I have a lvl 7 bladesinger with 16dex, 14con, 20int and 50max hp. What should i do at level 8?
I'm considering mobile, warcaster, tough, +2 dex, +2 con and resilient feat(con)
With bladesong i have an AC of 21 because of +1 studded leather, (no other magic items) and i can cast shield and absorb elements.
I'm told the campaign will go to level 18 or 19. What would you do and why?
All depends on how you play.
Mobile I feel is underwhelming with bladesinger unless you are always using the attack action, but at the same time if you're using the attack action you are never casting those high level spells in combat. Since Bladesinger doesn't get any combat related buffs to their actual offense, only defense I feel its a bad utility option. You're already getting bonus movement as well during bladesong so you're faster than the vast majority of unbuffed non monstrous combatants.
War Caster gives advantage on those Con Saves for concentration, which you're already rolling at a +7. Also gives that reaction cantrip attack, which can be nice. I'd personally take War Caster over Mobile in every situation.
Tough is just hit points. You get 16 extra hp, plus whatever you get at level 8 so you'd see at least a 20 HP buff. Not too shabby.
Resilient Con gives that all important +3 to Con, which means now you can't lose concentration unless something does 22 damage or higher on a single strike. Upgrades to +4 at level 9, which means it takes 24 damage to lose concentration. Do you buff your party a lot?
I think the most popular answers here are going to be Resilient Con or War Caster. That's boring to me.
I'd go Fey Touched personally. Lets me take Misty Step out of my spells known list because now its always in memory, and I can put another first level divination or enchantment spell at 1st level the same way, which for me would be Sleep. Sleep is a great spell, and sure it falls off at later levels, but being able to always have it in your back pocket for those niche situations is handy since you can still upcast.
Then at 12, I'd take Shadow Touched. It's the same concept, but you now get invisibility of your spells known list, and lets me pick up Color Spray. Same thing as sleep, its niche, but when you want it you really want it.
Being able to free up spells known for more diversity gives you much more overall flexibility in other areas than just pure numbers.
I have a lvl 7 bladesinger with 16dex, 14con, 20int and 50max hp. What should i do at level 8?
I'm considering mobile, warcaster, tough, +2 dex, +2 con and resilient feat(con)
With bladesong i have an AC of 21 because of +1 studded leather, (no other magic items) and i can cast shield and absorb elements.
I'm told the campaign will go to level 18 or 19. What would you do and why?
Dexterity. You haven't taken an Artificer dip or anything, so you need Dexterity to hit, regardless of whether you're using a rapier or a hand crossbow (or a sling). You're fine for now, but 16 Dex will start hurting at level 10 in terms of landing your hits.
Another vote for a dex bump. It gives you the to hit boost, as quindraco said, and also damage, AC, dex saves, initiative and a bunch of skills. It not as fun as a new toy from a feat, but will be useful in every combat encounter and some non-combat encounters.
One tactical aspect to Mobile that I'm not sure Spidey was considering is the classic hit-n-run with Booming Blade in order to proc the extra damage. Depending on the tactics usually employed by you and your DM the value of this can vary, but it can be fun and effective. Do you find yourself using BB a lot? Do you often get a chance to buff yourself with spells before you fight, freeing up more actions for attacking?
I'd compare all of these choices to your experience so far. How many times would Mobile have changed your turn? How often is your concentration disrupted? How often does your DM draw OAs? How often are you reduced to 0 hp? Basically think about the frequency these feats would apply to you in the game you've been playing in, and then multiply that by how much it hurt not to have the feat.
Since this is going to high levels, at some point you will want DEX to 20 and probably War Caster (or Resilient CON if your DM is the type to die before they would ever draw an OA). I'd go in that direction unless you think Mobile would come into play more than 1-2 times an adventuring day.
I have a lvl 7 bladesinger with 16dex, 14con, 20int and 50max hp. What should i do at level 8?
I'm considering mobile, warcaster, tough, +2 dex, +2 con and resilient feat(con)
With bladesong i have an AC of 21 because of +1 studded leather, (no other magic items) and i can cast shield and absorb elements.
I'm told the campaign will go to level 18 or 19. What would you do and why?
How did you get those stats by 4th level? With those stats, it really does not matter what Feat you take. But ultimately, Resilient is the way to go. It plugs a key hole in your Saves. That is assuming you have another odd number to even out at 12th level with the 15 Con you will have at 8th level.
I rolled for stats, got two 16 stats and put them in int and dex and used Tasha's cauldron to change the high elf to a +2 to int and +1 to con.
I'm probably going to lean towards boosting defence in some way seeing as I want this character to actually survive. (never played with my friend as a DM, heard he is a little unforgiving)
I have not played this character yet actually, so I have no experience with my friend as a DM (I have played with him as a player for 3 years though)
I'm focusing on controlling the battlefield, so lots and lots of concentration spells. I'm leaning towards resilient con, because I feel like getting a +3 to con at the next lvl12 ASI would be nice, but my dex is going to start suffering at that point.
concerning spells: I'm not to concerned because my DM says he will be generous with spell scrolls that is not insanely high level like 7, 8 and 9th level scrolls. I think ill be able to transcribe a lot of spells in all honesty
I have not played this character yet actually, so I have no experience with my friend as a DM (I have played with him as a player for 3 years though)
I'm focusing on controlling the battlefield, so lots and lots of concentration spells. I'm leaning towards resilient con, because I feel like getting a +3 to con at the next lvl12 ASI would be nice, but my dex is going to start suffering at that point.
concerning spells: I'm not to concerned because my DM says he will be generous with spell scrolls that is not insanely high level like 7, 8 and 9th level scrolls. I think ill be able to transcribe a lot of spells in all honesty
When you say "controlling the battlefield", do you mean standing on the periphery of the battle and casting spells? Or are you talking about wading into melee?
I'm talking about taking spells such as hypnotic pattern, wall of force, watery sphere and such. having a main focus on controlling enemies and taking charge of the battle field. While doing that I want to hit enemies with booming blade or just regular attacks.
For instance, if we are fighting 6 competent enemies that is a huge danger, but with 3 of them trapped behind a wall of force while we deal with the other three the fight suddenly becomes easy. Take that concept to hypnotic pattern and other control spells, while I hit stuff with my blade and 26AC if I use shield and bladesong.
That is what I'm envisioning at least. I'm not aiming to be a primary damage dealer with this build
The thing I've heard about Bladesingers (Mind you, I've never played one myself or played in a group with one, so this is all third-hand). Is that at some point, they end up just turning into wizards who carry a sword around and have a really good AC. The higher level spells are just so much more powerful than a couple melee attacks (booming blade or not), that it just doesn't make sense to stay in melee. Why swing a sword twice when you can disintegrate?
Again this is third hand, so take it with a grain of salt. Just putting it out there.
I'm talking about taking spells such as hypnotic pattern, wall of force, watery sphere and such. having a main focus on controlling enemies and taking charge of the battle field. While doing that I want to hit enemies with booming blade or just regular attacks.
For instance, if we are fighting 6 competent enemies that is a huge danger, but with 3 of them trapped behind a wall of force while we deal with the other three the fight suddenly becomes easy. Take that concept to hypnotic pattern and other control spells, while I hit stuff with my blade and 26AC if I use shield and bladesong.
That is what I'm envisioning at least. I'm not aiming to be a primary damage dealer with this build
Given that you can fire up that AC = 26 quite often, but you want to run all those Conc spells, it is a real interesting question.
At 8th level, Warcaster looks like the better move. But at 9th level, Resilient in CON gives you a +4, while Advantage on Concentration rolls due to Warcaster typically works out to a +5. Like I said, if you can some way to smooth out that 15 in Con at 12th level, I would take Resilient at 8th level. It is a better defensive move.
Warcaster does not do you any good when you roll a Con save for damage against a White Dragon's breath weapon. Resilient does. It might keep you alive.
One tactical aspect to Mobile that I'm not sure Spidey was considering is the classic hit-n-run with Booming Blade in order to proc the extra damage. Depending on the tactics usually employed by you and your DM the value of this can vary, but it can be fun and effective. Do you find yourself using BB a lot? Do you often get a chance to buff yourself with spells before you fight, freeing up more actions for attacking?
I'd compare all of these choices to your experience so far. How many times would Mobile have changed your turn? How often is your concentration disrupted? How often does your DM draw OAs? How often are you reduced to 0 hp? Basically think about the frequency these feats would apply to you in the game you've been playing in, and then multiply that by how much it hurt not to have the feat.
Since this is going to high levels, at some point you will want DEX to 20 and probably War Caster (or Resilient CON if your DM is the type to die before they would ever draw an OA). I'd go in that direction unless you think Mobile would come into play more than 1-2 times an adventuring day.
I'm taking it into account, but same token, I'm also considering this:
The thing I've heard about Bladesingers (Mind you, I've never played one myself or played in a group with one, so this is all third-hand). Is that at some point, they end up just turning into wizards who carry a sword around and have a really good AC. The higher level spells are just so much more powerful than a couple melee attacks (booming blade or not), that it just doesn't make sense to stay in melee. Why swing a sword twice when you can disintegrate?
Again this is third hand, so take it with a grain of salt. Just putting it out there.
It's not far off. If my options were a cantrip or Ice Storm, Upcasted Fireball, Dominate Beast, Wall of Fire? Well, I think I know what I'm doing. If I'm doing those things, I definitely don't want to be anywhere CLOSE to melee.
I really like the flavor of bladesinger, and they are very front loaded with a lot of benefits, but the difference between a Level 11 Bladesinger and Wizard are pretty significant in terms of subclass abilities. More so to the point that you are a Wizard, your primary schtick is spells. I would have really loved to see them get some sort of benefit to the attack cantrips to incentivize using them other than the same thing that Eldritch Knights get essentially. With Bladesong and a 21 AC, you're already higher AC than a full plate warrior with a shield. That's pretty insane considering you're wearing what, studded leather and maybe a ring of protection? Studded Leather +1? I say this because base AC with 16 DEX is 13, Bladesong adds 5 due to 20 INT, Studded Leather adds 2 for a total of 20. So theres a magic item somewhere in the mix. If it really is a ring of protection, that also changes the conversation because you get a +1 to saves thanks to that.
Back to the OPs conundrum on what to do, if you're really really considering battlefield control? Why not be a Chronurgy Wizard? Sure, you lose the weaving in and out of combat and turn into a traditional wizard, but now you're not a half baked fighter or a half baked wizard. You're a fully fledged wizard with subclass abilities to support your end game goal. Level 2 gets the 2 reaction based rerolls and for you a +5 to Init. Level 6 gets you a time stop type ability that doesn't use spell slots, but level 10 is where it shines because you can create these little beads of spells that your allies can use. Giving your fighter a bead of "Insert concentration spell here" that uses his con modifier, but your spell save dcs? VERY strong. Also gives your fighter something neat to do that they normally don't get to play with.
Don't take Warcaster. It doesn't work on Booming Blade anymore, which was your best reason to take it - you'll never carry a shield anyway, so the S while wielding benefit will never help you, and as others have pointed out, Resilient Con is better than Warcaster if all you care about is the save. Resilient Con is also a much better choice than tough, because your ac is stellar and will continue to improve whenever you grab more dex.
I still say +2 dex, but in strong second place is resilient con.
Thank you everyone so much for the replies, it actually means a lot :D (And yes, the character has a +1 studded leather)
So I found a solution to my conundrum that I think will work! Since I have not played the character in a game yet, I can go backhand change what I do at the ASI at level 4, and the new Tasha's origin manager. What I ended up doing is this: 1) I went back to my race (Origin manager) and changed my +1 from constitution to dex. That gave me a 13 in constitution before level 4, but I'm not playing those levels anyway since I'm starting in level 7. 2) I changed my level 4 ASI from +2 to int, to taking resilient (constitution). That now gives me a grantee on holding concentration because the lowest I can roll is 11, and I have the same hit points, and I withstand more con saves.
NOW! what do ya'll think I should do with the level 8 ASI option? I now have 9str, 17dex, 14con, 18int, 11wis and 10cha. Int boost? dex/wiz boost? a feat? tough, +1dex feat like elven accuracy?
I like the dex/wis. Again, no toys to play with, but solid and consistently useful. Dex for the many reasons mentioned above. Wis for saves and a boost to wis skills, like perception.
Then at level 12, you have some choices between int and a feat.
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Hi folks
I have a lvl 7 bladesinger with 16dex, 14con, 20int and 50max hp. What should i do at level 8?
I'm considering mobile, warcaster, tough, +2 dex, +2 con and resilient feat(con)
With bladesong i have an AC of 21 because of +1 studded leather, (no other magic items) and i can cast shield and absorb elements.
I'm told the campaign will go to level 18 or 19. What would you do and why?
All depends on how you play.
Mobile I feel is underwhelming with bladesinger unless you are always using the attack action, but at the same time if you're using the attack action you are never casting those high level spells in combat. Since Bladesinger doesn't get any combat related buffs to their actual offense, only defense I feel its a bad utility option. You're already getting bonus movement as well during bladesong so you're faster than the vast majority of unbuffed non monstrous combatants.
War Caster gives advantage on those Con Saves for concentration, which you're already rolling at a +7. Also gives that reaction cantrip attack, which can be nice. I'd personally take War Caster over Mobile in every situation.
Tough is just hit points. You get 16 extra hp, plus whatever you get at level 8 so you'd see at least a 20 HP buff. Not too shabby.
Resilient Con gives that all important +3 to Con, which means now you can't lose concentration unless something does 22 damage or higher on a single strike. Upgrades to +4 at level 9, which means it takes 24 damage to lose concentration. Do you buff your party a lot?
I think the most popular answers here are going to be Resilient Con or War Caster. That's boring to me.
I'd go Fey Touched personally. Lets me take Misty Step out of my spells known list because now its always in memory, and I can put another first level divination or enchantment spell at 1st level the same way, which for me would be Sleep. Sleep is a great spell, and sure it falls off at later levels, but being able to always have it in your back pocket for those niche situations is handy since you can still upcast.
Then at 12, I'd take Shadow Touched. It's the same concept, but you now get invisibility of your spells known list, and lets me pick up Color Spray. Same thing as sleep, its niche, but when you want it you really want it.
Being able to free up spells known for more diversity gives you much more overall flexibility in other areas than just pure numbers.
Dexterity. You haven't taken an Artificer dip or anything, so you need Dexterity to hit, regardless of whether you're using a rapier or a hand crossbow (or a sling). You're fine for now, but 16 Dex will start hurting at level 10 in terms of landing your hits.
Another vote for a dex bump. It gives you the to hit boost, as quindraco said, and also damage, AC, dex saves, initiative and a bunch of skills. It not as fun as a new toy from a feat, but will be useful in every combat encounter and some non-combat encounters.
One tactical aspect to Mobile that I'm not sure Spidey was considering is the classic hit-n-run with Booming Blade in order to proc the extra damage. Depending on the tactics usually employed by you and your DM the value of this can vary, but it can be fun and effective. Do you find yourself using BB a lot? Do you often get a chance to buff yourself with spells before you fight, freeing up more actions for attacking?
I'd compare all of these choices to your experience so far. How many times would Mobile have changed your turn? How often is your concentration disrupted? How often does your DM draw OAs? How often are you reduced to 0 hp? Basically think about the frequency these feats would apply to you in the game you've been playing in, and then multiply that by how much it hurt not to have the feat.
Since this is going to high levels, at some point you will want DEX to 20 and probably War Caster (or Resilient CON if your DM is the type to die before they would ever draw an OA). I'd go in that direction unless you think Mobile would come into play more than 1-2 times an adventuring day.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
How did you get those stats by 4th level? With those stats, it really does not matter what Feat you take. But ultimately, Resilient is the way to go. It plugs a key hole in your Saves. That is assuming you have another odd number to even out at 12th level with the 15 Con you will have at 8th level.
I rolled for stats, got two 16 stats and put them in int and dex and used Tasha's cauldron to change the high elf to a +2 to int and +1 to con.
I'm probably going to lean towards boosting defence in some way seeing as I want this character to actually survive. (never played with my friend as a DM, heard he is a little unforgiving)
I have not played this character yet actually, so I have no experience with my friend as a DM (I have played with him as a player for 3 years though)
I'm focusing on controlling the battlefield, so lots and lots of concentration spells. I'm leaning towards resilient con, because I feel like getting a +3 to con at the next lvl12 ASI would be nice, but my dex is going to start suffering at that point.
concerning spells: I'm not to concerned because my DM says he will be generous with spell scrolls that is not insanely high level like 7, 8 and 9th level scrolls. I think ill be able to transcribe a lot of spells in all honesty
When you say "controlling the battlefield", do you mean standing on the periphery of the battle and casting spells? Or are you talking about wading into melee?
I'm talking about taking spells such as hypnotic pattern, wall of force, watery sphere and such. having a main focus on controlling enemies and taking charge of the battle field. While doing that I want to hit enemies with booming blade or just regular attacks.
For instance, if we are fighting 6 competent enemies that is a huge danger, but with 3 of them trapped behind a wall of force while we deal with the other three the fight suddenly becomes easy. Take that concept to hypnotic pattern and other control spells, while I hit stuff with my blade and 26AC if I use shield and bladesong.
That is what I'm envisioning at least. I'm not aiming to be a primary damage dealer with this build
The thing I've heard about Bladesingers (Mind you, I've never played one myself or played in a group with one, so this is all third-hand). Is that at some point, they end up just turning into wizards who carry a sword around and have a really good AC. The higher level spells are just so much more powerful than a couple melee attacks (booming blade or not), that it just doesn't make sense to stay in melee. Why swing a sword twice when you can disintegrate?
Again this is third hand, so take it with a grain of salt. Just putting it out there.
Given that you can fire up that AC = 26 quite often, but you want to run all those Conc spells, it is a real interesting question.
At 8th level, Warcaster looks like the better move. But at 9th level, Resilient in CON gives you a +4, while Advantage on Concentration rolls due to Warcaster typically works out to a +5. Like I said, if you can some way to smooth out that 15 in Con at 12th level, I would take Resilient at 8th level. It is a better defensive move.
Warcaster does not do you any good when you roll a Con save for damage against a White Dragon's breath weapon. Resilient does. It might keep you alive.
I'm taking it into account, but same token, I'm also considering this:
It's not far off. If my options were a cantrip or Ice Storm, Upcasted Fireball, Dominate Beast, Wall of Fire? Well, I think I know what I'm doing. If I'm doing those things, I definitely don't want to be anywhere CLOSE to melee.
I really like the flavor of bladesinger, and they are very front loaded with a lot of benefits, but the difference between a Level 11 Bladesinger and Wizard are pretty significant in terms of subclass abilities. More so to the point that you are a Wizard, your primary schtick is spells. I would have really loved to see them get some sort of benefit to the attack cantrips to incentivize using them other than the same thing that Eldritch Knights get essentially. With Bladesong and a 21 AC, you're already higher AC than a full plate warrior with a shield. That's pretty insane considering you're wearing what, studded leather and maybe a ring of protection? Studded Leather +1? I say this because base AC with 16 DEX is 13, Bladesong adds 5 due to 20 INT, Studded Leather adds 2 for a total of 20. So theres a magic item somewhere in the mix. If it really is a ring of protection, that also changes the conversation because you get a +1 to saves thanks to that.
Back to the OPs conundrum on what to do, if you're really really considering battlefield control? Why not be a Chronurgy Wizard? Sure, you lose the weaving in and out of combat and turn into a traditional wizard, but now you're not a half baked fighter or a half baked wizard. You're a fully fledged wizard with subclass abilities to support your end game goal. Level 2 gets the 2 reaction based rerolls and for you a +5 to Init. Level 6 gets you a time stop type ability that doesn't use spell slots, but level 10 is where it shines because you can create these little beads of spells that your allies can use. Giving your fighter a bead of "Insert concentration spell here" that uses his con modifier, but your spell save dcs? VERY strong. Also gives your fighter something neat to do that they normally don't get to play with.
Don't take Warcaster. It doesn't work on Booming Blade anymore, which was your best reason to take it - you'll never carry a shield anyway, so the S while wielding benefit will never help you, and as others have pointed out, Resilient Con is better than Warcaster if all you care about is the save. Resilient Con is also a much better choice than tough, because your ac is stellar and will continue to improve whenever you grab more dex.
I still say +2 dex, but in strong second place is resilient con.
This is incorrect.
Thank you everyone so much for the replies, it actually means a lot :D (And yes, the character has a +1 studded leather)
So I found a solution to my conundrum that I think will work! Since I have not played the character in a game yet, I can go backhand change what I do at the ASI at level 4, and the new Tasha's origin manager. What I ended up doing is this:
1) I went back to my race (Origin manager) and changed my +1 from constitution to dex. That gave me a 13 in constitution before level 4, but I'm not playing those levels anyway since I'm starting in level 7.
2) I changed my level 4 ASI from +2 to int, to taking resilient (constitution). That now gives me a grantee on holding concentration because the lowest I can roll is 11, and I have the same hit points, and I withstand more con saves.
NOW! what do ya'll think I should do with the level 8 ASI option? I now have 9str, 17dex, 14con, 18int, 11wis and 10cha.
Int boost? dex/wiz boost? a feat? tough, +1dex feat like elven accuracy?
start discussion you beautiful nerds :D (thanks)
I like the dex/wis. Again, no toys to play with, but solid and consistently useful. Dex for the many reasons mentioned above. Wis for saves and a boost to wis skills, like perception.
Then at level 12, you have some choices between int and a feat.