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Bladesinger vs. Valor Bard vs. Bladelock
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanliss" data-source="post: 7094070" data-attributes="member: 6801219"><p>I think they should have a basic extra attack built in, but agree that a bunch of their stuff should be in invocations. If they had a few different defense-focused invocations, for varying armor types, they would be able to make the choice of only grabbing the Light-armor (Armor of shadows in this case), and be able to choose other things as well. I also think the Life-drinker invocation should remain, because it feels right that it is an invocation. Basically, the only bug I see is the extra attack being made an invocation. That is just my opinion though, others might want the three to be more similar classes.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I like some of the hexblade, the parts that make it a better gish, but dislike a lot of it too, like the Curse. I am not a fan of Hex/Hunter's mark because they are bland, and most often amount to +damage. I would rather have seen the crit 19/20 made into an Invocation for the Blade pact, with something like a 9-15th level requirement, and the rest scrapped. I like the proficiency in Medium armor and shields, but don't feel it is required to make the bladelock function on the same level as the other two. I think they should get something else like the Armor of Hexes, but not that, because that seems like a really odd mechanic. I would just copy from the Bladesinger and make it +Cha to AC, with a limit of +3-4 since it would be always-on instead of a limited resource.</p><p></p><p>I think a 14th level +cha to AC (max 3) and a built-in extra attack would level the field. Either that, or there should be multiple non-stacking defense boosting Invocations. One that gives the equivalent of heavy armor (I would say as an action), one that gives a Shield pact-weapon (Probably as a bonus action), and they already have mage armor to cover a Light armor equivalent. This gives flexibility to building your preferred Bladelock, the way it should be, instead of having a single basically-required invocation if you want to actually play in melee. </p><p></p><p>Factoring in my preferred changes, extra attack and +cha to AC (max 3) I will check this out again.</p><p></p><p>Attacks: 2x whatever weapon they choose+5 (+10 with an invocation)= minimum damage of 12 (22), Maximum of 34(44), which seems alright in comparison. The maximum is a bit higher than Bard with a rapier, but Bard also has access to things like Shield or Haste, so Valor can get that +2 AC and 3rd attack in as well. As a gut feeling, they are roughly equal.</p><p></p><p>Armor of Shadows: 13+dex(Mage armor), +Cha (Max 3), max AC of 21. Higher than a Monks max AC, but does not require as much investment since you could just stop at 16 Cha. I might limit that to a max of 2 instead.</p><p></p><p>Light Armor: Max of 12+dex+Cha(3)=20, more within bounds, but still high considering someone like a Rogue will be a few points lower. Although, rogue also has high DPR, so I am not sure how to judge this. I still prefer the 2 limit at this point.</p><p></p><p>Medium armor: Max 15+Dex(2)+Cha(3)= 20, higher than medium armor characters with a shield. Too tanky I think.</p><p></p><p>So, after that flow-of-thought style running of numbers, I would rather see +cha (max 2) to AC, and maybe something else, since a +2 to AC feels pretty small at level 14. This might be where I would include something like the third rider of the Hexblade curse.</p><p></p><p>+cha to AC (Max 2)</p><p>When you kill an enemy with your pact weapon you regain hit points equal to your Warlock level+ your Charisma Modifier.</p><p></p><p>That feels like an alright boost at 14th, right? </p><p></p><p>Sorry for rambling...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanliss, post: 7094070, member: 6801219"] I think they should have a basic extra attack built in, but agree that a bunch of their stuff should be in invocations. If they had a few different defense-focused invocations, for varying armor types, they would be able to make the choice of only grabbing the Light-armor (Armor of shadows in this case), and be able to choose other things as well. I also think the Life-drinker invocation should remain, because it feels right that it is an invocation. Basically, the only bug I see is the extra attack being made an invocation. That is just my opinion though, others might want the three to be more similar classes. I like some of the hexblade, the parts that make it a better gish, but dislike a lot of it too, like the Curse. I am not a fan of Hex/Hunter's mark because they are bland, and most often amount to +damage. I would rather have seen the crit 19/20 made into an Invocation for the Blade pact, with something like a 9-15th level requirement, and the rest scrapped. I like the proficiency in Medium armor and shields, but don't feel it is required to make the bladelock function on the same level as the other two. I think they should get something else like the Armor of Hexes, but not that, because that seems like a really odd mechanic. I would just copy from the Bladesinger and make it +Cha to AC, with a limit of +3-4 since it would be always-on instead of a limited resource. I think a 14th level +cha to AC (max 3) and a built-in extra attack would level the field. Either that, or there should be multiple non-stacking defense boosting Invocations. One that gives the equivalent of heavy armor (I would say as an action), one that gives a Shield pact-weapon (Probably as a bonus action), and they already have mage armor to cover a Light armor equivalent. This gives flexibility to building your preferred Bladelock, the way it should be, instead of having a single basically-required invocation if you want to actually play in melee. Factoring in my preferred changes, extra attack and +cha to AC (max 3) I will check this out again. Attacks: 2x whatever weapon they choose+5 (+10 with an invocation)= minimum damage of 12 (22), Maximum of 34(44), which seems alright in comparison. The maximum is a bit higher than Bard with a rapier, but Bard also has access to things like Shield or Haste, so Valor can get that +2 AC and 3rd attack in as well. As a gut feeling, they are roughly equal. Armor of Shadows: 13+dex(Mage armor), +Cha (Max 3), max AC of 21. Higher than a Monks max AC, but does not require as much investment since you could just stop at 16 Cha. I might limit that to a max of 2 instead. Light Armor: Max of 12+dex+Cha(3)=20, more within bounds, but still high considering someone like a Rogue will be a few points lower. Although, rogue also has high DPR, so I am not sure how to judge this. I still prefer the 2 limit at this point. Medium armor: Max 15+Dex(2)+Cha(3)= 20, higher than medium armor characters with a shield. Too tanky I think. So, after that flow-of-thought style running of numbers, I would rather see +cha (max 2) to AC, and maybe something else, since a +2 to AC feels pretty small at level 14. This might be where I would include something like the third rider of the Hexblade curse. +cha to AC (Max 2) When you kill an enemy with your pact weapon you regain hit points equal to your Warlock level+ your Charisma Modifier. That feels like an alright boost at 14th, right? Sorry for rambling... [/QUOTE]
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