I play a Hexblood Rune Knight in my tabletop campaign. Fights can take a little bit of setting up, but giants might and casting hex on a target for strength checks makes along with the grappler feat can be pretty fun. I wish I could bring my build into this game.
@@UltravioletArts I actually use hex early on not just for damage but for wisdom checks. I have a cleric or wizard cast hold person and then use great weapon Master early in act 1
@@ededandeddy2115That's what they were talking about, it doesn't affect saving throws (hold person is a wisdom saving throw) but it does affect ability checks (shoving is a strength check)
Loved playing the Wyll origin because the Warlock class was so powerful. I usually don’t go for full magic caster classes but BG3 did their thing with this one.
to be fair, Warlock is so well rounded, you can go melee aswell. Darkness/Devils sight/Great Weapon master is seriously strong, aswell as defensive spells or offensive spells.
Imagine my saddness, impressed by the creative build video and going to the channel to check out more build videos, only to find out that this is the first one 😢
For race, Gith is the obvious choice imo. Medium armor since you’re gonna be in melee a lot and want decent AC while still wielding a two-handed weapon. Human is strictly worse than half-elf. Good video!
Personally I like to give Wyll at least a 1 level dip into Ranger for the "Favored Enemy" option "Ranger Knight", which grants Heavy Armor Proficiency as well as History proficiency. (Note that if you break his pact then at the reunion party at the end of the game he says he has gotten used to being a Ranger instead of a Warlock, so it is practically canon.) I usually pair this with "Natura l Explorer" option "Wasteland Wanderer: Fire" to make his resistant to fire, to reduce how much his own spells can hurt him if he sets things on fire too close. After that I am often tempted to take another Ranger level for a Fighting Style, but if I do that it seems almost obligatory to take Ranger 3 to become a Gloomstalker and get an extra attack without using an action or bonus action on the first turn of combat. It is then tempting to go on to level 5 Ranger for the extra attack which stacks on top of the Pact of the Blade extra attack.
Agree with 1/2 elf >> humans, but Dwarf can offer dark vision and poison resistance making them quite a viable choice as well. There are certain important parts of early Act 1 when things like dark vision and poison resistance do matter.
Something I'm seeing on my level 12 warlock with lifedrinker is that its triggering twice if the taget I'm hitting has hex applied. I'll see "7 necrotic (lifedrinker)" followed by "10 necrotic (1d6 = 3, Hex)" Its doubling the value from lifedrinker in fights where I dont need something like Hunger of Hadar, and as long as that concentration is maintained it's one spell skot for an all day boost. Plus it activates the strange conduit ring. As an additional bonus to every wrapon swing, if you are willing to do some setup st the start of a new day, you can use the bonus if the Drakethroat Glaive that csn be purchased in act 2. Temporarily bind that as your pact wrapon, drop the one you intend to use on the ground, cast the Draconic Elemental Weapon spell from the glaive and target the weapon on the ground, pick it up snd rebind it. Additional 1d4 of element of your choice on every hit!
My very first Tav was a Pact of the Tome GOOlock. I definitely agree that the class as a whole is underrated. The only multiclass I did was Fighter 1 at the very start and I never felt underpowered. It kinda helps that spellsparker is pretty busted. Then in act 3 I finished reading Thay and upgraded to the staff of cherished necromancy. Bestow Curse completely shut Raphael down.
Oh yeah definitely solid no matter how you build them basically. I'm close to the end of an honour mode run right now as a GOO warlock 9/Champion Fighter 3 Dark Urge with all the critical hit and reverberation gear I can stack and it is carrying the run. And yeah lightning charges are extremely good with Eldritch Blast haha
@@MichaelHopkinsProWrestling Kind of. It was really straightforward with a few key spells at the lower levels then moving more into a control/summoning style in the mid-late game Iirc My stat spread was 8 str 10 dex because I planned on heavy armor. 14 con. 8 int. 15+1 wisdom for saves. 15+2 cha. I took the actor feat at character level 5 (warlock 4) to get cha to 18. (It’s worth noting that I was a cleric on the nautiloid before recomping to fighter 1/Warlock x, but only until I got withers.) From character level 2-6 it’s pretty much all about Eldritch Blast. You want Agonizing/Repelling Blast. The two big gear grabs are the Speedy Lightfeet and the Spellsparkler. I used Expeditious Retreat instead of Hex, because it gave extra mobility and extra lightning charges. Other than that spells are player preference. I was a Duergar which gave me free access to invisibility so you might pick that up since it helps a lot. Also superior dark vision is great on a ranged build. After character level 6 you get the rest of your Tome spells. I used Call Lightning a lot and had Shadowheart casting create water because it upped to damage of Call and my charged Eldritch Blasts. This is when I switched out my shoes because I had more important concentration than Retreat. You also get a Raise Dead spell from Tome and Danse Macabre when you finish Necromancy of Thay. The best necromancy spell in your arsenal is Bestow Curse though. You basically want everything from Mystic Carrion (hood/staff/ring) and Amulet of the Devout even though you’re not a cleric. Then you can run right up to bosses and make them skip their turns while your minions and companions dog pile them.
@@MichaelHopkinsProWrestling Side note: I found out after my play through that you can use Dual Wielder to use both staffs at the same time instead of switching them around like I did.
@@UltravioletArts You should consider wear bhaalist armor and replace the 2h sword covered in the build with the djin trident, it will help you stack reverberation, benefits from 2HWM and do piercing dmg, combine with you'r crit gear and the bhaalist armor you double you'r weapon dmg by inflicting vulnerability to you'r target, then double the total amount again at every crit. You can also do even better and go with dualist prerogative and replace the 2HM feat with savage attacker, witch allow you to do 3 attack per turn, still does piercing dmg to synergise with bhaalist armor, and savage attacker will increase even more you'r crit chance and will help to make you'r base dmg to be higher and benefits more from the vulnerability and the crits dmg boosts, you'll do tons of damage and it add some blade of frontier vibe that i like a lot. It's a very cool build anyway, hope to see more builds later !
I love this! I immediately thought of pairing it up with my Eldritch Knight Gale with Abjuration Wizard in it, and a Tempus worshipping Sword Bard/War cleric!
Nice! Another warlock budy who knows that this class is self-sufficient without multi-classing! Just finished my honour mode with my drow warlock with pretty much the same build except i went for Bhaalist armour with orin's shortsword and mizora's rapier offhand (mainly for the cambion). This class is really self-sufficient, for big encounters I used to pre-cast Aghatys/fireshield/mirror-image/fiendish resistance into short rest. With cloack of displacement you're pretty much an untouchable mage warrior with tons of melee damage, great controls, and IF my foes managed to hit you in melee range they just get 27 to 43 damage for free. By far one of my favorite builds with tavern brawler monk.
Absolutely, I think most people acknowledge that warlock is decent but still underrate it. Especially the later levels. I hear a lot of people they don't get much after level 5 but 3 level 5 slots per short rest and their late defensive abilities are so good
I havent tried this out yet, but. I think wyll plus infernal rapier and durlist perogative in act3 would go crazy with this build since he gets proficiency with rapiers. Not to mention he fits perfectly thematically with this build
Have you tried it out? I think the best combination is Duellist perogative + harmonic Duellist offhand. It might be the best combination to use with Bhaalist armor for this build period (better than 2 handed piercing weapons like SSoE) you can get the Bhaalist armor on a good run without killing the annoying elephant. If you want to use IR, like me, then I think harmonic Duellist + infernal rapier offhand + gloves of balanced hands is better than Infernal rapier and durlist preogative. In terms of thematic, Wyll can use the Gloves of Hill Giant strength (Which you get from HoH and plays nicely in the Blade of Avernus theme) and Balduran's Greatsword (whose location is given by his father, after which Wyll personally volunteers to retrieve the weapon). Which would make him do more damage than the weapons recommended in this video but much less than a Bhaalist piercing build.
Thank you! Been playing warlock for a few months now taking it real slow and this is the build I’ve been looking for. I was using pact of the chain and I’m not using those summons very much! This build is more of a spell sword type that I’m always going for in any of these types of games
Cap is 24 if you use mirror of loss. Mirror of loss: easy +2 charisma if you pass intelligence -> religion check. If you pass intelligence check-> then explore some dialogue options you can get a +1 then the +2 boost making it +3. If you don’t wanna invest in auntie ethel hair and ASI you can use Duke’s longsword or birthright hat for +2 boost.
@@CMiY0 yeah I didn’t get auntie Ethel’s hair because in the beginning of my playthrough I went in blind and didn’t trust her lmao I’ll have to look up the mirror. I’m using Birthright to put my Charisma at 22. I did 2 ASIs (to 18>20) and I think my other feat was the dueling one or I did ASI to dex to bring it to 18. I’m using the Duelist Prerogative Rapier with no off hand for the bonus, and Bhaalist armor for Piercing damage vulnerability + theme lol Edit: just looked up that mirror. Imma try to do it since I’m in Act 3 about to fight Orin. I’m a Gith so do you think I should use Astral Knowledge Intelligence + Enhance Ability Intelligence? I’m on Tactician so I can save scum it I guess.
@@Quantum_Bluntz oo that was similar to what I ran on Wyll as Warlock. What class are you using? Enhance ability gives you advantage while Githyanki ability gives you proficiency (+2 before Lvl 5, +3 before Lvl 9, and +4 at Lvl 9-12). You can combine them if you really need to pass a check.
@@CMiY0 I switch between 12 Warlock for Lifedrinker and Lockadin sometimes since I’m on Tactician and the extra attacks stack. But I prefer the Lifedrinker with Duelist Perogative
@@Quantum_Bluntz same I prefer life drinker cause Warlock is so much more fun with a third spell slot. I love Warlock because I feel like my slots never get wasted. I’m not afraid to use them and they’re always the best available level of spell. It’s insanely refreshing compared to a Wizard and Sorcerer. I used to play Sorcerer only but then I tried Wizard and Warlock they all have their charms but Warlock is my #1 atm. Anyways that third spell slot is a game changer in my opinion. Your spells are so powerful that you can just use neutral to cleanup after a good spell to control the field.
I'd say another great weapon for this kind of build is the rapier you get by beating Ethel a second time and rescuing the kid. That is a +3 weapon that lets you attack as a bonus action. So, let's say with +6 charisma from the hat, you are dealing 1d8 + 3 magic enchantment + 6 charisma + 6 lifedrinker + 4 necrotic damage from the weapon, meaning you deal 1d8 + 19 damage per hit and you make 3 attacks each turn. That's not counting hex, elixir of the colossus and other buffs to your damage. This would also give you an additional reaction for either counterspell or attacks of opportunity and either wear a shield for more ac or get your other hand free for a 19 crit range.
Lmaoo I love that by the end I was thinking “hmm this will fit well into my throw barbarian/gloomstalker party and that’s what you name checked at the end
Haha yeah the like top 4 or 5 builds are pretty figured out at this point. Nice thing about this one is it supports those builds really well! Trap a bunch of enemies in a hunger of hadar and attack them as they come out or eldritch blast them back in? Game over
12:01 Devil’s Sight doesn’t give you regular darkvision, it gives you the ability to see through magical darkness such as the darkness spell which regular darkvision can’t see through, so it’s very good whether you have darkvision or not
I went with 17 CHA at CC, +1 CHA Actor, +2 CHA ASI, Dual Wielder, +1 CHA Hair, +3 CHA Mirror, and wielded Harmonic Dueller in the offhand. That's a massive +7 CHA modifier that is used for Attack Rolls, Damage Rolls, Lifedrinker, Harmonic Dueller's buff (Actor's Performance Expertise all but guarantees the Performance check, failing only on Nat 1s), and Arcane Synergy. And with Bhaalist Armour, toggle the Aura of Murder to easily proc Arcane Synergy from Diadem, and it also makes enemies Vulnerable to Piercing damage from your dual Rapiers Duellist's Prerogative and Harmonic Dueller. Who needs GWM! 😉
Ooooh. Go dual wielder, put duelist's perogative in the main hand and off hand that rapier that Wyll gets from Mizora in act 2 that lets you summon a Deva. That with Minions of Chaos, the Create Undead spell, and Create Undead from Necromancy of Thay and you've got quite a little army.
I've been thinking about playing the game as Wyll and this is now the second video I've seen in the last three days coveting a pure warlock spellblade build. Talk about serendipity! I guess I know what i have to do.... just as soon as i finish my current evil Durge run 😈
@Rev3rence Can you give me the highlights? What makes a bardlock so good? Being your own source of Song of Rest would be nice, and you'd get the sword bard flourishes... But you also lose out on Lifedrinker. Lifedrinker + circlet of arcane synergy + balduran's giant slayer + potion of cloud giant strength + gwm gives you insanely strong basic attacks all day long.
@@contramundi5873 running blade pact would already disable the giant potion gains.. Running with the band of the mystic scoundrel you can spread so much cc and you can also upkeep a +4 ac every turn or reposition enemies by pushing them to then shoot em with your eldritch blast. You can also aoe with flourish. You also gain a 3rd attack because pact's double attack and lvl 6 bard's double attack stack. Ofc if you don't want to cc them and just want to slap them with hunger of hadar that always works too. And ofc your party gains a good front face that is very skilled in all rp and another short rest. I actually used duelist's prerogative for that build and not gwm 2h abuse 😅
@Rev3rence hmm. Does the double strength bonus from the giant slayer not stack with blade pact on honor mode? I only tested on Tactician. Interesting points! I might give it a try. I still kind of like the simplicity of sticking to a single class though. And the blade pact warlock can also wear that ring and the Helm of arcan acuity and do some great cc. I'll have to think this over next time I start a new game
For sure! A great alternate choice from a great weapon master version! With the infernal rapier you can also actually dual wield with that and a pact weapon both using charisma. Obviously prerogative is better alone though haha
A similar kind of build is 12 fighter eldricht knight, with Magic Initiate: Druid. Shillelagh uses spellcasting ability modifier for attacks, which in this case IS intelligence, so you can ignore strength and get insane value out of eldricht knight's normally limited spellcasting. Luckily Mourning Frost has amazing synergies, since you also get create water from magic initiate - you can freeze monsters on your own, which then also get vulnerability to blundgeoing damage. With Ring of Mystic Scoundrel you can land Hold Person effortlessly as bonus action, thanks to handing out disadvantage on saves vs your spells from lvl 10 onwards. With decked out intelligence, you also get +6 damage from Diadem of Arcane Synergy and also good DC on illithid abilities. Build probably also works as 11 fighter/1 nature cleric or 1 druid, but haven't tested that, just make sure to get cleric/druid in this case first. If it does work, it gets online a little faster.
I can see someone using hex not as a damage boost but rather as a way to decrease initiative by casting it before combat. That would give the enemy disadvantage on initiative
If you don't have access to medium armour and shields then probably your best bet is just clothing with mage armour and bracers of defense. Otherwise just the best light armour you can find, Minthara's is pretty good. In my actualy playthrough I grabbed medium armour master for the early game for shields and just the highest AC medium armour. Dex isn't maxed so the exotic material armours aren't great but the base dark justiciar armour with con save advantage was great!
On the subject of early GWM and getting advantage, fighting in darkness gives you advantage (with Devil's Sight) while also giving enemies disadvantage. There's also the Unseen Menace in Act 1, an invisible pike for permanent advantage (until you miss a swing and then it loses that feature for 2 turns.)
Yeah there are definitely good options if you want to take it earlier like devil's sight, having a wolf-heart barbarian in your team, spells like faerie fire, and of course the risky ring in act 2
This is definitely what I'm doing for my honour mode run. I loved playing a Lockadin on Tactician but you can't get that triple attack in honour mode. I had no idea Warlock without multiclass could be such a strong melee fighter.
I LOVE this build, but it seems to brush off the shoulder my favourite invocation too easily. Thus, in defence of "Armour of Shadows" (aka using clothing for your warlock): Mage armour automatically gives the highest early game AC possible at level 2 (13+Dex) and Dex. Heavy dexterity class like warlock benefits from this particularly Big Time in comparison to say Wizard, who's measly HP requires high Constitution investment instead. Highest light armour AC in The Game itself rides only up to 14+dex, and you get access to those in act3 the earliest. With dex 16(+3) and eather a shield (Any+2 or Viconia's act3 shield for a +3) or Bracers of defence (+2 when shieldless and armourless) that would make early game clothing only AC a total of 18 in act1, possibly before even reaching level 3 if you dont feel like fighting goblins much and talk your way into Blighted Village like the charisma user that you are. You can also slap the ring of Protection for extra+1 and lets say Potent robe (act2) for +1 while making your EB even stronger, or Robe of the Weave (act3) for +2 and increase in spell DC for an AC 21 using only CLOTHING. Add a plus 1 to that from Evasive shoes (Act2, as soon as you arrive in Last Light too) and you got 22. Gets even better if you use Hag hair for a Cha+1 while having 17 at the start and are willing to ignore feats for ASI's. Hag hair= Cha18, ASI+2= Cha 20 at LV 4. Use other two feats for a ASI +4 for a dex of 20(+5) and AC becomes 13+5+ shield (+2/3)/Bracers (+2)+Ring (+1)+ Evasive Shoes (Counts as clothing,+1)+ Robe of the Weave (+2)= AC 24/25. For no cost, unless you count not being able to wear any armour piece a cost. Not bad for a melee focused build, AND you'll be sporting a fine spell DC too. You can also replace one of the ASI's with a Mirror of Loss use for a +2 to dexterity thus freeing the feat slot, if you dont want to use it for a Cha+2 (bringing charisma total to 22 aka +6).
Nice guide! I think Githyanki would be a great choice for misty step and medium armour. Just a nitpick - the eldritch invocations that give you confusion and slow are definitely not bad. They’re great AoE control spells to have up your sleeve, as they can win fights and they don’t hit allies. I’ve used confusion extensively and it works great. I had bosses just skipping turns and destroying their own minions. Slow trivialises the battle against Grym because it takes away attacks of opportunity and makes him really easy to kite.
Harmonic Dueller is *sick* for this build. *Another* +CHA to dmg is nutty, and you can pick it up at the very beginning of Act 3 and use it throughout the remainder of the game. Plus it leaves you free to use an OH/shield, and frees up the feat you'd be using for GWM for another purpose.
Oh this is very interesting. Im doing a level 20 modded co-op playthrough. Might need to take this and make some adjustments. Maybe 12 warlock/8 swords bard or 8 paladin.
Hmm, this is perhaps the best melee warlock build I've seen. It might actually be a valid alternative to the Potent Robe's +CHA to cantrip damage, which basically adds a static 15 damage to eldritch blast.
Appreciate it! You can definitely get good melee damage. Technically this character could still wear potent robes if you wanted though, best of both worlds!
you caould have mentioned that ability drain from the illithid powers as a condition for arcane synergy from the diadem before the damage roll happens, so every attack does (pact of the blade, lifedrinker, arcane synergy) 3 times your charisma modifier, which can get up to 7 (20 base + auntie's hair + 1 from the mirror of loss's patriars memory and +2 from bard's memory)
hey, I noticed something that I find strange. On level 4 you mention at one point getting Dex higher and maybe getting medium armor to increase your AC. But if I am not mistaken, since I am not as familiar to 5e, medium armor allows Dex bonus of +2 so won't anything above 14 be wasted?
It's definitely good! Hunger of Hadar just wins a ton of encounters so there is no wrong way to cast it haha. I'm not sure if you would really get much out of sorcerer that way though, paladin or swords bard could be a better dip, even on honour mode where the extra attacks don't stack. But if you want to focus more on flinging spells and having pact of the blade more as a back up, or building around quicken spell + band of the mystic scoundrel then a 5/7 or 7/5 warlock/sorcerer would be a great fit!
What even is nova damage? Sounds like it should be aoe damage, but that can't be right given the context. I've heard the term used a few places in bg3 content, typically coming from people with dnd experience.
Nova damage is basically high burst damage in a single turn that usually expends some number of resources. A fighter making three attacks and then using action surging is a great example of single target nova damage, and the spellcasters are much better at AOE nova damage when you can cast fireball or chain lightning multiple times in a turn. But there are some high level single target spells like Disintegrate that are also good single target nova damage.
If you like the life drinker warlock try this build out. The Madness Herald is a formidable and chaotic character concept you've crafted, blending necromantic power with the relentless hunger for destruction. Here's a summary of the Madness Herald's key attributes: Class Synergy: Warlock Feind pact of the blade and Cleric of light abilities combine to devastating effect. The Warlock's Eldritch powers like Hex, Eldritch Blast, and invocations give you deadly ranged attacks and battlefield control, while the Cleric of Light's necromantic spells like Inflict Wounds, Animate Dead, and Spirit Guardians enhance your healing and summoning potential. The Grim Harvest from the Wizard class and the Staff of Cherished Necromancy amplify your ability to heal through death, while the Shattered Flail turns melee combat into a life-stealing frenzy. Weaponry: 1. Shattered Flail: 1d6 + Charisma Modifier Damage. Heals you for 1d6 HP on hit but can drive you Mad if you don’t keep attacking every turn. Ideal for up-close combat, continuously healing and pushing the player into a berserker-like state of constant aggression. 2. Staff of Cherished Necromancy: +2 Quarterstaff, enhancing your necromantic spells. Grants Life Essence, allowing you to cast necromancy spells without using spell slots when you kill an enemy. Deals necrotic damage and offers control over death’s essence for long-range dominance. Combat Strategy: Start at range with Eldritch Blast, Inflict Wounds, and necromantic spells using the Staff of Cherished Necromancy. Once the enemy closes in or you've weakened them, switch to the Shattered Flail for life-stealing melee combat. Use Inflict Wounds (and higher-level versions) to finish enemies, healing with Grim Harvest and gaining free spell casts. Chain kills to continuously regain Life Essence, snowballing with increased healing and damage without burning through spell slots. Madness Mechanic: The Madness from the Shattered Flail pushes you to constantly engage, keeping you aggressive and reckless. If you stop attacking, you risk falling into madness, making the character a dangerous, risk-reward build. But as long as you keep the momentum, you’re nearly unstoppable in combat. Key Powers: Grim Harvest: Heals for triple the spell level when killing with necromancy spells. Staff of Cherished Necromancy: Allows free necromancy spellcasting after kills, enhancing your snowball effect. Yeenoghu’s Gift: Heals on hit with the Shattered Flail, pushing you into close combat madness. Spirit Guardians and Animate Dead: Summons and guardians to protect and overwhelm your foes. Identity: A dark, life-draining character who thrives in battle by consuming the life essence of their enemies. Balances ranged attacks with brutal, healing-focused melee combat. Wields necromancy as a tool of empowerment, turning death into a resource for further destruction. In short, the Madness Herald is a chaotic, relentless bringer of death, empowered by necromancy and cursed with a need for constant combat.
Combine this sucker with the Adamantine shield and Dark Urges Cloak and youl be turning invisible on kills. Healing up stupid fast and be a literal nightmare.
With the addition of the Luminous Gloves, Coruscation Ring, and Callous Glow Ring, your Madness Herald build becomes even more deadly, stacking Radiating Orb debuffs and dealing extra radiant damage while punishing enemies under the effects of light sources. Full Radiant Synergy Loadout: 1. Luminous Armor: Inflicts Radiating Orb in a 3m radius when dealing radiant damage, debuffing enemies’ attack rolls. 2. Luminous Gloves: Each time you deal radiant damage to a target, they are directly affected by Radiating Orb, further debuffing their attack rolls. 3. Coruscation Ring: Anytime you deal spell damage while illuminated, you stack 2 turns of Radiating Orb, ensuring that enemies will suffer extended periods of reduced attack effectiveness. 4. Callous Glow Ring: When attacking enemies illuminated by a light source, you deal 2 bonus radiant damage, which further enhances the radiant theme and combos with Radiating Orb. Playstyle and Synergy: Stacking Radiating Orb: With Luminous Armor, Luminous Gloves, and Coruscation Ring, you will be stacking Radiating Orb debuffs on enemies constantly. This makes it extremely hard for enemies to land attacks on you or your allies, especially in long engagements where you can continue dealing radiant or spell damage. Enhanced Radiant Damage: The Callous Glow Ring adds 2 radiant damage to enemies illuminated by a light source, giving you even more radiant output. When combined with Coruscation Ring’s ability to stack Radiating Orb by being in light, this creates a cycle of radiant punishment. Area Control: With Spirit Guardians or other radiant spells, you are dealing radiant damage over time to enemies, triggering Radiating Orb debuffs in large areas. This makes it perfect for controlling the battlefield by weakening groups of enemies at once, especially when they cluster around you. Maximizing Light: Since the Coruscation Ring and Callous Glow Ring require enemies to be illuminated, using spells like Daylight or ensuring you remain in lighted areas becomes essential to maximizing your damage and debuffing potential. You can create light sources to always ensure the rings’ effects trigger. Updated Build Strategy: Debuffing through Light: You'll focus on keeping yourself and enemies in light sources, whether by casting Daylight or standing in illuminated areas. This will maximize the effects of your rings, dealing extra radiant damage and stacking multiple turns of Radiating Orb. Radiant Control: Spells like Sacred Flame, Radiance of the Dawn, and Spirit Guardians will all contribute to triggering Radiating Orb, keeping enemies weakened and reducing their effectiveness in combat. Bonus Radiant Damage: With Callous Glow Ring, your attacks deal 2 bonus radiant damage to illuminated enemies, making every attack, whether with a spell or weapon, that much stronger. Synergy with Necromancy: Even while playing into the radiant damage and debuff mechanic, your core necromantic spells, such as Inflict Wounds and Grim Harvest, still play a huge role in your healing and damage sustainability. This loadout adds a new layer of control and radiant damage output to your Madness Herald build, allowing you to both survive longer and deal heavy damage while making your enemies less of a threat. You become a terrifying force, constantly weakening and destroying foes with radiant power!
Last peice The Madness Herald: Final Form with Dark Justiciar Helmet With the Dark Justiciar Helmet added to the arsenal, the Madness Herald ascends to a new level of deadliness, making it almost invincible when obscured by Darkness. This helmet enhances the creature’s resilience and lethality, making it a terrifying presence in the shadows, where it thrives. --- New Abilities and Synergies: 1. Magical Durability: The Madness Herald gains a +1 bonus to Saving Throws against spells, making it more resistant to enemy magical attacks. This added durability ensures it can shrug off hostile spells that would otherwise debilitate or incapacitate it. 2. Covert Critical: While obscured by darkness, the Herald’s critical hit threshold is reduced by 1, meaning its chances of landing a critical hit increase significantly. This effect stacks, so the more frequently the Herald attacks from the shadows, the more likely it is to land devastating critical strikes, dealing massive damage to its foes. 3. Constitution Saving Throw +1: With an extra bonus to Constitution Saving Throws, the Madness Herald is even more resistant to effects that target its physical endurance, such as poison, fatigue, or stunning effects. This further solidifies its role as a nearly unbreakable juggernaut. --- Combat Strategy with Dark Justiciar Helmet: Obscured Criticals and Darkness Synergy: The Dark Justiciar Helmet works seamlessly with the Herald’s Darkness Manipulation abilities. By casting Darkness and standing within it, the Herald not only gains the benefits of being hard to hit, but its chances of landing critical hits increase dramatically due to Covert Critical. In combination with the Dark Urges Cloak, which turns the Herald Invisible after each kill, this synergy makes the Madness Herald a death from the shadows entity, slipping in and out of sight, striking with lethal precision and resetting its position. Enhanced Survivability: With +1 to Saving Throws against spells and an additional boost to Constitution Saving Throws, the Herald becomes exceedingly difficult to lock down or disable through magical means. It can continue to wade through spells and physical threats alike, creating an unyielding presence on the battlefield. The Adamantine Shield further complements this by negating critical hits from enemies while punishing melee attackers, ensuring that even if the Herald is engaged in close combat, it is highly protected. --- Final Combat Profile: The Madness Herald in its final form is a dark avatar of destruction and control, a creature of pure chaos and calculated lethality. Here’s what it brings to the battlefield: Darkness Mastery: By controlling Darkness and thriving in it, the Herald gains unmatched survivability and stealth, making it extremely hard to target while inflicting powerful debuffs and radiating damage. Critical Hit Machine: With Covert Critical, the Shattered Flail, and radiant damage triggers, the Herald becomes a critical hit machine, tearing through enemies with precision, especially when obscured by darkness. Spell and Physical Resilience: Enhanced saving throws make the Herald nearly impervious to debilitating spells, while Constitution bonuses ensure it can resist physical effects like poison or stunning. Snowballing Power: Using Life Essence Harvest, Grim Snowball, and Grim Harvest, the Herald thrives on the death of others, stacking healing and spell power to become unstoppable in prolonged fights. Radiating Debuff Synergy: The combination of Radiating Orb from the Luminous Armor, Luminous Gloves, and Coruscation Ring creates a debilitating environment for enemies, reducing their attack rolls and leaving them vulnerable to the Herald's devastating spells and flail strikes. Shielded from Death: The Adamantine Shield grants critical hit immunity and punishes melee attackers with the Reeling debuff, while the Dark Urges Cloak enables stealthy resets after every kill. --- The Final Verdict: The Madness Herald, with the addition of the Dark Justiciar Helmet, becomes an unstoppable force, combining high damage potential, near-immunity to magical control, and darkness manipulation into one devastating combat machine. It dominates from the shadows, striking terror into the hearts of its enemies while remaining nearly impossible to defeat. This twisted entity turns every battle into a swirling vortex of madness and chaos, truly living up to its name as the Herald of Madness. This is a current build I'm running and let me tell you. It is an absolute nightmare for my enemies. As a Githyanki Dark Urge. This is a beast of absolute Carnage!
Nice guide. My first playthrough was with a lockadin as the main and loved the build and rp flavor it lends. Of course now with honor mode and not being able to stack pact attack with extra attack made the warlock sort of just good but not amongst the elites (bard).. Swords Bard is just better in every way if you want a gish character. But hey thanks for reminding me how cool the class still is.
Yeah sadly Swords Bard being over-tuned does overshadow Warlocks. They make a great pair in a party though since the warlock is less reliant on specific equipment!
@@andrewwilliam4741 haha yeah so do I, it is pretty easy to get piercing vulnerability late game, or do a psychic build with the shadow blade and psionic resonator, or use the ne’er misser to do force damage and have other party members apply frozen force. A lot more work than other builds but it has promise. Plus reliable talent taking away critical fails 😍
For fiendish vigor, it's one of those spells/invocations that are strong early and bad late. At lvl 2 - lvl 4 a free +7hp and static 7hp heal in a fight can save an encounter. On top of this, the spell counts as a lvl1 spell while costing no resources at all (beyond the action it takes to cast it). This means warlocks who multiclass into storm sorcerers can literally fly at will during exploration. You also have access to this kind of flight during combat but it uses both an action and bonus action meaning you don't get to attack so it's kind of bad mid combat (unless you are hasted...) TLDR: 7hp is good from lvl1 to 4 and you can fly during exploration
Yeah I could see taking it with one of the other subclasses but not really with fiend's temp hp ability. That is actually a really interesting interaction with storm sorcerer though that I hadn't considered, flying certainly makes exploring a lot easier! haha
Just so you all know baldurans greatsword is the best in slot weapons for this character. Make sure you have 10 strength so there is no -1 and just drink the hill giant strength potion or wear the gloves (idr the name of the gloves) and now you are getting another FLAT +6 damage every swing . You can dump streng to 8 but then you would lose 1 damage if you didnt have the potion but with the gloves it wouldn't matter. The helldusk gloves only give you a d4 of extra damage so it worth to just wear the gloves of strength (again i forget the name)
I'm pretty sure Duke Ravenguard's Longsword does stack above 20. I once used the Script Extender Console to give Wyll 2 of them to dual wield after he had already maxed out his charisma, and it brought him up to a 24. However, when I first tried using it he was already wearing Birthright, which is a +2 charisma to a maximum of 22, and found that Birthright must get applied after the longsword and it provided no further benefit.
I think your statement about fire damage being the most resisted is a tabletop thing. I'm pretty sure it's either tied or second in place to radiant or necrotic for Baldurs Gate 3
I've not faced a lot, if any enemies which are resistant or immune to radiant damage in BG3. Do you mean poison or necrotic? Because poison damage is heavily resisted the second you get to the second half of act 1 (not counting the Gith Creche), and becomes worthless the second you get to act 2. Necrotic is heavily resisted in act 2 and a lot of act 3.
That might be true. Most of the necrotic resistance is in act 2 though before getting lifedrinker, but there is also a lot of fire immunity with all the fiends. Poison might actually be the most resisted/immune
How would you go on fighting an enemy that is far from you? Would you use dash to close the distance or jump, use a spell and then close the distance on the next turn
On the odd chance anyone sees this, can someone clarify how much of an impact the +1 from the hair would make, or rather, the impact of not having it? Im a good chunk of the way through my first playthrough and didnt know about it existing until way after doing the fight with her.
I would really like to run a tankier Wyll warlock, with 1h + shield on tactician. Could this build still be good? Even though it's just light armor? (Or just go multiclass 1 lvl fighter for armor and fighting style, but full warlock brawler is cool, and delaying feels a bit bad.) I'm a bit worried I wont have anyone to wear medium armor. This is my first real playthrough and I'm playing Wyll with Karlach and Gale (divination). Will probably make the 4th character supportive, like a cleric, druid or bard for maximum shortrest synergy :) Great video! Really excited to start playing, just a lot of analysis paralysis. But this could be it! Subbed!
Yeah it can definitely still be good! There are some great shields in the game and you can still make dex your secondary stat for decent AC, and there are two really good light armours in act 3. But I will say that if you are playing on tactician than it is hard to ignore that pact weapon extra attack stacks with regular extra attack. So you could take 5 levels of fighter or paladin, or 6 levels of swords bard to make 3 attacks each turn! All these options makes the choices hard but luckily the ease of respecing with Withers makes sure you can't be punished for a leveling decision you decide you don't like. Plus there are always more playthroughs for more builds 😉
@@UltravioletArts About extra attack, a Ranger Knight could work too. And get some proficiencies and cool passives. Although bard/paladin/fighter is probably strictly better. Anyway, started my playthrough, looking forward to continuing!
Pact of the blade lets you bind any weapon to you, which makes you proficient with that weapon and allows you to add your charisma mod to your attack rolls and damage instead of dex/str
Would Belm be a better option than balduran giantslayer for lifedrinker warlock? I usually like to use the hunting bow or the shield that gives 1 spell (for hex)
I find this very useful since I've been stocking honor mode with my friend and I've been keen on playing warlock, but I've only been playing on normal difficulty. This video is more than just how to build one op build or telling you what is a must, instead you're giving me ideas how I can work with my friend and companion to continue, providing many options and items from different act is really a great help! It's really helps me figure out many things, thank you!
Is it worth going lvl 1 into fighter for medium armour, if not what light armour should I be going for? Just the best available to me at the time I can find?
Going 2 levels into fighter to get action surge which is refreshed on a short rest would be alright but to get medium armor? Meh but depends on what you want to wear. Armor of agathis and the fiends extra hp should be enough anyway. Plus being a human or half elf to get shields is also helping there. Maybe wait for the hexblade to be added (next month or so) and they should get medium armor and shields
We aren't really rolling enough dice to make great use of savage attacker. A lot of the damage is coming from flat bonuses like our charisma, lifedrinker and magical weapon bonus. You can get a few other riders like helldusk gloves but I think the +10 from GWM would give both a higher average damage and higher max damage
I used pact of the fey and duegar for the darkvision, invis, and the big biceps 😩 Also assassin is essential. But yeah, 3 crits with fear in aoe and surprised is a pretty good start to fights. Duegar and halflings are sooo busted. I’m doing a run with a Halfling named Lucky 😂 and using the passive from light cleric 1, already makes you annoyingly op, plus being able to stealth right in front of people will never not be hilarious
Yeah all great! I have acouple fey builds in mind. I'm playing with a crit goo lock right now and I am thinking of experimenting with some assassin levels! Halfling luck might be the best ability in the game and it honestly makes me mad haha
@UltravioletArts huh, maybe I missed it but I would swear the "object" in the line about always a crit wasn't there. Thought maybe it was a sneaky change. Well, I have the molds gonna double check that
Yep it stacks. Also if you’re interested in rapiers with Warlocks I have a cool suggestion for this Warlock build as I’ve played this build a ton. You can use Harmonic Dueller as main weapon pact bind it then run Belm or Infernal Rapier in off hand using Duel Wield feat. This way using Harmonic Dueller ability you can stack your charisma (probably +6 or +7) twice meaning you get +12-14 damage on every single strike from Harmonic Dueller and off hand. Make sure to get actor feat to always get Harmonic Dueller to affect to succeed. If you’re using Belm over Infernal Rapier it would be better since you wouldn’t need the balanced hand gloves to apply full damage on your bonus action strike. Infernal rapier does give you a free level 6 cambion summon+it looks “cooler.” If you really wanna go all in on being a legit gish then finding a way to get Bhaalist Armor and stacking it with Diadem of Arcane hat would quite literally make you hit for at least 40+ with a single strike WITHOUT riders and modifiers (easily can get to like 50-60 which approaches Tavern Brawler thrower levels). Do this on Ascended Astarion and its just over lol.
It always deals more damage. But you can choose what characteristic check to affect. Str is good if you want to push for example.. do note that it does not affect saving throws
Thank you for the video! I love warlocks too. What I did was go 10 warlock/2 rogue, darkness themed. This is because of cunning action: Hide. Since you are completely concealed, the enemy doesn't even get the opportunity to spot you, just due to how the mechanic's work. If you are completely concealed, they don't even get a roll. Also, the Imp is immune to blindness, so is the Cambion from that Rapier. But oddly, I also found out the Dryad from druid summons is immune to it as well. So you and your cambion can just hunker down in darkness and pew pew pew, with the imp darting in and out as needed. You can also use the imp to guarantee you get a surprise attack on nearly every combat.
Thank you for an accurate Warlock guide. I agree that the Warlock is an under-rated class (especially since all manner of Bards feels meta = more short rests) I think that multiclassing Paladin is great but the 7Warlock/5Paladin is more optimal. Paladin smites cap at level 4 spell slots, so level 5 spell slots smite just as hard as level 4. You'll get extra attack with the Paladin; with your Pact of the Blade, that's 3 attacks.
Yeah this is true! I am keeping honour mode in mind though where the extra attacks don't stack. So I'd still probably do more like an 8/4 split favouring warlock or focus more on the Paladin side going 4/8
I always find it weird how dumb the AI in this game is compared to Larian's previous endeavor, Divinity Original Sins 2. In BG3, enemy AIs will run straight into danger like Firewall or Hunger of Hadar without a thought, while friendly AIs just walk right over dangerous surfaces and objects if you're not microing them or worse, cast area-denial spells without considering (this is particularly egregious in the Marcus vs Isobel fight).
The problem with a Warlock is they are so boring in 5e. You either blast or swing and that is usually it because you use up all your massively amount of 3 spells usually on buffs. Powerful? maybe but not very interesting.
lol yeah it's a term for characters with lots of skill proficiencies basically, I suppose it is more of a colloquial table top term than an official one though
You get an immediate thumbs up for knowing how Hex ACTUALLY works.
It is so commonly misunderstood I felt obligated to spell it out for people haha
I play a Hexblood Rune Knight in my tabletop campaign. Fights can take a little bit of setting up, but giants might and casting hex on a target for strength checks makes along with the grappler feat can be pretty fun. I wish I could bring my build into this game.
@@UltravioletArtsya know what you get a sub from this warlock main
@@UltravioletArts I actually use hex early on not just for damage but for wisdom checks. I have a cleric or wizard cast hold person and then use great weapon Master early in act 1
@@ededandeddy2115That's what they were talking about, it doesn't affect saving throws (hold person is a wisdom saving throw) but it does affect ability checks (shoving is a strength check)
Loved playing the Wyll origin because the Warlock class was so powerful. I usually don’t go for full magic caster classes but BG3 did their thing with this one.
to be fair, Warlock is so well rounded, you can go melee aswell. Darkness/Devils sight/Great Weapon master is seriously strong, aswell as defensive spells or offensive spells.
Imagine my saddness, impressed by the creative build video and going to the channel to check out more build videos, only to find out that this is the first one 😢
Don't worry my friend, more to come
Wow finally a guide without multiclassing into 5 other classes. Love this build, you are the only one doing a pure 12 level warlock guide
For race, Gith is the obvious choice imo. Medium armor since you’re gonna be in melee a lot and want decent AC while still wielding a two-handed weapon. Human is strictly worse than half-elf. Good video!
Personally I like to give Wyll at least a 1 level dip into Ranger for the "Favored Enemy" option "Ranger Knight", which grants Heavy Armor Proficiency as well as History proficiency. (Note that if you break his pact then at the reunion party at the end of the game he says he has gotten used to being a Ranger instead of a Warlock, so it is practically canon.)
I usually pair this with "Natura l Explorer" option "Wasteland Wanderer: Fire" to make his resistant to fire, to reduce how much his own spells can hurt him if he sets things on fire too close.
After that I am often tempted to take another Ranger level for a Fighting Style, but if I do that it seems almost obligatory to take Ranger 3 to become a Gloomstalker and get an extra attack without using an action or bonus action on the first turn of combat. It is then tempting to go on to level 5 Ranger for the extra attack which stacks on top of the Pact of the Blade extra attack.
Agree with 1/2 elf >> humans, but Dwarf can offer dark vision and poison resistance making them quite a viable choice as well. There are certain important parts of early Act 1 when things like dark vision and poison resistance do matter.
Yep, either dwarf or gith, but gith is a bit better.
Something I'm seeing on my level 12 warlock with lifedrinker is that its triggering twice if the taget I'm hitting has hex applied. I'll see "7 necrotic (lifedrinker)" followed by "10 necrotic (1d6 = 3, Hex)"
Its doubling the value from lifedrinker in fights where I dont need something like Hunger of Hadar, and as long as that concentration is maintained it's one spell skot for an all day boost. Plus it activates the strange conduit ring.
As an additional bonus to every wrapon swing, if you are willing to do some setup st the start of a new day, you can use the bonus if the Drakethroat Glaive that csn be purchased in act 2. Temporarily bind that as your pact wrapon, drop the one you intend to use on the ground, cast the Draconic Elemental Weapon spell from the glaive and target the weapon on the ground, pick it up snd rebind it. Additional 1d4 of element of your choice on every hit!
My very first Tav was a Pact of the Tome GOOlock. I definitely agree that the class as a whole is underrated. The only multiclass I did was Fighter 1 at the very start and I never felt underpowered. It kinda helps that spellsparker is pretty busted. Then in act 3 I finished reading Thay and upgraded to the staff of cherished necromancy. Bestow Curse completely shut Raphael down.
Oh yeah definitely solid no matter how you build them basically. I'm close to the end of an honour mode run right now as a GOO warlock 9/Champion Fighter 3 Dark Urge with all the critical hit and reverberation gear I can stack and it is carrying the run. And yeah lightning charges are extremely good with Eldritch Blast haha
Do you happen to have this whole build memorized
@@MichaelHopkinsProWrestling Kind of. It was really straightforward with a few key spells at the lower levels then moving more into a control/summoning style in the mid-late game
Iirc My stat spread was 8 str 10 dex because I planned on heavy armor. 14 con. 8 int. 15+1 wisdom for saves. 15+2 cha. I took the actor feat at character level 5 (warlock 4) to get cha to 18. (It’s worth noting that I was a cleric on the nautiloid before recomping to fighter 1/Warlock x, but only until I got withers.)
From character level 2-6 it’s pretty much all about Eldritch Blast. You want Agonizing/Repelling Blast. The two big gear grabs are the Speedy Lightfeet and the Spellsparkler. I used Expeditious Retreat instead of Hex, because it gave extra mobility and extra lightning charges. Other than that spells are player preference. I was a Duergar which gave me free access to invisibility so you might pick that up since it helps a lot. Also superior dark vision is great on a ranged build.
After character level 6 you get the rest of your Tome spells. I used Call Lightning a lot and had Shadowheart casting create water because it upped to damage of Call and my charged Eldritch Blasts. This is when I switched out my shoes because I had more important concentration than Retreat.
You also get a Raise Dead spell from Tome and Danse Macabre when you finish Necromancy of Thay. The best necromancy spell in your arsenal is Bestow Curse though. You basically want everything from Mystic Carrion (hood/staff/ring) and Amulet of the Devout even though you’re not a cleric. Then you can run right up to bosses and make them skip their turns while your minions and companions dog pile them.
@@MichaelHopkinsProWrestling Side note: I found out after my play through that you can use Dual Wielder to use both staffs at the same time instead of switching them around like I did.
@@UltravioletArts You should consider wear bhaalist armor and replace the 2h sword covered in the build with the djin trident, it will help you stack reverberation, benefits from 2HWM and do piercing dmg, combine with you'r crit gear and the bhaalist armor you double you'r weapon dmg by inflicting vulnerability to you'r target, then double the total amount again at every crit. You can also do even better and go with dualist prerogative and replace the 2HM feat with savage attacker, witch allow you to do 3 attack per turn, still does piercing dmg to synergise with bhaalist armor, and savage attacker will increase even more you'r crit chance and will help to make you'r base dmg to be higher and benefits more from the vulnerability and the crits dmg boosts, you'll do tons of damage and it add some blade of frontier vibe that i like a lot.
It's a very cool build anyway, hope to see more builds later !
I love this! I immediately thought of pairing it up with my Eldritch Knight Gale with Abjuration Wizard in it, and a Tempus worshipping Sword Bard/War cleric!
So, I just got into the Underdark and stole a very nice sword off Blurg.
Now I want Wyll to switch pacts, so I'm here :D
Nice! Another warlock budy who knows that this class is self-sufficient without multi-classing! Just finished my honour mode with my drow warlock with pretty much the same build except i went for Bhaalist armour with orin's shortsword and mizora's rapier offhand (mainly for the cambion). This class is really self-sufficient, for big encounters I used to pre-cast Aghatys/fireshield/mirror-image/fiendish resistance into short rest. With cloack of displacement you're pretty much an untouchable mage warrior with tons of melee damage, great controls, and IF my foes managed to hit you in melee range they just get 27 to 43 damage for free. By far one of my favorite builds with tavern brawler monk.
Absolutely, I think most people acknowledge that warlock is decent but still underrate it. Especially the later levels. I hear a lot of people they don't get much after level 5 but 3 level 5 slots per short rest and their late defensive abilities are so good
Been looking for builds finally found one. Hope to see more build videos in the future
You certainly will!
@@UltravioletArtsloved the format as well with the act 1-3 items and the other options you have into multi classing
I havent tried this out yet, but. I think wyll plus infernal rapier and durlist perogative in act3 would go crazy with this build since he gets proficiency with rapiers. Not to mention he fits perfectly thematically with this build
Have you tried it out?
I think the best combination is Duellist perogative + harmonic Duellist offhand. It might be the best combination to use with Bhaalist armor for this build period (better than 2 handed piercing weapons like SSoE)
you can get the Bhaalist armor on a good run without killing the annoying elephant.
If you want to use IR, like me, then
I think harmonic Duellist + infernal rapier offhand + gloves of balanced hands is better than Infernal rapier and durlist preogative.
In terms of thematic, Wyll can use the Gloves of Hill Giant strength (Which you get from HoH and plays nicely in the Blade of Avernus theme) and Balduran's Greatsword (whose location is given by his father, after which Wyll personally volunteers to retrieve the weapon). Which would make him do more damage than the weapons recommended in this video but much less than a Bhaalist piercing build.
Thank you! Been playing warlock for a few months now taking it real slow and this is the build I’ve been looking for. I was using pact of the chain and I’m not using those summons very much! This build is more of a spell sword type that I’m always going for in any of these types of games
Love this build! I’m thinking of doing one similar. I wanna cap Charisma though to 22 to get as much out of Lifedrinker as possible
Cap is 24 if you use mirror of loss.
Mirror of loss: easy +2 charisma if you pass intelligence -> religion check. If you pass intelligence check-> then explore some dialogue options you can get a +1 then the +2 boost making it +3. If you don’t wanna invest in auntie ethel hair and ASI you can use Duke’s longsword or birthright hat for +2 boost.
@@CMiY0 yeah I didn’t get auntie Ethel’s hair because in the beginning of my playthrough I went in blind and didn’t trust her lmao
I’ll have to look up the mirror. I’m using Birthright to put my Charisma at 22. I did 2 ASIs (to 18>20) and I think my other feat was the dueling one or I did ASI to dex to bring it to 18. I’m using the Duelist Prerogative Rapier with no off hand for the bonus, and Bhaalist armor for Piercing damage vulnerability + theme lol
Edit: just looked up that mirror. Imma try to do it since I’m in Act 3 about to fight Orin. I’m a Gith so do you think I should use Astral Knowledge Intelligence + Enhance Ability Intelligence? I’m on Tactician so I can save scum it I guess.
@@Quantum_Bluntz oo that was similar to what I ran on Wyll as Warlock. What class are you using? Enhance ability gives you advantage while Githyanki ability gives you proficiency (+2 before Lvl 5, +3 before Lvl 9, and +4 at Lvl 9-12). You can combine them if you really need to pass a check.
@@CMiY0 I switch between 12 Warlock for Lifedrinker and Lockadin sometimes since I’m on Tactician and the extra attacks stack. But I prefer the Lifedrinker with Duelist Perogative
@@Quantum_Bluntz same I prefer life drinker cause Warlock is so much more fun with a third spell slot. I love Warlock because I feel like my slots never get wasted. I’m not afraid to use them and they’re always the best available level of spell. It’s insanely refreshing compared to a Wizard and Sorcerer. I used to play Sorcerer only but then I tried Wizard and Warlock they all have their charms but Warlock is my #1 atm.
Anyways that third spell slot is a game changer in my opinion. Your spells are so powerful that you can just use neutral to cleanup after a good spell to control the field.
I'd say another great weapon for this kind of build is the rapier you get by beating Ethel a second time and rescuing the kid. That is a +3 weapon that lets you attack as a bonus action. So, let's say with +6 charisma from the hat, you are dealing 1d8 + 3 magic enchantment + 6 charisma + 6 lifedrinker + 4 necrotic damage from the weapon, meaning you deal 1d8 + 19 damage per hit and you make 3 attacks each turn. That's not counting hex, elixir of the colossus and other buffs to your damage. This would also give you an additional reaction for either counterspell or attacks of opportunity and either wear a shield for more ac or get your other hand free for a 19 crit range.
Lmaoo I love that by the end I was thinking “hmm this will fit well into my throw barbarian/gloomstalker party and that’s what you name checked at the end
Haha yeah the like top 4 or 5 builds are pretty figured out at this point. Nice thing about this one is it supports those builds really well! Trap a bunch of enemies in a hunger of hadar and attack them as they come out or eldritch blast them back in? Game over
12:01 Devil’s Sight doesn’t give you regular darkvision, it gives you the ability to see through magical darkness such as the darkness spell which regular darkvision can’t see through, so it’s very good whether you have darkvision or not
"You can see normally in darkness, both magical and non-magical, to a distance of 24 m / 80 ft."
My gith full warlock is definitely my top 3 builds
Pure Bladelock with the Bhaal armor and duelers prerogative is Insane
Yeah that would probably be the best choice without Great Weapon Master!
I went with 17 CHA at CC, +1 CHA Actor, +2 CHA ASI, Dual Wielder, +1 CHA Hair, +3 CHA Mirror, and wielded Harmonic Dueller in the offhand. That's a massive +7 CHA modifier that is used for Attack Rolls, Damage Rolls, Lifedrinker, Harmonic Dueller's buff (Actor's Performance Expertise all but guarantees the Performance check, failing only on Nat 1s), and Arcane Synergy. And with Bhaalist Armour, toggle the Aura of Murder to easily proc Arcane Synergy from Diadem, and it also makes enemies Vulnerable to Piercing damage from your dual Rapiers Duellist's Prerogative and Harmonic Dueller. Who needs GWM! 😉
@@CheekSoda This is the way
Ooooh. Go dual wielder, put duelist's perogative in the main hand and off hand that rapier that Wyll gets from Mizora in act 2 that lets you summon a Deva. That with Minions of Chaos, the Create Undead spell, and Create Undead from Necromancy of Thay and you've got quite a little army.
@@contramundi5873 you lose out on a bonus action if you use it with a weapon or shield bro
I've been thinking about playing the game as Wyll and this is now the second video I've seen in the last three days coveting a pure warlock spellblade build. Talk about serendipity! I guess I know what i have to do.... just as soon as i finish my current evil Durge run 😈
Yeees, let the power of your pact flow through you
Take a look at a warlock x sword bard if you want it to be on roids 😊
@Rev3rence Can you give me the highlights? What makes a bardlock so good? Being your own source of Song of Rest would be nice, and you'd get the sword bard flourishes...
But you also lose out on Lifedrinker. Lifedrinker + circlet of arcane synergy + balduran's giant slayer + potion of cloud giant strength + gwm gives you insanely strong basic attacks all day long.
@@contramundi5873 running blade pact would already disable the giant potion gains..
Running with the band of the mystic scoundrel you can spread so much cc and you can also upkeep a +4 ac every turn or reposition enemies by pushing them to then shoot em with your eldritch blast.
You can also aoe with flourish.
You also gain a 3rd attack because pact's double attack and lvl 6 bard's double attack stack. Ofc if you don't want to cc them and just want to slap them with hunger of hadar that always works too. And ofc your party gains a good front face that is very skilled in all rp and another short rest.
I actually used duelist's prerogative for that build and not gwm 2h abuse 😅
@Rev3rence hmm. Does the double strength bonus from the giant slayer not stack with blade pact on honor mode? I only tested on Tactician.
Interesting points! I might give it a try. I still kind of like the simplicity of sticking to a single class though. And the blade pact warlock can also wear that ring and the Helm of arcan acuity and do some great cc.
I'll have to think this over next time I start a new game
I think either the duelist prerogative or the rapier mizora gives Wyll when freeing her in act 2 are great weapon choices
Take a 1 level dip into Fighter for Two Weapon Fighting and you've actually got a pretty good duel wielder set up there, especially at 24 Charisma.
For sure! A great alternate choice from a great weapon master version! With the infernal rapier you can also actually dual wield with that and a pact weapon both using charisma. Obviously prerogative is better alone though haha
A similar kind of build is 12 fighter eldricht knight, with Magic Initiate: Druid. Shillelagh uses spellcasting ability modifier for attacks, which in this case IS intelligence, so you can ignore strength and get insane value out of eldricht knight's normally limited spellcasting. Luckily Mourning Frost has amazing synergies, since you also get create water from magic initiate - you can freeze monsters on your own, which then also get vulnerability to blundgeoing damage. With Ring of Mystic Scoundrel you can land Hold Person effortlessly as bonus action, thanks to handing out disadvantage on saves vs your spells from lvl 10 onwards. With decked out intelligence, you also get +6 damage from Diadem of Arcane Synergy and also good DC on illithid abilities. Build probably also works as 11 fighter/1 nature cleric or 1 druid, but haven't tested that, just make sure to get cleric/druid in this case first. If it does work, it gets online a little faster.
I can see someone using hex not as a damage boost but rather as a way to decrease initiative by casting it before combat. That would give the enemy disadvantage on initiative
Actually good warlock video I have been looking for a moment (I have one question what would you do for armor early/mid game)
If you don't have access to medium armour and shields then probably your best bet is just clothing with mage armour and bracers of defense. Otherwise just the best light armour you can find, Minthara's is pretty good. In my actualy playthrough I grabbed medium armour master for the early game for shields and just the highest AC medium armour. Dex isn't maxed so the exotic material armours aren't great but the base dark justiciar armour with con save advantage was great!
On the subject of early GWM and getting advantage, fighting in darkness gives you advantage (with Devil's Sight) while also giving enemies disadvantage. There's also the Unseen Menace in Act 1, an invisible pike for permanent advantage (until you miss a swing and then it loses that feature for 2 turns.)
Yeah there are definitely good options if you want to take it earlier like devil's sight, having a wolf-heart barbarian in your team, spells like faerie fire, and of course the risky ring in act 2
For a Dark Urge warlock, my thoughts are that Bhaal is your patron and Scleritas is the guy keeping an eye on you.
Yeah that's a great headcannon! definitely has a pact vibe to it, I did a GOO warlock for my honour mode durge playthrough
Great vid. I have not played lock much. I'll have to give it a try.
I didn’t know how sweet a full warlock build could be, this is exactly what play style I was looking for!
My stat line is 10str/14dex/16con/8int/10wis/16cha. I picked a gith and use him with medium armor
This is definitely what I'm doing for my honour mode run. I loved playing a Lockadin on Tactician but you can't get that triple attack in honour mode. I had no idea Warlock without multiclass could be such a strong melee fighter.
I LOVE this build, but it seems to brush off the shoulder my favourite invocation too easily. Thus, in defence of "Armour of Shadows" (aka using clothing for your warlock):
Mage armour automatically gives the highest early game AC possible at level 2 (13+Dex) and Dex. Heavy dexterity class like warlock benefits from this particularly Big Time in comparison to say Wizard, who's measly HP requires high Constitution investment instead.
Highest light armour AC in The Game itself rides only up to 14+dex, and you get access to those in act3 the earliest. With dex 16(+3) and eather a shield (Any+2 or Viconia's act3 shield for a +3) or Bracers of defence (+2 when shieldless and armourless) that would make early game clothing only AC a total of 18 in act1, possibly before even reaching level 3 if you dont feel like fighting goblins much and talk your way into Blighted Village like the charisma user that you are. You can also slap the ring of Protection for extra+1 and lets say Potent robe (act2) for +1 while making your EB even stronger, or Robe of the Weave (act3) for +2 and increase in spell DC for an AC 21 using only CLOTHING. Add a plus 1 to that from Evasive shoes (Act2, as soon as you arrive in Last Light too) and you got 22.
Gets even better if you use Hag hair for a Cha+1 while having 17 at the start and are willing to ignore feats for ASI's. Hag hair= Cha18, ASI+2= Cha 20 at LV 4.
Use other two feats for a ASI +4 for a dex of 20(+5) and AC becomes 13+5+ shield (+2/3)/Bracers (+2)+Ring (+1)+ Evasive Shoes (Counts as clothing,+1)+ Robe of the Weave (+2)= AC 24/25. For no cost, unless you count not being able to wear any armour piece a cost.
Not bad for a melee focused build, AND you'll be sporting a fine spell DC too. You can also replace one of the ASI's with a Mirror of Loss use for a +2 to dexterity thus freeing the feat slot, if you dont want to use it for a Cha+2 (bringing charisma total to 22 aka +6).
Great video and perfect timing for me as i just started a pact of the blade fiend warlock!
The fact there are still items and weapons in this game I've never even HEARD of...
Nice guide! I think Githyanki would be a great choice for misty step and medium armour.
Just a nitpick - the eldritch invocations that give you confusion and slow are definitely not bad. They’re great AoE control spells to have up your sleeve, as they can win fights and they don’t hit allies.
I’ve used confusion extensively and it works great. I had bosses just skipping turns and destroying their own minions. Slow trivialises the battle against Grym because it takes away attacks of opportunity and makes him really easy to kite.
Harmonic Dueller is *sick* for this build. *Another* +CHA to dmg is nutty, and you can pick it up at the very beginning of Act 3 and use it throughout the remainder of the game. Plus it leaves you free to use an OH/shield, and frees up the feat you'd be using for GWM for another purpose.
Absolutely I should have mentioned it! Could also be used with the infernal rapier for a dual wielding build
Hi, very nice video, how to get proficiensy in the heavy armor?
Oh this is very interesting. Im doing a level 20 modded co-op playthrough. Might need to take this and make some adjustments. Maybe 12 warlock/8 swords bard or 8 paladin.
This is the best BG3 build guide video on TH-cam. No gimmicks, no exploits, explainations for everything, considerations for tabletop. Perfection!
Hmm, this is perhaps the best melee warlock build I've seen. It might actually be a valid alternative to the Potent Robe's +CHA to cantrip damage, which basically adds a static 15 damage to eldritch blast.
Appreciate it! You can definitely get good melee damage. Technically this character could still wear potent robes if you wanted though, best of both worlds!
you caould have mentioned that ability drain from the illithid powers as a condition for arcane synergy from the diadem before the damage roll happens, so every attack does (pact of the blade, lifedrinker, arcane synergy) 3 times your charisma modifier, which can get up to 7 (20 base + auntie's hair + 1 from the mirror of loss's patriars memory and +2 from bard's memory)
hey, I noticed something that I find strange. On level 4 you mention at one point getting Dex higher and maybe getting medium armor to increase your AC. But if I am not mistaken, since I am not as familiar to 5e, medium armor allows Dex bonus of +2 so won't anything above 14 be wasted?
Great video! However as a font nerd can you please tell me what font you used for the Party Options text? It’s beautiful!❤
The font is called Beleren! It's from Magic the Gathering!
How do you feel about 7/5 Gith Sorlock I love hunger of hadar wanna build around zone control and pact of the blade the get up in their
It's definitely good! Hunger of Hadar just wins a ton of encounters so there is no wrong way to cast it haha. I'm not sure if you would really get much out of sorcerer that way though, paladin or swords bard could be a better dip, even on honour mode where the extra attacks don't stack. But if you want to focus more on flinging spells and having pact of the blade more as a back up, or building around quicken spell + band of the mystic scoundrel then a 5/7 or 7/5 warlock/sorcerer would be a great fit!
"With the intention of eating a certain piece of hair." I cracked up at this so hard, even knowing precisely what you're talking about.
With some minor adjustments (focusing on a rapier for a weapon) this is a great roleplay build for wyll
Absolutely! With the infernal rapier in act 2 and duelist's prerogative in act 3 you have great options too!
Oh wow this is one of the best Wyll build I can think of.
This looks really fun. An immortal melee caster/controller.
What even is nova damage? Sounds like it should be aoe damage, but that can't be right given the context. I've heard the term used a few places in bg3 content, typically coming from people with dnd experience.
Nova damage is basically high burst damage in a single turn that usually expends some number of resources. A fighter making three attacks and then using action surging is a great example of single target nova damage, and the spellcasters are much better at AOE nova damage when you can cast fireball or chain lightning multiple times in a turn. But there are some high level single target spells like Disintegrate that are also good single target nova damage.
If you like the life drinker warlock try this build out.
The Madness Herald is a formidable and chaotic character concept you've crafted, blending necromantic power with the relentless hunger for destruction. Here's a summary of the Madness Herald's key attributes:
Class Synergy:
Warlock Feind pact of the blade and Cleric of light abilities combine to devastating effect. The Warlock's Eldritch powers like Hex, Eldritch Blast, and invocations give you deadly ranged attacks and battlefield control, while the Cleric of Light's necromantic spells like Inflict Wounds, Animate Dead, and Spirit Guardians enhance your healing and summoning potential.
The Grim Harvest from the Wizard class and the Staff of Cherished Necromancy amplify your ability to heal through death, while the Shattered Flail turns melee combat into a life-stealing frenzy.
Weaponry:
1. Shattered Flail:
1d6 + Charisma Modifier Damage.
Heals you for 1d6 HP on hit but can drive you Mad if you don’t keep attacking every turn.
Ideal for up-close combat, continuously healing and pushing the player into a berserker-like state of constant aggression.
2. Staff of Cherished Necromancy:
+2 Quarterstaff, enhancing your necromantic spells.
Grants Life Essence, allowing you to cast necromancy spells without using spell slots when you kill an enemy.
Deals necrotic damage and offers control over death’s essence for long-range dominance.
Combat Strategy:
Start at range with Eldritch Blast, Inflict Wounds, and necromantic spells using the Staff of Cherished Necromancy.
Once the enemy closes in or you've weakened them, switch to the Shattered Flail for life-stealing melee combat.
Use Inflict Wounds (and higher-level versions) to finish enemies, healing with Grim Harvest and gaining free spell casts.
Chain kills to continuously regain Life Essence, snowballing with increased healing and damage without burning through spell slots.
Madness Mechanic:
The Madness from the Shattered Flail pushes you to constantly engage, keeping you aggressive and reckless. If you stop attacking, you risk falling into madness, making the character a dangerous, risk-reward build. But as long as you keep the momentum, you’re nearly unstoppable in combat.
Key Powers:
Grim Harvest: Heals for triple the spell level when killing with necromancy spells.
Staff of Cherished Necromancy: Allows free necromancy spellcasting after kills, enhancing your snowball effect.
Yeenoghu’s Gift: Heals on hit with the Shattered Flail, pushing you into close combat madness.
Spirit Guardians and Animate Dead: Summons and guardians to protect and overwhelm your foes.
Identity:
A dark, life-draining character who thrives in battle by consuming the life essence of their enemies.
Balances ranged attacks with brutal, healing-focused melee combat.
Wields necromancy as a tool of empowerment, turning death into a resource for further destruction.
In short, the Madness Herald is a chaotic, relentless bringer of death, empowered by necromancy and cursed with a need for constant combat.
Here’s a quick list of the Madness Herald's spell kit:
Warlock (Fiend Pact):
Cantrips:
Eldritch Blast (1d10 + Charisma Modifier)
Minor Illusion
Bone Chill (3d8 Necrotic, prevents healing)
Level 1:
Armor of Agathys (5 temp HP, 5 cold damage to attackers)
Arms of Hadar (2d6 Necrotic, no reactions)
Hex (+1d6 Necrotic, disadvantage on chosen ability)
Level 2:
Mirror Image (3 duplicates, +3 AC per duplicate)
Darkness (Heavily obscures, blinds creatures within)
Level 3:
Hunger of Hadar (Dark sphere, 2d12 Cold/Acid damage per turn)
---
Cleric (Light Domain):
Cantrips:
Sacred Flame (3d8 Radiant)
Blade Ward (Half damage from physical attacks)
Guidance (+1d4 to ability checks)
Light (Item glows with aura of light)
Prepared Spells:
Inflict Wounds (3d10 Necrotic)
Shield of Faith (+2 AC)
Hold Person (Paralyzes humanoid, auto-crit within 3m)
Animate Dead (Create undead servant)
Beacon of Hope (Max HP from healing, advantage on Wis saves)
Protection from Energy (Resistance to chosen element)
Spirit Guardians (3d8 Radiant/Necrotic, halves enemy movement)
Always Available Spells:
Burning Hands (3d6 Fire)
Faerie Fire (Advantage on attacks against lit targets)
Flaming Sphere (2d6 Fire per turn)
Scorching Ray (3 rays, 2d6 Fire each)
Daylight (Dispels magical darkness)
Fireball (8d6 Fire)
---
Wizard (Necromancy):
Cantrips:
Shocking Grasp
True Strike
Poison Spray
Prepared Spells:
Mage Armor (Though not very useful with armor on)
---
Invocations:
Fiendish Vigor (Cast False Life for free, 7 temp HP).
Combine this sucker with the Adamantine shield and Dark Urges Cloak and youl be turning invisible on kills. Healing up stupid fast and be a literal nightmare.
With the addition of the Luminous Gloves, Coruscation Ring, and Callous Glow Ring, your Madness Herald build becomes even more deadly, stacking Radiating Orb debuffs and dealing extra radiant damage while punishing enemies under the effects of light sources.
Full Radiant Synergy Loadout:
1. Luminous Armor: Inflicts Radiating Orb in a 3m radius when dealing radiant damage, debuffing enemies’ attack rolls.
2. Luminous Gloves: Each time you deal radiant damage to a target, they are directly affected by Radiating Orb, further debuffing their attack rolls.
3. Coruscation Ring: Anytime you deal spell damage while illuminated, you stack 2 turns of Radiating Orb, ensuring that enemies will suffer extended periods of reduced attack effectiveness.
4. Callous Glow Ring: When attacking enemies illuminated by a light source, you deal 2 bonus radiant damage, which further enhances the radiant theme and combos with Radiating Orb.
Playstyle and Synergy:
Stacking Radiating Orb: With Luminous Armor, Luminous Gloves, and Coruscation Ring, you will be stacking Radiating Orb debuffs on enemies constantly. This makes it extremely hard for enemies to land attacks on you or your allies, especially in long engagements where you can continue dealing radiant or spell damage.
Enhanced Radiant Damage: The Callous Glow Ring adds 2 radiant damage to enemies illuminated by a light source, giving you even more radiant output. When combined with Coruscation Ring’s ability to stack Radiating Orb by being in light, this creates a cycle of radiant punishment.
Area Control: With Spirit Guardians or other radiant spells, you are dealing radiant damage over time to enemies, triggering Radiating Orb debuffs in large areas. This makes it perfect for controlling the battlefield by weakening groups of enemies at once, especially when they cluster around you.
Maximizing Light: Since the Coruscation Ring and Callous Glow Ring require enemies to be illuminated, using spells like Daylight or ensuring you remain in lighted areas becomes essential to maximizing your damage and debuffing potential. You can create light sources to always ensure the rings’ effects trigger.
Updated Build Strategy:
Debuffing through Light: You'll focus on keeping yourself and enemies in light sources, whether by casting Daylight or standing in illuminated areas. This will maximize the effects of your rings, dealing extra radiant damage and stacking multiple turns of Radiating Orb.
Radiant Control: Spells like Sacred Flame, Radiance of the Dawn, and Spirit Guardians will all contribute to triggering Radiating Orb, keeping enemies weakened and reducing their effectiveness in combat.
Bonus Radiant Damage: With Callous Glow Ring, your attacks deal 2 bonus radiant damage to illuminated enemies, making every attack, whether with a spell or weapon, that much stronger.
Synergy with Necromancy: Even while playing into the radiant damage and debuff mechanic, your core necromantic spells, such as Inflict Wounds and Grim Harvest, still play a huge role in your healing and damage sustainability.
This loadout adds a new layer of control and radiant damage output to your Madness Herald build, allowing you to both survive longer and deal heavy damage while making your enemies less of a threat. You become a terrifying force, constantly weakening and destroying foes with radiant power!
Last peice The Madness Herald: Final Form with Dark Justiciar Helmet
With the Dark Justiciar Helmet added to the arsenal, the Madness Herald ascends to a new level of deadliness, making it almost invincible when obscured by Darkness. This helmet enhances the creature’s resilience and lethality, making it a terrifying presence in the shadows, where it thrives.
---
New Abilities and Synergies:
1. Magical Durability:
The Madness Herald gains a +1 bonus to Saving Throws against spells, making it more resistant to enemy magical attacks. This added durability ensures it can shrug off hostile spells that would otherwise debilitate or incapacitate it.
2. Covert Critical:
While obscured by darkness, the Herald’s critical hit threshold is reduced by 1, meaning its chances of landing a critical hit increase significantly.
This effect stacks, so the more frequently the Herald attacks from the shadows, the more likely it is to land devastating critical strikes, dealing massive damage to its foes.
3. Constitution Saving Throw +1:
With an extra bonus to Constitution Saving Throws, the Madness Herald is even more resistant to effects that target its physical endurance, such as poison, fatigue, or stunning effects. This further solidifies its role as a nearly unbreakable juggernaut.
---
Combat Strategy with Dark Justiciar Helmet:
Obscured Criticals and Darkness Synergy:
The Dark Justiciar Helmet works seamlessly with the Herald’s Darkness Manipulation abilities. By casting Darkness and standing within it, the Herald not only gains the benefits of being hard to hit, but its chances of landing critical hits increase dramatically due to Covert Critical.
In combination with the Dark Urges Cloak, which turns the Herald Invisible after each kill, this synergy makes the Madness Herald a death from the shadows entity, slipping in and out of sight, striking with lethal precision and resetting its position.
Enhanced Survivability:
With +1 to Saving Throws against spells and an additional boost to Constitution Saving Throws, the Herald becomes exceedingly difficult to lock down or disable through magical means. It can continue to wade through spells and physical threats alike, creating an unyielding presence on the battlefield.
The Adamantine Shield further complements this by negating critical hits from enemies while punishing melee attackers, ensuring that even if the Herald is engaged in close combat, it is highly protected.
---
Final Combat Profile:
The Madness Herald in its final form is a dark avatar of destruction and control, a creature of pure chaos and calculated lethality. Here’s what it brings to the battlefield:
Darkness Mastery: By controlling Darkness and thriving in it, the Herald gains unmatched survivability and stealth, making it extremely hard to target while inflicting powerful debuffs and radiating damage.
Critical Hit Machine: With Covert Critical, the Shattered Flail, and radiant damage triggers, the Herald becomes a critical hit machine, tearing through enemies with precision, especially when obscured by darkness.
Spell and Physical Resilience: Enhanced saving throws make the Herald nearly impervious to debilitating spells, while Constitution bonuses ensure it can resist physical effects like poison or stunning.
Snowballing Power: Using Life Essence Harvest, Grim Snowball, and Grim Harvest, the Herald thrives on the death of others, stacking healing and spell power to become unstoppable in prolonged fights.
Radiating Debuff Synergy: The combination of Radiating Orb from the Luminous Armor, Luminous Gloves, and Coruscation Ring creates a debilitating environment for enemies, reducing their attack rolls and leaving them vulnerable to the Herald's devastating spells and flail strikes.
Shielded from Death: The Adamantine Shield grants critical hit immunity and punishes melee attackers with the Reeling debuff, while the Dark Urges Cloak enables stealthy resets after every kill.
---
The Final Verdict:
The Madness Herald, with the addition of the Dark Justiciar Helmet, becomes an unstoppable force, combining high damage potential, near-immunity to magical control, and darkness manipulation into one devastating combat machine. It dominates from the shadows, striking terror into the hearts of its enemies while remaining nearly impossible to defeat. This twisted entity turns every battle into a swirling vortex of madness and chaos, truly living up to its name as the Herald of Madness.
This is a current build I'm running and let me tell you. It is an absolute nightmare for my enemies. As a Githyanki Dark Urge. This is a beast of absolute Carnage!
This is the build i need for my wyll origins run 😊
I really wish I had done this as Wyll! I'll probably do a similar run at some point haha
I just started mine.. quite fun. Love the extra content
Nice guide. My first playthrough was with a lockadin as the main and loved the build and rp flavor it lends. Of course now with honor mode and not being able to stack pact attack with extra attack made the warlock sort of just good but not amongst the elites (bard).. Swords Bard is just better in every way if you want a gish character. But hey thanks for reminding me how cool the class still is.
Yeah sadly Swords Bard being over-tuned does overshadow Warlocks. They make a great pair in a party though since the warlock is less reliant on specific equipment!
True that! Not like honor mode requires meta gaming. I want to try a pure rogue build. Sneak dice in all its underwhelming glory!
@@andrewwilliam4741 haha yeah so do I, it is pretty easy to get piercing vulnerability late game, or do a psychic build with the shadow blade and psionic resonator, or use the ne’er misser to do force damage and have other party members apply frozen force. A lot more work than other builds but it has promise. Plus reliable talent taking away critical fails 😍
For fiendish vigor, it's one of those spells/invocations that are strong early and bad late. At lvl 2 - lvl 4 a free +7hp and static 7hp heal in a fight can save an encounter. On top of this, the spell counts as a lvl1 spell while costing no resources at all (beyond the action it takes to cast it). This means warlocks who multiclass into storm sorcerers can literally fly at will during exploration.
You also have access to this kind of flight during combat but it uses both an action and bonus action meaning you don't get to attack so it's kind of bad mid combat (unless you are hasted...)
TLDR: 7hp is good from lvl1 to 4 and you can fly during exploration
Yeah I could see taking it with one of the other subclasses but not really with fiend's temp hp ability. That is actually a really interesting interaction with storm sorcerer though that I hadn't considered, flying certainly makes exploring a lot easier! haha
Just so you all know baldurans greatsword is the best in slot weapons for this character.
Make sure you have 10 strength so there is no -1 and just drink the hill giant strength potion or wear the gloves (idr the name of the gloves) and now you are getting another FLAT +6 damage every swing . You can dump streng to 8 but then you would lose 1 damage if you didnt have the potion but with the gloves it wouldn't matter.
The helldusk gloves only give you a d4 of extra damage so it worth to just wear the gloves of strength (again i forget the name)
I'm pretty sure Duke Ravenguard's Longsword does stack above 20. I once used the Script Extender Console to give Wyll 2 of them to dual wield after he had already maxed out his charisma, and it brought him up to a 24. However, when I first tried using it he was already wearing Birthright, which is a +2 charisma to a maximum of 22, and found that Birthright must get applied after the longsword and it provided no further benefit.
Hmm yeah I just tested again myself and I think you're right! I must have had birthright equipped so had that same problem!
I think your statement about fire damage being the most resisted is a tabletop thing. I'm pretty sure it's either tied or second in place to radiant or necrotic for Baldurs Gate 3
I've not faced a lot, if any enemies which are resistant or immune to radiant damage in BG3. Do you mean poison or necrotic? Because poison damage is heavily resisted the second you get to the second half of act 1 (not counting the Gith Creche), and becomes worthless the second you get to act 2. Necrotic is heavily resisted in act 2 and a lot of act 3.
That might be true. Most of the necrotic resistance is in act 2 though before getting lifedrinker, but there is also a lot of fire immunity with all the fiends. Poison might actually be the most resisted/immune
I wish the Celestial patron was available in the game.
I wanted to play an off brand paladin.
I'm using this build on my tactician run. My boi is still a bit squishy but I good party combo it's not much of an issue
"Underrated" is a VERY big overstatement. Everyone knows warlock is good.
They do? BG3Builds reddit do not seem to think pure warlock is good.
How would you go on fighting an enemy that is far from you? Would you use dash to close the distance or jump, use a spell and then close the distance on the next turn
You would use Misty step to close the gap.
On the odd chance anyone sees this, can someone clarify how much of an impact the +1 from the hair would make, or rather, the impact of not having it? Im a good chunk of the way through my first playthrough and didnt know about it existing until way after doing the fight with her.
it really is not that big of a deal it’s just a free small improvement
I assume that this works with a max level toon. What I never see are builds that work throughout a gameplay.
I would really like to run a tankier Wyll warlock, with 1h + shield on tactician. Could this build still be good? Even though it's just light armor? (Or just go multiclass 1 lvl fighter for armor and fighting style, but full warlock brawler is cool, and delaying feels a bit bad.) I'm a bit worried I wont have anyone to wear medium armor.
This is my first real playthrough and I'm playing Wyll with Karlach and Gale (divination). Will probably make the 4th character supportive, like a cleric, druid or bard for maximum shortrest synergy :)
Great video! Really excited to start playing, just a lot of analysis paralysis. But this could be it!
Subbed!
Yeah it can definitely still be good! There are some great shields in the game and you can still make dex your secondary stat for decent AC, and there are two really good light armours in act 3. But I will say that if you are playing on tactician than it is hard to ignore that pact weapon extra attack stacks with regular extra attack. So you could take 5 levels of fighter or paladin, or 6 levels of swords bard to make 3 attacks each turn! All these options makes the choices hard but luckily the ease of respecing with Withers makes sure you can't be punished for a leveling decision you decide you don't like. Plus there are always more playthroughs for more builds 😉
@@UltravioletArts About extra attack, a Ranger Knight could work too. And get some proficiencies and cool passives. Although bard/paladin/fighter is probably strictly better.
Anyway, started my playthrough, looking forward to continuing!
The Whispering Promise ring would actually be very clutch with this build as when combined with the Sword of Chaos you'd nearly constantly Blessed.
Yeah if you aren't using it on a dedicated support that would be a great fit
Thanks for the guide! Quick question: How do you use Sword of Chaos when the character can't use a two-handed weapon or a weapon of war?
Pact of the blade lets you bind any weapon to you, which makes you proficient with that weapon and allows you to add your charisma mod to your attack rolls and damage instead of dex/str
Would Belm be a better option than balduran giantslayer for lifedrinker warlock? I usually like to use the hunting bow or the shield that gives 1 spell (for hex)
If you want a shield belm could be a good choice, I might like Ravenguard's Longsword or Harmonic Dueller a bit better though
the blade of the duelist is great option for sword / board using lock
Going 5 into warlock and 6 into lore bard is peak memes.
Ha but also still a good build 😂
I find this very useful since I've been stocking honor mode with my friend and I've been keen on playing warlock, but I've only been playing on normal difficulty.
This video is more than just how to build one op build or telling you what is a must, instead you're giving me ideas how I can work with my friend and companion to continue, providing many options and items from different act is really a great help!
It's really helps me figure out many things, thank you!
I'm glad you got a lot out of it! Happy to know the thoroughness is helpful to people, thank you!
(If you make all your unused companions bards you can get way to many short rests, do what you will with this)
I really wish that the origin characters were just origin storylines, that way you could still create your own character out of them
Must wait another 5 years before BG3 would be released XD
Great video! Maybe i missed it in the video. How are you able to use heavy armor on a warlock?
The helldusk armour doesn't require proficiency!
@@UltravioletArts mind blown....wow thank you
Is it worth going lvl 1 into fighter for medium armour, if not what light armour should I be going for? Just the best available to me at the time I can find?
Going 2 levels into fighter to get action surge which is refreshed on a short rest would be alright but to get medium armor? Meh but depends on what you want to wear. Armor of agathis and the fiends extra hp should be enough anyway. Plus being a human or half elf to get shields is also helping there.
Maybe wait for the hexblade to be added (next month or so) and they should get medium armor and shields
Instead of great weapon master feat, wouldn't savage attacker be better? Basically advantage on all your weapon damage rolls
We aren't really rolling enough dice to make great use of savage attacker. A lot of the damage is coming from flat bonuses like our charisma, lifedrinker and magical weapon bonus. You can get a few other riders like helldusk gloves but I think the +10 from GWM would give both a higher average damage and higher max damage
Could you do a video on how to beat Orin as a fiend warlock?
I used pact of the fey and duegar for the darkvision, invis, and the big biceps 😩
Also assassin is essential. But yeah, 3 crits with fear in aoe and surprised is a pretty good start to fights.
Duegar and halflings are sooo busted. I’m doing a run with a Halfling named Lucky 😂 and using the passive from light cleric 1, already makes you annoyingly op, plus being able to stealth right in front of people will never not be hilarious
Yeah all great! I have acouple fey builds in mind. I'm playing with a crit goo lock right now and I am thinking of experimenting with some assassin levels! Halfling luck might be the best ability in the game and it honestly makes me mad haha
Dammit. I wanted to do pact of the blade but I just felt like fragging people with dark tome
Warlock is by far my favorite class
So. Grymforge weapons always crit. Does that work with great old one passive?
Well the grymforge weapons only crit against objects and not creatures sadly. I'd have to test if mortal reminder triggers from critting an object
@UltravioletArts huh, maybe I missed it but I would swear the "object" in the line about always a crit wasn't there. Thought maybe it was a sneaky change. Well, I have the molds gonna double check that
Do u think this class would work well for a dark urge playthrough
Yeah I think it is great for a Durge!
@@UltravioletArts What alternatives you suggest vs tiefling (you chose), if we play as darkurge? For story purposes i want urge.
otherworldly leap got hugely nerfed in bg3. In base dnd 5e it lets you cast it at will, meanwhile this ver forces you to use a spellslot :/
Does the legendary rapier stack with this cause if so wouldn't that like triple or quadruple the damage?
Yep it stacks. Also if you’re interested in rapiers with Warlocks I have a cool suggestion for this Warlock build as I’ve played this build a ton. You can use Harmonic Dueller as main weapon pact bind it then run Belm or Infernal Rapier in off hand using Duel Wield feat. This way using Harmonic Dueller ability you can stack your charisma (probably +6 or +7) twice meaning you get +12-14 damage on every single strike from Harmonic Dueller and off hand.
Make sure to get actor feat to always get Harmonic Dueller to affect to succeed. If you’re using Belm over Infernal Rapier it would be better since you wouldn’t need the balanced hand gloves to apply full damage on your bonus action strike. Infernal rapier does give you a free level 6 cambion summon+it looks “cooler.”
If you really wanna go all in on being a legit gish then finding a way to get Bhaalist Armor and stacking it with Diadem of Arcane hat would quite literally make you hit for at least 40+ with a single strike WITHOUT riders and modifiers (easily can get to like 50-60 which approaches Tavern Brawler thrower levels). Do this on Ascended Astarion and its just over lol.
Thanks for actually explaining the build along the levels
Really sleeping on keeping hold person. Since Warlocks auto upcast, the ability to hold 4 people at once in a pinch is amazing.
So what modifier do I choose on hex to make eldritch blast make more damage
It always deals more damage. But you can choose what characteristic check to affect. Str is good if you want to push for example.. do note that it does not affect saving throws
Thank you for the video! I love warlocks too. What I did was go 10 warlock/2 rogue, darkness themed. This is because of cunning action: Hide. Since you are completely concealed, the enemy doesn't even get the opportunity to spot you, just due to how the mechanic's work. If you are completely concealed, they don't even get a roll. Also, the Imp is immune to blindness, so is the Cambion from that Rapier. But oddly, I also found out the Dryad from druid summons is immune to it as well.
So you and your cambion can just hunker down in darkness and pew pew pew, with the imp darting in and out as needed. You can also use the imp to guarantee you get a surprise attack on nearly every combat.
Wyll doesn't hide like a bitch.
Would this work for a good durge
Yeah I think so!
Thank you for an accurate Warlock guide. I agree that the Warlock is an under-rated class (especially since all manner of Bards feels meta = more short rests)
I think that multiclassing Paladin is great but the 7Warlock/5Paladin is more optimal.
Paladin smites cap at level 4 spell slots, so level 5 spell slots smite just as hard as level 4.
You'll get extra attack with the Paladin; with your Pact of the Blade, that's 3 attacks.
Yeah this is true! I am keeping honour mode in mind though where the extra attacks don't stack. So I'd still probably do more like an 8/4 split favouring warlock or focus more on the Paladin side going 4/8
Love the build maybe the armor and weapon Not right
How to remove pact weapon
"Banishment is just a different version of hold person" except the fact it's not
I always find it weird how dumb the AI in this game is compared to Larian's previous endeavor, Divinity Original Sins 2. In BG3, enemy AIs will run straight into danger like Firewall or Hunger of Hadar without a thought, while friendly AIs just walk right over dangerous surfaces and objects if you're not microing them or worse, cast area-denial spells without considering (this is particularly egregious in the Marcus vs Isobel fight).
Idk I've played divinity alot and they are also extremely dumb
The problem with a Warlock is they are so boring in 5e. You either blast or swing and that is usually it because you use up all your massively amount of 3 spells usually on buffs. Powerful? maybe but not very interesting.
Well spoken, seem intelligent, actually knows what hex does.. I hope you have more builds. Great vid.
warlock UNDERRATED??? warlock builds are all I see
you lost me at "I think warlocks are one of the most underrated classes in the game"
theyre literally one of the most popular.
im sorry, a skill monkey?
lol yeah it's a term for characters with lots of skill proficiencies basically, I suppose it is more of a colloquial table top term than an official one though
@UltravioletArts also pretty common term for this style of game. Particularly the pathfinder games.
Hold person is amazing on warlock - you can cc the whole encounter as it is cast on high spell slot.
Very true! The high level spell levels are potent, same thing with command
Nice .. I hate multi class myself doesn’t seem to fit in role play anyways
Balduran's Giantslayer + Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength + great weapon master in this build… so strong
Can it really be called a build if it’s only one class?