Help w Hexblade Warlock

[StevenWH]

A few things upfront to make this easier on myself, and any of you:

1. I haven't played D&D in around 15-16 years. Acronyms that I see many people using are just gibberish to me so please, if you are including any, also give me the elongated version so that I can make sense of what you are talking about, and look up additional reference information in the Players Handbook (PHB, I know that one!).

2. My group is one session in. We haven't done anything other than speak to local villagers. That being said, I believe the DM would be amicable to my character making some changes to my starting weapons and/or spells if what I've chosen to start aren't going to work out.

3. I don't want to change my character's race or class, I am just looking for what I should do to optimize my characters combat capabilities, while keeping a goodly number of spells available for roleplaying (RP) purposes.

Here is my character information:

Tiefling Warlock Lvl 1:

Str: 10
Dex: 14
Con: 13
Int: 10
Wis: 12
Cha: 17

Patron: The Hexblade. Hex Warrior allows me proficiency with Medium Armor, Shields, and Martial Weapons. Currently my character is starting with a long sword, a shield, and scale mail. I currently chose 2x Cantrips: Eldritch Blast and Green-Flame Blade, and 2x 1st Lvl Spells: Armor of Agathys and Hellish Rebuke.

Our group is made up of a Rogue, Ranger, Wizard, and another Warlock. The Rogue is melee based, while the Wizard, Ranger, and other Warlock are all ranged. So I want to make sure my Warlock has some survivability in combat, deals ok-to-decent damage, and has some flavorful spells for the roleplaying portions of our adventure.

I keep seeing information online that suggests I use a polearm and start as a warrior and multiclass into a Warlock etc. I'm already a Warlock, so I'm looking for advice moving forward from where I've started. I don't really know what Invocations are best choices, but they seem fairly important since I'm limited to 2 spell slots for quite a long time.

What spells should I be starting with and/or learning as I level my character?

What Invocations are valuable for my character and which should I be avoiding?

How does combat play out for a Warlock (am I casting Eldritch Blast until something engages me, casting defensive buffs and then rushing into the fight, using curses to increase my melee damage slightly)?

What is the best armor/weapon combination I should be aiming for with my character as they are now?

Should I be looking at multi-classing, and if so, when and what should I be getting from that class (also, what is the RP process for this)?

Thank you in advance for any advice and suggestions you all may have. It is fairly daunting coming back to the game after such a long time (and having played VERY little even when I did get the chance), and I'm attempting to build a character that fills a role in combat effectively (I don't necessarily care about having the highest damage output, just that I know what I should be focusing on in a combat situation), and has some good spells and abilities to make the role playing aspect of our games fun and enjoyable.

[Vogie]

With a Hexblade, you have more than a couple options, and all of them are decent:

Melee - Sword and board
Your initial items seem to lean this way. You will likely go right up the Hexblade tree for this. Being a Tiefling, you have the ability to cast Darkness innately once per long rest, so pairing that with the Devil's Sight invocation will be a huge boon early on. Once you reach Warlock level 3, you can choose either Pact of the Blade, or Pact of the Chain. Blade pact will unlock Thirsting Blade Invocation at level 5 (allowing an extra attack), while Chain pact will give you a Familiar of choice - typically, this will be an imp, which can turn invisible, deliver touch attacks for you, and provide a flanker (using the Help action to generate advantage for you).

Melee - Two handed weapon
This build will likely want you to do a one-level fighter dip to pick up Great Weapon Fighting. As you already have over 13 dexterity, you can do it at any time. Even if you don't actually find a polearm that you like, once you reach Warlock level 3 and select pact of the blade, you'll always have one. You'll eventually want to increase the number of attacks you can perform, and can choose to either use the invocation at warlock level 5 or increase your fighter dip to 5.

Ranged - Focus on Using Bows
Hex Warrior allows you to translate 1-handed weapons to use Charisma, and that includes Hand Crossbows. If you decide to go this route, you can either continue using a hand-crossbow, or once you get to Warlock level 3 and choose Pact of the Blade, and pick up the Improved Pact Weapon invocation, you can also switch to longbows and other ranged weapons. You have the ability to, if you choose, multiclass into fighter to pick up the Archery fighting Style, or, if you use one of your Ability Score Increases to increase your wisdom to 13, you could multiclass into Ranger. Ranger class features are really packed into the first 3 levels, so depending on your campaign, that may be a really huge boon. Like the Two-hander, you can pick up an extra attack with your weapon by reaching level five in Warlock, Fighter, or Ranger.

Ranged - Focus on using Eldritch Blast
Even though the class is called HexBLADE, you don't actually have to swing said blade. You can either go straight up the Warlock Tree, or have a brief dip into either Sorcerer or Bard if you so choose. Going this route would require at least the Antagonizing Blast invocation. If you forgo wearing Armor, you may want to pick up the Armor of Shadows Invocation as well, giving you a bit better survive-ability. This version will act very much like the above three, but instead of "I swing with my sword" or "I shoot an arrow", it will be "I cast Eldritch Blast". You can choose Pact of the Tome, which gives additional Cantrips and can later steal more spells with the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation, or choose Pact of the chain for the same reasons listed above.

[bid]

Our group is made up of a Rogue, Ranger, Wizard, and another Warlock. The Rogue is melee based, while the Wizard, Ranger, and other Warlock are all ranged. So I want to make sure my Warlock has some survivability in combat, deals ok-to-decent damage, and has some flavorful spells for the roleplaying portions of our adventure.
That's your bigger problem: you don't have anyone to take the brunt of the damage.
This makes your Con13 weak and forces you to use a shield and limit damage you receive.

Because the wizard is better than a tomelock, and the other warlock should go chainlock to scout ahead and avoid damage, you can default to pact of the blade, improved pact weapon and thirsting blade.


I'd say you really have 2 choices:

Polearm:
- adjust your stats from basic array to Con14 / Cha16,
- take pact of the blade at level 3 to allow heavy weapons and improved pact weapon
- take polearm master at level 4 and use armor of agathy to warn melee away (spectral frost)
- get thirsting blade at level 5
Ranged will target you to remove the temporary hp/damage, but you won't suffer from your low AC.

Sword and shield:
- use shadow blade
- take pact of the blade at level 3 for improved pact weapon
- fix your odd stats to Con14 / Cha18 at level 4, or grab both racial feats to even them out by level 8.
- get thirsting blade at level 5

[StevenWH]

With a Hexblade, you have more than a couple options, and all of them are decent:

Melee - Sword and board
Your initial items seem to lean this way. You will likely go right up the Hexblade tree for this. Being a Tiefling, you have the ability to cast Darkness innately once per long rest, so pairing that with the Devil's Sight invocation will be a huge boon early on. Once you reach Warlock level 3, you can choose either Pact of the Blade, or Pact of the Chain. Blade pact will unlock Thirsting Blade Invocation at level 5 (allowing an extra attack), while Chain pact will give you a Familiar of choice - typically, this will be an imp, which can turn invisible, deliver touch attacks for you, and provide a flanker (using the Help action to generate advantage for you).

Melee - Two handed weapon
This build will likely want you to do a one-level fighter dip to pick up Great Weapon Fighting. As you already have over 13 dexterity, you can do it at any time. Even if you don't actually find a polearm that you like, once you reach Warlock level 3 and select pact of the blade, you'll always have one. You'll eventually want to increase the number of attacks you can perform, and can choose to either use the invocation at warlock level 5 or increase your fighter dip to 5.

Ranged - Focus on Using Bows
Hex Warrior allows you to translate 1-handed weapons to use Charisma, and that includes Hand Crossbows. If you decide to go this route, you can either continue using a hand-crossbow, or once you get to Warlock level 3 and choose Pact of the Blade, and pick up the Improved Pact Weapon invocation, you can also switch to longbows and other ranged weapons. You have the ability to, if you choose, multiclass into fighter to pick up the Archery fighting Style, or, if you use one of your Ability Score Increases to increase your wisdom to 13, you could multiclass into Ranger. Ranger class features are really packed into the first 3 levels, so depending on your campaign, that may be a really huge boon. Like the Two-hander, you can pick up an extra attack with your weapon by reaching level five in Warlock, Fighter, or Ranger.

Ranged - Focus on using Eldritch Blast
Even though the class is called HexBLADE, you don't actually have to swing said blade. You can either go straight up the Warlock Tree, or have a brief dip into either Sorcerer or Bard if you so choose. Going this route would require at least the Antagonizing Blast invocation. If you forgo wearing Armor, you may want to pick up the Armor of Shadows Invocation as well, giving you a bit better survive-ability. This version will act very much like the above three, but instead of "I swing with my sword" or "I shoot an arrow", it will be "I cast Eldritch Blast". You can choose Pact of the Tome, which gives additional Cantrips and can later steal more spells with the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation, or choose Pact of the chain for the same reasons listed above.

How does the Darkness interact with the rest of my group? Does it make it so they cannot see the enemies as well? Is the whole purpose of Great Weapon Fighting to reroll 1's and 2's? Seems solid to keep your Damage Output higher, but don't you then lose out on your Eldritch Master final ability at Lvl 20? Looking at Eldritch Master, it seems kinda less useful than many others unless you happen to find yourself in a ridiculous time crunch encounter where you've expended everything and can sit for 10 rounds to recouperate your spells. Not saying I don't see the use (lots of roleplaying situations where you may find yourself needing extra spells and have the ability to sit for a minute), but it seems incredibly niche, so it makes sense that people would take the rerolls to ensure they are a little bit more effective in combat.

Is the dip into Fighter for the Great Weapon Fighting something I should only consider if I decide to go with Polearms, or is it something to consider even if I stick with Sword and Board?

[StevenWH]

That's your bigger problem: you don't have anyone to take the brunt of the damage.
This makes your Con13 weak and forces you to use a shield and limit damage you receive.

Because the wizard is better than a tomelock, and the other warlock should go chainlock to scout ahead and avoid damage, you can default to pact of the blade, improved pact weapon and thirsting blade.


I'd say you really have 2 choices:

Polearm:
- adjust your stats from basic array to Con14 / Cha16,
- take pact of the blade at level 3 to allow heavy weapons and improved pact weapon
- take polearm master at level 4 and use armor of agathy to warn melee away (spectral frost)
- get thirsting blade at level 5
Ranged will target you to remove the temporary hp/damage, but you won't suffer from your low AC.

Sword and shield:
- use shadow blade
- take pact of the blade at level 3 for improved pact weapon
- fix your odd stats to Con14 / Cha18 at level 4, or grab both racial feats to even them out by level 8.
- get thirsting blade at level 5

What is Shadow Blade - a spell, invocation, or do you just mean my weapon is a shadowy blade?

If I go with Polearm Master, should I grab up a level in Fighter to get Great Weapon Fighting (I've seen a lot of people suggest this)? If so, when should I grab the level in Fighter?

Is there anything that I should be aware of if I choose to do the whole Darkness/Devil's Sight combo with regard to the rest of my group? Does it negatively affect their ability to participate in combat?

What is the goal with regard to the Hexblade Warlock when it comes to your weapon? Am I just summoning a basic weapon from the void that is the type I want to use after I gain Pact of the Blade? Do I want to find a powerful (apparently non-sentient?) weapon that I can concentrate on and turn into my Pact Weapon?

[Vogie]

Yes, There would be the issue of other people being able to see the target in the Darkness/Devil's Eye combo (with the obvious exception of the other warlock, potentially). You'd use that only if you were going to take one of the enemies effectively out of the fight, allowing you to hit it, but it not to hit you, allowing the others to focus fire elsewhere. It'll get better once you have 4th level spells, as Shadow of Moil replaces it at warlock level 7.

Even with a sword and shield, You certainly can dip into fighter for the Defense Fighting Style for +1 AC, or the Protection fighting style to block for your allies (Edit: Great Weapon Fighting only applies to 2 handed weapons). As you noted, the Warlock Capstone won't do much for you, so increasing that dip up to 3 levels to get a archetype (probably Battlemaster or Caviler) isn't unheard of. If you like spellcasting, and want to grab more spells, Eldritch Knight is a good archetype as well... you'll also have the ability to summon your Shield as a bonus action, which allows a bladepact Warlock to go from hands-free to fully armed in one action. As I mentioned above, you could also go further into fighter to free up the need for Thirsting blade invocation if desired.

As you play, you'll decide whether or not you care about the 14th-level ability for the Hexblade. You may end up with some variation of Hexblade 10/Fighter 10 at the end of it all.

As for defenses, you will want to bolster your HP. The main one starting out will be Armor of Agathys. An alternative that doesn't cost a spell slot is the Fiendish Vigor invocation, which allows at-will castings of False life at first level, giving you 1d4+4 temp HP (effectively, you'll always start the fight with 8 temp HP, and can reapply it during combat if desired).

Shadow Blade is a warlock spell introduced in Xanathar's Guide To Everything, which you may or may not have available to you. So are Shadow of Moil & Caviler.

Edit:


What is the goal with regard to the Hexblade Warlock when it comes to your weapon? Am I just summoning a basic weapon from the void that is the type I want to use after I gain Pact of the Blade? Do I want to find a powerful (apparently non-sentient?) weapon that I can concentrate on and turn into my Pact Weapon?

With Pact of the Blade, you start off by summoning Basic weapons, or making magic weapons you find be your pact weapon. You also have the ability to Improve the weapons using the Improved Pact Weapon invocation, making the pact weapon:

a casting focus
a +1 weapon, and
allows you to summon bows & crossbows
For the Hexblade specifically, it allows you to use the Hex Warrior ability on any weapon, instead of just one-handed ones.

[StevenWH]

Yes, There would be the issue of other people being able to see the target in the Darkness/Devil's Eye combo (with the obvious exception of the other warlock, potentially). You'd use that only if you were going to take one of the enemies effectively out of the fight, allowing you to hit it, but it not to hit you, allowing the others to focus fire elsewhere. It'll get better once you have 4th level spells, as Shadow of Moil replaces it at warlock level 7.

Even with a sword and shield, You certainly can dip into fighter for the Defense Fighting Style for +1 AC, or the Protection fighting style to block for your allies (Edit: Great Weapon Fighting only applies to 2 handed weapons). As you noted, the Warlock Capstone won't do much for you, so increasing that dip up to 3 levels to get a archetype (probably Battlemaster or Caviler) isn't unheard of. If you like spellcasting, and want to grab more spells, Eldritch Knight is a good archetype as well... you'll also have the ability to summon your Shield as a bonus action, which allows a bladepact Warlock to go from hands-free to fully armed in one action. As I mentioned above, you could also go further into fighter to free up the need for Thirsting blade invocation if desired.

Are you able to go up to Lvl 5 in Fighter and gain the extra attack, and also gain the extra attack from Hexblade to grant you 3 attacks? I like the idea of being able to summon my shield as well. Random question here: Does the summoned blade and/or shield count toward your encumbrance? I would assume only when they're summoned, which begs the question, what happens if you are carrying a lot of weight and suddenly have to summon your blade and shield, are you now encumbered and suffering from negative effects?



As for defenses, you will want to bolster your HP. The main one starting out will be Armor of Agathys. An alternative that doesn't cost a spell slot is the Fiendish Vigor invocation, which allows at-will castings of False life at first level, giving you 1d4+4 temp HP (effectively, you'll always start the fight with 8 temp HP, and can reapply it during combat if desired).

Man . . . those invocations really make it tough to figure out whether you want to grab spells that have similar effects, or the invocation to free you up to take spells that are more roleplay friendly.



Shadow Blade is a warlock spell introduced in Xanathar's Guide To Everything, which you may or may not have available to you. So are Shadow of Moil & Caviler.

Is the Shadow Blade spell meant to be for if you choose not to go down the Pact of the Blade route? Or does it work with your summoned blade in some way that I'm not understanding?

Is Shadow of Moil strictly better than Darkness because of the damaging effect it has against enemies that hit you, or is it also because friendly creatures can see the enemies you are fighting? Does it count as a magical darkness when in dim light/darkness for the effect of making you difficult to see like the Darkness spell?

I have Xanthar's Guide, but I cannot find Caviler as a spell even when I search for it in the spell compendium.

Edited:

I found the Cavalier Fighter class. That one definitely doesn't call my name, but the idea of getting the +1 AC from Defense Fighting Style would be something that piques my interest.

Lastly, if I'm not sure whether I want to always use a Polearm, always use Sword and Board, or whether I want to switch it up between Sword and Board and Polearm depending on the fight I see our group entering, can you do that? I would assume I would need to get 1 Lvl in Fighter for Great Weapon Fighting, and then grab Polearm Mastery at Lvl 4(?). From there I could sink more into my Warlock abilities and have the 2 attacks once I hit Warlock Lvl 5. Would that just mean that depending on which weapon I wanted to use, I would spend the 1 hour rest attuning that weapon and then it would be summonable and the other weapons I would have to either stash in my pack or leave somewhere and collect them later? Or if you don't have a specific weapon that you've used as your Pact weapon, can you choose the type of weapon form that you summon when you create the weapon in your hand?

[Vogie]

Are you able to go up to Lvl 5 in Fighter and gain the extra attack, and also gain the extra attack from Hexblade to grant you 3 attacks? I like the idea of being able to summon my shield as well. Random question here: Does the summoned blade and/or shield count toward your encumbrance? I would assume only when they're summoned, which begs the question, what happens if you are carrying a lot of weight and suddenly have to summon your blade and shield, are you now encumbered and suffering from negative effects??

Sadly, no. All "extra attack" abilities are a unique effect, so if you grab both, you're just being repetitive. There are ways to get additional attacks, such as the Horde Breaker ability from Hunter Ranger, the War Priest ability from Cleric, or the Underdark Scout ability from Deep Stalker Ranger. Of course, going 2 levels into Fighter gives you action surge, allowing you a complete extra action. So, a Thirsting blade warlock with 2 fighter levels, or a 5 level fighter, could have an action with 2 attacks, then use the surge to have another action of 2 attacks.

The Eldritch Knight's Bound weapons actually exist in the world, but can be summoned to your hands as a bonus action as long as you're on the same plane. That means it could be on your back, over in the wagon, accidentally left hanging on the wall of the last castle you plundered, et cetera. You also can use the Bound weapons on 2 different weapons so you could use it on a backup weapon if needed. Or have a magic polearm as a pact weapon, and your sword & board as your bound weapons. If you have a large heavy pack, you'd likely drop it before fighting


Man . . . those invocations really make it tough to figure out whether you want to grab spells that have similar effects, or the invocation to free you up to take spells that are more roleplay friendly.?

I believe the design term is "interesting choices".


Is the Shadow Blade spell meant to be for if you choose not to go down the Pact of the Blade route? Or does it work with your summoned blade in some way that I'm not understanding??

The main boon of the Shadow Blade is that it:

Can be summoned as a bonus action (The Pact Blade takes a full action)
Deals Psychic Damage (harder to resist)
Gives you advantage when your target that is in dim light or darkness (which, as you've noticed, is a very warlocky thing)
However, it does take a spell slot, and requires concentration. It's basically a blade that even non-bladelocks can use.


Is Shadow of Moil strictly better than Darkness because of the damaging effect it has against enemies that hit you, or is it also because friendly creatures can see the enemies you are fighting? Does it count as a magical darkness when in dim light/darkness for the effect of making you difficult to see like the Darkness spell??

Yes, both; Yes. It also can move with you, something you could technically do with Darkness as long as you were targeting, say, your shield.


I found the Cavalier Fighter class. That one definitely doesn't call my name, but the idea of getting the +1 AC from Defense Fighting Style would be something that piques my interest.?

It's the Unwavering Mark and Warding attack abilities that made me suggest it. It's basically the Sentinel feat, expanded to an entire archetype. Sadly, most people take a look at that class, think "I'm not going to ride a horse" and dismiss the entire thing.


Lastly, if I'm not sure whether I want to always use a Polearm, always use Sword and Board, or whether I want to switch it up between Sword and Board and Polearm depending on the fight I see our group entering, can you do that? I would assume I would need to get 1 Lvl in Fighter for Great Weapon Fighting, and then grab Polearm Mastery at Lvl 4(?). From there I could sink more into my Warlock abilities and have the 2 attacks once I hit Warlock Lvl 5. Would that just mean that depending on which weapon I wanted to use, I would spend the 1 hour rest attuning that weapon and then it would be summonable and the other weapons I would have to either stash in my pack or leave somewhere and collect them later? Or if you don't have a specific weapon that you've used as your Pact weapon, can you choose the type of weapon form that you summon when you create the weapon in your hand?

Actually, whenever you summon a weapon you're automatically proficient with it. You only have to attune an outside magic weapon that you discover along the way. Having things like Whips, staves, or a greataxe in your proverbial back pocket is really useful.

You can certainly switch between 2 handed and one handed weapons, but your fighting style won't switch with it. Protection will require a shield, GWF requires a 2 handed weapon, but Defense will give you more AC as long as you're wearing armor.

If you grab GWF, you'll probably stick with 2 handed weapons until you reach an ASI to get the Polearm Master Feat. However, You'll likely go 3 levels in warlock first, (allowing you to get Pact Weapon, meaning Hex warrior can apply to 2-handed weapons), then grab 1 level of fighter (for GWF), then get your 4th level in warlock (for Polearm Master or an ASI). Your character won't actually get thirsting blade until your character's level 6. You could also just go straight up the Warlock tree for Pact of the Blade at 3, Polearm Master at 4, Thirsting Blade at 5, then do your dip into Fighter for Great Weapon Fighting at level 6.

[bid]

If you grab GWF, you'll probably stick with 2 handed weapons until you reach an ASI to get the Polearm Master Feat. However, You'll likely go 3 levels in warlock first, (allowing you to get Pact Weapon, meaning Hex warrior can apply to 2-handed weapons), then grab 1 level of fighter (for GWF), then get your 4th level in warlock (for Polearm Master or an ASI). Your character won't actually get thirsting blade until your character's level 6. You could also just go straight up the Warlock tree for Pact of the Blade at 3, Polearm Master at 4, Thirsting Blade at 5, then do your dip into Fighter for Great Weapon Fighting at level 6.
The fighter dip was the classic gambit for blade pact. It gave you heavy armor and opened up the Str great weapon master path. Without it, spamming eldritch blast does more damage.
Hexblade + blade pact gives you all you needed from fighter, without the spell progression delay.

The +1 AC from defense style is better than the ~2 extra damage from great weapon fighting (4/5 + 4/5 + 1/2).


Many of your questions are answered by reading the warlock section in PHB, although you'll need to have a look at Xanathar for the missing bits.

[Vogie]

The fighter dip was the classic gambit for blade pact. It gave you heavy armor and opened up the Str great weapon master path. Without it, spamming eldritch blast does more damage.
Hexblade + blade pact gives you all you needed from fighter, without the spell progression delay.

The +1 AC from defense style is better than the ~2 extra damage from great weapon fighting (4/5 + 4/5 + 1/2).


Many of your questions are answered by reading the warlock section in PHB, although you'll need to have a look at Xanathar for the missing bits.

If all the OP was trying to do was deal damage, you'd be right. However, a glance at the party shows that isn't the case. The OP trying to get the most out of their setup, while also needing to tank for the rest of the party more often than not.

Normally, I would've suggested get that they'd start with 1 level of fighter, then go up the hexblade tree. That way they'd get better saves, heavy armor out of the gate and less of a FOMO feeling upon leveling. But the campaign's already started, so I think this is the optimal route.

[Easy_Lee]

I'll keep it simple. From reading the thread and the OP, I would do the following:

Go blade pact and use a sword and shield for now. Your go-to spell is Armor of Agathys to make you a more competent tank without inconveniencing your allies.
Take Warcaster at level 4 and make sure you have Booming Blade. You can now Booming Blade people when they try to leave your reach to get to your allies.
Make sure you have Thirsting Blade and Improved Pact Weapon.
Replace AoA with Shadow of Moil at level 7. This gives your attacks advantage and your opponents can't see you, so they have disadvantage. This also makes it difficult to target you with spells as most specify a target the caster can see. It also makes you immune to opportunity attacks from most creatures for the same reason.
At level 8, take polearm master. This gives you a bonus action attack, allows you to do your thing from 10' or 5' (glaive or quarterstaff + shield), and allows you to booming blade people when they enter your reach (if using a quarterstaff, since BB has a 5' range). You can move in, attack, move out, and wait for them to come to you to attack you. Given that you have Shadow of Moil up, you don't provoke attacks of opportunity but your foes do.

This is one simple way to make a tank-like hexblade warlock.

[StevenWH]

I'll keep it simple. From reading the thread and the OP, I would do the following:

Go blade pact and use a sword and shield for now. Your go-to spell is Armor of Agathys to make you a more competent tank without inconveniencing your allies.
Take Warcaster at level 4 and make sure you have Booming Blade. You can now Booming Blade people when they try to leave your reach to get to your allies.
Make sure you have Thirsting Blade and Improved Pact Weapon.
Replace AoA with Shadow of Moil at level 7. This gives your attacks advantage and your opponents can't see you, so they have disadvantage. This also makes it difficult to target you with spells as most specify a target the caster can see. It also makes you immune to opportunity attacks from most creatures for the same reason.
At level 8, take polearm master. This gives you a bonus action attack, allows you to do your thing from 10' or 5' (glaive or quarterstaff + shield), and allows you to booming blade people when they enter your reach (if using a quarterstaff, since BB has a 5' range). You can move in, attack, move out, and wait for them to come to you to attack you. Given that you have Shadow of Moil up, you don't provoke attacks of opportunity but your foes do.

This is one simple way to make a tank-like hexblade warlock.

So if I'm not doing what I see most people do, which is the Darkness/Devil's Sight combo, since the rest of my party won't be able to see anything I'm fighting, what Invocations would you suggest choosing at the early levels that would be most beneficial? (If I grab Armor of Agathys, which I really think I will, then I won't be getting Fiendish Vigor, and that leaves me at a loss for what the best options are at early levels)

[bid]

Normally, I would've suggested get that they'd start with 1 level of fighter, then go up the hexblade tree. That way they'd get better saves, heavy armor out of the gate and less of a FOMO feeling upon leveling. But the campaign's already started, so I think this is the optimal route.
Erm no.

OP has Str10, so heavy armor is out. Medium + shield is already covered by hexblade. That leaves fighting style as the only gain from fighter dip.

Then there's the matter of "tanking" which makes shield almost mandatory to avoid more damage. Defense style is the optimal choice, if only because it works with all weapons.

So you'd dip fighter just to get +1 AC and +1 hp.

[Vogie]

So if I'm not doing what I see most people do, which is the Darkness/Devil's Sight combo, since the rest of my party won't be able to see anything I'm fighting, what Invocations would you suggest choosing at the early levels that would be most beneficial? (If I grab Armor of Agathys, which I really think I will, then I won't be getting Fiendish Vigor, and that leaves me at a loss for what the best options are at early levels)

You could still get it, as a way to give yourself more HP after the Temp HP from AoA is gone. Otherwise you have:

Roleplay-oriented Ones:
Misty Visions
Mask of Many Faces
Eldritch Sight

Early damage:
Improved Pact Weapon
Thief of Five Fates
Burning Hex or Chilling Hex (UA)

One of the EB upgrades - Probably Grasp to keep targets off your team, or Agonizing for more damage

Unlocked at level 5:
Thirsting Blade (probably most important)
Cloak of Flies
Maddening Hex


Note, you can also swap out one invocation every time you level up.

[StevenWH]

If all the OP was trying to do was deal damage, you'd be right. However, a glance at the party shows that isn't the case. The OP trying to get the most out of their setup, while also needing to tank for the rest of the party more often than not.

Normally, I would've suggested get that they'd start with 1 level of fighter, then go up the hexblade tree. That way they'd get better saves, heavy armor out of the gate and less of a FOMO feeling upon leveling. But the campaign's already started, so I think this is the optimal route.

I spoke with the GM, and he agreed that since I would need to be tanking damage for the group, and we are only 1 session in (and nothing we've done would have been affected by me having a different class to start), that I would just reroll stats for a Lvl1 Fighter, and he determined that based on the amount we did during the 1st session, and all of the fights we avoided getting into, he was leveling us up to 2 anyway.

Currently my character looks like this:
STR: 13
DEX: 14
CON: 15
INT: 9 (+1 to 10 from Tiefling racial)
WIS: 10
CHA:16 (+2 to 18 from Tiefling racial)

If I were to choose Great Weapon Fighting (GWF) as my Fighter ability, and then get Polearm Mastery when I hit Lvl4, and start using a polearm of some type to fight with, will that be enough AC to reasonably tank through fights? Or should I still stick with Sword and Board, and get the Defense from Fighter to boost my AC +1, and then grab Polearm Mastery at Lvl4? Or should I just stick with Sword and Board, get the Defense to boost AC +1, and stay with Sword and Board? Or should I do something else that I'm not even considering?

[Easy_Lee]

So if I'm not doing what I see most people do, which is the Darkness/Devil's Sight combo, since the rest of my party won't be able to see anything I'm fighting, what Invocations would you suggest choosing at the early levels that would be most beneficial? (If I grab Armor of Agathys, which I really think I will, then I won't be getting Fiendish Vigor, and that leaves me at a loss for what the best options are at early levels)

That depends on the campaign.

DS can still be useful if lighting is a concern.

Eldritch Sight is generally beneficial to have. With ES, you have to continously remind the GM that you can see magic and so should not be surprised by any magical traps or similar. Some GMs dislike ES for this reason.

I would review the options available in your campaign and decide what you'd like your character to be able to do.

[Vogie]

I spoke with the GM, and he agreed that since I would need to be tanking damage for the group, and we are only 1 session in (and nothing we've done would have been affected by me having a different class to start), that I would just reroll stats for a Lvl1 Fighter, and he determined that based on the amount we did during the 1st session, and all of the fights we avoided getting into, he was leveling us up to 2 anyway.

Currently my character looks like this:
STR: 13
DEX: 14
CON: 15
INT: 9 (+1 to 10 from Tiefling racial)
WIS: 10
CHA:16 (+2 to 18 from Tiefling racial)

If I were to choose Great Weapon Fighting (GWF) as my Fighter ability, and then get Polearm Mastery when I hit Lvl4, and start using a polearm of some type to fight with, will that be enough AC to reasonably tank through fights? Or should I still stick with Sword and Board, and get the Defense from Fighter to boost my AC +1, and then grab Polearm Mastery at Lvl4? Or should I just stick with Sword and Board, get the Defense to boost AC +1, and stay with Sword and Board? Or should I do something else that I'm not even considering?

Since you're the one tanking damage, I wouldn't worry about GWF. Stick with Sword & Shield. With Heavy Armor (Ring Mail) & a shield, you'll have an minimum AC of 16 (goes up to 18 once you get a set of chain mail, and you don't have the strength for anything higher). More than likely, you'll want that Defense to turn that 16 into a 17 (or that 18 into a 19).

When you get to level 4, you can choose between the previously-Mentioned Warcaster, Sentinel, Blade Mastery (more damage on attacks, can use reaction to bump AC up, advantage on AoOs), or Shield Mastery (shove on bonus action, add shield to Dex saving throws). It depends on if you want to go the Booming Blade Route Easy-Lee suggested, or a more tanky/fighter-y route using the others.

Like Easy-Lee said, you can still grab Polearm Master once you reach the level where Shadows of Moil replaces Armor of Agathys, as it'll grant your enemies disadvantage

You could theoretically go GWF and try tanking with just the Heavy armor AC (14 with Ring Mail, 16 with Chain Mail) and use your Warlock Spell Slots for things like Shield (the spell) to avoid the big hits, but that doesn't sound sustainable with only a ranger to have heals for the team (which I'm sure they're thrilled about). If your campaign has you swimming with gold, and you're able to pick up a set of Plate armor (AC 18), then use that level 4 ASI to bump your Str to 15, and go from there.

[Matrix_Walker]

Ranged - Focus on Using Bows
Hex Warrior allows you to translate 1-handed weapons to use Charisma, and that includes Hand Crossbows. If you decide to go this route, you can either continue using a hand-crossbow, or once you get to Warlock level 3 and choose Pact of the Blade, and pick up the Improved Pact Weapon invocation, you can also switch to longbows and other ranged weapons.

How annoying is it that you can't summon a hand crossbow as a Pact weapon even with the Improved Pact Weapon invocation?

Lame.

[Vogie]

How annoying is it that you can't summon a hand crossbow as a Pact weapon even with the Improved Pact Weapon invocation?

Lame.

That is a good point... only light & heavy crossbows. However, if you have one, you can use it with Hex Warrior.

[Willie the Duck]

Currently my character looks like this:
STR: 13
DEX: 14
CON: 15
INT: 9 (+1 to 10 from Tiefling racial)
WIS: 10
CHA:16 (+2 to 18 from Tiefling racial)

If I were to choose Great Weapon Fighting (GWF) as my Fighter ability, and then get Polearm Mastery when I hit Lvl4, and start using a polearm of some type to fight with, will that be enough AC to reasonably tank through fights? Or should I still stick with Sword and Board, and get the Defense from Fighter to boost my AC +1, and then grab Polearm Mastery at Lvl4? Or should I just stick with Sword and Board, get the Defense to boost AC +1, and stay with Sword and Board? Or should I do something else that I'm not even considering?

If you can't get your strength to the 15 needed to make the best heavy armor work (assuming you need your speed at all, which most people do), then medium armor and your 14 Dex actually end up working better. If you can bargain another point of Con from some of that Str, I'd probably do it.

At early levels, sword and board is very good at keeping you alive. I would consider staying that way until you get an ASI, and then you kind of need to make a choice (or not, actually. especially is you use your ASIs for War caster and/or +2 CHAs). Given that you are going to be one of your party's main frontliners (we assume, one character dying and choosing to play a different character type could make this all change), you should really stick with S&B or with polearm, and they are both good choices. Both of them have really good feats (Polearm Master and Shield Master) which really change the game for melee characters (One gives you something to do with your bonus action every round, and reaction many rounds. The other gives you something to do with your bonus action and helps with your defense. And both significantly boost your offensive output). There's no one right choice.


Is the dip into Fighter for the Great Weapon Fighting something I should only consider if I decide to go with Polearms, or is it something to consider even if I stick with Sword and Board?

A 1 or 2 level dip into fighter is a good choice for any melee, but note that it makes an already slow progression slower. Warlocks have a slower ASI progression than fighters and rogues. And although you are making yourself relatively single-attribute dependent (once you have Dex 14 and a decent Con, Charisma is all you need to worry about), you still have lots of things to consider spending your ASIs on. Likewise, if you want to do any of those warlock things (like spells and invocations), a 1-2 level lag can be an issue. One of the big complaints about warlocks is that long wait until level 11 for the 3rd spell per short rest. Adding a dip make it even more frustrating. Consider the pros and cons. Remember, if you're just going to be a melee character and not doing any warlocking, then why not just shift all the charisma into Strength and play a fighter?


Man . . . those invocations really make it tough to figure out whether you want to grab spells that have similar effects, or the invocation to free you up to take spells that are more roleplay friendly.

That's pretty much the point of the warlock--difficult choices. It's an 'easy' class like the Champion Fighter in that you know that most of your actions are going to be 'attack,' but it's decidedly not easy in the build part of the game.

[Captain Bob]

The strength build / fighter dip is how one used to optimize a bladelock. Basically you start fighter 1, dive into warlock with an option fighter to 3 for a subclass. Vhuman, start with PM, into fiend pact running a strength build. You take spells that aren't save or spell attack related, and chop people to bits while you accrue temporary hit points on-kill and or armor of agythys. This is still viable, but if you want to charm people and use EB hexblade is a better choice.

[StevenWH]

If you can't get your strength to the 15 needed to make the best heavy armor work (assuming you need your speed at all, which most people do), then medium armor and your 14 Dex actually end up working better. If you can bargain another point of Con from some of that Str, I'd probably do it.

At early levels, sword and board is very good at keeping you alive. I would consider staying that way until you get an ASI, and then you kind of need to make a choice (or not, actually. especially is you use your ASIs for War caster and/or +2 CHAs). Given that you are going to be one of your party's main frontliners (we assume, one character dying and choosing to play a different character type could make this all change), you should really stick with S&B or with polearm, and they are both good choices. Both of them have really good feats (Polearm Master and Shield Master) which really change the game for melee characters (One gives you something to do with your bonus action every round, and reaction many rounds. The other gives you something to do with your bonus action and helps with your defense. And both significantly boost your offensive output). There's no one right choice.



A 1 or 2 level dip into fighter is a good choice for any melee, but note that it makes an already slow progression slower. Warlocks have a slower ASI progression than fighters and rogues. And although you are making yourself relatively single-attribute dependent (once you have Dex 14 and a decent Con, Charisma is all you need to worry about), you still have lots of things to consider spending your ASIs on. Likewise, if you want to do any of those warlock things (like spells and invocations), a 1-2 level lag can be an issue. One of the big complaints about warlocks is that long wait until level 11 for the 3rd spell per short rest. Adding a dip make it even more frustrating. Consider the pros and cons.

I think I've recognized this in my attempts at building out a Lvl1 Fighter/Lvl1 Warlock, or even doing a Lvl1 Rogue/Lvl1 Warlock. The progression lag feels like it really throws off my ability to be effective in the group as I'm always waiting for that one extra level while everyone else is getting that jump in progression and the GM is potentially throwing things at the party that incorporate the progression bumps for everyone except my character as I'd always be waiting for that next level before I jump up again.

I've decided to just stick with the Warlock Hexblade, grab Sword and Board, and bump the Dex to 14 to get that 18 AC to start, and then figure I may have to purchase some decent magic items in order to bump me up more if I'm finding that my character is barely holding on when we get through combat. Or I die early on and reroll something else and I've learned my lesson that way!