Hey y'all

About to play my fist ever campaign after years of anticipation. After boiling down to the class/subclass I want to play the absolute most, I have chosen the Warlock, Hexblade Patron with Pact of the Blade.

I've done a bit of theory and concepts exploring some top contenders, but what I really need help with is setting up some "Core Components" 
I've watched/ read as many Hexblade builds and threads as I can but feel like I need to double check here.
I'm going flavour over everything BUT still want to be competent on the battlefield. Also I'm trying to stay monoclass and Adventure League legal working with just PHB and XGE.

Okay! here we go! thematically going Great Sword (I've read the reasons for Glaivelock/ PAM but don't want the extra complications/ hogging too much playtime with reactions and bonus action economy, plus I like the sword flavour). 

Greatsword essentials/wishlist
GWM (F)
Improved Pact Weapon (EI)
Thirsting Blade (EI)
Lifedrinker (EI)

And I want a back up ranged option, I would really like to use a longbow, and be able to summon one with Improved Pact Weapon, would  need to carry ammunition 
Longbow essentials/ wishlist
Improved Pact Weapon (EI)
Sharpshooter

Alternatively I could take Eldritch Blast (EI) + Agonizing Blast (EI) But I like the flavour of the bow and being able to drop smites with it, If anyone has a simple comparison if the damage is a huge discrepancy, what a turn and the action economy would be to start a fight with the bow and or switching from Bow to GS/ vice versa compared to casting EB without having to dismiss the sword. Also looks like Bow requires me to take one feat whereas EB requires 2 Eldritch Invocations to be competitive.

Right so, if you can also simplify/ clear a couple things up, the Pact Weapon can be separate and different than the Hex Warrior weapon, what are the pros and cons of running the weapon as a combined weapon that is both Pact and Hex Warrior? Or is it a non-issue if EVERY weapon summoned via pact also has the Hex Warrior mystically channeled through it?

Okay! Almost done! Spell casting! Pretty sure the DM is pretty lenient but I would really like to know, is there an overlap between Warcaster and IWP interms of being able to cast while holding a weapon or do they cover slightly different types of spell composition? Also is it moot if with a 2 handed weapon you can let the tip rest in the dirt and cast with the offhand, or do you need it dropped/ dismissed?

Can go Vhuman, Tiefling,  Elf or Half-Elf but trying to find out how many feats I should be expecting to have and still be able to max CHA.

I think that's it! Any extra suggestions for EI's Feats, Spells are much appreciated ! 

- The pact weapon /can/ be separate from the hex weapon. Your hex weapon cannot be a greatsword or a longbow unless it's also your pact weapon, so using a greatsword /and/ a bow as a backup is going to leave you MAD.  Personally, I'd dump the longbow and fluff shooting eldritch blasts from a phantasmal bow.  Sure, you can't smite with that, but it's only a backup.  You can't have both a longbow and a greatsword pact weapon:

Your pact weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die.  So if you use the feature to create a longbow as a pact weapon, your greatsword disappears automatically.  This eats up an action so you aren't going to want to switch in combat.  What you /could/ do is use a longsword two handed as a hex weapon, and an improved pact weapon longbow, but I don't think that's what you're after.

- Since you are two handed, you can cast with your offhand simply by holding your greatsword in one hand.  You can't /attack/ with it that way, but if you are casting a spell, you're not attacking anyways.  IPW allows you to use your weapon as a focus, and you can perform the somantic component by gesturing with your focus so you do not need warcaster.

Cool cool cool! Thanks for looking in and looking out! I can definately give up the longbow for the phantasmal bow (EB) I knew I would have to streamline a bit. The full action weapon swap even between summoned pact weapons I think is too steep. I do trust you on the GS and Longbow combo leading to MAD, SAD is one of the contributing factors in choosing this class :)
But I am missing how the GS and Longbow can not both be Pact > Improved Pact Weapons > Hex Warrior Weapons and both run off CHA.

*Not trying to prove anything just my thought process*

Hex Warrior (level 1)
you can touch one weapon that you are proficient with and that lacks the two-handed property. When you attack with that weapon, you can use your Charisma modifier

So at level one Warlock, can hex weapon a one handed simple or martial weapon, say Short sword.
Then Level 3 Pact of the Blade Boon
You can use your action to create a pact weapon in your empty hand. You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it. You are proficient with it while you wield it.
No limitation to Pact weapon being one handed - back to Hex Warrior,
If you later gain the Pact of the Blade feature, this benefit extends to every pact weapon you conjure with that feature, no matter the weapon's type.

Okay now we can use the Greatsword
Next add the Improved Pact Weapon to allow Longbows 

Now back to Hex Warrior
If you later gain the Pact of the Blade feature, this benefit extends to every pact weapon you conjure with that feature, no matter the weapon's type... 

I think I found where I went wrong, If I dismiss the GS I need some hours to break bonds or create new bonds. I thought as long as I wasn't bonding magic items, then any allowable form of weapon could be "created" in the empty hand. So for the first one you can just create your weapon that looks like anything but afterward you need a specific item to bond to before it has pact properties? I was thinking you could just kind of transmute the shape of the weapon while it's dismissed. Will have to really do some learning if I ever do find a magic weapon, but from what I understand once you have created a pact weapon, it's not a simple switch call forth a new weapon/ shape.

You can have the GS or the longbow, and both will count as hex weapons for the purposes of using charisma.  You can't have both at the same time, and would require an action to switch between them.  You could go with a hex weapon and a separate, summonable IPW, but the separate hex weapon (probably longsword used two handed) could not be a greatsword or a bow.  Obviously, the separate hex weapon would not be used as an IPW, because it's not a pact weapon.

Pact weapon can be a two hander, a mundane hex weapon cannot (although it can be versatile, and used two-handed).  I think if you're willing to spend the full action to summon a new pact weapon, you'd be able to apply the hex bonus. right away.  That said, I would never consider spending a full action to summon a backup weapon, especially if there's a chance I might have to switch BACK to my primary (which would require another action again) because as soon as you summoned the bow, the greatsword vanished.  Even if you bound say a magical greatsword then summoned a bow, the greatsword would disappear to it's interdimensional space and would require being summoned back which takes a round.

I see nothing in the rules that indicates you /can't/ change the type of weapon you summon, provided you spend the action to do so.  The ability says: You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it so you can choose a different weapon each time you summon.  IPW allows that form to be a bow.  Even if you find a magic sword, if I were DMing, I'd rule you can summon that sword OR anything that IPW allows you to summon, because you get to choose each time you create it.

The DM can allow anything, but the intent seems to be that if you bond with a magic weapon, that's now your only pact weapon.

https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/rules-answers-april-2016

You can also use Pact of the Blade to bond with a magic weapon, turning it into your pact weapon. This magic weapon doesn’t have to be a melee weapon, so you could use the feature on a +1 longbow, for instance. Once the bond is formed, the magic weapon appears whenever you call your pact weapon to you, and the intent is that you can’t change the magic weapon’s form when it appears. For example, if you bond with a flame tongue (longsword) and send the weapon to the feature’s extradimensional space, the weapon comes back as a longsword when you summon it. You don’t get to turn it into a club. Similarly, if you bond with a dagger of venom, you can’t summon it as a maul; it’s always a dagger.

Yes, I see what you're saying there when I read it more closely.

Once the bond is formed, the magic weapon appears whenever you call your pact weapon to you, and the intent is that you can’t change the magic weapon’s form when it appears.  Since the magic weapon appears when you call your pact weapon...you cannot call another type of weapon as your pact weapon, even if it's only a standard pain-jane pact weapon.  You get the magic weapon and only the magic weapon.

That's mostly what I came across also, if the pact weapon is a magic item in bondage then you lose the ability to "create" a weapon in your empty hand, you are summoning the specific bonded magic item. If you do not bond a magic item, then you can continue to summon Pact weapons from the book charts, including longbow with IPW. 

I was just thinking thematically and  depending on the situation/ encounter to call the GS or the Longbow, not necessarily standing around switching back and forth in battle.
Will revisit just going EB with the offhand and see if I need more Invocations other than Agonizing blast to tune it up, or go with the action heavy access to a Longbow summons if it can benefit my GS by the IPW and smites working for both weapons. and if it uses CHA for hit and dmg.

If you can get past the imagery, I think you'll find Eldritch Blast (or, better yet, Agonizing Blast) a fantastic alternative to a magic bow. This also keeps one hand free for casting, and keeps everything CHA based. And you can still have a Hexblade weapon, too.

I play a Tome Pact Hexblade, and I rarely get into melee. I use AB with advantage (owl familiar), or control spells if we have many enemies.

you could also cast Eldritch Blast like you were firing an arrow from a bow as part of the imagery...or fire them out of your nostrils (so long as you have one hand free for casting).

I think I’ll do a full bowlock in the future, or something dex based as a primary archer instead of cluttering this PC. I have trouble flavouring the EB as a phantasmal bow when I’ll have a weapon in my other hand. Maybe my DM will permit the Greatsword to change into longbow for the EB but not as a pact weapon/ hex weapon that automagically turns back into a GS after the spell is cast. 

Is there a good template out there, maybe google docs for planning a character, like where and when I’ll look to add or swap spells, eldritch invocations etc.

im reconsidering the pole arm build will check with my DM if it’s too cheese, action economy doesn’t seem too heavy on the bonus action with how few spell slots there are. I really don’t want to combo darkness devils sight but I like the idea of it as a defensive spell like hypnotic pattern and just darkness while we setup buffs, formations or escape.

We are rolling for stats 

Originally I was thinking helf for the stats and EA but without darkness, moil is a way off before generating more advantage. I just don’t want to miss attacks all t he time going GWM powershots. If I Vuman I can start PAM and have some fun off the bat.

realistically how many feats is a safe amount to expect and still max Ability scores? Are asi’s wasted if you gain levels and can’t uses the increases because you’ve already maxed the stat?

*UPDATE*

So we started playing and my Warlock has so far been pretty fun. Have to be pretty conservative with the spell slots though.
Cantrips: EB, Minor Illusion
Level 1: HEX, SHIELD
Level 2: Same as above + Agonizing Blast & Fiendish Vigor invocations, Unseen Servant to spells (completely unused)

I almost died from not using Shield when hit by a half-ogre and catching an spray of Alchemist's Fire knocked me unconscious.
Every time I got up from our druid's unicorn totem, (2HP) I took that damage from the ongoing fire. Pretty intense and I used the experience to write some good depth to the character, deeper into their Pact. Pretty scary taking the death saving throws, If I caught a 1 I would have died.

Anyways we are almost level 3 and I'm just checking in on my progress so far. I think I might pick up Darkness/ Devel's sight for a bit, we'll see if theres a way to do it without negatively impacting the party, maybe heading for single combat. Flavour over everything my Patron is from the Shadowfell so I'm aiming to use or re-flavour using Shadow spells and features when possible.

Level 3: 4 spells know, Spell slots level 2.
Need help here: 
Armor of Agathys (10 hp is it worth it yet? doesn't stack with fiendish Vigor),
Hex (concentration),
Darkness (concentration),
Hold Person (concentration),
Shatter
Misty Step

Invocations:
Agonizing Blast
Fiendish Vigor (or swap for Devil's sight)

we rolled for stats, and racial bump got my CHA to 18, level 4 I am thinking of Maxing Charisma
remaining bumps considering
8 GWM / Mobile ? would mobile work to Relentless hex in Attack and then get out if needed? 
12 Resilient Con (17+1 to 18)
16 ?

Any spell recommendations or progressions are useful, I like the idea of Shadow of Moil when I can get there.
Ill try to read some more forums, but sometimes sussing out spells and feats instead of reading the merits of PAM/ Sentinel (Which I will try on another class).

Maybe my DM is lenient, but my Hexblade PotB / Swashbuckler almost always uses her sword for everything. She's got other weapons that are Hex weapons, but the sword is the Pact weapon of choice.
She has rarely ever "dismissed it," one exception was when she was grappled from behind. She was holding it in front of her, and dismissed it, then next round "called it" but she twisted her wrist around, so it appeared pointing backwards - had to roll to hit, but she was able to kill her attacker that way.

When we were planning to face a dragon, she opted to take the Improved Pact Weapon Invocation, so she could use a longbow, and still stack on Hexblade's Curse damage, and Eldritch Smites, and Lifedrinker bonus damage, with Sneak Attack damage... all of that clearly outweighs Eldritch Blasts. So, she just sheathed her sword, summoned a bow, and spent an hour to make the bow her pact weapon. So, she was pretty much stuck with the bow. And during the fight, she actually had disadvantage, since the dragon was prone. So, having the sword would have helped, but it would have taken another hour to switch to the bow.
Being able to switch weapons is an out of combat thing, but it can be helpful.