Feats that affect Eldritch Blast

[AOKost]

I'm currious, and I don't remember seeing it anywhere (though if it is already posted I'd appreciate a link). I'm looking for feats that can alter Eldritch Blast, aside from extra invocations that is. What feats can be applied to Eldritch Blast? Point Blank Shot? Weapon Focus?

[Snowbluff]

It's considered weapon like spell, so PBS and Weapon focus apply for are.

Of corse, weapon like is barely a usable classification. It doesn't say which feats *don't* apply. Basically a good rule of thumb is to go with things tht flatly improve damage or attack rolls, and those will work with EB. Knowledge Devotion is a good example.

Warlocks can apply metamagic feats that don't affect level, like Sudden Quicken and Sudden Still (handy when grappled).

Also mortalbane and psionics hot are handy at really low levels.

If you can dig it up, the word of author is that practiced spellcaster can bump up Eldritch blast dice if you're missing some from multiclassinf

Also it can be argued Ability Focus applies.

[ATHATH]

Warlocks can apply metamagic feats that don't affect level, like Sudden Quicken and Sudden Still (handy when grappled).
Really? I thought that EB was an SLA, not a spell.

[Gruftzwerg]

If you can dig it up, the word of author is that practiced spellcaster can bump up Eldritch blast dice if you're missing some from multiclassinf



I guess you are referring to the official 3.5 F.A.Q., but imho you are remembering it wrong.
By RAW Practiced Spellcaster does nothing for Eldritch Blast, cause it doesn't scale with CLVL! They just mention that it probably wouldn't break the game if the DM would allow/houserule it or make a Warlock specific feat that would work. But as stated, by RAW it doesn't do much for for Warlocks.

______________

"weapon-like":
Imho a good help to difference what applies and what not is, "it can be used like a weapon, but ain't a weapon and thus can't be targeted like a weapon". This will explain most situations like:
- most combat/weapon related feats work (cause they target your ability to handle combat/weapons, not the weapon itself)
- spells that buff your (ranged) combat skills do work
- spells that buff your weapon (e.g. Magic Weapon) doesn't work

and to make it really obvious that it is really what differs, as we all know:
- "a weapon like" effect is immune to sunder and disarm (unless noted otherwise), cause it can't be targeted like a weapon (e.g. Eldritch Glaive).

[AOKost]

Really? I thought that EB was an SLA, not a spell.

That was my impression too... Though I'd consider allowing metamagic feats as long as a number of dice are subtracted from the base before the metamagic feat is added as a cost to apply it, but that's my houseruling on it. I'd also say that any effect that reduces the cost of metamagic levels would reduce the cost for this usage too. But like I said, that's major houseruling, and I'm looking for more RAW and RAI.

What feats work with Eldritch Blast RAW and RAI?

[AOKost]

I guess you are referring to the official 3.5 F.A.Q., but imho you are remembering it wrong.
By RAW Practiced Spellcaster does nothing for Eldritch Blast, cause it doesn't scale with CLVL! They just mention that it probably wouldn't break the game if the DM would allow/houserule it or make a Warlock specific feat that would work. But as stated, by RAW it doesn't do much for for Warlocks.

______________

"weapon-like":
Imho a good help to difference what applies and what not is, "it can be used like a weapon, but ain't a weapon and thus can't be targeted like a weapon". This will explain most situations like:
- most combat/weapon related feats work (cause they target your ability to handle combat/weapons, not the weapon itself)
- spells that buff your (ranged) combat skills do work
- spells that buff your weapon (e.g. Magic Weapon) doesn't work

and to make it really obvious that it is really what differs, as we all know:
- "a weapon like" effect is immune to sunder and disarm (unless noted otherwise), cause it can't be targeted like a weapon (e.g. Eldritch Glaive).

Sorry... when I looked at the page again, it didn't show your post for some reason... I'll take this into consideration, thanks.

[Gruftzwerg]

Warlocks can apply metamagic feats that don't affect level, like Sudden Quicken and Sudden Still (handy when grappled).



As others pointed out, Warlocks need to use feats that apply to SLAs.

Quicken SLA
Maximize SLA
Empower SLA
...


edit:
as a side note. If you take Eldritch Claws feat (from Dragon #313) you get "Claws" which count as full natural weapon (until end of turn due to 1 round duration of the claws. free action). A (greater) Magic Fang spell can affect/target em (even if you recast em every round, for the spell duration they get targeted as long the buff remains).

[AOKost]

I've heard before that Ability Focus (Eldritch Blast) does increase the DC of any invocation or affect/effect that an Eldritch Blast might have, including overcoming SR.

If I remember correctly, Quicken SLA, Maximize SLA, and Empower SLA, are all usable 3 times per day... I could easily homebrew other metamagic feats to be similar... but that usage limitation is very restricting... I know you could take the feat multiple times, but still... It feels useless... I much prefer the idea of giving up a few dice of blast to add metamagic feats...

Is that an subject I should take to Homebrew?

Edit: Eldrtich claws is neat, but I've always felt and heard it's very suboptimal, but I love it thematically. I wonder how you determin the effect if you already have claws... Just stack it? The enhancement being applied only once of course...

[weckar]

Eldritch Claws can be VERY neat, because you can buff it in 3 ways:
1. Buff your unarmed damage
2. Buff your natural weapon/claw damage
3. Buff your EB damage

[Gruftzwerg]

Edit: Eldrtich claws is neat, but I've always felt and heard it's very suboptimal, but I love it thematically. I wonder how you determin the effect if you already have claws... Just stack it? The enhancement being applied only once of course...

EC doesn't stack with natural claws (but EC is better than natural claws).

the cheese:

Eldritch Claw dmg is: Unarmed + Eldritch Blast

take Beast Strike feat:
Beast Strike lets you add your claw dmg to your unarmed strike dmg. you'll end with:

Beast Strike: (Unarmed + Eldritch Blast) + unarmed = 2xunarmed + Eldritch Blast

Further since Beast Strike is working as unarmed strike, you get attacks/round depending on your BaB instead of the regular 2 claw attacks (in a full attack).

to optimize further, go "Enlightened Fist". Sure, most abilities don't work with invocations, but the important part of the prc is that is progresses your monk unarmed strike while still providing 8/10 spellcasting progression (Eldritch Blast progression).

If you want to have some ideas to optimize Clawlocks (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?518880-Almighty-Claw-of-Malar-(v2-0)-a-monk-warlock-gish) have a lock at my build. Clawlocks are pure DPS/DPR machines.

[phlidwsn]

I guess you are referring to the official 3.5 F.A.Q., but imho you are remembering it wrong.
By RAW Practiced Spellcaster does nothing for Eldritch Blast, cause it doesn't scale with CLVL! They just mention that it probably wouldn't break the game if the DM would allow/houserule it or make a Warlock specific feat that would work. But as stated, by RAW it doesn't do much for for Warlocks.



Nope, they're referring to a post by Rich Baker, author of the class, on the old Wotc 3.5 forums. I have a wayback machine link for it around somehwere, one sec: Found it (http://web.archive.org/web/20110825015745/http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19520666/Warlock_Faq_by_Rich_Baker). Although its the author saying he thinks it *should* work, not that it *does* work RAW

The relevant text:

Q: Would Practiced Spellcaster allow for Blast damage progression?

A: I think it should, but I doubt that the language of the feat and eldritch blast description specifically allow it. (If eldritch blast were written in such a way that it dealt damage based on the warlock's caster level, it would be fine. But the damage is based on the warlock's class level. While those two things are almost always going to be the same, you have to take a pretty liberal interpretation to let Practiced Spellcaster work on eldritch blast.)

[nolongerchaos]

Sudden Metamagic Feats: These metamagic feats don't require modified spell slots, so they work as well with spell-like abilities or invocations as they do with spells.
This gives you some pretty decent leeway for options, since the wording indicates that it applies to all metamagic feats that don't modify spell level, not just the sudden metamagics. This opens up:


City Magic (interesting, but of limited use)
Sanctum Spell (of limited, niche use)
Invisible Spell (a much more interesting option)
Energy Substitution (which is amazing, as it let's you swap elements on the better essences, like Vitriolic Blast, enabling the warlock to deal with acid immune foes)

Born of Three Thunders
Lord of the Uttercold (though straight warlock may not meet the cold spell requirement, it can nonetheless still be applied to SLAs and invocations if you qualify.)

[AOKost]

This gives you some pretty decent leeway for options, since the wording indicates that it applies to all metamagic feats that don't modify spell level, not just the sudden metamagics. This opens up:


City Magic (interesting, but of limited use)
Sanctum Spell (of limited, niche use)
Invisible Spell (a much more interesting option)
Energy Substitution (which is amazing, as it let's you swap elements on the better essences, like Vitriolic Blast, enabling the warlock to deal with acid immune foes)

Born of Three Thunders
Lord of the Uttercold (though straight warlock may not meet the cold spell requirement, it can nonetheless still be applied to SLAs and invocations if you qualify.)

This is great! Thanks! :D This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for!

[Snowbluff]

Welp, I'm glad we were able to help!

Snowlock, awaaaaay!

[ShurikVch]

Combat Casting (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#combatCasting) and Improved Combat Casting (Complete Arcane) are work for EB too
Enemy of Good (Elder Evils) +2 DC vs. Good enemies
Favored Magic Foe (Complete Mage) +1 to overcome SR, enemy got -1 on saves
Grappling Blast (Dragon #358) allow to use your EB in grapple
Hellsworn (Exemplars of Evil) Brimstone Caress: +1 CL on [evil] abilities, 1/encounter - spell gets +1 DC and half of damage is unholy
Incorporeal Spell Targeting (Ghostwalk) re-roll incorporeality-induced miss (possible on multiple targets at once)
Multivoice (Savage Species) if you have 2+ heads, you will be able to use EB 2/turn
Pernicious Magic (Player's Guide to Faerûn) way to overcome SR (for Shadow Weave users)
Practiced Magic (The Shackled City Adventure Path) - like Practiced Spellcaster, but for SLAs
Spell-Like Ability Focus (Races of Faerûn) +2 DC
Ranged Recall (Complete Mage) - if you're afraid to miss on 30'...
Steam Magic (Stormwrack) - to use your Brimstone Blast in water

[AOKost]

@ ShurikVch That's an amazing list! Thank you for your hard work putting it together! :D I also really appreciate where they can be found!