I underestimate the imporatence of dex [warlock build help]

[recolector]

So, I recently got into a 5e game, made my character in a hurry and ended up with a 8 dex half-orc warlock, so whats the best build I could hope for? it doesnt have to be a combat build, just the most useful warlock i could be at this point

str 15
dex 8
con 14
int 10
wis 14
cha 15

eldritch blast and poison sspray for cantrips

faeri fire and charm for lv 1 spells

fae patron

[Rerem115]

You've got medium armor and shields if you go Hexblade, so you can always go for half-plate and a shield so your AC is decent. If you can, ask if you can move around your stats; that 15 in Strength is probably much better suited for Dexterity.

*EDIT* Missed that bit about the patron. Yeah, your best bet is to just move around your stats a bit.

[Sinon]

How much are you allowed to revise?
Or are you asking about what to do when you level up?

[Nifft]

What are you allowed to change?

My suggestions:
- Swap Str and Dex.
- Change race to Dwarf for Medium armor proficiency.
- Swap Poison Spray for a melee cantrip (Booming Blade) or a utility cantrip (Prestidigitation, Minor Image).


Or are you not allowed to change anything?

Then I'd suggest you multiclass as soon as possible and take a level of Cleric, putting that 14 Wisdom to good use, and pick a Domain which gives you Heavy Armor.

[recolector]

We are several session in, so its kinda late to change, I just didnt notice how off my build was until now because the first ones were more RP focus and we have some competent fighters on the group so i didnt get to fail that many rolls

[brainface]

Learn armor of agathys for your next spell and just get hit, maybe? You could take fiendish vigor and switch it out later, or just agonizing blast and try as hard as you can to avoid enemies. I mean you're a half-orc, you can take at least one good hit a day, and the fey pact feature can help you escape as well. I dont think this is completely lost cause.

[Nifft]

If it's too late to change, then do the Cleric multi-class.

Domains like Nature or Tempest will give you access to Heavy armor -- and Nature seems pretty compatible with your Fey patron, which is nice from an RP standpoint.

[CTurbo]

Take 2 levels of Paladin for Fighting Style, Heavy Armor, and Smites


Of just a single level of Paladin would get you Heavy Armor

[Nifft]

Take 2 levels of Paladin for Fighting Style, Heavy Armor, and Smites


Of just a single level of Paladin would get you Heavy Armor

Nope.

Heavy Armor is not a thing you get by multiclassing into Paladin.

You'd have to have started off as a Paladin to get Heavy Armor proficiency -- which is why I'm recommending Cleric so strongly.

[CTurbo]

Nope.

Heavy Armor is not a thing you get by multiclassing into Paladin.

You'd have to have started off as a Paladin to get Heavy Armor proficiency -- which is why I'm recommending Cleric so strongly.


Well I learned something new today. Apparently it's the same for Fighter. Weird.

[Nifft]

Well I learned something new today. Apparently it's the same for Fighter. Weird.

Yeah. It is weird that Cleric can give you Heavy Armor but Paladin or Fighter cannot.

Honestly I consider it an flaw in the rules.

But that's how it is.

[MaxWilson]

If it's too late to change, then do the Cleric multi-class.

Domains like Nature or Tempest will give you access to Heavy armor -- and Nature seems pretty compatible with your Fey patron, which is nice from an RP standpoint.

I agree, and I just want to note the irony of a warlock wanting to take up holy vows purely for the power boost. Based on genre tropes, normally you'd expect the power and temptation to go the other way around (holy man tempted by power into making a dark pact). :)

[Arathryth]

Alternate route:

Multiclass Barbarian, 3 levels, Bear Totem. Take Armor of Agathys.

[Sinon]

I agree, and I just want to note the irony of a warlock wanting to take up holy vows purely for the power boost. Based on genre tropes, normally you'd expect the power and temptation to go the other way around (holy man tempted by power into making a dark pact). :)
It’s only ironic if you can’t think of a way that an archfey and a nature deity could possibly have some sort of shared interest and the only possible in-game explanation is a power grab.

That said, I might consider Druid over cleric:

Medium armor is not as good as heavy, but better than what you have now. (And you can have a shield.)

My idea would be to take Circle of the Moon: wildshape would get you around your dex issue, and with warlock class abilities and spells like Armor of Agathys (mentioned above) you could really make the warlock levels work for you. I'd take at least one more for the invocations, probably a second for a sprite familiar.

[Malifice]

It’s only ironic if you can’t think of a way that an archfey and a nature deity could possibly have some sort of shared interest and the only possible in-game explanation is a power grab.

That said, I might consider Druid over cleric:

Medium armor is not as good as heavy, but better than what you have now. (And you can have a shield.)

My idea would be to take Circle of the Moon: wildshape would get you around your dex issue, and with warlock class abilities and spells like Armor of Agathys (mentioned above) you could really make the warlock levels work for you. I'd take at least one more for the invocations, probably a second for a sprite familiar.

Also: Barkskin.

[recolector]

It’s only ironic if you can’t think of a way that an archfey and a nature deity could possibly have some sort of shared interest and the only possible in-game explanation is a power grab.

That said, I might consider Druid over cleric:

Medium armor is not as good as heavy, but better than what you have now. (And you can have a shield.)

My idea would be to take Circle of the Moon: wildshape would get you around your dex issue, and with warlock class abilities and spells like Armor of Agathys (mentioned above) you could really make the warlock levels work for you. I'd take at least one more for the invocations, probably a second for a sprite familiar.


okay much ration of classes are we talking about here
like 3 warlock and the rest on druid or maybe just a dip in druid and then i can go back to warlock?

[Malifice]

okay much ration of classes are we talking about here
like 3 warlock and the rest on druid or maybe just a dip in druid and then i can go back to warlock?

Cleric works better mate.

1 level gets you Heavy armor (and a whole bunch of other stuff). Bam presto AC 20 with plate and shield.

[CTurbo]

Stone Sorcerer gives you 13+ Con AC and Shield proficiency

[Unoriginal]

OP, what's your level?

if you're near lvl 4, spending one AsI on Medium Armor Master might be better. Your stats are pretty high aside from DEX, you shouldn't have too much issues.

Do you have any interest in Blade Pact Warlock?


I agree, and I just want to note the irony of a warlock wanting to take up holy vows purely for the power boost. Based on genre tropes, normally you'd expect the power and temptation to go the other way around (holy man tempted by power into making a dark pact). :)

Personally it makes me think of "le Rouge et le Noir" and other stories about some ambitious people joining the church because it's a fast way to get power.

But thematically, a Cleric isn't someone who take up holy vows, it's someone getting chosen by a god.

[Contrast]

OP, what's your level?

if you're near lvl 4, spending one AsI on Medium Armor Master might be better. Your stats are pretty high aside from DEX, you shouldn't have too much issues.

I believe you mean Moderately Armoured, with access to medium armour (and shields) boosting your AC from 11 to 16.

I'm inclined to agree with the others though that a dip into cleric for heavy armour (AC20 with a shield!) or another class for medium armour plus class abilities which catch your fancy might be the way forward - particularly given you have other things you'll be wanting to spend ASIs on.


The other point of view is that its certainly suboptimal but far from unplayable (honestly you're going to get hit a lot anyway even with a good AC) so you could just live with it and play up that your character is pretty clumsy and likes to stay as far away from melee as possible. Not wanting to be in the line of fire for getting stabbed/shot is hardly unreasonable :smalltongue:

[CTurbo]

1 level of Stone Sorcerer would set your AC to 17 with a shield. It also gives you the Shield spell and access to several "Smite" spells.
2 levels gets you Sorcery Points
3 levels gets you Metamagic

Highly worth it IMO

[MoiMagnus]

Well I learned something new today. Apparently it's the same for Fighter. Weird.

Cleric is the aberration. They tried to make it bad to multi-class by taking only 1 level in a class (that's why you don't gain armor proficiency from your new class).
However, they forgot (or did not consider it as a problem) that the cleric obtain its heavy armor from its domain and not its class, so RAW a multi-class with 1 level of cleric gives heavy armor. (And arguably, it is not RAI)

Which is why I still forbid in 5e to take 1 level multi-classing (and the player would have to come with a solid RP justification to have less than 2/5 of its levels in a class)

[dreast]

Nature domain cleric would give you access to heavy armor AND guidance AND word of healing. That’s a lot of power for a very light investment. Admittedly, the druid cantrup probably won’t be able to compete with eldritch blast, but you may want shillelagh anyway for those times you need something melee range that needs a magic weapon. Druids also get a noce fire cantrip that can double as a light source or a firestarter if shillelagh doesn’t grab your fancy.

[Unoriginal]

Wait, you could just take the Armor of Shadows invocation.

It wouldn't be the best AC, but it'd be way better than what you have.

[Segev]

Wait, you could just take the Armor of Shadows invocation.

It wouldn't be the best AC, but it'd be way better than what you have.

Ironically, mage armor is much weaker than heavy armor, even ring mail, when your d x mod is negative. Mage armor gives this particular character an AC of 12. Ring mail is AC 14.

[Unoriginal]

Ironically, mage armor is much weaker than heavy armor, even ring mail, when your d x mod is negative. Mage armor gives this particular character an AC of 12. Ring mail is AC 14.

I don't see how it's ironic, mage armor by itself is always weaker than heavy armor and most medium armor.

What I was saying is that having 12 in AC rather than 9 could be enough for OP, given they don't specifically want to be a melee combatant. In any case, it's an investment cost lower than the other proposed options (even if the benefits are lower as well).

[Segev]

I don't see how it's ironic, mage armor by itself is always weaker than heavy armor and most medium armor.

What I was saying is that having 12 in AC rather than 9 could be enough for OP, given they don't specifically want to be a melee combatant. In any case, it's an investment cost lower than the other proposed options (even if the benefits are lower as well).

That is a point in its favor, yeah. It's roughly a half-level rather than a full level investment, giving up an Invocation for +3 AC, rather than a level for +5 or more.

I do think the Nature Cleric dip is probably the best choice, though, since the domain spells, the open cleric spells, and the theme play very well with the Warlock's Pact Magic and Fae Patron. The heavy armor proficiency also solves the specific AC problem most effectively.

[MilkmanDanimal]

With a 15 STR, you're also a viable melee character with martial weapons; War and Tempest also give you martial weapons along with the heavy armor proficiency. If you're going to be a standard EB monkey, sure, not as important, but if you want to shift to melee as an option, those two give you some flexibility other than just flinging EB constantly. War also gives you Shield of Faith, so +2 more to your AC.

The other obvious advantage to multiclassing is more spell slots, which is incredibly useful considering how few Warlocks get.

[ProseBeforeHos]

Take a level in cleric as soon as you can (you have 14 wisdom so you're fine), grab a domain which gives you heavy armor and wear full plate and a shield.

You'll suffer in a little in raw power, but gain more defense and utility (you also won't die in the first round of very combat, which is a plus).

[Arkhios]

Well I learned something new today. Apparently it's the same for Fighter. Weird.
It's not weird at all. You might diverge from your previous training but you can't learn everything from the new class.

Cleric is the aberration. They tried to make it bad to multi-class by taking only 1 level in a class (that's why you don't gain armor proficiency from your new class).
However, they forgot (or did not consider it as a problem) that the cleric obtain its heavy armor from its domain and not its class, so RAW a multi-class with 1 level of cleric gives heavy armor. (And arguably, it is not RAI)
While I agree that Cleric is bit of an aberration regarding the bonus armor proficiency coming from domain, I'd like to point that you do gain armor proficiencies from your new class, just not all of them. If you'd take a closer look at the table on the page where it lists all proficiencies gained from multiclassing you can see this for yourself. Some classes do grant armor proficiencies via multiclassing.

[Segev]

It's not weird at all. You might diverge from your previous training but you can't learn everything from the new class.

While I agree that Cleric is bit of an aberration regarding the bonus armor proficiency coming from domain, I'd like to point that you do gain armor proficiencies from your new class, just not all of them. If you'd take a closer look at the table on the page where it lists all proficiencies gained from multiclassing you can see this for yourself. Some classes do grant armor proficiencies via multiclassing.
I think the reaction is more that no other class seems to give heavy armor proficiency when taken as other then the first class.

[Talionis]

So, I recently got into a 5e game, made my character in a hurry and ended up with a 8 dex half-orc warlock, so whats the best build I could hope for? it doesnt have to be a combat build, just the most useful warlock i could be at this point

str 15
dex 8
con 14
int 10
wis 14
cha 15

eldritch blast and poison spray for cantrips

faerie fire and charm for lv 1 spells

fae patron

Tempest Cleric would be my choice for multiclass. Thunderwave is a usuable spell out of your Warlock slots.

[Friv]

Count me in the "dip Cleric" camp. You can even flavour it as the Archfey wanting you to spread the holy word of their nature, so that you are simultaneously their great champion and their priest. Thematically, Tempest makes a lot of sense there, too - you're calling upon the roiling mists of the Fey realm to create storms, and have heavy armor. Nature also works if you don't mind just having medium armor.

[thrdeye]

Cleric is the aberration. They tried to make it bad to multi-class by taking only 1 level in a class (that's why you don't gain armor proficiency from your new class).
However, they forgot (or did not consider it as a problem) that the cleric obtain its heavy armor from its domain and not its class, so RAW a multi-class with 1 level of cleric gives heavy armor. (And arguably, it is not RAI)

Something being unique doesn't imply it's not RAI. Cleric domains don't just include heavy armor proficiency as a freebie, but in lieu of something else the medium armor domains get. It's all accounted for in the balancing process.

[Segev]

Count me in the "dip Cleric" camp. You can even flavour it as the Archfey wanting you to spread the holy word of their nature, so that you are simultaneously their great champion and their priest. Thematically, Tempest makes a lot of sense there, too - you're calling upon the roiling mists of the Fey realm to create storms, and have heavy armor. Nature also works if you don't mind just having medium armor.
I thought Nature got heavy armor.

[Nifft]

I thought Nature got heavy armor.

You are correct.

Nature is really a great fit for a Fey'lock who wants heavy armor and doesn't mind picking up a nice batch of support spells.

[Segev]

You are correct.

Nature is really a great fit for a Fey'lock who wants heavy armor and doesn't mind picking up a nice batch of support spells.

I thought so.

And yeah, the support spells are neat. The Domain spell of animal friendship is pretty amazing to be able to cast every short rest or few.

[Friv]

I thought Nature got heavy armor.

Oh, so it does. My mistake. Then Tempest or Nature are both great fits, depending on desire.