Level Up (A5E) Eldritch Scythe vs Pact Weapon Invocations. What is the point.

[WanderingMystic]

While I love Eldritch Scythe when would you ever make an attack with your pack weapon instead of just useing your eldritch Scythe. Thirsting Blade while it gives you an extra attack does not scale as well as just useing your Eldritch Scythe. With how focused the warlock is with the eldritch blast mechanic I just don't see a reason for pack weapons anymore.

 

[Steampunkette]

While I love Eldritch Scythe when would you ever make an attack with your pack weapon instead of just useing your eldritch Scythe. Thirsting Blade while it gives you an extra attack does not scale as well as just useing your Eldritch Scythe. With how focused the warlock is with the eldritch blast mechanic I just don't see a reason for pack weapons anymore.

Eldritch Scythe is an attack-replacement.

So you can have your pact weapon and Thirsting Blade to get Extra Attack, use Eldritch Scythe for your first attack (And make 2 Eldritch Scythe attacks with that one attack) and then use Extra Attack to hit them with your pact weapon.

In addition, if your Pact-Weapon has a bonus to attack and damage you get to apply that bonus to your Eldritch Scythe if you're wielding your pact weapon. It also gains any Bonus Damage from your pact weapon, such as the bonus from Lifedrinker or a Flaming weapon.

 

[VenerableBede]

Steampunkette beat me to it.

Pact of the Blade, and your pact weapon and related invocations, now serves to supplement melee warlocks through Eldritch Scythe rather than being THE melee warlock.

 

[WanderingMystic]

1) OK I think I had been miss interpreting thirsting weapon as an extra attack which the extra blast class feature also says counts as an extra attack so I wasn't thinking the two would work together.

2) the wording of Lifedrinker makes me think it doesn't work with Eldritch Scythe.

3) I guess I was specifically thinking about the pact weapon invocations and not paxt weapon itself.

 

[VenerableBede]

2) the wording of Lifedrinker makes me think it doesn't work with Eldritch Scythe.

You are correct! It still works with the pact weapon, though, which is an extra +SpellcastingMod of damage per round, applied twice if you can attack with your pact weapon as a bonus action (eyes the polearms and Polearm Savant).

 

[Steampunkette]

You are correct! It still works with the pact weapon, though, which is an extra +SpellcastingMod of damage per round, applied twice if you can attack with your pact weapon as a bonus action (eyes the polearms and Polearm Savant).

OH! You're right. The Lifedrinker text doesn't say "Bonus Damage" it says that they take extra damage. So it doesn't actually stack.

In which case I'm confused why anyone would take Lifedrinker... Your Eldritch Scythe is up to 4 attacks with half damage to a second target. Adding a maximum of 5 points of damage to a fifth attack just feels... less valuable.

 

[Subtle Knife]

It is explicit that Eldritch Blast gains Agonizing Blast as well.

What about the Pact of the Blade spellcasting mod bonus to damage?

Subtle Knife

 

[VenerableBede]

It is explicit that Eldritch Blast gains Agonizing Blast as well.

What about the Pact of the Blade spellcasting mod bonus to damage?

Subtle Knife

By my reading, no—it says that the bonus must be inherent to the weapon, which the Pact of the Blade does not do. The Pact of the Blade just lets you use your spellcasting modifier in place of Strength or Dexterity for to-hit and damage. Now, if you had a +2 weapon that you made your pact weapon, THEN that would apply to Eldritch Scythe.

 

[VenerableBede]

OH! You're right. The Lifedrinker text doesn't say "Bonus Damage" it says that they take extra damage. So it doesn't actually stack.

In which case I'm confused why anyone would take Lifedrinker... Your Eldritch Scythe is up to 4 attacks with half damage to a second target. Adding a maximum of 5 points of damage to a fifth attack just feels... less valuable.

If you have literally nothing better to do with your invocations, for some inconceivable reason... bonus damage is bonus damage, even if it's marginal. I think the real value of Lifedrinker damage comes in when you use feats to get extra attacks with your pact weapon, such as Polearm Savant's Bonus Action attack. I did the math through level 20—it seems small, but it really, really adds up over time.

 

[Guythegard]

So you can have your pact weapon and Thirsting Blade to get Extra Attack, use Eldritch Scythe for your first attack (And make 2 Eldritch Scythe attacks with that one attack) and then use Extra Attack to hit them with your pact weapon.

Hold up, Thirsting Blade sese you can attack twice with your pact weapon specifically, so if you don’t make the first attack spusificly with the pact blade you can’t make the second cus its a second attack specifically with the pact weapon right?