee with eldritch blast jsut in case, so I was thinking about Relentless Hex, but I am not sure if I should take it instead/sooner than other invocations, which for me feel really important for hexblade.
As of the revisions in Tasha's you can't booming blade to 10 ft.
Ok here is something I did with the Hexblade I played a while back. Please note I played a cheesy custom lineage race as opposed to warforged so I was able to start with the Fey Touched feat with 18 CHA but in general you should be able to follow the build.
At level 3 my invocations were: Agonizing Blast (because why not?) and Improved Pact Weapon
At level 5 I grabbed Thirsting Blade
Levels 7 and 9 the invocations are not too important I just took what seemed interesting and useful for me which was Eldritch Sight and Maddening Hex.
At level 11 I decide Maddening Hex was crap and replaced it with Eldritch Smite (because when we only had 2 spell slots they were too precious to use for smiting) and at level 12 I picked up Lifedrinker.
That campaign never got to level 15 but if it did I would most likely have picked up Visions of Distant Realms for scouting purposes or Master of Myriad Forms because casting Alter Self at will just sounds like you can cause so much trouble with it lol.
In terms of ASIs/feats I went as follows: level 4 +2 CHA (maxing it at 20)
level 8 Great Weapon Master feat
level 12 Polearm Master feat
The reason I did not take Polearm Master up front was because my DM allowed me to summon a double bladed scimitar as my pact weapon which gave me a bonus action attack otherwise Polearm Master would be my bonus feat and it will push all the other feats and ASIs back one position.
This is my perspective as a Great Weapon Hexblade hope it helps.