I'm playing a Hexblade with a 1 level fighter dip in an ongoing campaign. He's currently Fighter 1/Hexblade 4, very soon to be 5. He's a half-elf with Elven Accuracy (starting feat) and GWM, who wears a blindfold for lore reasons. Obviously I getting advantage on attacks is a core element of his playstyle, so I was planning on beelining it to level 7 in warlock for Shadow of Moil. That being said, we use flanking, and I've been looking at Tasha's summon spells and they look really damn good. I realized that if I just summon a Shadowspawn, I can flank with it and essentially get a more offensively oriented alternative to shadow of moil at level 5 (6 combined), which is great. Now what I'm wondering though, is whether or not it's worth it sticking with Warlock. I was always considering a pivot into whisper bard at some point, but it never felt worth it because the fun bard stuff would come online too late. If I multiclass from (combined) level 7 onwards though, it'll be a lot different. I'm just trying to weigh the pros and cons.
What I'm losing from warlock would be: - Higher level spell slots and spells, which is a bummer. - Accursed Specter, which isn't a huge loss as far as I'm concerned. - Additional spell slots for Eldritch Smite, again a bummer but I feel Psychic Blades more than makes up for that. - Level 7 and level 12 warlock invocations.
What I'm gaining from Bard, however: - Low level spell slots for shield and silvery barbs, which is a huge defensive boost. - Lots of nice utility with expertise, bardic inspiration, and low level spells. - Healing, which is always a huge plus. - Psychic blades for compounded crits with Eldritch Smite, so I don't lose much nova potential. - Swagger, because bards are damn cool.
Is pivoting bard at this point worth it, if the core of my build (getting advantage and spamming GWM attacks) will basically be online from level 6?
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“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
I would recommend going to at least warlock level 7 for 2 reasons. 1 the level 7 invocations are good and really nice to have, and 2 the stated spell you want to use, Summon Shadow spawn, gets 2 attacks if you cast it with a 4th level spell slot rather than a 3rd level spell slot greatly increasing its effectiveness. After that going bard can still be good, you are still getting most of the same benefits though you will delay some of the subclass stuff you get from bard.
Personally, I would say it depends on how far your campaign is likely to go. If you are only going to make it to level 9 or so, I would take the Bard levels now for cheap castings of [Tooltip Not Found].
If you are going to go in to higher levels, I would probably wait until Warlock 11 when you get your third Pact Magic slot. That's a really nice power increase (3 level 5 slots for Eldritch Smites), not to mention your 6th level Mystic Arcanum (some pretty awesome spells in there like Mental Prison and Mass Suggestion). Dipping Bard at that point will just round out your utility and surviveability once your damage output has kind of reached it's pinnacle.
I'm playing a Hexblade with a 1 level fighter dip in an ongoing campaign. He's currently Fighter 1/Hexblade 4, very soon to be 5. He's a half-elf with Elven Accuracy (starting feat) and GWM, who wears a blindfold for lore reasons. Obviously I getting advantage on attacks is a core element of his playstyle, so I was planning on beelining it to level 7 in warlock for Shadow of Moil. That being said, we use flanking, and I've been looking at Tasha's summon spells and they look really damn good. I realized that if I just summon a Shadowspawn, I can flank with it and essentially get a more offensively oriented alternative to shadow of moil at level 5 (6 combined), which is great. Now what I'm wondering though, is whether or not it's worth it sticking with Warlock. I was always considering a pivot into whisper bard at some point, but it never felt worth it because the fun bard stuff would come online too late. If I multiclass from (combined) level 7 onwards though, it'll be a lot different. I'm just trying to weigh the pros and cons.
What I'm losing from warlock would be:
- Higher level spell slots and spells, which is a bummer.
- Accursed Specter, which isn't a huge loss as far as I'm concerned.
- Additional spell slots for Eldritch Smite, again a bummer but I feel Psychic Blades more than makes up for that.
- Level 7 and level 12 warlock invocations.
What I'm gaining from Bard, however:
- Low level spell slots for shield and silvery barbs, which is a huge defensive boost.
- Lots of nice utility with expertise, bardic inspiration, and low level spells.
- Healing, which is always a huge plus.
- Psychic blades for compounded crits with Eldritch Smite, so I don't lose much nova potential.
- Swagger, because bards are damn cool.
Is pivoting bard at this point worth it, if the core of my build (getting advantage and spamming GWM attacks) will basically be online from level 6?
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
I would recommend going to at least warlock level 7 for 2 reasons. 1 the level 7 invocations are good and really nice to have, and 2 the stated spell you want to use, Summon Shadow spawn, gets 2 attacks if you cast it with a 4th level spell slot rather than a 3rd level spell slot greatly increasing its effectiveness. After that going bard can still be good, you are still getting most of the same benefits though you will delay some of the subclass stuff you get from bard.
Personally, I would say it depends on how far your campaign is likely to go. If you are only going to make it to level 9 or so, I would take the Bard levels now for cheap castings of [Tooltip Not Found].
If you are going to go in to higher levels, I would probably wait until Warlock 11 when you get your third Pact Magic slot. That's a really nice power increase (3 level 5 slots for Eldritch Smites), not to mention your 6th level Mystic Arcanum (some pretty awesome spells in there like Mental Prison and Mass Suggestion). Dipping Bard at that point will just round out your utility and surviveability once your damage output has kind of reached it's pinnacle.