You can make an Opportunity Attack when a creature that you can see leaves your reach using its action, its Bonus Action, its Reaction, or one of its speeds. To make the Opportunity Attack, take a Reaction to make one melee attack with a weapon or an Unarmed Strike against the provoking creature.
War Caster
Reactive Spell. When a creature provokes an Opportunity Attack from you by leaving your reach, you can take a Reaction to cast a spell at the creature rather than making an Opportunity Attack. The spell must have a casting time of one action and must target only that creature.
Spell Sniper
Casting in Melee. Being within 5 feet of an enemy doesn’t impose Disadvantage on your attack rolls with spells.
Make a ranged spell attack against one creature or object in range. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 Force damage.
two beams at level 5, three beams at level 11, and four beams at level 17
so, a melee character can do an opportunity attack at level 1 if an enemy moves away.
with warcaster, a spell casting character can do a spell based opportunity-attack-adjacent attack at level 4+.
And because it isn't an ACTUAL "Opportunity Attack", warcaster isn't thwarted by features like Speedy, that force all OpportunityAttacks to be rolled at disadvantage.
casting a spell attack at melee distances is normally at disadvantage, so the caster would likely go with some sort of SavingThrow based spell, like Sleep or Command or whatever.
But add in Spell Sniper and you get a bunch of new benefits, plus you can do Spell Attack rolls while in melee range of enemies.
Granted, its two feats, but it makes for a rocking warlock to cast EB as that Opportunity-Spell-Attack
Now:
Sharpshooter
General Feat (Prerequisite: Level 4+, Dexterity 13+)
You gain the following benefits.
Ability Score Increase. Increase your Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
Firing in Melee. Being within 5 feet of an enemy doesn’t impose Disadvantage on your attack rolls with Ranged weapons.
Long Shots. Attacking at long range doesn’t impose Disadvantage on your attack rolls with Ranged weapons.
sor-lock: 2 level dip into warlock for EldritchBlast cantrip and AgonizingBlast invocation. All other levels in sorcerer for quickened metamagic.
so, while a warlock can work their way up to four zero cost ranged beam attacks on their action, and with one quicken metamagic point from sorcerer to double the number of beams in that turn to EIGHT attack rolls, warlock can also take two feats and use EldritchBlast as an opportunity-spell-attack to throw in ANOTHER FOUR eldritch blast beams? And because they are NOT an "Opportunity Attack" they are never affected by feats like Speedy that would otherwise force eldritch blast attacks to be rolled at disadvantage???
On the other hand, a ranger/longbow is strictly limited to 2 attacks maximum during their action, there is absolutely NO WAY to ever get more than 2 attacks on their action, and they have absolutely ZERO access to using there bow even once on some sort of ranged-weapon-opportunity-attack?
Not to mention, rangers are half casters with a slow spell progression and a "meh" spell list. Mostly access to HuntersMark and speak with animals. Warlocks are weird casters with limited slots, but they refresh on a short rest, and they access higher spell levels as fast as a full caster, and get some really powerful spells. And besides, you will probably do a 2 level warlock dip and take the rest as a full-spellcasting sorcerer for all the metamagic points and awesome spell slots.
And because it isn't an ACTUAL "Opportunity Attack", warcaster isn't thwarted by features like Speedy, that force all OpportunityAttacks to be rolled at disadvantage.
This part is something you'd probably want to check with the DM about if you actually try to play this character. It's technically correct under the Rules As Written, but it seems very much outside the spirit of the rules, and a lot of DMs might not care for it.
Probably. (I could see debate on the question of speedy vs. reactive spells, but it's both a reasonable interpretation and also unimportant.)
Also, this really isn't a rules question; it would probably best be discussed on tips and tactics.
Is sor-lock just the best ranger subclass ever?
No. It's arguably a slight upgrade on straight sorcerer for single-target damage, but if you're just sitting there eldritch blasting every turn, you're not playing your character to anything like its fullest extent.
(And spending two feats to get OA eldritch blast seems like a poor choice to me, because you aren't a melee caster, and if somebody gets into melee range of you, they're not going to leave.)
It's only comparable to a ranger if you consider a ranger to be solely a ranged-damage-dealer. That's a category where full casters, particularly arcane ones, have always excelled, so it's not surprising if you can out-damage a martial that way.
But even there, you're comparing a caster who's burning through resources to a ranger who isn't. The ranger has hunter's mark and attack-enhancing spells. They may not be able to take an OA with a longbow, but they can swap it out for a melee weapon if they're in melee.
But that's not the only, or even primary, purpose of a ranger. They're effective melee fighters, they have skill expertise, they have specialized utility magic, they have their actual subclass features, such as an entire second combatant. Sorcerers are better sorcerers than rangers are; they're not better rangers.
The rules very specifically went out of their way to say it is something entirely different than an opportunity attack.
it says "take a Reaction to cast a spell at the creature rather than making an Opportunity Attack."
But also, there's the fact that the sorlock at level 17 is doing 4 eb's per action, or 8 with one metamagic point (and dozens and dozens of metamagic points). vesus a ranger at level 17 is still only doing ... TWO. And cant even use longbow on an opportunity attack...
A level 20 ranger's capstone feat is that their hunters mark die goes from a d6 to d10. yay. a level 18 sorcerer/level2 warlock has access to the WISH spell.
does anyone actually read these rules and go, hey, maybe this is... off... just a bit....
The rules very specifically went out of their way to say it is something entirely different than an opportunity attack.
it says "take a Reaction to cast a spell at the creature rather than making an Opportunity Attack."
As I said, it's a reasonable interpretation. The potential debate gets into the details of how replacement abilities interact with restrictions placed upon the ability being replaced, and that is entirely uncharted territory. (But it is the second instance of it that I've noticed here in recent weeks, and I bet a lot of people have inconsistent beliefs on the two. But I don't feel like discussing it here.)
But also, there's the fact that the sorlock at level 17 is doing 4 eb's per action, or 8 with one metamagic point (and dozens and dozens of metamagic points). vesus a ranger at level 17 is still only doing ... TWO. And cant even use longbow on an opportunity attack...
A level 20 ranger's capstone feat is that their hunters mark die goes from a d6 to d10. yay. a level 18 sorcerer/level2 warlock has access to the WISH spell.
does anyone actually read these rules and go, hey, maybe this is... off... just a bit....
The martial-caster divide has been a real issue in every D&D except 4e. It's probably less in 5e than in any of the others, but it's an intractable problem without changing the game's fundamental paradigms.
Nonetheless, sorcerers, multiclassed or not, are not better rangers than rangers because they can outperform the ranger on one particular measurement.
Also, your sorcerer-warlock is outperforming fighters, paladins, single-classed warlocks, and indeed every pure caster on single-target ranged damage. Does that mean it's a better cleric than clerics are? No. It means that you found a multiclass combo that can specialize in one particular thing, and is likely the best at that thing if it does. Somebody's going to be that for any measurement.
(And spending two feats to get OA eldritch blast seems like a poor choice to me, because you aren't a melee caster, and if somebody gets into melee range of you, they're not going to leave.)
Not only that, but because of the two levels of Warlock, you likely aren't getting the feats until level 10. And since Eldritch Blast generates multiple attacks you may see some DMs blocking it as a War Caster candidate even if you target the same target with every beam. (Jeremy Crawford has said that Green-flame Blade works fine, but that never made it into an official Sage Advice so it is RAI at best.)
And because it isn't an ACTUAL "Opportunity Attack", warcaster isn't thwarted by features like Speedy, that force all OpportunityAttacks to be rolled at disadvantage.
This part is something you'd probably want to check with the DM about if you actually try to play this character. It's technically correct under the Rules As Written, but it seems very much outside the spirit of the rules, and a lot of DMs might not care for it.
I'm pretty sure that this was made clear in the 2014 rules that the Warcaster reaction was not an opportunity attack and thus the character wouldn't get to use any benefits you would normally get on an OA and thus it would seem to follow that the target wouldn't get any benefits it would normally get against an OA either. I'm not sure if there is any change to that in the 2024 rules set though.
The part I'm wondering about though is if Eldritch Blast is valid for Warcaster at all? It wasn't allowable to be twinned under the 2014 rules but can't remember if Warcaster handled it differently.
I mean, the idea works but it's rather situational. A build that works only on a multiclass of two traditionally ranged caster classes, with a heavy reliance of going in melee and hoping they leave your reach.
A warlock with Armour of Agathys (5th level) & Hellish Rebuke (5th level) can deal an average of 58 (25 + 6d10) damage is already much more flexible compared to the requirement of two different feats, which are half the feats you can ever get due to the multiclass locking out the 5th one.
What makes a Sor-Lock better than the Ranger in a way that the warlock and sorcerer isn’t? A 9th level spell is already in your grasp, just use that and the variety of powerful spells a sorcerer has.
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Opportunity Attacks
You can make an Opportunity Attack when a creature that you can see leaves your reach using its action, its Bonus Action, its Reaction, or one of its speeds. To make the Opportunity Attack, take a Reaction to make one melee attack with a weapon or an Unarmed Strike against the provoking creature.
War Caster
Reactive Spell. When a creature provokes an Opportunity Attack from you by leaving your reach, you can take a Reaction to cast a spell at the creature rather than making an Opportunity Attack. The spell must have a casting time of one action and must target only that creature.
Spell Sniper
Casting in Melee. Being within 5 feet of an enemy doesn’t impose Disadvantage on your attack rolls with spells.
Eldritch Blast
Evocation Cantrip (Warlock)
Casting Time: Action
Make a ranged spell attack against one creature or object in range. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 Force damage.
two beams at level 5, three beams at level 11, and four beams at level 17
so, a melee character can do an opportunity attack at level 1 if an enemy moves away.
with warcaster, a spell casting character can do a spell based opportunity-attack-adjacent attack at level 4+.
And because it isn't an ACTUAL "Opportunity Attack", warcaster isn't thwarted by features like Speedy, that force all OpportunityAttacks to be rolled at disadvantage.
casting a spell attack at melee distances is normally at disadvantage, so the caster would likely go with some sort of SavingThrow based spell, like Sleep or Command or whatever.
But add in Spell Sniper and you get a bunch of new benefits, plus you can do Spell Attack rolls while in melee range of enemies.
Granted, its two feats, but it makes for a rocking warlock to cast EB as that Opportunity-Spell-Attack
Now:
Sharpshooter
General Feat (Prerequisite: Level 4+, Dexterity 13+)
You gain the following benefits.
Ability Score Increase. Increase your Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
Bypass Cover. Your ranged attacks with weapons ignore Half Cover and Three-Quarters Cover.
Firing in Melee. Being within 5 feet of an enemy doesn’t impose Disadvantage on your attack rolls with Ranged weapons.
Long Shots. Attacking at long range doesn’t impose Disadvantage on your attack rolls with Ranged weapons.
sor-lock: 2 level dip into warlock for EldritchBlast cantrip and AgonizingBlast invocation. All other levels in sorcerer for quickened metamagic.
so, while a warlock can work their way up to four zero cost ranged beam attacks on their action, and with one quicken metamagic point from sorcerer to double the number of beams in that turn to EIGHT attack rolls, warlock can also take two feats and use EldritchBlast as an opportunity-spell-attack to throw in ANOTHER FOUR eldritch blast beams? And because they are NOT an "Opportunity Attack" they are never affected by feats like Speedy that would otherwise force eldritch blast attacks to be rolled at disadvantage???
On the other hand, a ranger/longbow is strictly limited to 2 attacks maximum during their action, there is absolutely NO WAY to ever get more than 2 attacks on their action, and they have absolutely ZERO access to using there bow even once on some sort of ranged-weapon-opportunity-attack?
Not to mention, rangers are half casters with a slow spell progression and a "meh" spell list. Mostly access to HuntersMark and speak with animals.
Warlocks are weird casters with limited slots, but they refresh on a short rest, and they access higher spell levels as fast as a full caster, and get some really powerful spells. And besides, you will probably do a 2 level warlock dip and take the rest as a full-spellcasting sorcerer for all the metamagic points and awesome spell slots.
Did I read all these rules correctly???
Is sor-lock just the best ranger subclass ever?
This part is something you'd probably want to check with the DM about if you actually try to play this character. It's technically correct under the Rules As Written, but it seems very much outside the spirit of the rules, and a lot of DMs might not care for it.
pronouns: he/she/they
Probably. (I could see debate on the question of speedy vs. reactive spells, but it's both a reasonable interpretation and also unimportant.)
Also, this really isn't a rules question; it would probably best be discussed on tips and tactics.
No. It's arguably a slight upgrade on straight sorcerer for single-target damage, but if you're just sitting there eldritch blasting every turn, you're not playing your character to anything like its fullest extent.
(And spending two feats to get OA eldritch blast seems like a poor choice to me, because you aren't a melee caster, and if somebody gets into melee range of you, they're not going to leave.)
It's only comparable to a ranger if you consider a ranger to be solely a ranged-damage-dealer. That's a category where full casters, particularly arcane ones, have always excelled, so it's not surprising if you can out-damage a martial that way.
But even there, you're comparing a caster who's burning through resources to a ranger who isn't. The ranger has hunter's mark and attack-enhancing spells. They may not be able to take an OA with a longbow, but they can swap it out for a melee weapon if they're in melee.
But that's not the only, or even primary, purpose of a ranger. They're effective melee fighters, they have skill expertise, they have specialized utility magic, they have their actual subclass features, such as an entire second combatant. Sorcerers are better sorcerers than rangers are; they're not better rangers.
The rules very specifically went out of their way to say it is something entirely different than an opportunity attack.
it says "take a Reaction to cast a spell at the creature rather than making an Opportunity Attack."
But also, there's the fact that the sorlock at level 17 is doing 4 eb's per action, or 8 with one metamagic point (and dozens and dozens of metamagic points). vesus a ranger at level 17 is still only doing ... TWO. And cant even use longbow on an opportunity attack...
A level 20 ranger's capstone feat is that their hunters mark die goes from a d6 to d10. yay.
a level 18 sorcerer/level2 warlock has access to the WISH spell.
does anyone actually read these rules and go, hey, maybe this is... off... just a bit....
As I said, it's a reasonable interpretation. The potential debate gets into the details of how replacement abilities interact with restrictions placed upon the ability being replaced, and that is entirely uncharted territory. (But it is the second instance of it that I've noticed here in recent weeks, and I bet a lot of people have inconsistent beliefs on the two. But I don't feel like discussing it here.)
The martial-caster divide has been a real issue in every D&D except 4e. It's probably less in 5e than in any of the others, but it's an intractable problem without changing the game's fundamental paradigms.
Nonetheless, sorcerers, multiclassed or not, are not better rangers than rangers because they can outperform the ranger on one particular measurement.
Also, your sorcerer-warlock is outperforming fighters, paladins, single-classed warlocks, and indeed every pure caster on single-target ranged damage. Does that mean it's a better cleric than clerics are? No. It means that you found a multiclass combo that can specialize in one particular thing, and is likely the best at that thing if it does. Somebody's going to be that for any measurement.
"sorcerers, multiclassed or not, are not better rangers than rangers because they can outperform the ranger on one particular measurement. "
OK, so level 2 warlock has 3 invocations. one is for agonizing blast.
1 invocation can be pact of the chain to get something akin to a beastmaster sidekick.
1 invocation could be skilled to pick up the extra skills that rangers get (survival, perception, nature maybe)
1 invocation could be magic initiate Druid to get goodberry
1 invocation could be magic initiate Cleric to also get healing word.
pick any 2, or get a couple more levels in warlock and take them all.
Hunters Mark is replaced by Hex for same damage.
Seems like they can match a rangers functionality in a lot of ways.
Not only that, but because of the two levels of Warlock, you likely aren't getting the feats until level 10. And since Eldritch Blast generates multiple attacks you may see some DMs blocking it as a War Caster candidate even if you target the same target with every beam. (Jeremy Crawford has said that Green-flame Blade works fine, but that never made it into an official Sage Advice so it is RAI at best.)
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
I'm pretty sure that this was made clear in the 2014 rules that the Warcaster reaction was not an opportunity attack and thus the character wouldn't get to use any benefits you would normally get on an OA and thus it would seem to follow that the target wouldn't get any benefits it would normally get against an OA either. I'm not sure if there is any change to that in the 2024 rules set though.
The part I'm wondering about though is if Eldritch Blast is valid for Warcaster at all? It wasn't allowable to be twinned under the 2014 rules but can't remember if Warcaster handled it differently.
I mean, the idea works but it's rather situational. A build that works only on a multiclass of two traditionally ranged caster classes, with a heavy reliance of going in melee and hoping they leave your reach.
A warlock with Armour of Agathys (5th level) & Hellish Rebuke (5th level) can deal an average of 58 (25 + 6d10) damage is already much more flexible compared to the requirement of two different feats, which are half the feats you can ever get due to the multiclass locking out the 5th one.
What makes a Sor-Lock better than the Ranger in a way that the warlock and sorcerer isn’t? A 9th level spell is already in your grasp, just use that and the variety of powerful spells a sorcerer has.