I wouldn't exactly recommend starting fighter 1 either, but man, I did it and I kinda liked it if only because I love the flavor of a wizard who is sturdier and more physically capable than his studious peers, but still very capable at his magical craft. I later got fighter 2 for action surge at lvl 8, after unlocking bladesinger extra attack, and it's fun to toss out two fireballs, or do four attacks and two booming blades (+ using my telekinetic feat to push myself away for my bonus action) a turn.
Yes, I did not have the slots or spells a pure wizard had, and I could really feel the lack of them as encounters got harder and harder, but things were still manageable with the expanded options I had thanks to action surge.
I would say that mechanically speaking, pure bladesinger is way better, but for flavor and fun (while still being fairly effective) a fighter 2 dip is pretty good and worth starting lvl 1 for.
That was written back when artificer was in playtest for clarity and my advice would be a bit different now
In general I find mirror images a waste of a cast as they get taken out by things that would never hit me essentially they never actually take an attack that would have hit as a tanking bladesinger (essentially I waste an action and get no benefit out of it and if I'm tanking swarms it rarely lasts a round) I consider blur to be the best universal defensive self buff (better than mirror image as it reliably denies hits that would have hit and effectively kills crits) until it is outshone by haste. In general tho if I could rely on another caster to buff I would rather use the wizard casts for control > damage == self-buffing (depending on situation of course)
you're wrong about artificer your spell progression is slowed by one level but you get heals and your slots are the same as a full caster with a single level dip and you also gain the coveted con save if you go 3 deep in artificer you're behind 3 on your progression but you're only down one level of slots and you get infusions and adding your int to your attack (if you go smith)
like my advice now for all wizards is basically take an initial level of artificer then go wizard 5 and then decide if you need to be more melee or not.. if you need more melee get 2 more levels of artificer then go back wizard... but this is actually less true for bladesingers even tho using int to attack would be quite strong for them the other benefits don't shine as much as they do for a war wizard
Protection from Evil and Good, when applicable, is a must have for Bladesinger. Better duration, 1st level spell slot and even resistance to charm and frighten on top. My usual Concentration spells are PFE&G, Shadow Blade or Blur, and of course Haste.
Blur is stupidly good for bladesinger's until you get haste once you get haste it's out classed by the beauty and versatility that haste provides.
For most bladesinger's I'd recommend dipping fighter for the first level to pick up con save and dual weild (or protection depending on your role) tho with artificer it's really tempting to pick that for a 2-3 level dip to get con save, infusions, +1 to weapons and armor, your weapon and armor into foci, cure wounds and sanctuary if you go 3 you get either a turret or homonculus.
The synergy of artificer and wizard is really strong.
But now back to the bladesinger I found myself disappointed by mirror image as a singer as most of the images were taken out by swings that would have missed anyways and it doesn't help at all against spells that target your nads ( non AC defenses ).
I really recommend false life as healers in this edition don't heal really until you drop and dropping kills singers as they lose most of their built up buffs and become a squishy wizard in melee. Think of it as a blade tax much like mage armor is a caster tax. But if you go 3 artificer don't bother with it as temp HP don't stack.
Shield and absorb elements are your bread and butter spells and are so essential that at levels 6-8 it's often a good use of second level slots if you run out of first level ones.
Once you get haste you should cast it, use your main action to dodge, your haste attack to attack and bonus to attack. When you need to cast use the haste action to disengage move out cast then move back in to melee expect to be casting shield when you get back in as you are way easier to hit without Dodge. If you took warcaster (you should) then when your not casting shield you can use booming blade to really punish mobs.
For fights where you're unlikely to be hit anyways (or where you have some temp HP or trust in heals) replace the Dodge with BB/GFB or casting a spell that targets nads (as attack spells roll with disadvantage in melee).
All in all tho playing a singer is really fun as it's like walking a tight rope as one well placed hit that causes a concentration loss can drop the previously almost unhitable engine of distruction to the ground bleeding out.
The obvious problem with the above theorycrafting is, if you character is wielding two weapons, then you're limiting the spells which they can cast because of component requirements. Yeah, there are ways around that, like War Caster and a Ruby of the War Mage. But the same build is also into multiclassing, which delays key features like the first ASI (and feat) and Extra Attack. And you cannot guarantee which magic items will be available, so builds should not be dependent on things you cannot control. Such things are always left up to the DM.
Furthermore, and this is kind of key, the bladesinger doesn't actually need to fight in melee. They're a full spellcasting wizard, first and foremost, with proficiency in light armor (to save them a casting of mage armor) and a d6 hit die. They're core subclass feature only makes them better at positioning themselves on the battlefield and at maintaining concentration over their spells. If you elect to start off as a Fighter 1, they won't have Extra Attack until 6th-level. If you elect to start off as an Artificer 3, then not only are their no shortcuts to getting around their material component cost for spells but you're delaying Extra Attack until at least 9th-level.
Just going to answer the initial question here. The biggest advantage I see to bladesinger is their survivability over other casters.
Survivability
Yes you are still a wizard, but when you take a good dex and int, add in mage armour, and bladesong with the occasional shield spell, your AC is already dwarfing that of pretty much every other class. Most enemies will not be able to hit you outside of a nat20.
Throw in damage mitigation, Absorb Elements or Song of Defense. Any damage you do take you can reduce by a good chunk. Effectively you're saccing some spell slots for it, but your total HP ends up effectively higher than the fighters which can be incredible in clutch moments. It also helps you maintain concentration if needed.
Finally at higher levels, contingency + polymorph. When you get below X hp, turn into a giant ape. Great damage output and more HP without costing a spell slot.
If you want to be really tricky, add things like blur or greater invisibility. Bladesinger is probably also the best class to abuse Tenser's Transformation. (You can still song of defense while transformed)
Items
Flametongue Rapier is a great one to boost your damage in melee. Aside from that you'll probably want something to boost your survivability even more. Belt of Dwarvenkind is one thing I went with for the added HP, after that, the last attunement slot is really up to you. A ring of protection is a fairly common / cheap item to get early on compared to other items. But there are so many magic items there now it's really hard to pin down a "Best" item.
Damage
Most of my damage comes from my cantrips. With the change to bladesinger letting you cast a cantrip as part of your attack action (similar to eldritch knight) my attack action damage is almost as high as my high level spell slots. Just against single targets rather than AOE meaning I can save my spell slots for utility and mobs, and fight in melee for the most part.
Feats
My opening feat was Elven Accuracy, because if i'm getting it, RP wise it makes sense to get it early. After that was Tough for added HP to make me less squishy. I think all my other ASI went into ability scores. While war caster can be great for other wizards, I feel like song of defense mitigates the need for advantage on your con saves.
Spells
Most of my spells are utility. Like I said, I'm keeping up with my high level spell damage output against single enemies with just cantrips like GFB or BB. If an enemy is out of range, fire bolt. Most of my spells are utility or survivability based. Absorb Elements, Blur, Counterspell, Slow, Greater Invisibility etc. The only offensive spells I've really taken are fireball at 3rd level, (which has since been replaced with more utility spells) bigbys hand and steel wind strike at 5th level, and prismatic spray at 7th.
After lvl 6 Bladesinger you could take three lvls of fighter and go Psi Warrior and you would get some extra offense and defense with the Psi Warrior abilities.
Furthermore, and this is kind of key, the bladesinger doesn't actually need to fight in melee. They're a full spellcasting wizard, first and foremost, with proficiency in light armor (to save them a casting of mage armor) and a d6 hit die. They're core subclass feature only makes them better at positioning themselves on the battlefield and at maintaining concentration over their spells.
It is true, they don't have to fight in melee. But to be honest, it makes no sense not to. When you are playing a bladesinger, you are actually playing if not the highest, one of the highest sustained damage dealers in the game, but you got to be in melee for everything to click together in place. This subclass puts rogues, barbarians, paladins etc. on the bench. If you find yourself preferring the relative safety of range and doing more wizardy stuff, you are way better off with a different subclass such as divination or chronurgy.
Furthermore, and this is kind of key, the bladesinger doesn't actually need to fight in melee. They're a full spellcasting wizard, first and foremost, with proficiency in light armor (to save them a casting of mage armor) and a d6 hit die. They're core subclass feature only makes them better at positioning themselves on the battlefield and at maintaining concentration over their spells.
It is true, they don't have to fight in melee. But to be honest, it makes no sense not to. When you are playing a bladesinger, you are actually playing if not the highest, one of the highest sustained damage dealers in the game, but you got to be in melee for everything to click together in place. This subclass puts rogues, barbarians, paladins etc. on the bench. If you find yourself preferring the relative safety of range and doing more wizardy stuff, you are way better off with a different subclass such as divination or chronurgy.
I'm sorry, but what?
The phrase "one of the highest sustained damage dealers in the game" doesn't actually mean anything. I'm assuming, of course, that you're basing that claim on a specific build. Specifically, one reliant on shadow blade. And I've already said why that's a bad example because it limits the spells they can cast. In which case, no. Just...no. They can be good in melee, but they're still full spellcasters. They shouldn't be gimping their ability to aid the team by limiting their options.
For crying out loud, they don't even become decent at melee until 6th-level.
Furthermore, and this is kind of key, the bladesinger doesn't actually need to fight in melee. They're a full spellcasting wizard, first and foremost, with proficiency in light armor (to save them a casting of mage armor) and a d6 hit die. They're core subclass feature only makes them better at positioning themselves on the battlefield and at maintaining concentration over their spells.
It is true, they don't have to fight in melee. But to be honest, it makes no sense not to. When you are playing a bladesinger, you are actually playing if not the highest, one of the highest sustained damage dealers in the game, but you got to be in melee for everything to click together in place. This subclass puts rogues, barbarians, paladins etc. on the bench. If you find yourself preferring the relative safety of range and doing more wizardy stuff, you are way better off with a different subclass such as divination or chronurgy.
I'm sorry, but what?
The phrase "one of the highest sustained damage dealers in the game" doesn't actually mean anything. I'm assuming, of course, that you're basing that claim on a specific build. Specifically, one reliant on shadow blade. And I've already said why that's a bad example because it limits the spells they can cast. In which case, no. Just...no. They can be good in melee, but they're still full spellcasters. They shouldn't be gimping their ability to aid the team by limiting their options.
For crying out loud, they don't even become decent at melee until 6th-level.
"Highest sustained damage dealer in the game" actually means what it says on the tin. D&D is of course not all about numbers but if you look at them, they don't lie. A bladesinger with a certain spell/attack combination will outdamage the pure martial classes. Said spells can be chosen and still allow the wizard to aid his team when required by using crowd control and other spells. It's really 2 offensive spells you need to excel in your role as the party's main melee damage dealer who is hard to hit, shadow blade and animate objects. All the rest of your spells can be crowd control or defensive, giving you more ways to aid your team other than pure massacre.
Decent at 6 level? They don't just become decent at that point, they enter S tier.
All I'm saying is that a bladesinger isn't "supposed" to be played like a regular wizard with a little bit of martial stuff on the side. It can be the most potent martial class in the game who can do some wizard stuff on the side. If your mindset gravitates towards "I'm foremost a wizard and should do wizard stuff to aid my team", then that's fine, pick divination or chronurgy or another subclass. Your claim that the "core subclass features only make them better at positioning themselves on the battlefield and at maintaining concentration over their spells" is not something I agree with. Yes, they do all these things but not "only". The features allow this subclass to be absolutely lethal in melee whilst being extremely hard to hit. I can't stress this enough, this subclass is wasted if played like a regular wizard. Bladesinger is the least wizard of all the wizards. The clue is in the name.
There is nothing about Bladesong that actually makes them a better melee combatant. Every single buff is equally valid in melee and at ranged. They don't actually start dealing more damage until they gain Extra Attack (6th-level) and Song of Victory (14th-level).
There is nothing about Bladesong that actually makes them a better melee combatant. Every single buff is equally valid in melee and at ranged. They don't actually start dealing more damage until they gain Extra Attack (6th-level) and Song of Victory (14th-level).
I disagree with your comment about bladesong. Yes, the bladesong features are still valid at range as well but not as useful. Sure, AC and concentration buffs are good whilst at range, but they are mostly melee-oriented since you will get hit more whilst at melee; you get more mileage out of them whilst being at melee. If you play like a ''regular'' wizard, you want features which enhance your spell-casting capabilities and allow you to actually land those critical spells which can end an encounter before it even begins (i.e portent). Bladesong gives you nothing that enhances your spells, apart from a concentration buff. Correct, Extra Attack (which is also a core subclass feature) will lead to more damage; again melee-oriented. All my previous points from my last comment still stand.
Edit: I actually tried in the past to play a bladesinger as a ''regular'' wizard. Then I tried a bladesinger as a melee focused combatant. The difference was staggering. My divination wizard feels way more potent at being a wizard than a wizard-oriented bladesinger, if that makes sense.
Also the buffs aren't equally useful at range. Bladesong doesn't work if you have a 2h weapon. Pretty much all 'ranged' weapons aside form hand crossbow are 2h. No ranged weapon no song of victory / 2nd attack.
Yes, you can be more survivable at range than in melee, but there are other ways to accomplish this. Why not cast far-step. Zoom in, Booming Blade, Bonus action to pop out of there.
"Highest sustained damage dealer in the game" actually means what it says on the tin. D&D is of course not all about numbers but if you look at them, they don't lie. A bladesinger with a certain spell/attack combination will outdamage the pure martial classes. Said spells can be chosen and still allow the wizard to aid his team when required by using crowd control and other spells. It's really 2 offensive spells you need to excel in your role as the party's main melee damage dealer who is hard to hit, shadow blade and animate objects. All the rest of your spells can be crowd control or defensive, giving you more ways to aid your team other than pure massacre.
Decent at 6 level? They don't just become decent at that point, they enter S tier.
All I'm saying is that a bladesinger isn't "supposed" to be played like a regular wizard with a little bit of martial stuff on the side. It can be the most potent martial class in the game who can do some wizard stuff on the side. If your mindset gravitates towards "I'm foremost a wizard and should do wizard stuff to aid my team", then that's fine, pick divination or chronurgy or another subclass. Your claim that the "core subclass features only make them better at positioning themselves on the battlefield and at maintaining concentration over their spells" is not something I agree with. Yes, they do all these things but not "only". The features allow this subclass to be absolutely lethal in melee whilst being extremely hard to hit. I can't stress this enough, this subclass is wasted if played like a regular wizard. Bladesinger is the least wizard of all the wizards. The clue is in the name.
I agree that bladesingers play different, but they are not S-tier in damage. They are A/B and the numbers actulally show that. Where they are S-tier is tanking and avoiding damage when you use a defesive spell (PEG, blur, Haste+dodge). But you have to have that spell up or else you are going to get hit frequently. For example go 5 rounds against two CR5 hill Giants at level 7 with a 19AC (24 with shield) and you are going to get hit five times on average, for about 100 points of damage, with blur up you will get hit once on average for about 20 damage. No class can tank as well as a bladesinger in bladesong running a defensive spell, but you need to be running the defensive spell for that. Many martial builds can out damage them using shadowblade though.
To get close to martials with shadowblade you need to combine it with two weapon fighting. However, Shadowblade is a bonus action to cast and so is bladesong. This means it takes 3 rounds of combat to come online to get even where you are close to martials (but still behind the best martial damage dealers). Most fights are over by 5 rounds and many are over by 3 rounds. Even on the rare occasion they go longer than 5 a bladesinger without a defensive spell buff (Blur, PEG, Haste, Mirror Image .....) is unlikely to last more than 5 consecutive rounds in melee contact with the enemy unless it is a super easy fight
Furthermore, you need a feat to make it work, meaning lower attack rolls and lower damage. At 6th level this is going to put you 2 points behind on both attack and damage compared to a fighter who took ASIs (more when you consider fighting styles and fighter subclass bonuses).
You are right that the numbers don't lie, for comparison:
7th level EK using a greatsword with 20 strength against a 15AC foe using war magic booming blade and his fighting style is going to average 23dpr. The same bladesinger with 16 dexterity at level 7 doing TWF with a shortsword and a shadowblade and using booming blade is going to average 22dpr, but only once everything is online. So even after the bladesinger has everything up he is still behind
If you look over a 5-turn fight the bladesinger will average 11dpr on turn 1 (shortsword attack and cantrip), 15dpr on turn 2 (2 shadowblade attacks) and the full 22dpr thereafter. So in 5 rounds the fighter has dealt 117 on average while the bladesinger has done 94 damage. The EK is a good comparison because his is similar in defense, he is only 1 less in AC than a 16dex/16int bladesinger in bladesong and he has 14 more hps. Finally, these numbers do not account for potentially losing concentration and the lost attack that would come with that which would put the bladesinger further behind. Even if the bladesinger is lucky enough to be in dim or dark light and gets advantage on shadowblade this only boosts his total to 111, still behind the fighter.
Note this is not a fighter optimized for damage either, it is a simple, quick build for illustration, running an AC very close to the bladesinger. An optimized damage build on a fighter, barbarian or Paladin using Smite is going to blow these numbers out of the water.
Even Rogues can keep up: A 7th-level swashbuckler Rogue using TWF with an 18 dex is going to average 21DPR vs AC15. A 7-th level Rogue using a heavy crossbow and steady aim is going to average 23DPR vs AC 15. A 7th level Arcane Trickster running shadowblade and TWF will do 26DPR (29 in dim/dark), assuming sneak attack. All these builds will do more sustained damage than a bladesinger using shadowblade.
As for Animate objects I don't agree. It is a 5th level spell, meaning you can only cast it twice a day until 17th level and only 3 times a day after that. That is not really "sustained". Further any Wizard can use it, there is nothing special about the bladesinger and this spell.
How is a 7th level bladesinger with TWF + shadowblade doing only 22 damage?
At 7th level you will be upcasting it at 3rd level. With extra attack + booming blade that is first attack + bonus attack: 1d6 + 1d8 + 3d8 + 3. Second attack: 3d8 + 3.
Also considering that most tables use the flanking rule, it is not unlikely that all attacks will hit.
In regards to animate objects, yes it comes later on into play and all wizards get it, but the other wizards can't have it running whilst also reliably dealing additional damage on top round after round. Spells depending on spell save dc's are not reliable unless portent comes into play. Also, spell slots are a limited resource whilst sword attacks are not.
The term sustainable was used on an encounter basis, not a day. That can vary from table to table. Some tables could have 5 encounters per day, others could have just 1.
I agree that bladesinger takes a bit to get going assuming you set up defenses first or bladesong but once it's all there, it pulls ahead. Also, most DM's will let you know that an encounter is coming and you can take an action prior to the encounter, or you are about to provoke an encounter in which case you know in advance. Casting bladesong and a defensive spell there and then rolling for initiative will have you entering combat well and ready. If the enemy surprises you, then sure, it will take a while.
You make a lot of assumptions that simply don't hold up to scrutiny. Chiefly because, and you admit this, every table is different. Every adventuring day is different. Something like shadow blade is not a universally optimal choice for anyone. And anyone who has to resort to language like "S-tier" is playing a different kind of game than, I would wager, at least a plurality of the player base.
For example, the optional rules for flanking (DMG 251) are stupid because they make it too easy to have advantage. It means people don't have to think about other ways of getting it, like with class features or spells. And that makes for boring, uninteresting combat.
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Seconded. You already get to add your Intelligence modifier to your saving throws for concentration while Bladesong is active.
I wouldn't exactly recommend starting fighter 1 either, but man, I did it and I kinda liked it if only because I love the flavor of a wizard who is sturdier and more physically capable than his studious peers, but still very capable at his magical craft. I later got fighter 2 for action surge at lvl 8, after unlocking bladesinger extra attack, and it's fun to toss out two fireballs, or do four attacks and two booming blades (+ using my telekinetic feat to push myself away for my bonus action) a turn.
Yes, I did not have the slots or spells a pure wizard had, and I could really feel the lack of them as encounters got harder and harder, but things were still manageable with the expanded options I had thanks to action surge.
I would say that mechanically speaking, pure bladesinger is way better, but for flavor and fun (while still being fairly effective) a fighter 2 dip is pretty good and worth starting lvl 1 for.
If Paladin multiclass requirements weren’t so hard…
That was written back when artificer was in playtest for clarity and my advice would be a bit different now
In general I find mirror images a waste of a cast as they get taken out by things that would never hit me essentially they never actually take an attack that would have hit as a tanking bladesinger (essentially I waste an action and get no benefit out of it and if I'm tanking swarms it rarely lasts a round) I consider blur to be the best universal defensive self buff (better than mirror image as it reliably denies hits that would have hit and effectively kills crits) until it is outshone by haste. In general tho if I could rely on another caster to buff I would rather use the wizard casts for control > damage == self-buffing (depending on situation of course)
you're wrong about artificer your spell progression is slowed by one level but you get heals and your slots are the same as a full caster with a single level dip and you also gain the coveted con save if you go 3 deep in artificer you're behind 3 on your progression but you're only down one level of slots and you get infusions and adding your int to your attack (if you go smith)
like my advice now for all wizards is basically take an initial level of artificer then go wizard 5 and then decide if you need to be more melee or not.. if you need more melee get 2 more levels of artificer then go back wizard... but this is actually less true for bladesingers even tho using int to attack would be quite strong for them the other benefits don't shine as much as they do for a war wizard
Protection from Evil and Good, when applicable, is a must have for Bladesinger. Better duration, 1st level spell slot and even resistance to charm and frighten on top. My usual Concentration spells are PFE&G, Shadow Blade or Blur, and of course Haste.
Yup protection from evil is a powerful spell when it applies
The obvious problem with the above theorycrafting is, if you character is wielding two weapons, then you're limiting the spells which they can cast because of component requirements. Yeah, there are ways around that, like War Caster and a Ruby of the War Mage. But the same build is also into multiclassing, which delays key features like the first ASI (and feat) and Extra Attack. And you cannot guarantee which magic items will be available, so builds should not be dependent on things you cannot control. Such things are always left up to the DM.
Furthermore, and this is kind of key, the bladesinger doesn't actually need to fight in melee. They're a full spellcasting wizard, first and foremost, with proficiency in light armor (to save them a casting of mage armor) and a d6 hit die. They're core subclass feature only makes them better at positioning themselves on the battlefield and at maintaining concentration over their spells. If you elect to start off as a Fighter 1, they won't have Extra Attack until 6th-level. If you elect to start off as an Artificer 3, then not only are their no shortcuts to getting around their material component cost for spells but you're delaying Extra Attack until at least 9th-level.
Just going to answer the initial question here. The biggest advantage I see to bladesinger is their survivability over other casters.
Survivability
Yes you are still a wizard, but when you take a good dex and int, add in mage armour, and bladesong with the occasional shield spell, your AC is already dwarfing that of pretty much every other class. Most enemies will not be able to hit you outside of a nat20.
Throw in damage mitigation, Absorb Elements or Song of Defense. Any damage you do take you can reduce by a good chunk. Effectively you're saccing some spell slots for it, but your total HP ends up effectively higher than the fighters which can be incredible in clutch moments. It also helps you maintain concentration if needed.
Finally at higher levels, contingency + polymorph. When you get below X hp, turn into a giant ape. Great damage output and more HP without costing a spell slot.
If you want to be really tricky, add things like blur or greater invisibility. Bladesinger is probably also the best class to abuse Tenser's Transformation. (You can still song of defense while transformed)
Items
Flametongue Rapier is a great one to boost your damage in melee. Aside from that you'll probably want something to boost your survivability even more. Belt of Dwarvenkind is one thing I went with for the added HP, after that, the last attunement slot is really up to you. A ring of protection is a fairly common / cheap item to get early on compared to other items. But there are so many magic items there now it's really hard to pin down a "Best" item.
Damage
Most of my damage comes from my cantrips. With the change to bladesinger letting you cast a cantrip as part of your attack action (similar to eldritch knight) my attack action damage is almost as high as my high level spell slots. Just against single targets rather than AOE meaning I can save my spell slots for utility and mobs, and fight in melee for the most part.
Feats
My opening feat was Elven Accuracy, because if i'm getting it, RP wise it makes sense to get it early. After that was Tough for added HP to make me less squishy. I think all my other ASI went into ability scores. While war caster can be great for other wizards, I feel like song of defense mitigates the need for advantage on your con saves.
Spells
Most of my spells are utility. Like I said, I'm keeping up with my high level spell damage output against single enemies with just cantrips like GFB or BB. If an enemy is out of range, fire bolt. Most of my spells are utility or survivability based. Absorb Elements, Blur, Counterspell, Slow, Greater Invisibility etc. The only offensive spells I've really taken are fireball at 3rd level, (which has since been replaced with more utility spells) bigbys hand and steel wind strike at 5th level, and prismatic spray at 7th.
After lvl 6 Bladesinger you could take three lvls of fighter and go Psi Warrior and you would get some extra offense and defense with the Psi Warrior abilities.
It is true, they don't have to fight in melee. But to be honest, it makes no sense not to. When you are playing a bladesinger, you are actually playing if not the highest, one of the highest sustained damage dealers in the game, but you got to be in melee for everything to click together in place. This subclass puts rogues, barbarians, paladins etc. on the bench. If you find yourself preferring the relative safety of range and doing more wizardy stuff, you are way better off with a different subclass such as divination or chronurgy.
I'm sorry, but what?
The phrase "one of the highest sustained damage dealers in the game" doesn't actually mean anything. I'm assuming, of course, that you're basing that claim on a specific build. Specifically, one reliant on shadow blade. And I've already said why that's a bad example because it limits the spells they can cast. In which case, no. Just...no. They can be good in melee, but they're still full spellcasters. They shouldn't be gimping their ability to aid the team by limiting their options.
For crying out loud, they don't even become decent at melee until 6th-level.
"Highest sustained damage dealer in the game" actually means what it says on the tin. D&D is of course not all about numbers but if you look at them, they don't lie. A bladesinger with a certain spell/attack combination will outdamage the pure martial classes. Said spells can be chosen and still allow the wizard to aid his team when required by using crowd control and other spells. It's really 2 offensive spells you need to excel in your role as the party's main melee damage dealer who is hard to hit, shadow blade and animate objects. All the rest of your spells can be crowd control or defensive, giving you more ways to aid your team other than pure massacre.
Decent at 6 level? They don't just become decent at that point, they enter S tier.
All I'm saying is that a bladesinger isn't "supposed" to be played like a regular wizard with a little bit of martial stuff on the side. It can be the most potent martial class in the game who can do some wizard stuff on the side. If your mindset gravitates towards "I'm foremost a wizard and should do wizard stuff to aid my team", then that's fine, pick divination or chronurgy or another subclass. Your claim that the "core subclass features only make them better at positioning themselves on the battlefield and at maintaining concentration over their spells" is not something I agree with. Yes, they do all these things but not "only". The features allow this subclass to be absolutely lethal in melee whilst being extremely hard to hit. I can't stress this enough, this subclass is wasted if played like a regular wizard. Bladesinger is the least wizard of all the wizards. The clue is in the name.
There is nothing about Bladesong that actually makes them a better melee combatant. Every single buff is equally valid in melee and at ranged. They don't actually start dealing more damage until they gain Extra Attack (6th-level) and Song of Victory (14th-level).
I disagree with your comment about bladesong. Yes, the bladesong features are still valid at range as well but not as useful. Sure, AC and concentration buffs are good whilst at range, but they are mostly melee-oriented since you will get hit more whilst at melee; you get more mileage out of them whilst being at melee. If you play like a ''regular'' wizard, you want features which enhance your spell-casting capabilities and allow you to actually land those critical spells which can end an encounter before it even begins (i.e portent). Bladesong gives you nothing that enhances your spells, apart from a concentration buff. Correct, Extra Attack (which is also a core subclass feature) will lead to more damage; again melee-oriented. All my previous points from my last comment still stand.
Edit: I actually tried in the past to play a bladesinger as a ''regular'' wizard. Then I tried a bladesinger as a melee focused combatant. The difference was staggering. My divination wizard feels way more potent at being a wizard than a wizard-oriented bladesinger, if that makes sense.
Also the buffs aren't equally useful at range. Bladesong doesn't work if you have a 2h weapon. Pretty much all 'ranged' weapons aside form hand crossbow are 2h. No ranged weapon no song of victory / 2nd attack.
Yes, you can be more survivable at range than in melee, but there are other ways to accomplish this. Why not cast far-step. Zoom in, Booming Blade, Bonus action to pop out of there.
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I agree that bladesingers play different, but they are not S-tier in damage. They are A/B and the numbers actulally show that. Where they are S-tier is tanking and avoiding damage when you use a defesive spell (PEG, blur, Haste+dodge). But you have to have that spell up or else you are going to get hit frequently. For example go 5 rounds against two CR5 hill Giants at level 7 with a 19AC (24 with shield) and you are going to get hit five times on average, for about 100 points of damage, with blur up you will get hit once on average for about 20 damage. No class can tank as well as a bladesinger in bladesong running a defensive spell, but you need to be running the defensive spell for that. Many martial builds can out damage them using shadowblade though.
To get close to martials with shadowblade you need to combine it with two weapon fighting. However, Shadowblade is a bonus action to cast and so is bladesong. This means it takes 3 rounds of combat to come online to get even where you are close to martials (but still behind the best martial damage dealers). Most fights are over by 5 rounds and many are over by 3 rounds. Even on the rare occasion they go longer than 5 a bladesinger without a defensive spell buff (Blur, PEG, Haste, Mirror Image .....) is unlikely to last more than 5 consecutive rounds in melee contact with the enemy unless it is a super easy fight
Furthermore, you need a feat to make it work, meaning lower attack rolls and lower damage. At 6th level this is going to put you 2 points behind on both attack and damage compared to a fighter who took ASIs (more when you consider fighting styles and fighter subclass bonuses).
You are right that the numbers don't lie, for comparison:
7th level EK using a greatsword with 20 strength against a 15AC foe using war magic booming blade and his fighting style is going to average 23dpr. The same bladesinger with 16 dexterity at level 7 doing TWF with a shortsword and a shadowblade and using booming blade is going to average 22dpr, but only once everything is online. So even after the bladesinger has everything up he is still behind
If you look over a 5-turn fight the bladesinger will average 11dpr on turn 1 (shortsword attack and cantrip), 15dpr on turn 2 (2 shadowblade attacks) and the full 22dpr thereafter. So in 5 rounds the fighter has dealt 117 on average while the bladesinger has done 94 damage. The EK is a good comparison because his is similar in defense, he is only 1 less in AC than a 16dex/16int bladesinger in bladesong and he has 14 more hps. Finally, these numbers do not account for potentially losing concentration and the lost attack that would come with that which would put the bladesinger further behind. Even if the bladesinger is lucky enough to be in dim or dark light and gets advantage on shadowblade this only boosts his total to 111, still behind the fighter.
Note this is not a fighter optimized for damage either, it is a simple, quick build for illustration, running an AC very close to the bladesinger. An optimized damage build on a fighter, barbarian or Paladin using Smite is going to blow these numbers out of the water.
Even Rogues can keep up: A 7th-level swashbuckler Rogue using TWF with an 18 dex is going to average 21DPR vs AC15. A 7-th level Rogue using a heavy crossbow and steady aim is going to average 23DPR vs AC 15. A 7th level Arcane Trickster running shadowblade and TWF will do 26DPR (29 in dim/dark), assuming sneak attack. All these builds will do more sustained damage than a bladesinger using shadowblade.
As for Animate objects I don't agree. It is a 5th level spell, meaning you can only cast it twice a day until 17th level and only 3 times a day after that. That is not really "sustained". Further any Wizard can use it, there is nothing special about the bladesinger and this spell.
How is a 7th level bladesinger with TWF + shadowblade doing only 22 damage?
At 7th level you will be upcasting it at 3rd level. With extra attack + booming blade that is first attack + bonus attack: 1d6 + 1d8 + 3d8 + 3. Second attack: 3d8 + 3.
Also considering that most tables use the flanking rule, it is not unlikely that all attacks will hit.
In regards to animate objects, yes it comes later on into play and all wizards get it, but the other wizards can't have it running whilst also reliably dealing additional damage on top round after round. Spells depending on spell save dc's are not reliable unless portent comes into play. Also, spell slots are a limited resource whilst sword attacks are not.
The term sustainable was used on an encounter basis, not a day. That can vary from table to table. Some tables could have 5 encounters per day, others could have just 1.
I agree that bladesinger takes a bit to get going assuming you set up defenses first or bladesong but once it's all there, it pulls ahead. Also, most DM's will let you know that an encounter is coming and you can take an action prior to the encounter, or you are about to provoke an encounter in which case you know in advance. Casting bladesong and a defensive spell there and then rolling for initiative will have you entering combat well and ready. If the enemy surprises you, then sure, it will take a while.
You make a lot of assumptions that simply don't hold up to scrutiny. Chiefly because, and you admit this, every table is different. Every adventuring day is different. Something like shadow blade is not a universally optimal choice for anyone. And anyone who has to resort to language like "S-tier" is playing a different kind of game than, I would wager, at least a plurality of the player base.
For example, the optional rules for flanking (DMG 251) are stupid because they make it too easy to have advantage. It means people don't have to think about other ways of getting it, like with class features or spells. And that makes for boring, uninteresting combat.