UA Hexblade 2025 Feedback

If it’s an invocation it wouldn’t matter if they could take it at level 1 because it means they can’t take another invocation. If you take armor you don’t blade, tome, or chain. Also just medium armor and shield training isn’t enough to constitute the invocation tax unless it let you manifest them from nothing or use cha instead of dex to calculate your ac. It has to be more than just the training. 

I disagree.  Making it available at level 1 resurrects the 1 level warlock dip for better classes to pick up armor/shields for cheap.  And it's absolutely worth an invocation, I would 100% spend my invocations on armor and shield were I a melee based warlock.  hard choices are the best choices.

I think part of the problem is they don't scale invocations.

Like lets say there is a pact of armor. Level 1, you can summon light armor and a shield, you are considered proficient in it. If you find magical light armor or a shield you can bond with it, and summon it to you. With 5 levels in warlock you now can summon medium armor and are considered proficient with it, If you find magical medium armor or a shield you can bond with it, and summon it to you. with 9 warlock levels you can now summon heavy armor and are considered proficient in it.  If you find magical heavy armor or a shield you can bond with it, and summon it to you. This allows people to start with it, but it reduces the benefit of level 1 dips. 

Most invocations should scale, sadly none do. 

Hmm I still disagree crzyhawk. People did that dip back in the day because they got hex warrior, pact slots, and Eldritch blast. If it was just for the armor they could go Paladin or fighter 1 level and get the same. The 1 level dips are mostly fixed by moving all subclasses to 3. Hex warrior was armor, shields and a better version of pact of the blade. That’s why the old Hexblade is often considered the objectively best warlock. Also I’m not really petitioning to make armor an invocation. I think you can have Hexblade that uses magic to defend itself, but I understand a lot of people miss what they had, so I try to think of middle grounds that could work. 

Armor and shield proficiency doesn't make any sense as an Invocation.

First, it's a characteristic of the old class that they would be removing. Second, unless there is an absurd level requirement, it would be something other classes that were already considering a dip in Warlock could take depending on the level requirement.

It should be a subclass feature or an equivalent, sustained defense should be provided. This defense should not be restricted to melee or by the curse. If the expectation is to rely on Armor of Shadows, you could give the Hexblade the Invocation for free (and of course, pick a new Invocation if they already have it) and possibly improve immediately and/or over later levels.