D&D 5E Single class Hexblade - missing something?

[shadowoflameth]

I think that to "double smite" in one hit, you would have to spend 2 slots. The Eldritch smite specifically requires a warlock slot. However, the paladin class only says "you expend a spell slot" - it doesn't say where that spell slot comes from.

edit: Also - that is, yet again, a multi-class fix to the problem...

The Paladin has been errata'd to specify any spell slot can be used. Not so with Eldritch Smite. It's Warlock slots only Jeremy Crawford has confirmed this as intended.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I agree with you that it's a good pet incidentally. However, it's not a given that you have it - you have to land the killing blow, the foe has to be a humanoid... Also, there can be some serious RP consequences for doing it...

Easy enough, just need to sacrifice a commoner every day. I don't see any RP harm in that...

 

[NotAYakk]

Again, leaving you with very few out of combat magical utility.

Well, sure. You are putting out basically in-combat fighter levels of damage if you do it right.

Shouldn't you end up with as much out of combat utility as a Fighter does?

IWhile there is no guarantee that a single casting of Hex will suffice, given Dispel Magic like effects, a Hexblade can easily mix up their tactics to prioritize damage avoidance.

Also, if you have a safe spot to rest for an hour, you probably have a safe spot to rest for 2 hours. (sometimes this won't work, but it isn't plausible that it happens very often).

So usually if Hex is down, short rest, cast Hex, and short rest again. At level 5+, Hex lasts 8 hours while short rests are 1 hour long.

Warlocks get short rest slots and buffs that last 8+ hours from them.

I've had Adventuring Days where I have not taken any damage, through a combination of luck, tactics, and not to be repetitive, luck again.

I've also had Adventuring Days where a poor roll has resulted in a single point of damage from a half buried caltrop takes down a Pass w/o Trace spell.

Yes, concentration is a bitch.

Warlocks limited slots is one of the reasons why concentration based spells are less useful to warlocks. With a normal caster, losing concentration costs you an action and a daily slot. Your concentration spells are already super efficient, however, so if you are using concentration based spellcasting you probably have the slots to spare over the day.

A warlock has such a shortage of spell slots that losing concentration and replacing it with another spell slot is crippling in that encounter (and until the next short rest).

By using a long-duration concentration spell like Hex and refreshing the slot after you cast it, you reduce the cost of losing concentration significantly. If Hex goes down, you'll still have 2 slots; you can burn them for in-combat concentration effects (if you want).

A cast of darkness may be higher impact, but it costs an in-combat spell slot. That is very expensive for a warlock.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

A warlock should strongly consider resilient constitution as one of his early feats. Probably even Warcaster. Maybe in opposite order.
I am once back again to if you really want a gish, you should consider multiclassing even if you don't want to. It would actually be not fair if you can make a gish without paying a real price (being a level behind).

 

[Todd Roybark]

A warlock has such a shortage of spell slots that losing concentration and replacing it with another spell slot is crippling in that encounter (and until the next short rest).

Essentially you are just describing scarcity. Take any spell caster, reduce their available spell slots down to One spell slot remaining, with one crucial spell active with a Duration of Concentration.

Now disrupt the active spell. A cleric is not dealing with this situation any better than a warlock.
Having no gas in your tank, means just that.....any class has a hard time adapting.

 

[NotAYakk]

Essentially you are just describing scarcity. Take any spell caster, reduce their available spell slots down to One spell slot remaining, with one crucial spell active with a Duration of Concentration.

Now disrupt the active spell. A cleric is not dealing with this situation any better than a warlock.
Having no gas in your tank, means just that.....any class has a hard time adapting.

I'm talking about variance.

A 5th level cleric has 4/3/2 slots. A 5th level warlock has -/-/2 slots.

You have 2 short rests. And in each between rest period, you cast 3 total levels of concentration spells (sometimes a 3rd, sometime a 2nd and a 1st in another fight) and want to keep them up

Imagine 1 cast in 2 you lose concentration, 1 in 4 you lose it twice. So 1.75 casts per concentration spell to keep it up.

The cleric has to burn an average of 5.25 total spell levels per rest, times 3 is 15.8. They have 16. On a bad day, they run short, but less than half of days will have them run out of concentration buffs.

Meanwhile, the warlock tries to cast a single 3rd level concentration spell per rest. They have 18 total spell levels. per day If they dedicate all of their slots (18 levels worth) to keeping up the concentration spell, 58% of days they still lose concentration and have no slot left to recast it.

And most days they'll rest with unspent slots.

Some days the cleric may be reduced to using a 1st or 2nd level concentration buff during a hard fight (because they burned both of their 3rd level slots on concentration breaks), but they have the volume to reduce variance. Warlocks don't.

 

[Ancalagon]

I'm talking about variance.

A 5th level cleric has 4/3/2 slots. A 5th level warlock has -/-/2 slots.

Very good point - and I think it's not just for concentration spells too.

Sometimes in a battle a spell flubs - it was countered, it turns out that the foes are immune or they all made their saves, etc. The cleric will be upset, but they can try again next turn. The warlock? Wan-waaaaan

 

[Todd Roybark]

One only gets 3 spell slots for spells level 2-5, and less slots for spell levels 6+, so any time a primary spell caster that doesn't have Arcane Recovery, has to repeat cast, the blow to their resources is significant.

One doesn't play the warlock class to be an epic caster of spell slots....one plays the warlock for endless at will abilities through Cantrips and Invocations, with Spells, Pact Magic Spell slots and Once per day Invocations adding a change of pace.

If someone cast Shadow Blade on round one, and the monster is dead before the end of round two what typically happens? Does the spell caster just shrug their shoulders and let the spell expire, or does the group try to rush to the next encounter to get more use out of the spell?

Warlocks and Wizards,(with Arcane Recovery remaining), might be more willing to exercise restraint and not go chasing "Lightning Round" combats because their 1 minute duration spell is set to expire.

My experience has been, without a supply of scrolls or other one shot spell emulators, bards and clerics are the first to call for Long Rests.

 

[Ancalagon]

One doesn't play the warlock class to be an epic caster of spell slots....one plays the warlock for endless at will abilities through Cantrips and Invocations, with Spells, Pact Magic Spell slots and Once per day Invocations adding a change of pace.

This is not a bad point, and I saw it play out in a game I ran. The warlock was tome with great old ones (Kraken) at first, later switching his patron to Dragon (story reason). And yup - EB+AB+hex was their go to damage, one big spell in the fight, and a a pretty good array of magical tricks for the rest.

The hexblade, to do damage, is often a melee fighter (as mentioned in the original post, you can make a cheese hexblade that is still an EB AB Hex type but... then why be a hexblade). But to be able to perform well in that role, almost all their invocations will be liked to their fighting... so your "bag of tricks", the endless at will abilities, is preeeety shallow.

If someone cast Shadow Blade on round one, and the monster is dead before the end of round two what typically happens? Does the spell caster just shrug their shoulders and let the spell expire, or does the group try to rush to the next encounter to get more use out of the spell?

I saw this happen in PF more, where you have more spells that last 1 minute per level. In 5e a lot of the battle spells last 1 minute, so you don't really have time for a second enounter.

 

[Weiley31]

Easy enough, just need to sacrifice a commoner every day. I don't see any RP harm in that...

Party gives a dreadful stare at the Warlock.


Warlock: Oh come on, it helps us out in the end.
Targets the Party Member that will give the most trouble while rolling for Initiative.