Dual class melee warlock?

[igor140]

i don't know if the rest of my party sucks at rolling characters, or if Hexblade really is just overpowered at early levels, but my lvl 9 Blade-Pact Hexblade is a GOD. He leads the party in DPT (by WIDE margin), he's the tank, second-best negotiator, strongest spells, most widely used traits/ abilities... in fact, the only thing he's NOT good at is STR (he has 8). But looking ahead, it seems that the Warlock's power curve tapers off SIGNIFICANTLY after lvl 12.

From that point on, the warlock gets:
2 more invocations, which is nice, but frankly none of them have anything to offer other than flavor (which isn't BAD, but doesn't increase combat power or dialogue/ roleplay prowess)
Mystic Arcanum this one actually is actually pretty cool. Following it out to lvl 20, it gives two (with Eldritch Master) castings of a spell at each of levels 6- 9
Being able to use Hexblade Curse twice is nice... but not mission critical.

So the ultimate question is whether these things justify continuing as a warlock past lvl 12, or should I branch out?

The two best options as I see are Fighter, Sorcerer, Rogue, or Bard. I don't have the stats to dual class into anything else.

My impulse is to shy away from Bard. Currently my guy is very good in melee, and competent with spells (his DC is amazing, he just has few slots), but I want him to do those things better, not add more tricks up his sleeve. Bard spells are also typically more "support" than "combat" themed.
I don't see much value in rogue for this character (especially considering the rest of my party; see below). He wears medium armor and carries Blackrazor... not very sneaky.
Sorcerer would give me more spell slots, which would fuel my primary source of damage: Eldritch Smite. Quickened spell has its uses, but most sorcery points would only ever be used for spell slots. Between all the Origins listed in the PHB, XGE, and UA, only Wild Magic fits in with my character build.
Fighter presents some nice options. Actions surge is, as always, amazing. Extra attack would free up the need for Thirsting Blade. Battlemaster seems the way to go; I see no reason that Superiority Dice and Eldritch Smite cannot apply to the same attack.

Now to get into the weeds: comparing Superiority Dice to the spell slots added by Sorcerer (with reference to Eldritch Smite), expending spell slots will ALWAYS do more damage (even a first level slot), and there are more of them, so there would have to be a REALLY good reason to pick Fighter over Sorcerer... The more I look at this, the less I can see even Action Surge justifying Fighter over Sorcerer...

SO! If I've followed my own stream of consciousness correctly, my choices are to either keep going Warlock, knowing that my utility in battle is going to plateau hard, or dual-class into Sorcery for 6-8 levels for a LOT more spell slots and access to a greater variety of spells. (I'd have to come up with a clever justification of why I suddenly manifested Sorcerer powers... but I can handle that.) So, what are your thoughts? Is this worth it? What and how far should I dip?

And if you're wondering about how this character fits into my group, the rest of the party includes:
A well-built rogue, but our rotating DM system (which includes me) hasn't catered well to sneaking... yet (i'm working on it)
A bard with a huge variety of spells, but the player is so hyperfocused on roleplay that his strongest damaging spell is Shatter
A druid that doesn't shift, doesn't heal, and doesn't use spells... ... ...
A part-time "healing bot" cleric that is only used when we really need him

[A Fat Dragon]

Well, technically, if you go Fighter, you could get the extra attacks, unless DM is picky about that type of thing.

Since the Eldritch Invocation is part of the weapon, not exactly the class, you could argue for being able to attack three times. And, since it is fairly early level in fighter, you can go Sorcerer rest of the way, giving yourself a few more spell slots, an extra attack, and some of the Fighter’s other useful skills.

[human_folly]

Well, technically, if you go Fighter, you could get the extra attacks, unless DM is picky about that type of thing.


Since they explicitly don't stack (multiclassing, p194), I think most DMs would be picky about that.

As Igor says though, it would free up an Invocation - though you'll need to time things correctly since changing Invocations can only be done on gaining a level in Warlock.

[human_folly]

Now to get into the weeds: comparing Superiority Dice to the spell slots added by Sorcerer (with reference to Eldritch Smite), expending spell slots will ALWAYS do more damage (even a first level slot), and there are more of them, so there would have to be a REALLY good reason to pick Fighter over Sorcerer... The more I look at this, the less I can see even Action Surge justifying Fighter over Sorcerer...

Eldritch Smite only works on Warlock spell slots.

[A Fat Dragon]

Since they explicitly don't stack (multiclassing, p194), I think most DMs would be picky about that


Yeah. I’ve played a few sessions where I’ve seen people regard that rule, but those are tales for other times.

Don’t take my advice then, if you’re a sensible person.

[Platypusbill]

Mystic Arcanum this one actually is actually pretty cool. Following it out to lvl 20, it gives two (with Eldritch Master) castings of a spell at each of levels 6- 9


You're misreading the ability; it replenishes all your spell slots (which normally come back on a short rest) but the Mystic Arcanum spells are tied to a separate once per long rest mechanic.

[danpit2991]

just some anecdotal evidence but i am having a great time with my champion 8 warlock 3

but it depends on yourr focus, on melee fighter all the way, for casting sorcerer

[Mortis_Elrod]

find it odd that you choose wild mage out of the sorcerer origins, i would do ...yeah literally any of the other ones.

Been mentioned but something to note here is that Eldritch Smite only works on Warlock spell slots, but Sorcerer still maybe what you want if you go for the 'Smite as warlock, use spells with sorcerer slots' strat which is pretty good.

I'd maybe recommend fighter if i knew your Int score, EK may provide you some benifets, but BM is just as good and maybe better. As you point out you can indeed E-smite and Maneuver same attack. However you can only E-smite once a turn. Conversely you could get War Magic at EK7, saves you an invocation with getting Fighter's Extra Attack (which is better anyway), grab a fighting style (potentially more damage/defense), and a tiny bit more spells.

But if you were looking for a lot of burst on a single attack, Whispers bard is probably something you want. 8 levels of bard will get you 3d6 extra psychic damage on a hit, some really cool shadow stealing disguise ability, and you can scare someone sh**less just by talking to them causally for a minute.

5-6 levels may be all you need in bard, gives you more spells and levels too but might step on your current bards toes. Swords college is also nice but a bit more combat focused, i'm trying to widen your options since you're already really good at what you do.




I think EK might be the best choice here, but Sorcerer is still very good with metamagic and origin features. EK 8 also gives 3 ASIs not 2 so extra tid bit there, Bard has some nice spell selection and a way to be good at skills but also is already done in your group.

I stand by EK even not knowing your INT since you will likely not use its spells for damage.

[igor140]

Thanks for the feedback!


Well, technically, if you go Fighter, you could get the extra attacks, unless DM is picky about that type of thing.

I like the idea (and I looked for a loophole) but I don't think I can swing that (<--ha! get it?!).


You're misreading the ability; it replenishes all your spell slots (which normally come back on a short rest) but the Mystic Arcanum spells are tied to a separate once per long rest mechanic.

I looked at the precise wording of this LESS THAN AN HOUR before posting this and realized this exact thing... I think I'm losing my mind.


find it odd that you choose wild mage out of the sorcerer origins, i would do ...yeah literally any of the other ones.

I expected to find something I liked better... but I didn't. He's a CN mercenary, so neither the "light" nor "dark" options appealed; phoenix blows goats until high levels; storm and water were thematically/ functionally off, considering I don't cast many spells; stone is a bit too defensively oriented, and the lvl1 boon is far weaker than my current medium armor and DEX (+2); draconic has similar problems... and is directly incongruous with my character's background.


I'd maybe recommend fighter if i knew your Int score, EK may provide you some benifets

I considered that, but I have 12 INT, and it likely won't increase any more than that. Fighter 8 only gives 4 first and 2 second level spells... and takes turns/ time to cast them. In a different campaign, I made an EK who was AWESOME, but I don't think that would work here : /


Eldritch Smite only works on Warlock spell slots.

Well, reading the multi-classing rules, it explicitly says that you can use the slots interchangeably... is there any reason that would NOT apply to Eldritch Smite? That said...


Whispers bard is probably something you want

This... is AMAZING, and immediately trumps my thoughts on sorcerer. This would step on the bard AND the rogue's toes... which I don't really want to do, but I'm the one putting in the effort to maximize potential. Whisper Bard is PERFECT for this character: he is supposed to be a mercenary leader, so a combination of abilities that support his troops while allowing him to do more damage... that's pretty much ideal. So NOW the question is when (if ever) to multi-class... pros and cons time!

War12/ Brd8
+Maximum spell slots; 3d6 psychic blades; Words of Terror; Mantle of Whispers; all ASIs
-Only lvl 6 Mystic Arcanum; only one use of Hexblade Curse; I don't think I really need all ASIs; takes a LOOOONNNGGG time to fully develop

War14/ Brd6
+Solid low-end spell slots; 3d6 psychic blades; Word of Terror, Mantle of Whispers; second use of Hexblade Curse; Mystic Arcanum 7
-Missing Mystic Arcanum 8/9; no 4th level spell slots; incomplete ASI

War17/ Brd3
+Full Mystic Arcanum; 2d6 psychic blades; Word of Terror; 4 level 5 slots; 7th invocation; second Hexblade Curse
-No Mantle of Whispers; worst spell slots; weaker psychic blades (1d6 isn't mission critical, but it adds up); incomplete ASI

So, as I see it, this boils down to how much I prioritize MORE spell slots (bard levels) over BETTER spell slots (Mystic Arcanum). I'm kind of leaning towards the War12/Brd8 split... unless The Internet deems Spellcasting and Pact Magic spell slots not interchangeable for the purposes of Eldritch Smite, in which case I'm leaning towards War14/ Brd6

Thoughts? Input? Corrections?

[Malifice]

Mystic Arcanum this one actually is actually pretty cool. Following it out to lvl 20, it gives two (with Eldritch Master) castings of a spell at each of levels 6- 9

Eldritch master lets you regain pact magic spell slots. Not Mystic arcana.


Now to get into the weeds: comparing Superiority Dice to the spell slots added by Sorcerer (with reference to Eldritch Smite), expending spell slots will ALWAYS do more damage (even a first level slot), and there are more of them, so there would have to be a REALLY good reason to pick Fighter over Sorcerer... The more I look at this, the less I can see even Action Surge justifying Fighter over Sorcerer...

Eldritch smite only works with Warlock slots.

It doesnt work with slots from other classes.


And if you're wondering about how this character fits into my group, the rest of the party includes:
A well-built rogue, but our rotating DM system (which includes me) hasn't catered well to sneaking... yet (i'm working on it)
A bard with a huge variety of spells, but the player is so hyperfocused on roleplay that his strongest damaging spell is Shatter
A druid that doesn't shift, doesn't heal, and doesn't use spells... ... ...
A part-time "healing bot" cleric that is only used when we really need him

No great surprise you're shining in this party.

[Mortis_Elrod]

Well I know it’s silly, and deliberately against how the paladin smite works, but JC has confirmed through twitter and since ESmote is worded to say warlock even after paladin smite was clarified I doubt they made same mistake twice and then confirmed it on Twitter.

Eldritch smite is RAW and apparently RAI to only work on warlock pact magic slots.

That being said I’m glad someone likes whispers Bard over swords, I feel like it’s a perfect fit with a particularly devious type of character. However if you were looking for a leader type I think Mastermind rogue is also an option though not as good as Bard seems simply because spells are great.

I would definitely do 12/8 even still that asi could be a useful feat, I’d go with one of the skill feats or something. 14/6 is still very good tho and a nice split if you don’t need that ASI, as well as want your 14th level feature, and might work out for your teams since you already have a Bard the group won’t miss
out those spells.

EK is still good even with 12 Int simply for action surge, fighting style, and war magic, plus a few wizard spells.


Warlock 14/ Bard 6.

[History_buff]

Fighter is a great class to multiclass with warlock. Especially pact of the blade. If you start as a fighter and prioritize Cha, str, and Con, you have a pretty good character. First level fighter, five levels of warlock, take fighter to five or six and go lock the rest of the way trading out thirsting blade invocation is a relatively painless way to do it.

What you got is a heavy armor gish with adjustable +1 weapon if the dm is stingy with magic weapons, armor of Agathys, hex (impose disadvantage on str or Dex to help a grappler), eldritch smite possibly, action surge and maneuvers or improved crit range, or a few extra spells and spell slots going EK7 can let you attack AND eldritch blast. And that’s really nice.

Improved crit range with darkness advantage combined with great weapon master can decimate things. Half orc crit...

Not bad at all.

[Quoz]

A thought on sorcerer: using SCAG melee cantrips, you can use twin and quicken metamagic to get a huge boost to damage. For most sorcerers this would run you out of sorcery points fairly quickly, but with warlock spell slots that recharge on short rests to fuel sorcery points it can be devastating.

Dragon sorcerer adds a particularly tempting option by adding Cha to Greenflame Blade at sorcerer 6, but this does take a while. Sorcerer 1 is mostly a dead slot, but low level spell slots for shield and other utility spells will help save your higher level warlock slots. Sorcerer 2 grants sorcery points, which lets you bank some of your warlock spells into lower level slots at a short rest. Sorcerer 3 gets the new benefits online, though with only 3 sorcery points it is more of a way to make several 'mini-smites' off of a warlock slot.

It depends on your group, but there is one more piece you can add that can really get the build into its prime. The Coffeelock can let you hold a very large reserve of low level spell slots to fuel your sorcery points and essentially never run out. It's cheesy and probably breaks a lot of intended rules, but by strict RAW is legal. There are enough threads out there on it that I won't go further here, but it is probably your most powerful option.

[OzDragon]

i don't know if the rest of my party sucks at rolling characters, or if Hexblade really is just overpowered at early levels, but my lvl 9 Blade-Pact Hexblade is a GOD. ..... He wears medium armor and carries Blackrazor...


You are level 9 and you have a legendary weapon. Unless the rest of your party also has one of course you are going to feel like a god.

Now if you want more melee go fighter 2. You get a fighting style some bonus action healing (not much but can help in a pinch) and action surge.

All though unless your DM has allowed it you can not make Blackrazor your pact weapon as sentient weapons can not be your pact weapon.

[Malifice]

You are level 9 and you have a legendary weapon. Unless the rest of your party also has one of course you are going to feel like a god.

Now if you want more melee go fighter 2. You get a fighting style some bonus action healing (not much but can help in a pinch) and action surge.

All though unless your DM has allowed it you can not make Blackrazor your pact weapon as sentient weapons can not be your pact weapon.

**** I missed that he had Blackrazor.

That weapon is seriously broken. No wonder he's OP.

[Vaz]

I'm playing a soon to be Conquest Paladin 5/hexblade 15. Dual Smites with another few spell slots, Find Steed: Elk providing you with an off turn knockdown, Hold Person without Eating into your Warlock slots, and a Fighting Style.

[Vogie]

Other options available:

Cavalier Warrior 5 - Frees up an invocation, makes you more of a tank by giving your marked target disadvantage for hitting anyone but you, and also giving you bonus action attacks on your turn with bonus damage.
Swashbuckler Rogue 3 - Initiative bonus, Sneak attack without advantage when standing alone
Sea Sorcerer 6 - More cantrips, Catnap spell, access to metamagic Increased effectiveness on Cold/Force/Lightning damage, and martial damage reduction by your charisma modifier once per long rest.
Bard 3 - More cantrips, healing during short rests, Catnap spell, Lore gives DR via Cutting words, Whisper increases damage by 2d6 psychic damage, Swords gives a fighting style and ability to turn Inspiration into damage, AC or pushing

[igor140]

I really appreciate the continued input!


A thought on sorcerer: using SCAG melee cantrips, you can use twin and quicken metamagic to get a huge boost to damage. For most sorcerers this would run you out of sorcery points fairly quickly, but with warlock spell slots that recharge on short rests to fuel sorcery points it can be devastating.

I looked at that very seriously (and read about several other similar builds), but that ultimately hyper-focuses the character on melee, rather than providing MORE options. This character design (from an RP perspective) is to be a battlefield commander... which I interpret to mean BOTH excelling at combat and able to drastically alter the flow of medium- to large-scale battles in a single turn; e.g., use a spell slot for Eldritch Smite OR use that spell slot for Danse Macabre: very different functions, but both devastatingly useful depending on the situation. So even if I am sacrificing the most damage I could technically do, I am maximizing my potential on the battlefield.


You are level 9 and you have a legendary weapon. Unless the rest of your party also has one of course you are going to feel like a god.


I realize it's crazy, and believe me, i read the descriptions for Blackrazor two or three times because I assumed there had to be some catch/ limitation... but here's the REALLY crazy part: I didn't acquire Blackrazor until our party's most recent session; I have literally never used it once (because at the time of acquisition, it wasn't attuned). So the "Godlike" power comes from the flexibility of spells, Eldritch Smite, and 19 AC. Our party went through White Plume Mountain, picked up all three legendary weapons (Blackrazor being last), and we ended up at level 9. The bard is carrying Wave, and we don't have a dwarf for Whelm.


Bard 3 - More cantrips, healing during short rests, Catnap spell, Lore gives DR via Cutting words, Whisper increases damage by 2d6 psychic damage, Swords gives a fighting style and ability to turn Inspiration into damage, AC or pushing

Whisper is the direction I'm currently leaning. Psychic Blades= combat prowess; Mantle of Whispers= mercenary manipulation/ "accessibility"; bard= troop support... it seems to be the best of all worlds.

[Mongobear]

If you didn't have Blackrazor and we're willing to use a Rapier and Shield, I would suggest 3 levels of Swashbuckler Rogue for Charisma stacking onto Initiative, plus Cunning Action and normal Rogue stuff. Also, 2d6 Snek Attack for HB Curse critical Nova's is nice.

If you had a 13 Strength, or could convince your DM to fudge it to Dexterity, I would suggest Paladin 6 or 7 depending on Oath. More Versatile Smite Options, plus the resistances/immunities/auras, ontop of the Oaths--Devotion is good for a GWM build for double Cha to attack rolls, Ancients is good for tanks and party support from Auras, Vengeance is good to Nova your HB Curse target, Crown is meh, Conquest is great to shut down your enemies with Fear effects.

Swords Bard is good for fighting styles and extra spell access, but I'd avoid it, but that's up to you. Can't speak for the others, haven't played them or even seen one in a party ever.

Shadow Sorcerer fits the theme well since they both draw power from the Shadowfell, and extra spells never hurt anyone. Plus, if you went Darkness+Devil Sight, the bonus options for Sorcery Points give you slot free Darkness casts. Draconic would be good for a high Dex build to drop the need of Armor, but seems redundant with HB giving proficiency. Wild Magic is entirely dependant on he DM using the features right, Favored Soul(or whatever it's called) would good way to gain a secondary Healer if needed, but I'd avoid it unless needed. Storm I would avoid unless you like it for RP.

Fighter is always good for ASIs, Action Surge, and a Fighting Style, plus going BM makes you a Short Rest Monster, Champion makes you always crit on a 19-20, EK wouldn't be recommended unless you want to drop Thirsting Blade and only attack with Cantrips from SCAG (DONT DO THIS), Cavalier and Samurai would be good for tankiness and party support, Arcane Archer is interesting, but you already have spell access and Eldritch Blast, it'd be sort of redundant.

Anything else is likely not as good an option as the above, so tread carefully.

Personally, I'd get to Warlock 12, max your Charisma if possible, then go 4 Swashbuckler/4 Devotion Paladin if he allows you to fudge the MC requirement, otherwise, 4 Swashbuckler/4 BM Fighter, maybe grabbing GWM along the way if he let's you keep Blackrazor along the way.

[Malifice]

I realize it's crazy, and believe me, i read the descriptions for Blackrazor two or three times because I assumed there had to be some catch/ limitation... but here's the REALLY crazy part: I didn't acquire Blackrazor until our party's most recent session; I have literally never used it once (because at the time of acquisition, it wasn't attuned). So the "Godlike" power comes from the flexibility of spells, Eldritch Smite, and 19 AC. Our party went through White Plume Mountain, picked up all three legendary weapons (Blackrazor being last), and we ended up at level 9. The bard is carrying Wave, and we don't have a dwarf for Whelm.

You cant eldritch smite with Blackrazor, and you cant use Thirsting blade (granting an extra attack) with it, nor can you use CHA to hit/ damage with it, because you cant make it your Pact weapon.

An intelligent weapon cant be your pact weapon (so no Thirsting blade, no bonding with it, no Eldritch smite, no Charisma to hit and damage, no Life drinker). Black razor is intelligent.

Many DMs (myself included) might ignore this limitation, but thats RAW.

[Mongobear]

You cant eldritch smite with Blackrazor, and you cant use Thirsting blade (granting an extra attack) with it, nor can you use CHA to hit/ damage with it, because you cant make it your Pact weapon.

An intelligent weapon cant be your pact weapon (so no Thirsting blade, no bonding with it, no Eldritch smite, no Charisma to hit and damage, no Life drinker). Black razor is intelligent.

Many DMs (myself included) might ignore this limitation, but thats RAW.

Away from book, but I think the Hexblade thing allows sentient weapons, just not PotB. I could be wrong though.

[igor140]

If you had a 13 Strength, or could convince your DM to fudge it to Dexterity, I would suggest Paladin 6 or 7 depending on Oath.

Well, for the next few months *I* am the DM (we only have a four person group, so we rotate by adventure/ quest)... and I'm not willing to fudge that. I built this character with REALLY high CHA from the beginning, and the trade off was miserable STR; I've got to own up to that now.


An intelligent weapon cant be your pact weapon (so no Thirsting blade, no bonding with it, no Eldritch smite, no Charisma to hit and damage, no Life drinker). Black razor is intelligent.

Actually, RAW, this is not the case. Based upon the wording in the PHB, only the "shunt to extradimensional realm" feature is prohibited for sentient weapons. I understand that Jeremy Crawford has stated that sentient weapons cannot be Pact Weapons, and I understand that he is an authority for 5e, but I have also noticed that he (and he alone) has CONSISTENTLY contradicted the wording of his own publications to the detriment of warlocks specifically. Only he has stated-- contrary to the PHB-- that sentient weapons cannot be Pact Weapons; only he has stated-- contrary to the PHB and XGE-- that Eldritch Smite is the ONLY smite ability that cannot use cross-class spell slots; only he has stated-- contrary to the PHB and common sense-- that Devil's Sight ONLY works in magical darkness; and as I understand it, he was responsible for the original incarnation of Cursebringer which was directly incongruous with the rest of the Hexblade concept (granted, it was DEFINITELY overpowered otherwise, and I think Eldritch Smite is a good compromise). In other words, this one guy has consistently tried to undermine the warlock's greatest advantage: flexibility. From what I've read, his only defense of his defenestration (<--ha! that was clever!) of what makes warlocks great is that, "no one ever said the game was balanced."

As such, I tend to take his tweets with a grain of salt, and just play the character the way that makes the most sense. In this case, I interpret that to mean (as the verbiage and the structure of the English language used directly describes), that only the "extradimensional storage" function of Pact Weapons cannot be applied to sentient weapons... because that makes sense. If this thing has its own mind in this plane of existence, it is only natural that I cannot "store" it somewhere else; but it actually makes MORE sense if I form a pact with it. (Also, from the RP/ backstory side of things, Blackrazor *IS* the weapon I made my Hexblade Pact with.)

I appreciate all the input, guys, but at this point I'm going to either go Whisper Bard (pending a conversation with our current bard; I'm hanging out with him tonight), or just stick with warlock indefinitely.

[Armored Walrus]

Isn't Blackrazor specifically called out in Xanathar's as an example of the type of blade that one would make a pact with?

Edit: Yeah. Yeah it is.

[Mongobear]

Isn't Blackrazor specifically called out in Xanathar's as an example of the type of blade that one would make a pact with?

Edit: Yeah. Yeah it is.

Yes, and to further the "JCs has no idea what he's talking about" line, try this on for size:

Blackrazor is the iconic example of a powerful Sentient weapon Hexblades can draw power from. But, as per JCs own tweets, they can't make the actual sword a Pact weapon.

So, with his own logic, I can forge a pact with Blackrazor, but I cannot actually benefit from the features of that Pact if I actually weild the sword itself.

Riiiiiiiiight, ok that makes total sense. I have never seen a DM actually enforce that wording, and almost always fluff the Hexblade as actually walking around with their Patron.

Personally, I think JC needs to go play a game of hide and go f*** himself, in traffic, with a box of razorblades, but I'd settle with him just being fired/moved to a game I don't play. I honestly think he is a living cancer to D&D as a whole, and for the last year haven't agreed with more than 3 things he has said on Twitter.

[RSP]

One other thing: Hexblade 14, I think this has been clarified as "continual curse, but only 1 instance up at a time" rather than "just a second use of the curse." Which makes Hexblade 14 worthwhile.

Also, I can't overstate how great Cutting words is: it's much better than adding damage.

[Citan]

From that point on, the warlock gets:
2 more invocations, which is nice, but frankly none of them have anything to offer other than flavor (which isn't BAD, but doesn't increase combat power or dialogue/ roleplay prowess)
Mystic Arcanum this one actually is actually pretty cool. Following it out to lvl 20, it gives two (with Eldritch Master) castings of a spell at each of levels 6- 9
Being able to use Hexblade Curse twice is nice... but not mission critical.

The two best options as I see are Fighter, Sorcerer, Rogue, or Bard. I don't have the stats to dual class into anything else.

My impulse is to shy away from Bard. Currently my guy is very good in melee, and competent with spells (his DC is amazing, he just has few slots), but I want him to do those things better, not add more tricks up his sleeve. Bard spells are also typically more "support" than "combat" themed.
I don't see much value in rogue for this character (especially considering the rest of my party; see below). He wears medium armor and carries Blackrazor... not very sneaky.
Sorcerer would give me more spell slots, which would fuel my primary source of damage: Eldritch Smite. Quickened spell has its uses, but most sorcery points would only ever be used for spell slots. Between all the Origins listed in the PHB, XGE, and UA, only Wild Magic fits in with my character build.
Fighter presents some nice options. Actions surge is, as always, amazing. Extra attack would free up the need for Thirsting Blade. Battlemaster seems the way to go; I see no reason that Superiority Dice and Eldritch Smite cannot apply to the same attack.

I looked at that very seriously (and read about several other similar builds), but that ultimately hyper-focuses the character on melee, rather than providing MORE options. This character design (from an RP perspective) is to be a battlefield commander... which I interpret to mean BOTH excelling at combat and able to drastically alter the flow of medium- to large-scale battles in a single turn; e.g., use a spell slot for Eldritch Smite OR use that spell slot for Danse Macabre: very different functions, but both devastatingly useful depending on the situation. So even if I am sacrificing the most damage I could technically do, I am maximizing my potential on the battlefield.

And if you're wondering about how this character fits into my group, the rest of the party includes:
A well-built rogue, but our rotating DM system (which includes me) hasn't catered well to sneaking... yet (i'm working on it)
A bard with a huge variety of spells, but the player is so hyperfocused on roleplay that his strongest damaging spell is Shatter
A druid that doesn't shift, doesn't heal, and doesn't use spells... ... ...
A part-time "healing bot" cleric that is only used when we really need him



This... is AMAZING, and immediately trumps my thoughts on sorcerer. This would step on the bard AND the rogue's toes... which I don't really want to do, but I'm the one putting in the effort to maximize potential. Whisper Bard is PERFECT for this character: he is supposed to be a mercenary leader, so a combination of abilities that support his troops while allowing him to do more damage... that's pretty much ideal. So NOW the question is when (if ever) to multi-class... pros and cons time!

War12/ Brd8
+Maximum spell slots; 3d6 psychic blades; Words of Terror; Mantle of Whispers; all ASIs
-Only lvl 6 Mystic Arcanum; only one use of Hexblade Curse; I don't think I really need all ASIs; takes a LOOOONNNGGG time to fully develop

War14/ Brd6
+Solid low-end spell slots; 3d6 psychic blades; Word of Terror, Mantle of Whispers; second use of Hexblade Curse; Mystic Arcanum 7
-Missing Mystic Arcanum 8/9; no 4th level spell slots; incomplete ASI

War17/ Brd3
+Full Mystic Arcanum; 2d6 psychic blades; Word of Terror; 4 level 5 slots; 7th invocation; second Hexblade Curse
-No Mantle of Whispers; worst spell slots; weaker psychic blades (1d6 isn't mission critical, but it adds up); incomplete ASI

So, as I see it, this boils down to how much I prioritize MORE spell slots (bard levels) over BETTER spell slots (Mystic Arcanum). I'm kind of leaning towards the War12/Brd8 split... unless The Internet deems Spellcasting and Pact Magic spell slots not interchangeable for the purposes of Eldritch Smite, in which case I'm leaning towards War14/ Brd6

Thoughts? Input? Corrections?
Hi!

I'm not perfectly sure I understand what you are actually looking for improve... XD
Let's say it's "enhance the commander side" and "ensure I still have damage progression over remaining levels".

My thoughts.
Whispers Bard: its level 3 ability is great. Level 6 though? Honestly I think it's crappy for you. Much better would be the Glamour's level 6 ability: free Command as a bonus action once per turn for a minute, what's not to like for a commander?
So if you want to go full Bard 6, I'd recommand Glamour.

Fighter: Battlemaster seems right up your alley: Commander's Strike for your Rogue, Disarming Strike or Frightening Strike or Trip Attack for control (all working with ranged attacks too), Precision Attack because you just want to take it. XD
EK is not good enough UNLESS you'd go up to 7 for War Magic.

Draconic (DEX) or Shadow/Divine (STR) Sorcerer: contrarily to what you seem to think, I'd say this is the best or second best fit for you.
First, it brings some additional cantrips, weapon or otherwise.
Second, it brings a few great spells like Shield, Comprehend Languages, Chromatic Orb, or Hold Person, Enhance Ability, (Healing Words, Aid, Warding Bond, Silence, Spiritual Weapon, Spirit Guardians), Slow, Fear etc. Basically whatever level you push to you have good things to learn.
Third, METAMAGICS!
From what I get, you like to change the course of an encounter, either through manipulation or direct magic.
Then all may feet your needs, although four of them get out of the crowd.
- Subtle will make you (OR a friend, after all you don't want to hog all the light do you?) incredibly better at succeeding on checks between Hex and Enhance Ability. And you'll get 1st and 2nd level slots so you don't need to waste precious high level Warlock slots. Subtle would also allow you to alter the course of actions when things go pear-shaped (like making a Suggestion on the enemy captain that captured your party).
- Careful would allow you to use battlefield spells such as Web, Hypnotic Pattern, Fear without risk for your friends.
- Quicken would give you a chance to use your powerful Warlock spells while still also getting your usual weapon/cantrip action.
- Heightened would ensure that big single-target debuff you want to use will stick (well, not quite, but still boosts the chance greatly).
Fourth, slot conversion! Without plunging into shenanigans of "I use weird tricks and tactics to get 8 short rests in a day", it does help you optimize your consumption. If for whatever reason you didn't use all your Warlock slots when your party stops for a short rest, you can convert it for SP (note though that if you don't go Sorcerer 5 but only Sorcerer 3, this will not be a very efficient process, you "lose" 2 SP worth).

Sooo... ;)
What I'd suggest is one of those combinations.
1. Battlemaster 3 / Whisper Bards 5: extreme focus on weapon damage, works equally well with melee and ranged, with both short-rest resources.

2. Battlemaster 3 / Whisper Bards 3 / Rogue 1 / Sorcerer 1.
Differet set: you dop 3rd level spells of Bard, BI being short-rest and ASI to get Expertise (Rogue), 4 more cantrips and Shield + Comprehend Languages from Sorcerer.

3. Battlemaster 3 / Sorcerer 5: get 3rd level encounter-changing spells from Sorcerer (Slow, Fear, Fireball) as well as any two metamagics you'd like (Heightened is affordable with 5 SP).

4. Whisper Bard 3 / Sorcerer 3: lets you get second use of Hexblade and another Invocation AND lvl 6&7 spells early, still gets an awful lots of goodies.

Yeah, I'm very partial about getting some metamagics in here, as well as Shield (you never know when you're gonna face a dangerous enemy), Comprehend Languages (for your negociator role), Enhance Ability (to help others shine), and several more utility/offense cantrips to play with.

I'm also not sure about why you don't see any Invocation that you'd like: seems there are many useful for a Hexblade Warlock? If you are not yet decided on how to make your character evolve, could you plz tell us a bit more about it (stats, choice of invocation and spells)?