I always get the feeling I'm letting my party down when I don't maximize my turn (i.e. Take an Action plus a bonus action). So what are some possible bonus actions for warlocks using spells, invocations or patron features? I have the Polearm master Feat so I can take an extra wack if I'm in melee…What else can/should I do with a bonus action?
Accept that not every build is designed to really utilize/maximize every mechanic.
Warlock's most common bonus action spell is Hex. It gets net you +1d6 Necrotic per attack as a Bonus Action (the positive is at 5th, 11th, and 17th, Eldtrich Blast has extra attacks) I personally think Hex can be meh, and usually pick other things. The Warlock has very limited spells and for me my choice depending on my lvl. I'd usually save the slot for a Counter-Spell to negate damage or Armor of Agathys as I too play 2 very different melee Warlocks.
You already have Pole Arm Master, which is probably one of the best things you can do is the extra wack. I'm curious are you a HexBlade using a Quarterstaff, or Pact of the Tome using Shillelagh on a quarterstaff, or something else?
Accept that not every build is designed to really utilize/maximize every mechanic.
Warlock's most common bonus action spell is Hex. It gets net you +1d6 Necrotic per attack as a Bonus Action (the positive is at 5th, 11th, and 17th, Eldtrich Blast has extra attacks) I personally think Hex can be meh, and usually pick other things. The Warlock has very limited spells and for me my choice depending on my lvl. I'd usually save the slot for a Counter-Spell to negate damage or Armor of Agathys as I too play 2 very different melee Warlocks.
You already have Pole Arm Master, which is probably one of the best things you can do is the extra wack. I'm curious are you a HexBlade using a Quarterstaff, or Pact of the Tome using Shillelagh on a quarterstaff, or something else?
Hexblade Chainlock with Quarterstaff (Staff of the Adder). It takes a bonus action to animate to snake head which I usually do on my 1st or 2nd turn. Between Hex, Hexblades curse and my staff, that's 3 bonus actions right there! I usually just EB on those rounds.
Green Flame Blade + Staff of the Adder + polearm bonus wack is a good combo for a non-Bladelock. Although poison damage is commonly resisted.
Green Flame Blade + Staff of the Adder + polearm bonus wack is a good combo for a non-Bladelock. Although poison damage is commonly resisted.
Literally nothing in that combo actually works together by RAW. Green Flame Blade is a spell action not an attack action (it simply includes a weapon attack as part of it's spell), Staff of the Adder is an attack action however with a special melee attack, and the polearm bonus whack only works specifically with an attack action taken with an actual polearm (quarterstaff/glaive/halberd), not an animated snake head. At the very best (if your DM is quite lenient) you could argue that you could perform GFB with the animated adder head as the weapon (which is stretching it), but then you certainly cannot take the bonus attack, since it can be used neither with GFB nor with using the adder to attack.
Green Flame Blade + Staff of the Adder + polearm bonus wack is a good combo for a non-Bladelock. Although poison damage is commonly resisted.
Literally nothing in that combo actually works together by RAW. Green Flame Blade is a spell action not an attack action (it simply includes a weapon attack as part of it's spell), Staff of the Adder is an attack action however with a special melee attack, and the polearm bonus whack only works specifically with an attack action taken with an actual polearm (quarterstaff/glaive/halberd), not an animated snake head. At the very best (if your DM is quite lenient) you could argue that you could perform GFB with the animated adder head as the weapon (which is stretching it), but then you certainly cannot take the bonus attack, since it can be used neither with GFB nor with using the adder to attack.
Ugh! I knew I would get “whacked” if I posted that.
1. The staff is just a melee attack with the 🐍 nothing to prevent the 1d4 bonus wack.
Green Flame Blade + Staff of the Adder + polearm bonus wack is a good combo for a non-Bladelock. Although poison damage is commonly resisted.
Literally nothing in that combo actually works together by RAW. Green Flame Blade is a spell action not an attack action (it simply includes a weapon attack as part of it's spell), Staff of the Adder is an attack action however with a special melee attack, and the polearm bonus whack only works specifically with an attack action taken with an actual polearm (quarterstaff/glaive/halberd), not an animated snake head. At the very best (if your DM is quite lenient) you could argue that you could perform GFB with the animated adder head as the weapon (which is stretching it), but then you certainly cannot take the bonus attack, since it can be used neither with GFB nor with using the adder to attack.
Ugh! I knew I would get “whacked” if I posted that.
1. The staff is just a melee attack with the 🐍 nothing to prevent the 1d4 bonus wack.
Don’t know how to interpret this...maybe my list of bonus actions got shorter!
There is no ambiguity about this. The blade cantrips are specifically Spell Actions, which are entirely separate from Attack Actions, this is very important to disallow them from being utilized with multiple attacks. The polearm feat specifically requires an Attack action to be performed with a Quarterstaff, Glaive and Halberd (the tweet even reaffirms this, Mearls was simply unsure at the time if the polearm feat requires an attack action, which it specifically does).
And why the bonus attack would also not work with the snake is also specifically due to how the feat is worded, namely "When you take the Attack action and attack with only a glaive, halberd, or quarterstaff". When you use the special ability of the Adder staff you are specifically not using the quarterstaff for your attack action (you don't get attribute damage bonus and such for example), but the animated snake instead, which is an entirely different attack. Now you could still simply use the quarterstaff (ie not utilizing the special attack) and then you could use the bonus action. If your DM allows it, then your DM allows it, but it's definitely against RAW.
The staff is just worded as an attack action. As written it just does piercing damage versus blunt damage. I don’t know why you’re making it a special attack. Not even sure what that is.
The staff is just worded as an attack action. As written it just does piercing damage versus blunt damage. I don’t know why you’re making it a special attack. Not even sure what that is.
Because it is not a regular weapon attack, see the wording on the Adder staff vs the wording on something like for example the Spider Staff, it is very distinct. It's the animated snake attacking, which is why your attribute bonus and such also do not come into play, otherwise it would've been simply worded like the spider staffs attack (+Xtra happens when you make a weapon attack with it).
You can make a melee attack using the snake head, which has a reach of 5 feet. Your proficiency bonus applies to the attack roll. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 piercing damage and must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 3d6 poison damage.
The snake head can be attacked while it is animate. It has an Armor Class of 15 and 20 hit points. If the head drops to 0 hit points, the staff is destroyed. As long as it's not destroyed, the staff regains all lost hit points when it reverts to its animate form.
vs
The staff can be wielded as a quarterstaff. It deals 1d6 extra poison damage on a hit when used to make a weapon attack.
I read the Staff of the Adder as if it was magically modifying how the quarterstaff is used during the Attack action. Natural language, and all that. I see this as little different than a Staff of Power
Hey I see this is from some time ago but thought you might dig what I'm doing as we're both playing pole arm feat warlocks.
I took pact of the blade, traded a points upgrade for a feat, choosing polearm which lets you not only use your bonus action to butt them with the polearm's ass end but notice it lets you make an attack of oppurtunity if they enter your range of 10ft instead of just leaving it. Which is great because they can come into your range, you get an attack AND you can move away from them after if you want without taking an oppurtunity of attack from them if they have a weapon of reach with 5ft like most characters do, if you keep a space inbetween you when doing the following. I also took the eldritch invocation 'Grasp of Hadar' which moves an opponent you've hit via E. blast 10ft closer to you. If you don't have this invocation then trade it out when you level up as it's allowed.
Imagine you can see where I'm going with this. So say you're a level 5 warlock, Hopefully you've hexed or moved your hex to your target during your last turn. Move 15ft from your target. Hit them with your eldritch blast, then do so again. Assuming you hit with both then move your target 10ft closer with grasp of hadar. This will engage your reaction of Polearm feats attack of oppurtunity. Your pole arm should be a 1D10, that plus your hex makes for a nice bit of damage. THEN use your butt attack as your bonus action. This all add up nicely.
So the math would look something like: 1d10 (eldritch blast) average of 5 + Hex average of 3 (of 6) + Agonizing Blast modifier average of 3 (x2 eldritch blast) + Polearm attack of oppuritunity 1D10 average of 5 + Hex(3) + Butt attack Bonus action 1d4 average of 2 + Hex average of 3. So for a level 5 warlock you can do an average of (saying it all hits) of 35 damage. Which at level 5 is pretty damn good. And of course as you level you get, eventually, 2 more eldritch blast, your charisma modifier should increase via pumping points into your charisma. And I believe there's an eldritch invocation that allows you to add your charisma mod to your pact weapon.
Not quite sure, but I dont think "forced movement" from the Grasp of Hadar activates your ability to do opportunity attacks. Especially if you are the one forcing the person to move. How would you be able to at the same time force them to move while doing the somatics AND hitting them?
You also don't provoke an opportunity attack when you teleport or when someone or something moves you without using your movement, action, or reaction. For example, you don't provoke an opportunity attack if an explosion hurls you out of a foe's reach or if gravity causes you to fall past an enemy. (PHB 195)
In addition to what DukeForau said, the text from Polearm Master Feat especifies that you can only use the bonus attack if you use your Attack Action to attack with a Polearm. Using the Attack Action with Eldritch Blast and a Reaction to attack with a Polearm would not allow you to bonus attack with the weapon.
When you take the Attack action and attack with only a glaive, halberd, quarterstaff, or spear, you can use a bonus action to make a melee attack with the opposite end of the weapon. This attack uses the same ability modifier as the primary attack. The weapon’s damage die for this attack is a d4, and it deals bludgeoning damage.
Accept that not every build is designed to really utilize/maximize every mechanic.
Warlock's most common bonus action spell is Hex. It gets net you +1d6 Necrotic per attack as a Bonus Action (the positive is at 5th, 11th, and 17th, Eldtrich Blast has extra attacks) I personally think Hex can be meh, and usually pick other things. The Warlock has very limited spells and for me my choice depending on my lvl. I'd usually save the slot for a Counter-Spell to negate damage or Armor of Agathys as I too play 2 very different melee Warlocks.
You already have Pole Arm Master, which is probably one of the best things you can do is the extra wack. I'm curious are you a HexBlade using a Quarterstaff, or Pact of the Tome using Shillelagh on a quarterstaff, or something else?
Hex is good on the Warlock class for one reason: It allows you to maximize your damage in combat without having to burn through spell slots. Until you reach 10th level as a warlock, you have only 2 spell slots (By comparison at level 10 wizards and sorcerers have 15 spell slots) and this is why Warlocks are so reliant on the Eldritch blast cantrip.
The 3 things you have to look at with hex that make it more useful as a spell are
1) Long duration (1 hour at levels 1-4 and 8 hours after level 5)
2) The ability to move hex from a deceased target to a new target without expending another spell slot
3) The ability to impose disadvantage on saving throws of your choice
Because of these features, hex pairs really well with the Eldritch blast cantrip. At level 5 you gain two attacks from the Eldritch blast cantrip and each blast on a hexxed target procs the extra damage. If you couple that with the Agonizing Blast and maddening hex Invocations, you are able to deal substantial damage in combat without expending your valuable spell slots.
For example, let's say I was playing as a Warlock with The Celestial as my patron and I'm level 5 with a CHR of 18 (which is about what I would expect it to be by level 5), in one turn of combat and without expending my second spell slot I can cast Eldritch blast on a hexed target to deal 2 x [(1 D(10) + 4 Force Damage) + 1 D(6) Necrotic damage] as an action which comes out to a minimum possible damage of 12 and a maximum possible damage of 40 (60 with a crit) and all this without expending a spell slot. I can then use my bonus action to heal myself with healing light if I need it (no spell expended) or deal an additional 4 psychic damage using the maddening hex invocation.
In short, you choose hex as a spell to bypass the limitations of the Warlock class.
If your a hexblade, hexblade's curse + Maddening Hex you can still use your bonus action AoE damage each turn without using your concentration and then use a concentration spell like Shadow of moil which will give you advantage on attacks, opponents disadvantage on attacks against you, Melee attackers take damage when they hit you, and casters can't use "target a creature you can see" spell on you which is huge, it does not consume its material component, and at the same time it only covers the 5ft your in so its not blinding your allies like the darkness + devil's sight trick.
Also, illusion's bracers from Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica (which are more than a bit broken on a warlock) and misty step (since your normally using a cantrip to attack and this instantly frees you from grapples, restraints and gets you out of melee range without causing opportunity attacks so that your ranged attacks are not at disadvantage or if your using shadow of moil so that you can get your advantage back..
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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.
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I always get the feeling I'm letting my party down when I don't maximize my turn (i.e. Take an Action plus a bonus action). So what are some possible bonus actions for warlocks using spells, invocations or patron features? I have the Polearm master Feat so I can take an extra wack if I'm in melee…What else can/should I do with a bonus action?
Accept that not every build is designed to really utilize/maximize every mechanic.
Warlock's most common bonus action spell is Hex. It gets net you +1d6 Necrotic per attack as a Bonus Action (the positive is at 5th, 11th, and 17th, Eldtrich Blast has extra attacks)
I personally think Hex can be meh, and usually pick other things. The Warlock has very limited spells and for me my choice depending on my lvl. I'd usually save the slot for a Counter-Spell to negate damage or Armor of Agathys as I too play 2 very different melee Warlocks.
You already have Pole Arm Master, which is probably one of the best things you can do is the extra wack.
I'm curious are you a HexBlade using a Quarterstaff, or Pact of the Tome using Shillelagh on a quarterstaff, or something else?
Hexblade Chainlock with Quarterstaff (Staff of the Adder). It takes a bonus action to animate to snake head which I usually do on my 1st or 2nd turn. Between Hex, Hexblades curse and my staff, that's 3 bonus actions right there! I usually just EB on those rounds.
Green Flame Blade + Staff of the Adder + polearm bonus wack is a good combo for a non-Bladelock. Although poison damage is commonly resisted.
There's also a few Invocations that do things, like let you teleport closer or deal extra damage to someone you've cursed, from Xanathar's Guide.
Yes: Relentless Hex and Maddening Hex respectively.
I compiled a list of other Warlock features in the interest of building the Fully Operational Warlock:
Warlock spells that use Bonus Actions: Expeditious Retreat, Hex, Misty Step
Warlock spells that use Reactions: Hellish Rebuke, Counterspell
The Archfey Patron grants abilities at 6th and 10th level that use Reactions: Misty Escape and Beguiling Defenses.
The Great Old Ones Patron 6th level ability, Entropic Ward, uses a Reaction.
Celestial Warlock's 1st level feature, Healing Light, uses a bonus action.
Hexblades' 1st level feature, Hexblade's Curse, uses a bonus action, and their 10th level feature, Armor of Hexes, uses a Reaction.
The Tomb of Levistus Invocation uses a Reaction.
DICE FALL, EVERYONE ROCKS!
Literally nothing in that combo actually works together by RAW. Green Flame Blade is a spell action not an attack action (it simply includes a weapon attack as part of it's spell), Staff of the Adder is an attack action however with a special melee attack, and the polearm bonus whack only works specifically with an attack action taken with an actual polearm (quarterstaff/glaive/halberd), not an animated snake head. At the very best (if your DM is quite lenient) you could argue that you could perform GFB with the animated adder head as the weapon (which is stretching it), but then you certainly cannot take the bonus attack, since it can be used neither with GFB nor with using the adder to attack.
Ugh! I knew I would get “whacked” if I posted that.
1. The staff is just a melee attack with the 🐍 nothing to prevent the 1d4 bonus wack.
I guess I’m inclined to agree with you on Green flame part...not attack action. Although there is some sage advice from Mearls that suggests otherwise: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sageadvice.eu/2015/11/10/green-flame-blade-with-polearm-master-feat/amp/
Don’t know how to interpret this...maybe my list of bonus actions got shorter!
This is just what I was looking for! kudos!
There is no ambiguity about this. The blade cantrips are specifically Spell Actions, which are entirely separate from Attack Actions, this is very important to disallow them from being utilized with multiple attacks. The polearm feat specifically requires an Attack action to be performed with a Quarterstaff, Glaive and Halberd (the tweet even reaffirms this, Mearls was simply unsure at the time if the polearm feat requires an attack action, which it specifically does).
And why the bonus attack would also not work with the snake is also specifically due to how the feat is worded, namely "When you take the Attack action and attack with only a glaive, halberd, or quarterstaff". When you use the special ability of the Adder staff you are specifically not using the quarterstaff for your attack action (you don't get attribute damage bonus and such for example), but the animated snake instead, which is an entirely different attack. Now you could still simply use the quarterstaff (ie not utilizing the special attack) and then you could use the bonus action. If your DM allows it, then your DM allows it, but it's definitely against RAW.
The staff is just worded as an attack action. As written it just does piercing damage versus blunt damage. I don’t know why you’re making it a special attack. Not even sure what that is.
Because it is not a regular weapon attack, see the wording on the Adder staff vs the wording on something like for example the Spider Staff, it is very distinct. It's the animated snake attacking, which is why your attribute bonus and such also do not come into play, otherwise it would've been simply worded like the spider staffs attack (+Xtra happens when you make a weapon attack with it).
vs
I read the Staff of the Adder as if it was magically modifying how the quarterstaff is used during the Attack action. Natural language, and all that. I see this as little different than a Staff of Power
Agreed...Or staff of striking, or staff of weathering, or any other magical weapon that gives you a little buff when you hit.
I don't think that actually works as RAW.
Not quite sure, but I dont think "forced movement" from the Grasp of Hadar activates your ability to do opportunity attacks. Especially if you are the one forcing the person to move. How would you be able to at the same time force them to move while doing the somatics AND hitting them?
edit: Found this: https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/120959/can-i-trigger-an-opportunity-attack-by-forcing-an-opponent-to-move-out-of-my-rea
In addition to what DukeForau said, the text from Polearm Master Feat especifies that you can only use the bonus attack if you use your Attack Action to attack with a Polearm. Using the Attack Action with Eldritch Blast and a Reaction to attack with a Polearm would not allow you to bonus attack with the weapon.
Hex is good on the Warlock class for one reason: It allows you to maximize your damage in combat without having to burn through spell slots. Until you reach 10th level as a warlock, you have only 2 spell slots (By comparison at level 10 wizards and sorcerers have 15 spell slots) and this is why Warlocks are so reliant on the Eldritch blast cantrip.
The 3 things you have to look at with hex that make it more useful as a spell are
1) Long duration (1 hour at levels 1-4 and 8 hours after level 5)
2) The ability to move hex from a deceased target to a new target without expending another spell slot
3) The ability to impose disadvantage on saving throws of your choice
Because of these features, hex pairs really well with the Eldritch blast cantrip. At level 5 you gain two attacks from the Eldritch blast cantrip and each blast on a hexxed target procs the extra damage. If you couple that with the Agonizing Blast and maddening hex Invocations, you are able to deal substantial damage in combat without expending your valuable spell slots.
For example, let's say I was playing as a Warlock with The Celestial as my patron and I'm level 5 with a CHR of 18 (which is about what I would expect it to be by level 5), in one turn of combat and without expending my second spell slot I can cast Eldritch blast on a hexed target to deal 2 x [(1 D(10) + 4 Force Damage) + 1 D(6) Necrotic damage] as an action which comes out to a minimum possible damage of 12 and a maximum possible damage of 40 (60 with a crit) and all this without expending a spell slot. I can then use my bonus action to heal myself with healing light if I need it (no spell expended) or deal an additional 4 psychic damage using the maddening hex invocation.
In short, you choose hex as a spell to bypass the limitations of the Warlock class.
Don’t forget how useful Hex is out of combat. Disadvantage on all Wisdom checks is pretty powerful when you’re using Persuasion or Deception.
Unfortunately Hex affects ability checks, not saving throws. I wish it did, that would make it much more powerful in combat than it already is.
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If your a hexblade, hexblade's curse + Maddening Hex you can still use your bonus action AoE damage each turn without using your concentration and then use a concentration spell like Shadow of moil which will give you advantage on attacks, opponents disadvantage on attacks against you, Melee attackers take damage when they hit you, and casters can't use "target a creature you can see" spell on you which is huge, it does not consume its material component, and at the same time it only covers the 5ft your in so its not blinding your allies like the darkness + devil's sight trick.
Also, illusion's bracers from Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica (which are more than a bit broken on a warlock) and misty step (since your normally using a cantrip to attack and this instantly frees you from grapples, restraints and gets you out of melee range without causing opportunity attacks so that your ranged attacks are not at disadvantage or if your using shadow of moil so that you can get your advantage back..
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.