UA Hexblade 2025 Feedback

Quote from Character77006 >>

splash 1 lvl of ftr / paladin to make the warlock

 

why would i need to wait until lvl 3 ?
in 5.5 you only need 1 lvl of paladin to get spells

Looks to me like you need 3 levels 1 FTR and 1 Paladin and 1 warlock

which can be compensated with taking true-strike to bridge the gap 

How does true strike bridge a gap to give you two chances to hit?  

even if you invest in dex you will be stuck at 15 ( studded leather ) until around lvl 16 where you could increase to ac 16, sure you could go dex first before chr

I have no idea what you are talking about here.  But Why are you stuck with studded leather if you have a 16 dex?  Why not have full plate even though you have a 16 dex?  Dex helps with initiative and saving throws.  So what if your armor does not use your dex score.

 

 maybe i wrote that a bit mistunderstanding you take either a lvl of paladin or a lvl of figther not both :)

as for the studded leather this is the way you have to go ( or mage armor which will cost you an invocation ) if you go pure Warlock ....
how does true strike bridge the gap its easy:
Weapon Longsword = 1d8 + 4 ( chr 18 ) x 2 attacks with 60% hit chance = 9 dps
 Longsword = 1d8 + 4 ( chr 18 ) + 1d6 = 8 dps
with the difference that true strike is radiant dmg, if you use a different weapon i wont change much

as for 16 dex and heavy armor you dont have the stats to make that so you have to take the tradeoff of 15 str, 10 dex and heavy armor or 13 str, 14 dex and medium armor ( which looses you 1 point of AC )

If you want to go for nova dmg that 1 lvl paladin split will outperform the pure warlock by a large margin:
 beginning at 6th lvl you could do the following:
  - attack with your weapon and when you hit
  - add a 3rd lvl eldritch smite ( from warlock ) = +4d6 force dmg
  - add a 3rd lvl divine smite = +4d8 radiant dmg

with the same attack as Eldritch smite does not need you to cast a spell or use a bonus action, only divine smite does that

2 attacks vs 1 attack that has more damage.

Weapon Longsword = 1d8 + 4 ( chr 18 ) x 2 attacks with 60% hit chance = 9 dps
 Longsword = 1d8 + 4 ( chr 18 ) + 1d6 = 8 dps
with the difference that true strike is radiant dmg, if you use a different weapon i wont change much

With 2 attacks you have a chance to get an actual hit.  With one attack there is a (good?) chance you will not actually get a hit.  A hit that does minimal damage is much better then not hitting.  this total damage number makes no sense as it assumes what cannot be assumed, you actually hit.  If on average you are hitting about once every 3-4 rounds/attempts,  it is far better to have 2 attacks per round.  

as for 16 dex and heavy armor you dont have the stats to make that so you have to take the tradeoff of 15 str, 10 dex and heavy armor or 13 str, 14 dex and medium armor ( which looses you 1 point of AC )

Where are you getting these ability scores?  It looks like you are just generating numbers to make your point.

📜 SUBCLASS DESIGN (D&D 5.5): THE NEW HEXBLADE

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/PpiSdMqZdqia

Hey everyone! After a thousand hours of analyzing playtests and the new 2024 (5.5) rules, I got tired of seeing how official designers just can't seem to figure out the Hexblade. I designed this complete rework focused on rescuing the subclass's soul, solving the three structural problems it has been dragging since 2014: Lore, Mechanics, and that damn dependency on external resources.

If any brave soul wants to playtest this at their tables, here are the key design concepts behind it:

1. Absolute Independence (No more optimization taxes)

I firmly believe that a subclass should be a complete, self-sufficient, and fully functional package on its own. This Hexblade functions purely from level 3 to 14, without forcing the player to break their character's narrative with mandatory multiclassing or burning valuable feats just to patch up the manual's shortcomings.

1. Strict Martial Identity (If you want range, this isn't for you)

Let's be clear from the start: this is a subclass exclusively designed for a Melee Warlock. If your campaign goal is to stay safely at a 90-foot distance spamming Eldritch Blast, there is already a massive catalog of official patrons that do that perfectly well. This design actively rewards the player who embraces the fantasy of getting into the mud with cold steel in hand.

1. Lore with a Soul: The Native Sentient Weapon

In the official version, your patron is an abstract force from the Shadowfell. In this rework, the contract is directly made with a Sentient Hex Weapon. Your blade is your companion, your partner, or your jailer. It is alive, it talks inside your head, and it has its own quirks, fears, and goals. I added detailed rolling tables to help you build its personality and define its real-time relationship with you (ranging from an awkward alliance to absolute contempt). Furthermore, through the passive Essence Devourer mechanic, your weapon isn't replaced by loot; it feeds on the magic of other blades to evolve along with the campaign tier.

1. Fixing Hex Warrior (+2 Flat AC)

Since Wizards of the Coast flat-out refuses to give melee Warlocks native Medium Armor proficiency, I decided to bypass their stubbornness cleanly: while wielding your Hex Weapon, you gain a flat +2 bonus to AC (as long as you are not using heavy armor or a shield).

• This mathematically matches medium armor numbers at early levels so you can survive on the front lines.
• If a player decides to invest a feat into Medium Armor or multiclass later on, their defense will scale almost to heavy armor levels, fairly rewarding their investment instead of giving away broken numbers at level 3.

1. Balancing the Curse

To free up the Warlock's high-level spell slots and allow them to cast massive control spells (looking at you, Hunger of Hadar), my version of the level 3 curse does not require concentration and offers free uses based on Charisma. However, I built in the necessary mathematical locks to ensure it doesn't break the game:

• The 1d6 extra damage only triggers on physical attacks made with your Hex Weapon (zero synergy with ranged spell attacks).
• It has a short duration of 1 minute.
• It cannot be moved when the target dies. You mark your prey, hunt them in a singular duel, and if they die, the curse burns out.

1. Combat Flow at Level 6 (Hungering & Harrowing Hex)

At level 6, I wanted to solidify the true gameplay experience of a Gish (warrior/mage).

• With Harrowing Hex, using your Action to cast a powerful spell won't leave you wishing your blade tasted blood: it allows you to make a weapon attack as a Bonus Action immediately, keeping up your martial momentum.
• With Hungering Hex, I solved the loss of the mobile mark from level 3. When a creature dies, you gain healing or extra damage. The massive buff here is that if the dying creature was cursed (by your feature or any other spell), you gain an extra die of power (2d8). Your weapon feasts on condemned souls.

1. Complete Overhaul at Level 10 (Armor of Hexes / Unyielding Will)

Let's be honest: every official version of Armor of Hexes was awful and bogged down combat by forcing extra dice rolls just to see if an enemy missed randomly. I did a complete overhaul based on the Arcana Unleashed philosophy and the trend where almost every subclass gains a resistance at level 10:

• To fit the weapon theme, you gain passive resistance to the primary damage type currently dealt by your Hex Weapon, based on the magical essences it has consumed.
• Additionally, with Unyielding Will, succeeding on a concentration save unleashes a necrotic damage emanation (2d6), and if you fail, you get an automatic success once per Long Rest. You protect your magic on the front lines.

1. The Climax at Level 14: The True Hidden Power (Hex Devourer)

At level 14, every official subclass gets a major power spike, and this design is no exception, boosting both passive damage and magical mechanics in a highly tactical way:

• The Critical Plus (Passive): This pays homage to the original Hexblade by expanding the crit range to 19–20, but with a massive tactical twist: you don't need the target to be marked by your own curse; it applies as long as the creature is under the effect of any curse, including those cast by your allies. The weapon smells dark magic and devours the weakness of others, permanently scaling your Hungering Hex dice to 2d8/3d8.
• Dual Concentration (Active - Hex Devourer): I know this will be controversial on the forums, but to balance the scales, I implemented an ironclad design restriction: concentration isn't maintained by you—it's maintained by the weapon, it has a strict 1-minute limit, and it will only accept spells that directly alter weapon damage or properties (such as Spirit Shroud).
• The High Cost of Failure (The Backlash): Playing with this power comes with a major penalty. If you take damage in combat and your weapon loses that concentration, the violent feedback deals a painful psychic backlash (2d8 + half your Warlock level) directly to your hit points, and you immediately suffer one level of Exhaustion. It is a true devil's bargain: spectacular explosive damage based on rolling dice with expanded crits, but if you fail, you hit the floor severely crippled.

Thank you very much for reading my version of the Hexblade! I hope you like it, and I'd be incredibly grateful for any constructive criticism. Cheers!

I like your rework, though I think the properties of the sentient hex weapon (beyond those granted by Pact of the Blade) feel overpowered to me.