Help with 6th level Bladesinger

[mpws1]

Hi All,

My current character is a 5th level Bladesinger straight out of the SCAG book, our last session ended in me gaining enough XP to level to 6th. At 6th level i gain Extra attack.
My current fighting style is a round of buffing and then enter the fight with either Green Flame Blade or Booming Blade. Now i have extra attack do i still use the cantrips and forgo the extra attack or do i drop the extra attack and stick with cantrips?

The damage amount from both options doesn't seem to lead me to pick one or the other. I find this problem really disappointing having to choose between the 2 options!

Is it time to multiclass into something else?

Any advice is much appreciated :smallsmile:

[Matrix_Walker]

It's always good to have options.

Enemies clumped together? - Green Flame Blade

Hit and run as you retreat and don't want to be followed? - Booming blade

Just cutting it up or in an antimagic field? Resistances to magic damage got you down? want to hit two guys but they are not within 5 feet of each other? - Extra Attack is your buddy.

If the campaign is ongoing, I would rewrite the character as an 11th level character in a few variations, to see what your multiclass options would look like so you can chart a course (so to speak). then you can think about how other options compare to getting your 6th level spells and Song of defense.

If you want more help theorycrafting, post your stats and we can see what your options are.

[Biggstick]

You're a Wizard first and a melee combatant second. While against the trash mooks you've been going up against for the first five levels, your strategy is working, it's going to start falling short the higher level you get. You simply won't have the hit points to consistently be on the front line.

Also relevant, is that as far as damage goes, you're going to start falling behind any primary martial characters in your group. Classes like Fighter/Paladin/Barbarian are going to start consistently dealing more damage then you while in melee range. You'll still have situations in which you're able to burst an enemy, but you'll be nowhere as consistent as the primary martial characters the higher level you get.

So if you're considering multiclassing, it should be to something that increases your survivability or your mobility. One to Three Fighter or Rogue levels would serve a Bladesinger Wizard well enough. I'm also assuming if you go three levels into either, it's Arcane Trickster or Eldritch Knight, to give you more cantrips and another spell caster level. Anyways, Rogue provides a little bit more damage (sneak attack), Cunning Action, and potentially an invisible Mage Hand that can be used to disarm traps from a distance. Fighter provides a nice hit-die boost, Second Wind, a Fighting Style (probably Defense, but Dueling or Archery could work), Action Surge, and then the ability to never be disarmed of your weapons (and the ability to summon them back with a bonus action).

Rogue is what I'd consider a stronger choice, as Cunning Action gives a squishy Wizard more mobility. However, Fighter gives us new options. A Fighter level gives you proficiency in all martial weapons, meaning you can use both a Longbow and a Whip (As an Elf, you could already use a Longbow, I understand). With the Wizard's second attack, and potential weapon buffing, a Longbow becomes a viable ranged weapon. Even more so if you pick up Sharpshooter and the Archery fighting style. The other route, with the whip, looks to abuse Booming Blade or Greenflame Blade. Whip range is 10', so technically you can't quite use BB or GFB with it as is. However, if you grab Spell Sniper, you can now use those 5' range spells at a range of 10'. It costs a Feat to be able to pull this off, however it allows you to use your melee capabilities from outside range of most medium sized creatures.

Both multiclass options have their strengths, but I would recommend you staying straight Bladesinger. Learn to use your Longbow with your second attack. You probably have a decent Dexterity as an Elf, and it doesn't burn up spell slots. Keep yourself at a distance, and only use your melee capabilities if you get caught or surrounded. You're still a Wizard first, and shouldn't be putting yourself in dangerous melee range as you don't have the hit points to really stand longer then a round or two there.

[PhantomSoul]

Learn to use your Longbow with your second attack.

A note for this: the Longbow is two-handed, so only use it when not using Bladesong. But when it's not active, the Longbow is a great option!

[Citan]

Hi All,

My current character is a 5th level Bladesinger straight out of the SCAG book, our last session ended in me gaining enough XP to level to 6th. At 6th level i gain Extra attack.
My current fighting style is a round of buffing and then enter the fight with either Green Flame Blade or Booming Blade. Now i have extra attack do i still use the cantrips and forgo the extra attack or do i drop the extra attack and stick with cantrips?

The damage amount from both options doesn't seem to lead me to pick one or the other. I find this problem really disappointing having to choose between the 2 options!

Is it time to multiclass into something else?

Any advice is much appreciated :smallsmile:
Hi!

So first, what's the problem with having more options? ;)
Extra Attack means that when you want to spread damage or just want *some* damage dealt against a high AC enemy (and don't want to use spells) you have more chances by dual-wielding.

Besides that, it all depends on what you want to do.
If you mainly want to play as a magically-empowered fighter, then you have three options.

1. Just stick with Wizard, buff yourself: Haste is the best buff you could hope for as long as there are only melee enemies, or you can secure a cover archers can't reach: when enemy forces are dangerous, use extra action do Disengage or Dash back to safety. When you are dueling, use it to deal additional damage.
You can even stack Mirror Image on top for added safety.
Problem though is obvious: you're gonna burn resources fast.

So this is only worth if you usually get 1 or 2 encounters per day.

Also, if you are the only caster with serious magical offense your party will expect you to use awesome spells, not just buff yourself.

2. Multiclass into...
- Fighter: 1 level is useless, take 2 for Action Surge: at least you can properly buff yourself and still act in the big fight.
- Cleric 1: you get Bless or Shield of Faith for lowest fights, Healing Words to help in emergencies.
- Ranger 2: one level is useless: two is decent (Style and a few spells). You can take a third in Hunter for another attack if Haste is your main playstyle.
- Rogue: for your playstyle this is probably the best option if you don't want to "waste" your concentration on a plain Haste. That way you get a good thing to use bonus action on each turn. Plus it's easy to multiclass into. 1 or 2 levels are the best.
- Sorcerer: now this is the multiclass option that means heavy sacrifice in Wizard because 1) CHA required, 2) you need at least 4 levels to really make it worth. So you bar the way to 18th level feature (extremely good) and 17th level (9t levle spells). With that said, for your playstyle, having Quicken at your disposal would be gravvy. And either Extended, Subtle or Empower could also be useful too.

[Deathtongue]

Hi All,

My current character is a 5th level Bladesinger straight out of the SCAG book, our last session ended in me gaining enough XP to level to 6th. At 6th level i gain Extra attack.
My current fighting style is a round of buffing and then enter the fight with either Green Flame Blade or Booming Blade. Now i have extra attack do i still use the cantrips and forgo the extra attack or do i drop the extra attack and stick with cantrips?

The damage amount from both options doesn't seem to lead me to pick one or the other. I find this problem really disappointing having to choose between the 2 options!

Is it time to multiclass into something else?

Any advice is much appreciated :smallsmile:I wrote a guide with a big focus on discussing this dilemma. You can look at it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O6vBhvie18hFDmnom5lMv3zTj1nYUkvC8UxH0ngZWXQ/edit

The long and short of it, though? If you're worried about damage, don't multiclass. It's a fool's errand, even heavy-hitter bad boy multiclasses like the Paladin. You'll eventually get access to things like Animate Objects and Storm Sphere and Melf's Minute Meteors and wonder why you ever thought it was a viable way to squeeze out extra damage.

As far as making the most of the tools you have, however: do you have access to Xanathar's? You may want to consider Shadow Blade, especially if you fight in places like a forest or a cave. With extra attack, that's easily 6d8+6 damage a round, or in other words, fireball damage. A rogue can expect to do about 6d6+5 damage by level 7. It's not great (either case) compared to a greatsword-using barbarian, but it's still quite serviceable.

If you don't have access to Shadow Blade, Haste can be an option. If you don't have access to magic items, you'd want to fight with two weapons (you don't need Warcaster to do this if you keep a bunch of junk shortswords and draw them after you cast Haste) and then GFB/Booming Blade + Extra Attack + Offhand attack. At level 6, we're talking 3d6+1d8+6 damage. Again, comparable to a TWF rogue of your level. Unfortunately for you, you don't have Song of Defense so it can be dicey at times, especially if you're facing things like Hill Giants and Trolls.