Pact of the Blade: Damage in D&D 5.24 2024 Player's Handbook

[@TreantmonksTemple]

DPR Graph: colab.research.google.com/drive/1gLxzzaSGdeiQw03mTxr898XrBUm2mvXy?usp=sharing Edit: I should have credited twiddlebit for the graph information apparently. I was unaware of that when I made this video. Thanks to twiddlebit for their work.

[@Itomon]

best pinned comment ever :D thanks twiddlebit!

[@insanogeddon]

Melee should always best ranged as attacking from distance is infinite AC and immunity to many effects. Older editions of Dnd were ruined when everyone realised ranged is better which happens fast nowadays with social media allowing the slow to fake being switched on.

[@davidknotts6256]

Hey have you read the Divine Smite 2024 there's no cap on damage you can now use a 9th level spell giving you 10d8 or 11d8 if it's a fiend or dead.

[@Kebelix47]

I would really like to see a(n updated) video comparing the Sorcerer and the Wizard. I've seen you saying that the wizard has access to spells that the sorcerer does not, but they are mainly the same (specially in combat) and the sorcerer can always cast it better. I'm really curious to see what you recommend to optimize both classes and do the comparison, because it is clear that I'm missing something (specially combat related)

[@CaideJordan]

Kill Monsters With Math- the DnD tagline we didn’t know we needed

[@OriginalShaozey]

I was just going to ask where that shirt has been all my life

[@jellybunz8357]

A good slogan to make sales drop by 70%

[@leohale6449]

Well Green & Garb does call Dice "Math Rocks".

[@Reynardnoir]

@@OriginalShaozey That's by my buddy at Dice N Devil Horns, his shirts are great.

[@CompetentConquest]

Could take Agonizing Blast (True Strike) for levels 3-5 and then at 6 swap it for Thirsting Blade :)

[@findalexjorge]

You need pact or Tome for that no? AB is for warlock cantrips and if you get it from Magic Initi it wont apply?

[@CompetentConquest]

@@findalexjorgewarlocks get truestrike innately.

[@findalexjorge]

@@CompetentConquest right on thanks for clarifying :)

[@jas0616]

The new feat lets you swap the spells when you level up also so you could still use it at level 1 from Wizard Initiate and then swap it for something else when you get TS from Warlock. The old one didn't allow you to change them. Pretty nice really.

[@ethanseng1260]

I actually love the fact that the Warlock remains slightly behind most of the martials for most of its career. It's a class that can do pretty decent damage, but also has the incredible utility of being able to cast spells and get them back on a short rest. All of the subclasses add to that in interesting ways. I'm kinda loving it.

[@TomSmith-ll2lp]

So it should be called the “McWarlock” then? :P

[@LP-zn8sc]

Tbf it's completely fine for a short rest full caster. You get a bunch of free feats through invocations as well. Warlock gets some nice melee spells too and now that their SAD too you can also use stuff like summons. Pretty disappointed in the lack of spirit shroud and shadow of moil in the book though.

[@verdurite]

Yup, it's a spellcaster with 9th level spells, it's shouldn't beat martials in their niche

[@DeadpoolAli]

Yea I'm taking true polymorph wish maddening darkness and mass suggestion, hypnotic pattern, synaptic static, summon greater demon. Dont need to do more damage when half of those end the combat right then and there.

[@Miiircoo]

@@verdurite Warlocks cap at 5th Level Spellslot, they are not 9th level spellcasters

[@p.antonio3600]

Blade Lock is one build that benefits heavily from the old material. Spirit Shroud grating you 2d8 x 3 for a bonus action and pact slot is really good

[@mrinfinity5557]

Or shadow blade upcasted to 5th level (max for warlocks) that does 4d8+(3 or 5)*3.

[@nm2358]

Warlock and Paladin's Smite are probably the reasons the design team opted to not include Spirit Shroud in the 2024 PHB; the difference that spell makes for Warlock is night and day, while it pretty power-creeps anything that isn't Searing Smite out of the game for damage (which the only reason value Banishing Smite has on Divine Smite, a negligible damage bump).

[@p.antonio3600]

@@mrinfinity5557 Although Shadow Blade does more damage Thirsting Blade and Devouring Blade only work with your pact weapon.

[@mrinfinity5557]

@p.antonio3600 you can make a pact weapon with a bonus action. So turn 2, you could use your bonus action to get 3 attacks with it. Or, if your dm allowed you, they might let you use shadow blade over your existing pact weapon and treat both the same

[@DungeonsandDeadlifts1]

​@@p.antonio3600you use shadow blade in offhand with a nick weapon in main hand so it gets 3 attacks with pact and 2 attacks with shadow every turn.

[@bennettellis1154]

Haven't even gotten through the video yet but I *love* your shirt!

[@samuelniesen8929]

I need to know where to get one! Or twelve.

[@pallen2645]

I think the multiclass dip im liking best here is fighter 1 for con saves, armor profs, weapon masteries and fighting styles. And i think the clear winner for a build is two weapon fighting and build out dex first, not cha. This mostly solves the AC problem. Nick mastery for when you need to cast hex, vex for when you don't. The build is basically identical to the twf ranger, but it gets another attack at 13th level.

[@Sweet_Zombie_Cheezuz]

It's great. 😁 But don't underestimate the extra spells and spell slots of a Paladin dip. No fighting style but Lay on Hands can be clutch too. 😎 EDIT: Just finished the vid and Chris used the Pally dip. 😂 Still not fully optimized (which he acknowledges with Summoning etc.). Anyway Fighter Dip is still strong.

[@pallen2645]

@Sweet_Zombie_Cheezuz The con save proficiency is actually the bigger selling point IMO. It's huge for any caster.

[@Sweet_Zombie_Cheezuz]

@pallen2645 Agreed. Especially if you're concentrating on a summon for example. But if you're a short rest smite machine with the occasional need for concentration then Eldritch Mind goes a long way.

[@MUIcrapposter]

this is a good idea. max out dex, grab defensive duelist feat and the dual wielder feat, and you'll be good to go.

[@Renegade-Master-88]

The nice thing with paladin is now you get 2 slots at level 1 that you can use for Shield that you get with Magic Initiate. You can get Resilient Con later . You also get Divine Favor for DPT if you need it.

[@jameshernandez4112]

I think fighter dip for two levels with action surge and using a rapier for vex with goo lock for loads of advantage (especially once you have the clairvoyant combatant) gives this a run for its money. Getting all the strength feats to force great sword rather than using thrall, hex, and dex feats to boost dpr seems strange. You could go shadow touched to get an extra smite for big crits. 19 ac with a shield honestly isn't too bad, especially if you toss in defensive dualist and mage slayer for better initiative, saves, and an ac boost. Jump is a good spell certainly but getting both chain invocations could get you a pretty good bonus action attack with the stronger familiars and a lot of utility. Warhammer for push control or battle ax for topple control could also really help out your thrall and allies getting hits in too. Plus putting all your opponents attacks at a disadvantage is a pretty strong defense.

[@MarcMonné]

I'd love to watch a similar comparison for Valor Bard with Fighter vs Warlock dip & Dex vs Cha.Treantmonk, the genie that makes math dreams come true!

[@submortimer]

I think the actual play for your spell slots is going to be Armor of Agathys. Embrace your armor being low, get GWM for a lot of extra damage, and get that sizeable chunk of temp HP.

[@Blackwoodcwc]

I agree with this. Armor of Agathys I think may be better than smiting. A max Smite is 6d8 which is 27 damage on average, while a same-level armor of Agathys (which only takes a bonus action and no concentration now) is 25 damage (if you are only hit once, more if you take multiple smaller hits) for the same spell slot along with the 25 temporary hit points. I think there is an argument (like with barbarians) to just forego other AC and invite being hit, which probably removes the motivation to dip another class.

[@theshadowbadger]

I feel like your numbers would be significantly shifted with a fighter dip instead of paladin. 3 weapon masteries get you nick and vex + hex for tier 1, then switching to graze after scooping GWM. Additionally, GOO can boost damage through granting advantage and concentration free summons.

[@logancuster8035]

Yeah but we do lose the defensive benefits of Fiend. And Chris “likes to make his saving throws”

[@CivilWarMan]

​@@logancuster8035Except Great Old One also gets defensive options, since Clairvoyant Combatant also gives the target disadvantage on their attacks, and Celestial gets both temp HP and the Aid spell, and Radiant Soul really stacks up with 1st level Paladin spells like Divine and Searing Smite, so either of those choices also gets defensive options, but also better damage than what he's calling the optimized build.

[@logancuster8035]

@@CivilWarMan saves are pretty bad on both of those options. And disadvantage on one creature’s attacks at a time does not strike me as an overly good defensive resource either. Aid slap though and the bonus healing from Celestial is pretty decent.

[@CivilWarMan]

@@logancuster8035 Fiend's slightly better for saves, but that improvement does only average out to a little more than 1d10 to one saving throw per combat. Is that one better saving throw per combat so overwhelmingly critical that it results in better *damage* than the explicitly damage-boosting options of Celestial and Great Old One? And if that is the case, why does his Vengeance Paladin build not bother to start boosting its Charisma until level 12, if passing saves is that important for damage calculations?

[@logancuster8035]

@ Personally? Yeah, that one save per combat strikes me as a pretty big deal, that’s just a preference thing though. That said, you make good points. We can certainly get the damage numbers higher with a GOO Lock. I’m just saying Chris explicitly said he was worried about this builds defenses, and we know he values saves, and that’s the reason he made the choices he did, which I think is a pretty reasonable way to build a character.

[@Klaital1]

The change of shield proficiency being in lightly armored instead of moderately armored really screwed over warlocks.

[@MUIcrapposter]

shield proficiency should just be baked into every armor proficiency feat just in case. WOTC is r3t@rd3d for not having enough foresight for that simple convenience.

[@apjapki]

​​@@MUIcrapposterExtreme hard disagree and without needing to be cringe.

[@MUIcrapposter]

@@apjapki extreme hard suck my nuts, didn't ask what you think. it was stupid for them not to take into account classes that already have light armor wasting a feat to get shield proficiency.

[@Autonym]

It's insane to me that getting proficiency in shields got even easier for wizards, don't even need to dip for it now just take a feat Also insane that learning medium or heavy armor (especially) doesn't come with learning shields automatically

[@MUIcrapposter]

@@apjapki Extreme hard didn't ask, don't care what you think.

[@ThatGuy182545]

I think personally for a pact of the blade warlock the best possible path is straight class Warlock, and lean into Armour of Agathys. Acquire as many sources of free temp HP as possible to keep it up without recasting. Fiend Patron, Fiendish Vigour invocation, possibly an Orc race with that bonus action dash that gives you temp HP. Put up your Armor of Agathys with your highest spell slot and then start wanging with a heavy weapon, and do whatever you gotta do whenever you gotta do it to keep the spell up. Might work well with a fighter dip to get heavy armour and then spending a feat on Heavy Armour Master, not for AC, because you want to get hit to proc the damage, but for the DR. If you wear ring mail, (or chainmail) you can get by with 13 Strength. Bonus points if you have someone in the party who can drop a Power Word: Fortify on you once in a while for a big battle.

[@WolfHreda]

I actually made a really stupid build I called the Bard of Barbs that uses a single level of Warlock to get Pact of the Blade and Armor of Agathys. The other 13 levels are Valor Bard for medium armor and tons of spell slots. Once you reach Bard 13/Warlock 1, you can use your 7th level slot for Power Word Fortify, and your 6th level slot for AoA, giving you 120 THP that retaliate 30 Cold damage every time you get hit. You can also use Polymorph for a lower level slot and become a giant porcupine ape.

[@LP-zn8sc]

It's a little disappointing that you still need a fighter dip for bladelock. Not much different from 5e. At least being more charisma dependent does open up new options to bladelocks.

[@ThatGuy182545]

@@LP-zn8sc I don’t think you *need* it. It just adds some survivability to the character. You’re not even going to use the best heavy armour. You’re only dipping fighter to get proficiency bonus DR. I honestly think that DMs will be hesitant to have monsters do melee attacks against your Armour of Agathys Warlock because of the cold damage, unless they have resistance or immunity. The fighter dip just makes it a bit easier to keep the spell running for longer periods of time without re-upping the temp HP.

[@brojoe4919]

@@LP-zn8sc Not sure why everyone here is so focused on fighter dip. Con saves are good, but so are Wis saves. Paladin give 2 slots, and amazing spells at first level.

[@Ahglock]

@@brojoe4919 I think fighter is a stand in for class with heavy armor proficiency and weapon mastery, the other benefits either class give are more of a toss up depending on what you want. Like if you are considering a ranged weapon user fighter takes the win due to archery fighting style imo.

[@kongoaurius]

Great video! I’d love to see a discussion on the martial-caster divide with the 2024 rules. It’d be interesting to see if the gap has gotten bigger or smaller!

[@holygrayell]

This is exactly what I'm doing in our current campaign, except I'm a fey warlock Grung. Misty stepping at some one and being invisible for advantage has helped some, but mostly teleporting away in reaction to getting hit and turning invisible has been clutch. Spell slots for smite, paladin slots for divine favor and shield. It's been super fun.

[@CivilWarMan]

One huge critique I have with your framing of the Charisma Bladelock vs the Paldin is that you are comparing a Paladin build that is supremely hyper-focused on damage, to the point where you are assuming that they are using 80% of their reactions to attack, vs a Warlock build where you are intentionally focusing more on defense than damage. Warlock subclasses like Celestial and Great Old One also have good defensive options and damage boosts, whereas your Charisma based Fiend build should probably be more appropriately compared to a Devotion or even an Ancients Paladin build if you actually wanted to make apples-to-apples comparisons.

[@guamae]

Warlock is my favorite class, though I do a lot of homebrew to increase flexibility 😝 One thing I'm amazed they didn't include for Bladelocks, is an Invocation for Medium Armor and Shields. I also like to use the legacy Improved Pact Weapon Invocation, get a +1 Longbow, and Great Weapon Master...

[@Xionologos]

Hey Chris, thanks for making these great videos as usual! I wanted to ask you if you intend to make calculations for a ranged fighter build. I think it would be very interesting to see how ranged damage works on that class as well, since you did it for ranger and rogue already.

[@ccoopplay1]

I've been waiting for days for this im so excited! Thank you for all the work sir

[@JugglingAddict]

On the SAD CHA build we could fit pact of the chain for their bonus action attack (chain also allows gift of the ever-living ones for max self-heals) that should help a bit. Defensive duellist is also an obvious choice if we are going to duel wield. I think that archfey/celestial warlock could work quite with a paladin. Since smites are now spells that deal radiant damage the celestial lvl 6 feature is slightly less bad, but only slightly.

[@mpetrov2402]

Not using celestial when maxing cha for radiant soul is criminal... Especially how good Searing Smite works with the celestial warlock.

[@JugglingAddict]

@@mpetrov2402 I didn't mention race because I don't want to tell people what to play, but yes Aasimar is a really good choice.

[@mpetrov2402]

@@JugglingAddict Radiant Soul is the 6th level feature of the celestial patron warlock. Its not a race. It gives resistance to radiant damage and allows you once a turn to add your carisma to a spell that deals fire or radiant damage. Searing smite procs this 2 times per ROUND since the damage is split in your turn and the enemies turn.

[@JugglingAddict]

@@mpetrov2402 I know celestial warlock has such a feature, but what I meant is the area aoe damage transformation from aasimar. It was something something radiant.

[@mpetrov2402]

@JugglingAddict I meant the warlock not the aasimar

[@Shadowhaox]

I feel like pact of the blade locks do MUCH better with an optimized two weapon fighting plus Shillelagh build than the old 2h weapon builds.. Def need a 1-2 level dip into fighter for masteries, proficiencies and con saves.

[@macdd7257]

Back in the days of your Wizard's guide for Pathfinder 1E, you took time to describe different party roles (controller, buffer, utility, waste of space, etc) I feel like this series about single-target damage, while interesting, tends to blur the conversation about the class relevance. I'd like to see you talk more about player roles, party roles and such. I feel it'd be more useful to many. If damage dealing aint the Warlock role, what is it good for? Again great content!

[@pederw4900]

Haven’t seen the whole video yet, but I think the best way to play a straight class bladelock is still with the Hexblade if you can use it. Also allows you to dual wield your hex weapon and a Nick weapon (if you get the mastery, maybe just suck it up and take the feat). If not, you can either take 13 Str and use a heavy reach weapon, or you could just use a whip so you can stay out of melee

[@jas0616]

Yeah my table is allowing books like Tasha's, just no using things that are updated, so I've been salivating at a SAD TWF hexblade. I haven't crunched the numbers but I may do that. Maybe take a level of rogue for a little extra damage and the SS/Scimitar masteries. Edit: actually. I think TWF style is too good not to just go fighter instead of rogue. That's giving up 6 damage for 3.5 after extra attack anyway.

[@pederw4900]

@ I think the fighter dip for TWF fighting style might be a better move for dpr, though I haven’t done any math about that. Now I’m thinking about it though. Two weapon fighting style lets you add your ability modifier to your offhand attack specifically. Sneak attack lets you add 1d6 to either your main hand attack or you offhand, so if you miss with one and hit with the other you still get the damage. At low levels, when your Cha mod is +3, the 1d6(3.5) is more damage on average and more likely to land. When your modifier goes up to +4, the calculation is a little less clear, but as soon as you get Thirsting Blade and you have 3 chances to apply sneak attack vs 1 chance to apply offhand damage, I see the edge going to sneak attack. This assumes you are always eligible for sneak attack of course, and assumes you don’t take the Dual Wielder feat because you’re Cha-maxing. Starting fighter has other advantages though: heavy armor lets you invest less in dex, con save proficiency protects concentration, second wind pads your hp nicely, and you have an extra weapon mastery to swap in a different weapon as needed (maybe a shillelaghed club). As a front liner, I’d find those things more valuable than extra skills and Expertises and other rogue stuff, but an Archfey warlock planning to run in, slash slash, and Misty step away might not find the defensive benefits of fighter as valuable as the roguish benefits. TLDR: for a dual wielder, 1d6 of sneak attack (probably, on average, I still haven’t done the math lol) adds more to DPR than the fighting style, but I find the defensive perks of fighter outweigh the skill perks of a rogue for a frontline PC.

[@Renegade-Master-88]

The fiends ability to get temporary hit points on kill looks really strong for melee builds too

[@jas0616]

@@pederw4900 I'm crunching numbers right now. Almost done with the fighter dip version and it looks pretty good. I'll look at the rogue after. For fighter I went warcaster at 5 to get cha 18 and holding onto precious concentration. 9 I went 20 cha. 13 I went dual wielder for an extra attack as BA (due to wording this can *also* be with pact weapon which stacks a bunch of bonus damage). 17 I went sentinel for some reaction damage, which can be stacked with a beefy true strike (or, if you can use it, booming blade) with Agonizing Blast. It gets pretty gnarly after you stack foresight at 18 and combat prowess at 20. That said, it's def backloaded so I'm guessing rogue will be better in tier 2 which is where most people play. I'll let y'all know when I'm done.

[@jas0616]

​ @pederw4900 Fighter numbers are in. Rogue may have to wait til tomorrow. TL;DR: Fighter 1/Hexblade 19 build Tier 1: 9.2, 14.3, 14.3, 14.5 Tier 2: 17.5, 31.4, 31.4, 30.0, 35.2, 39.8 Tier 3: 39.8, 45.2, 67.7, 67.7, 67.7, 67.7 Tier 4: 74.9, 83.5, 83.5, 93.0 As an homage to Chris, I'll present it in a similar style. I'm not about to write all that math in the comment section though, so I'll go over my strategy and you can replicate if you like. No Species Subclass: Hexblade S/D/CO/I/W/CH: 8/16/14/8/10/17 Feats: 1: Tough IG, doesn't need one for damage. 5: War Caster (CHA 18) 9: ASI (CHA 20) 13: Dual Wielder (DEX 17) 17: Sentinel (25%) (DEX 18) 20: Boon of Combat Prowess (CHA 21) Invocations: I won't go over the whole list but just make sure you get Pact of the Blade at 2, Thirsting Blade and Eldritch Smite at 6, Lifedrinker at 10, Devouring Blade at 13, and make sure you have Agonizing Blast (Booming Blade) by 17. 1 (Ftr1): Masteries: Scimitar, Shortsword, PYF (I went hand crossbow for a little bit of variety). Two Weapon Fighting style. Strategy: Vex/Nick combo. Attacking with DEX right now, but it would be the same anyway. DPR: 9.2 2 (Wlk1): Hex always up. Vex/Nick combo. DPR: 14.3 3 (Wlk2): Magical Cunning. I'll use this later. Same strategy. DPR: 14.3 4 (Wlk3): Lagging charisma, 55% hit chance. However, we get Hexblade's Curse. Chris assumes that we're always going ham on one enemy, I'm doing the same, so I assume we have it up for half of combats. It'll be up turn 2, Hex up first is better. Strategy is the same, with 3/8 of rounds having Hexblade's Curse adding Proficiency to the shortsword damage and doubling crit range with it. The remaining 5/8 have only hex up. DPR would be higher if not for the hit chance penalty, but we just manage to hang in there. DPR: 14.5 5 (Wlk4): War Caster makes me feel a lot better about assuming I can only use two spell slots on Hex with the CON advantage. Also closes the gap on hit chance back to 60%. Proficiency bonus goes up here too. Otherwise, same strategy. DPR: 17.2 6 (Wlk5): Finally Thirsting Blade and Eldritch Smite. We have 2 fifth-level slots. With Magical Cunning that's 5/LR. 2 for Hex, 3 for smiting at 4d8. Attack twice with shortsword to compound Vex advantage Otherwise same strategy. DPR: 31.4 7 (Wlk6): Accursed Spectre. I ignored this. DPR: 31.4 8 (Wlk7): Lagging Cha again. We dip a bit here even though our smites hit for 5d8 now. DPR: 30.0 9 (Wlk8): CHA 20. DPR: 35.2 10 (Wlk9): Smites at 6d8. Lifedrinker is online so our shortsword hits for an extra 1d6 once per turn. DPR: 39.8 11 (Wlk10): Armor of Hexes. Good defense, but nothing for damage. DPR: 39.8 12 (Wlk11): 3 spell slots now, 8/LR. 2 for hex, 6 for smites. I didn't assume our Arcanum would help with damage. DPR: 45.2 13 (Wlk 12): Dual Wielder (DEX 17) gives a bonus action attack on 10 out of 16 rounds. 4 of these have Hexblade's Curse up and 6 do not. All have Hex. Devouring Blade gives another attack. We're up to 4 attacks in 6 rounds and 5 attacks in the other 10. Same strategy, just bonk things a lot. DPR explodes, raising by about 50%. DPR: 67.7 14 (Wlk 13): Mystic Arcanum (VII). I don't use it for damage. DPR: 67.7 15 (Wlk 14): Hex Master. Feel a lot better about saying we get to use Hexblade's Curse for a full combat now. No effect on damage though. DPR: 67.7 16 (Wlk 15): Mystic Arcanum (VIII). I don't use it for damage. DPR: 67.7 17 (Wlk 16): I took Sentinel (DEX 18). Assuming it affords an attack once per combat. 50% chance it's on our hex/curse target. Warcaster lets us use a beefy maxed-out Booming Blade on it. I assume if I hit it's a 50% chance it was on a target fleeing, so it takes the bonus 4d8 damage from that as well. Lifedrinker is per turn so that bonus damage applies too. DPR: 74.9 18 (Wlk 17): Mystic Arcanum (IX): Foresight. With an 8 hour duration, I assume it's pre-cast and it's up the whole time. Your mileage may vary. Advantage on everything, all the time. I still use Hex, same strategy as before. Guarantees Lifedrinker and Eldritch Smite, and the crit chance is insane. On the hardest-hitting rounds, it's like 57% chance to land a crit on both smite and lifedrinker. DPR: 83.52 19 (Wlk 18): No bonus. DPR: 83.52 20 (Wlk 19): Boon of Combat Prowess. Along with Foresight we're almost guaranteed to hit all of our attacks, which are many. Note that I didn't bother to do the math on the reaction attacks inheriting the leftover chance of BoCP still being available. I just gave them normal advantage hit chance. DPR: 93.0 At first I forgot that Lifedrinker was only once per round and it was over 100 DPR. Fortunately I re-read everything and caught that before I gave numbers.

[@jas0616]

I love the shirt! Minor thing on the optimized builds, you were using 100% of your slots on damage for the baseline build, but with paladin you can hex completely with paladin slots if you want, and smite with all of your pact slots, which would boost your damage a bit. That should make the optimized build better than EB pretty thoroughly and it would compare... Less unfavorably, let's say... Against the Vengeance Pally. I don't think it'll completely close the gap, but less noticeable, certainly.

[@senticles]

Would love to see an update on the Abjuration Wizard next! Your tank wizard build has been on my mind since 2024 launched.

[@morganvanlenthe5425]

i feel like as soon as you get 3d level spells, spirit shroud is a better dps pick for warlock bladepact, especially after 5th level spells are available since you get 2d8/attack, 3 attacks per turn, thats potentially 6d8/round 18 average dpr boost over hex's 3d6 or 7 average dpr.

[@elekbuday81]

He's explicitly only using new material for these builds

[@williamtaylor6886]

Enjoying the single-target damage analysis. Seems like the best damage is being done by the classes/subclasses that should be doing it. Looking forward to future builds that consider optimization for a class’ more appropriate roles.

[@BlueFoxXT]

In my calculations i found a lot of value in tier two using both blade and chain pact with true strike on celestial warlock. At certain levels the Sphinx attack adds more than the advantage, and as it falls behind the Help action giving advantage to your attack was a meaningful boost. Celestial also can cast Aid twice every morning to keep it alive, and eventually they give everyone temp HP often.

[@KadarianLord]

I am a little sad because having seen the options through out the unearthed arcana, and the boosts and falls, I really think that there were options along that path that would have kept warlock more in line with the other classes because they did a great job keeping most of the martial classes in line with each other based on your other videos (with exception of the ranger, may they rest)

[@WyllBG3]

But it is for most of people that don't think the game is about math and doing "the most damage". The warlock is one of the most fun classes to play with ❤

[@juliamedina3322]

Warlocks are not martials, though. I actually like the fact that martials deal more damage. Warlocks are full casters, they get a lot more stuff because of that. It's only fair that they stay behind damage-wise.

[@sharmelfattakhov5041]

Warlock was a bit too boosted in playtests) Making it actually stronger damage-wise compared to martial classes would feel wrong. Warlock is still a very customizable class with a lot of interesting features that has an access to high-lvl spells(albeit far more limited than other casters). Every martial can now do something excluding damage but surely not to that extent. I would also like to point out that ranger is in line with other classes too, for most of the relevant levels(1 to 9). Considering it does have fairly good utility and skills, that's far from bad. Only after 10-th lvl the gap becomes really annoying.

[@xolotltolox]

​@@juliamedina3322warlocks are more like confused half casters than full casters

[@juliamedina3322]

@@xolotltolox I would call them confused full casters. They do seem confused, but calling them half casters is ridiculous.

[@mrinfinity5557]

I still think going pact of the blade warlock with shadow blade and hexblade is the strongest available option. You could go up to 16 dex and take medium armor master for the 18 ac, elven accuracy for extra advantage, and cast darkness (or have a friend cast darkness or enspelled armor) while using hexblade's curse for free infinite advantage. Thats a 27% chance to crit, and 2-3 attacks between levels 5 to 12. At level 5 its 3d8+(3 or 5) twice, and at level 12 its 4d8+(3 or 5) thrice. Or 6d8+6 a turn level 5, 12d8+9 a turn level 12

[@tantalus_complex]

But you're requiring a particular species to get there. There are always going to be more powerful options than these assumption-light builds. These builds are for understanding the power floor, more than they are for understanding the power ceiling.

[@mrinfinity5557]

@tantalus_complex alright, but youre still getting constant advantage even without elven accuracy, elven accuracy just helps. 4d8+5 is still better than any regular weapon, and you get three attacks with it.

[@laszloszikorszky9866]

First of all, amazing shirt! Second, I do think the last nail in the ranger's coffin is that last graph you showed. Bladepact is simply better, than a ranger. And this is coming from someone who absolutely loves the ranger! I have been trying to make it work eversince they gave the first sneak peak at the 2024 ranger, I have been trying to argue it was still good, but I can't any longer. Rangers are playable, but unless you want a specific subclass ability, you are better off playing something else.

[@Hanafuss]

I think we have seen enough videos to say the ideal new baseline is the Dagger throwing Rogue. When I look at twiddlebits graph, it runs right through the middle of all other class progressions. It also is fairly flat, which sucks since it loses the clear delineation between tiers, but it is useful when referring to a class being above or below baseline. It makes it easier to compare because the Rogue line is so close to a flat line the comparison to the baseline is close to proportional across all levels.

[@PlayWatch_616]

Hey Chris, it's everyone

[@ratherfungames]

1:00 A ranged cantrip not keeping up with melee damage from martial classes is a good thing, right?

[@apjapki]

Especially with that range

[@carlosbarreto4695]

Right.

[@Keira_Blackstone]

it depends on what matters to you I suppose. from a roleplay perspective, if I sold my soul for magical power, and said magical power was weaker than shooting someone with a bow, I'd be kinda pissed.

[@ratherfungames]

@Keira_Blackstone well put, but cantrips aren't the height of magical power

[@tiarnanmatthews5534]

i've been brewing a build revolving around shadow blade and the new pact of the blade allowing to bind a magical weapon as a bonus action. My idea is to get two levels of fighter then all in on warlock, dual wealding to get an extra attack as a bonus action. This essentially means with action surge you have 3 attacks with pact blade + another 3 with action surge, nick weapon mastery attack in the same action then bonus action another attack with a total of 7 attack with the shadow blade, potentially 8 if your party has haste to cast on you. Thats 4d8 (level 5 shadow blade) x 8 so 32d8 on a turn. I know it takes two (or 3 if you want to hexblade hex the target) turns of set up but you can still make your 3 attacks without the action surge and without using your bonus action. I'd probably recommend taking some defensive spells to maintain concentration like blink or mirror image, but with the hexlock critting on 19s and 20s, take elven accuracy and the shadow blade having advantage in low light your probably rolling 3 dice per hit and doing absolutely insane damage. Would be interesting to see someone crunch the numbers.

[@Sepiriel]

TWF Warlock, we need to see those numbers!

[@mythjellies1487]

How about the combo of summon tricksy fey and devil's sight--gives you extra damage from the fey attacks, and the 5' cube of darkness can be used for both advantage on attacks and disadvantage on being attacked/targeted; and this version of darkness is party friendly.

[@juliamedina3322]

The problem with this version of darkness is that it doesn't block darkvision. It still works, but only against enemies that can't see in the dark. On the plus side, you don't need Devil's Sight to make it work.

[@johngillan4475]

Interesting numbers thank you

[@kclubok]

I'd like to see a CHA-focused Paladin with a two-level Blade Pact dip. It should be good at melee, SAD to maximize your aura's effectiveness, and reasonable enough at range for when it can't close the distance.

[@scorpiovenator_4736]

I just made a similar build but with a focus on summoning, and armor of Agathys, which pairs excellently with Pact of the fiend and false life

[@dach829]

Thanks

[@matthewlaird5235]

I’m just in the beginning of your video and you are right about eldritch blast damage not keeping up, but there is more to combat than damage (I know you and your fans know this).

[@carlcramer9269]

Love the t-shirt. :)

[@virplexer1428]

Honestly, i think using a versatile weapon for a 1 damage penalty compared to heavy weapons but being able to put those points into dex and con for better defenses is a much better idea on a straight classed blade warlock. -Versatile also lets you use a focus a little more freely, still letting you perform opportunity attacks even when you had to take out your focus last turn.- Edit: forgot that the weapon counts as a focus now.

[@archer3813]

in the newer Pact of the Blade, your weapon automatically become Spellcasting Focus

[@virplexer1428]

@@archer3813 Forgot about that, thanks!

[@Mordazan]

I think a thing that is undervalued in discussion is range. 120ft range can have a significant impact when you're fighting flying enemies, when enemies are far apart of they start far away from you. Another point is that a range likes that allows you to focus an enemy they just took huge damage - possibly taking out an enemy that would be unreachable for a melee character. It would be cool if you touched on this as well, Chris!

[@leohale6449]

I am pretty sure if I intend to create a Warlock that uses Pack of the Blade, I will be taking my first level as a Fighter. 2 reasons. ! - Con saves. 2 - weapon masteries. Now do not believe I will ignore armor proficiencies, it is just the other two are more important. Also do not think I am going to go for heavy armor, since the armor class is only -1 wearing medium armor.

[@theformation3781]

I actually have been doing some level 12-14 builds for druid just to calculate their damage potential since the elephant is in the game and i have to say, it's really quite good. At level 12: 1. Elephants have rend multiattack, with a 55% chance to hit (elephants have +8 to hit, and you'd expect a character to have at least +9 by now) an elephant makes 2 attacks, each doing 17 damage, so 18.7 (not counting crits), 2. and with a 80% chance to hit at least once, 3.6 from elemental fury, 3. and with a 60% chance to fail from a level 5 conjure woodland beings (I'm underselling it here it's higher since it targets wisdom saves, it's going to be more than 60%) that does 21.6 average damage, 4. Finally the offturn reaction attack (since im only assuming CWB to be once per turn we will get an attack of opportunity) would be 0.55*(17+4.5, from elemental fury) would be 11.825 The final damage is 55.725 on turns with this setup active, and 33.425 on the first turn (since you get CWM and reaction attack then anyways) your average damage per 1 combat is 50.15. The vengeance paladin build did ~52 damage here, and again i did not count crits. This eventually at level 15 transforms into: 1. 50% chance to hit since everyone else has a +1 (total +10) chance to hit now via pb, so rend does 17 damage. 2. We now have a 0.75% chance to hit at least once but the damage we do once per turn on hit is 2d10 (improved lunar radiance)+2d8 (improved elemental fury), transforming this portion into 15 damage. 3. Stays the same, at 21.6. I think a 5th level spell slot is the most i'd expend on just damage, higher level spell slots are more important imo. 4. Now turns into 0.5×(17+20), or 18.5 damage Total becoming 72.1 damage, and with the first round thing being 40.1, your 4 round average is 64.1, and even while not counting crits and underselling CWM this is more damage than a level 15 vengeance paladin (which was ~62 damage). Note: i didnt calculate moon step>advantage>charge for prone on elephant since that's what I'm at treantmonk for :) less calcs for me! (and great analyses too ofc) And i don't even think the maintainance of CWM concentration is an issue, since moon druids can not only add their WIS to concentration checks, but can also focus on constitution since wisdom determines their AC as well as their spell save DC (and their to-hit is unabound by dex) so a druid with warcaster+resilient pretty handily deals with almost all concentration saves.

[@danrosenthal9231]

Note, you have an error on your Strength build -- you have Cha 21 listed for level 19 w/ Boon of Combat Prowess, but you only have 13 CHA from chargen and never take more from feats/ASI. Presumably if you're taking CHA here you'd be at 14 CHA, not 21.

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

I've done some VERY back of the napkin math for a STR-Optimized Bladelock. If they had something like Spirit Shroud or Fount of Moonlight available, they would be doing very competitive damage with the martials, especially at T3 and T4. Summoning is cool and provides a few unique benefits, especially if you're using the summons for their utility instead of purely for damage, but as it stands, it's not a huge boost to damage. Even a 6th level Summon Devil can't really keep up with Spirit Shroud that grants 2d8 per attack. My math assumed - PAM + GWM + Sentinel, at level 12, no multiclassing, 50% of turns you get an AoO, you take the first turn every combat to cast Spirit Shroud, and once per turn Lifedrinker. No Smites, no calculating minutia of when you would get Lifedrinker on crits or stuff like that. With just that, I got up to 62.96 DPR, which you can keep up every battle, and you'd have 1 free spell slot per short rest, AND you still have your Magical Cunning to get 2 spell slots back when you want to. Smites, again on a very back of the napkin math ad another 10.something DPR, so total goes up to about 73 dpr. xD And there's probably more optimization that can be done. And I haven't even looked at the possibility of 2 weapon fighting, which might be competitive or even better, idk.

I think an important defensive change for Bladelocks is the change to the Armor of Agathys spell. In 2014 this was counter-synergistic with the Fiend warlock’s temporary HP, as a new source of temp HP would end the spell. Now it is synergistic, Dark One’s Blessing and False Life will both recharge Armor of Agathys as long as you don’t lose all of your temp HP. It will likely depend on your table and your DM, but as long as you aren’t the only melee character on the front lines this might let a Bladelock get by with a lower AC, just using the threat of Agathys damage to avoid being targeted in the first place. Ranged attacks will be a real danger, though.

[@tiagorafael2542]

I feel like in both this and the previous videos we end up wasting our BA (except for the first turn when applying Hex) if all we're doing is hoping for a crit to use it. If dipping Paladin, why not use it for Divine Favor? That's an extra d4 for every attack up to 3d4 one we get 2 extra attacks. And if you add Celestial Warlock as your subclass you can add your Cha mod to one of those attacks since you're already dealing radiant dmg. With the Eldritch Blast build, that BA could've been used with Investment of the Chain Master using it for our familiar, a familiar like a Skeleton using ranged attacks wouldn't even be as susceptible to getting damaged by doing so...

[@mpetrov2402]

Celestial warlock's radiant soul can proc 2 times a round since the damage is split between your turn and the start of enemies turn. Also searing smite scales really well.

[@SortKaffe]

@mpetrov2402 nah, it only procs when you cast the spell, but you can take War Caster and Sentinel to use True Strike (or Green-Flame Blade) for Opportunity Attacks

[@mpetrov2402]

@@SortKaffe Read the 2024 description again. I think you are mistaken with 2014. 2024 Once per turn, when a spell you cast deals Radiant or Fire damage, you can add your Charisma modifier to that spell’s damage against one of the spell’s targets. 2014 You have resistance to radiant damage, and when you cast a spell that deals radiant or fire damage, you can add your Charisma modifier to one radiant or fire damage roll of that spell against one of its targets. 2014 is when you cast a spell that deals damage. 2024 is when you deal damage with a spell you cast. So it works.

[@mattdahm4289]

Thanks Treantmonk! 🌲🥷👊

[@michaelrutkowski3366]

Thanks Chris for all your hard work - love the info even if I don’t always agree. I would think dumping DEX (despite being a strong stat) would make more sense in the dip builds. Just go heavy armor and use fiendish vigor if you want to enhance. Pick up alert if you want to shore up initiative (with MI if a human). Also curious if GWM earlier would be better than maxing CHA, even for CHA build. Alternatively, would generating advantage (like with topple mastery) potentially be better than graze?

[@LoneFenris]

I kind of wonder if Bladelock damage is more geared to TWF. You'd still need the multi dip in Fighter for a fighting style, mastery, and armor. But I think a Cha-focused TWF bladelock could run a club-scimitar build pretty well with Shillelagh, blade pact, and Hex. There's still prob a couple feats you want that don't boost Cha (defensive duelist comes to mind), but it might fit better than a 2H build and maximizes Hex with the off-hand attack.

[@SortKaffe]

Thirsting Blade isn't Extra Attack. It doesn't work with Shillelagh.

[@LoneFenris]

@SortKaffe ah, good point. For some reason i thought that changed.

[@Melorific]

I think one important distinction to note between the EB baseline and the blade pact warlocks is that the EB warlocks aren't using their pact slots, outside of casting hex, which isn't using all your slots. Meanwhile blade pact is using all their pact slots on eldritch smite. So when comparing damage, it's important to note that the EB-based warlock is not using resources that the bladelock is, which the EB warlock can use for damage (i.e. summoning). In that regard, I doubt blade pact will be all that far ahead of EB in terms of damage.

[@TomSmith-ll2lp]

@@MelorificSummon spells take concentration as does hex. Only Great Old One can abuse a Summon (Summon Aberration) and only once per day without concentration.

[@anthonycuevas252]

I laughed out loud when you explicitly said we are going to assume that the character remains conscious 😂

[@insanogeddon]

Great Old Ones give advantage on attacks and disadvantage to an attacker while making all the cold and fire warlock spells psychic which is huge in actual play. Dwarf, Goliath (Stone Giant), or Orc will get you past early levels and can get Tough with 'lessons of the first ones' and Celestial patron has bonus action self healing if your game is brutal.

[@danielyorke5225]

You touched on it a few times, but it should be said that when you compare a warlock to a barbarian that having access to a spell list is pretty huge in terms of gameplay. Fiend warlocks have suggestion, command, Fireball, etc., so while Barbarians can chop harder, a single well placed mystic arcanum circle of death can potentially do more damage than a barbarian will do in several sessions. Not to mention, suggestion can fully just end and encounter or warp a campaign.

[@Corvid_Games]

I feel like you could take Devil's Sight and cast Darkness to wade in and increase your survivability.

[@cavejohnson605]

I've been making a warlock build and was interested in the numbers on how pact of the blade compared to other classes. While it seems most martials still outdamage it significantly, it seems good enough to use anyways! They'll be a Shadar-Kai genielock using a scimitar and eventual access to the nick property via the Weapon Master feat. Rather than multiclass or waste points on STR I'll just lean more on rapid strikes with dual-wielding scimitars and utilize the Shadar-Kai's racial teleports for mobility and defense, as it also grants temporary resistance to all damage types. While I don't expect it to do the most damage I do expect it to be a fun character to play!

[@unboundsoul3582]

For the strength optimized build, Tasha's Bubbling Cauldron allows you to make Potions Of Giant's Strength, which each last for an hour. Thats, if I recall, a 22 or 24 strength score, and sounds extremely reliable for an adventuring day. By level 11 you have enough for 12 straight hours of being hulked out, which is for sure enough, and even the 8 hours before then seems great. Am I missing something?

[@gregorhancock145]

At level 11 i think you can bump the damage up a bit more. Tashas bubbling cauldron can give you Potion of Growth for 5 combat encounters per day. Enlarge slaps on an 2.5*0.6 = 1.5 per attack. Not loads but adds up 😊 And the added benefit of adv for str checks/saving throws

[@maciejlubinski5241]

Part of me wonders how the damage calcs change. In my campaign im currently running a pact of the blade archfey warlock with a first level dip in fighter for two weapon fighting. Using a shortsword and dagger (but could be scimitar as well for 1d6 instead of 1d4), and getting the value from vex and nick and later on also getting dual wielder for 4-5 attacks (2/3 main hand + 2 offhand). Its interesting to think about how such a build compares to the Blade Pact baseline (but im too dumb to do those calculations)

[@eduardopereiradossantosmel7403]

What about a sorlock of the blade, quickening booming blade/true strike every turn, would that be a considerable increase? On average I've seen more sorcerer/warlock (both eldritch blast and pact of the blade) than paladin/warlock builds, and if the sorlock is only interested in quicken cantrips, it is a very sustainable build.

[@DungeonsandDeadlifts1]

I still think that blade pact duel wield great old ones warlock is your best bet. One level fighter dip for armor and two weapon fighting. You can cast shadow blade and use in offhand, or upcast spirit shroud and attack 5 times per turn. Clairvoyant combatant would give advantage on all attacks and disadvantage for their attacks which would help with the tankiness along with being able to wear plate. I made a build based on Malthiel from Diablo this way.

[@andrewmcmillan229]

Blade pact is hurt more than any class by omission of backwards compatible spells imo, spirit shroud would add a lot to the damage here.

[@AllNighterProduction]

My new character is a blade lock (pally 1). Just turned level 2. To improve tier 1 I actually did 2 weapon fighting level 1 (with nick mastery). With divine favor and thunderous smite did solid damage. Level 2, doing a curveball and taking pact of chain with warlock 1. Replace one attack (the one that doesn’t get bonus damage) with the familiar attack and dpr 12.1 without divine favor so can save slots for a smite spell or even AOA, or perhaps bless for the party. Will take pact of blade at level 3 and potentially hybrid - switching between 2 weapon fighting and great axe depending if I have opportunity to cleave or not (when cleave procs, May still be better to have your familiar attack)

[@MperorTomlinson]

Whoo! Been waiting for this!

[@juanrached4523]

YEEEEAAH BOIII DRUIDS IS WHAT I WAS WAITING FOR

[@anderslundtoft2315]

I have been waiting

[@pederw4900]

I can’t wait for the Druid video, the new statblocks in the PHB look juicy

[@matthewhelmers1426]

I'd love to see the 1 level fighter dip variant. Armor, Con saves, Weapon Masteries, the trade is the Warlock capstone, so 2 5th level Pact slots per long rest.

[@carlosbarreto4695]

Warlock capstone is not really impressive. The real trade is to delay everything for 1 level (spell progression, class features and feats). But 1 level Fighter dip brings a lot to the Bladelock.

[@matthewlaird5235]

Mirror Image has saved the life of many a warlock.

[@matthewlaird5235]

Having a low armor class is the only reason to even cast this spell.

[@SortKaffe]

Armor of Agathys is more fun and now only a Bonus Action

[@TariqShawer]

Shillelagh with pact of the tome at first level, then agonizing blast (shillelagh) and armor of shadows at second? You don’t need blade pact till 5th for thirsting blade. I am surprised that dual weapon with a dex focus was not mentioned. A single fighter dip gets you vex (short sword) and scimitar (nick). Dual wielder at 4th warlock. I’m guessing that’s decent dps with Hex?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Dual wielding didn't really help the Paladin over greatsword. Is there a reason you think it would work better for Warlock?

[@TariqShawer]

I was thinking that the two additional attacks (through Dual Wielding and Nick), in combination with TWF (from a 1 level fighter dip) would outpace the great-sword. Actually after reviewing your Paladin video (which I wanted to do before replying here), I can try to calculate it myself, since you handled all the same scenarios in Paladin video (especially the first round bonus action spell and how that effects damage). So I will try that as an exercise for the reader. Also as an aside, I find it much more tolerable as a Dex based build since you are not paying the opportunity cost of the 13 Str and can have a more reasonable Charisma stat (which is not a direct damage increase, admittedly).

[@4roryvt]

​@@TreantmonksTempleI mean kind of- Hex is just a hair more damage than Divine Favor, but also Paladin of Vengeance has reliable advantage, but Warlock needs to rely on proning foes with Eldritch Smite (or other methods) so juggling weapons to more likely get a Vex on first attack of the round gets added value (although you could argue that absent advantage, Graze is better, so... would need to crunch numbers). Mostly I prefer the Dex build for earlier Initiative and possibly Defensive Duelist, but if you think your reaction is claimed, Heavy Armor Mastery is passive defense at least, and you get highest possible passive AC

[@4roryvt]

@@TariqShawer To be fair he started with 17 Cha either way- not paying the opportunity cost of 13 Str is valid, but you'd want it for heavy armor anyway eventually, and the 14 starting Dex is enough to max out medium armor either way. Dex is a more common save, and improves initiative, so there is that. I think 13 Str makes more sense if we intend to go Paladin 3 for Oath of Devotion, but it means sacrificing a feat- to be fair, Heavy Armor Master isn't doing THAT much for us

[@DukeTrout]

@@TreantmonksTemplePaladins are super-thirsty for bonus actions (various smites) and dual-wielding consumes those. Bladelocks can use those bonus actions as attacks with various adders (hex, summons, shadow blade, etc.)

[@Gabber1093]

6 Level in fighter with eldritch Knight, more spellslots, true strike/booming Blade and shillelagh with Quarterstaff and Shield❤

[@FunnyNighmarez]

We aren't taking accounts for how powerful summons/pact of the chain. Blade/Chain pact Warlocks are eating rn

[@jonathanhaynes9914]

Thanks Chris. Thoughts on Celestial warlock.

[@stephencnunez]

I kind of want to build a shillelagh and shield cha-based pact of the blade warlock (with level one in fighter or paladin). Will fiddle around with the numbers at some point.

[@Cyotis]

I was thinking that a Sword and Board Battle Master Fighter is really good at baiting out missed opportunity attacks so they can get a Riposte attack. Sap gives Disadvantage on the enemies next attack. Plus you have heavy armor and a shield for good AC.

[@J.sh_CDN]

With the comments on Ranger, I'd really love to see anything with more Ranger Optimization. Which classes to go into that surpass full class Ranger and when? Should we add Rogue? Will fighter help? Does going something like Cleric or Druid give enough spells and spell slots to improve it? I'll be honest, with the changes to Gloomstalker, removing their level 3 1st round attack, as well as their level 11 Pseudo extra attack what worked great with old Sharpshooter and even great weapon master.... like they really gutted the only Ranger with any kind of power.

[@williambradford6575]

Treat the Pact of the Blade Warlock like a TWF Paladin and focus on DEX instead of CHA. Focus on Spells that ignore your CHA like Armor of Agathys and Hex.

[@theDontiilev]

My DM just gave me the medium armor proficiency for background reasons. Holy shit I suddently feel like a weightless bird flying free and furious.

[@imjoonida]

I wonder what the blade pact warlock damage looks like with Foresight and Elven Accuracy

[@luizkormann314]

u can also use agonizing blast true strike levels 2-5 to increase damage on this low levels

[@SortKaffe]

And *level 1* would also look better if you took *Pact of the Blade* to use _Charisma_ and _Proficiency Bonus_ for *Greatsword* attacks. *Mage Armor* is only 1 AC above *Studded Leather,* so it seems like a waste. If you start *Fighter* or *Paladin,* you're already Proficient with *Greatsword* and *Heavy Armor,* so you can take *Eldritch Mind* and either take *GWM* instead of *War Caster* for a Str build or use *True Strike* untill you need *Pact of the Blade* for *Thirsting Blade* on a Charisma build.

[@ST1mAPB]

I think it would be fair to add Summoning variant, because you done it for Fey Wanderer. Another assumption you made, is that that summoned creature isn't going down)

[@lighthadoqdawg]

I been thinking about this on my own, but what about CHA based Longbow build with a 13 STR and taking GWM at level 4? That way you'd be a warlock that fights at ranged like the EB build, sure, EB's die lower by an average of 1, but you'd get your proficiency bonus in damage as well as eldrich smite, which would put you ahead of EB. maybe take MI cleric for divine favor for some more damage as well? and if you go the paladin dip you can throw divine favor on it too, but even if you don't then you can take a subclass like genie or GOO for more damage via Dao patron or GOO getting to summon abberation without concentration so you can do that+hex?

[@Shamalaya311]

Maybe a Bladelock with a fighter dip to get TWF could be slightly better. You take shillelagh and use a club as off hand weapon can squeeze in a bit more damage. You lose paladin spells slots that were handy for sure but a couple of extra attacks (even without a pact weapon but with a buffed club) can maybe be as good

[@Rallykat]

With the Fighter being 2nd with these assumptions and being least reliant on Advantage and Concentration, I have to imagine in practice, with advantage being so easy to get and sustained concentration not a given, I think it (Fighter) would probably be likely to appear the highest damage

[@philpocalypse6322]

What about a dex build duel wielding with vex and nick mastery for 4 attacks with hex and reliable advantage? Shortsword as the pact weapon for 3 attacks and scimitar as the offhand for a 4th living the bonus action open for hex casting.

[@arsov9885]

Moon Druid with Conjuration spells is insane! Those emanations like Woodland beings destroys monsters. And he can be tanky too with 2024 changes.

[@Zr0din]

Excellent thumbnail!

[@michaelpetrovich2959]

If youre starting paladin, you get heavy armor. No need to take armor of shadows at level 2 and take pact of the blade instead. You take true strike and cast divine favor as a bonus action on level 1 on. No concentration and additional d4 on a hit. That plus hex at next level should boost damage considerably at low levels.

[@b-you-tube]

I'd like to see you cover Tales of the Valiant, at least in a few videos

[@anderslundtoft2315]

No two weapon fighting with Nick and the fighter 1 dip. I would have liked that math compared to the otters :)

[@talkinggibberish]

Its probably also worth mentioning that some unless will benefit from outside sources of advantage more than others. Like barbarians won't see an increase in damage. Obviously you can't really include that in assumptions, but that does inflate the more "self advantage generating" numbers

[@owlknightc8912]

I really believe that warlock should have got a higher level boon to replace one of your attacks with a cantrip like sword bard and eldrich knight really play into the style of being a middle man. Two attacks then launching a EB point blank in to their chest knocking them away or hitting with a true strike even out the lack of spell slots comparatively to half casters smiting paladins.

[@Odisseia-hh2td]

What about 3 levels in Fighter Champion (for crit on 19-20)+ Great Old Old (for advantage) + Smite on crits? 3 attacks with advantage at 19-20 to crit give 46% chance of crit per round. With Elven Accuracy (2014 book only), this would go to 61%. This means big Smites (plus an extra attack with GWM). With Polearm Mastery, 4 attacks with advantage have 57% crit chance (or 71% with Elven Accuracy) per round for Smites. Not to mention Action Surge, hold Monster, etc...

[@Odisseia-hh2td]

Alternatively, using Paladin 3 Vengeance for more shield spells/smites and reliable advantage might be nice. Other ways could be using darkness + devil sight, greater invisibility, etc.

[@zebrastripe665]

Hoping to see you take some new builds through the gauntlet

[@YrrSe]

I'm trying to build a Gish Warlock with Armor of Agathys. Goliath for damage reduction. Fiend for resistance later on. Temp HP sources from fiend, inspiring leader and fiendish vigor to extend Armor of Agathys.

[@jamesengland9582]

Home brew invocation: war dogs wardrobe: level 3 prerequisite pack of blade proficiency in medium armor and shields.