Eldritch Knight||Wizard Gestalt, which wizard subclass?

[Dr.Samurai]

Greetings all!

I will be participating in a solo game soon, and was thinking of playing an Eldritch Knight. As the title says, it'll be gestalt, and I'm wondering which order would be better between Abjuration and War Magic. Both could fit the concept of the character (using magic to enter into battle). War Magic has some interesting features, but they also do appear to be mostly static bonuses. And I'm not sure I can hold Concentration well as the only player in the game. But I wonder how often I'll get use of the Abjurer's Ward (again, being the only target of the enemy attacks and it only replenishing from Abjuration spells).

Anyways, I don't really ever play wizards, so curious what your thoughts are. Thanks all!

[ciarannihill]

A bunch of them can work, it sort of depends on the playstyle you're going for, but the arguable best fits are Bladesinger, War Magic, Evocation and Abjuration.

Personally I like War Magic because it feels like an enhancement to your Fighter kit more than a Wizard kit stapled on.

Arcane Deflection is amazing, and as you get stronger you get a bunch of passive buffs and get stronger by essentially playing an anti-mage character, a Wizard based around using your reaction to either deflect or counter opposing offense while using your own turn to cut down enemies either in melee or with a bow.

Concentration won't be as big a deal with the Fighter Con save proficiency, picking up the Warcaster feat and Durable Magic feature, so Hasting yourself or using Shadow Blade becomes quite practical as well.

[Man_Over_Game]

Great question!

You can use Shield and Absorb Elements a LOT as a melee Abjurer, so you'll find yourself being extremely tanky going that route.

War Mage is something I'd really only recommend for those who have a weak melee line but still need to hold Concentration for a party. It's not something I'd recommend too much.

Abjurer is almost definitely the way to go.

[tieren]

I'd look hard at conjuration, the benign transposition ability at level 6 gets you into an arcane charge-esque ability much sooner.

Monster messing up your squishy friend? Bampf! friend is teleported to safety and you are in melee range of the monster to ruin his day.

[Man_Over_Game]

I'd look hard at conjuration, the benign transposition ability at level 6 gets you into an arcane charge-esque ability much sooner.

Monster messing up your squishy friend? Bampf! friend is teleported to safety and you are in melee range of the monster to ruin his day.


Just a quick reminder:

I will be participating in a solo game soon [...] And I'm not sure I can hold Concentration well as the only player in the game. But I wonder how often I'll get use of the Abjurer's Ward (again, being the only target of the enemy attacks and it only replenishing from Abjuration spells).[...]

[tieren]

Just a quick reminder:

And?

Are you saying a solo adventure can't have a squishy friend?
Are you saying he wants to stay away from melee and be an EK archer (one of my favorite builds)?
I'm not sure what point you are trying to convey.

[Spiritchaser]

Forgive me for offering a bit of a side track, however, have you considered EK bladelock?

With a solo game, darkness/devils sight is a no brainer

With disadvantage to hit you, your concentration will likely be fairly solid

With ek armor any patron can work (though hexblade is still easiest)

EK doesn’t *need* Int so the build can still be straightforward.

Again, I know it not what you asked about, feel free to ignore.

[Man_Over_Game]

And?

Are you saying a solo adventure can't have a squishy friend?
Are you saying he wants to stay away from melee and be an EK archer (one of my favorite builds)?
I'm not sure what point you are trying to convey.

He's already anticipating not having too many companions, so much so that he feels concentration doesn't seem like a good choice even after the War Mage bonuses, and he's not sure how often the Abjurer's Ward will come in handy since he doesn't feel like he'll use many Abjuration spells (which often impact entire parties).

If those are concerns he's having, then I'm not sure if swapping places with allies from the Conjurer feature would be something that he'd feel would be more relevant in his adventure.

[tieren]

He's already anticipating not having too many companions, so much so that he feels concentration doesn't seem like a good choice even after the War Mage bonuses, and he's not sure how often the Abjurer's Ward will come in handy since he doesn't feel like he'll use many Abjuration spells (which often impact entire parties).

If those are concerns he's having, then I'm not sure if swapping places with allies from the Conjurer feature would be something that he'd feel would be more relevant in his adventure.

I see now, good point.

Of course you don't have to use it as a swap, you can just use it as a slot free teleport once per short rest (or more with a couple conjuration spells), and it still is better than the only on action surge arcane charge which is a 15th level EK ability.

[Dr.Samurai]

A bunch of them can work, it sort of depends on the playstyle you're going for, but the arguable best fits are Bladesinger, War Magic, Evocation and Abjuration.

Personally I like War Magic because it feels like an enhancement to your Fighter kit more than a Wizard kit stapled on.

Arcane Deflection is amazing, and as you get stronger you get a bunch of passive buffs and get stronger by essentially playing an anti-mage character, a Wizard based around using your reaction to either deflect or counter opposing offense while using your own turn to cut down enemies either in melee or with a bow.

Concentration won't be as big a deal with the Fighter Con save proficiency, picking up the Warcaster feat and Durable Magic feature, so Hasting yourself or using Shadow Blade becomes quite practical as well.

Great question!

You can use Shield and Absorb Elements a LOT as a melee Abjurer, so you'll find yourself being extremely tanky going that route.

War Mage is something I'd really only recommend for those who have a weak melee line but still need to hold Concentration for a party. It's not something I'd recommend too much.

Abjurer is almost definitely the way to go.
That's one strong recommendation for each lol.

So if I went with War Magic, how often would I be using Arcane Deflection? There's a temptation to pump my AC or Saves up each round if need be, but then I'm gimping my spellcasting. Though with something like Greenflame Blade, cantrips aren't that bad either.

And if I went with Abjurer, then I'd be using Shield and Absorb Elements, which would refill my Ward in combat.

Good point about Con proficiency and the bonus to saves, so I should make Concentration checks regularly. What is shadow blade?

I'd look hard at conjuration, the benign transposition ability at level 6 gets you into an arcane charge-esque ability much sooner.

Monster messing up your squishy friend? Bampf! friend is teleported to safety and you are in melee range of the monster to ruin his day.
Thank you Tieren. I'm not sure if I'll have NPCs running around with me. I'll ask the DM what he's thinking of doing and see if he offers any insight.

Forgive me for offering a bit of a side track, however, have you considered EK bladelock?

With a solo game, darkness/devils sight is a no brainer

With disadvantage to hit you, your concentration will likely be fairly solid

With ek armor any patron can work (though hexblade is still easiest)

EK doesn’t *need* Int so the build can still be straightforward.

Again, I know it not what you asked about, feel free to ignore.
I was originally thinking Paladin||Warlock, but I like the idea of a studious warrior (something like Beast from X-Men) so I do plan on pumping up Intelligence a bit.

All, thank you for the insight so far. I think I forgot to add that I'll be starting at level 3, in case that helps.

[RSP]

All, thank you for the insight so far. I think I forgot to add that I'll be starting at level 3, in case that helps.

Bladesinger, if available, could be great if you’re planning on going with a Dex build (if not it’s useless), though you’d definitely want a higher Int. Did you roll stats? If you have 3 good stats, the Gestalt EK/BS would go very well together with the EK hit die shoring up the BS’s weakness of d6 HD. Depending on your Int, the AC bonus might really make you tough to hit and the +Int to Concentration certainly won’t hurt either.

If going Dex build, Shadow Blade (Concentration spell that gives you a scaling 2d8 psychic damage, finesse weapon you can throw) would work well.