Improved Pact Blade is definitely a thing... but not until later. 5th level will see the 2 Attack option chosen.
Dude! Improved Pact Blade gives you +1 to hit and damage. That's the first one that needs to be chosen right at 3rd level. You can't take Lifedrinker until 12th. And you get your 3rd invocation at 5th that gives you Thirsting Blade for 2 attacks. If your leftover invocation is Devil's Sight then your concentration is better spent on Darkness then Blur. This way you get both advantage to your attacks and disadvantage on your enemies. If they even know what square to target you. Plus free disengage if needed.
I'm playing a warlock right now and the combination of Darkness and Devil's Sight is awesome when you're able to keep from catching the rest of the party with it. Even a tank who's up front in a dungeon can't use it because then the rest of the party behind him won't be able to do anything without traveling through the darkness.
I know... I really would rather take Improved Pact Blade at 5, but currently, I need more attacks than I need an additional +1 to hit / damage (I'm already at +6 / +4 respectively). As for the first two options, I ended up with Devil's Sight and Armor of Shadows which are also are compelling parts of his backstory. Those can't change. So, I'm adding from there. This isn't a min/max character necessarily... I just didn't think I would be entering into melee nearly as often until we got to later game... but without a tank in our party, we are all adjusting...
I would recommend the INSPIRING LEADER feat at level 5 with 18 Charisma (I am guessing level 4 ability stat increase, +1 cha +1 dex), you can grant 9 tempery hit points to 6 people (including your self) which is 54 hit points to the group... more health than adding another character unless your going max health.
Then, you can cast ARMOR OF AGATHYS at 5th level using a 3rd level spell slot for 15 temp hit points that do 15 damage to enemies until they are used up. Temporary hit points don't stack so you can use inspiring leader and cast armor of agathys after you take enough damage to lose inspiring leader hit points .... That means 24 hit points until you actually take any damage... at level 5 when you likely have 51 hit points or closed to it based on your listed stats your looking at about 50% bump in hit points and you still have a spell slot left to use in the same battle. Both the feat and spell slots recharge on a short rest and INSPIRING LEADER is improved by your charisma (so ASI level 8 making CHA 20, means 13 hp each or 78 to the group) so its a pretty good combination until level 11 where ARMOR OF AGATHYS stops progressing due to warlocks lack of 6th level spell slots. The best option then is to cross class Cleric for additional spell slots, heavy armor, and the AID spell which raises HIT POINT MAXIMUM (not temporary hit points) so it stacks with both of these abilities.
That's my suggestion / Opinion anyway. If you don't pass level 10 there is no reason to cross class, you can tank well enough without it.
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The lack of inflection in text means that a reader of any post adds their own inflection as they "verbalize" it in their head. I write long and repetitive in an effort to be clear and avoid my intent from being skewed or inverted. I am also bad at examples. It is common for people to skim my posts pull out the idea they think I mean or want to argue against or focus on my bad example instead of the point I am actually trying to make. I apologies for the confusion my failure to be clear and concise creates.
Level 4 I am taking the Shield Mastery feat... if we make it... we were so close to making it out of camp only to be captured. We would also like to thank our TMNT Shadow Monk for drinking 6 beers and not understanding his new Pass Without Trace spell. His cloudy interpretation thought he could collect the prisoner and then *POOF* into shadows and hide and run away. He also ran through the best lit and most guarded part of camp and was captured. Yes... yes... we know... don't split the party... but how are you supposed to get a Tortle into a cultist encampment without being noticed? We told him to stay put and guard the watch tower. At least he is aware of his poor choices which led to poor decisions. So... here's hoping I can use my Draconic language skill along with my charisma to talk myself out of a pickle... and ride the borderline of not becoming a NPC.
You don't need Warcaster if you have Improved Pact Blade invocation. Also consider Mirror Image instead of Blur because it does not require Concentration. That would free up your concentration to use Hex which adds a huge amount of damage with 1d6 per attack (assuming you take the invocation for 2 attacks) or per each EB roll.
You do need the War Caster feat for spells that have Somatic components but no Material components; such as eldritch blast, shield, or hellish rebuke.
A spellcasting focus just helps when the spell has a Material component, only then would it also allow you to use that same hand holding a material component/spellcasting focus to perform Somatic components.
Here are some of the features my tank-like hexblade has that help keep him alive:
Feats: War Caster and Resilient (Constitution), if you are going to be in melee, then you are going to get hit no matter how great your AC. These feats give you really good odds for passing your concentration checks. I also picked up Infernal Constitution, but that is only because my character is a tiefling. I do not think you have mentioned what race you chose. War Caster also allows you to cast Booming Blade when you make attacks of opportunity which helps lock down creatures once you get into melee with them.
Invocations: Fiendish Vigor is good for low levels (1-2), but once you start casting Armor of Agathys at 2nd-level or higher, I would drop it. My current campaign started at a higher level. Once you hit 5th level, Cloak of Flies and/or Maddening Hex allow you to cause regular damage to everyone around you or to a specific target. I personally chose Maddening Hex since we were fighting a lot of creatures immune to poison. Now that my character is is 14th level, however, I switched to Relentless Hex so that I can close with whatever creature I switch my Hexblade's Curse to. Also, if you can make a curse using the Bestow Curse spell from the Sign of Ill Omen invocation stick, then that will help you lock down a creature in combat as well.
Spells: I never had 1st-level spell slots with my warlock, and therefore I have never used the Shield spell or even put it on my list because I have so few slots. If, however, you multi-class like some of the others in the forum suggested, then it would be worth picking it up. Your main go-to spell, however, should be Armor of Agathys for its temp HP and how it discourages opponents from hitting you. I once almost won a fight before I even took a turn when a creature vulnerable to cold damage hit me when I had Armor of Agathys up. When you get 2nd-level spells, Blur and Mirror Image would both add to your survivability, but you can only use one at a time because of your limited spell slots. However, when you get 4th-level spells and can afford the components, you need to take Shadow of Moil. In addition to the damage it inflicts when you get hit, it "heavily obscures" you which means that when creatures try and target you using sight they have disadvantage on the attack because they are effectively blinded. The spell is essentially a Blur that bites back. It also might give you advantage on your attacks as well, but the rules are a little vague on that.
Also, do not forget about the Armor of Hexes feature you get at 10th level. Being able to essentially flip a coin on whether or not an attack actually hits you will go a long way towards keeping your character in the fight, and it is the only way I know to make a critical hit miss.
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Bark side up, bark side down, it really, truly does not matter.
Defensive Duelist feat allows you to boost your AC every turn with your reaction And Shield Master is great, as someone said, for evading fireballs & lightning
Shield Master is great for those Dexterity saves, but Defensive Duelist only boosts your AC for that one melee attack. I think a dip into sorcerer (dragon bloodline so your HP does not suffer for it) to pick up some first level slots to use Shield with is a better investment. Plus, when you do that, you can also grab some other useful spells like Absorb Elements and Feather Fall as well as the Draconic Resilience AC boost. I would have done this myself, but my DM does not allow multi-classing into classes with different hit dice.
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Bark side up, bark side down, it really, truly does not matter.
Blur was a good addition, but with Devil's Sight (chosen for backstory reasons), I LOVE Darkness! I can yo-yo the Big Bad and use Darkness for Advantage on my attacks and it keeps him at Disadvantage against me. I say yo-yo, because I can either keep him covered and I'm the only one attacking him or I can step back and reveal him for everyone else to attack him. Now that I bought some Boots of Elvenkind, I can begin to really shape the battlefield to our party's advantage. I still keep blur for those situations where Darkness would wreck our party, but in big rooms where we usually face the bigger threats, it has really changed how we can work as a group and take on big foes without a tank in the party. It was certainly a struggle to figure some of these things out, but being forced to change your approach is good for character growth. Here's hoping we survive Baldur's Gate and whatever is next for us...
As for the title of the topic... I'm still not sure Tank is ever going to be the best word. Against something with Action Surge or multiattack it is still a deadly game. But overcoming not having a tank is looking like it will be doable...
so, I know this is a pretty old thread, but I saw someone recommending multiclassing to get the shield spell. Hexblades get that as an option from their expanded spell list, you don't need to multiclass to get it.
I am getting ready to play in a game where there is not a tank or at least there won't be one for 8 levels or so. Most of the people playing have not played before so the DM has told me it is going to be on me for a while. I am playing a Warlock(hexblade)/pact of the blade and did not know what to do. After I did some research I found that fighter/eldritch knight is a decent combo. Taking fighter after say level 8 will gets you 5 ability score increases or feats. You will need those to shore up the Warlock to make them frontline melee. At level 15(fighter 7) you will get war magic which will let you cast a cantrip as an action and make a melee attack as a bonus action. Eldritch Blast is a cantrip and the go to spell for a Warlock. At level 13(Fighter 5) you will get an extra attack. You will get another one at level 19(fighter 11). Use one of the extra feats to take tough and you will gain 40hp. This means that at level 20 you can take 3 actions casting EB 3 times and take 3 melee attacks a round. Hexblade lets you use CHA for the hit and bonus damage so you will be good there. Take improved pact weapon so it is your spell focus. You can also take Tavern Brawler and should be able to make your shield your melee weapon. The last thing may not work but the rest will. Buff up the con and you can end up with 200hp. Not a perfect tank but not too bad.
I took Variant Human so I can take a feat at level 1. I am using a homebrew feat to make my shield also my weapon and it adds 1 to the AC. I also have a homebrew cantrip to make my shield but that is just for flavor. Here is my mock character sheet at level 20: https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/Hylid/characters/15892231 . I am open to suggestions as well.
I meant to add that by level 20 when you make a melee attack the target then has disadvantage on the next spell you cast against them. So in your first action and every action, you use your bonus action to make a melee attack and then they have disadvantage on the next action Eldritch Blast.
Eldritch StrikePHB, pg. 75
When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, it has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes against a spell you cast before the end of your next turn.
I'm also not looking for a "Level 20 Optimized Build", this is going from the ground up... not the top down... we'll probably be lucky to make it to level 10...
Some of the posts here are forgetting the OP's request for something playable at lower levels, not something that fully comes online in Tier IV.
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I'm playing a warlock right now and the combination of Darkness and Devil's Sight is awesome when you're able to keep from catching the rest of the party with it. Even a tank who's up front in a dungeon can't use it because then the rest of the party behind him won't be able to do anything without traveling through the darkness.
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I know... I really would rather take Improved Pact Blade at 5, but currently, I need more attacks than I need an additional +1 to hit / damage (I'm already at +6 / +4 respectively). As for the first two options, I ended up with Devil's Sight and Armor of Shadows which are also are compelling parts of his backstory. Those can't change. So, I'm adding from there. This isn't a min/max character necessarily... I just didn't think I would be entering into melee nearly as often until we got to later game... but without a tank in our party, we are all adjusting...
How do you get more attacks before 5th level using invocations? Thirsting blade has a minimum 5th level requirement.
Not before... AT 5th level...
I would recommend the INSPIRING LEADER feat at level 5 with 18 Charisma (I am guessing level 4 ability stat increase, +1 cha +1 dex), you can grant 9 tempery hit points to 6 people (including your self) which is 54 hit points to the group... more health than adding another character unless your going max health.
Then, you can cast ARMOR OF AGATHYS at 5th level using a 3rd level spell slot for 15 temp hit points that do 15 damage to enemies until they are used up. Temporary hit points don't stack so you can use inspiring leader and cast armor of agathys after you take enough damage to lose inspiring leader hit points .... That means 24 hit points until you actually take any damage... at level 5 when you likely have 51 hit points or closed to it based on your listed stats your looking at about 50% bump in hit points and you still have a spell slot left to use in the same battle. Both the feat and spell slots recharge on a short rest and INSPIRING LEADER is improved by your charisma (so ASI level 8 making CHA 20, means 13 hp each or 78 to the group) so its a pretty good combination until level 11 where ARMOR OF AGATHYS stops progressing due to warlocks lack of 6th level spell slots. The best option then is to cross class Cleric for additional spell slots, heavy armor, and the AID spell which raises HIT POINT MAXIMUM (not temporary hit points) so it stacks with both of these abilities.
That's my suggestion / Opinion anyway. If you don't pass level 10 there is no reason to cross class, you can tank well enough without it.
The lack of inflection in text means that a reader of any post adds their own inflection as they "verbalize" it in their head. I write long and repetitive in an effort to be clear and avoid my intent from being skewed or inverted. I am also bad at examples. It is common for people to skim my posts pull out the idea they think I mean or want to argue against or focus on my bad example instead of the point I am actually trying to make. I apologies for the confusion my failure to be clear and concise creates.
Level 4 I am taking the Shield Mastery feat... if we make it... we were so close to making it out of camp only to be captured. We would also like to thank our TMNT Shadow Monk for drinking 6 beers and not understanding his new Pass Without Trace spell. His cloudy interpretation thought he could collect the prisoner and then *POOF* into shadows and hide and run away. He also ran through the best lit and most guarded part of camp and was captured. Yes... yes... we know... don't split the party... but how are you supposed to get a Tortle into a cultist encampment without being noticed? We told him to stay put and guard the watch tower. At least he is aware of his poor choices which led to poor decisions. So... here's hoping I can use my Draconic language skill along with my charisma to talk myself out of a pickle... and ride the borderline of not becoming a NPC.
A spellcasting focus just helps when the spell has a Material component, only then would it also allow you to use that same hand holding a material component/spellcasting focus to perform Somatic components.
Here are some of the features my tank-like hexblade has that help keep him alive:
Feats: War Caster and Resilient (Constitution), if you are going to be in melee, then you are going to get hit no matter how great your AC. These feats give you really good odds for passing your concentration checks. I also picked up Infernal Constitution, but that is only because my character is a tiefling. I do not think you have mentioned what race you chose. War Caster also allows you to cast Booming Blade when you make attacks of opportunity which helps lock down creatures once you get into melee with them.
Invocations: Fiendish Vigor is good for low levels (1-2), but once you start casting Armor of Agathys at 2nd-level or higher, I would drop it. My current campaign started at a higher level. Once you hit 5th level, Cloak of Flies and/or Maddening Hex allow you to cause regular damage to everyone around you or to a specific target. I personally chose Maddening Hex since we were fighting a lot of creatures immune to poison. Now that my character is is 14th level, however, I switched to Relentless Hex so that I can close with whatever creature I switch my Hexblade's Curse to. Also, if you can make a curse using the Bestow Curse spell from the Sign of Ill Omen invocation stick, then that will help you lock down a creature in combat as well.
Spells: I never had 1st-level spell slots with my warlock, and therefore I have never used the Shield spell or even put it on my list because I have so few slots. If, however, you multi-class like some of the others in the forum suggested, then it would be worth picking it up. Your main go-to spell, however, should be Armor of Agathys for its temp HP and how it discourages opponents from hitting you. I once almost won a fight before I even took a turn when a creature vulnerable to cold damage hit me when I had Armor of Agathys up. When you get 2nd-level spells, Blur and Mirror Image would both add to your survivability, but you can only use one at a time because of your limited spell slots. However, when you get 4th-level spells and can afford the components, you need to take Shadow of Moil. In addition to the damage it inflicts when you get hit, it "heavily obscures" you which means that when creatures try and target you using sight they have disadvantage on the attack because they are effectively blinded. The spell is essentially a Blur that bites back. It also might give you advantage on your attacks as well, but the rules are a little vague on that.
Also, do not forget about the Armor of Hexes feature you get at 10th level. Being able to essentially flip a coin on whether or not an attack actually hits you will go a long way towards keeping your character in the fight, and it is the only way I know to make a critical hit miss.
Bark side up, bark side down, it really, truly does not matter.
Defensive Duelist feat allows you to boost your AC every turn with your reaction
And Shield Master is great, as someone said, for evading fireballs & lightning
Shield Master is great for those Dexterity saves, but Defensive Duelist only boosts your AC for that one melee attack. I think a dip into sorcerer (dragon bloodline so your HP does not suffer for it) to pick up some first level slots to use Shield with is a better investment. Plus, when you do that, you can also grab some other useful spells like Absorb Elements and Feather Fall as well as the Draconic Resilience AC boost. I would have done this myself, but my DM does not allow multi-classing into classes with different hit dice.
Bark side up, bark side down, it really, truly does not matter.
Blur was a good addition, but with Devil's Sight (chosen for backstory reasons), I LOVE Darkness! I can yo-yo the Big Bad and use Darkness for Advantage on my attacks and it keeps him at Disadvantage against me. I say yo-yo, because I can either keep him covered and I'm the only one attacking him or I can step back and reveal him for everyone else to attack him. Now that I bought some Boots of Elvenkind, I can begin to really shape the battlefield to our party's advantage. I still keep blur for those situations where Darkness would wreck our party, but in big rooms where we usually face the bigger threats, it has really changed how we can work as a group and take on big foes without a tank in the party. It was certainly a struggle to figure some of these things out, but being forced to change your approach is good for character growth. Here's hoping we survive Baldur's Gate and whatever is next for us...
As for the title of the topic... I'm still not sure Tank is ever going to be the best word. Against something with Action Surge or multiattack it is still a deadly game. But overcoming not having a tank is looking like it will be doable...
so, I know this is a pretty old thread, but I saw someone recommending multiclassing to get the shield spell. Hexblades get that as an option from their expanded spell list, you don't need to multiclass to get it.
I believe he said it was hard to use the shield spell as a warlock because of only have a few slots. Multi-classing add slots to use with the spell.
I am getting ready to play in a game where there is not a tank or at least there won't be one for 8 levels or so. Most of the people playing have not played before so the DM has told me it is going to be on me for a while. I am playing a Warlock(hexblade)/pact of the blade and did not know what to do. After I did some research I found that fighter/eldritch knight is a decent combo. Taking fighter after say level 8 will gets you 5 ability score increases or feats. You will need those to shore up the Warlock to make them frontline melee. At level 15(fighter 7) you will get war magic which will let you cast a cantrip as an action and make a melee attack as a bonus action. Eldritch Blast is a cantrip and the go to spell for a Warlock. At level 13(Fighter 5) you will get an extra attack. You will get another one at level 19(fighter 11). Use one of the extra feats to take tough and you will gain 40hp. This means that at level 20 you can take 3 actions casting EB 3 times and take 3 melee attacks a round. Hexblade lets you use CHA for the hit and bonus damage so you will be good there. Take improved pact weapon so it is your spell focus. You can also take Tavern Brawler and should be able to make your shield your melee weapon. The last thing may not work but the rest will. Buff up the con and you can end up with 200hp. Not a perfect tank but not too bad.
Your DM is also concerned that no one is a Cleric at level 1 either. You're doomed!
"Kelaa relaa"
Just out of curiosity, but what race are you? Some racial feats give nice defensive bonuses( some of em even add half an ASI on top of it.)
I took Variant Human so I can take a feat at level 1. I am using a homebrew feat to make my shield also my weapon and it adds 1 to the AC. I also have a homebrew cantrip to make my shield but that is just for flavor. Here is my mock character sheet at level 20: https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/Hylid/characters/15892231 . I am open to suggestions as well.
I meant to add that by level 20 when you make a melee attack the target then has disadvantage on the next spell you cast against them. So in your first action and every action, you use your bonus action to make a melee attack and then they have disadvantage on the next action Eldritch Blast.
Some of the posts here are forgetting the OP's request for something playable at lower levels, not something that fully comes online in Tier IV.