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Long padlock5/6/2023 ![]() I can see how each combo gives you slightly different things, but some of these differences seem subtle enough that I'm not sure which one appeals to me the most. ![]() Given all these options, I can see the appeal for playing one of these hybrid builds. Common breakpoints include: 1st level for Hex Warrior, 2nd level for Agonizing Blast and Devil's Sight, 3rd level for the pact boon (Chain or Blade Chain's good if you stop at 3, Blade is good if you go to at least 12), 9th level for those 5th level pact magic slots, 11th level for three pact magic slots, 14th level for patron capstone. Warlock has some obvious early breakpoints, but like sorcerer, gets flexible if you dip deeper into it. Although, let's be honest: you're probably here specifically for Eldritch+Agonizing Blast, Devil's Sight+Darkness, and using CHA for weapon attacks. Warlock is an eccentric class, so you're probably here for one of the many abilities that are unique to warlocks, specifically (as opposed to the paladin, which shares many aspects with fighters and clerics, or the sorcerer, which shares a lot with wizards). ![]() Even a magic archer sorlock would still benefit from the armor proficiencies, though a different patron would also be viable, if not as optimized. If you're not sticking with paladin all the way to 20, then there's not really a compelling reason to go beyond 11.Īnd by warlock, I of course mean Hexblade. Paladin has some obvious breakpoints for multiclassing: 2nd level gets you your smites and weapon/armor proficiencies, 6th level for Aura of Protection and Extra Attack, 7th level gets you a subclass feature (Aura of Warding from Oath of the Ancients is well worth it), and 11th level gets you Improved Divine Smite. More HP, better saves, and (if Ancients paladin) damage reduction. No, what you gain by dipping further into paladin is defense. Damage output will be more or less the same, and is arguably higher with more spell slots for smites. If sorcerer shifts you more toward the caster side of gish, you might think that the deeper you dip into paladin, the more toward the martial end of the gish spectrum you'd lean, but this isn't entirely true. The main things we're here for are armor and weapon proficiencies, a fighting style, and Divine Smite, not to mention a handful of useful divine spells like Bless or Shield of Faith. Paladin is a very strong class with lots of good features early on. Common breakpoints seem to be: 3rd level for metamagic, 5th level for 3rd level spells, 10th level for 5th level spells and your third metamagic, 14th level for your subclass feature, and 17th/18th for 9th level spells, your final metamagic, and/or your subclass capstone. Sorcerer is pretty flexible with regards to how far you dip. Even a magic archer sorlock can grab Booming Blade as a backup for when Eldritch Blast is not optimal/viable. Eventually, Booming Blade will be strong enough that it will have a better damage/sorcery point ratio than smiting will (if we converted the spell slot into sorcery points), though smiting will remain a good way to dump a lot of damage in a single round. You can both twin and quicken Booming Blade, allowing you to get up to three off in a single turn for the low cost of only 3 sorcery points. If you don't dip far enough into either paladin or bladelock for Extra Attack, you will of course want to pick up Booming Blade, but honestly you might want to get Booming Blade anyway. Divine Soul and Shadow are probably the best subclasses, but any subclass is viable. ![]() The further you go into sorcerer, the more toward the caster end of the gish spectrum you lean, but those full caster spell slots can also be used to fuel smites, leading to some incredible damage output, beyond what a paladin or bladelock could normally sustain by themselves. The main reasons to dip into sorcerer are for full casting and metamagic. Here's what I see each class contributing to their respective builds: All three (four?) builds more or less make a gish (although a sorlock could also go pure caster/magic archer). Looking at these three classes, all three builds (and even the triple-classed "sorlockadin") seem similar in function if different in nuance. I'm curious what people think of these builds, how they differ from one another, and why you would pick one over another.
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