I'm not too sure what I should do for this level up. I can't decide whether I should take a +2 in dex to up my AC(Andresin, so 12 + dex mod for unarmoured AC(could go from 15 to 18 with a shield)), +2 in char for damage and spells(make it a 20), spell sniper, or warcaster(but I have a gem in my kilij to make it my spell focus). If I take spell sniper, my eldritch blast will be buffed a ton(ignoring cover), but I don't use it unless I really need to or I'm not in melee range. With Warcaster, I could booming blade the thing that is running away from me and they will take a d8 of lighting from moving, but that is situational. Maybe Mage Slayer I don't know...

The party consists of a half-ogre barbarian, a halfling wizard, a halfling cleric, and an elf bard. The barb and I are the damage, but he's more of a tank than anything, so I don't know what role to fill- midline or frontline.

I also don't know what spell to get. I'm thinking Maximillian's earthen grasp or spiritual weapon(level 1 or 2 spell).

Let me know what you think!

Thank you,

Easpag

I would go for maxing your Charisma as that will be more useful for all situations not just combat, and if you can get hold of a Wand of the War Mage. +1 to spell attacks and ignores half cover. Spell sniper doesn't really buff Eldritch Blast all it does is double it's range and ignores half cover. How often will you need to fire an eldritch blast over that kind of distance?
Stacking your charisma will give you more damage (especially combined with Hex) which means you can start fighting from the back of the party all the way up to melee range, Armor of agathys (if you don't already have it) is great because you will hurt them if they hit you and temp hp is always good lol.
I would save warcaster until lvl 8 as you will be facing things then that will force your concentration a lot more than they are now. Plus it would give you the ability to cast while holding a shield!

Quote from Vince_Snetterton >>

Quote from sfPanzer >>

Quote from Vince_Snetterton >>

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That's exactly what they say. Hexblade in itself is basically just Pact of the Blade 2.0 so it's fine to go with Tome or Chain instead.

 Yeah.....no.

The OP did not ask for a char-building comment in this area, but there are certain subclasses and features that only work together. The Hexblade subclass and Pact of the Blade are such a pairing. If I was the OP, I would beg with his DM to switch to Pact of the Blade, since he is only at level 4.

CAN he play the combo he has chosen? Sure, it is a legal combo. But he will have so much heartache with this char, compared to the only logical choice of Pact of the Blade.

 

I completely disagree. It's also not exactly constructive to tell someone to change their entire build. Not everything is about min-maxing.

 Like I said, he can play legally. So if he wants to play it this way, sure, go for it. But, while certain builds are indeed min-maxing, other builds simply scream "you will do this, or you totally gimp your char". This is one of those cases.

 I would only take Pact of the Blade for the Blade invocations. If you build around cantrips, then it isn't very helpful. 

I feel that going Charisma first would be more beneficial as it increases you spells's potency, weapon attacks, and your charisma skills.

Pact of the Blade and Hexblade are an excellent combo and great if you are focusing on blade invocations. And I would agree it is an optimal choice but I don’t think not taking this combo gimps a character. They may not be the best but far from ******. 

The versatility of Tome’s extra cantrips and rituals can add to that character in interesting ways. Does it synergize as well as Blade? No but it still works. 

Quote from RoughCoronet0 >>

I feel that going Charisma first would be more beneficial as it increases you spells's potency, weapon attacks, and your charisma skills.

If he's mostly using Hex, Armor of Agathys and Booming Blade, it doesn't really affect his spells at all.

I would say that if he's set on doing Tomelock with Booming Blade, to do the warcaster feat to help maintain concentration on Hex, and to allow Booming Blade opportunity attacks.  

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I feel that going Charisma first would be more beneficial as it increases you spells's potency, weapon attacks, and your charisma skills.

 Except he's a Tomelock, he didn't take Pact of the Blade.  So he still uses dexterity or strength for his weapon attacks.  And if he's mostly using Hex, Armor of Agathys and Booming Blade, it doesn't really affect his spells at all.

I would say that if he's set on doing Tomelock with Booming Blade, to do the warcaster feat to help maintain concentration on Hex, and to allow Booming Blade opportunity attacks.  

 It is the Hexblades subclass that gives the PC the ability to use Charisma vs Dexerity or Strength though, not the Pact of the Blade feature.

Hex Warrior

At 1st level, you acquire the training necessary to effectively arm yourself for battle. You gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons.

The influence of your patron also allows you to mystically channel your will through a particular weapon. Whenever you finish a long rest, 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, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls. This benefit lasts until you finish a long rest. 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.

Quote from Easpag >>

I also don't know what spell to get. I'm thinking Maximillian's earthen grasp or spiritual weapon(level 1 or 2 spell).

 

It's already been mentioned that Booming Blade is Thunder damage, not Lightning damage.  It's also worth mentioning that neither one of those spells are Warlock spells, so you can't learn either one (unless your DM is making house rules to allow Warlocks to learn those spells). 

The best spells for a melee Warlock are: Armor of Agathys, Hex, Darkness, Mirror Image

Quote from RoughCoronet0 >>

Quote from gabrielrockman >>

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I feel that going Charisma first would be more beneficial as it increases you spells's potency, weapon attacks, and your charisma skills.

 Except he's a Tomelock, he didn't take Pact of the Blade.  So he still uses dexterity or strength for his weapon attacks.  And if he's mostly using Hex, Armor of Agathys and Booming Blade, it doesn't really affect his spells at all.

I would say that if he's set on doing Tomelock with Booming Blade, to do the warcaster feat to help maintain concentration on Hex, and to allow Booming Blade opportunity attacks.  

 It is the Hexblades subclass that gives the PC the ability to use Charisma vs Dexerity or Strength though, not the Pact of the Blade feature.

Hex Warrior

At 1st level, you acquire the training necessary to effectively arm yourself for battle. You gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons.

The influence of your patron also allows you to mystically channel your will through a particular weapon. Whenever you finish a long rest, 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, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls. This benefit lasts until you finish a long rest. 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.

 Yeah, I get the two confused because they're so often used together and so rarely used separately.  It's a bit hard giving advice to someone that's using them separately because it's so rare to see it played that way.

Heck, I think that even my melee Pact of the Chain Celestial Warlock is more common than what he's doing.

Quote from gabrielrockman >>

Quote from RoughCoronet0 >>

Quote from gabrielrockman >>

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I feel that going Charisma first would be more beneficial as it increases you spells's potency, weapon attacks, and your charisma skills.

 Except he's a Tomelock, he didn't take Pact of the Blade.  So he still uses dexterity or strength for his weapon attacks.  And if he's mostly using Hex, Armor of Agathys and Booming Blade, it doesn't really affect his spells at all.

I would say that if he's set on doing Tomelock with Booming Blade, to do the warcaster feat to help maintain concentration on Hex, and to allow Booming Blade opportunity attacks.  

 It is the Hexblades subclass that gives the PC the ability to use Charisma vs Dexerity or Strength though, not the Pact of the Blade feature.

Hex Warrior

At 1st level, you acquire the training necessary to effectively arm yourself for battle. You gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons.

The influence of your patron also allows you to mystically channel your will through a particular weapon. Whenever you finish a long rest, 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, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls. This benefit lasts until you finish a long rest. 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.

 Yeah, I get the two confused because they're so often used together and so rarely used separately.  It's a bit hard giving advice to someone that's using them separately because it's so rare to see it played that way.

Heck, I think that even my melee Pact of the Chain Celestial Warlock is more common than what he's doing.

 I hear you, I had to look it up again myself to be sure I was remembering correctly as it’s very rare to see Hexblade subclass being played without the Pact of the Blade chosen.