Warlock2/Sorc Sniper

[Snowbluff]

So I'm probably going to be in another 5e game soon. One of the 1-8 modules I think. I'm considering doing the ranged combatant role again.

Now, I think I want to go Warlock 2 for Agonizing Blast and the ability to see through darkness to rack up that delicious advantage.

Further on, I think I think I want some sorcerer levels for the standard MM additions.

Now, I've run into a few snags when to comes to Bloodline, Pact, and racial choices.

There are 3 race options I think are good choices:

Variant Human, which will give me a bonus feat so I may lead with Spell Sniper, a feat I consider pretty good. I probably won't have a perfect score in my Cha starting off, though. Ialso get one skill proficiency.

Helf, for the +2 cha and 2 skill proficiencies. Kind of a fallback option. It seems like a slight improvement over Variant human once I grab my first feat.

Tiefling, for +2 Cha... and the fire resistance. If I grab draconic Sorc, I may get another resistance type, which would help protect me from area spells aimed at my darkness.

How should I handle race and my class specs?

Finally, did anything interesting happen to the metagame since October? It'd be fun to check out a cool build as an alternative.

[Daishain]

Do bear in mind, if going for the darkness&devil's sight combo, you are essentially giving the rest of your party the middle finger while you reap all the glory for yourself.

It is damn effective, and being prepared for the enemy to cast darkness on you is quite smart, just be aware that overusing it on your end is likely to piss off the other players.

[WickerNipple]

Do bear in mind, if going for the darkness&devil's sight combo, you are essentially giving the rest of your party the middle finger while you reap all the glory for yourself.

It is damn effective, and being prepared for the enemy to cast darkness on you is quite smart, just be aware that overusing it on your end is likely to piss off the other players.

This is the biggest reason why I don't like the combo. Unless you have an entire party built for this approach you're just wrecking other people's good times.

And you're also giving up Hex to do it, so it's not like there isn't another perfectly viable approach that doesn't screw the rest of the party.

[xyianth]

Do bear in mind, if going for the darkness&devil's sight combo, you are essentially giving the rest of your party the middle finger while you reap all the glory for yourself.

It is damn effective, and being prepared for the enemy to cast darkness on you is quite smart, just be aware that overusing it on your end is likely to piss off the other players.

As a ranged character that can see though darkness, that trick works just as well by using darkness on yourself instead of the target. As long as you are more than 20' away from the rest of your party, it won't interfere with them at all. You would still gain the advantage on attacks, and enemies would have disadvantage on attacks against you.


As for OP's questions, there are several mixes of warlock and sorcerer that work well. Always start as sorcerer 1, it's just better. If this character is only going to be played 1-8, I'd recommend one of these options:


sorcerer 3/warlock 2/sorcerer +3: this build delays third level spells for agonizing blast, devil's sight, and a weaker version of the sorcerer's capstone. It works best as a variant human if you want spell sniper, that will allow you to either boost your charisma at ECL 6 or select an additional feat. draconic origin(red, gold, or brass) is probably best, with blue, bronze, silver, or white being runners-up. the fiend patron has the best combat oriented patron ability, the great old one patron ability is better for roleplay opportunites.

sorcerer 1/warlock 3/sorcerer +4: this build delays third level spells for the benefit of ritual casting via tome pact. You won't be able to grab devil's sight with this build, but you can use an owl familiar to gain advantage when you attack. your version of the sorcerer capstone is actually better than a 20th sorcerers by ECL 5. This build works better as a half-elf, picking up spell sniper at ECL 7, since darkvision is very helpful at avoiding fights and ambushes. this has the same guidelines for draconic origin and patron choice as before.

sorcerer 1/warlock 5/sorcerer +2: this build only delays third level spells by 1 level, but plays as more of a warlock with metamagic than a sorcerer with eldritch blast. It is best if you want a more social/infiltrator character. I generally go with great old one patron, chain pact, and draconic origin on a human(variant) or half-elf. This option is probably not the best for your sniper concept.


One last thing I would point out, if your DM doesn't use cover extensively, the warcaster feat is generally considered better for casters. Without cover being constantly featured, the spell sniper feat's main feature is the extended range. Extended range fights are relatively rare due to the disadvantage it places on characters that haven't built for it.

[WickerNipple]

As long as you are more than 20' away from the rest of your party, it won't interfere with them at all.

That is a whole lotta room in a dungeon. Works fine outdoors though.

[Naanomi]

Spear, spell sniper, distant spell, 1200ft surprise attack!

[xyianth]

That is a whole lotta room in a dungeon. Works fine outdoors though.

If your party of 4-5 has enough enemies to merit using a spell slot, you either have more than enough room to stand in a corner/entryway or all creatures are practically standing on each other to begin with. If that's the case, retreating to a larger area is a good idea anyway.

[Snowbluff]

As a ranged character that can see though darkness, that trick works just as well by using darkness on yourself instead of the target. As long as you are more than 20' away from the rest of your party, it won't interfere with them at all. You would still gain the advantage on attacks, and enemies would have disadvantage on attacks against you.


As for OP's questions, there are several mixes of warlock and sorcerer that work well. Always start as sorcerer 1, it's just better. If this character is only going to be played 1-8, I'd recommend one of these options:


sorcerer 3/warlock 2/sorcerer +3: this build delays third level spells for agonizing blast, devil's sight, and a weaker version of the sorcerer's capstone. It works best as a variant human if you want spell sniper, that will allow you to either boost your charisma at ECL 6 or select an additional feat. draconic origin(red, gold, or brass) is probably best, with blue, bronze, silver, or white being runners-up. the fiend patron has the best combat oriented patron ability, the great old one patron ability is better for roleplay opportunites.

sorcerer 1/warlock 3/sorcerer +4: this build delays third level spells for the benefit of ritual casting via tome pact. You won't be able to grab devil's sight with this build, but you can use an owl familiar to gain advantage when you attack. your version of the sorcerer capstone is actually better than a 20th sorcerers by ECL 5. This build works better as a half-elf, picking up spell sniper at ECL 7, since darkvision is very helpful at avoiding fights and ambushes. this has the same guidelines for draconic origin and patron choice as before.

sorcerer 1/warlock 5/sorcerer +2: this build only delays third level spells by 1 level, but plays as more of a warlock with metamagic than a sorcerer with eldritch blast. It is best if you want a more social/infiltrator character. I generally go with great old one patron, chain pact, and draconic origin on a human(variant) or half-elf. This option is probably not the best for your sniper concept.


One last thing I would point out, if your DM doesn't use cover extensively, the warcaster feat is generally considered better for casters. Without cover being constantly featured, the spell sniper feat's main feature is the extended range. Extended range fights are relatively rare due to the disadvantage it places on characters that haven't built for it.

Hm... thanks for the very thorough post! This has give me a bit to think about. I didn't know Owls could be so handy.

[Mandragola]

I do think that variant human with spell sniper is an obvious choice for a warlock. It's great for EB, it gives you a precious spare cantrip you can use for something else (you take EB with the feat obviously) and the one major disadvantage humans have - not being able to see in the dark - is negated by devil's sight. Oh and you get a skill and a language. All round win.

Honestly, from an optimisation perspective any archer or warlock should probably be a variant human, to start with spell sniper or sharpshooter. Stuff is in cover so much of the time otherwise, so it's effectively +2 to hit until level 12 - when the other guy would have to take it instead of an ASI. I suppose a fighter archer needs it a bit less, since they pick up bonus ASIs all the time... but this isn't a thread about archers!