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It’s difficult to say for sure why the Warlock is one of the most popular classes inDungeons & Dragons, but the class’s flavorful ties to a patron, whether they’re good or evil, is one likely explanation. Among the patrons and subclasses available, the Hexblade in particular seems to call to many players due to its reputation as one of the few gish playstyles available in the game.
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“Gish” is an old-school tabletop term used to refer to character builds that use both sword and sorcery. Alongside theBladesinger Wizard, the Hexblade Warlock is one of your best options for living this fantasy in a mechanically satisfying way. Let’s take a look at how to make it sing.
Species
The most optimized builds always choose eithervariant humanorcustom lineagefrom Tasha’s Cauldron Of Everything in order toaccess a featat first level. However, many tables allow all species a free feat at first level anyways, so it entirely depends on your DM.
If your table happens to run with this house rule, you’ve got quite a few other great species options to pick from. If you pick a species from the Player’s Handbook, select one that receives a boost to Charisma such asHalf-Elf, Tiefling,orDragonborn. TheAasimarandYuan-ti Purebloodfrom Volo’s Guide to Monsters also provide Charisma bonuses.
On top of these options, theAstral Elf, Eladrin,andShadar-Kaiare great options from Monsters of the Multiverse, thanks to access tobuilt-in bonus action teleportsto a range of 30 feet. These can be extremely helpful for closing the gap between you and your foes as well as escaping from less than ideal situations.
TheOrcandGoliathhave some added resilience thanks to some significantly different features. Relentless endurance on Orcs makes it so that they cansurvive any attack that would reduce you to zeroand be reduced to one hit point instead. Meanwhile, Goliaths have Stone’s Endurance, which allows you to use your reaction to reduce incoming damage by a d12 + your Constitution modifier.
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Ability Scores
As mentioned above, your number one concern as a Hexblade Warlock isincreasing your Charisma score. This is due to Charisma being your spellcasting ability modifier, however, the Hexblade’s Hex Warrior feature also allows you touse Charisma for your weapon attacks, instead of Strength or Dexterity.
As a result,Charisma influences everything you needby the time you pick up the Pact of the Blade feature at third level.
Your next highest ability score should be yourConstitution. Warlocks have a pretty middling AC (Armor Class), even with added proficiency in medium armor and shields, so you’re going to need to increase your hit points as high as possible if you plan on wading into melee combat.Furthermore,a high Constitution score will allow you to maintain concentrationon your spells more readily.
The third and final priority for Warlocks is a decentWisdomscore. While Wisdom doesn’t directly influence any of your key abilities,perception is the most important skillin the game.
Warlocks also have the benefit ofproficiency in Wisdom saving throws, and you’ll want to get as much mileage out of this proficiency as you can to protect yourself from harmful spells and abilities.
If you plan on using a two-handed weapon, it’s worth noting that you may want to make sure you have at least a +1 modifier in Strength to get you through the first two levels of play. The ability to attack with two-handed weapons using your Charisma score only comes online once you reach third level.
If you plan onmulticlassing into Paladinor accessing heavy armor through a feat, you will need a minimum Strength score of 13.
Feats
For starters, your level one feat should beWar CasterorResilient (Constitution)in order to buff up your concentration checks.
With so few spell slots, Warlocks rely on concentration spells more than any other class in order to get the most out of their spellcasting.
Warlocks only have two more ability score improvements in the first half of their level progression at levels four and eight. Maximizing your Charisma score is very important, butif you really want to lean into melee attacks, consider taking Great Weapon Masterat the fourth level in order to unlock “power attacks”.
“Power attack” is a colloquial name for the Great Weapon Master feature that allows you to take a -5 penalty to your attack roll in order to deal +10 damage.
If your Charisma isn’t 20 by the time you reach the eighth level, definitelyuse this ability score improvement to maximize your Charisma. At later levels, other feats to consider includeHeavily Armored, Eldritch Adept, Inspiring Leader, Mobile, Fey Touched, Shadow Touched,andSentinel.
Additional stellar feat options are locked behind species restrictions. Examples include Elven Accuracy, Flames of Phlegethos, and Second Chance.
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Spells
Seeing asyou only have two or three spell slots to work withfor the majority of your character’s career, you’ll want to make certain that you’re getting the maximum value out of them. This means thatadding a fair amount of concentration spells to your repertoire should be your lead concern.
At early levels, you’ll want to use your concentration on spells likeHex, Wrathful Smite, Protection from Evil and Good, Hold Person,andSpider Climb. Each one of these spells will provide you with a mechanical benefit both the turn you cast it and many turns afterwards.
Wrathful Smite in particular is a great way to impose the debilitating frightened condition on an enemy for an entire combat. However, be careful who you use this spell on as many foes have immunity to this condition.
At later levels, spells likeFly, Hypnotic Pattern, Summon Lesser Demons, Banishment, Banishing Smite, Sickening Radiance,andHold Monsterare even better options for your concentration. Despite the importance of concentration spells, there are also a number of nonconcentration spells that you’ll want to have handy.
These includedefensive spells such as Armor of AgathysandMirror Imageas well asmovement oriented spells like Misty Step, Thunder Step,andDimension Door.CounterspellandDispel Magicare alsoincredibly helpful toolsthat any party will be thankful to have.
Armor of Agathys is an amazing spell for a Hexblade Warlock as it both increases your hit point pool and deals a sizable amount of damage to anyone foolish enough to attack you in melee. Upcasting the spell can lead to some truly ridiculous damage exchanges.
Invocations
Last but not least, yourchoice of invocationsis what really makes the Hexblade Warlock a force to be reckoned with. At early levels, you’ll want to takeImproved Pact Weaponto increase the effectiveness of your Hexblade.Your other choice of invocation is largely a matter of flavor, however,Agonizing BlastandRepelling Blastare both great combat options if you want to make your eldritch blast more fearsome when you’re forced to attack from range
Eldritch Mind is another invocation to consider if you want to avoid spending your first feat on War Caster or Resilient (Constitution).
As you level up, your additional invocation slots will be needed forThirsting Bladeat fifth level andLifedrinkerat 12th level. Thirsting Blade gives you access to theextra attack featurefound in other melee classes while Lifedrinkerincreases your melee damage by your Charisma modifiereach time you land an attack with your pact weapon.
The Devil’s Sight invocation can be used in tandem with the 2nd level concentration spell Darkness cast on yourself to turn the battlefield into your personal playground. Devil’s Sight is one of the only ways to see through magical darkness in the game, meaning enemies inside of your Darkness spell will suffer from the blinded condition while you yourself are unaffected. In other words, enemy attacks against you will have disadvantage while your own attacks are made at advantage. However, Darkness also obscures your allies' vision, so be careful with this tactic.
Beyond these necessary inclusions, other invocations to consider includeEldritch Smite, Relentless Hex, Tomb of Levistus,andTrickster’s Escape. Eldritch Smite gives you the ability to smite like a Paladin while the other invocations are mobility and defensive options that will help to preserve your character’s life.
The Hexblade Warlock is in the running for the most beloved subclasses in all of Dungeons & Dragons not only because it’s oozing with roleplaying opportunities but because it’s just plain fun to playa powerful character. One last thing to mention here is thatyou should advocate for your DM (Dungeon Master) to make the very weapon you summon your patron.
Magic items with personalities are great in and of themselves, however, when that item is also the source of your power things start to get really interesting. The notoriousBlackrazoris a great weapon to look to for inspiration when designing such a patron. Enjoy!
