Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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You shouldn't get the same features. Hexblade should never have had those features.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Starting armor is irrelevant. Studded leather is cheap and one of the first things a light armor character will spend their money on. Level 2 you spend a little gold, and all is well.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Hard disagree, but we ain't gonna agree, so fine.
Thoughts so far I have for hexblade:
1. I am glad they moved away from the pact of the blade overlap. I like that it works with either a pact of the blade warlock using a weapon or a pact of the chain warlock or a pact of the tome warlock. I think all warlock subclasses should work with all pacts.
Making it work off hex is clever, the issue is the abilities don't quite scale well enough.
I think the level 3 features are all fine, at this level hex is already a solid spell and the ability to cast it for free AND have riders along with it while you are using it is a big plus. The biggest negative is the Magic weapon spell at this level because that also uses concentration.
The Hexblade spell list has a solid number of non-concentration spells to help when concentrating on hex. The level 6 features stacking on top of level 3 also means that casting hex may be worth it in several situations. You lose concetration on Hypnotic pattern, cast hex as a bonus action and keep going, you want to save slots for dispel magics or counter spells when fighting an opposing mage you can still go with hex. It is level 10 where I feel we push to heavy into the "hex territory" I feel the level 10 feature could just be always on and it would be fine and at level 14 it definitely feels like you should be able to cast hex without concentration but lower its duration to like 10 minutes or something. Beyond that if it wants us to still concentrate on hex the effects need to be a lot stronger than 1d6 to a second target once per turn and critting on a 19. So ultimately concepts in the right direction, but the effects of the abilities you get past level 6 need to be a lot stronger to encourage continued use of concentration on hex.
I think the concept of the hexblade is great. A subclass that focuses on and enhances the hex spell. Gets attack based spells and ones that like using objects and weapons. And a Warlock who's patron is some sentient weapon with its own plans all seem like good concepts. With the updates to pact of the blade I don't think this concept needs to be limited to only using weapons though and I like how this keeps those concepts while opening it up to the broader warlock playstyle.
They should call it Hexmaster, Hexwielder, etc. Something else besides HexBLADE because as you point out, this subclass is now focused on the hex spell and is not at all tied to or focused on wielding actual weapons, melee or ranged.
Please enlighten us how the 2014 Hexblade was a patch on the base Warlock that now is changed in 2024 base Warlock.
The only things I can see changed are 2024-Pact of the Blade being able to use CHA as your weapon stat and that in 2014 you had to grab Improved Pact Weapon to make it a spell casting focus - which is not really that big a deal, until you also have a shield - at which point you still can't cast spells with Somatic components but lacking a Material component. There's also the spells that are added as Always Prepared - like has been done to ALL other subclasses that add spells to your list, so that's an overall QoL change and not special for Hexblade.
If your argument is that all the rest of the early rewards from 2014 Hexblade... like the Medium Armor, Shield and Martial Weapon proficiencies was to patch up that 2014-Pact of the Blade didn't include CHA as weapon stat... I don't think we're comparing on a similar level.
2014 Warlock have fewer Invocations, but also had their Pact choice. So in effect at level 1-4, you have equal amounts. At level 5 and beyond you get +1 Invocation in 2024. So is that +1 Invocation meant to cover the Medium Armor, Shield and Martial Weapon Proficiencies that 2014 Hexblade used to give?
Some invocations have also seen improvements like Fiendish Vigor being always 12 Temp HP, whilst the 2014-version was average 9 Temp HP. However casting it is still an Action, so you rarely cast it in Combat and outside combat you just keep rolling until you hit max - short-handed as out-of-combat you cast it for 12 Temp HP - so little actual difference.
Some invocations have seen a de-facto nerf/change like Lifedrinker that in 2014 used to give you +CHA on damage rolls with your Pact Weapon, but now grants 1d6 Necrotic damage and some healing ONCE per turn. Personally I like the healing from new Lifedrinker but definitely overall see it as a nerf.
Additionally I really really despise Armor of Shadows, because it effectively can be covered with Magic Initiate Origin feat (which you could pick up with Lessons of the Old Ones) and gain +2 Cantrips as well. The 8 hour duration is oftentimes enough to cover your adventuring day, and if not or dispelled somehow, either cast it with your Pact Spell Slot before a Short Rest or have a Studded Leather in your backpack. Additionally Mage Armor is only a Studded Leather +1. So the upgrade you get over your natural armor selection is +1 AC AND you technically give up picking up magical armors - I know you can relearn your Invocations so it can be flexible, but then the invocation itself is not really a "fix" for your AC, it's a band aid.
The reason Mage Armor is good for Arcane spellcasters is because they usually run around in Robes/no armor, so going from 10 + DEX to 13 + DEX AC is a sizeable upgrade, at the cost of one of your four 1st level slots AND you're expected to be on the backline.
If Armor of Shadows read "You get +1 AC" then I wouldn't take as much issue with the invocation, because then you could add it on TOP of Mage Armor, or your Studded Leather, or whatever else enables you better AC. I wont necessarily find it a high priority Invocation, but it would definitely be worth consideration.
As it stands it is a poor AC situation for a frontline Warlock.
I don't get why Hexblade as a subclass cannot give you improved defenses, whilst there's Bladesinger Wizard, Valor Bard, Draconic Sorcerer, Illusionist Wizard, Cleric's Divine Order and a bunch more that grants defensive buffs as part of a class feature or subclass of a primary spellcaster class. If the fear is that Medium Armor Training is enough to bypass all the other Warlock Subclasses, then I believe the issue lies in them. I don't share that fear though, because a spellcaster Warlock stands to gain a lot more from the other subclasses. Not to mention that Archfey and Fiend have means to get Temp HP, and Celestial have a budget Lay on Hands from lvl 3. Great Old Ones first get a defensive measure at level 6, but it's paired with a very strong offense bonus as well, although quite limited.
The easiest solution for Hexblade that also don't invite multi-class headaches is just to give them Medium Armor Training. Shield proficiency is more... maybe to me. Doesn't seem egregious without but neither with (Druids and Clerics have Shield prof. naturally). Martial Weapon Proficiency seems very natural for a subclass that focuses on sentient weapons, but with the Pact of the Blade invocation I don't find it sorely needed but neither a problem to just give it to them - see Valor Bard (all Martial Weapons) and Bladesinger (partial melee Martial Weapon Proficiency). It wont break anything.
The Hexblade addition could easily also include additional Invocations available to all Warlocks that can help on parts of the defense front. However Hexblade itself should have a lvl 3 defensive benefit. I do hope to avoid the Bladesinger-treatment where you get AC improvements through the Subclass at the cost of not being able to wear armor. At the very least keep the limit to Heavy Armor only.
Yes all classes could be the same with the same methods of achieving the same things, but thats not really a great .
Note as well that both cleric and druid are not only conceptually known for defense and support, but they are generally bad at attacking.
none of these other classes you mention has baseline class 4 ranged attacks, 5 one handed attacks and 3 GW attacks. (and in fact many martials dont)
the subclass gives no save disadvantage to next save debuff, which i think is unique. (talking about 75% chance to land frighten or stun there)
the subclass is conceptually associated with a cursed sentinet weapon. That screams offense, attacks and debuffs,
There is no good reason this subclass is flawed if it doesnt have medium armor access built in.
yes invocations allows you to customize, having limited amounts of them means you have to give up something for increased durability.
you act as if the class doesnt have built in defensive options, it has many. (invocations and pact spells) The subclass also has built in durability with HP return essentially for every target you curse, it has built ability to deflect attacks, built in ability to reduce speed and disable opp attacks. It has defensive smites faster than paladins.
The class allows you to focus on defense if you wish, but you'll have to make some choices, give up feats, build for dex, multiclass, or sacrifice offensive or ranged invocations, or burn spell slots in emergencies. Or build for distance and avoid getting close.
there is no reason that subclass needs to have built in medium armor anymore.
To comment a bit about the individual subclass features of the UA Hexblade:
The spell list seems nerfed and part of it is due to the Hex dependency, so losing out on Blur and Blink... funny enough two defensive spells, one better than the other... is quite a hit. The loss of Phantasmal Killer is also a hit to damage (and to defense). Some additions seems a bit weird like Conjure Barrage, Dispel Magic and TBH Steel Wind Strike. Although SWS fits the theme it also points to its own anti-synergy with weapon wielders and likely causes some frustration on that account. However there's not really that many 5th level damage AoEs remaining that ain't using Concentration other than Cone of Cold. Arcane Vigor is in theory a neat addition if it didn't also compete to use your Hit Dice with the Lifedrinker Invocation.
The lvl 3 Maneuvers feel a little lackluster. They are free to use so it makes sense. However the semi-taunt seems a bit weird to give to a Light Armor, no shield martial combatant.
The lvl 6 Life Stealer feat mirrors the old Hexblade's Curse of granting Healing on killing creatures inflicted with the curse (Hex). I do wish it was less lobsided towards being very strong against many weaker opponents and quite bad against few or singular strong opponents. Would wish it was an on-hit effect with a limited number of drains similar to Lifedrinker invocation. Or perhaps it doesn't even need to be capped beyond once per turn, depending on what else the Hexblade gets on the defensive front. Healing 1d8 + CHA each turn for average of 9,5 is not really that problematic in the long run, but it could very easily be scaled so it starts at Warlock lvl 6 as 1d4 + CHA, then at lvl 9 1d6 + CHA, then lvl 12 1d8 + CHA, lvl 15 1d10 + CHA and finally 18 2d6 + CHA. With encounters averaging out to 3-4 rounds, it adds up to a bit of healing, which could be very needed if your AC is not on par with other Martials. Could be interacting with the Bloodied condition (<50% HP) on yourself for increased healing.
It could also go well with my desire to change the free Hex casts into a magical ressource that fuels the Hexblade features - so if you really want you can put them all toward healing, or Hex'ing or some sort of defense/damage reduction. Gives a lot of flexibility.
You could even keep the curse-theme of the UA Hexblade but not strictly pair it with Hex or any concentration spell - give us the option to run with defensive spells like Blur, Haste, Shadow of Moil. Let it hook with any spell cast that targets only one creature - read spell cast target, not requiring the spell to only be able to target one creature. So an Eldritch Blast on a singular creature could be the hook as well.
The lvl 10 Armor of Hexes is a lot more reliable but also a lot less scaling and less fun. I did toy with the idea that your cursed target is bonded with you, so they share in your pain - basically redirecting damage from you to the cursed target. Again with the ressource-idea this could work by having an indirect cap, instead of CHA times per Long Rest. Would also open it up to work against any damage from any target. Someone did mention this feature (2d8 + CHA damage reduction) is essentially a bad lvl 3 Monk's Deflect Attacks (1d10 + DEX + Monk level), with the upside that Armor of Hexes can work on non-attack rolls and damage types not including physicals - so basically spells and breath-weapons - but with the caveat that it has to be your cursed target dealing the damage. Monks do get to ignore the damage type limit at lvl 13. Armor of Hexes is also limited unlike the Monk's Deflect Attacks.
This feature could stand to be better. Although to be fair, the other Warlock subclasses have... pretty mediocre lvl 10 features as well. Really sucks as it is the literal only thing you get at level 10, aside from +1 Cantrip. Most other full casters gets their second 5th level spell slot to even with the Warlock's only two Pact Spell Slots, and Martials generally get a slight bonus but their lvl 10 is also mainly the subclass feature that is generally more exciting.
The lvl 14 is honestly forgettable... You get Improved Critical against the Hex'ed target.
The Maneuvers can now affect two targets, although hitting the CON saving throw is getting increasingly unlikely at this point. The semi-taunt is still weird and not particularly good. The Saving Throw disADV is likely your best option but is not something you can utilize for yourself. This actually makes me a little annoyed that the lvl 5 spell list included Steel Wind Strike instead of Synaptic Static - which having running Saving Throws that you could utilize your Maneuver to great effect for in order to hinder the enemy's attacks.
The no Concentration break due to damage on Hex is honestly coming a bit late, and likely should have been addressed sometime earlier. Also the CHA times free Hex casts that lasts an Hour kinda becomes superfluous at this point. Another reason why I hope this subclass diverges from the Hex dependency and hopefully restructures its magic resources. Hex beneficiary is okay, but Hex-dependency is... very limiting.
Just an FYI, Magic Weapon does not use Concentration in 2024-rules and is still 1 hour. Still it is likely not a good use of your limited spell slots.
It is focused on the hex spell yes, but the name of every subclass in warlock is always the name of a patron. Hexmaster isn't a type of magical being that can be a patron, neither is hexwielder, a magical weapon like a hexblade is something that can be a patron. The weapon is the patron and you may not even be in possession of hte weapon. The weapon grants you the power of its curse to use as your own (hence the hex) and the spells and abilities it grants you are all attack based with magic weapon, smites, steel wind strike, conjure barrage being a way to call spectral versions of the weapon in some way could be really cool. Hexblade works just fine as the name of the subclass for what this is doing while also not FORCING a warlock to use a weapon because that is decided by your invocations rather than your subclass.
The biggest issue is the abilities you get at higher levels just aren't justifying the use of the hex spell at those levels.
its wild that you call their spell list lackluster.
smites are very strong on an attack based caster that have crit range of 19 especially if you choose elven accuracy
conjure barrage with full caster scaling rate is pretty potent. Steel wind strike is also extremely potent. And these spells are mostly not easily accessed otherwise, they arent in magic initiate, and are of higher level than spell feats usually give.
you can use saving throws yourself, staggering smite and wrathful smite are save based spells.you are also free to choose a weapon mastery feat like greatsword topple (has a save) shortsword/rapier vex, or nick if you desire.
You dont need to use hex all the time, it has seperate casts from pact magic, you can drop it and recast it as needed, you just give up its specfic benefits while doing so. you will quickly have 5 casts per day.
really, what concentration spell does warlock have that is better for the single target situation than pick a target you do: d6 per hit (on a 3-5 attack per round class), 10 healing per target killed, CHR damage on miss once per turn, 3 "maneuver options" can reduce the damage from them by 14, cant lose concentration, crit on 19, and +d6 to any target within 30 feet.
Perhaps a summon spell cast at 6+ but those generally consume one action, and you literally cant use them all the time.
when its not a single target situation, or you need defense or utility, use a different spell. return to hex as needed.
also keep in mind this subclass isnt primarily a melee class anymore, people can possibly be playing with an agonizing repelling eldritch blast spear so essentially more range than almost any charachter, with 40 feet of push away. Hence, not really needing tons of always on defense.
That's what people are complaining about, the best way to play a hexBLADE is not to use a weapon at all and instead spamming EB. It's not that this subclass isn't potent, it clearly is. It is that this subclass isn't a gish-focused subclass anymore. It's the "I cast Hex" subclass, and that isn't very interesting.
First of all I previously didn't say their spell list was lackluster, I said it was nerfed compared to the 2014 version.
Second, Wrathful Smite is fine when you're rocking lvl 1 spell slots. The upcasting to 2d6 damage at 2nd level spell slots is poor damage and the condition can't improve - and at DC 13 enemies have a pretty good chance to make the save. And you first get it at Warlock level 3 where you're rocking 2nd level spell slots. Thus it is fringe usable, but you likely rather want to use your spell slots for utility like Cause Fear (backwards), Misty Step, Hold Person, Mirror Image, Bane, or Armor of Agathys - or in the case of the 2014 Hexblade; Blur. Yes I know some of those are concentration spells and I really really hope to avoid the Hex Dependency for this subclass, exactly because a lot of the spells that Warlocks do get that are good, are concentration spells. The entire roster of 2024 Warlock's 2nd level spells are Concentration spells with the exception of Mirror Image and Misty Step (that's 10-to-2). Not all are combat orientated yes, but then you're more likely to break your concentration on your Hex or the other way around - say with Suggestion.
Staggering Smite is fine... it's fair damage and a decent save-target for a strong condition to inflict. But it was also on the 2014 list and thus not part of my comment that the list was nerfed. As for crit-fishing with a Smite - you could still go for Eldritch Smite Invocation that's [1 + spell lvl]xD8s of damage and auto-Prone no save. But granted one is "free" from subclass and the other is a full Invocation use. It is however first activated at level 14 with the increased crit range, so not that often players get to run it. Additionally Elven Accuracy still requires ADV, and the means of getting ADV is a lot less common in 2024 than 2014. You're building for something that gets online rather late in a campaign.
I said adding Conjure Barrage was weird - not necessarily bad. It's a Ranger exclusive spell, so it just felt a bit overstepping to me. I did also confuse it for Conjure Volley initially - the cylinder AoE damage and not Barrage's cone.
Steel Wind Strike was also primarily because it feels anti-climatic to use as a Weapon wielder because it doesn't synergize - aside from being a positioning/mobility tool. I said there were not many other AoEs available at 5th level that don't involve Concentration. But between Steel Wind Strike's 6d10 (average 33) damage to 5 targets, against Cone of Cold's 8d8 (average 36) damage to X targets... The times where SWS have adequate amounts of targets, I quite likely also have amble targets for CoC. Since there are many targets in the encounter it is also fair to assume they are not the best stat blocks for the level, so they are not likely to pass their CON-saves at DC 17.
I was mainly bummed by the loss of Blur, Phantasmal Killer and I forgot to mention the loss of Branding Smite (now Shining Smite), and to a lesser extend Blink was also serviceable but not that great a defensive tool. All but Blink are likely axed due to Concentration.
With that said I don't find the UA Hexblade spell list more than decent - where the 2014 was pretty good.
I'm cutting the response a bit short, but your last comment on Hexblade being opened up to be a ranged character and working just as well is for me a problem. The point was originally to make a gish to work with the melee aspects of the Warlock class and Invocations. There's already a bunch of subclasses that can amplify the caster aspects, that don't really grant a melee combatant that much benefit. Why is it so wrong to make a subclass that favors the melee aspect? I thought that was the point of subclasses - to allow specialization - which can include the way to approach the base class differently than what is typical. The UA Hexblade doesn't really encourage a different playstyle than your usual Warlock - basically Eldritch Blast mini-gunner. That is a failure in my eyes.
This is not a completely accurate assessment of the Warlock subclasses under the 2024 rule set. None of the subclasses are any better for Magic or Melee than any other, in fact they did a really good job of allowing the player to build each subclass to use Eldritch Blast or a Weapon.as they desire and be equally viable. That is what they are trying to do with Hexblade UA and I am all for that. I don't think the UA version is particularly good, but that has more to do with Hex.
I agree with Lia! The 2014 Hexblade was often used with ranged builds, and it was never an issue. If a player wants to build their subclass around ranged combat, that’s totally valid.
Not all parties are the same, and more options always lead to greater flexibility—and ultimately, more fun. In my opinion, people who want to restrict Hexblade (or any other class) probably just don’t enjoy that class to begin with. Taking it away would be a step backward.
P.S. I personally would never build my Hexblade with a ranged weapon—but I still think it’s great that others can if that’s the style they enjoy.
I'd argue that making medium armor and shield training onerous for the new Hexblade limits them.
No more than it limits every other single class Pact of the Blade build.
i think that not making hexblade a more melee martial focused subclass is in someways questionable as a direction.
i see why they did it, because pact of the blade basically gives every warlock a strong ability to be martial. That said it would still be possible to go even further with it as a subclass and maybe a prefered direction. Also, this was always an issue. As long as the class has eldritch blast built in, its going to be a factor in whether meleeing is needed
But many people are talking about how the design they chose doesnt work, or needs more power or something. I think yall should double down and made it an even cooler magic melee is a different type of feedback than. This class is too weak, or needs more AC, or doesnt function properly.
now i dont think its perfect, and im not sure its the right direction, but this subclass wouldnt be struggling at all next to rogues, monks, rangers or fighters in terms of power/gameplay
giving the class medium armor and shields wouldnt make it more of a martial, it would just
as i said elsewhere, if the goal was making a melee martial, i think hexblade is not ideal, not because it doesnt work with melee, but because it could be much cooler at melee. i agree that it would have been fine to make it a melee martial focused subclass.
that said, eldritch blast is built in, and you can't simply ignore that in subclass design. whatever you add via hexblade is in addition to having one of the best ranged repeatable options in the game (only fighter gets as many attacks, and no one gets d10 repeatable without a feat) And the most effectiveness at combat with a single attribute. Not only are dex weapons weaker and has less options in melee, they also cant repeatedly do d10 damage without a feat. Fighter can compete, but it needs both dex and str to do both at the same time, so it has to give up defense if it wants to go that direction.
they could somehow disable or limit eldritch blast, but its a core part of the class, and many players probably wouldnt be cool with that. Many players like that they arent pushed toward melee as hexblades. So if they arent limiting the ranged potential, and are using the same main stat, they have to include in their calculus that it always has an excelent ranged option.
as far as you evaluating wrathful smite as weak, that doesnt really make sense. its triggered via bonus action and exists on top of your regular attack based damage. Fear is a nice option for applying aoe frightened and control, but it isnt anywhere as useful versus a single target.
fear= give up a turn to cause frightened and make an enemy flee with a 50% chance
wrathful+hex= this turn you can do your entire multiattack stack+ number of attacks*d6+ 3d6+ frightening the creature with a 75% chance.
If you are focusing on combat with one creature there is no competition between these two options. fear is great, but it has a different usecase.
as you say, eldritch smite needs an invocation, and prone is considered a lower teir effect than frightened, in spell design, if there is a damage rider, i would expect the one that gives frightened to be lower than the one that can cause prone. Which brings up something you said, that advantage is harder in 2014, that is definitely not true, there are many more sources of advantage now, and many extend to teamates, like prone. The warlock can prone on hit, and they can stun on hit, and they have the option of taking mastery feats to get more. If a warlock wants to get advantage they have numerous ways.
cone of cold does not compete with steel wind strike because steel wind strike is attack based which the the hexblade is focused on. Essentially steel wind strike's spread is more like, my main target takes more damage,
cone of cold is 8d8 con save,
steel wind strike is attack based, so it can crit, and benefits from advantage or bless, or items that boost spell attack (wand of warmage) (and i too would like it to be more closely tied to a weapon, but everything isnt according to my druthers)
essentially cone of cold has less synergy with attacks, and the hex features. its solid, but steel wind sometimes an improvement for a charachter focused on improving attacks, and gaining benefits when attacking. For example, when ambushing the enemy, (hidden or invisible) steel wind averages 31 damage via advantage. cone of cold with a con save probably averages 26 assuming 45% save chance. And oustide of that, if you add up all the hex on hit benefits, it will be superior damage given 3 targets even without advantage.
that said, based on your post, i can see why in some respects some people might prefer the old spell list. But from my perspective regardless its a very good added spell less for an this type of subclass
feeling like warlock is stealing ranger's shine is a valid emotion, but facts are fact, these are objectively great spells, hexblade is also yucking paladin's yum, but that doesnt change that these are very good spells
Where do you get the 50% chance on Cause Fear and then 75% chance on Wrathful? Cause Fear (and Fear) is a DC13 WIS saving throw, same as Wrathful at level 3. But Wrathful ALSO requires that you hit - well under 2024-rules you first cast Smites when you hit, but for any given round it still applies that you need to hit AC and then the target needs to fail their DC to Frighten them. Per round you're more likely to frighten through Cause Fear/Fear than Wrathful Smite.
Also Cause Fear is the 1st level spell with singular target and upcast for +1 target, and it doesn't include the flee aspect, just the Frighten condition - so target can't move closer and its attacks have DisADV as long as it can see you.
Sure against a singular target where you don't think you'll need defenses like Mirror Image, Blur (as per 2014) or Shield, and it is non-humanoid so Hold Person is not applicable, you may use Wrathful Smite.
When you hit level 5 and presumably picks up EA x2, then against singular enemies that are non-humanoid, and you expect to have a Short Rest afterwards, you're likely to use one or both slots on Smites - sure. If it is humanoid, Hold Person is still a very very good spell at this level.
What are you talking about? There were more ways to gain Advantage in 2014 rules than there are now in 2024 rules. Eldritch Smite haven't changed a bit either and 2014-Hexblade still had both Wrathful and Staggering Smite in their spell list back then. Weapon Mastery with Topple have been introduced but unless the player is building a melee control build you rarely see Topple because it puts ranged companions at DisADV, and the target just spends half their movement to stand on their turn so they don't have the DisADV on attacks.
I wholeheartedly agree that Frighten is a better condition overall than Prone - unless you're a team of melee combatants that don't care about range.
I concede my point. I didn't properly consider that because SWS is attack based you could also get attack-benefits like Critical hits. The rider-effect of the Maneuver and the pseudo-Graze on miss is not really something that swings the pendulum at all for me. The +1d6 from Hex is neat but not great either.
Overall I will agree that SWS is better suited to the UA-Hexblade than what AoE potential I get with Cone of Cold.
And regarding my previous comment that I almost wanted Synaptic Static to be on the list so it could "combo" with the Maneuver for DisADV on next Saving Throw; luckily Warlocks can pick that one up in their own spell list. I missed that initially. We're just going to ignore that Warlock also already have access to Dispel Magic so it being included here is... not really adding anything but +1 Prepared Spell.
I see from the 2014-Hexblade to the UA-Hexblade: You lose out on Medium Armor Proficiency, Shield Proficiency and you're locked into using your Concentration on Hex to actually get anything from your Subclass - aside from spells. Previously the Hexblade spell list included several good defensive spells that all required Concentration.
The UA-Hexblade is more squishy, have fewer and worse defensive options.
All in all I look at it and say: Why do I want to go into melee? I have to spend a lot of Invocations to be on par with a Fighter on attacks, but I'm less tough. I can do spells but my subclass primarily wants me not to use a bunch of them because they are not Hex.
I could instead use those invocations to pimp out my Eldritch Blast - making myself a ranged character and not in the line of fire. This makes me less likely to be hit and thus less likely to lose Concentration on my spells. I can push enemies around and away from my melee frontliners to allow them greater flexibility. And I don't give anything from the subclass up to do this. I can do other spells than Hex but my subclass primarily wants me not to use a bunch of them.
The 2014-Hexblade had the same investment but it fixed a lot of the toughness issue by adding Medium Armor Prof. and it could be sweetened by a Shield. Then add defensive spells and suddenly you're also quite durable. It costs your spell slots for the most part, making you pretty much on par with a base Fighter. You still have cantrips/Eldritch Blast and the Fighter still have Action Surge and their Subclass. Medium Armor also meant you didn't go quite as MAD and could actually afford to put points into CON, making it your secondary stat. The UA-Hexblade smells a lot like CHA>DEX>CON resulting in less HP, worse Concentration Check and with the new Lifedrinker, also less healing.
And then we're back to: Why bother going melee? The Hexblade subclass previously answered: Because I make you durable enough. The UA-Hexblade... not so much.
Personally I would have preferred if WotC made other on-attack spell-infused attacks similar to Smites instead of just poaching the Paladin's. Both to secure Paladin their exclusivity and for flavor. I do understand the desire to keep the total spell count down and to reuse.
That could have been done by making "generic" spell-infused attacks and then Paladin gets the class feature to add some bells and whistles on top - like converting the damage type to Radiant and that sort. Anyway...
Yes Conjure Barrage and the Smites are fine. Wrathful Smite if nothing but lack of better alternative when you lock up your Concentration.