I’ve gone back and forth between Divine Soul/Hexblade Sorlock and Celestial Warlock in the oneshot campaigns my group has been doing. Last session in particular i was kind of down in the dumps afterwards because not only was I unable to contribute to the story (I think I’ve remedied that part with my out of combat abilities. I just miss having misty step over far step for leveling up/down purposes), but I also didn’t do mich as a Warlock compared to the Cleric, Druid with his elemental or multi-hitting/critting Hexblade Paladin. With my hex/agonizing blast i was able to do a maximum of 63 damage, but I missed one. The combat was over in one round!
if I was a Sorlock, I could have quickened spelled agonizing blast with a Guiding Bolt afterward, right? That would have done way more and made me more relevant. Plus since it is a Hexblade it has better armor! However, Warlocks have to have something else, right? At the very least, not only does it already beat my other’s HP 82 to 133 (slight increase in constitution due to different race cuz my Sorlock needs Warcaster via Custom Lineage), but in one level I’ll gain Searing Vengeance, which will revive my health by half! Sorlock gains a similar ability, but bot only can i not maximize my HP with it properly (20 constitution plus tough), but I won’t get it until level 20! (18/2)
So, if combat continues to end in a round or two, should I switch back to Sorlock, or is the survivability or my Warlock still a viable option? I’ve spoken to my DM, but haven’t gotten a clear answer. Perhaps he doesn’t want to give too much of his campaign structure away. The other players haven’t been as much help either, although they seem to be nice enough people and I really don’t have an alternative group of people to play with.
What are some unique features and abilities that Warlocks have, aside from Searing Vengeance?
Compared to my Sorlock, they have extra eldritch incocations as well as a pact boon. My build uses Pact of the Chain to further improve healing and have communication between two places at a distance. Speaking of healing, my Celestial Warlock has its’ own special sort of healing dice pool of D6 (one plus another for each level) that i can do as a bonus action similar to healing word, but i suppose the sorlock I’m using has healing word anyway. It also gets a slightly worse version of inspiring leader built in, resistance to radiant damage, and an increase in damage for one target each turn that i hit with a fire or radiant damage spell.
…yeah, I guess its’ not really impressive compared to the Sorlock’s Metamagic, better spells and access to flying.
Both options have their strengths and weaknesses. Cuz the decision should align with your playstyle and what you find enjoyable.
Having said that, i often find myself confused when and what to quickened spell. Warlock is more straight forward, which is kind of more fun i guess. It just does not feel like I’m accomplishing as much as the other players.
there’s a few ways i can sort of combine the abilities I like, but they involve taking a controversial background that grants a feat and getting a specific shield ingame that you don’t actually have to hold. Are those the kind of things I talk to my DM about, or is that to meta?
If combat is over in a round or two, why do you care how good you are in combat? It doesn't matter, your party is stomping everything instantly. That's probably why the DM isn't saying anything since they are probably reworking all their combats to make them harder so the party doesn't just trash the BBEG in 2 rounds.
If you have a cleric and a druid in the party why are you worried about survivability? Why are you limiting yourself to healer-classes? You already have 2 awesome healers, and a Paladin as a back up healer. Just go for a 100% blast-y character as a Draconic Sorcerer + Hexblade Warlock. Especially if you are playing a series of one-shots, who cares if your character dies? You could be like Kenny in South Park, die at the climax of every one-shot.
Or alternatively, since your party already does a ****-load of damage, go for a support character build and buff the others up. Though honestly, it sounds like it won't really matter, since high level + one-shot = short combat where you just dump everything into a nova round an obliterate the enemy.
I wouldn’t cal my builds healers (backups at best). What really drew me to Divine Soul is its’ access to things like spiritual weapon and spirit guardians. I just picked up its’ healing spell because it was recommended and i really didn’t have one i wanted to use instead. As far as Celestial Warlock, that was more for preferred flavor over the other warlocks.
Then again, it’s not like I’m using those features. I’ll have to look at Dragonblood and the other sorcerers to see what they have to offer.
Spiritual Weapon really isn't that great. It's pretty good at low levels but once you get to level 7+ you probably have better things to do, especially if you're a sorlock and can quicken a different spell for your BA and use eldritch blast as your action.
Spiritual Guardians is good if you like being on the front lines, surrounded by enemies. You definitely need the Hexblade dip to make that viable because for a pure sorcerer it's kind of suicide to try to use Spiritual Guardians effectively. But it requires combat to last at least 3 rounds to be more effective than alternative spells.
For short combats you don't want to worry about concentration spells unless they can be pre-cast like the Tasha's summon spells, and instead focus on blast spells like Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Synaptic Static, Chain Lightning. Throwing out one Chain Lightning will double the damage of an upcast Spiritual Guardians.
The thing is the party is almost always in the enemy’s face, so I can’t do any AoE spells without hitting them. Chain Lightning however is the big exception.
i guess I’ve made my decision: quickened spelled chain lightning with eldritch blast should hopefully help to fry the boss as well as and extra minions they have around. I guess its’ possible I might have to transmute it, but that damage isn’t that commonly resisted, right?
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I’ve gone back and forth between Divine Soul/Hexblade Sorlock and Celestial Warlock in the oneshot campaigns my group has been doing. Last session in particular i was kind of down in the dumps afterwards because not only was I unable to contribute to the story (I think I’ve remedied that part with my out of combat abilities. I just miss having misty step over far step for leveling up/down purposes), but I also didn’t do mich as a Warlock compared to the Cleric, Druid with his elemental or multi-hitting/critting Hexblade Paladin. With my hex/agonizing blast i was able to do a maximum of 63 damage, but I missed one. The combat was over in one round!
if I was a Sorlock, I could have quickened spelled agonizing blast with a Guiding Bolt afterward, right? That would have done way more and made me more relevant. Plus since it is a Hexblade it has better armor! However, Warlocks have to have something else, right? At the very least, not only does it already beat my other’s HP 82 to 133 (slight increase in constitution due to different race cuz my Sorlock needs Warcaster via Custom Lineage), but in one level I’ll gain Searing Vengeance, which will revive my health by half! Sorlock gains a similar ability, but bot only can i not maximize my HP with it properly (20 constitution plus tough), but I won’t get it until level 20! (18/2)
So, if combat continues to end in a round or two, should I switch back to Sorlock, or is the survivability or my Warlock still a viable option? I’ve spoken to my DM, but haven’t gotten a clear answer. Perhaps he doesn’t want to give too much of his campaign structure away. The other players haven’t been as much help either, although they seem to be nice enough people and I really don’t have an alternative group of people to play with.
What are some unique features and abilities that Warlocks have, aside from Searing Vengeance?
Both options have their strengths and weaknesses. Cuz the decision should align with your playstyle and what you find enjoyable.
Compared to my Sorlock, they have extra eldritch incocations as well as a pact boon. My build uses Pact of the Chain to further improve healing and have communication between two places at a distance. Speaking of healing, my Celestial Warlock has its’ own special sort of healing dice pool of D6 (one plus another for each level) that i can do as a bonus action similar to healing word, but i suppose the sorlock I’m using has healing word anyway. It also gets a slightly worse version of inspiring leader built in, resistance to radiant damage, and an increase in damage for one target each turn that i hit with a fire or radiant damage spell.
…yeah, I guess its’ not really impressive compared to the Sorlock’s Metamagic, better spells and access to flying.
Having said that, i often find myself confused when and what to quickened spell. Warlock is more straight forward, which is kind of more fun i guess. It just does not feel like I’m accomplishing as much as the other players.
there’s a few ways i can sort of combine the abilities I like, but they involve taking a controversial background that grants a feat and getting a specific shield ingame that you don’t actually have to hold. Are those the kind of things I talk to my DM about, or is that to meta?
If combat is over in a round or two, why do you care how good you are in combat? It doesn't matter, your party is stomping everything instantly. That's probably why the DM isn't saying anything since they are probably reworking all their combats to make them harder so the party doesn't just trash the BBEG in 2 rounds.
If you have a cleric and a druid in the party why are you worried about survivability? Why are you limiting yourself to healer-classes? You already have 2 awesome healers, and a Paladin as a back up healer. Just go for a 100% blast-y character as a Draconic Sorcerer + Hexblade Warlock. Especially if you are playing a series of one-shots, who cares if your character dies? You could be like Kenny in South Park, die at the climax of every one-shot.
Or alternatively, since your party already does a ****-load of damage, go for a support character build and buff the others up. Though honestly, it sounds like it won't really matter, since high level + one-shot = short combat where you just dump everything into a nova round an obliterate the enemy.
I wouldn’t cal my builds healers (backups at best). What really drew me to Divine Soul is its’ access to things like spiritual weapon and spirit guardians. I just picked up its’ healing spell because it was recommended and i really didn’t have one i wanted to use instead. As far as Celestial Warlock, that was more for preferred flavor over the other warlocks.
Then again, it’s not like I’m using those features. I’ll have to look at Dragonblood and the other sorcerers to see what they have to offer.
Spiritual Weapon really isn't that great. It's pretty good at low levels but once you get to level 7+ you probably have better things to do, especially if you're a sorlock and can quicken a different spell for your BA and use eldritch blast as your action.
Spiritual Guardians is good if you like being on the front lines, surrounded by enemies. You definitely need the Hexblade dip to make that viable because for a pure sorcerer it's kind of suicide to try to use Spiritual Guardians effectively. But it requires combat to last at least 3 rounds to be more effective than alternative spells.
For short combats you don't want to worry about concentration spells unless they can be pre-cast like the Tasha's summon spells, and instead focus on blast spells like Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Synaptic Static, Chain Lightning. Throwing out one Chain Lightning will double the damage of an upcast Spiritual Guardians.
The thing is the party is almost always in the enemy’s face, so I can’t do any AoE spells without hitting them. Chain Lightning however is the big exception.
i guess I’ve made my decision: quickened spelled chain lightning with eldritch blast should hopefully help to fry the boss as well as and extra minions they have around. I guess its’ possible I might have to transmute it, but that damage isn’t that commonly resisted, right?