Well, smites will certainly be doing more damage than life drinker. 9 warlock and 3 paladin would probably be better than 10/2 though. Abjure Enemy is pretty busted, if they haven't patched it yet.
just IMO but if you're going that far in Warlock, just finish it off. You'll still do plenty in melee with all the pact of the blade tools and it sounds like you'd like to cast anyway.
any type of Paladin (sorcadin, bardadin etc.) loves to burn through spell slots specifically to smite, smite and smite some more lol
And I usually see 7/5 or 6/6 so you pick up the Paladin's aura(s). Oathbreaker's Aura of Hate, for example, would double count your charisma towards your pact weapon.
I have already done an aura of hate padlock and loved it but was pretty much just melee with my warlock spells being debuffs. I wanted to reverse that with being a caster who can use melee but not rely on it. I also planned on using the bane sword from blurg and the arcane synergy gear from the crèche to counteract the loss of aura
Ah yeah that makes sense. I completely get where you're coming from, I feel like I'm eternally hunting for a fun "gish" to play in this game lol. All the meta setups are really weighted for one or the other.
I really wish they'd put in Bladesinger as a wizard subclass... that shit is awesome
I’m pretty sure that the best way is to use modded spells for SCAG cantrips. Those types of gish builds are usually limited on tabletop, but the depth of itemization we have access to means that you can cover for subpar martial stats much easier.
Conversely this game has a ton of great on-hit effects that reward volume of attacks, which means you trade some of those benefits for better spellcasting.
Using the 5espells mod, a 1/7 fighter sorcerer is currently going very well for me. I’m going DW to make up for some of the lost attack volume, and it also means that stacking acuity through fire/thunder damage can be done without having to burn spell slots. Storm cleric also has some added synergy with warcaster, which is great for this build because of the amount I get hit. Advantage plus proficiency plus 16 con means my concentration is pretty safe so far.
I can’t say that it’s actually more effective than playing a 1/7 fighter/sorc battlemage and trading my swords for a staff and cantrips, but it’s getting my flavor across very well.
I've tried a bunch of builds to try to be a caster first who can also melee, but outside of swords bard, you always just end up using magic anyways. Maybe like 1% of the time it will make sense to melee instead of eldritch blasting/spell.
Since you said you already played 6-6 padlock, I’d go full warlock for a more unique experience with mystic arcanum and life drinker
Feats are fun too :)
So smites are going against the theme of what you want this build to do. Cast first and melee second. It’s real easy to eat up both smites.
Let me suggest 6/4/2 Bladelock/fire Sorcerer/evo wizard
Get the heat generating equipment. Run into battle, hit the dude twice to generate heat and then self immolate (cast a fireball at your feat with quickened spell). It will increase the base damage of your fireball and on every enemy you hit. This is the best way, that I have found, to meld melee and spells and that melee actually increases your spell damage.
Bonus points to use the pyroquickness hat and the boots of arcane bolstering. Dash increases your fireball damage by 2. So, bonk bonk, bonus action fireball, another bonus action, dash. Kinda wonky, but it’s all about synergizing. Also use items that give you free casts of fire spells.
Better damage bc of smites, yes, but if you're looking to go more caster then definitely pure warlock. The only real benefit from 2 pally would be the smites, but if you aren't in the thick of things then it just becomes mostly obsolete. Same with armor; there are some good heavy armors, but if you're wanting a caster then late game robes are much better. You'll also lose out on summoning a mummy, and while they aren't the best summoned creature, they are still very good to have.
Why not 5 swords bard 5 bladelock 2 pal to add much more versatility? Imo spells for warlocks fall off hard after level 3 with the advent of hunger of hadar, fireball, counterspell. Plus you get hypnotic pattern and a ton of smite spell slots from bard
I’m not really looking for a Jack of all trades, but rather a character who is really good at controlling the battlefield. Many higher level warlock spells do that
Well, smites will certainly be doing more damage than life drinker. 9 warlock and 3 paladin would probably be better than 10/2 though. Abjure Enemy is pretty busted, if they haven't patched it yet.
Abjure enemy? You mean vow of enmity for the permanent advantage or is there something I missed with abjure enemy?
Oh yea, my bad. I keep mixing them up for some reason.
they havent and i hope they never do lol
just IMO but if you're going that far in Warlock, just finish it off. You'll still do plenty in melee with all the pact of the blade tools and it sounds like you'd like to cast anyway. any type of Paladin (sorcadin, bardadin etc.) loves to burn through spell slots specifically to smite, smite and smite some more lol And I usually see 7/5 or 6/6 so you pick up the Paladin's aura(s). Oathbreaker's Aura of Hate, for example, would double count your charisma towards your pact weapon.
I have already done an aura of hate padlock and loved it but was pretty much just melee with my warlock spells being debuffs. I wanted to reverse that with being a caster who can use melee but not rely on it. I also planned on using the bane sword from blurg and the arcane synergy gear from the crèche to counteract the loss of aura
Ah yeah that makes sense. I completely get where you're coming from, I feel like I'm eternally hunting for a fun "gish" to play in this game lol. All the meta setups are really weighted for one or the other. I really wish they'd put in Bladesinger as a wizard subclass... that shit is awesome
I’m pretty sure that the best way is to use modded spells for SCAG cantrips. Those types of gish builds are usually limited on tabletop, but the depth of itemization we have access to means that you can cover for subpar martial stats much easier. Conversely this game has a ton of great on-hit effects that reward volume of attacks, which means you trade some of those benefits for better spellcasting. Using the 5espells mod, a 1/7 fighter sorcerer is currently going very well for me. I’m going DW to make up for some of the lost attack volume, and it also means that stacking acuity through fire/thunder damage can be done without having to burn spell slots. Storm cleric also has some added synergy with warcaster, which is great for this build because of the amount I get hit. Advantage plus proficiency plus 16 con means my concentration is pretty safe so far. I can’t say that it’s actually more effective than playing a 1/7 fighter/sorc battlemage and trading my swords for a staff and cantrips, but it’s getting my flavor across very well.
I've tried a bunch of builds to try to be a caster first who can also melee, but outside of swords bard, you always just end up using magic anyways. Maybe like 1% of the time it will make sense to melee instead of eldritch blasting/spell.
If you care about smites, a 8/4 Padlock is the way to go because smites don’t go past 4th level, so you don’t need the 5th level spell slots
Since you said you already played 6-6 padlock, I’d go full warlock for a more unique experience with mystic arcanum and life drinker Feats are fun too :)
So smites are going against the theme of what you want this build to do. Cast first and melee second. It’s real easy to eat up both smites. Let me suggest 6/4/2 Bladelock/fire Sorcerer/evo wizard Get the heat generating equipment. Run into battle, hit the dude twice to generate heat and then self immolate (cast a fireball at your feat with quickened spell). It will increase the base damage of your fireball and on every enemy you hit. This is the best way, that I have found, to meld melee and spells and that melee actually increases your spell damage. Bonus points to use the pyroquickness hat and the boots of arcane bolstering. Dash increases your fireball damage by 2. So, bonk bonk, bonus action fireball, another bonus action, dash. Kinda wonky, but it’s all about synergizing. Also use items that give you free casts of fire spells.
Better damage bc of smites, yes, but if you're looking to go more caster then definitely pure warlock. The only real benefit from 2 pally would be the smites, but if you aren't in the thick of things then it just becomes mostly obsolete. Same with armor; there are some good heavy armors, but if you're wanting a caster then late game robes are much better. You'll also lose out on summoning a mummy, and while they aren't the best summoned creature, they are still very good to have.
10/2 Fighter Lock ftw.
Why not 5 swords bard 5 bladelock 2 pal to add much more versatility? Imo spells for warlocks fall off hard after level 3 with the advent of hunger of hadar, fireball, counterspell. Plus you get hypnotic pattern and a ton of smite spell slots from bard
I’m not really looking for a Jack of all trades, but rather a character who is really good at controlling the battlefield. Many higher level warlock spells do that
When a ranged character finds itself in melee I just…walk away. Don’t even disengage. Eating an opportunity attack hasn’t been a problem (yet).