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The Hexblade (Essentials Warlock) is up!


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I'm with Mengu, but for different reasons. I think the class has potential, and might even be fun to play, but it should not be called a Hexblade for A LOT of reasons.

In fact, there was too much to sum up here, so I ended up blogging about it - The Hexblade Rebooted.

I really would have preferred this Warlock build would be called anything but a Hexblade, because it bears no resemblance to the former class, at all. Sigh.
 

What I like about this sub-class is you clearly have an archetype like a Hell-Knight or a Fey Champion. Which leads me to guess that the Fey Pact Hexblade probably uses something like a rapier. And makes me curious what the Star Pact Hexblade in the upcoming article will be like.

No need to guess, they confirmed in the Podcast the Fey Pact Hexblade gets a rapier.
 

First the binder and now the hexblade? The warlock is absorbing all the classes nobody cares about.

The Binder was probably the class I had the most fun playing in 3.5. Right now though, I'm trying to figure out good ways to make a Vestige pact for Hexblades, and it presents challenges...

As for the 3.5 Hexblade, I had a few concepts I wanted to try with it, and I liked the flavour, it was just never mechanically up to snuff.

Come to think of it, it feels a little odd that the Hexblade is the Warlock that doesn't curse foes...
I can't say they're new bland striker damage thrills me.

Still, in general I like what I see.

Hmm... there's another thing though. I was pretty sure this subclass would be Arcane and Shadow, given that Shadow powers are called Hexes. (And I seem to remember the preview text for Heroes of Shadow implying that Hexblades drew power from the Shadowfell.) As it is, this is kindof confusing. I find it likely there will at least be some kind of Shadow-y pact in Heroes of Shadow though.
 
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Who else has noted that this class is a mechanical failure? CHA+CON = No AC. Chainmail doesnt help this much.

Secondly, Why the heck would you take a 4e ranged striker/controller and make it into the FIFTH(5th) Essentials MELEE striker? This is the same design space the Slayer currently occupies. Steps all over the toes of the Executioner and is nothing more than a theif or hunter with a fancy sword.

Really? Whats the point here?
 

Who else has noted that this class is a mechanical failure? CHA+CON = No AC. Chainmail doesnt help this much.

No more so than the Bard... This doesn't seem like abnormal or abominable game design to me.

I certainly don't see how a slight AC "deficit" would instantly mark the class as a mechanical failure even if it did exist.

As for it being a melee-focused striker... I don't see the big problem with that.
Even looking at another melee-focused striker as a problem though, the Hexblade isn't unwaveringly melee focused. One of its two at wills HAS to be ranged, it summons pets at higher level to do its dirty work at a distance, and it looks like it can probably choose from any previous Warlock daily power.
 



We haven't seen the whole writeup yet, so as always it's too early to jump to conclusions yet.

However, from what we've seen so far, the class seems to be a straightforward melee damage dealer similar to the slayer. What I'm wondering is that strikers need two more abilities besides damage dealing to be viable.

1. Survivability - Chain and lowish hp isn't stellar. I assume there is a fat temp-hp generating ability for Infernal and an evasion ability for Fey somewhere in the class features we haven't seen yet, otherwise the class has the same damage output as the slayer but dies faster.

2. Target selection - The slayer is very good at charging stuff, and he can switch to a bow easily, so he can get to his target if he wants to. I'm not sure what the Hexblade will do, maybe he'll get all teleporty at higher levels.
 

As to target selection, at the very least, he has a ranged at-will. Also, he can use dailies from the regular warlock, which are ranged.
 

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