5E Guide: How to Multiclass. Aside from optimization, multiclassing allows you to bring unique characters to life with outside-the-box specialties. This is an optimal build that gives armor, shields, Eldritch Blast, Invocations (Agonizing Blast), and subclass perks from the Hexblade. You also get a spell list with incredible utility and support spells, plus the extra spell slots to burn on them since youll want to be stingy with your Warlock spell slots. Lets take a look at the most effective Warlock multiclass builds. There is a particular way to play this multiclass combo that exploits your Warlocks spellcasting to generate ungodly amounts of Sorcery Points: the Coffeelock (which you read about here thanks to Geeknative). You'll get 5 uses at a d6 each day. Riding the line between life and death, youve been resurrected for a chance at revenge. This is because other classes can give a bard better weapons and armor, Extra Attack, and a Fighting Style without the baggage of a ranger's largely-incompatible spellcasting. Sure you can do a bunch of new stuff, but passing more performance checks or inspiring allies cant compare to better armor proficiency for sheer power. Youll gain Invocations to customize your Rogue further, gaining abilities that can be flavored to be based on your psychic powers. Use the Frightened condition with your Form of Dread, and immobilize the scaredy cats with your Aura of Conquest. You can transform characters with Invocations, but many of them have prerequisites that involve three or more levels of Warlock. You dont need to eat, drink, or breathe. Multiclassing lets you play as two classes, and Warlock is one of the most potent options for one of your two picks. This is the multiclass path to having expertise in as many skills as you could possibly want. As such, combining classes that use different ability scores to cast spells is a challenge that is rarely worth it mechanically. Additionally, Warlocks will generally start the game with at least 13 points in Charisma, which automatically qualifies them to multiclass into Sorcerer. Notable Invocations are Misty Visions (cast Silent Image at will), Eldritch Sight (cast Detect Magic at will), Ghostly Gaze (x-ray vision with concentration), Tricksters Escape (cast Freedom of Movement without a spell slot), and Gift of the Depths (cast Water Breathing without expending a spell slot, and learn to swim). This concept also has impressive defensive options, particularly from the Fighter levels for armor. And tell us all about your custom Warlock multiclass in the comments below. Wide variety of spells, including high-output damage, strong defense, and lifesaving utility. So lets explore which ones are the best, some offering great flavor and some insane power! Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Since the Barbarians Unarmored Defense is, as the name implies, without armour, the Warlock doesnt suffer any issues with spellcasting as they would if they specd into Paladin. Their range of skills, abilities, and spells sets them apart from nearly every other D&D class in terms of versatility. For example, if you want to play an artificer and multiclass into fighter, you will need 13 Intelligence and either 13 Strength or Dexterity. Dont forget to upcast Armor of Agathys! ; The Celestial: Some warlocks swear pacts with celestial creatures, gaining the . You can select different Invocations than the usual Agonizing Blast for Eldritch Blast, but its a significant sacrifice. The Sorcerer multiclass can really be used with just about any Warlock subclass because the synergy of the two classes is just that strong. There arent many feasible multiclass options for the Death Domain (others do it better), but this combination is ok if it fits your flavor. Pretend your core class has something different about it that is justified by multiclassing. Use a reaction when an ally succeeds with your Bardic Inspiration to give another ally a use of Bardic Inspiration (which does not expend your uses of BI). In short, yes, you get spell slots and spells known from each class individually as if you were single-classed. So if you have 14 levels in Bard and 6 in Sorcerer, youre a level 20 character and can no longer gain EXP or levels as youre maxed out. If you are bothering to multiclass, you need to get some big bonuses to make it worthwhile. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. If you enjoyed this guide, share it with your friends! Every class gives you different bonuses, but not all of them mesh well with the Warlocks playstyle. The Artificer also has The Right Tools for the Job feature, so you can create the tools you need. Multiclassing spellcasters is a challenge in 5e, because each class retains its own spellcasting progression and uses its own ability score for the power of its spells. Laudna from Critical Role is a character utilizing this combination. You might even stick around for Level 10 Bard when you can pick up spells from any class. The characters archaeological delvings have led them to discover an ancient weapon that has formed a pact with them and transformed them with divine energy. You can find more content on multiclassing in our other articles, particularly our class-level multiclassing combinations article.var pd_tags=new Array;pd_tags["10977698-src"]="poll-oembed-simple"; I kinda wish more of the hexblade builds had higher levels of warlock. However, since Bards are a half-melee, half-spellcaster, jack-of-all-trades class, you'll want to consider more than just the primary stat when trying to multiclass into Bard. Use bodies of water to teleport. Flavor the Celestial Warlock like your pact is with an angel of Mother Earth. Sorcerers have full-spellcaster spell slot progression, allowing them to make great use of several Warlock and Paladin features. If you really want to multiclass and you cant decide on a class, Sorcerer is a great pickup for Warlock players to give them a healthy boost to their firepower and defenses. Furthermore, the Life Domain provides a substantial increase to healing spells without care for class - meaning that one level in it could make a bard better at one of their most useful roles. I typically shy away from recommending multiclass if theyre a characters core class. Spellcasting will also be simplified since the Bard will gain spells like Healing Word through the Cleric multiclass, freeing up other spell choices from the Bard spell list. If thats the multiclass split you want, I recommend settling for one or two damage cantrips that use attack rolls instead of saving throws. Published Dec 2, 2021 Some D&D multiclass builds can feel as like they were destined to merge two classes into an overpowered monster, like the Bard/Rogue build. Warlocks usually need to save them for big effects, so having more slots makes utility spells and damage or save-or-suck spells with only one target much better. A good assassin will find a way to invest in Charisma for social skill checks, but it gets crowded sharing stats with Dexterity and Constitution. Speak to someone for one minute to attempt to frighten them (they dont know if they succeed on the Wisdom save). any advice? Required fields are marked *, $MMT=window.$MMT||{};$MMT.cmd=$MMT.cmd||[];$MMT.cmd.push(function(){$MMT.display.slots.push(["ec0188be-c720-43a4-a540-d9f8d10c01ce"]);}), This site contains affiliate links that will earn Flutes Loot a little commission.2020, Flutes Loot is unofficial Fan Content permitted under theFan Content Policyand is not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Eventually, gain more control over your Spirit Tales rolls. Both of these subclasses feature knowledge from those who have passed away. Are you planning to gish it up any with rapiers? The Fathomless Warlock at level one is a rare way to gain a swimming speed and water breathing. Banish an enemy to hell with your attack until the end of your next turn, dealing 10d10 psychic damage when they return (no saving throw). Genies Wrath is also a nice passive buff to damage with attacks, and it scales by Proficiency Bonus. For those unfamiliar, if I write "Cleric 6 / Bard 5 / Fighter 1", this means that the character is a level 6 cleric, level 5 bard, and level 1 fighter. It works well. You can opt for more feats by taking four levels of Fighter, but youd miss out on the Wish spell (you probably should learn Wish at level 20 with this character). Devils Sight is another common Invocation for working in magical darkness. Ranger Multiclassing: Fun Concepts and Practical Guidance for D&D 5e , multiclassing requires minimum ability scores, read more about this build in Opals article, content on multiclassing in our other articles, class-level multiclassing combinations article. Heal allies with a bonus action with your dice pool of healing. RELATED: 5 Reasons Why Paladins Are The Best Holy Characters In D&D (& 5 Why It's Clerics). Communicate telepathically with nearby creatures. Lots of support options, including Bardic Inspiration to reliably pass checks. The Hexblade thus benefits most from multiclassing into Paladin. An artificer and bard multiclass could lean strongly into helping its allies succeed. These subclasses are very strong to combine and theyre thematically consistent. Adds nothing to Warlocks offensive capabilities. Celestial Warlock is more of a secondary healer taking, well, how restricted Pact Magic is into consideration, after all. Jared King is a writer and content creator with extensive experience in the fields of gaming and entertainment and now writes as a contributor to CBR. I imagine this like an exotic dancer who takes advantage of the one-on-one situations that can result afterward with interested parties. The most important part of any game is that you have fun. Id probably go for Watchers Paladin, but there are a few that could work for your campaign. Notes: Honestly, the Valor Bard has been replaced somewhat by the Hexblade Warlock since you can get armor and shields with only one level of investment. Hopefully, you now have a good idea of what to look for when multiclassing as Warlock and what potential class features are most beneficial for your build. Extra armor and weapon proficiencies, a Fighting Style, and the ever-useful Action Surge are all helpful for a bard. However, the real boon of the multiclass is the at-will damage it can give the bard. Better options exist for this concept, but if you want access to Cleric spells like Spirit Guardians in addition to melee attacks that are based on the quantity of damage on a single attack rather than spread-out damage with multiple attacks, this combination is ok. Youll get Warlock invocations and several smiting spells from the Hexblade Warlock. This character is a know-it-all, sporting plenty of skill proficiencies, heaps of Expertise, and a Channel Divinity to instantly gain proficiency in something theyre not already skilled with. It specializes in using cold damage to deal massive damage with Eldritch Blast and Spirit Shroud spells. Choose your warlock and bard spells with Unsettling Words in mind. The Undead Warlock lacks medium armor and shields, but the Valor Bard can assist with that while gaining other support abilities and spells. This Assassin Rogue leans heavily into the social skill checks like Deception and Persuasion. The first new class released for 5e, the artificer has a fair amount of overlap with the bard. The Thief Rogue specializes in chucking items as a bonus action, such as acid vials. Learn a greater version of Evards Black Tentacles that gives you temporary hitpoints and cant have its concentration ended by damage taken. This makes Barbarian an ideal pickup class for the tanky, melee Warlock, perhaps one of the Hexblade Patron. D&D 5e Bard multiclassing image from Wizards of the Coasts Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos.This article contains affiliate links that add gold to our coffers. Billy_Rage 2 yr. ago The obvious is fey lock and really any bard. Paladins can also be good for Bards if there is enough room in the build to get Paladin auras. Metamagic: Quickened Spell and Metamagic: Twinned Spell will allow you to fire off a ton of Eldritch Blasts. Warlock features at level six arent worth it, but at level five you get the invocation for Pact of the Blade to essentially get Extra Attack. An example is upcasting Armor of Agathys from the Warlock spell list. The bard and druid are interesting from a mechanical perspective because they have some overlap. If they used their spellcasting primarily outside of combat, or emphasized spells without Concentration, they could still combine the two classes in useful ways. However, some classes synergize far better with the bard than others, creating some bard multiclass combos that are mechanically more powerful than others. Poor synergy between Warlock and Cleric class features. Feb 5, 2016. You also get extra Expertise from three levels of Bard. However, there are some perks that might make a quick dip useful. Barbarian and Fighter both make you better at combat, but neither synergize well with your abilities. These class features are adaptable and allow you to pick up bonuses tailored to your current build. That said, not all combinations of classes work well with Warlock. Wizards of the Coast LLC.Use, modification, and distribution of Wizards of the Coast's content is under theOpen Game License v 1.0aCopyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.Flutes Loot Privacy Policy. Freely reattach body parts to yourself when severed. Now you call upon a patron to grant you sinister power. Your main weapon should be a polearm so you can utilize its reach property. Cast a spell of 6th level of lower with a casting time of one action without components once per 1d4 long rests. Stuck with light armor and simple weapon proficiencies. Expertise in Stealth allows you to sneak about reliably. Bard is another great pickup for the Warlock, and yet another easy-to-pull-off multiclass since the two classes share a primary stat. Are you more afraid of Fireballs or Dominate Person? Skip ahead to the portion of the article that interests you most by clicking the link below: Warlock Multiclassing Principles Archfey Celestial Fathomless Fiend Great Old One Genie Hexblade Undead Undying. Notes: This subclass is notoriously bad, and it was basically reworked as the Undead Warlock (see above) from VGtR. It can also slow enemies and move them around. Could be fun. Youll be able to charm specific targets in a room with a bit of time investment without visible spellcasting or revealing yourself. For example, if you are a Cleric multiclassing as a Rogue, youll need a Wisdom score of 13 or higher, and a Dexterity score of 13 or higher. Bards work best when you sink 3 10 levels into the class, meaning you need to invest more levels into multiclassing. Clerics run into a common problem for a bard multiclass: differing spellcasting ability scores. So why pick? Blade Flourishes use your Bardic Inspiration until level fourteen when they can perpetuate themselves with 1d6. Some of them will be for fun and others will be for optimal character builds. For this reason, I look to the other Warlock subclasses to see which of them might like what the Valor Bard offers. Many Warlock quirks turn into bonkers-good combos when mixed with other classes. Spellcasting uses Charisma for both classes. You become that person who melds into a crowd while completely messing with someone. You can eventually pass your curse between creatures when they die. 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