When to multiclass

[Adderbane]

Hi,

I want to make my Half elf Dragon Sorcerer (cold) into a Sorlock, and am trying to figure out what level to take those 3 warlock levels. He's currently level 3. My group is low on arcane casters, so I also want the ritual casting for utility spells, and am not sure whether to wait for 3+ levels for the book of ancient secrets invocation.

Thoughts?

[MrStabby]

I suggest taking warlock as your 5th level. This means that you are delaying fireball etc. but you can bring the enhanced eldritch blast/hex power instead and have enough sorc points to quicken a bundle of them. Take 6th level as your second warlock level for the invocations - now you should be back up to parity with anyone in the party on sustained damage. Level 7 switch back to sorc to pick up level 3 spells - you have damage covered from eldritch blast (I assume) so a bit more of a utility focus may be appreciated. Level 8 taking your final warlock level then works. You will be pretty far behind on top tier spells but you will have great sustained damage output. Make sure you learn a few other tricks though or the character will get boring.

[Corran]

I would suggest that you take 2 warlock levels for your 4th and 5th character level, so that you can use hex + agonizing blast + EB with two rays by character level 5. Then carry on as a sorcerer, you need not delay your spellcasting progression and your sorcery points any more, potentially picking a 3rd warlock level at character level 20.

[Gtdead]

I think there are two ways to do it.

One is 5 sorc -> lock. Getting lvl 3 spells first, fireball/haste/fly etc, and then go for eldrich
Other is 3 sorc -> lock. Focusing on getting eldrich blast with agonizing and quicken by lvl 5, when it scales up to 2 beams.

The main question to ask yourself is what is more important, unlocking sorceror spell levels or going for eldrich blast. I'd go for 5 sorc before lock, but I'm not sure what is the target spell for cold dragon sorceror.

[JumboWheat01]

I would say at least after level four, where you can net yourself another +1 DC to your spells and chance to hit with spell attacks. I'd almost say after 8, where you can (most likely) cap your CHA.

If it's ritual spells you're mostly after, a simple Ritual Caster feat (select Wizard as your class of choice,) will net you many useful little utility spells. Sure, not as much as a Tomelock, who can (theoretically,) get ALL rituals in the game, but at the same time, it's just an ASI (which 3 levels of Warlock would also cost you,) while not eating up any of your spell points or spell slots, since I don't think Warlock spell slots mix well with other classes. Been a while since I read that section of the PHB.

[Corran]

The main question to ask yourself is what is more important, unlocking sorceror spell levels or going for eldrich blast.
I think he has already answered that question, and that is why he is multiclassing into warlock. :smallsmile:

[Gtdead]

I think he has already answered that question, and that is why he is multiclassing into warlock. :smallsmile:

Sure he does, but the point of the thread going fireball/fly/haste or quickened eldrich blasts first. Lvls 5-6 will be very different depending on this decision.

[Citan]

Hi,

I want to make my Half elf Dragon Sorcerer (cold) into a Sorlock, and am trying to figure out what level to take those 3 warlock levels. He's currently level 3. My group is low on arcane casters, so I also want the ritual casting for utility spells, and am not sure whether to wait for 3+ levels for the book of ancient secrets invocation.

Thoughts?
Hi!
Without any other information, I'd suggest sticking to Sorcerer for 4th level (because +2 on spellcasting stat is strong) at least.
Then consider your current state of affair and party (don't hesitate to also ask them), to decide which case is the closest description.

1. Your party really needs your AOE spells and generally your offense (supposing you took cold-related spells) OR one of the 3rd level spells would be very helpful.
>>> Go Sorcerer up to 6. The Draconic feature means probably +4 which is nothing to sneeze at.
- Cantrips: stacking this to the usual 5th level of every cantrip means that Ray of Frost / Frosbite stay competitive with Agonizing Blast: you lose 4 damage but get a useful effect instead (although having two chances of harming could be considered a nice effect ;)).
- lvl 1: You must have taken Ice Knife spell: +4 damage is like getting a "free cast level" (casting a 2nd level spell with a lvl 1 slot) which is great for your level.
- lvl 2: Snilloc's Snowball Swarm: same result, same greatness.

2. Previous point is valid AND...
- Either your party thinks you can all still manage without rituals...
- Or you really want another ASI to max CHA or take a Feat...
>>> Go up straight Sorcerer 8 then start taking Warlock levels. You'll get Rituals at the time when Agonizing (Repelling) Eldricht Blast clearly overrides any other attack cantrip. Meanwhile, you will have learnt great lvl 3 spells, and between two and four (with swap) lvl 4 spells: Ice Storm is the obvious choice, also Greater Invisibility or Polymorph. You will probably have spent the ASI on CHA, meaning better reliability of spells and another extra damage on most of your spells (including Ice Storm).

3. None of the previous points is valid.
>>> Take your Warlock levels just after Sorcerer 4. You get Agonizing (Repelling) Blast as your new basic action and you can enjoy Rituals ASAP.


By the way, if you have INT or WIS enough and were only interested in rituals, you could just take the Ritual Caster feat (Wizard or Cleric) and forego Warlock dip: you get lesser variety but access to higher level rituals, without hampering Sorcerer progression.
Could be a good solution if you can afford it.
It will boil down to which rituals you're really interested in, and also if you planned something with the three free cantrips or not.

Have fun! :)