Hello everyone, this is my first post in DnD Beyond. I've always been a fan of "Arcane Knights" or in other words gish fighters. Classes that have the ability to be good in melee and have a good range of utility/control/damage spells. As of right now with the published books the only class/spec that fulfills all those things is the Hexblade Warlock. The ability to have the smites, get multi attack and a good variation for spells (for combat and out of combat). Now that I explained my love for this archetype, I found myself confused. I have the blessing of playing multiple adventures with my friends (2 of them love Dming) and I already get to play a straight no multiclass hexblade warlock. I want to know how many of you have repeated a class/spec, or if you recommend me other gishes I havent tried. (It would help if you give me a little overview of the class/spec you are suggesting)
Edit: If possible no multiclassing, I just like the idea of having a complete class. And btw if you have played a draconic origin sorcerer as a melee and worked out please let me know!
Thank you very much! English not my mother tongue so bear with me.
Yes hex blade is a very good option when it comes to melee casting but I feel like it is far from your only option. You have melee classes that have casting archetypes like the arcane trickster for the rogue or the eldritch knight for the fighter. You also have some half casters that can be very good at melee like the ranger and the paladin. You also have full casters that can be amazing at melee like the cleric especially when pick a domain like war or life that gives you heavy armour. Even the druid can work quite well in melee if built right but that is probably a but too far off what your after.
However I think your best bet is to check out the bladesinger a subclass of wizard found in SCAG. This in my opinion is the closest in what you are after to the hexblade, it may not be as good in melee but it has a similar flavour in being an normally squishy arcane caster who has some nice melee abilities.
As for your initial question I have absolutely played the same class more than once but if I'm going for a full campaign Ill try play something new or at least a different archetype. Which in your is possible but not optimal from where your standing. Before the hexblade there were melee warlocks that just took pact of the blade so you could give that a go. You could also try play a blade lock again but as the warlock has so few spell slots it is quite difficult to change enough but it could be done. Try pick a theme for the character like you can get a bunch of teleporting spells as a warlock and maybe mix it with the eladrin. Or make sure you pick completely different evocations, maybe some if the shadow and darkness ones and devils sight so people can't see you coming.
There are lots of different options available to you even in 5e so have a look at some of the different options I have said and go from there, I'm sure you'll be able to make something work.
Hello everyone, this is my first post in DnD Beyond. I've always been a fan of "Arcane Knights" or in other words gish fighters. Classes that have the ability to be good in melee and have a good range of utility/control/damage spells. As of right now with the published books the only class/spec that fulfills all those things is the Hexblade Warlock. The ability to have the smites, get multi attack and a good variation for spells (for combat and out of combat). Now that I explained my love for this archetype, I found myself confused. I have the blessing of playing multiple adventures with my friends (2 of them love Dming) and I already get to play a straight no multiclass hexblade warlock. I want to know how many of you have repeated a class/spec, or if you recommend me other gishes I havent tried. (It would help if you give me a little overview of the class/spec you are suggesting)
Edit: If possible no multiclassing, I just like the idea of having a complete class. And btw if you have played a draconic origin sorcerer as a melee and worked out please let me know!
Thank you very much! English not my mother tongue so bear with me.
Yes hex blade is a very good option when it comes to melee casting but I feel like it is far from your only option. You have melee classes that have casting archetypes like the arcane trickster for the rogue or the eldritch knight for the fighter. You also have some half casters that can be very good at melee like the ranger and the paladin. You also have full casters that can be amazing at melee like the cleric especially when pick a domain like war or life that gives you heavy armour. Even the druid can work quite well in melee if built right but that is probably a but too far off what your after.
However I think your best bet is to check out the bladesinger a subclass of wizard found in SCAG. This in my opinion is the closest in what you are after to the hexblade, it may not be as good in melee but it has a similar flavour in being an normally squishy arcane caster who has some nice melee abilities.
As for your initial question I have absolutely played the same class more than once but if I'm going for a full campaign Ill try play something new or at least a different archetype. Which in your is possible but not optimal from where your standing. Before the hexblade there were melee warlocks that just took pact of the blade so you could give that a go. You could also try play a blade lock again but as the warlock has so few spell slots it is quite difficult to change enough but it could be done. Try pick a theme for the character like you can get a bunch of teleporting spells as a warlock and maybe mix it with the eladrin. Or make sure you pick completely different evocations, maybe some if the shadow and darkness ones and devils sight so people can't see you coming.
There are lots of different options available to you even in 5e so have a look at some of the different options I have said and go from there, I'm sure you'll be able to make something work.
Mega Threads - Staff Quotes - Useful Resources - Homebrew FAQ - Pricing FAQ