Multiclassing Pact of Chain Hexblade/ Swashbuckler/ Fighter? Any tips?

[Kyroun]

Hey all. First time poster new 5e player. So I'm joining a campaign where I can start off with a lvl 8 character. I was thinking of going with the Hexblade Warlock 5/ Swashbuckler 3 to get some Expertise, sneak attacks, Darkness/Devil's Sight combo along with the Pact of the Chain to have an invisible familiar I can cast Darkness on, helping me get advantage, being able to have more sway on the battlefield as well as stretch my roleplaying muscles. I'm pretty stuck on that, and am gonna go with it either way, but now I really wanna focus on dual wielding so I was thinking of dipping into fighter for Two Weapon Fighting, and maybe even one further level for Action Surge.

The basic question is, am I stretching myself too thin? Should I avoid this and focus on getting more sneak attack dice and/or Eldritch Invocations and just do away with it, or....what? I think I could make it work but again I'm new so I'm just looking for any advice. Thanks in advance!

[nickl_2000]

Hi there. You are going to have some problems with your build, especially with Dual Wielding. Hexblade allows you to designate 1 weapon that you use your Charisma bonus for attack and damage, not two. So, dual wielding is going to make it so you second weapon damage is limited.

As for invocations, if you are only going to level 5 in Hexblade, I would choose either weapon based invocations or EB based invocations you really don't have enough available. You get 3 and based on what you mentioned you want Devil's Sight, you need Thirsting Blade for that second attack, then you have 1 spare (Improved Pact Weapon gives you +1 to hit and more weapon choices, Maddening Hex gives you a bonus action if you are planning on hexing, or you can choose another for flavor).


Personally I think you would be better off going straight Swashbuckler for the sweet Rogue abilities, or Swashbuckler to to level 11, then level 12 take 1 more Hexblade for the summon and you can switch to the lifedrinker invocation to do more damage on each hit (and then Rogue for the rest of the levels).

[Vogie]

If you're going 1 level into fighter for TWF, you aren't locked into Hexblade. It'll already give you weapon & armor proficiencies, and you can pick up charisma damage with Lifedrinker later on.

That allows you to go chainlock-

Fiend for THP generation
Seeker for DR/nova
Undying for "Sanctuary vs undead"
Celestial for utility
Or, Raven Queen for free advantage-giving non-invisible faux-miliar while actually being a blade pact.

Fighter 1 / Raven Queen Blade Warlock 5 / Swashbuckler Rogue 3 / Warlock X (2 attacks, charisma damage on pact weapon, 2d6 sneak attack damage, Eldritch Smite, 1 Sentinel Raven/rest)
Or
Fighter 5 / Chain Warlock 3 / Swashbuckler Rogue X (TWF, 2 attacks, action surge, Panache, 6d6 sneak attack damage, dex damage, invisible familiar, a martial archetype feature)

If you do the lower build, I'd suggest Champion (crit fish!), Brute (More raw Damage), Samurai (MORE ADVANTAGE), or, of course, BM maneuvers.

[Khrysaes]

Personally I think you would be better off going straight Swashbuckler for the sweet Rogue abilities, or Swashbuckler to to level 11, then level 12 take 1 more Hexblade for the summon and you can switch to the lifedrinker invocation to do more damage on each hit (and then Rogue for the rest of the levels).

By the errata's clarification, the level requirements for the Warlock invocations is Warlock level, not Character level.

[nickl_2000]

By the errata's clarification, the level requirements for the Warlock invocations is Warlock level, not Character level.


I didn't realize that. Thanks for pointing that out

[Dysz]

As for invocations, if you are only going to level 5 in Hexblade, I would choose either weapon based invocations or EB based invocations you really don't have enough available. You get 3 and based on what you mentioned you want Devil's Sight, you need Thirsting Blade for that second attack, then you have 1 spare (Improved Pact Weapon gives you +1 to hit and more weapon choices, Maddening Hex gives you a bonus action if you are planning on hexing, or you can choose another for flavor).


Personally I think you would be better off going straight Swashbuckler for the sweet Rogue abilities, or Swashbuckler to to level 11, then level 12 take 1 more Hexblade for the summon and you can switch to the lifedrinker invocation to do more damage on each hit (and then Rogue for the rest of the levels).


Just thought I'd point out you are mentioning some options that are specifically for 'pact of the blade' and not the pact of the chain, like the OP what thinking. This frees up some invocation options.
I think a melee Hexblade -> pact of the chain is still a pretty strong option.

At level 5 (which is where the differences emerge since thats when the second attack is an option)

For basic one hander you're looking at 1d8 + CHA (from the extra attack) - pact of the blade vs.
1d8 (from one of the cantrips) + CHA to second target(green flame blade) or 2d8 if the target moves(booming blade) since Extra attacks can't be used at the same time the melee cantrips.

Considering there are a couple good invocations to get at that level for a curse/melee build which add damage (Maddening Hex, Cloak of Flies) - there is opportunity cost as well, since the pact of the chain will be able to get both right away (leaving the blade pact warlock with more limited options such as burning or chilling hex or more likely they just have improved pact blade weapon)

For OP, you don't really need Darkness if you are pact of the chain -- since your invisible familiar can use the 'help' action to grant you advantage every round.
I'm not sure if you're sold on dual wielding (others have pointed out challenges with that, and your bonus actions are pretty competitive, with cunning action, hex, curse, maddening hex all giving you options if you take them)

A blade that wants advantage will have to give up some damage (you basically choose Extra Attack, Devil's sight and one other thing) to get devil's sight and will have no room for utility invocations, and fewer spell slots to spare.

At level 12, pact of the blade gets another cha boost - but pact of the chain gets the cantrip boost at 11 (without requiring more warlock levels).

Booming Blade seems to have some really good synergy with Swashbuckler(booming blade, walk away so they need to trigger it to hit you) Also Having a familiar provide advantage unlocks sneak attack, and its only once a round so no need for a second attack.

Warlocks get more stuff beyond level 5 but for what you are doing, you could stop there and trying to get your sneak attack damage higher with more swashbuckler, go higher in warlocks for better spells /more invocations. Along the way you could do a low level fighter dip for Dueling or Defense (if you go with the 1 'big' attack plan -- you could use a 2 hander or a shield) or get 5 levels of fighter for a second attack and dual wielding to replace the cantrips. Honestly though, I don't think dual wielding is the best route, as it requires more stats to be effective and the extra attack won't be nearly as good as your primary attacks will due to opportunity cost.