The Bladesinger Build Guide: D&D 5e
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2024
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Link to the build: ddb.ac/characters/66488489/pV...
If you would like to know how I calculate damage or how baseline damage is determined, I go through it in this video:
• How To Calculate Avera...
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:54 Maintaining a concept
3:58 Levels 1 and 2
13:04 Levels 3 and 4
17:54 Levels 5 and 6
30:14 Levels 7 and 8
36:43 Levels 9 and 10
49:19 Levels 11 and 12
53:33 How to fail at playing a wizard
56:27 Levels 13 and 14
1:02:31 Levels 15 and 16
1:06:11 Levels 17+
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I hate to be that person but saying wear studded leather underneath mage armour doesn't work as it specifically says the target has to be unarmoured
I was just going to say this same thing. I'm glad it was noticed and pinned. Accidents happen! 👍
Yeah, I had just looked up the same thing 😅
Yup, came here to say this too. Lol.
Replace it with false life
Probably for 1st level. Maybe you can cast it on your familiar or other interesting creatures as well.
I find it funny how this subclass originally made exclusively for elves now works more optimally with goblins.
*Laughs in Elven Accuracy*
Goblin lines up dor bladesinger training.
Elf Instructor: ahem excuse me we only train elves in this martial art.
Goblin: Right well I'm here training therefore I must be an elf...
Elf Instructor< figures he arguing the point is a waste od his long life span> okay you are an elf...
I am about to run it as a Harangon
I find it lame. Speaks to being ing a crybaby "I want everything my way".
This is a re-upload do to an issue with the original not posting properly. If you saw this earlier today, this is the same video. Also one correction to the video: when you cast mage armor, you must first remove your studded leather armor.
Is it possible I saw it last week?
Well, now you left me no choice but to watch it again
Okay hey? I just STARTED one for Strixxhaven. Debating Mage Slayer feature (@level4)
It seems extra potent in the setting and for this wizard. But everyone says I should take WARCASTER (lol basic (• ▽ •;)) I wanna try something different but also the level 4 asi..
Lol just got to the the numbers I did EXACTLY the same
I really wish the bard college of swords extra attack feature had the cantrip/weapon attack. Would be nice if it were updated, but oh well.
Well yes but im not sure. I would just push more people into dipping hexblade 1 to get a weapon cantrip.
@@texteel yeah, I get you, but sometimes I don’t want to multi-class.
@@PearseNation in that case I am not sure how would a cantrip/weapon attack would help you with the bard spell list
@@texteel Feats
@@DragonKingSkye i did a brainfart, ill be over here, being stupid in silence
interesting note on counterspell: when playing Solasta Crown of the Magister, you get an arcana check to see if you can determine what spell is being cast so you can decide whether to counter or not, so I use this in my games now
I think this could be a remnant from 3.5. You could identify spells being cast with a spellcraft check. Specialist wizards got a +2 on the check if the spell was from the school they specialized in
I personally think it should be a requirement for counterspell
I've already used this method before Solasta came out. I don't necessarily agree with Shoulung about it being a 'requirement' for counterspell, but I do think it should be implemented more. Especially with cross magic types (a wizard trying to counterspell a Flame Strike from a cleric for example, it's not on the wizard spell list, so why should they automatically know what's being cast - I say either counter at your own risk, or Arcana check it first to see if you want to use that reaction)
I don’t know what Solasta is but you can do that through rules in Xanathar’s
@@LemonMoon solasta crown of the magister. A small game based on 5.1 SRD. It goes from level 1 to 10, and while it has many things missing (no multiclassing), it also does a few thigns better than baldurs gate (reactions, smites, sneak attacks, the action-bonus action split)
The Treantmonk character arc:
2014: Confusion is an objectively worse Hypnotic Pattern, terrible spell
2022: You know what, Confusion covers a lot of niches other spells don't, it's a pretty good debuff spell
He did address this in his Wizard Spell series. He undervalued “non-charm” debuffs.
I made a whole list of spells where I think I originally underrated them, you'll see confusion there and my explanation as to why it was underrated: ua-cam.com/video/g6W4yD7O0mo/v-deo.html
Just played in a game with Treantmonk recently, confusion worked pretty well for us.
@@TreantmonksTemple I really enjoyed that video, and appreciated how you were willing to go back and reevaluate those spells. It shows that you're willing to accept that you can make mistakes and correct them. And that's the learning process I think we're all striving for.
You mean he can change his mind?
I'm surprised you skipped Greater Invisibility
-Advantage on attack rolls
-Disadvantage to be hit
-Avoid debilitating single target spells
-You don't provoke opportunity attacks, allowing for greater mobility and potential secondary Booming Blade damage
-Allows a goblin hide as a bonus action without cover, stopping spells and attack rolls from even targeting them at all.
agreed having greater invisibility made my life easier and you don't need find familiar
Plus any of your further spells can’t be countered, since they can’t see you cast them.
Been using Greater Invis as a Bladesinger and it's crazy good.
@@paytonmiller768 it's concentration, you won't be casting anything else worth countering anyway, plus a wizard with counterspell isn't worried about their spells being countered, especially not a goblin one who can disengage or hide as a bonus action, but the fact that you can use greater invisibility followed by a bonus action hide means in terms of battlefield attacking, you do get pretty good at it
what treantmonk was doing by not picking this spell, was basically outlining that at these levels you will not outshine a martial character who focuses on damage, even with greater invisibility (I mean now you don't have shadow blade so you are literally just a duel wielder in damage) so like, your damage won't be that impressive, you aren't throwing down a major control spell so there is no reason to break your concentration, you're not imposing any other conditions or effects, you've basically gone into a stealth mode that allows you to poke enemies rather than say cast slow or confusion or polymorph and straight up end the entire encounter completely
I mean, the benefit is you turn into a ninja, which is really cool, but I don't think that being a good rogue, basically using booming blade as sneak attack, is as effective as just well, being a wizard
of course casting this on an ally is great too
also keep in mind it doesn't always work, firstly against dragons or anyone else with blindsight it's useless, ie oozes, but also celestials and high level demons and devils often have truesight so this spell really won't scale particularly well,
You can already disengage for free with a bonus action anyway, and hiding is used to protect your concentration, but now you are using up your precious concentration just to well, protect your concentration
effectively you are spending your concentration and bonus action each turn, to make enemies not attack you
well they *can* just attack your allies, who are unnaffected by your spell, the druid concentrating on conjure animals is now going to get hit by the enemy mages ultimate spell, when if they were confused they might have just missed their turn
that's just my take on greater invisibility for this character specifically, it is a nice spell but the fact that it's concentration is a big turn off for me personally, same with blur at level 2
@@nyanbrox5418 Optimization analysis up there with Chris himself :)
Excellent advice :)
This could not have come at a better time. i am making a bladesinger for my next character and this was extremely insightful as always. Thanks for everything you contribute to the community, you have made my games so much more enjoyable.
Same. Playing a bladesinger today. Thankfully, I have enough time to tweak my character if need be.
Legit just refreshed and saw this lol. Making a wizard currently, might be able to take some stuff from this and apply it
As powerful as a full Wizard gets... I still just like the Eldritch Knight more. I want to be the Full Plate bruiser with a pile of hit points tossing out a few weaker spells. But it's good that there's both kinds of warrior mage, so folks can play what they like.
The sad part about Eldritch Knights is evocation spells at the spell slot progression of a third caster are dogwater.
If you swap out the evocation requirement for transmutation, it could get really interesting.
@@-Lindol- Abjuration spells are pretty sweet though.
eldritch knight plus war magic wizard is a pretty great combo
@@-Lindol- but do I care that Fireball at 13 is weak and situational? I have three attacks and 13d10 hit dice and two (soon to be three) extra ASI/feat options. If I wanted good spells, I wouldn't be an EK at all. =)
@@sixofone8663 A ritual book, a pile of extra Cantrips, an initiative bonus, and a nice saving throw reaction. Yeah, a pretty nice dip.
One thing about wearing studded leather for if mage armor gets dispelled or something.
"You touch a willing creature who isn’t wearing armor . . . The spell ends if the target dons armor or if you dismiss the spell as an action.
"
bingo
Yeah can’t cast on someone in armor.
I know a lot of people that have been waiting for this. Good job. You never disappoint.
Hope you enjoy!
This is exactly what i was looking for in our new group and campaign! A Goblin Bladesinger!! Thanks for all your awesome videos, they have really helped.
One thing about your comparison between Shocking Grasp and Booming Blade is that as a goblin you can disengage as a bonus action OR use two weapon fighting with that bonus action. As a wizard you probably don't want to stay in melee with whatever you're hitting so I see two ways it could normally go
1) Booming Blade + normal weapon attack + disengage (BA) = 2d6+2*dex (weapons) + 1d8 (booming blade) + maybe 2d8 if they move
2) Shocking Grasp + normal weapon attack + TWF attack = 2d8 (shocking grasp) + 2d6 + dex (weapons)
By using shocking grasp and making your last attack with TWF you get an extra 4.5 (1d8) but lose out on one dex modifier (3) so you do *slightly* more damage this way until you increase your dex or can reliably get the bonus BB/GFB damage. Shocking grasp also has the benefit of removing the reaction for the rest of the team (depending on initiative order) and using your Intelligence for the to-hit modifier allowing you to hit more often (at least until you have a magic weapon)
I love this. Thanks for the update to my favorite wizard subclass!
I love everyone revisiting their OG bladesinger builds. My old favourite - the bladesinger! Can never get tired of listening to this subclass :D
Your points about Blandesinger have made me rethink quite a few build ideas I've had, thanks.
This is a fabulous review, Chris. The level-by-level spell recommendations are especially useful. I'm currently running an Elf Bladesinger. Thanks for the thought and work you put into these videos.
Honestly a good reason to do a rewatch and solidify some thoughts. Thanks :)
Another option:
Contingency on Greater Invisibility. Steel Wind Strike at triple advantage with elven accuracy.
Wow! This is also just a solid wizard 101 vid. Gets straight to the meat of each spell levels best spells
Getting ready to end one campaign and begin another with my group this Sunday is the last session before we switch DM's and campaigns. I was planning on playing a goblin bladesinger before this video came out. I was using the old video as a guideline and was going to dig into the math of the changed features (Lv. 6 Extra attack mainly) and what spells are optimal but you did it for me with perfect timing!!!
Shapechange is interesting, but you never address the biggest problem: "you must have seen the sort of creature at least once." So the value is going to be extremely campaign-dependent.
A little correction on the Planetar damage: offhand is correct 1d6+5+5d8 (31), but main attack is 1d6+7(planetar str)+5(song of victory)+5d8(angelic weapons) = 38 average
Total damage: 3d6+15d8+29+3d8+(4d8/2) = 129.5 average WIth chance to hit becomes 89 average.
Planning to play a bladesinger in an upcoming game. While playing with my character concept, I realized earlier this week that the goblin race pairs nicely with the subclass and designed around that. Then I saw this video. Thanks, Chris!
Great tips! Another benefit of going pure wizard to the 20th level is the 2 spells per level that you learn. 9th level spells may not be easy to find on scrolls.
I have been play a bladesinger for the last 2 years. Super fun class to play. Thanks for your thoughts.
Good morning Chris! Had a busy weekend, but finally back on my mission! Finishing the second half of this vid then on to the next! 💜
Thanks for this Chris, I'm gonna pick up a Bladesinger when I start playing DnD again.
Yo. My next character that I have to roll up is going to be a Goblin Bladesinger. This was SO timely.
Thank you so much, you've made the transition from me being primarily a bard/paladin main to now playing wizards as of late so much smoother. Your insight, tactics, and shared experience has definitely made my games more enjoyable going in.
Hurray! Was waiting for this one :)
Shapechange is the one spell i DESPERATELY want to use. its so batshit crazy and I love it
Especially with Tasha’s new rules, a Shadar Kai is better than the goblin. Blessing of the Raven Queen is very useful and you get more uses as your prof bonus goes up. Then you have the resistances of the elves, sleep and charm, plus resistance to necrotic. And always take mobile as soon as possible.
Such a great point with shape change!
I like this a lot, you basicly explain why a lot of players experience the bladesinger as a trap, as they tend to play a melee character, which is wasteful of their potential and often leads to unsatisfactory results
They treat it as a MC Gish instead of a wizard caster that secondary or support melee fights.
I have played Bladesingers up to 9th level and in my experience they do very well in melee due to their extremely high mobility and potent single target striking power when using Shadow Blade (because a weapon that does 3d8+dex that you get advantage with when in dim light or darkness for a single spell slot each encounter is hard to beat, but I wouldn't cast it above a 3rd lvl slot.)
I normally kept a mix of melee spells (Things like Blink, Shield, absorb elements, misty step, Shadow Blade, mirror image, and False Life) and your normal wizard control+AOE spells with the exception of fireball which I switched out for Pulse Wave so I could have and AOE that would be practical in melee if necessary.
Which does bring me to one of the underrated features of a Bladesinger and that is the ability to tie up enemies in melee due to the fact they are simply so hard to hit and can dynamically switch from an defensive focus to an offensive focus during combat for relatively low spell slot cost meaning they can tie up a lot of enemy actions as they just try to deal with you.
I have played a high level bladesinger that shapchanged into both a marilith and planetar. Exactly as awesome as advertised. Marilith can be used to shield but also counterspell in the same round which is essential, because monsters that have dispel magic prepared will cast it at you.
Additionally, you arguably get an extra +1 to hit because you have a higher prof bonus than cr 16 monsters.
Not arguably, it explicitly says it in the spell. So that is a +13 to attack assuming you don't have a magic weapon.
I got the new book as a gift and this build just gets better with it.
Ok. I write it in the first video, that got deleted for some reason. On lvl 10 and all the way to 17, I think the best spell to cast and upcast is summon draconic spirit. I was a big fan of animate objects and bigby's hand, but this spell is so versatile and powerfull that I have a really hard time prioritizing the damage of animate object or the kind of utility that bugby's hand brings. It last 1 HOUR!! In a dungeon crawl this difference is HUGE. It flyes and you can mount it, it hast great damage, it can scout and talk, you can buff it, it has great AC and excellent hitpoints, it has YOUR spell modifier to hit and for their spell save DC, so you can share items bonuses. It can grapple (nice strenght), shove, pin a target prone. And its action economy is far better. It has a crapton resistances and gives you one of them, you can take necrotic, psichic (hi mindflyers), etc etc.. it's so hard to pass on and give that hour of having this scaly dude among your party just for the minute of "extra dmg" or "extra control" that bygby's or AO gives us.
Just building a Bladesinger for Curse of Strahd. Tip of the cap for your timing, good sir!
Just finished a COS campaign with my friends, careful for undead with resistance/immunity to psychic damage from shadow blade if you choose to go that route!
@@madwithjacob much obliged. I imagine I’ll be on crowd control duty, more than damage. Be nice to get the shadow blade out every now and again though. We rolled stats and it didn’t go magnificently, so I’ll have to save slots for layering defensives as my Con is 11 :/
@@jonathanholmes3149 ( *Cough cough* Radiant *cough cough* )
@@madwithjacob oh shit, that's right! Just begun CoS with my bladesinger too!
Great build and analysis as always. I was going to go Shadar-Kai for my Bladesinger build for the necrotic resistance and free misty step (with resistance after using misty step) and the extra two proficiencies per long rest, but your point on Goblin and disengage is really tempting I might have to switch my race!
Goblin love. Great video, only thing I definitlly would add from low level to my spell list is disuise self for RP because goblins could not be welcome everywhere.
Love the shapechange planetar angle!
Chris, if you are ever hungry for a video topic, I'd love to hear more about how you DM, including (especially) how you prepare.
Thanks, as always, for all the great content you create and share.
Actually he did a brief DMing series over a year ago, including encounter-building. Search for Dungeon Master Excellence in D&D: Part 1 for the first part.
@@Adurnis I don't think they meant a DMing tutorial. I think they meant they wanted to see how Chris DMs specifically. I could be wrong, but that's what I got from it.
@@lordvalinar774 The last video in the series is Chris building an encounter for a game he runs.
Sword of Complicated is the greatest Bladesinger pun I have ever seen.
Yes!!! Bladesingers make the best shapechangers! Another great option for damage is the goristro, who can use extra attack to charge gore a creature twice in a row.
14d10+12 damage on each attack, good chance to knock prone, I'm fairly certain this outdamages the planetar, though it's not nearly as versatile.
how is it able to attack twice with gore? gore isn't part of its multiattack, and I don't believe it's a part of the charge. charge specifies movement and an attack that you can combine for extra effects, but you aren't given extra movement or attacks because it's not an action it's a trait. am I missing something? am I wrong?
@@collinw9792 so the way i read it: charge is a feature you can apply whenever you move 15 ft and make a gore attack. The bladesingers extra attack lets you make two attacks, regardless of they type of attack. Attacks can be broken up by movement. So you run up, take the attack action to gore, run back 15 ft, run up again and gore again with your second attack on extra attack.
@@TheRagnarok428 you know I think you're right, I was thinking of it as a separate action, but it's just a melee weapon attack, so absolutely would work with extra attack imo. Thanks for clarifying!
Really a nice build... the only thing I have, is my old-school tradition for bladesingers, that is they are elves... it takes years to master the bladesong, if I remember the lore correct 50-75 years from the old complete book of elves... so I can see the half-elves maybe be raised in elven societies, but the other other... well just feel wrong to me...
This isn't really a critic, because I understand and accept that other races are allowed by RAW... and besides that, awsome video and build... always good to get a good idea about the spell selection, which can be a jungle at times...
The philosophy of the designers is currently to move away from forcing players to make their characters according to lore, but if that's more fun for you, then go for it.
If custom lineage is allowed, you can still be an "elf" but with a 1st lvl feat.
I'm happy to see you redoing old builds! Have you thought about redoing the evoker? Several new spells have come out since then that may have changed the spell list.
Thank you great guide as always!
Bless is a great pick if you are the only one or the only one beside the cleric able to cast it, however if you already have a paladin and a cleric in your party, bless is redundant.
Actual melee dpr of the bladesinger can be higher than other martial classes because of the mobility granted by spells (expeditious retreat, misty step, fly, haste...)
Holy shit! A bladesinging Planetar or Marilith is just *chef’s kiss*
I've been playing Bladesingers as my favorite class/subclass since 2016, and I gotta say this: Do not take Warcaster before Res CON. In fact, take Res CON as your very first feat. You're a wizard. Your HP pool drains faster than you can imagine. Res CON takes care of your Conc checks guaranteed while in song, AND gives you enough HP to stand just long enough.
agree
Eh, personally when I played I liked having the booming blade OP or maybe some other spell if I wanted. And the ability to use dual shortswords with no somatic issues is also nice.
@@brettrichards4048 BB works with the material component in hand (the sword), you do not need a free hand to cast the spell. But, yes, you do need a free hand to cast any other spell. Simply drop your shortsword, or maybe throw the shadow blade in the round prior, if you absolutely must cast another spell in those situations.
Dropping the shortsword is usually the better choice, it's a free action, you can pick it up as your free interaction with an object next turn if you want it back in the exact next round.
@@calebbroeker8412 to make opportunity attacks with booming blade would still need it. And yes while I'm aware you could just drop it and draw another or pick it up, it's still not ideal. Even less if you get to hire levels and suddenly you want to hold a melee weapon and something like a wand or a staff like gandalf then you're really in for a bad time as those are harder to just drop.
While not as necessary as say a sword and shield user, still not ideal. I'm not going to say res: con isn't better or that you don't want both, but I am saying that both have pros and cons and enable a different kind of playstyle. The superior choice is less black and white and more going to come down to what the player wants to get out of the character. More health and stronger defensives vs better offensive capabilities, but slightly more vulnerable.
@@brettrichards4048 Personally, I find attacking and withdrawing (kiting) a much better fighting style when you are procced for it which a goblin with shocking grasp is. Having others to engage those would could attack you to not also works. But if bladesong and warcaster, i find most con spells can often stay up. Delaying the build for a +2 BAB addition isn't a huge persuasion, but when you get into +4, then I can be more swayed.
Thank you for the explaination around the 53 minute mark. I have been trying to expand beyond me being either a Martial/ Martial Caster to a being a full caster and Wizard is a class i get overwhelmed by the literal brick house of options I have. Listening to that would likely help lol. But also would help me as a New DM as well so others can get those hints as well. TY Treant!
I know I'm late, but I have to say, that's the best guide that I see about Bladesinger. Most of them just tell us the feature and half a dozen spells that they recommend, but you take it to another level. My only concern with the build is that it lacks some more utility spells at lower levels, like Invisibility, but that's it. I am surely review the Bladesinger I'm currently building considering all your tips.
Great stuff, thank you!
I could see how Fear could be useful for an enchanter.....go up and hypnotize the one who made their save against the fear....as long as you stay within 5 feet, you can keep dancing around them and keeping anyone else that comes in away from you
One thing I will say about tensers transformation, being a bard or a bardadin and combining it with greater find steed is very fun.
I haven't done the math but I remember being satisfied with the damage.
You give up both your spell choices to do it at lvl 11 but there you go.
Goblin Bladesinger… Orc Battlerager. 😂 As always great vid.
Great video, thanks Chris! I love bladesingers for exactly the reasons you articulate so well!
I hadn't considered draconic transformation before but agree it's a good option for damage if you're going to be able to catch multiple creatures in the breath weapon.
I wonder if most DMs would be up for refluffing it as an angelic transformation, sort of a precursor to tie planetar shapechange? The breadth weapon is shimmering energy doing force damage so it could be some sort of divine blast.
Either way, great explanations of the balances and tradeoffs of when to cast control spells and when to do melee, etc.
If you ever get a chance to play this character in actual game play, I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences of what worked, what didn't and what you learnt please?
Loved the video and I have a much better grasp of my options as a bladesinger now. I do have two, very tiny corrections - 1. You can't use a light crossbow with Bladesong, it's a 2 handed weapon. You can use a sling, though, which wizards are naturally proficient in, it's only 2 points of damage less, and is almost the cheapest weapon. That's worth not breaking Bladesong.
2. Goblins' Fury of the Small got a small change in MPMM, which I'm not sure matters much, it's now PB/long rest and PB damage per application. Worse burst, more uses so more total damage, likely.
I still think Elf/Half-Elf make the best bladesingers, though. Extra weapon proficiencies are great, Fey step is great, extra +1 on Half-Elf is great, Elven Accuracy with Familiars is great.
I feel like grabbing metamagic adept and extended spell to make that shapechange last twice as long would feel really good. That is a lot of the adventuring day you are able to be ridiculously powerful.
I love using this class as an assassin, especially at higher levels.
Just wanted to say I enjoyed the rant.
Literally just finished the last video as this was released
I recently made a bladesinger but made him strength based as a tortle(as to not worry about ac). It worked about the the same but was pretty sick.
After level 17, 2 levels of fighter for action surge are generally a decent investment.
Demi plane with clone and some decent gear on your party’s clones is hilarious. “This time With feeling!”.
Elistraee: “Behold my most powerful, beautiful, graceful, sneaky little priestess, the gerblin. They did their one job, and picked good spells.”
Fun trick for animate objects: If you have a war cleric with you, ask them to cast crusaders mantle.
Perfect! My bladesinger just reached lvl 7.
My neceomancer reached lvl4 Last week
I fell the lack of AC. 🤣🤣
I roll the stats My dex is a low +1
My constitution is even worse i had to put everything on constitution i start whit an 8
But after bonusses of the game and racial and an item i reach a 13
😑
I appreciate you making this video :)
I was experimenting with a crazy concept of taking Sanctuary through a lvl 1cleric dip on a high level bladesinger.. I imagine you could sort of use it as a preemtive defensive spell after you've attacked on your turn... The idea is that once you're high level, it's a pretty powerful effect for a lvl 1 spell slot, even if you may only end up using it for a turn or two.
good thing is you can dip 1 level of artificer to get Sanctuary so you don't have to put points into Wisdom.
@@goodgulfgas That is true, but I do believe Cleric is a stronger lvl 1 dip? They tend to be really front loaded. It also doesn't delay your spell slot progression
@@MaMastoast artificer casting starts at 1 and rounds up, so no spell casting delay with a 1 level dip.
@@elliotbryant3459 Interesting
@@MaMastoast I agree that Cleric is strong at 1st level (probably the strongest first level class in the game). It's just that cleric and artificer share some spells (like sanctuary) and both have at least medium armor and shield proficiency, and you wouldn't need to have at least a 13 wisdom score to get what the artificer gives you. Yet they are half casters and you would have a half delay on the spell progression, but if it's a one level dip, it's not too noticeable.
A ton of new feats, spells etc were added to the game over the years since your optimized druid builds. Would you mind integrating some of their new spells into a new build one day? I love the idea of being an Earth Elemental with Draconic Transformation :)
Hiya Treant. Great video. One other thing I think you should consider is eleven accuracy. You have a lot of potential for advantage attacks, and rolling three dice is nice.. but you must be either elf or half elf
why they didn't is this was procced for kiting when in melee not accuracy.
dissonant whispers for the 1st level spell from fey touched lets you take an opportunity attack if you have war caster and they fail their save
I think if you wanna lean into the shadow blade you might wanna consider prioritizing Dex and feats like elven accuracy/ war caster that brings up the dmg a bit but does limit the effectiveness of other spells.
08:25 first i thought why did i never do that. But then i read the spell again. You can only cast mage armor on somebody not wearing armor.
Sorcerer twining shape change. I didn’t realize you could use those forms. Wow
Sorc doesnt have shape change :(
I think with my last three levels I would go with fighter (probably echo knight but doesn’t matter that much). Main appeal is action surge so you don’t have to spend your entire first turn on setup, but fighting style at first also gives yoy some decent options
I knew Shapechange was coming. I knew it! XD
Bladesinger 18, Barbarian 2 (start with barbarian for con save). Doing this on a campaing I been playing since last october, we're still around lv 10 (2 barbarian, bladesinger 8). Aside from the multiclass, my build is pretty similar to the ideas presented here.
One big difference is the race, half-elf, to take elven accuracy and abuse reckless attack and mirror image interaction (plus blink when needed).
the good thing about getting barbarian 2 as well, is that when I get to Shapechange levels (granted, 2 levels later than the other casters), is that I keep the barbarian AC, but now with the absurd attributes of those creatures.
I'd start with Artificer for the CON save and you can always come back to get levels 2 and 3 after we get extra attack. There's so much in the Barb class that we aren't making use of and artificer is on theme with the INT warrior
I would go to 18 for spell mastery..the ability to use shield and misty step at will is amazing.
Thank you
@Treantmonk's Temple, Won't your mage armor fail if you're using and armor already?
It says on the spell: "The spell ends if the target dons armor or if you dismiss the spell as an action."
Mentioned in the pinned comment on the original video, probably forgot to re-mention it for the reupload.
Don't know if that's the place to make this comment but, here's an idea for a couple of videos: "build rescue". How to optimize builds for a campaign that would go up to X lvl if my character already is at lvl Y, and I may have picked sub-optimal race/stats? How to cut the losses or even perhaps find something reasonable?
Maybe picking some random character sheets sent by viewers and talking options for the next lvl ups.
Saw it already but I'll have it running for more views/watch time :)
I'm sad you didn't mention Summon Fey. Its actually better than Shadow Blade at some levels, and if you use Flanking Rules its very reliable advantage. Also it has some control effects that can really F with casters. Also applies for Summon Shadowspawn
Wading into melee with an army of summons is the best part of my melee druid build. And with as much damage as I can do with Conjure Animals there's really something hilariously cruel about using my Fey Spirit to dunk a cube of darkness right onto an enemy I just tagged with booming blade
I am currently running a blade singer and summon fey has been amazing. Something not considered by a lot of people is its duration of 1 hour. Unlike shadow blade, I have my summon fey is almost every encounter in a dungeon. It also acts as another body to absorb hits that otherwise would be smacking you or your ally. It also can help wall off narrow corridors and prevent the badies from smacking your backline. It also scales well with level, gaining an extra attack at 4th level which is amazing. I stopped using shadow blade simply because summon fey was almost always a better option since we use flanking bonus. Having your first round's bonus action to bladesong is amazing since my damage is nearly the same round 1 and round 2. All I loose out on in round 2 is my two hand fighting, a measly D6 with my second short sword.
i love the marilith build. swap the stats to allow for warlock and go hexblade 1. and if you are feeling spicy, two levels of fighter for action surge. 7 attacks with 2d8+15 ish twice if that dude needs to die. and you are still a full caster with SO many counterspells.
But, if you are a warlock, you are a half caster and have very few spell slots.
I play a level 20 bladesinger, I’m 500+ hours in, played him through multiple hardcovers.
He has 26 intelligence, tome of the stilled tongue, Diamond spell gem. I stack shapechange, foresight, and other spells using my simulacrum. He’s got a finesse vorpal sword, which he uses in shapechange as a marilith to make 6 vorpal sword attacks a turn, with a reaction every turn for shield, counterspell, and silvery barbs.
He is insane. I have his D&D beyond character sheet.
"The marilith can make seven attacks: six with its longswords and one with its tail." A Marilith is holding six weapons and in that situation can only attack once with the vorpal sword and the rest with its longswords. A reaction every turn with that many options is great.
Can you link the character sheet?
I like how you covered tier 4 play in your build. Its understandable to prioritize abilities at lower levels, but the vast majority of your videos ignore features after level 12+ and for those of us that enjoy playing epic campaigns it's nice to have your analysis
Every wizard should take Arcana. Making scrolls to carry with you is one of the most powerful things a wizard can do.
If you can craft scrolls at all. The rules say in order to craft *any* magic item we need:
- a formula for a magic item in order to create it (This is totally up to the DM since there's no "magic item formula" available in the equipment list)
- an exotic material to complete it. This material can range from the skin of a yeti to a vial of water taken from a whirlpool on the Elemental Plane of Water. Finding that material should take place as part of an adventure.
(I recently heard on the Pack Tactics channel that you should make all these scrolls in your downtime, so he must play with house rules, since every magic item by RAW requires an adventure to track down the components)
@@TreantmonksTemple I’ve always used the rules from Xanathar’s which make crafting a scroll just a matter of time and money, but obviously if they were not to be used for whatever reason then the usefulness of the Arcana skill would plummet.
Everyone should check with their DM’s to see if the rules for crafting scrolls from Xanathar’s Guide is being used and if so they need to take Arcana with their wizard. Additionally, you also want as many of your spellcasting party members to take Arcana as possible as it would allow them to make a scroll of a spell that is on both their class list and the wizard’s class list which they can then give to the wizard to copy into his book. This is the way to learn lots of additional spells without needing to get ahold of an npc’s Spellbook which can be almost impossible in some campaigns.
(I’d also argue that Arcana should probably be a skill that all wizards start with automatically the way rogues start with proficiency in thieves tools, but as they don’t we can hope that maybe when they update the players handbook in a couple of years they change it so that wizards will.)
If you can get a diamond spell gem with Foresight, do it!
Shapechange + bladesong + foresight = scariest combatant I can think of.
A Marilith becomes very scary this way, with 7 attacks, 189 hp, loads of resistances including magic resistance, and able to take a reaction on every turn. With a capped int, you would have 23 AC with bladesong up, 28 AC with parry, and deal 140 magical points of damage to enemies with an 18 AC, plus a tail attack that grapples.
Really nice video, I think you found a good spell balance for a bladesinger that want to be a gish but at the same time uses the powerful control spells that a wizard possess.
I played a bladesinger at lvl 17-20 and created the whole pg (a yuan-ti) around the Marilith (I think the concept of this monster is the embodiment of what players want for their martial / gish pg); having unlimited reaction on a wizard spell list is awesome, and I didn't play this build but you could take Polearm Master, Warcaster and Crusher and position yourself in front of you party and every time an enemy approaches you can deliver a full booming blade + weapon damage (you need to swap a sword with a staff obviously, but shapechange gives the option to maintain some of your equipment).
This was exactly what I was looking for. Great and comprehensive guide. One question, though, wouldn't you have to have War Caster to be able to pull off the Extra Attack + Booming Blade plus TWF lvl. 6 combo?
There is one race I think you overlooked in your last video: the new Dragonborn. Dragonborn give you an additional option you can do with your melee attacks in dealing with multiple enemies up close and Metallic in particular give you powerful AoE control. Both options being amazing for a melee fighter. I would also suggest the new Kobold when it comes out as it can give itself (and other allies) advantage on attacks against melee targets just as a bonus action.
I already did a metallic dragonborn bladesinger. Check out "The Tear and Scare" build on my channel.
@@TreantmonksTemple I completely missed this video. Thank you!
@@TreantmonksTemple Missed that one TYVM!
How do you think Harengon would work for Bladesinger? Has the mobility with the hop to get out of range when it wants to, Limited uses unlike the bonus action disengage yes, but still a superb mobility feature since it scales up as you level.
Great video, as always. Regarding Tenser's Transformation, hearing you point out the problems with this spell made me think it would be interesting to have a video pointing out situations or builds where sub-optimal features could be effective. Optimizing around bad things to get as much out of them as possible.
In Tenser's example, I'm playing a fighter 2 / abjuration wizard 8 right now, with a good dex and Armor of Shadows invocation via feat. I still don't have the level to cast Tenser's but I believe this combination mitigates most of the spell's weaknesses.
But of course, I'll probably have better things to do with my 6th-level slot when I have it available lol
It’s literally because it DOESNT allow you to cast spells. It already doesn’t do more damage than you can with other options, but even if Tensers did the most damage for any spell, it still arguably wouldn’t be good because you CAN NOT cast other spells.
No shield, no teleport (misty step or Dimension Door), no counter spell, no dispel magic, no AoE fireball if they group up. All of these are non concentration and just to name a few. You take away what makes you so versatile and strong just to say a higher damage number.
I think I would like to add the blade ward cantrip if I were to go into melee. With a possibility to have more than a +10 in con saves against breaking concentration, when fighting melee enemies, it can keep incoming damage so low, you can always succeed on concentration saves. +10 con saves should be easy with resilient con and blade song
I'm stealing this! Arcane formula means I can swap cantrips,but I'd take this over mage hand then.
Great video! I start Curse of Strahd recently, made a wood elf bladesinger rogue multiclass, and my build feels smiliar. My GM houserule 1 free feet at level 1, so i took mobile. My plan is to go 17 wizard/3rogue, and I have never had a adventure pass level 6, so i decide to take rogue levels first because of the slow start of the wizard, arcane trister mage hand alredy pay for itself (free grimoire). I am having a blast using booming blade and catapult . Now im considereing taking in the future elven acuracy or war caster, any sugestions?
(sry bad english, hi from brazil)
I do recommend a single level dip at level 1 for Barbarian to gain Unarmored Defense and Con Proficiency. Let’s your Bladesinger fight without armor at up to a 25 AC (30 w/ Shield spell), at the cost of pushing your class features back by one level.
Remember to save money to buy a spellbook then.
@@joshuacr
The Naked Bladesinger only needs enough gold to buy a weapon and a spell book. And maybe some modest coverings. Maybe.
Hello Treantmonk! Big fan here and follower of the optimization as the way of character building. I recently had the long waited chance of playing standard dnd 5e in a steady, organized long run campaign, with free character choice: I made a wizard and we are now almost at 4th lv, it's a God-wizard style shemale hobgoblin, divination school (after all of those hours of watching your guides, I wanted it so hard); but as my first attempt of optimization, I probably made some mistakes or maybe mixed too many things and now I'm in trouble with my future feat choices. Is it patreon the best way to have a chat and a personal help from you?
Thanks for every videos, greetings from Italy!
YES force cage "cage variation" then scatter enemies into the cage that you could not fit on the casting so that those inside the cage don't get lonesome! haha
I was personally considering multiclassing Echo Knight into bladesinger for the AC and using war caster with echo knight to be casting the spells on reactions and main actions on melee attacks or other spells.
I’m not sure if this is actually effective due to being delayed in spell casting but manifest echo being really good.
Edit: if you have any recommendations for other options than bladesinger feel free to reply.