Am I the only one who thinks it's dumb that Hexblade warlocks can learn the Shield spell? They don't get enough spell slots to justify it. Anyone have any reasons as to why this may not be complete garbage?
Well, you don't have to cast it until after you find out if it will help or not. There will be times when this will keep you alive; surely that's worth a spell slot.
I don't use shield that often with my hexblade, but there are definitely times that I would've been hit by something hard that if I didn't have shield. It has it's place and don't regret getting it, but using other longer duration spells do help more.
Forget Shield, Armor of Agathys is much better and scales.
that is one of the better contenders for survivability, but mitigated damage is not always better than preventable damage
Possibly true, but I cannot think of a single spell that better mitigates damage, deals damage and scales from first level using the precious few spell slots warlocks get
Mirror Image doesn't scale quite as well, but it's something to consider.
Also on this topic, yes, I think I would rather just take the death than actually use Shield with one of my two slots. Sure you could live, but god, at what cost?
I think it's dumb that Hexblade doesn't get access to an at will Shield Invocation in later levels or an invocation that grants them the benefits of wielding a shield while wielding a Hex weapon.
At-will Shield invocation means you're basically at +5 AC whenever you're awake. And this on a character that is already better armored (Medium + Shield + Dex) than Rogues (Light + Dex)?
Once per short rest, maybe. But I've never blown an invocation on anything that uses spell slots or is X per Y.
Rogues are purposely hit and run hence bonus action Disengage. They are not meant to be in melee.
Hexblade is meant to mix it up in melee hence is better armored than Rogue.
Also per Mike Mearls- "...all spells of a given level are meant to be equal." Which means from a homebrew perspective, we already have an invocation giving an at will level 2 spell at level 15 therefore having an at will level 1 spell at level 15 necessarily is no more overpowered.
easy option from my perspective is take a 2 level dip to war wizard for arcane deflection, you could also probably ask your DM if they would allow you arcance deflcection as an invocationbut not sure what level they would stat it as.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
Forget Shield, Armor of Agathys is much better and scales.
Problem is it's melee protection only which is great if you are up front, but not great if you are taking shots from range!
Fair, but you get the bonus HP regardless, and you can move in or out of range in most cases. Most combat, in my experience, is within melee range, or is one move from it. AoA is the superior spell.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
May the gentle moonlinght guide you to greater wisdom
Forget Shield, Armor of Agathys is much better and scales.
Problem is it's melee protection only which is great if you are up front, but not great if you are taking shots from range!
Fair, but you get the bonus HP regardless, and you can move in or out of range in most cases. Most combat, in my experience, is within melee range, or is one move from it. AoA is the superior spell.
True, my combat experience is more of a ranged afair lol Although to be fair our first session I managed to kill someone with Armour of Agathys, I crit with eldritch blast which put him down and I moved forward to search the body. He gets up with 1 hp and punches me, takes all my temp hp, but dies in the process lol. That is the last time I rushed forward to check a body, I now wait until I am sure everyone is dead lol
Am I the only one who thinks it's dumb that Hexblade warlocks can learn the Shield spell? They don't get enough spell slots to justify it. Anyone have any reasons as to why this may not be complete garbage?
Well, you don't have to cast it until after you find out if it will help or not. There will be times when this will keep you alive; surely that's worth a spell slot.
I always take 1 level of sorcerer or Wizard for this very reason. It’s hardly worth a precious warlock spell slot...especially a 5th level slot!
I don't use shield that often with my hexblade, but there are definitely times that I would've been hit by something hard that if I didn't have shield. It has it's place and don't regret getting it, but using other longer duration spells do help more.
My Homebrew | Background | Feats | Magic Items | Races | Spells | Subclass | Homebrewery
To see my more recent homebrew creations, please check out my content on Hombrewery.
Forget Shield, Armor of Agathys is much better and scales.
May the gentle moonlinght guide you to greater wisdom
that is one of the better contenders for survivability, but mitigated damage is not always better than preventable damage
My Homebrew | Background | Feats | Magic Items | Races | Spells | Subclass | Homebrewery
To see my more recent homebrew creations, please check out my content on Hombrewery.
Possibly true, but I cannot think of a single spell that better mitigates damage, deals damage and scales from first level using the precious few spell slots warlocks get
May the gentle moonlinght guide you to greater wisdom
Mirror Image doesn't scale quite as well, but it's something to consider.
Also on this topic, yes, I think I would rather just take the death than actually use Shield with one of my two slots. Sure you could live, but god, at what cost?
Problem is it's melee protection only which is great if you are up front, but not great if you are taking shots from range!
From Within Chaos Comes Order!
I think it's dumb that Hexblade doesn't get access to an at will Shield Invocation in later levels or an invocation that grants them the benefits of wielding a shield while wielding a Hex weapon.
Shield at will would have to have a limit, lest it be overpowered.
At-will Shield invocation means you're basically at +5 AC whenever you're awake. And this on a character that is already better armored (Medium + Shield + Dex) than Rogues (Light + Dex)?
Once per short rest, maybe. But I've never blown an invocation on anything that uses spell slots or is X per Y.
I would argue no more overpowered than Invisibility at will which Warlock can get at level 15. Wizard can have Shield at will at level 18.
Rogues are purposely hit and run hence bonus action Disengage. They are not meant to be in melee.
Hexblade is meant to mix it up in melee hence is better armored than Rogue.
Also per Mike Mearls- "...all spells of a given level are meant to be equal." Which means from a homebrew perspective, we already have an invocation giving an at will level 2 spell at level 15 therefore having an at will level 1 spell at level 15 necessarily is no more overpowered.
https://www.sageadvice.eu/2016/11/07/is-it-possible-to-exchange-the-paladins-spell-list-with-the-rangers-for-an-oath-of-the-ancients/
easy option from my perspective is take a 2 level dip to war wizard for arcane deflection, you could also probably ask your DM if they would allow you arcance deflcection as an invocationbut not sure what level they would stat it as.
Two levels of Wizard is my favorite MC for warlock (suck it Sorceror!). War Wizard is a great idea...double your spell slots while you’re at it.
Fair, but you get the bonus HP regardless, and you can move in or out of range in most cases. Most combat, in my experience, is within melee range, or is one move from it. AoA is the superior spell.
May the gentle moonlinght guide you to greater wisdom
True, my combat experience is more of a ranged afair lol
Although to be fair our first session I managed to kill someone with Armour of Agathys, I crit with eldritch blast which put him down and I moved forward to search the body. He gets up with 1 hp and punches me, takes all my temp hp, but dies in the process lol. That is the last time I rushed forward to check a body, I now wait until I am sure everyone is dead lol
From Within Chaos Comes Order!
Just keep casting Eldritch Blast until all the spoils of your victory are in the form of a fine powder, it's the only reasonable solution.
So Anyways, I started blasting....