Tried it. Sucked as much as I thought it would. Half caster with no other "half"
Bladelock was a paladin without aura's. Different spells and no smiting.Also less survivable since you can't take a shield and no plate and less damaging since you cant take a 2 handed heavy weapon and put in GWM
Aye, that's the thing that concerns me the most so far. Bladelock gotta measure up to paladin, it's pretty much the benchmark for martial efficiency. As far as I understand, the other half of warlock is supposed to be Eldritch Blast emulating the single-target damage output of a martial, and invocations providing utility that surpasses skills and some spells.
Find me a Paladin with fireball.
And bladelock doesn't compare to Paladin, Hexblade bladelock does. Hexblade has shield proficiency, and the smite spells on its patron spell list. Bladelock is a caster who can fight in melee if it has to. Even then, throw Eldritch Smite on the bladelock and they can dish out a reasonable level of damage until (like Paladin) they run out of slots.
So Hexblade doesn't exist in One DnD. So I can only compare the warlock class as a whole. One of the nice things they did with Warlocks is making them so flexible. 3 different paths with the Pacts, 3 different choices of spellcasting ability (2 per pact). That flexibility doesn't make up for the half caster with no other half.
Bladelock is a level one option. As it is, it is at least another "half" albeit it's a crappier paladin or ranger. Yes they have Arcane vice Divine or Primal spells so there is some variation. But they have less damage output, less survivability, and less flavor. It at least allows any warlock subclass to be semi martial class. I wouldn't be opposed to a Hexblade that gave proficiency in shields and heavy weapons. But as is Bladelock just isn't up to paladin or ranger.
As for the other two options. Tomelock is a half caster with the other "half" wizard? And I don't know what Chainlock is supposed to do.
This is playtest material for the Player's Handbook. Not Xanathar's, not Tasha's. Hexblade exists as long as Xanathar's does.
Tomelock is a pseudo-full caster with Eldrirch Blast, which is, lest we forget, the most powerful damage cantrip in the game, sufficiently so that WotC have soft locked it to the Warlock chassis. WotC obviously think it sufficiently powerful that they've never deliberately put it on a full caster, and they've gone out of their way to make sure you can't even with multiclassing now. No matter what the playtest results are, Eldritch Blast as a Warlock class feature is the future. Because Book of Shadows replaces Agonizing Blast at level 5 the Tomelock can trade all their invocations for Mystic Arcanum levels 1 through 9 and not really hurt their build. Of course, as I've said before, instead of a level 1 Mystic Arcanum I'd just take Lessons of the First Ones for Magic Initiate. All characters with ritual spells can ritual cast them now, so Tomelock can just choose arcane ritual spells as they level up, but can cycle through the 13 level 1 spells as they see fit in their book.
I don't think anyone is sure what a Chainlock is supposed to be. A Warlock with a friend? Find Familiar is available to all Warlocks via their spell list, and Chainlock Familiars are not sufficiently better to justify devoting an entire subclass to them.
I suggested to Jeremy that agonizing blast should just become a class feature at level 2. Tomelocks don't need it, so why should Bladelock or Chainlock have to pay for it?
That would free up another invocation.
I also suggested making Hex a bonus action cantrip for Warlocks. It scales, like cantrips, from 1d6 to 4d6, on one attack per turn but, like Eldritch Blast, only on Warlock levels. That would make it extremely useful for boosting Warlock damage, even on Bladelock, but would be fairly useless on anyone else who tried to multiclass Warlock.
I've played my second game with the tomelock, and I'm still in love with this character. He is much better than the previous warlock, and by far. And above all it is more fun. Why? Well, because you have more magic. And more magic means more options and more decisions to make.
Outside of combat, its versatility is wonderful thanks to Book of Shadows. And in combat it is very effective thanks to the number of options it has, in addition to its eldritch blast. He now really feels like a caster, and not a magic sniper.
Thanks to Mystic Arcanum he keeps pace with any other full caster. Yeah right, Mystic Arcanum doesn't scale. But if you choose your spells wisely that doesn't matter much either. He can also cast one of his subclass spells for free, which isn't much, but helps keep up with other full casters. And it also has the rest of the things that its subclass gives it, which differentiates it from a wizard or a sorcerer (although I haven't seen the sorcerer in play, so I don't want to talk about it). I'm looking forward to seeing what new subclasses give this warlock, since I never liked the fiend too much thematically (but it's the archetypal warlock, and I understand that it's the first subclass. It couldn't be any other).
Not everything is perfect, and there are things to adjust. And it is normal, since this is a playtest. But I hope the designers stick with this warlock concept, because it's better than the other one. More versatile, more useful, and more fun.
This is playtest material for the Player's Handbook. Not Xanathar's, not Tasha's. Hexblade exists as long as Xanathar's does.
Tomelock is a pseudo-full caster with Eldrirch Blast, which is, lest we forget, the most powerful damage cantrip in the game, sufficiently so that WotC have soft locked it to the Warlock chassis. WotC obviously think it sufficiently powerful that they've never deliberately put it on a full caster, and they've gone out of their way to make sure you can't even with multiclassing now. No matter what the playtest results are, Eldritch Blast as a Warlock class feature is the future. Because Book of Shadows replaces Agonizing Blast at level 5 the Tomelock can trade all their invocations for Mystic Arcanum levels 1 through 9 and not really hurt their build. Of course, as I've said before, instead of a level 1 Mystic Arcanum I'd just take Lessons of the First Ones for Magic Initiate. All characters with ritual spells can ritual cast them now, so Tomelock can just choose arcane ritual spells as they level up, but can cycle through the 13 level 1 spells as they see fit in their book.
I don't think anyone is sure what a Chainlock is supposed to be. A Warlock with a friend? Find Familiar is available to all Warlocks via their spell list, and Chainlock Familiars are not sufficiently better to justify devoting an entire subclass to them.
I suggested to Jeremy that agonizing blast should just become a class feature at level 2. Tomelocks don't need it, so why should Bladelock or Chainlock have to pay for it?
That would free up another invocation.
I also suggested making Hex a bonus action cantrip for Warlocks. It scales, like cantrips, from 1d6 to 4d6, on one attack per turn but, like Eldritch Blast, only on Warlock levels. That would make it extremely useful for boosting Warlock damage, even on Bladelock, but would be fairly useless on anyone else who tried to multiclass Warlock.
I actually couldn't find how other expansions are supposed to fit, I know they wanted One DnD to be backwards compatible. The issue with using Subclasses outside of the new PHB would be that now all Classes have their Subclasses start at lvl 3 (Warlocks/Sorcerers/Clerics/Druids/Wizards). So other then just taping on Hexblade by moving around when what levels you get features, I'm not sure how it is supposed to work. Hex Warrior (other than shields) is now useless.
I could see Agonizing Blast free for Chainlocks, but Bladelocks (just like old school Hexblades) probably don't care as much since they are more weapon focused.
I mean that Hex seems OP, I would just prefer it didn't use concentration like the new Hunter's Mark.
I actually couldn't find how other expansions are supposed to fit, I know they wanted One DnD to be backwards compatible. The issue with using Subclasses outside of the new PHB would be that now all Classes have their Subclasses start at lvl 3 (Warlocks/Sorcerers/Clerics/Druids/Wizards). So other then just taping on Hexblade by moving around when what levels you get features, I'm not sure how it is supposed to work. Hex Warrior (other than shields) is now useless.
In no case will the subclasses of the 2014 warlock be compatible with the 2024 warlock. Not even the other way around. And I don't think that was ever the intention.
The intention is that you can play a 2014 warlock in D&D 5e revised. But not that you can take subclasses from 2014 warlock and mix it with the one from D&D 5e revised (unless you do homebrew). And the same applies to feats, etc... If you play with a 2014 character, ok. But you play with that and not with 2024.
Despite that Jeremy Crawford said there would be some kind of conversion tables. But we'll see how that works. I wouldn't expect too much.
This is playtest material for the Player's Handbook. Not Xanathar's, not Tasha's. Hexblade exists as long as Xanathar's does.
Tomelock is a pseudo-full caster with Eldrirch Blast, which is, lest we forget, the most powerful damage cantrip in the game, sufficiently so that WotC have soft locked it to the Warlock chassis. WotC obviously think it sufficiently powerful that they've never deliberately put it on a full caster, and they've gone out of their way to make sure you can't even with multiclassing now. No matter what the playtest results are, Eldritch Blast as a Warlock class feature is the future. Because Book of Shadows replaces Agonizing Blast at level 5 the Tomelock can trade all their invocations for Mystic Arcanum levels 1 through 9 and not really hurt their build. Of course, as I've said before, instead of a level 1 Mystic Arcanum I'd just take Lessons of the First Ones for Magic Initiate. All characters with ritual spells can ritual cast them now, so Tomelock can just choose arcane ritual spells as they level up, but can cycle through the 13 level 1 spells as they see fit in their book.
I don't think anyone is sure what a Chainlock is supposed to be. A Warlock with a friend? Find Familiar is available to all Warlocks via their spell list, and Chainlock Familiars are not sufficiently better to justify devoting an entire subclass to them.
I suggested to Jeremy that agonizing blast should just become a class feature at level 2. Tomelocks don't need it, so why should Bladelock or Chainlock have to pay for it?
That would free up another invocation.
I also suggested making Hex a bonus action cantrip for Warlocks. It scales, like cantrips, from 1d6 to 4d6, on one attack per turn but, like Eldritch Blast, only on Warlock levels. That would make it extremely useful for boosting Warlock damage, even on Bladelock, but would be fairly useless on anyone else who tried to multiclass Warlock.
I actually couldn't find how other expansions are supposed to fit, I know they wanted One DnD to be backwards compatible. The issue with using Subclasses outside of the new PHB would be that now all Classes have their Subclasses start at lvl 3 (Warlocks/Sorcerers/Clerics/Druids/Wizards). So other then just taping on Hexblade by moving around when what levels you get features, I'm not sure how it is supposed to work. Hex Warrior (other than shields) is now useless.
I could see Agonizing Blast free for Chainlocks, but Bladelocks (just like old school Hexblades) probably don't care as much since they are more weapon focused.
I mean that Hex seems OP, I would just prefer it didn't use concentration like the new Hunter's Mark.
You get your subclass at level 3, and you get your subclass features at the levels they say in the playtest rules. Warlocks are one of the easiest to convert under the new rules.
For Hexblade:
Third level: Hexblade patron
Sixth level: Accursed Specter
Tenth level: Armor of Hexes
Fourteenth level: Master of Hexes
Blade pact Warlocks are the same as they were in the 2014 PHB, albeit now having casting ability tied to weapon use. Hexblade gives you Hexblade's Curse, shield proficiency, and the Patron spells that include smite spells from the Paladin list (and like Paladin they take a while to arrive thanks to half caster progression). I'm hopeful that when they do get around to redoing the Improved Pact Weapon feat it allows you to summon heavy weapons in addition to ranged weapons, or perhaps make that a Hexblade exclusive ability, fitting their more martial focus.
I like the idea of Hex being a free damage enhancer for Warlocks, but one that competes with other concentration spells. 1d6 to 4d6 matches their current enhancement on Eldritch Blast, but does so on one hit rather than four. That makes it beneficial for Blade pact Warlocks as well.
This is playtest material for the Player's Handbook. Not Xanathar's, not Tasha's. Hexblade exists as long as Xanathar's does.
Tomelock is a pseudo-full caster with Eldrirch Blast, which is, lest we forget, the most powerful damage cantrip in the game, sufficiently so that WotC have soft locked it to the Warlock chassis. WotC obviously think it sufficiently powerful that they've never deliberately put it on a full caster, and they've gone out of their way to make sure you can't even with multiclassing now. No matter what the playtest results are, Eldritch Blast as a Warlock class feature is the future. Because Book of Shadows replaces Agonizing Blast at level 5 the Tomelock can trade all their invocations for Mystic Arcanum levels 1 through 9 and not really hurt their build. Of course, as I've said before, instead of a level 1 Mystic Arcanum I'd just take Lessons of the First Ones for Magic Initiate. All characters with ritual spells can ritual cast them now, so Tomelock can just choose arcane ritual spells as they level up, but can cycle through the 13 level 1 spells as they see fit in their book.
I don't think anyone is sure what a Chainlock is supposed to be. A Warlock with a friend? Find Familiar is available to all Warlocks via their spell list, and Chainlock Familiars are not sufficiently better to justify devoting an entire subclass to them.
I suggested to Jeremy that agonizing blast should just become a class feature at level 2. Tomelocks don't need it, so why should Bladelock or Chainlock have to pay for it?
That would free up another invocation.
I also suggested making Hex a bonus action cantrip for Warlocks. It scales, like cantrips, from 1d6 to 4d6, on one attack per turn but, like Eldritch Blast, only on Warlock levels. That would make it extremely useful for boosting Warlock damage, even on Bladelock, but would be fairly useless on anyone else who tried to multiclass Warlock.
I actually couldn't find how other expansions are supposed to fit, I know they wanted One DnD to be backwards compatible. The issue with using Subclasses outside of the new PHB would be that now all Classes have their Subclasses start at lvl 3 (Warlocks/Sorcerers/Clerics/Druids/Wizards). So other then just taping on Hexblade by moving around when what levels you get features, I'm not sure how it is supposed to work. Hex Warrior (other than shields) is now useless.
I could see Agonizing Blast free for Chainlocks, but Bladelocks (just like old school Hexblades) probably don't care as much since they are more weapon focused.
I mean that Hex seems OP, I would just prefer it didn't use concentration like the new Hunter's Mark.
You get your subclass at level 3, and you get your subclass features at the levels they say in the playtest rules. Warlocks are one of the easiest to convert under the new rules.
For Hexblade:
Third level: Hexblade patron
Sixth level: Accursed Specter
Tenth level: Armor of Hexes
Fourteenth level: Master of Hexes
Blade pact Warlocks are the same as they were in the 2014 PHB, albeit now having casting ability tied to weapon use. Hexblade gives you Hexblade's Curse, shield proficiency, and the Patron spells that include smite spells from the Paladin list (and like Paladin they take a while to arrive thanks to half caster progression). I'm hopeful that when they do get around to redoing the Improved Pact Weapon feat it allows you to summon heavy weapons in addition to ranged weapons, or perhaps make that a Hexblade exclusive ability, fitting their more martial focus.
I like the idea of Hex being a free damage enhancer for Warlocks, but one that competes with other concentration spells. 1d6 to 4d6 matches their current enhancement on Eldritch Blast, but does so on one hit rather than four. That makes it beneficial for Blade pact Warlocks as well.
Personally I want them to get rid of Hexblade as a subclass entirely, and just bake everything into Pact of the Blade and Eldritch Invocations.
And bladelock doesn't compare to Paladin, Hexblade bladelock does. Hexblade has shield proficiency, and the smite spells on its patron spell list. Bladelock is a caster who can fight in melee if it has to. Even then, throw Eldritch Smite on the bladelock and they can dish out a reasonable level of damage until (like Paladin) they run out of slots.
Half-casters don't blast. It's mostly pointless, because by the level you finally obtain fireball, you're only half as powerful as a caster. Half-casters use their spell slots to support their other half, namely buffs, debuffs, and control. Eldritch Smite should definitely be added, but so far, being limited to one-handed weapon without a shield, it's not entirely clear how bladelock is supposed to be competitive. Also, Hexblade doesn't exist in OneDnD yet, and I doubt it will, because it only existed as a crutch for pact of the blade to begin with.
And bladelock doesn't compare to Paladin, Hexblade bladelock does. Hexblade has shield proficiency, and the smite spells on its patron spell list. Bladelock is a caster who can fight in melee if it has to. Even then, throw Eldritch Smite on the bladelock and they can dish out a reasonable level of damage until (like Paladin) they run out of slots.
Half-casters don't blast. It's mostly pointless, because by the level you finally obtain fireball, you're only half as powerful as a caster. Half-casters use their spell slots to support their other half, namely buffs, debuffs, and control. Eldritch Smite should definitely be added, but so far, being limited to one-handed weapon without a shield, it's not entirely clear how bladelock is supposed to be competitive. Also, Hexblade doesn't exist in OneDnD yet, and I doubt it will, because it only existed as a crutch for pact of the blade to begin with.
This is why Warlocks shouldn't be a half-caster, without another way to blast - for at least some subclasses. Not every Warlock is a blaster, but it's a role some of us enjoy.
Fiend Pact Warlocks - at least! - need to get Fireball the same time Sorcerers and Wizards do, and Fiend, GOO and probably others need to get Hunger of Hadar at that time.
(Also, Hunger of Hadar needs to scale.)
At a minimum, allow Warlocks:
free cast of patron spells up to the level we'd have as a full caster, even if we don't have slots of that level
more than one free cast of patron spells per long rest (maybe this scales with level)
include key spells on the patron lists (maybe a longer list where we choose two or more per level)
This isn't a complete fix for half-caster Warlocks but it could be part of the solution. I prefer fixing Pact Magic to fixing the half-caster version, but if we have to go the half-caster route there's a lot more work to be done.
This is playtest material for the Player's Handbook. Not Xanathar's, not Tasha's. Hexblade exists as long as Xanathar's does.
Good luck adapting three feature bard subclasses of 5e to One DnD, where bard subclasses have four.
The Bard in the playtest material it has subclass features at level 6, level 10, and level 14. The current one has subclass features at 6 and 14. Three subclass features at 6/10/14 seem to be the norm going forward, Rangers have theirs moved down one level to match the pattern, likewise Paladin. Warlocks are a class with three subclass features that are already at 6/10/14. Sure, Bards have a hole in their progression until they're updated, but that doesn't mean that other classes have the same problem.
Converting Warlock subclasses to OneDnD is super easy, barely an inconvenience.
Hexblade switches straight in, swapping Pact and Patron positions.
I actually couldn't find how other expansions are supposed to fit, I know they wanted One DnD to be backwards compatible. The issue with using Subclasses outside of the new PHB would be that now all Classes have their Subclasses start at lvl 3 (Warlocks/Sorcerers/Clerics/Druids/Wizards). So other then just taping on Hexblade by moving around when what levels you get features, I'm not sure how it is supposed to work. Hex Warrior (other than shields) is now useless.
In no case will the subclasses of the 2014 warlock be compatible with the 2024 warlock. Not even the other way around. And I don't think that was ever the intention.
The intention is that you can play a 2014 warlock in D&D 5e revised. But not that you can take subclasses from 2014 warlock and mix it with the one from D&D 5e revised (unless you do homebrew). And the same applies to feats, etc... If you play with a 2014 character, ok. But you play with that and not with 2024.
Despite that Jeremy Crawford said there would be some kind of conversion tables. But we'll see how that works. I wouldn't expect too much.
I don't know i feel we can convert the other subclasses pretty easy. All the stuff that recovered on short rest on the previous warlock subclasses could now be use Ability Score times per day, and the spell lists are automatically known, but we bump the levels. And you can cast a spell from one of them with a long rest.
Sorcerer probably needs to be toned down at higher levels. It is just too good.
I mean that Hex seems OP, I would just prefer it didn't use concentration like the new Hunter's Mark.
This started off as just a response then I just went in a totally different free form thought model of what could be. That is effectively what current hex does for eldritch blast, it just makes it more attack neutral so if a warlock wanted to use it with fire bolt instead they would be closer in power to eldritch blast. 3d6 is a cut in power from the current hex, even 4d6 is still sort of cut on the half caster model as the old hex could get 1d6 for every attack on a first level spell. And hex is generally considered a fairly weak spell.
I think they could have kept it per attack and removed concentration for warlocks and maybe increased its damage a bit as it scaled like do d8s and maybe at level 20 d10s, I actually don't mind the 3d6 or 4d6 on one attack thing, it may make crits and misses quirky depending on how people run if you can apply the extra damage after the die roll vs only before. But the per attack just seems cooler due to eldritch blast. On the other hand I do like opening it up so other cantrips cold be used. Maybe all the eldritch blast enhancements should be expanded. Or maybe when other cantrips are taken by a warlock they get modified into being a eldritch blast variant. Like lets say you take fire bolt, your eldritch blast can be normal, or you could choose to change its damage type to fire and it can hit objects, pick chill touch, it change to necrotic, becomes d8 and stops healing.
How I'd design it as well the class is warlock and curses and hexes could easily be built in. Make it a class feature that uses a pact slots, have it scale by pact slot level, at level warlock 5 it removes concentration and lasts 8 hours, and now does 2d6 on one attack, level 9 it lasts 24 hours, level 11 3d6, level 17 4d6. The hexer invocation would allow you to sure increase the range but also swap the hex as a bonus action without needing the original target to be dead.
I'd add additional invocations that allow the hex to apply de-buffs of some kind, saves to resist some maybe allow them to stack or enhance various eldritch blast or pact of the blade invocations. Like if you could reduce a targets speed by 20 feet save for half while hexed, save when applies and end of targets turn a bonus action could allow you to try to reapply it. (while I want the repelling blast of 5e back lets assume the 1e version makes it in) A hex that removes the size restriction to increased it by 1 or two categories on forced movement attempts whether its repelling blast or a fighters shove,(maybe one that removes the must be horizontal restriction on repelling, one that applies the poisoned condition to save to avoid, maybe it could apply certain diseases. Maybe a invocation that lets you apply it to a second target with a bonus action, keeping it active on 2 targets at the same time.
Warlocks sure are about making pacts to some degree for power, but I'd prefer they lean away from that as its just the source though I think more arcane research should be part of it as well and let the player decide the balance but mainly think about what is a warlock conceptually, its a witch. Witches curse people, witches have dark magic. Sure have good witch options, so maybe a sub class that hex when applies to allies provides buffs. But make their class features centered around what what a warlock does, not how they got there.
Mystic arcanum is an invocation now, so you can still get access to those high level spells with a similar scarcity to what the warlock had before but with the added utility of a half caster that’s probably more akin to an Artificer. Pact of the blade actually feels like it got a major boost overall and based on some of the abilities, I doubt hexblade will be a subclass anymore. Which means you’ll be able to stack some of the old hexblade features with another patron. Plus the flexibility to cast with wisdom or cha opens up some really cool SAD multi-class options… The other two pacts kind of suck though TBH. Hard to imagine why you wouldn’t just play a full caster over tome or chain. Hope that they get powered up a bit.
Mystic arcanum is an invocation now, so you can still get access to those high level spells with a similar scarcity to what the warlock had before but with the added utility of a half caster that’s probably more akin to an Artificer. Pact of the blade actually feels like it got a major boost overall and based on some of the abilities, I doubt hexblade will be a subclass anymore. Which means you’ll be able to stack some of the old hexblade features with another patron. Plus the flexibility to cast with wisdom or cha opens up some really cool SAD multi-class options… The other two pacts kind of suck though TBH. Hard to imagine why you wouldn’t just play a full caster over tome or chain. Hope that they get powered up a bit.
It is almost like being a half caster and needing to pay for your mystic arcanums nerfed the caster warlock which is a caster class primarily. And one of the couple caster classes that did not need a nerf.
Mystic arcanum is an invocation now, so you can still get access to those high level spells with a similar scarcity to what the warlock had before but with the added utility of a half caster that’s probably more akin to an Artificer. Pact of the blade actually feels like it got a major boost overall and based on some of the abilities, I doubt hexblade will be a subclass anymore. Which means you’ll be able to stack some of the old hexblade features with another patron. Plus the flexibility to cast with wisdom or cha opens up some really cool SAD multi-class options… The other two pacts kind of suck though TBH. Hard to imagine why you wouldn’t just play a full caster over tome or chain. Hope that they get powered up a bit.
It is almost like being a half caster and needing to pay for your mystic arcanums nerfed the caster warlock which is a caster class primarily. And one of the couple caster classes that did not need a nerf.
That actually leads to a question....
What if mystic arcanum was free. You gain your first at 3, another at 7, another at 11 and another at 15.
And you could trade them up as you leveled, just like now.
What if mystic arcanum was free. You gain your first at 3, another at 7, another at 11 and another at 15.
It's equivalent to "gain more invocations", only less flexible. By far the easiest way to tweak the balance on the warlock is by changing the number of invocations.
What if mystic arcanum was free. You gain your first at 3, another at 7, another at 11 and another at 15.
It's equivalent to "gain more invocations", only less flexible. By far the easiest way to tweak the balance on the warlock is by changing the number of invocations.
Nah, they need to bring their spell progression back up to spec as a full caster, at least level-wise. More invocations just breaks Bladelock further since they're far and away the most capable pick right now. The entire point of a "Mage" subset should be that they're all naturally full casters of one flavor or another. No matter how you spin it, a resource tax for something the class previously got as a core feature is a massive downgrade, particularly if we're talking at least 4 of those resources starting at level 5. Plus Chainlock is basically being taxed by AB as well, since Tomelocks will now get it as a part of their Pact Boon.
Nah, they need to bring their spell progression back up to spec as a full caster, at least level-wise. More invocations just breaks Bladelock further since they're far and away the most capable pick right now. The entire point of a "Mage" subset should be that they're all naturally full casters of one flavor or another.
If you want to play a full caster, wizards and sorcerers exist. The tomelock isn't a mage subset, it's a cantrip-based blaster subset. "Full caster, with d8 hit points, medium armor proficiency, and a bunch of extra tricks" is simply not going to happen.
Nah, they need to bring their spell progression back up to spec as a full caster, at least level-wise. More invocations just breaks Bladelock further since they're far and away the most capable pick right now. The entire point of a "Mage" subset should be that they're all naturally full casters of one flavor or another.
If you want to play a full caster, wizards and sorcerers exist. The tomelock isn't a mage subset, it's a cantrip-based blaster subset.
Not at all. Tomelock is almost a fullcaster with a lot of utility outside of combat, and a lot of versatility inside of it. It's true that eldritch blast is still a great option for him, but it's no longer eldritch blast monkey like it was in 2014. You have a lot more options.
1) Pact of the Blade at 1 lvl as a cantrip seems very overpowered and awkward from progression perspective. The official video explanation with getting this at first level is not convincing since Warlocks makes the pact at 3rd level. Also, it opens many multiclass combos that's breaks the game and open discussions on tables. Very bad move, remember Warlocks are casters ....
2) Pact Magic is much more flavor and Interesting than Normal Casting. If I wanna normal casting hybrid Paladin is much better choice or if I wanna full caster Mage e Sorcerer will always be stronger.
3) Mystic Arcanum turning into Eldritch Invocation is a very bad design. Eldritch Invocation is more like a natural power and a Mystic Arcanum is really a spell. Mixing it you just killed another unique flavor feature of warlocks
4) Armor Training - Medium armor does not make sense . When you think of a Warlock, you fear them because they are casters and not because they use Armor. Please, come on ... Warlocks that use medium armor are a niche in the class which brings much more fun and flexibility to the table. Why do you need Armor of Shadows now? Just think, AoS is much more cool and flavor e.g. "You have an aura of dark shadows that protects you"
5) Hex changes were very cool but still have the concentration barrier. Like the Ranger when you play warlock you will always want Hex up, because Its a class feature. But the concentration always limits you spell casting and the fun on the table.
6) Lifedrinker d6 only slow the table, being Spellcasting ability was just fine.
7) Repelling Blast now OK, just not broke hehehe.
Few spell slots was always the dilemma, but the overhaul changes was not good IMO. The better approach would be improving Pact Magic rather than dismissing it.
My propositions improve are:
a) More uses of Pact Magic daily and having a ability to recovery it after killing monsters. Higher levels spells still be Mystic Arcanum
or;
b) Spell Casting Normal until Max Spell Level 5. And after that Mystic Arcanum takes places not being Eldritch Invocations.
This is playtest material for the Player's Handbook. Not Xanathar's, not Tasha's. Hexblade exists as long as Xanathar's does.
Tomelock is a pseudo-full caster with Eldrirch Blast, which is, lest we forget, the most powerful damage cantrip in the game, sufficiently so that WotC have soft locked it to the Warlock chassis. WotC obviously think it sufficiently powerful that they've never deliberately put it on a full caster, and they've gone out of their way to make sure you can't even with multiclassing now. No matter what the playtest results are, Eldritch Blast as a Warlock class feature is the future. Because Book of Shadows replaces Agonizing Blast at level 5 the Tomelock can trade all their invocations for Mystic Arcanum levels 1 through 9 and not really hurt their build. Of course, as I've said before, instead of a level 1 Mystic Arcanum I'd just take Lessons of the First Ones for Magic Initiate. All characters with ritual spells can ritual cast them now, so Tomelock can just choose arcane ritual spells as they level up, but can cycle through the 13 level 1 spells as they see fit in their book.
I don't think anyone is sure what a Chainlock is supposed to be. A Warlock with a friend? Find Familiar is available to all Warlocks via their spell list, and Chainlock Familiars are not sufficiently better to justify devoting an entire subclass to them.
I suggested to Jeremy that agonizing blast should just become a class feature at level 2. Tomelocks don't need it, so why should Bladelock or Chainlock have to pay for it?
That would free up another invocation.
I also suggested making Hex a bonus action cantrip for Warlocks. It scales, like cantrips, from 1d6 to 4d6, on one attack per turn but, like Eldritch Blast, only on Warlock levels. That would make it extremely useful for boosting Warlock damage, even on Bladelock, but would be fairly useless on anyone else who tried to multiclass Warlock.
I've played my second game with the tomelock, and I'm still in love with this character. He is much better than the previous warlock, and by far. And above all it is more fun. Why? Well, because you have more magic. And more magic means more options and more decisions to make.
Outside of combat, its versatility is wonderful thanks to Book of Shadows. And in combat it is very effective thanks to the number of options it has, in addition to its eldritch blast. He now really feels like a caster, and not a magic sniper.
Thanks to Mystic Arcanum he keeps pace with any other full caster. Yeah right, Mystic Arcanum doesn't scale. But if you choose your spells wisely that doesn't matter much either. He can also cast one of his subclass spells for free, which isn't much, but helps keep up with other full casters. And it also has the rest of the things that its subclass gives it, which differentiates it from a wizard or a sorcerer (although I haven't seen the sorcerer in play, so I don't want to talk about it). I'm looking forward to seeing what new subclasses give this warlock, since I never liked the fiend too much thematically (but it's the archetypal warlock, and I understand that it's the first subclass. It couldn't be any other).
Not everything is perfect, and there are things to adjust. And it is normal, since this is a playtest. But I hope the designers stick with this warlock concept, because it's better than the other one. More versatile, more useful, and more fun.
I actually couldn't find how other expansions are supposed to fit, I know they wanted One DnD to be backwards compatible. The issue with using Subclasses outside of the new PHB would be that now all Classes have their Subclasses start at lvl 3 (Warlocks/Sorcerers/Clerics/Druids/Wizards). So other then just taping on Hexblade by moving around when what levels you get features, I'm not sure how it is supposed to work. Hex Warrior (other than shields) is now useless.
I could see Agonizing Blast free for Chainlocks, but Bladelocks (just like old school Hexblades) probably don't care as much since they are more weapon focused.
I mean that Hex seems OP, I would just prefer it didn't use concentration like the new Hunter's Mark.
In no case will the subclasses of the 2014 warlock be compatible with the 2024 warlock. Not even the other way around. And I don't think that was ever the intention.
The intention is that you can play a 2014 warlock in D&D 5e revised. But not that you can take subclasses from 2014 warlock and mix it with the one from D&D 5e revised (unless you do homebrew). And the same applies to feats, etc... If you play with a 2014 character, ok. But you play with that and not with 2024.
Despite that Jeremy Crawford said there would be some kind of conversion tables. But we'll see how that works. I wouldn't expect too much.
You get your subclass at level 3, and you get your subclass features at the levels they say in the playtest rules. Warlocks are one of the easiest to convert under the new rules.
For Hexblade:
Third level: Hexblade patron
Sixth level: Accursed Specter
Tenth level: Armor of Hexes
Fourteenth level: Master of Hexes
Blade pact Warlocks are the same as they were in the 2014 PHB, albeit now having casting ability tied to weapon use. Hexblade gives you Hexblade's Curse, shield proficiency, and the Patron spells that include smite spells from the Paladin list (and like Paladin they take a while to arrive thanks to half caster progression). I'm hopeful that when they do get around to redoing the Improved Pact Weapon feat it allows you to summon heavy weapons in addition to ranged weapons, or perhaps make that a Hexblade exclusive ability, fitting their more martial focus.
I like the idea of Hex being a free damage enhancer for Warlocks, but one that competes with other concentration spells. 1d6 to 4d6 matches their current enhancement on Eldritch Blast, but does so on one hit rather than four. That makes it beneficial for Blade pact Warlocks as well.
Personally I want them to get rid of Hexblade as a subclass entirely, and just bake everything into Pact of the Blade and Eldritch Invocations.
Half-casters don't blast. It's mostly pointless, because by the level you finally obtain fireball, you're only half as powerful as a caster. Half-casters use their spell slots to support their other half, namely buffs, debuffs, and control. Eldritch Smite should definitely be added, but so far, being limited to one-handed weapon without a shield, it's not entirely clear how bladelock is supposed to be competitive. Also, Hexblade doesn't exist in OneDnD yet, and I doubt it will, because it only existed as a crutch for pact of the blade to begin with.
Good luck adapting three feature bard subclasses of 5e to One DnD, where bard subclasses have four.
This is why Warlocks shouldn't be a half-caster, without another way to blast - for at least some subclasses. Not every Warlock is a blaster, but it's a role some of us enjoy.
Fiend Pact Warlocks - at least! - need to get Fireball the same time Sorcerers and Wizards do, and Fiend, GOO and probably others need to get Hunger of Hadar at that time.
(Also, Hunger of Hadar needs to scale.)
At a minimum, allow Warlocks:
This isn't a complete fix for half-caster Warlocks but it could be part of the solution. I prefer fixing Pact Magic to fixing the half-caster version, but if we have to go the half-caster route there's a lot more work to be done.
The Bard in the playtest material it has subclass features at level 6, level 10, and level 14. The current one has subclass features at 6 and 14. Three subclass features at 6/10/14 seem to be the norm going forward, Rangers have theirs moved down one level to match the pattern, likewise Paladin. Warlocks are a class with three subclass features that are already at 6/10/14. Sure, Bards have a hole in their progression until they're updated, but that doesn't mean that other classes have the same problem.
Converting Warlock subclasses to OneDnD is super easy, barely an inconvenience.
Hexblade switches straight in, swapping Pact and Patron positions.
I don't know i feel we can convert the other subclasses pretty easy. All the stuff that recovered on short rest on the previous warlock subclasses could now be use Ability Score times per day, and the spell lists are automatically known, but we bump the levels. And you can cast a spell from one of them with a long rest.
Sorcerer probably needs to be toned down at higher levels. It is just too good.
This started off as just a response then I just went in a totally different free form thought model of what could be. That is effectively what current hex does for eldritch blast, it just makes it more attack neutral so if a warlock wanted to use it with fire bolt instead they would be closer in power to eldritch blast. 3d6 is a cut in power from the current hex, even 4d6 is still sort of cut on the half caster model as the old hex could get 1d6 for every attack on a first level spell. And hex is generally considered a fairly weak spell.
I think they could have kept it per attack and removed concentration for warlocks and maybe increased its damage a bit as it scaled like do d8s and maybe at level 20 d10s, I actually don't mind the 3d6 or 4d6 on one attack thing, it may make crits and misses quirky depending on how people run if you can apply the extra damage after the die roll vs only before. But the per attack just seems cooler due to eldritch blast. On the other hand I do like opening it up so other cantrips cold be used. Maybe all the eldritch blast enhancements should be expanded. Or maybe when other cantrips are taken by a warlock they get modified into being a eldritch blast variant. Like lets say you take fire bolt, your eldritch blast can be normal, or you could choose to change its damage type to fire and it can hit objects, pick chill touch, it change to necrotic, becomes d8 and stops healing.
How I'd design it as well the class is warlock and curses and hexes could easily be built in. Make it a class feature that uses a pact slots, have it scale by pact slot level, at level warlock 5 it removes concentration and lasts 8 hours, and now does 2d6 on one attack, level 9 it lasts 24 hours, level 11 3d6, level 17 4d6. The hexer invocation would allow you to sure increase the range but also swap the hex as a bonus action without needing the original target to be dead.
I'd add additional invocations that allow the hex to apply de-buffs of some kind, saves to resist some maybe allow them to stack or enhance various eldritch blast or pact of the blade invocations. Like if you could reduce a targets speed by 20 feet save for half while hexed, save when applies and end of targets turn a bonus action could allow you to try to reapply it. (while I want the repelling blast of 5e back lets assume the 1e version makes it in) A hex that removes the size restriction to increased it by 1 or two categories on forced movement attempts whether its repelling blast or a fighters shove,(maybe one that removes the must be horizontal restriction on repelling, one that applies the poisoned condition to save to avoid, maybe it could apply certain diseases. Maybe a invocation that lets you apply it to a second target with a bonus action, keeping it active on 2 targets at the same time.
Warlocks sure are about making pacts to some degree for power, but I'd prefer they lean away from that as its just the source though I think more arcane research should be part of it as well and let the player decide the balance but mainly think about what is a warlock conceptually, its a witch. Witches curse people, witches have dark magic. Sure have good witch options, so maybe a sub class that hex when applies to allies provides buffs. But make their class features centered around what what a warlock does, not how they got there.
Mystic arcanum is an invocation now, so you can still get access to those high level spells with a similar scarcity to what the warlock had before but with the added utility of a half caster that’s probably more akin to an Artificer. Pact of the blade actually feels like it got a major boost overall and based on some of the abilities, I doubt hexblade will be a subclass anymore. Which means you’ll be able to stack some of the old hexblade features with another patron. Plus the flexibility to cast with wisdom or cha opens up some really cool SAD multi-class options… The other two pacts kind of suck though TBH. Hard to imagine why you wouldn’t just play a full caster over tome or chain. Hope that they get powered up a bit.
It is almost like being a half caster and needing to pay for your mystic arcanums nerfed the caster warlock which is a caster class primarily. And one of the couple caster classes that did not need a nerf.
That actually leads to a question....
What if mystic arcanum was free. You gain your first at 3, another at 7, another at 11 and another at 15.
And you could trade them up as you leveled, just like now.
It's equivalent to "gain more invocations", only less flexible. By far the easiest way to tweak the balance on the warlock is by changing the number of invocations.
Nah, they need to bring their spell progression back up to spec as a full caster, at least level-wise. More invocations just breaks Bladelock further since they're far and away the most capable pick right now. The entire point of a "Mage" subset should be that they're all naturally full casters of one flavor or another. No matter how you spin it, a resource tax for something the class previously got as a core feature is a massive downgrade, particularly if we're talking at least 4 of those resources starting at level 5. Plus Chainlock is basically being taxed by AB as well, since Tomelocks will now get it as a part of their Pact Boon.
If you want to play a full caster, wizards and sorcerers exist. The tomelock isn't a mage subset, it's a cantrip-based blaster subset. "Full caster, with d8 hit points, medium armor proficiency, and a bunch of extra tricks" is simply not going to happen.
Not at all. Tomelock is almost a fullcaster with a lot of utility outside of combat, and a lot of versatility inside of it. It's true that eldritch blast is still a great option for him, but it's no longer eldritch blast monkey like it was in 2014. You have a lot more options.
My thoughts:
1) Pact of the Blade at 1 lvl as a cantrip seems very overpowered and awkward from progression perspective. The official video explanation with getting this at first level is not convincing since Warlocks makes the pact at 3rd level. Also, it opens many multiclass combos that's breaks the game and open discussions on tables. Very bad move, remember Warlocks are casters ....
2) Pact Magic is much more flavor and Interesting than Normal Casting. If I wanna normal casting hybrid Paladin is much better choice or if I wanna full caster Mage e Sorcerer will always be stronger.
3) Mystic Arcanum turning into Eldritch Invocation is a very bad design. Eldritch Invocation is more like a natural power and a Mystic Arcanum is really a spell. Mixing it you just killed another unique flavor feature of warlocks
4) Armor Training - Medium armor does not make sense . When you think of a Warlock, you fear them because they are casters and not because they use Armor. Please, come on ... Warlocks that use medium armor are a niche in the class which brings much more fun and flexibility to the table. Why do you need Armor of Shadows now? Just think, AoS is much more cool and flavor e.g. "You have an aura of dark shadows that protects you"
5) Hex changes were very cool but still have the concentration barrier. Like the Ranger when you play warlock you will always want Hex up, because Its a class feature. But the concentration always limits you spell casting and the fun on the table.
6) Lifedrinker d6 only slow the table, being Spellcasting ability was just fine.
7) Repelling Blast now OK, just not broke hehehe.
Few spell slots was always the dilemma, but the overhaul changes was not good IMO. The better approach would be improving Pact Magic rather than dismissing it.
My propositions improve are:
a) More uses of Pact Magic daily and having a ability to recovery it after killing monsters. Higher levels spells still be Mystic Arcanum
or;
b) Spell Casting Normal until Max Spell Level 5. And after that Mystic Arcanum takes places not being Eldritch Invocations.
Thank you ,