The Hexblade Warlock. A warrior who made a pact with a patron, tying their fate to a twisted blade.
Despite their lack of spell slots, the Hexblade is a formidable and solid option for dishing out damage and causing mayhem – which is amplified by their eldritch invocations.
But with so many customization options, how do you strike the right balance between martial prowess and eldritch might?
This guide will give you my top five Hexblade builds, exploring unique combinations of weapons, invocations, and feats to unleash your inner dark knight.
Here are some things to keep in mind before we begin. The Hexblade Warlock is a “gish” class, meaning that they perform a mix of melee and spell attacks in combat. On the plus side, they get rid of the wimpy light armor that Warlocks possess and gain access to Medium Armor proficiency.
They also gain access to shields and martial weapons (we will talk more about that later).
Stat allocation is crazy important when building your character, and the Hexblade is no exception. There are two primary stats to focus on: Charisma and Constitution. Charisma is, and always will be, your primary stat. It determines your primary damage range and weapon attacks.
Meanwhile, Constitution is all about durability and maintaining concentration.
As far as race goes, I recommend choosing elf or half-elf. You’ll get a bonus to charisma and access to the Elven Accuracy feat, which makes some of these builds overpowered and game breaking, in a good way!
One of the trickiest change ups between a standard Warlock and the Hexblade is the positional shift from backline caster to mid-front line fighter. The Hexblade doesn’t shy away from getting up close and personal, creating a high-risk, high-reward playstyle.
Universal Hexblade Build Details:
- Race: Half-Elf - gain the +2 in charisma and the other two +1 bonuses into Con and Dex
- Stat Priority: Charisma > Constitution > Dexterity > Wisdom > Intelligence > Strength
5) The Hexer
You and your party are staring down a group of Harpies. Your cleric, bless their soul, consistently missing their Guiding Bolts. Frustrating for them, and even more so for you. Not only would it do damage, but it would give you advantage on your next attack. However, you have a solution hidden away in the spells your patron gifted you: Hex, a spell that might turn the tide back in your favor.
The Hex Spell is going to be the bread and butter of this build. Each time the spell is cast and the enemy fails the save, the Hexbalde gets to choose which stat the target rolls at disadvantage. Just make sure not to get hit and break concentration! To help mitigate this, take the War Caster Feat at level 4, which gives advantage to concentration checks. Applying Hex seems like a downside at first, taking up one of the Hexblade’s precious and few spell slots, however, this becomes a pro when it can be reapplied with a bonus action.
This build excels for a lot of new Hexblade Players, especially those that are afraid to dip their toes fully into spell casting classes. Always casting Hex removes the need for those extra spells and keeps things simple.
Hex adds an additional 1d6 to any of your attack rolls, meaning Eldritch Blastwill do 1d10+1d6. To make it even spicier, take the Agonizing Blast invocation at level two and add the hexblades charisma modifier to damage rolls. Having Eldritch Blast as a ranged attack increases the Hexblades utility as they charge into battle or against flying creatures.
Build Specific Details:
- Feats: Warcaster and Mobile
- Invocations: Agonizing Blast, Repelling Blast
- Pact Boon: Pact of the Blade
Spells:
- Cantrips: Eldritch Blast & Booming Blade
- 1st Level Spells: Hex, Shield, Armor of Agathys.
4) The Shadow Stalker
For this build, Darkness will be your best friend and your enemies’ worst nightmare. By taking the Devil’s Sight invocation, you’ll be able to see in both natural and magical darkness. Drop a Darkness spell on your enemies, move into close range, and start swinging your sword while they have disadvantage against you.
Make sure to take the Elven Accuracy feat at level 4 for this build. You’ll have advantage against creatures inside Darkness, and Elven Accuracy will pump up that damage. At level 5, make sure to take the invocation Thirsting Blade so you can attack twice with your pact weapon.
- Being in Darkness gives added defense. Everything ranged and trying to shoot into Darkness gets disadvantage.
- Take this build even further by multiclassing into Gloomstalker, or stay Hexblade. Either option is extremely viable!
- This build is great for those squishy, early levels.
Build Specific Details:
- Feats: Elven Accuracy and Warcaster
- Invocations: Devil's Sight, Thirsting Blade (at Level 5)
- Pact Boon: Pact of the Blade
Spells:
- Cantrips: Eldritch Blast & Booming Blade
- 1st Level Spells: Darkness, Shield, Armor of Agathys.
3) The Overlord
The Hexblade does not have to be alone. This build changes things up a bit. Instead of being a pure attacker, you're going to play a scout role from the back while using illusions to distract and gain the advantage with subterfuge.
With Pact of the Chain, you gain the spell Find Familiar, which can be cast as a ritual, and not use a spell slot. This means you get a free fiend. Couple that with the invocations Investment of the Chain Master and Voice of the Chain Master and not only does it beef up your new buddy, but it also allows you to see through their eyes.
Choose to summon a quasit that can go invisible and cause fear, and you suddenly have a lot more control of the battlefield. Take this even further with Undying Servitude and animate the dead to give you and your party even more action economy.
- This build is excellent for those who want minions underneath them.
- Creates far more utility and scouting potential.
- And it's fun to have a little friend that can’t really die!
Build Specific Details:
- Feats: Alert and Actor
- Invocations: Investment of the Chain Master, Voice of the Chain Master, Undying Servitude (at level 5)
- Pact Boon: Pact of the Chain
Spells:
- Cantrips: Eldritch Blast & Minor illusion
- 1st Level Spells: Find Familiar, Unseen Servant, Shield, Armor of Agathys.
2) The Hexbow
The cult leader is about to sacrifice the orphaned child to Tiamat. Your party is too far away - they won’t make it in time. But there was one thing the Cult didn’t prepare for: you. Armed with your improved pact weapon, a longbow, you launch a 9th-level Eldritch Smite.
The Hexbow is a build that takes us in a different direction. Instead of opting for close quarter combat, the Hexbow stays at long to mid range. Start off with a crossbow. Once you take the improved pact invocation, you’ll have proficiency with longbows. Take a two-level dip into Rogue for Sneak Attack to proc Elven Accuracy and have fun sniping enemies from afar.Make sure to take the Sharpshooter feat, as you’ll increase your damage by 10 points!
The highlight of this build is the 5th-level invocation, Eldritch Smite, which uses a spell slot to deal an additional 1d8 plus another 1d8 per spell level. That means a 5th-level Eldritch Smite will do a whopping extra 6d8 of damage. Throw in the Hex Spell or Hexblade’s Curse and you’ll be one of the top damage dealers in your party.
- This build does take a bit of time to take off, and those early moments can be challenging. By level five, they will shine brightly, have deadly accuracy, and do some great damage.
- Coupled with Elven Accuracy, this build is devastating.
Build Specific Details:
- Feats: Elven Accuracy and Sharpshooter
- Invocations: Improved Pact Weapon, Thirsting Blade, Eldritch Smite (at level 5)
- Pact Boon: Pact of the Blade
Spells:
- Cantrips: Eldritch Blast & Minor Illusion
- 1st Level Spells: Hex, Shield, Wrathful Smite
1) The Great Weapon Hexblade
Armed with a two-handed weapon, become a melee whirlwind of death!
This build focuses heavily on making you a monster on the battlefield. Coupled with Hex and your Great Weapon Master feat, this Hexblade takes your damage output to another level..
This Hexblade Warlock build utilizes the synergy between feats and Pact of the Blade to create a devastating melee combatant who controls the battlefield with strategic positioning and brutal attacks. Make sure to take the Thirsting Blade so you can attack twice, and the Great Weapon Master feat for an additional 10 damage.
- This build makes you feel like you can slay giants. The damage output is high while giving you spellcaster functionality.
- Deals an awesome amount of damage without relying on strength.
- This build has ranged and spell capabilities as well, makingyou dangerous at all ranges!
Build Specific Details:
- Feats: Great Weapon Master and Savage Attacker
- Invocations: Improved Pact Weapon, Thirsting Blade, Eldritch Smite (at level 5)
- Pact Boon: Pact of the Blade
Spells:
- Cantrips: Eldritch Blast & Green Flame Blade
- 1st Level Spells: Hex, Shield, Wrathful Smite
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