Where to take my Warlock going forward

[plonk]

Hello everyone, I’m looking for some advice on where to take my character going forward. Sorry in advance for the long post.

Right now, I’m a level 4 Hexblade (blaster) Warlock, and the campaign I’m in will end around level 10. My stats are:

8 Str / 14 Dex / 16 Con / 8 Int / 12 Wis/ 18 Cha

I went Pact of the Chain and took Agonizing Blast and Mask of Many Faces. I’m planning to grab Gift of the Ever-Living Ones at level 5, but after that, I’m pretty uninterested with what the Warlock will have to offer.

If I continued with Warlock, I’d pick up Accursed Specter at level 6, but needing to land the killing blow on a humanoid makes me think this feature isn’t terribly reliable. Armor of Hexes is pretty good for boss fights, but for what will be the capstone of this build/campaign, it’s a bit underwhelming, especially for a blaster who’s trying to not get hit as it is.

As far as spells go, the 4th and 5th level Warlock spells aren’t very enticing to me. Hex will almost always be the best option for damage, so anything else I would cast needs to be really worth it, and I’m just not into that many of the options. Summon Greater Demon would be somewhat thematic for the character, but the spell is also a bit inherently risky because it could turn on you. Save-or-suck spells like Banishment strike me as too risky as well, on a Warlock with only two spell slots.

I’d get two more Invocation options, and there are some nice ones, but I’m not sure how fun they’d be. I had an idea to pick up Sculptor of Flesh and Polymorphing myself, but I’m skeptical about that tactic. Again, can I really afford to use one of my two spell slots on something that has a decent chance to end up just being some temporary HP that absorbs a single hit and then drops as I lose concentration? It also competes with Hex’s concentration. It’s a fun idea that I’m still interested in if someone has more experience with that tactic and can convince me how viable/fun it is.

Based on my stats, my multiclassing options are pretty limited: Bard, Fighter, Rogue, and Sorcerer. I’m not very interested in Bard, so I think I’ll rule that out now.

For Fighter and Rogue, a 2-level dip offers a bit, but not much, and I don’t think going farther than that in either offers anything. For Fighter, I’ll get +1 AC, a bit of free healing, and Action Surge. For Rogue, I’ll get Expertise and Cunning Action, though Sneak Attack will be almost entirely wasted. Being able to bonus action disengage would be pretty handy, though it takes a pretty big investment if that's all I'm interested in. Action Surge can be powerful, though I suppose most of the time I would just be casting two Eldritch Blasts.

Warlock/Sorcerer is obviously a well-known build, though I think I’ve gone farther into Warlock than most people recommend. I really wanted to get those three specific Invocations, so I’m glad I did, but I’d be worried that this multiclass isn’t worth it anymore.

Going Warlock 5 / Sorcerer 5 gives me access to 3rd level Sorcerer spells by the end of the campaign, though I won’t have anything higher than 3rd-level spell slot. I won’t have a ton of Sorcery Points, either, so while I’d be able to double spell more often than the Fighter dip…it wouldn’t be much more.

Divine Soul does look pretty powerful, though. Spiritual Weapon is obviously the biggest pickup here damage-wise, but Zone of Truth and Sending are both really fun RP options. Favored by the Gods is also a really nice pickup.

What do you guys think?

10 Warlock
8 Warlock / 2 Fighter
8 Warlock /2 Rogue
5 Warlock / 5 Sorcerer

Something else? I don’t know if there’s a chance that we continue with these characters in another campaign, but if we do, staying Warlock until 11 becomes a lot more attractive for three short rest 5th level spell slots and the first Mystic Arcanum, so that possibility helps the "just stay Warlock" option a bit.

[cutlery]

What do your adventuring days look like?

Warlock 5/Sorcerer 5 only has 5 sorcery points; though you can convert some warlock slots if you have a well-placed short rest. If you're one fight a day, that might work out nicely.

If you are thinking mostly about using points to quicken eldritch blast; you'll get nearly there with two levels of fighter (action surge). Sorcerer pulls ahead with more levels, but you might not get those.

If you want expertise, bard levels might work better for you; you'll also get some lower level slots for utility spells.

Are there no higher level spells that interest you? There are some neat things at 4th and 5th level:

Shadow of Moil
Greater Invis
Cone of Cold (available because hexblade)
Far Step
Negative Energy Flood
Dimension Door

(etc).

And, as you note, at 11th you'd have access to Soul Cage.

I'd suggest looking at a feat that offers other casting options (UA Fey Touched, Shadow Touched, etc). Fey Touched in particular gives you misty step and (potentially) hex, which frees you up to learn other spells and gives you one extra cast of each per long rest; so it's a free cast of each and essentially two added spells known for you (you can cast both with warlock slots, too).

[Digimike]

Here's my favorite level 4 and 5 spells for warlock and they're some fun ones.

Shadow of Moil- One of the coolest spells in the game. Mechanically is greater invisibility but with added flavor and effect.
Danse Macabre - Summon Skeleton Archers with a +9 to hit and +7 to damage (With 20 cha). For an hour!
Sickening Radiance- Cast into a room and lock the door. Will kill everything inside within a minute. Twice as effective if you have a party member who can cast sleet storm in the same area for the lulz.
Banishment- Remove an enemy for 10 rounds or permanently.
Hold Monster- Useful...pretty much always.
Synaptic Static-Fireball but better.

The only thing that holds warlock back is the lack of spell slots. The spell list is...well...the best in the game both flavor and effectiveness wise. You'll end up liking how the Spectre plays. It's beefy for a summoned creature that comes at low level and costs you nothing, it also does respectable damage.

Unless you are going Sorc for extra level 1 spell slots to cast Shield with, I'd stay the course with warlock. You're just about to get into the really good stuff.

[Magicspook]

I vote bard. The great thing about the a warlock with agonising blast is that you always have a straighforward damage option that takes care of your 'damage tax' so to speak, which makes it so you have a way to contribute to combat no matter what. So from here, you can go basically wild with fun utility and roleplaying stuff without falling behind. You have made progress with that already with mask of many faces and pact of the chain.

Bard offers you a great use for your bonus action (bardic inspiration), expertise at level 3 (for utility) and expands your casting options with more spell slots.

[J-H]

Don't forget, a Rod of the Pact Keeper (not that rare) gets you an extra spell slot to use.

[ThatoneGuy84]

Stay warlock is great.
Bard is great
Sorc is great

Cant really go wrong with any of these options.
My main vote would be just stick out warlock, they are plenty fun enough playing, if you think you might pickup the char later that's a bonus and reason enough to stick it out.

That being said, if you are unlikely to pick up the char after this campaign, I always found Bard to play well with warlock, and with hiw front loaded it is, you likely wont find it disapointing.

[Edea]

Are you allowed to take feats? What other cantrips does the character know outside of eldritch blast? What do you primarily use the familiar for, and which one did you pick?