D&D 5E (2024) Best One Attack Builds?

[Zardnaar]

So dedicated martials and dedicated gish builds get multiple attacks.

However there's a few single attack builds. Rogues for example.

What ate the best ones youre aware of? Ive got 4.

CoDzilla.

Clerics and druids built around true strike and/or shillelagh and an emanation. Or multi class Cleric/ 1 druid if the MMs a hard ass on Hands full casting/warcaster/spell focus. Spirit Guardians, Conjure Woodland Beings/animals are the other bits. War Clerics and Sea druids with cold caster feats are the best at it.

Celestial Warlock/ devotion Paladin. Keys one big attack off charisma using true strike. 6 levels of Celestial Warlock and 3 levels of devotion paladin is the "full" build. Level 1-6 as Warlock perhaps with Paladin 1 early on.

Paladin 1/whispers bard using true strike. Smite plus whispers bard ability. Uses 5.0 content though

5th kinda idk.
Zhentarim Rogue another potential build. No idea.

 

[jmartkdr2]

5.0: warlock built around shadow blade: in 5.0, it can't be your Pact Blade so you'll need to be dex-focused and can't get extra attack without a five-level dip, so instead use booming blade or greenflame blade every turn (you'll still want to be a hexblade for the armor and frankly the theme fits best) -it's comparable in base damage to a rogue's base Sneak Attack.

Bous: this build doesn't require or even really use any invocations for attacking, so you can pick all fun ones. It rally doesn't work as a one-attack build in 5.5 because you can make shadow blade your Pact Blade and just get extra attacks.

5.5: if you multiclass a celestial warlock and (brass, gold, or red) dragon sorcerer, the features Radiant Soul and Elemental Affinity would stack on relevant spells. Being me, I first theorycrafted this around greenflame blade, which means at level 12 you could be doing {weapon base damage} +cha (Pact of the Blade) radiant damage + 2d8 + cha (AB) + cha (RS) + cha (EA) fire damage to your main target and 2d8 + cha (GFB) +cha (AB) to a secondary target.

Alternatively, you could be sensible and build around fire bolt.

Both work in practice (I've played them) but neither is particularly great overall - it's just that your crits hit like a truck, which is always a hoot.

 

[Zardnaar]

5.0: warlock built around shadow blade: in 5.0, it can't be your Pact Blade so you'll need to be dex-focused and can't get extra attack without a five-level dip, so instead use booming blade or greenflame blade every turn (you'll still want to be a hexblade for the armor and frankly the theme fits best) -it's comparable in base damage to a rogue's base Sneak Attack.

Bous: this build doesn't require or even really use any invocations for attacking, so you can pick all fun ones. It rally doesn't work as a one-attack build in 5.5 because you can make shadow blade your Pact Blade and just get extra attacks.

5.5: if you multiclass a celestial warlock and (brass, gold, or red) dragon sorcerer, the features Radiant Soul and Elemental Affinity would stack on relevant spells. Being me, I first theorycrafted this around greenflame blade, which means at level 12 you could be doing {weapon base damage} +cha (Pact of the Blade) radiant damage + 2d8 + cha (AB) + cha (RS) + cha (EA) fire damage to your main target and 2d8 + cha (GFB) +cha (AB) to a secondary target.

Alternatively, you could be sensible and build around fire bolt.

Both work in practice (I've played them) but neither is particularly great overall - it's just that your crits hit like a truck, which is always a hoot.

Seen something similar. Just takes a while to switch on.

Hmm coukd theoretically test that in BG3.

 

[ECMO3]

If you are restricting it to 5.5E material and you are limiting to 1 attack per turn (no quicken, PAM or other bonus action attacks) I think a Celestial Warlock with Agonizing Truestrike and lifedrinker is among the highest "at will" damage without consuming any resources

If you are talking burst damage in a single nova round through level 12 I think it is probably 3 levels of Genie Paladin then the rest in Warlock (Paladin 3/Warlock 9) for Agonizing Truestrike, Eldtrich Smite, Divine Smite, Radiant Soul, Lifedrinker, SpellFire Adept, Efreeti Furl. Above level 12 it does not scale with more Warlock levels because you can't get 6th level pact slots

So at 12th level it is something like 2d6 weapon+5 Charisma+2d6 Truestrike+5 Agonizing+5 Radiant Soul+6d8 Divine Smite+6d8 Eldritch Smite+2d10 fueled Spellfire+2d4 Efreetis Fury+1d6 Lifedrinker. I think that is 102.5 damage on average? After that you are out of 5th level slots, and channel divinity though and only have one d10 hit dice left, so you are way down on round 2 and you can't use your Paladin spell slots for Eldritch Smite. I think Round 2 is 2d6+5+2d6+5+5+2d8+1d10+1d8+1d6 = 51.5.

Aasimar does not help on burst damage because celestial revelation is a bonus action, also devotion paladin does not help because sacred weapon does not work on a Cantrip