Table of Contents
I've loved Warlocks ever since I first saw them in 5th Edition. But Pact of the Blade always seemed inferior to straight up blasting with Eldritch Blast. This is attempts to rectify that and create a Warlock that can handle itself in melee just as well as it can at range. In exchange, however, you will not: receive the full utility of your Pact Boon (Tome), have access to high level spells (beyond 3rd), and miss out on about 4 Invocations.
But in return, you get killer saving throws, single target burst, strong opportunity attacks, great AC, some healing, and disease immunity (yes, that means no Contagion can touch you). Unfortunately, the build isn't fully realized until 9th level, but if you can wait that long (and measures have been taken so that you don't fall behind in damage), you'll be rewarded.
The most difficult problem for me when I want to play a Hex Blade has got to be MAD. You want STR/DEX for attacks, CON to not die in melee, and a spellcasting stat. Eldritch Knight is probably the only class that has access to that many ASI but let's be honest, trying to maintain decent stats in all those areas is difficult.
Thus, we look to the key behind our build: Shillelagh. It turns our spellcasting stat into our attack and damage stat! Great, we can get it using Pact of the Tome and now use CHA not just for Eldritch Blast and spells but also our melee attacks. (Note that we can't use Magic Initiate because that'd force us to use WIS which isn't very synergistic across melee classes (a monk still makes unarmed strikes with DEX/STR so Shillelagh would only half solve their MAD).
There's more though. If we want our wooden stick to keep up with a ray of force, it needs to scale. We can't get the Thirsting Blade Invocation since we didn't take Pact of the Blade. That means we have to multiclass a 5th level martial class for Extra Attack (sorry Rogues, your Sneak Attack doesn't work with a staff). But which martial class to choose? Well one of them has CHA as a secondary stat, adds CHA mod to saving throws at 6th level, has the Dueling Fighting Style, and makes each attack deal 1d8 more damage at 11th. Yup, we're MC-ing Paladin. Here's the kicker: this build arguably works better if your DM makes you an Oathbreaker.
So by the end, each attack should deal 2d8+2+CHA (11+CHA) damage and you can attack twice for 22+2CHA DPR. Eldritch Blast with three rays deals 3d10+3CHA or 16.5+3CHA. Assuming your CHA is about +3 or +4, this is reasonably matched. But let's not stop there. We can get one more attack in with Polearm Mastery (works with staffs!) for 1d4+1d8+2+CHA damage using the bonus action attack (yup, the Dueling Feat applies to this attack as well). Now we actually outdamage Eldritch Blast. Additionally, this doesn't hurt our Action Economy either as it only conflicts with the transfer of Hex (which shouldn't be occurring every turn).
Since we need such a high Paladin level, we won't be seeing much of Warlock if we want to play at a reasonable level (sub 17th). As a result, you probably won't be getting more than the 1st level Warlock Patron feature. Thus, I think Fiend Pact is probably your best bet as having a temp HP buffer in melee will prove very useful. On the other hand, I can also see a case for using GOO Pact to utter mental Commands and Suggestion.
Warlock 3/Paladin 11 - This is the core of our build
Personally, I prefer spells without concentration so I can keep up Hex with just one spell slot. Remember, you also can also use any spell slot for Divine Smite which deals 1+lvl d8 (and 2+lvl d8 at Paladin 11).
Cantrips (Warlock Tome)
Shillelagh, Eldritch Blast, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Sacred Flame, Vicious Mockery, Mending, Light, Guidance, Dancing Lights, etc.
Only the first two are mandatory. The rest is up to you, just note that you might lose concentration on Hex if you choose a cantrip that requires concentration. I like Mage Hand and Prestidigitation for their utility. Minor Illusion is subject to DM fiat sometime (mine just ignores its effects...). Vicious Mockery and Sacred Flame are some nice saving throw based cantrips with bonus effects for when Eldritch Blast is having a hard time breeching AC and the creature has a lower DEX or WIS saves.
1st Level (Warlock + Paladin)
Hex, Charm Person, Command,Bless, Arms of Hadar
I don't want to take up concentration from Hex/Bless so Charm Person and Command are good ways to instigate control without losing concentration. Command also scales! Don't take any Detect spells as you don't have ritual casting from Paladin and Book of Ancient Secrets doesn't let you cast rituals from known spells from other classes. Heroism and Armor of Agathys both clash with your innate temp HP generation.
2nd Level (Warlock + Paladin) Recover 2 slots per short rest
Invisibility, Suggestion, Mirror Image, Hold Person, Misty Step, Darkness
Exception to the concentration rule: encounter breakers. That means Hold Person, Suggestion and arguably Darkness which can turn encounters around, are worth losing concentration on Hex/Bless. Mirror Image is a great defense mechanism that doesn't require concentration and Misty Step is teleportation.
3rd Level (Paladin)
Dispel Magic, Remove Curse, Elemental Weapon, Aura of Vitality
Not many amazing choices. Aura of Vitality conflicts with your bonus action Attack but can be useful for a long drawn out fight (2d6 (7) HP per round is pretty good). Elemental Weapon replaces Hex a little but you need to cast it before Shillelagh and more often than not, I'd prefer Hex. The other two are safety spells for when things go awry. But hey, remember you can still cast Hold Person or Command using these slots. Or Smite.
Given the CHA and Feats needed, this build only gets 2 ASI at 14th level with two more by 16th level. We're going to start Variant Human so we can at least get Polearm Mastery, and all our scores in the relevant abilities. Using point buy:
CHA 15+1
CON 12
DEX 13+1
WIS 12
STR 13
INT 8
The main goals in this leveling guide are:
With that said, only levels 1-9 are really core to the build.
Some options for 15-16:
- i) Introduction
- ii) The Build
- iii) Spell selection
- iv) Leveling Progression
i) Introduction
I've loved Warlocks ever since I first saw them in 5th Edition. But Pact of the Blade always seemed inferior to straight up blasting with Eldritch Blast. This is attempts to rectify that and create a Warlock that can handle itself in melee just as well as it can at range. In exchange, however, you will not: receive the full utility of your Pact Boon (Tome), have access to high level spells (beyond 3rd), and miss out on about 4 Invocations.
But in return, you get killer saving throws, single target burst, strong opportunity attacks, great AC, some healing, and disease immunity (yes, that means no Contagion can touch you). Unfortunately, the build isn't fully realized until 9th level, but if you can wait that long (and measures have been taken so that you don't fall behind in damage), you'll be rewarded.
ii) The Build
The most difficult problem for me when I want to play a Hex Blade has got to be MAD. You want STR/DEX for attacks, CON to not die in melee, and a spellcasting stat. Eldritch Knight is probably the only class that has access to that many ASI but let's be honest, trying to maintain decent stats in all those areas is difficult.
Thus, we look to the key behind our build: Shillelagh. It turns our spellcasting stat into our attack and damage stat! Great, we can get it using Pact of the Tome and now use CHA not just for Eldritch Blast and spells but also our melee attacks. (Note that we can't use Magic Initiate because that'd force us to use WIS which isn't very synergistic across melee classes (a monk still makes unarmed strikes with DEX/STR so Shillelagh would only half solve their MAD).
There's more though. If we want our wooden stick to keep up with a ray of force, it needs to scale. We can't get the Thirsting Blade Invocation since we didn't take Pact of the Blade. That means we have to multiclass a 5th level martial class for Extra Attack (sorry Rogues, your Sneak Attack doesn't work with a staff). But which martial class to choose? Well one of them has CHA as a secondary stat, adds CHA mod to saving throws at 6th level, has the Dueling Fighting Style, and makes each attack deal 1d8 more damage at 11th. Yup, we're MC-ing Paladin. Here's the kicker: this build arguably works better if your DM makes you an Oathbreaker.
So by the end, each attack should deal 2d8+2+CHA (11+CHA) damage and you can attack twice for 22+2CHA DPR. Eldritch Blast with three rays deals 3d10+3CHA or 16.5+3CHA. Assuming your CHA is about +3 or +4, this is reasonably matched. But let's not stop there. We can get one more attack in with Polearm Mastery (works with staffs!) for 1d4+1d8+2+CHA damage using the bonus action attack (yup, the Dueling Feat applies to this attack as well). Now we actually outdamage Eldritch Blast. Additionally, this doesn't hurt our Action Economy either as it only conflicts with the transfer of Hex (which shouldn't be occurring every turn).
Since we need such a high Paladin level, we won't be seeing much of Warlock if we want to play at a reasonable level (sub 17th). As a result, you probably won't be getting more than the 1st level Warlock Patron feature. Thus, I think Fiend Pact is probably your best bet as having a temp HP buffer in melee will prove very useful. On the other hand, I can also see a case for using GOO Pact to utter mental Commands and Suggestion.
Warlock 3/Paladin 11 - This is the core of our build
iii) Spell Selection
Personally, I prefer spells without concentration so I can keep up Hex with just one spell slot. Remember, you also can also use any spell slot for Divine Smite which deals 1+lvl d8 (and 2+lvl d8 at Paladin 11).
Cantrips (Warlock Tome)
Shillelagh, Eldritch Blast, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Sacred Flame, Vicious Mockery, Mending, Light, Guidance, Dancing Lights, etc.
Only the first two are mandatory. The rest is up to you, just note that you might lose concentration on Hex if you choose a cantrip that requires concentration. I like Mage Hand and Prestidigitation for their utility. Minor Illusion is subject to DM fiat sometime (mine just ignores its effects...). Vicious Mockery and Sacred Flame are some nice saving throw based cantrips with bonus effects for when Eldritch Blast is having a hard time breeching AC and the creature has a lower DEX or WIS saves.
1st Level (Warlock + Paladin)
Hex, Charm Person, Command,Bless, Arms of Hadar
I don't want to take up concentration from Hex/Bless so Charm Person and Command are good ways to instigate control without losing concentration. Command also scales! Don't take any Detect spells as you don't have ritual casting from Paladin and Book of Ancient Secrets doesn't let you cast rituals from known spells from other classes. Heroism and Armor of Agathys both clash with your innate temp HP generation.
2nd Level (Warlock + Paladin) Recover 2 slots per short rest
Invisibility, Suggestion, Mirror Image, Hold Person, Misty Step, Darkness
Exception to the concentration rule: encounter breakers. That means Hold Person, Suggestion and arguably Darkness which can turn encounters around, are worth losing concentration on Hex/Bless. Mirror Image is a great defense mechanism that doesn't require concentration and Misty Step is teleportation.
3rd Level (Paladin)
Dispel Magic, Remove Curse, Elemental Weapon, Aura of Vitality
Not many amazing choices. Aura of Vitality conflicts with your bonus action Attack but can be useful for a long drawn out fight (2d6 (7) HP per round is pretty good). Elemental Weapon replaces Hex a little but you need to cast it before Shillelagh and more often than not, I'd prefer Hex. The other two are safety spells for when things go awry. But hey, remember you can still cast Hold Person or Command using these slots. Or Smite.
iv) Leveling Guide
Given the CHA and Feats needed, this build only gets 2 ASI at 14th level with two more by 16th level. We're going to start Variant Human so we can at least get Polearm Mastery, and all our scores in the relevant abilities. Using point buy:
CHA 15+1
CON 12
DEX 13+1
WIS 12
STR 13
INT 8
The main goals in this leveling guide are:
- Don't fall behind at 5th level. This means you should get Warlock2 for Agonizing Blast before then.
- Take Paladin6 around 8th level. Most classes get something defensive around 6th or 7th level. You're a level late, don't delay it further.
- Take Shillelagh after Extra Attack. Otherwise stick with Eldritch Blast.
With that said, only levels 1-9 are really core to the build.
- Paladin1: Get that AC to 18 (shield and chain) and use a staff. Should get you to 2nd level.
- Paladin2: Take Dueling, your DPR should be 1d6+3+1d4+3+Smite (12+Smite)
- Warlock1 or Paladin3: If you find yourself missing attacks, take Paladin3 (Devotion) as Channel Divinity will give you +3 to hit. Otherwise Warlock1 will get you 1 more Smite per short rest and Hex which boosts your DPR by potentially 3d6 a round (attack, bonus, AoO).
- Warlock1 or Warlock2: You get the Warlock1 benefits now or you get Agonizing Blast now
- Paladin3 or Warlock2: You get Agonizing Blast now or Channel Divinity. Eldritch Blast (EB) should deal 2d10+6 (17) which out damages your staff (12+Smite) whenever you aren't using Smite. EB also has a higher hit bonus than staff (staff+4 vs EB+6).
- Paladin4: +2 CHA. Your offense (spells and attacks) and defense (saving throws) all rely on this score. It's fantastic.
- Paladin5: Getting closer to Hex-"blade" time with that Extra Attack. Still cast EB (19) vs staff (18.5+Smite) since your staff has a lower hit bonus (+4 compared to EB's +7)
- Paladin6: You could've taken Warlock3 and grabbed Shillelagh now. But this is +4 to all saving throws. I think this is the better choice.
- Warlock3: Pact of the Tome -> Shillelagh. Start whacking for 2d8+1d4+12+Smite (23.5+Smite) damage. Your AC may drop to 16 (breastplate + no shield) since you need somatic components to cast Shillelagh. This may vary depending on your DM's ruling of using your Holy Symbol on your shield as a focus for Book of Shadows cantrips. If you really miss your AC though, you can always delay the listed progression to take the War Caster feat.
- Paladin7: You either get immunity to charm (Devotion) or CHA mod to your attacks (Oathbreaker)
- Paladin8: +2 CHA (read as more damage and +1 to all saves). At this point, Eldritch Blast (31.5) outdamages Shillelagh (26.5+Smite) unless you're an Oathbreaker (41.5+Smite).
- Paladin9: 3rd level spell slots
- Paladin10: Fear immunity
- Paladin11: 1d8 more damage per hit. Shillelagh's back (41+Smite) vs EB (31.5). Oathbreaker (56).
Some options for 15-16:
- Paladin12: War Caster
- Warlock4: Resilient (DEX)
- Warlock4: Resilient/Warcaster
- Warlock5: 3rd level spells and another Invocation
- Paladin12: Resilient/Warcaster
- Paladin13: 4th level spells
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