Steel Wind Strike is also melee spell attack instead of Saving Throw, so enemies with Magic Resistance or Evasion can't use this abilities to avoid damage. Also... force... Also... style points!
Тюнс it’s also a mobility spell, at max you can teleport up to 35ft in separate directions. If you happen to get advantage you have a decent chance of getting a crit. You can pick targets you can see, which takes away from usual consistency of an AOE, but of combat is already muddled then you don’t risk attacking your allies, unless by choice...
Some food for thought is that if you have taken the mobile feat, it does not differentiate between types of melee attacks. You could cast this for damage, teleport, then be able to safely move away afterward.
Haste is how you make a dual-wielding Bladesinger work. Wield two shortswords and cast Booming Blade, then take the Attack action with your Hasted action, qualifying you to attack with your other weapon as a bonus action. Also another small thing is that Mage Armor could be considerably better if your party has a pair of Bracers of Defense, as long as you aren't taking them away from a Monk or a Barbarian it makes your AC a base of 15 + Dex + Int.
Unfortunately Haste lets you that additional action to make a single weapon attack, not to take an Attack action, so you do not get the BA two weapon strike.
predwin1998 Revoewing wording I see that you are right. On the other hand, that is a different build from what @treantmonk is demonstrating here. Haste os great for improving your own defenses and offense, but Slow or Hypnotic Pattern make the fight easier for the whole party and can gimp the opponents. Even Web allows you to give advantage to the rest of your party when you restrain an enemy. The investment of spell slots to be as effective at damage dealing as a fighter will not be more effective than making the other damage dealers more effective
@@44tuck3r I disagree about your fighter comparison. You have an on-hit effect. Intmod as +dmg. Add a scaling melee cantrip. You now have (d6+3+5)*2 +d6+5 + 3d8 fire with a concentration spell that makes you tankier as well, a cantrip and dual wield. Yes, a battlemaster with PAM and burning all the maneuvers will outdamage it with (d10+5)*4 + d4+5 +5d12. Or a paladin smiting everything. But its still not bad dmg for how little it costs.
texteel and if I am playing a primary damage dealer for the party, maybe I would consider doing something like that, or maybe even mix in with sorc for metamagic. But the value of a god wizard is measured in the damage output and damage prevented for the whole party
Song of defense is best used against a critical in my experience. Shield cant help, and crits are what get damage through the bladesinger's awesome AC and onto your poor HP. Flat damage reduction is more efficient when used with low HP characters because the flat reduction represents a larger percentage of your overall HP. It also makes your concentration saves a piece of cake when song of defense gets the DC down to 10.
@@TheJunkie42 This issue is what makes the bladesinger not viable. Or rather, almost any other type of wizard is better. In order to address this issue, you need to give up way to much to somehow, any way, wear adamantium armor. You simply do not have the hitpoints to compensate for the occasional crit which will one shot you. Even taking one level of fighter gimps you because wizards, indeed all spell casters that rely on saves are save or suck. You either rule or you suck, not both. It's not obvious until it is totally obvious but the action economy is problematic with the very concept.
@@nonenone4461 Higher AC means higher effective hit points. If you're scared of crits blur and greater invisibility exist, although I think song of defense is good enough for most cases.
The only spell/cantrip that you can't take with you on that character is "toll the dead" to make it an Adventurers League legal character, there's are many ways to obtain the XGtE spells in AL since a wizard's spellbook is one of the few if not only thing free of the PHB+1 restriction (you can copy spells from other wizard's but you can't choose spells from sources outside your PHB+1 as your level up spells). I understand that this video was made with the intent of not scribing any scrolls to make it as bone stock as possible but I figured it was worth mentioning that you can collect spells from other people (or scrolls) quite easily to put in your spellbook.
I never understood why so a many people go for Booming Blade cantrip. It takes up the full action, which means you don't have multi-attack which will do a lot more damage. Its really only good for single attack classes such as Lore Bards, Rogues and Clerics.
Jason Whetzesl wouldn’t recommend going into melee as a Lore Bard, but Booming Blade is awesome on Rogues and Melee Clerics. It’s one of the reasons I think the Arcane Trickster is the best Rogue subclass.
@@jaysw9585 It depends on what class you use with BB and what role you play in your party. The bladesinger gets 2nd attack at 6th lvl meaning at 5th you'll be getting the added bonus from the upgraded cantrip effect. Between 6-10th lvl the 2nd atk will outdo the dmg but at 11th the cantrip gets another bump in dmg, which makes BB better at controlling the battlefield or punishing those who doesn't stay put after you hit them. I'd say BB is less valuable for a bladesinger than e.g. and Eldritch knight who got it through feats or MC since the bladesinger gets the high lvl spells and would probably be using them over just plain hitting at higher lvls.
Well, I do think one of the more fun aspects of the booming blade/flaming sphere thing, is you're giving the mob a choice to take that bonus damage from booming blade or that damage from flaming sphere for ending their turn next to it.
@@smbakeresq We were talking about BoomingBlade... It works kinda nice with spirit guardians + at 8lv you get +10dmg with this cantrip ;) With Lice cleric... ye. Could be okBut you need to waste one feat to get magic initiate.
Thank you for being such a tremendeously nerdy nerd! Not planning to play a bladesinger in a long time, but this is still great fun to listen to. I disagree with a lot of choices, which is great, since it forces me to try to understand the advantages with your approach.
Haste doesn't necessarily give you the damage buff you'd like to have, but does increase your AC, Movement, and that additional damage can be used to dodge, dash, disengage. In circumstances when you're against enemies that rely on attacks, a hasted bladesinger using their free dodges becomes nearly untouchable.
31:08 Glad you brought this up cause I can't even be sure if this is an oversight of Bladesong or not. You can't use any armor higher than light, use a shield or two-hand a weapon. But there's nothing saying you can't wield _two_ weapons while using it. The whole point of Bladesong is to be a one handed weapon wielder while also being a wizard. But not restricting two-weapon fighting makes that 14th level feature kinda terrifying. If you can't add your ability mod to the off hand damage, you still add your Int mod to it. Talk about compensation.
As an aside, critical hits and fails are only for attack rolls, not ability checks or saving throws. So, if you manage to get a +9 to a Concentration save, you will always roll a 10 or higher. So dumping one of the two 10 stats down to an 8 so you can pump constitution to 15 allows you to round it out with Resilient (Con). So at level 5, you would have 16 con, 16 int and proficiency in constitution saves. When you bladesing, your concentration save bonus will be +9 (3 con, 3 int, 3 from proficiency). Unless you take 22 damage from one hit, you will never lose concentration. Also your HP is higher and you can resist poison and make other con saves more effectively. Plus, the dice can't screw with you nearly as much. I love Warcaster though, and I highly recommend it all the time.
If I can fit it in RP wise for casters in all classes I like to start in a class that gives CON saves and then use Warcaster for the bonuses and hand usage issues. You can also get a multiple good saves, for example if dipping SOR at 1 for a Cleric then you can get Con saves and then Wis saves with Resilient (Wis.) Good saves are that important.
Advantage on saves is mathematically roughly equivalent to a +5. Just in terms of concentration saves, War Caster is better early game, Resilient CON is better late game, and in the middle they are about equal.
Love the video. Bladesinger is my favourite specialisation of Wizard, which is also my favourite class in the game. There's just so many options. I have never had two Wizards be the same in 5th Edition and that is why I love them so much. One thing I do like to do is putting CON up to 15 as it makes taking Resilient (Con) more viable (You are more likely to be able to do this if you roll stats like my group does, instead of going Point Buy). I recent; found myself in a one shot where I was able to stack Resilient (Con) and War Caster. My Concentration save was so absurdly high I think the DM was reaching for the bottle. We were 8th Level and I was looking at +11 to my Concentration Checks, with advantage, allowing me to auto-pass checks from attacks that didn't hit me for 26 or more damage. Having both War Caster and Resilient (Con) is probably overkill but I rolled well enough to use it without hurting my INT and DEX too much. RE: Two Attacks. If you aren't restricted by AL rules and can take Shadow Blade from Xanathar's it's an interesting melee option if you want to be more of a Gish than Wizard. It scales pretty well and can just be handed off to the Fighter, or a Rogue if it's way too dangerous to get into melee. It uses Concentration but is a Bonus Action to cast so you are getting at least your two swings in with it before you might have to drop Concentration for something else. If you are sticking to being primarily a Wizard though, there are better things to spend your Concentration on for sure. In the same level range where you can use it with Extra Attack, there is Flaming Sphere that is still good around there (unless you run into resistances). Animate Objects and Steelwind Strike are also better at later levels too. I agree with you 100% on Shadow Blade in your 2nd Level Spells Video but in the case if a Bladesinger, it's definitely an option if you aren't restricted by AL Rules, especially if you have party members who can really use it (or you are running a Multiclass Gish build). That said you can pass it to a Familiar as well as it's a Simple Weapon, though technically a Familiar doesn't have Simple Weapon Proficiency so not all DMs will allow it.
I would imagine that 2x shadow Blade would do a lot less damage than 1x BB/GFB + Flaming Sphere. I haven't punched the numbers, but I would be very surprised if otherwise
@@TreantmonksTemple I did also forget to consider the fact that Flaming Sphere can be moved around to damage multiple enemies so you're 100% right on the DPR for BB/GFB + Flaming Sphere being ahead.
If you read Shadow Blade, it doesn’t seem like you can give it to someone else as it will just disappear. A more generous interpretation might mean they can use it for one turn if they take it from your hand during their turn, but it would disappear at the end of that turn.
@@TreantmonksTemple Throw is a clearly defined action but drop does depend on the DM for sure. It's why communication is important I think. That said, this is a video about Wizards, not Gishes. I think I have been playing too much Arcane Trickster lately so need to train myself back out of that mindset.
Surprised that he didn't recommend Shadow Blade, because it is a bonus action to cast (meaning you can cast it and in the same round), does 3d8+mod psychic damage when cast at level 3, combines with your multiattack at level 6 (meaning that if you hit both attacks with a lvl 3 SB you average 33 damage if you have a plus 3 dex), gives you advantage in dim and dark light, AND it is a light finesse weapon so you can use it with two-weapon fighting! That little level 2 spell can prove pretty potent even at higher levels. Bonus points if you combine it with booming blade on your reaction attack and nail the guy running away with it doing 6d8+3 for something like 34-35 damage, and may god have mercy on whoever you crit with that hit.
not sure how long ago the errada it but you cant BB and GFG with shadow blade as they both have a material component of attacking with a melee weapon thats worth at least one silver piece.
There can be no doubt that you really understand the wizard at a fundamental level. My wish for this video would have been for you to maximize the idea of the blade singer. Two levels of fighter would not have hurt this character at all but would have made a huge difference in their abilities. Also shadow blade seems like a must. With all that said you sir are an internet treasure and I am great full for your wisdom... or should I say intelligence ;)
We need an update for this! So cool but there is a lot of changes with Tashas. Now we need value on weapon used for most spells so no more shadow blade combos. Still worth? Cantrip as one of the attacks at level 6. Elven accuracy, warcaster, mobile are all great options. So much to analyze!
@@druxusthemage9806 Human variant = level 1 feat... I'm guessing "War Caster", "Alert", "Resilient (Con)" or maby "Lucky"? All of witch could be picked up later with an ASI... Unless Chris hits us with some "next level" reason for human V I fully suspect u can swap his next build to halfling no problem just take the level one feat at level 4 (or after u cap Int)
Here to sing the praises of the Dexterity (Acrobatics) skill and it's use for a high Dex wizard (or really any one with a higher Dex then Str). The Dexterity (Acrobatics) can be used to defend in grapple challenges. That's it. It's how you don't loose all movement (you know your first line of defence) when the enemies get all grabby hands
I have to say I'd still do my 1st 3 lvls as Eldritch Knight, you still get a 9th level spell and spell slot, 2 extra cantrips, more hits and Con save proficiency, action surge, second wind, combat style etc, you use a shield for the 1st 3 levels, and you can take it up again when/if you run out of Spell songs.
Lance Clemings I wouldn’t call it mad tbh. They need dex, int, and con (everyone needs a good con) and the rest don’t matter that much (unless maybe rp purpose), tho wis I wouldn’t completely dump. I don’t think it becomes mad till u get to 4 stats your worried about having high.
Troy Hillier Yep. That’s what I’m doing with one of my current chars. Right now I’m a Druid/cleric (land Druid, arcana cleric). For my Wizard cantrips I choose both Booming blade and Green Flame blade. I use a quarterstaff with shillelagh and so far the only feat I have picked up is Polearm mastery so I can get attack of opps when an enemy comes close. I will also be picking up mobile for the same reason u just said and will also be picking up Warcaster for not only not having to worry about somatic or having advantage on concentration but to being able to cast booming blade on attack of opps (remember Polearm mastery). Also the dm is allowing unearthed arcana stuff so I can go a lv into fighter and get the fighting style tunnel fighter (which if u don’t know what that does it basically makes it so your attack of opps no longer use up your reaction). Keep in mind tho it won’t always proc the extra booming blade dmg if the enemy is smart after getting it by it once and if they have a ranged attack but hey your still limiting what they can do which is amazing.
Notably, Acrobatics allows you to resist grapples, that's probably why they give you advantage in it. One of the ways to shut down a melee caster is grapple+shove prone.
@@TreantmonksTemple it doesn't- but that still a spell slot, and the one spell for the round to be cast limiting reprisal. eventually your going to chase down the wizard.
My favourite way to play the bladesinger is to use a longbow with a batman-wizard build. The level 6 extra attack doesn't specify that the attack has to be melee so, no need to take offensive cantrips. Some of the other benefits of baldesong don't work with the bow but it's no biggie to drop it when needed and draw short-swords. The longbow does more damage than cantrips, has more range (at disadvantage) and gives you the option of taking sharpshooter once you've got 20 Int. It's a nice option to have because murdering the hell out of enemies stuck in webs across the map is a great way to avoid taking concentration saves. Still, I understand those who would prioritize other feats. I've had positive experiences with this build!
@@yosharian easily! Levels 1-5 The bow will be doing 1d8+3 (~8.5 damage) And from levels 6+ it will get 2 attacks; 2d8+6 (~15 damage). At the same levels, firebolt does 1d10 (~5.5) increasing by another 1d10 every 5 levels, so the cantrips only take over from bow damage in the teen levels. The bow has more range as well, which is nice for staying back and away from danger. The biggest negative of the bow is that your to-hit rolls won't be as good as firebolt, which goes up as you put points into intelligence. However, that can be offset by the fact that magical bows are relatively common in a lot of modules. The biggest sell for me is freeing up yet another cantrip slot for almost endless utility. I found having access to every utility cantrip is very useful in the Doomvault, which is where I play tested this idea. :) Hope that answers your questions! ===EDITED BECAUSE OF AUTOCORRECT.===
Important point. If you use longbow, your blade song will end, as you made a two handed attack with a weapon. This makes a ranged cantrip a must have for me. The longbow does outpace Firebolt more then he says tho, since Longbow can be used with extra attack, its two longbows vs 1 firebolt.
Ever since someone mentioned the X Abjurer/1 Hexblade here in the comments, I can't stop tinkering with various versions of both the build and background. Makes me want to start a new campaign just to play it. Really curious what your take on it will be. On a side note, I think you should include "step-by-step guide" or "in-depth guide" either in video's title or somewhere on the thumbnail. It won't make your videos any shorter, but people who run into it will at least know it's not some kind of uncut VOD.
Dissonant Whispers and other forced movement spells won’t provoke the damage for BB on the forced part of the movement but will provoke the damage when the forced movement is over and the enemy has to move back into range if the timing is right. Make sure your teammates know that and they leave the enemies where they have to move back into range.
What lost me in this build it's knowing so many concentration spells, with full casters i normally limit myself to one combat concentration spell per spell lvl and the rest go with non concentration and out of combat options. Spells like Animate Dead, Arcane Eye, Charm Monster, Dispel Magic, Thunder Step, good ol fireball are great at tier 2 while you concentrate in Hypnotic Pattern/Polymorph.
can agree to the statement about Xanathar's spells. Many of them can rather easily be substituted by a PHB spell. Or, like you also explained in the 8th level spell guide, are just not really made for adventuring and more for the downtime in between. Like Mighty Fortress in this case.
I'd honestly consider taking a 1 level dip into Hexblade Warlock (Non-AL legal obviously). You can take 2 flavour cantrips (or take something like Booming Blade, which is not based off your Char). For the 2 1st level spells, I like Hex for some extra damage (either spell or weapon) & armour of agathys (some nice defence, works well with fire shield). Hexblade's curse is just nice all around, since the bonus is just to damage rolls. Hex + Hexblades curse can make something like scorching ray a great single target spell (each beam does 2d6 + your proficiency bonus fire + 1d6 necrotic). Hexblades curse can make magic missile a lot more dangerous (say you're level 9, each missile deals 1d4+5 damage to your curses target, meaning you deal a guaranteed 15 damage using a 1st level slot, and a maximum of 27). The best part of hexblades curse though is that it can make booming blade even more nasty. You can hit someone for the weapons damage + your proficiency bonus damage + the thunder damage + any other bonuses. If they decide to move, they take the secondary damage + your proficiency bonus damage. Since we most likely have war caster, this makes an especially nasty attack of opportunity. Now obviously this slows your spell casting down, but since it's only a 1 level dip, I find it more tolerable. I wouldn't do it until I have probably 7 levels of wizard though (to get the most out of polymorph at level 7/8).
I always thought of the Bladesinger as a mage - defensive swordman. So ideas that you may think stupid. This is me just saying what I like. First, only one melee a cantrip. I use Booming blade because if you have two targets attacking you they are likely to flank and that bad news as it makes your AC bonus far less less effective. Also hurting two targets just does not seem as valuable as making one target take a good hit and then using that threat of damage to lock them down as you leave to the side of the second target. Never should you approach two targets and give them an easy opportunity to flank if you fail to kill them both. Second, I guess I am the only one that likes Chill touch. Making it so that the one archers I see that will try to hit me will have that disadvantage (thus making AC harder to hit. (I love the mage hand/Chill touch RP) I like Fey Teleportation early on. I see three benefits to getting very early. (Let the preaching to the Chair begin). You will use it almost as often as a shield. With your higher speed and a misty step it, give you a barracuda attack pattern there you go in, take a swipe and bounce out. You want to do that over anything else and having it on tap is critical. You want to help on an attack make another spellcaster make a save and bail. Also, a way out when you get over your head in battle and to stop most grappling attacks. You are still a squishy wizard and this gets you out of bad places. It does not take a preparation that you really will need even sub level 8. And because it is short rest that means every time you get both your Bladesong back and a spell you will almost always want to use. Because it gives you +1 it can help for those that do the rolled attributes.
I agree chill touch is amazing (aka what it should be called kill touch). But where did u get archers getting disadvantage from? R they undead? If not they don’t get disadvantage. I too also want to know how this mage hand/kill touch combo works.
Booming blade works a lot better for arcane tricksters, or rogues with magic initiative. I personally kind of prefer lightning lure or the one that attacks everything within 5 ft of you, but neither of them uses your weapon.
Just play the Bladesinger as a high-defense wizard and you'll be OP. There's always the option of switching back to melee if you get something like a Belt of Storm Giant Strength or a Moonblade, but for the most part people salivating over crap like Tenser's Transformation makes me cry. Having Fear and Fly in your back pocket will crush way more encounters than Haste or Shadow Blade ever could.
One of my favourite characters is a High Elf Arcane Trickster with 2 levels of Bladesinger. He is less a wizard with a sword than he is a wizard who... makes things disappear unnoticed. But sometimes he uses a sword for that rather than a spell.
I like Arcane Trickster with 2 levels of Hexblade a lot more. Your BB/GFB relies on just one stat for both hit and damage, you can use a shield, and charisma works better for Rogues than intelligence. Not to mention that you also get a good range attack with Eldritch Blast, and some measure of at-will control with Cunning Action Disengage into Eldritch Blast+Repelling Blast. Outside of combat you can also use Hex to debuff your mark’s Perception/Insight checks when you pick pocket them or lie your ass off. Going the charisma route also allows you to get into Sorcerer/Bard or more Warlock later on, after you’ve gotten Magical Ambush. Instead of the 13-14 INT you are running on MCing Wizard, all your debuffs can be cast with maxed out save DCs AND disadvantage immediately with no additional resource cost. Very useful even with just low level spells like Dissonant Whispers/Tasha’s Hideous Laughter.
@@M0ebius It all depends on what you want your character to do. What you're suggesting is a blaster. But my character is meant to be a stealthy supporter, who manipulates the situations to the party's advantage from the shadows and only stabs or shoots an enemy when he can really make it count.
RokuroCarisu I get it, but when you line them up side by side, the Hexblade AT does MUCH better damage from both range and melee without being any worse at stealth/support early, and late game you are actually far better at support/debuff once Magical Ambush is online. I would even argue that with EB+Repelling Blast, you are actually a better battlefield manipulator early game as well, being able to push enemies off cliffs, off of party casters, or into hazards/spell ranges/melee range, all while dealing damage. And if striking from the shadows is your thing, Cunning Action Hide into EB/BB/GFB gives you advantage same as any other attack roll, and you can do that over and over as long as there’s cover. Not to mention that you are also a far better manipulator outside of combat with a maxed out charisma. All that, and you can still dump a ton of damage when you have to. Not quite strictly superior to the Bladesinger AT, but it’s pretty close.
Man, am I the only one who had to relisten a few times to figure out he was saying Eberron? I wasn't watching, just listening on my headset, so I didn't see him pointing to it. Feel silly that it took me so long😋
@@TreantmonksTemple Not trying to give you a hard time about how you pronounce an entirely made up word. I just had never thought of saying the way you did, so was rather slow on the uptake
Polymorph is great.. but Giant Ape is about the only form you'd use on your party. Most beasts have between Int 2 and Int 4, which is not exactly conducive to tactical coordination.
I particularly think that Prestidigitation is an overrated cantrip... But in any case, Wizards have spell books, so they have plenty of space for utility spells.
What are thoughts on taking mobility instead of the alert feat? You can basically move in attack and get back without the opportunity attacks. Especially now with the double attack/cantrip option.
@Treant. Great. Always wanted to play one., but why toughness and not resilience? Question. How would you make a character emphasizing the use and up casting of shadowblade as primary melee weapon. Upcasting based on threat level. 1. A bladesinger with many spell slots to upcast based on threat lvl and gets the 2 attacks with it, or a sorcerer who can extend the duration and damage dice roll but 1 attack or a warlock who can use devil sight darkness and Moil but 1 attack. I was thinking bladesinger 18 fighter 2. Action surge for 2 spells or 2 more attacks and fighting style duelist. Prestidigitation to snuff out a torch get dim light if not already dim. For shadow blade advantage. 3 spells lvl 2-5 1 spell 6-9. higher tier creature spell saves and resists can reduce spell casting damage to 1/2 or 1/3 or less for wizards so either you battle field control spells or shadow blade psychic damage up to 5d8 per attack plus to hit and damage including bb or gfb and duelist.
Guys....he made this video before Tasha's came out. He made a video about the changes and how it effects this build. Personally I think a level 3 dip(at least) into Artificer Battle Smith is leet.
Bladesinger build? Nice. From what i played as a rogue 3, wizard 5 melee is fun especially as a swashbuckler. High AC, Good Skill Selection but still bad hp. Having the mobile feat, a whip, or the swashbuckler feature are all great for a hit and run mid range tatic without wasting bonus actions too. Suggestion, haste, shield, and blink are all great. Mirror Image is too slow and waste a turn. Booming blade and flaming sphere is ok. Lets see what you have lol.
Some things: Booming blade is amazing with mobile tho (Booming blade is actually my fave cantrip FYI) Mirror image is good just cause it doesn’t take up your concentration and can make even a nat 20 miss u. Wouldn’t it be better to go Arcane trickster (the best rogue imo)? Cause u still gain a little lv progression in your spellcasting and if u wanna be able to get sneak attack dmg than just have your familiar do the help action. Also keep in mind with the swashbuckler ability to get sneak attack dmg in 1v1 combat only works when they’re within 5ft of u (which is stupid I know) and if your gonna be using booming blade or even green flame blade than remember those also have to be within 5ft of u (again stupid). But u could get spell sniper to increase booming blade or green flame blade to 10ft but u nothing like that for swashbuckler.
Really surprised that Tenser's transformation is not picked at lvl 11, you get 2d6+4d12+dex and another 1d6+2d12 with your bonus attack when dual wielding. Also 50 temp hp which is insane along with permanent advantage on attacks during the 10 minute concentration
It was my understanding from phb (p.203) that the same hand using the material components (or arcane focus) could perform the somatic components. Removing the need for one of the perks of Warcaster. Now it still seems like a solid choice for a feat. I am wondering if you disagreed with that reading of the casting rules and why? If allowing for one hand to wield a wand, another a rapier and still cast out of the gate, would you still grab warcaster at lvl 4? (without recoursing to any drop/swap shenanigans )
At least the way AL is run where I play, wizards can sort of "cheat" and get spells outside the phb+1 range by somehow getting a spellbook or scroll - and scribing it into their spellbook. So absorb elements and other xanathar spells are easily gotten by a bladesinger. In AL you can just buy spell scrolls with gold (maybe not all levels but iirc it goes up to at least lvl 5) - and spellbooks drop in many modules. Cantrips can't be gotten this way, but players use cantrip scrolls, which are cheap, to use cantrips they otherwise have no access to.
when i built my bladesinger i went with the Shadar-kai elf cause the Dex is really good for all those reasons you brought up but the Constitution is also really helpful for concentration and overall duribility which is decent for a melee wizard whom might take a couple hits dispite all attempts to protect themselves.
It has begun... Thanks for what you do, TreantMonk. You rock. I get that people want to play a wizard that is in the fight on the front line, but why? Just to make the first few levels a little more survivable? Most of my games get through tier 1 really quickly as DMs (that I play with) don't relish in TPKs and they rush through 1-3 really quickly. It seems to me that what one gets from bladesinger doesn't make up for what you lose from one of the better school of magic sub-classes. Of course, it might just be that I hate eleves (yeah, I am one of those annoying players that has an irrational dislike of all things elven). Thanks again, Optimagus Chris.
Its a great muiltclass for a high AC character. For a melee character, you get ritual casting and bladesinging for 2 levels. It also gives melee characters a range option without putting away your weapon. In my opinion the class seems to be front loaded just like Potent or Evoker (evoker has an decent capstone Ability tho)
@@conradkorbol most of the utility ritual spells are 1st level. Water breathing, water walking, tiny hut, Telepathic bond are the only ritual spell you really miss out on.
This is why my table generally start campaigns at level 3 or 5. Levels 1-3 might be fun the first couple of times, but killing goblins gets old real quick.
Wood elf. Tho with bugbear and a few others counting as fey now.. and bladesinger being open to all races anyways... i keep wanting a monk hybrid with wallwalking but hard to work the ability score. Or warlock for armor of agathys. Workin on a character that does damage as walking by provoking reduced damage op attacks which also uses up reactions if planned well.
Mirror Image doesn't guarantee an attack misses. If the attack beats your AC, you roll to see if it instead hits the copy and if it rolls under the number based on how many copies you have left, it still hits you and they roll damage. Even if they miss your AC but still beat 10+your Dex, you still roll to see if it destroys a copy. So yes, it makes it very hard to land a hit on you, but it by no means guarentees they miss.
What I say in the video is that "every time a mirror image takes effect then that attack will automatically miss." So yes, the attack guarantees an attack misses, as long as the mirror image takes effect. At no point do I say it turns attacks that would otherwise hit into misses, though that is often the case.
@@TreantmonksTemple Still, saying something that has a chance of happening "guaranteed" is like saying "if I win the lottery, I'm guaranteed to make money." Yeah, IF you do win, of course you'll be paid your prize.
@Dallin Barger Yes, concentration could be a problem but we have warcaster and Bladesong for better concentration checks. I belive the core os bladesinger is keep melee as a trump card, attacking ranged while is possible and then dive in close combat. At sixth level you got extra attack and alredy have acces to third level spell slot, so a 3d8+(Mod Dex) Shadow Blade with extra attack, attacking with advantage in dim light or darkness, adding Elven Accuracy to it for three dice rolls, is a pretty good combination dont you agree? Fun history... Once in a fight my whole party had died, with only 10 hp i was surrounded by 3 Giant Apes. So I cast "Otiluke's Resilient Sphere", and started buffing myself: Mage Armor, Fire Shield, Bladesong, Mirror Image, Blink, drank a healing potion, cast a Shadow Blade(ending the Otiluke's Resilient Sphere), with a total AC of 19~24 with Shield spell and started to fight. When blink didnt' throw me to another plane keeping me safe until my next turn i still had mirror image, I had already cast Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound so it was more damage every turn. I was the only survivor and that was kept in our minds forever.
Hi man. I have a question for you: Why dont your take Shadowblade at level 2? When you hit two times on level 6, you deal 4D8 damage + your dex (+6 for an instance..). Whith your build, flaming sphere (it´s a great spell), deals 3D6 (with saving)+1D8+DEX+1d8... and when you reach level 5, you can cast shadowblade in order to deal 3d8 dmg... Why is better flaming sphere and one hit with booming blade, than sadowblade? Congratulation for your space, I love it.
Booming Blade is good at 5th level. So i would take it at level 4. And on level 3 is Dragon's Breath way much better than flaming sphere. Give it to your familiar (owl) as a bonus action.
Another idea for Song of Defence; if you're getting hit with a physical attack and you know it's going to hit even if you cast Shield, this would be better. Obviously this depends on guessing (or knowing) how high the attack role was to begin with though.
Or in the case of being hit with a Magic Missile, unblockable attack and force damage which absorb elements can't reduce so Song of Defense can help reduce as much damage as possible
I didn’t know this till last year and Idk if know this but u can use shield after hearing what was rolled (which has made me appreciate the spell). Like say u have a 19 ac and the dm gets a 22 to hit u the dm will ask if a 22 hits and u say yes it would but I cast shield and make it miss by making my ac 24. Or did u know that but your dm just says they hit u without giving u a number? That’s not something a dm should do if so.
A minor point, but still kinda important: running around in studded leather armor and carrying a bow and sword means you don't *look* like a wizard until the spells start flying. Remember, "geek the mage first" is just as true in D&D as in Shadowrun. If you're careful and subtle about where and how you deploy your magic, the enemy might not know which one of the party is the mage, but if you're rocking up looking like Dumbledore, there's a good chance they're gonna make special effort to kill you specifically.
Thanks for the guide its really close to my character I am playing only I went with shadowblade for some fun :) But I also bought some more spells and so (only lvl 9 yet)
WHY No Shadow Blade, That Spell Is My Spell Of Choice & Go To Weapon For My Bladesinger... I Swing With Shadow Blade & Then I Cast Either Toll of the Dead or Frostbite, They Auto-Hit For Damage, IF Ur Target Fails Their Saveing Throw...
Myself I would trade out Tough feat for Elven accuracy. If you can get flanking you have 3 rolls to hit your target (initial, advantage, feat) so you should hit unless your very bad at rolling dice.
When you say that using two hands to make an attack with a weapon is something we will never do, are you intending that we will only use the longbow in those situations when we don't use bladesong?
Yeah, that's a poor choice of words on my part. I'm meaning that we will never use a 2 handed weapon when using bladesong (melee), but now that you mention it, that's definitely the wrong choice of words.
I read about elf eladrin: +2 dex +1 int ( exist another version +2 dex +1 cha) what do you think about for a bladesinger ( he has misty step but 1 control less: so I take minor illusion, green flame blade, toll the dead at level 4 booming blade or do you hint anything different?)
I wonder how you would make a multiclass between a psi warrior fighter and a bladesinger wizard. I saw this combination in a multiclass top (where "the guardian" was also, your multiclass of fighter, barbarian and wizard, really incredible, that's why I watch your videos) and it seemed like an interesting idea, but I don't know if it would really optimize to the class of the bladesinger more than if it were a pure wizard as you propose in this video...
First of all: thank you for all your guides. I play wizard from.. ever and when i read your guide for 5e i totally agree with you. I love to play the wizard as GOD. Help me here. I'm a DM and (incredible) i found a substitute for an adventure. It's my big occasion (cheersss) and i want to play my wizard ofc. The problem is that i dont know what to choose cause i love all the traditions (except necromancy cause it's too much focused on the undead army type and it's not mine). The party is all ranged (rogue, ranger SS, cleric grave, wild sorcerer and celestial warlock) and the other master doesnt undestrand the game and how encounters work (this is the reason all my group ask me to dm all the time ahahaha). His encounters are always deadly till someone die and the mob start playing less aggressive or some miss happens. Yesterday i tryed a cleric in full tank mode (plate-shield-hill dwarf for hp) and in the last encounter i died twice with SG up, haste and dodge!. So i decided to go back to my love, the wizard. Against such threats, Bladesinger or Battlemage i think, i both of the cases i will problably focus entirely on control while ranged kill mobs. I?m here for a sort of brainstorming ahahahah ! sorry i dont know if this is the good place to ask, but i was watching (again) your bladesinger video and i tought to ask here! In this campaign we have a bonus talent, so with a BS i was thinking about 16 dex 16 int 14 wis (13+ Resilience Con), a +1 in wisdom and rest str and cha (27 PB)
If super-tank builds are getting destroyed, I would be inclined more towards Wizards that hang back and can aid other party members primarily. Honestly, if you haven't done Diviner in awhile, that would be my go-to, though War Mage for bonuses to initiative and saves might be a good option as well...
Treantmonk's Temple I played a diviner and it was amazing the last time that guy been master i played that and it was so funny! ! I was thinking about the war mage and I like it but I don’t like it’s origins in FR.. Cormyr and all that kind of stuff it’s to military for me but hey! It’s dnd and I can figure out! The Transmuter too.. it’s not the best but with wisdom prof, con pro with the alchemist stone and resilience dex i could have all three big saves covered.. but diviner it will be the best choice. Against that kind of enemy one good roll of portent and nothing (legendary apart) can stand against me 😂😂 thank you for answering! Tomorrow I’ll create the wizard
Wizards getting their subclass at level 2 is a mixed bag to me. Spend years unlocking the secrets of the arcane, get a few magic tricks and the ability to be a minor reality warper. Which is about the same as those born with the gift(sorcerers) or those who took the quick path(warlocks). And both of those get more innate abilities than the wizard as well. I honestly think that WOTC could have moved the signature spell abilities that wizards get back a few levels to like about level 10, if not five. As for Bladesingers themselves, I admit I love them. They have the potential to have the most AC in the game, so melee isn't a bad thing for them. Wish they got Zephyr Strike or that there were more weapon attack spell options. Parts of Tensers Transformation might work as a last ditch effort depending, I'll admit I haven't looked at that spell for awhile. Also, why can't you use a shield, or buckler, with bladesong WOTC? Is it just because you don't get proficiency with shields or bucklers? Is there a deeper lore reason I'm unaware of? I get that it'd be a bit unbalancy but that's honestly kind of a poor explanation.
Yea especially since u can get that at lv 2. They can even get up to 30 (32 even) without magic items which is insane 😂. This is y this is my fave Wizard subclass.
Is Mage Armor that great a spell for a Bladesinger if you are going to become proficient with light armor at level 2? It doesn’t work if wearing armor.
If you get magic studded leather armor, then you can stop preparing mage armor at that time. At mid levels though, if we're talking studded leather vs mage armor, a 1st level spell is worth 8 hours of +1 AC.
Hey Treantmonk, any thoughts on Tashas cauldron of everything mentioning a new bladesinger variant or rework? I am so excited. So hoping the take this in the right direction.
While I do love the new multi attack feature where you can replace and attack with a cantrips, I dislike bladesong getting kicked down to a long rest. Bothers me a lot. Yes, in late levels you can use it more frequently, but in early and mid levels it really damns any bladesinger wanting time build around being in melee. Goddamn, why would they do this?
@@jeremybertsch5414 I think It was a Fine tradeoff and gives more thematic consistency to the difference between a caster/gish and a nonmagical combatant. Plus mid (+4) to later levels (+5-6) you are back as the superior everything. YMMV ofc depending on how your group is with several combats a day. The changes to GFB and BB is a bummer though, i still don't know If It was worth Just to stop using It with conjured weapons.
Hey Treantmonk! first of all, i love your channel and you are doing great! second, i am building a bugbear bladesinger at the moment what do you think would change if you have 5ft extra reach? is it total dumb because booming blade wouldnt trigger?
I'm new to this, but my PHB doesnt show Stealth as an option for the Noble background, only History and Persuassion. What am I missing? I really want to have that skill!
I have a question because I cant seem to find a ruling on this. Can you cast glyph of warding on an object inside of a bag of holding? Kind of like a batman utility belt I guess.
32 min mark: I don't really understand why warcaster (which is a great feat) trumps +2 INT, or even +2 DEX. You're not planning on two weapon fighting, so what makes it a better option?
Would you ever consider starting fighter or rogue 1 before going into wizard? fighter can give you a few more HP, and increase your damage output (dueling, two weapon fighting) or defense, and rogue makes you really skillful with an extra 1d6 damage most rounds.
If your planning to go either of those than I would say yes. Like u said it starts u with a little extra hp but if u were to start with Rogue u get 2 more skill Proficiencies and get more and better ones to choose from.
Yea u can’t use both cause they both use up your reaction and shield is a million times better cause it last the whole round (defensive duelist only last for one attack so it sucks and I thought it used to be good 😂). Definitely take tough to make it so your health is up their with the rest of the party. U can still get up to 30 ac (even 32) without magic items. Which is just crazy and y this is my fave Wizard subclass.
@@TreantmonksTemple It can save your life, my diviner is still carrying his longbow and his shortsword; you'll never know when they'll be useful! And they are always better than a sling and a dagger.
Steel Wind Strike is also melee spell attack instead of Saving Throw, so enemies with Magic Resistance or Evasion can't use this abilities to avoid damage. Also... force... Also... style points!
Тюнс it’s also a mobility spell, at max you can teleport up to 35ft in separate directions.
If you happen to get advantage you have a decent chance of getting a crit.
You can pick targets you can see, which takes away from usual consistency of an AOE, but of combat is already muddled then you don’t risk attacking your allies, unless by choice...
It reminds me of Joshua and Marisa in Fire Emblem Sacred Stones - it is the assassin finishing move
Some food for thought is that if you have taken the mobile feat, it does not differentiate between types of melee attacks. You could cast this for damage, teleport, then be able to safely move away afterward.
Bobby Baker sure, but the spell also doesnt say you have to teleport. If you are in a more advantageous position you could opt to stay put
Steel wind strike seems to be able to be affected by spell sniper too, attack range and teleport radius seem to expand because se of the wording
Haste is how you make a dual-wielding Bladesinger work. Wield two shortswords and cast Booming Blade, then take the Attack action with your Hasted action, qualifying you to attack with your other weapon as a bonus action. Also another small thing is that Mage Armor could be considerably better if your party has a pair of Bracers of Defense, as long as you aren't taking them away from a Monk or a Barbarian it makes your AC a base of 15 + Dex + Int.
Unfortunately Haste lets you that additional action to make a single weapon attack, not to take an Attack action, so you do not get the BA two weapon strike.
@@44tuck3r Haste does actually allow you to use the actual Attack action, just with the caveat that it's only one attack.
predwin1998 Revoewing wording I see that you are right. On the other hand, that is a different build from what @treantmonk is demonstrating here. Haste os great for improving your own defenses and offense, but Slow or Hypnotic Pattern make the fight easier for the whole party and can gimp the opponents. Even Web allows you to give advantage to the rest of your party when you restrain an enemy. The investment of spell slots to be as effective at damage dealing as a fighter will not be more effective than making the other damage dealers more effective
@@44tuck3r I disagree about your fighter comparison.
You have an on-hit effect. Intmod as +dmg. Add a scaling melee cantrip. You now have (d6+3+5)*2 +d6+5 + 3d8 fire with a concentration spell that makes you tankier as well, a cantrip and dual wield.
Yes, a battlemaster with PAM and burning all the maneuvers will outdamage it with (d10+5)*4 + d4+5 +5d12. Or a paladin smiting everything. But its still not bad dmg for how little it costs.
texteel and if I am playing a primary damage dealer for the party, maybe I would consider doing something like that, or maybe even mix in with sorc for metamagic.
But the value of a god wizard is measured in the damage output and damage prevented for the whole party
"you're a wizard they should be jealous of YOU." Truer words were never spoken!
Paul Susac cries in Sorcerer
A subclass i never felt the need to play....this changes now..Ty Treantmonk.
Song of defense is best used against a critical in my experience. Shield cant help, and crits are what get damage through the bladesinger's awesome AC and onto your poor HP. Flat damage reduction is more efficient when used with low HP characters because the flat reduction represents a larger percentage of your overall HP. It also makes your concentration saves a piece of cake when song of defense gets the DC down to 10.
Nearly the only time it’s used
@@TheJunkie42 This issue is what makes the bladesinger not viable. Or rather, almost any other type of wizard is better. In order to address this issue, you need to give up way to much to somehow, any way, wear adamantium armor. You simply do not have the hitpoints to compensate for the occasional crit which will one shot you. Even taking one level of fighter gimps you because wizards, indeed all spell casters that rely on saves are save or suck. You either rule or you suck, not both.
It's not obvious until it is totally obvious but the action economy is problematic with the very concept.
@@nonenone4461 I mean...you could just take lucky? Use it to fix the rare failed concentration saving throw and the critical hits.
@@nonenone4461 Higher AC means higher effective hit points. If you're scared of crits blur and greater invisibility exist, although I think song of defense is good enough for most cases.
@@lucasbrant9856 mirror image is better cus no concentration
The only spell/cantrip that you can't take with you on that character is "toll the dead" to make it an Adventurers League legal character, there's are many ways to obtain the XGtE spells in AL since a wizard's spellbook is one of the few if not only thing free of the PHB+1 restriction (you can copy spells from other wizard's but you can't choose spells from sources outside your PHB+1 as your level up spells). I understand that this video was made with the intent of not scribing any scrolls to make it as bone stock as possible but I figured it was worth mentioning that you can collect spells from other people (or scrolls) quite easily to put in your spellbook.
Build Summary
1:High Elf, Booming Blade. Wizard 1: Arcana, History, Minor Illusion, Green-Flame Blade, Toll the Dead, Shield*, Mage Armor*, Sleep*, Absorb Elements, Find Familiar, Detect Magic. 10/14/14/15/10/8. Noble, Stealth. Quarter staff, Component Pouch, buy Longbow.
2: Wizard 2, Bladesinger, Rapier, buy Studded Leather Rapier, Grease*, Comprehend Languages
3: Wizard 3, Mirror Image*, Flaming Sphere*, Sleep(*)
4: Wizrward 4, Warcaster Feat, Misty Step*, Web*, Mage Armor(*), Ray of Frost
5: Wizard 5, Hypnotic Pattern*, Leomund’s Tiny Hut
6: Wizard 6, Counterspell*, Slow*, Web(*)
7: Wizard 7, Fire Shield, Polymorph*
8: Wizard 8, INT x2, Watery Sphere*, Greater Invisibility, Fire Shield*
10: Wizard 10, Fire bolt, Wall of Force*, Rary’s Telepathic Bond, Steel Wind Strike*, Animate Objects*, Flaming Sphere(*)
12: Wizard 12, Tough, Dimension Door, Contingency, Mass Suggestion*, Soul Cage*
14: Wizard 14, Simulacrum, Forcecage*, Crown of Stars*, Teleport
16: Wizard 16, ASI INT x2, Maze*, Demi plane, Antimagic Field*, Mind Blank, Teleport*
18: Wizard 18, Spell Mastery: Misty Step Shield, Wish*, Foresight*, True Polymorph, Prismatic Wall
20: Wizard 20, Alert, Dispel Magic, Thunder step, Water Breathing, Clairvoyance, Signature Spells: Dispel Magic Thunder Step
Sharanjit Paddam: Thank you!
I never understood why so a many people go for Booming Blade cantrip. It takes up the full action, which means you don't have multi-attack which will do a lot more damage. Its really only good for single attack classes such as Lore Bards, Rogues and Clerics.
Jason Whetzesl wouldn’t recommend going into melee as a Lore Bard, but Booming Blade is awesome on Rogues and Melee Clerics. It’s one of the reasons I think the Arcane Trickster is the best Rogue subclass.
You the real MVP
@@jaysw9585 It depends on what class you use with BB and what role you play in your party. The bladesinger gets 2nd attack at 6th lvl meaning at 5th you'll be getting the added bonus from the upgraded cantrip effect. Between 6-10th lvl the 2nd atk will outdo the dmg but at 11th the cantrip gets another bump in dmg, which makes BB better at controlling the battlefield or punishing those who doesn't stay put after you hit them. I'd say BB is less valuable for a bladesinger than e.g. and Eldritch knight who got it through feats or MC since the bladesinger gets the high lvl spells and would probably be using them over just plain hitting at higher lvls.
I just found this channel by searching blade singer, and man you are awesome dude! Such a detailed breakdown, I am in love.
Well, I do think one of the more fun aspects of the booming blade/flaming sphere thing, is you're giving the mob a choice to take that bonus damage from booming blade or that damage from flaming sphere for ending their turn next to it.
It’s even better with a Spirit Guardians user, stay and melt or run and get a bolt.
@@smbakeresq Like Arcana Cleric :)
Degaine yes and no. Arcane Cleric leads you to spells that rely on WIS, the Life Cleric features are much better if only dipping.
@@smbakeresq We were talking about BoomingBlade... It works kinda nice with spirit guardians + at 8lv you get +10dmg with this cantrip ;)
With Lice cleric... ye. Could be okBut you need to waste one feat to get magic initiate.
Degaine I mean a teammate with spirit guardians
Thank you for being such a tremendeously nerdy nerd!
Not planning to play a bladesinger in a long time, but this is still great fun to listen to. I disagree with a lot of choices, which is great, since it forces me to try to understand the advantages with your approach.
Haste doesn't necessarily give you the damage buff you'd like to have, but does increase your AC, Movement, and that additional damage can be used to dodge, dash, disengage. In circumstances when you're against enemies that rely on attacks, a hasted bladesinger using their free dodges becomes nearly untouchable.
That's true, it's a step up from the Blur spell in that respect
You can't dodge with a haste action
Great video! I just started playing a Bladesinger and will look at some of your suggestions. Thanks for all of the hard work you put in.
Really happy to see the added Adventurer's league stuff at the end of the video.
31:08 Glad you brought this up cause I can't even be sure if this is an oversight of Bladesong or not. You can't use any armor higher than light, use a shield or two-hand a weapon. But there's nothing saying you can't wield _two_ weapons while using it. The whole point of Bladesong is to be a one handed weapon wielder while also being a wizard. But not restricting two-weapon fighting makes that 14th level feature kinda terrifying. If you can't add your ability mod to the off hand damage, you still add your Int mod to it. Talk about compensation.
As an aside, critical hits and fails are only for attack rolls, not ability checks or saving throws. So, if you manage to get a +9 to a Concentration save, you will always roll a 10 or higher.
So dumping one of the two 10 stats down to an 8 so you can pump constitution to 15 allows you to round it out with Resilient (Con). So at level 5, you would have 16 con, 16 int and proficiency in constitution saves. When you bladesing, your concentration save bonus will be +9 (3 con, 3 int, 3 from proficiency). Unless you take 22 damage from one hit, you will never lose concentration. Also your HP is higher and you can resist poison and make other con saves more effectively. Plus, the dice can't screw with you nearly as much.
I love Warcaster though, and I highly recommend it all the time.
If I can fit it in RP wise for casters in all classes I like to start in a class that gives CON saves and then use Warcaster for the bonuses and hand usage issues. You can also get a multiple good saves, for example if dipping SOR at 1 for a Cleric then you can get Con saves and then Wis saves with Resilient (Wis.) Good saves are that important.
Advantage on saves is mathematically roughly equivalent to a +5. Just in terms of concentration saves, War Caster is better early game, Resilient CON is better late game, and in the middle they are about equal.
Thanks for throwing in the piece about AL!
Love the video. Bladesinger is my favourite specialisation of Wizard, which is also my favourite class in the game. There's just so many options. I have never had two Wizards be the same in 5th Edition and that is why I love them so much.
One thing I do like to do is putting CON up to 15 as it makes taking Resilient (Con) more viable (You are more likely to be able to do this if you roll stats like my group does, instead of going Point Buy). I recent; found myself in a one shot where I was able to stack Resilient (Con) and War Caster. My Concentration save was so absurdly high I think the DM was reaching for the bottle. We were 8th Level and I was looking at +11 to my Concentration Checks, with advantage, allowing me to auto-pass checks from attacks that didn't hit me for 26 or more damage. Having both War Caster and Resilient (Con) is probably overkill but I rolled well enough to use it without hurting my INT and DEX too much.
RE: Two Attacks. If you aren't restricted by AL rules and can take Shadow Blade from Xanathar's it's an interesting melee option if you want to be more of a Gish than Wizard. It scales pretty well and can just be handed off to the Fighter, or a Rogue if it's way too dangerous to get into melee. It uses Concentration but is a Bonus Action to cast so you are getting at least your two swings in with it before you might have to drop Concentration for something else. If you are sticking to being primarily a Wizard though, there are better things to spend your Concentration on for sure. In the same level range where you can use it with Extra Attack, there is Flaming Sphere that is still good around there (unless you run into resistances). Animate Objects and Steelwind Strike are also better at later levels too.
I agree with you 100% on Shadow Blade in your 2nd Level Spells Video but in the case if a Bladesinger, it's definitely an option if you aren't restricted by AL Rules, especially if you have party members who can really use it (or you are running a Multiclass Gish build). That said you can pass it to a Familiar as well as it's a Simple Weapon, though technically a Familiar doesn't have Simple Weapon Proficiency so not all DMs will allow it.
I would imagine that 2x shadow Blade would do a lot less damage than 1x BB/GFB + Flaming Sphere. I haven't punched the numbers, but I would be very surprised if otherwise
@@TreantmonksTemple I did also forget to consider the fact that Flaming Sphere can be moved around to damage multiple enemies so you're 100% right on the DPR for BB/GFB + Flaming Sphere being ahead.
If you read Shadow Blade, it doesn’t seem like you can give it to someone else as it will just disappear. A more generous interpretation might mean they can use it for one turn if they take it from your hand during their turn, but it would disappear at the end of that turn.
@@M0ebius It depends how your DM defines "drop", but yes, I think at least the intent of the spell is that you use it yourself
@@TreantmonksTemple Throw is a clearly defined action but drop does depend on the DM for sure. It's why communication is important I think.
That said, this is a video about Wizards, not Gishes. I think I have been playing too much Arcane Trickster lately so need to train myself back out of that mindset.
Bladesinger/Rune knight is incredible. Reminds me of the moon-elves in The Dragon Prince.
Surprised that he didn't recommend Shadow Blade, because it is a bonus action to cast (meaning you can cast it and in the same round), does 3d8+mod psychic damage when cast at level 3, combines with your multiattack at level 6 (meaning that if you hit both attacks with a lvl 3 SB you average 33 damage if you have a plus 3 dex), gives you advantage in dim and dark light, AND it is a light finesse weapon so you can use it with two-weapon fighting! That little level 2 spell can prove pretty potent even at higher levels.
Bonus points if you combine it with booming blade on your reaction attack and nail the guy running away with it doing 6d8+3 for something like 34-35 damage, and may god have mercy on whoever you crit with that hit.
Severely underrated comment. I was thinking the exact same thing. It’s better then flaming spear
not sure how long ago the errada it but you cant BB and GFG with shadow blade as they both have a material component of attacking with a melee weapon thats worth at least one silver piece.
God wizard would be an awesome next video, thanks for the guides. I love these
There can be no doubt that you really understand the wizard at a fundamental level. My wish for this video would have been for you to maximize the idea of the blade singer. Two levels of fighter would not have hurt this character at all but would have made a huge difference in their abilities. Also shadow blade seems like a must. With all that said you sir are an internet treasure and I am great full for your wisdom... or should I say intelligence ;)
We need an update for this! So cool but there is a lot of changes with Tashas. Now we need value on weapon used for most spells so no more shadow blade combos. Still worth? Cantrip as one of the attacks at level 6.
Elven accuracy, warcaster, mobile are all great options. So much to analyze!
I love your stuff! This is interesting but next week! Next week! Diviner God wizard?! YES!!!
I want this.
I just wish it was a halfling divination wizard
@@druxusthemage9806 Human variant = level 1 feat... I'm guessing "War Caster", "Alert", "Resilient (Con)" or maby "Lucky"? All of witch could be picked up later with an ASI... Unless Chris hits us with some "next level" reason for human V I fully suspect u can swap his next build to halfling no problem just take the level one feat at level 4 (or after u cap Int)
@@MadNitr0 My money's on Alert.
Excellent build. Thank you for including the DnD beyond link!
Here to sing the praises of the Dexterity (Acrobatics) skill and it's use for a high Dex wizard (or really any one with a higher Dex then Str). The Dexterity (Acrobatics) can be used to defend in grapple challenges. That's it. It's how you don't loose all movement (you know your first line of defence) when the enemies get all grabby hands
I have to say I'd still do my 1st 3 lvls as Eldritch Knight, you still get a 9th level spell and spell slot, 2 extra cantrips, more hits and Con save proficiency, action surge, second wind, combat style etc, you use a shield for the 1st 3 levels, and you can take it up again when/if you run out of Spell songs.
Lance Clemings I wouldn’t call it mad tbh. They need dex, int, and con (everyone needs a good con) and the rest don’t matter that much (unless maybe rp purpose), tho wis I wouldn’t completely dump. I don’t think it becomes mad till u get to 4 stats your worried about having high.
What about the mobile feat to avoid damage and proc booming blade? If that makes sense what would be a good time to take it?
Troy Hillier Yep. That’s what I’m doing with one of my current chars. Right now I’m a Druid/cleric (land Druid, arcana cleric). For my Wizard cantrips I choose both Booming blade and Green Flame blade. I use a quarterstaff with shillelagh and so far the only feat I have picked up is Polearm mastery so I can get attack of opps when an enemy comes close. I will also be picking up mobile for the same reason u just said and will also be picking up Warcaster for not only not having to worry about somatic or having advantage on concentration but to being able to cast booming blade on attack of opps (remember Polearm mastery). Also the dm is allowing unearthed arcana stuff so I can go a lv into fighter and get the fighting style tunnel fighter (which if u don’t know what that does it basically makes it so your attack of opps no longer use up your reaction).
Keep in mind tho it won’t always proc the extra booming blade dmg if the enemy is smart after getting it by it once and if they have a ranged attack but hey your still limiting what they can do which is amazing.
Dissonant Whispers does indeed activate Booming Blade, it also triggers AOOs and anything else that requires the creature to move of it's own accord.
Notably, Acrobatics allows you to resist grapples, that's probably why they give you advantage in it. One of the ways to shut down a melee caster is grapple+shove prone.
How does grapple/shove prevent Misty Step?
@@TreantmonksTemple it doesn't- but that still a spell slot, and the one spell for the round to be cast limiting reprisal. eventually your going to chase down the wizard.
@@TreantmonksTemple This is something that I use on enemy casters, grapple/shove them in the area of a silence spell.
@@TreantmonksTemple If you're grappling someone, can't you just prevent them from casting verbal spells by putting your hand over their mouth?
@@SmugLookingBarrel Not by RAW, but some DM's might have that happen...
My favourite way to play the bladesinger is to use a longbow with a batman-wizard build. The level 6 extra attack doesn't specify that the attack has to be melee so, no need to take offensive cantrips. Some of the other benefits of baldesong don't work with the bow but it's no biggie to drop it when needed and draw short-swords. The longbow does more damage than cantrips, has more range (at disadvantage) and gives you the option of taking sharpshooter once you've got 20 Int. It's a nice option to have because murdering the hell out of enemies stuck in webs across the map is a great way to avoid taking concentration saves. Still, I understand those who would prioritize other feats. I've had positive experiences with this build!
Can you explain how the Longbow does more damage than, say, Firebolt?
@@yosharian easily! Levels 1-5 The bow will be doing 1d8+3 (~8.5 damage) And from levels 6+ it will get 2 attacks; 2d8+6 (~15 damage). At the same levels, firebolt does 1d10 (~5.5) increasing by another 1d10 every 5 levels, so the cantrips only take over from bow damage in the teen levels.
The bow has more range as well, which is nice for staying back and away from danger. The biggest negative of the bow is that your to-hit rolls won't be as good as firebolt, which goes up as you put points into intelligence. However, that can be offset by the fact that magical bows are relatively common in a lot of modules. The biggest sell for me is freeing up yet another cantrip slot for almost endless utility.
I found having access to every utility cantrip is very useful in the Doomvault, which is where I play tested this idea. :)
Hope that answers your questions!
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And having no hand free to cast spells?
@@yosharian I think you'll find that they take two hands to use but bows are commonly carried in only a single hand.
@@daleleech5700 Hmm, OK. Thanks for the info.
Important point. If you use longbow, your blade song will end, as you made a two handed attack with a weapon. This makes a ranged cantrip a must have for me. The longbow does outpace Firebolt more then he says tho, since Longbow can be used with extra attack, its two longbows vs 1 firebolt.
Ever since someone mentioned the X Abjurer/1 Hexblade here in the comments, I can't stop tinkering with various versions of both the build and background. Makes me want to start a new campaign just to play it. Really curious what your take on it will be.
On a side note, I think you should include "step-by-step guide" or "in-depth guide" either in video's title or somewhere on the thumbnail. It won't make your videos any shorter, but people who run into it will at least know it's not some kind of uncut VOD.
Dissonant Whispers and other forced movement spells won’t provoke the damage for BB on the forced part of the movement but will provoke the damage when the forced movement is over and the enemy has to move back into range if the timing is right.
Make sure your teammates know that and they leave the enemies where they have to move back into range.
What lost me in this build it's knowing so many concentration spells, with full casters i normally limit myself to one combat concentration spell per spell lvl and the rest go with non concentration and out of combat options. Spells like Animate Dead, Arcane Eye, Charm Monster, Dispel Magic, Thunder Step, good ol fireball are great at tier 2 while you concentrate in Hypnotic Pattern/Polymorph.
can agree to the statement about Xanathar's spells. Many of them can rather easily be substituted by a PHB spell. Or, like you also explained in the 8th level spell guide, are just not really made for adventuring and more for the downtime in between. Like Mighty Fortress in this case.
This is a great video for an awesome subclass and really deserves more views
I'd honestly consider taking a 1 level dip into Hexblade Warlock (Non-AL legal obviously).
You can take 2 flavour cantrips (or take something like Booming Blade, which is not based off your Char). For the 2 1st level spells, I like Hex for some extra damage (either spell or weapon) & armour of agathys (some nice defence, works well with fire shield).
Hexblade's curse is just nice all around, since the bonus is just to damage rolls. Hex + Hexblades curse can make something like scorching ray a great single target spell (each beam does 2d6 + your proficiency bonus fire + 1d6 necrotic). Hexblades curse can make magic missile a lot more dangerous (say you're level 9, each missile deals 1d4+5 damage to your curses target, meaning you deal a guaranteed 15 damage using a 1st level slot, and a maximum of 27).
The best part of hexblades curse though is that it can make booming blade even more nasty. You can hit someone for the weapons damage + your proficiency bonus damage + the thunder damage + any other bonuses. If they decide to move, they take the secondary damage + your proficiency bonus damage. Since we most likely have war caster, this makes an especially nasty attack of opportunity.
Now obviously this slows your spell casting down, but since it's only a 1 level dip, I find it more tolerable. I wouldn't do it until I have probably 7 levels of wizard though (to get the most out of polymorph at level 7/8).
I always thought of the Bladesinger as a mage - defensive swordman. So ideas that you may think stupid. This is me just saying what I like.
First, only one melee a cantrip. I use Booming blade because if you have two targets attacking you they are likely to flank and that bad news as it makes your AC bonus far less less effective. Also hurting two targets just does not seem as valuable as making one target take a good hit and then using that threat of damage to lock them down as you leave to the side of the second target. Never should you approach two targets and give them an easy opportunity to flank if you fail to kill them both.
Second, I guess I am the only one that likes Chill touch. Making it so that the one archers I see that will try to hit me will have that disadvantage (thus making AC harder to hit. (I love the mage hand/Chill touch RP)
I like Fey Teleportation early on. I see three benefits to getting very early. (Let the preaching to the Chair begin). You will use it almost as often as a shield. With your higher speed and a misty step it, give you a barracuda attack pattern there you go in, take a swipe and bounce out. You want to do that over anything else and having it on tap is critical. You want to help on an attack make another spellcaster make a save and bail. Also, a way out when you get over your head in battle and to stop most grappling attacks. You are still a squishy wizard and this gets you out of bad places. It does not take a preparation that you really will need even sub level 8. And because it is short rest that means every time you get both your Bladesong back and a spell you will almost always want to use. Because it gives you +1 it can help for those that do the rolled attributes.
Leodous Kyron: Great points! 👍🏻
How Does Mage Hand / Chill Touch Combo Work ???
I agree chill touch is amazing (aka what it should be called kill touch). But where did u get archers getting disadvantage from? R they undead? If not they don’t get disadvantage. I too also want to know how this mage hand/kill touch combo works.
Booming blade works a lot better for arcane tricksters, or rogues with magic initiative. I personally kind of prefer lightning lure or the one that attacks everything within 5 ft of you, but neither of them uses your weapon.
Just play the Bladesinger as a high-defense wizard and you'll be OP. There's always the option of switching back to melee if you get something like a Belt of Storm Giant Strength or a Moonblade, but for the most part people salivating over crap like Tenser's Transformation makes me cry. Having Fear and Fly in your back pocket will crush way more encounters than Haste or Shadow Blade ever could.
One of my favourite characters is a High Elf Arcane Trickster with 2 levels of Bladesinger. He is less a wizard with a sword than he is a wizard who... makes things disappear unnoticed. But sometimes he uses a sword for that rather than a spell.
That is a very good build
@@TreantmonksTemple Thank you.
I like Arcane Trickster with 2 levels of Hexblade a lot more. Your BB/GFB relies on just one stat for both hit and damage, you can use a shield, and charisma works better for Rogues than intelligence. Not to mention that you also get a good range attack with Eldritch Blast, and some measure of at-will control with Cunning Action Disengage into Eldritch Blast+Repelling Blast. Outside of combat you can also use Hex to debuff your mark’s Perception/Insight checks when you pick pocket them or lie your ass off.
Going the charisma route also allows you to get into Sorcerer/Bard or more Warlock later on, after you’ve gotten Magical Ambush. Instead of the 13-14 INT you are running on MCing Wizard, all your debuffs can be cast with maxed out save DCs AND disadvantage immediately with no additional resource cost. Very useful even with just low level spells like Dissonant Whispers/Tasha’s Hideous Laughter.
@@M0ebius It all depends on what you want your character to do. What you're suggesting is a blaster. But my character is meant to be a stealthy supporter, who manipulates the situations to the party's advantage from the shadows and only stabs or shoots an enemy when he can really make it count.
RokuroCarisu I get it, but when you line them up side by side, the Hexblade AT does MUCH better damage from both range and melee without being any worse at stealth/support early, and late game you are actually far better at support/debuff once Magical Ambush is online. I would even argue that with EB+Repelling Blast, you are actually a better battlefield manipulator early game as well, being able to push enemies off cliffs, off of party casters, or into hazards/spell ranges/melee range, all while dealing damage. And if striking from the shadows is your thing, Cunning Action Hide into EB/BB/GFB gives you advantage same as any other attack roll, and you can do that over and over as long as there’s cover. Not to mention that you are also a far better manipulator outside of combat with a maxed out charisma.
All that, and you can still dump a ton of damage when you have to. Not quite strictly superior to the Bladesinger AT, but it’s pretty close.
Man, am I the only one who had to relisten a few times to figure out he was saying Eberron? I wasn't watching, just listening on my headset, so I didn't see him pointing to it. Feel silly that it took me so long😋
Did I pronounce it wrong?
@@TreantmonksTemple m.ua-cam.com/video/4oRRP354Ir8/v-deo.html For the pronunciation per Keith Baker, the creator
@@TreantmonksTemple Not trying to give you a hard time about how you pronounce an entirely made up word. I just had never thought of saying the way you did, so was rather slow on the uptake
Polymorph is great.. but Giant Ape is about the only form you'd use on your party.
Most beasts have between Int 2 and Int 4, which is not exactly conducive to tactical coordination.
I am surprised at the lack of non-combat cantrips. No light cantrips of any kind? No prestidigitation or mending? FOUR attack cantrips?
I particularly think that Prestidigitation is an overrated cantrip... But in any case, Wizards have spell books, so they have plenty of space for utility spells.
Minor Illusion is a non-combat cantrip.
I agree, though, that more cantrips for utility is always fun and useful.
Carlos Barreto Prestidigitation is one of the best cantrips in the game. I almost always take it, when possible.
@@alanschaub147 Yes, I agree Prestidigitation is cool, it has many uses.
Can we get a hexblade/vengeance paladin multiclass video? Would love to see a build from you
shadow blade for me. or haste for added ac and options depending on tactics and enemies
What are thoughts on taking mobility instead of the alert feat? You can basically move in attack and get back without the opportunity attacks. Especially now with the double attack/cantrip option.
@Treant. Great. Always wanted to play one., but why toughness and not resilience?
Question. How would you make a character emphasizing the use and up casting of shadowblade as primary melee weapon. Upcasting based on threat level. 1. A bladesinger with many spell slots to upcast based on threat lvl and gets the 2 attacks with it, or a sorcerer who can extend the duration and damage dice roll but 1 attack or a warlock who can use devil sight darkness and Moil but 1 attack.
I was thinking bladesinger 18 fighter 2. Action surge for 2 spells or 2 more attacks and fighting style duelist. Prestidigitation to snuff out a torch get dim light if not already dim. For shadow blade advantage. 3 spells lvl 2-5 1 spell 6-9.
higher tier creature spell saves and resists can reduce spell casting damage to 1/2 or 1/3 or less for wizards so either you battle field control spells or shadow blade psychic damage up to 5d8 per attack plus to hit and damage including bb or gfb and duelist.
Guys....he made this video before Tasha's came out. He made a video about the changes and how it effects this build. Personally I think a level 3 dip(at least) into Artificer Battle Smith is leet.
Bladesinger build? Nice. From what i played as a rogue 3, wizard 5 melee is fun especially as a swashbuckler. High AC, Good Skill Selection but still bad hp.
Having the mobile feat, a whip, or the swashbuckler feature are all great for a hit and run mid range tatic without wasting bonus actions too.
Suggestion, haste, shield, and blink are all great. Mirror Image is too slow and waste a turn. Booming blade and flaming sphere is ok. Lets see what you have lol.
Some things:
Booming blade is amazing with mobile tho (Booming blade is actually my fave cantrip FYI) Mirror image is good just cause it doesn’t take up your concentration and can make even a nat 20 miss u. Wouldn’t it be better to go Arcane trickster (the best rogue imo)? Cause u still gain a little lv progression in your spellcasting and if u wanna be able to get sneak attack dmg than just have your familiar do the help action. Also keep in mind with the swashbuckler ability to get sneak attack dmg in 1v1 combat only works when they’re within 5ft of u (which is stupid I know) and if your gonna be using booming blade or even green flame blade than remember those also have to be within 5ft of u (again stupid). But u could get spell sniper to increase booming blade or green flame blade to 10ft but u nothing like that for swashbuckler.
31:13 oh, so THAT’S how you make Gandalf in DnD.
Really surprised that Tenser's transformation is not picked at lvl 11, you get 2d6+4d12+dex and another 1d6+2d12 with your bonus attack when dual wielding. Also 50 temp hp which is insane along with permanent advantage on attacks during the 10 minute concentration
It was my understanding from phb (p.203) that the same hand using the material components (or arcane focus) could perform the somatic components. Removing the need for one of the perks of Warcaster. Now it still seems like a solid choice for a feat. I am wondering if you disagreed with that reading of the casting rules and why? If allowing for one hand to wield a wand, another a rapier and still cast out of the gate, would you still grab warcaster at lvl 4? (without recoursing to any drop/swap shenanigans )
At least the way AL is run where I play, wizards can sort of "cheat" and get spells outside the phb+1 range by somehow getting a spellbook or scroll - and scribing it into their spellbook. So absorb elements and other xanathar spells are easily gotten by a bladesinger. In AL you can just buy spell scrolls with gold (maybe not all levels but iirc it goes up to at least lvl 5) - and spellbooks drop in many modules. Cantrips can't be gotten this way, but players use cantrip scrolls, which are cheap, to use cantrips they otherwise have no access to.
when i built my bladesinger i went with the Shadar-kai elf cause the Dex is really good for all those reasons you brought up but the Constitution is also really helpful for concentration and overall duribility which is decent for a melee wizard whom might take a couple hits dispite all attempts to protect themselves.
Please double check on the sage advice ruling of Booming Blade and Dissonant whispers being a legitimate combo.
It has begun...
Thanks for what you do, TreantMonk. You rock.
I get that people want to play a wizard that is in the fight on the front line, but why? Just to make the first few levels a little more survivable? Most of my games get through tier 1 really quickly as DMs (that I play with) don't relish in TPKs and they rush through 1-3 really quickly.
It seems to me that what one gets from bladesinger doesn't make up for what you lose from one of the better school of magic sub-classes. Of course, it might just be that I hate eleves (yeah, I am one of those annoying players that has an irrational dislike of all things elven).
Thanks again, Optimagus Chris.
Its a great muiltclass for a high AC character. For a melee character, you get ritual casting and bladesinging for 2 levels. It also gives melee characters a range option without putting away your weapon. In my opinion the class seems to be front loaded just like Potent or Evoker (evoker has an decent capstone Ability tho)
Frank P. You get very low ritual casting
You only would get 1st level spells
@@conradkorbol most of the utility ritual spells are 1st level. Water breathing, water walking, tiny hut, Telepathic bond are the only ritual spell you really miss out on.
Frank P. That’s true, but it’s worth noting it doesn’t replace the ritual casting feat.
This is why my table generally start campaigns at level 3 or 5. Levels 1-3 might be fun the first couple of times, but killing goblins gets old real quick.
I particularly like Greater invisibility as a means of evading spells that require sight
And allows you to cast spells or counter spells with impunity (Barring the enemy casters having methods of seeing invisibility)
Wood elf. Tho with bugbear and a few others counting as fey now.. and bladesinger being open to all races anyways... i keep wanting a monk hybrid with wallwalking but hard to work the ability score. Or warlock for armor of agathys. Workin on a character that does damage as walking by provoking reduced damage op attacks which also uses up reactions if planned well.
Mirror Image doesn't guarantee an attack misses. If the attack beats your AC, you roll to see if it instead hits the copy and if it rolls under the number based on how many copies you have left, it still hits you and they roll damage. Even if they miss your AC but still beat 10+your Dex, you still roll to see if it destroys a copy. So yes, it makes it very hard to land a hit on you, but it by no means guarentees they miss.
What I say in the video is that "every time a mirror image takes effect then that attack will automatically miss." So yes, the attack guarantees an attack misses, as long as the mirror image takes effect. At no point do I say it turns attacks that would otherwise hit into misses, though that is often the case.
@@TreantmonksTemple Still, saying something that has a chance of happening "guaranteed" is like saying "if I win the lottery, I'm guaranteed to make money." Yeah, IF you do win, of course you'll be paid your prize.
The dimension door + Contingency is good but I'd think thunder step would be better if your boxed in.
Why did you not pick the Shadow Blade spell? I use it as my main when i play a bladesinger.
@Dallin Barger Yes, concentration could be a problem but we have warcaster and Bladesong for better concentration checks.
I belive the core os bladesinger is keep melee as a trump card, attacking ranged while is possible and then dive in close combat. At sixth level you got extra attack and alredy have acces to third level spell slot, so a 3d8+(Mod Dex) Shadow Blade with extra attack, attacking with advantage in dim light or darkness, adding Elven Accuracy to it for three dice rolls, is a pretty good combination dont you agree?
Fun history...
Once in a fight my whole party had died, with only 10 hp i was surrounded by 3 Giant Apes. So I cast "Otiluke's Resilient Sphere", and started buffing myself: Mage Armor, Fire Shield, Bladesong, Mirror Image, Blink, drank a healing potion, cast a Shadow Blade(ending the Otiluke's Resilient Sphere), with a total AC of 19~24 with Shield spell and started to fight.
When blink didnt' throw me to another plane keeping me safe until my next turn i still had mirror image, I had already cast Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound so it was more damage every turn. I was the only survivor and that was kept in our minds forever.
Hi man. I have a question for you: Why dont your take Shadowblade at level 2? When you hit two times on level 6, you deal 4D8 damage + your dex (+6 for an instance..). Whith your build, flaming sphere (it´s a great spell), deals 3D6 (with saving)+1D8+DEX+1d8... and when you reach level 5, you can cast shadowblade in order to deal 3d8 dmg... Why is better flaming sphere and one hit with booming blade, than sadowblade?
Congratulation for your space, I love it.
To make the character AL legal
Booming Blade is good at 5th level. So i would take it at level 4. And on level 3 is Dragon's Breath way much better than flaming sphere. Give it to your familiar (owl) as a bonus action.
The deep gnome in.my opinion best race for this class
I show Bladesong only being reset per long rest?
Another idea for Song of Defence; if you're getting hit with a physical attack and you know it's going to hit even if you cast Shield, this would be better. Obviously this depends on guessing (or knowing) how high the attack role was to begin with though.
Or in the case of being hit with a Magic Missile, unblockable attack and force damage which absorb elements can't reduce so Song of Defense can help reduce as much damage as possible
@@kyuzo3567 Shield would be better as it completely negates Magic Missile anyway :)
I didn’t know this till last year and Idk if know this but u can use shield after hearing what was rolled (which has made me appreciate the spell). Like say u have a 19 ac and the dm gets a 22 to hit u the dm will ask if a 22 hits and u say yes it would but I cast shield and make it miss by making my ac 24. Or did u know that but your dm just says they hit u without giving u a number? That’s not something a dm should do if so.
A minor point, but still kinda important: running around in studded leather armor and carrying a bow and sword means you don't *look* like a wizard until the spells start flying. Remember, "geek the mage first" is just as true in D&D as in Shadowrun. If you're careful and subtle about where and how you deploy your magic, the enemy might not know which one of the party is the mage, but if you're rocking up looking like Dumbledore, there's a good chance they're gonna make special effort to kill you specifically.
Thanks for the guide its really close to my character I am playing only I went with shadowblade for some fun :) But I also bought some more spells and so (only lvl 9 yet)
WHY No Shadow Blade, That Spell Is My Spell Of Choice & Go To Weapon For My Bladesinger...
I Swing With Shadow Blade & Then I Cast Either Toll of the Dead or Frostbite, They Auto-Hit For Damage, IF Ur Target Fails Their Saveing Throw...
Myself I would trade out Tough feat for Elven accuracy. If you can get flanking you have 3 rolls to hit your target (initial, advantage, feat) so you should hit unless your very bad at rolling dice.
Flanking is listed as an optional rule in 5e and lots of dm's don't use it.
@@quincybriley4113 Oh ok maybe its just the folks in my area but never met a DM that didn't allow it.
@@johnl340 I've met several in personal games. And it's not allowed at all in adventure league
@@quincybriley4113 Oh I never play adventures league, never saw the point.
If you don't allow flanking you could the shadow blade spell as long as its dim light or darker you have advantage.
Will you do arcane trickster and eldritch knight after all the wizard subclasess?
Haven't planned what's next yet
When you say that using two hands to make an attack with a weapon is something we will never do, are you intending that we will only use the longbow in those situations when we don't use bladesong?
Yeah, that's a poor choice of words on my part. I'm meaning that we will never use a 2 handed weapon when using bladesong (melee), but now that you mention it, that's definitely the wrong choice of words.
40:15
does Song of Victory make Haste viable?
how would you build a melee bladesinger around Song of Victory?
I read about elf eladrin: +2 dex +1 int ( exist another version +2 dex +1 cha) what do you think about for a bladesinger ( he has misty step but 1 control less: so I take minor illusion, green flame blade, toll the dead at level 4 booming blade or do you hint anything different?)
Thats pretty nice content!
Would be glad to see a post tasha’s bladesinger
I wonder how you would make a multiclass between a psi warrior fighter and a bladesinger wizard. I saw this combination in a multiclass top (where "the guardian" was also, your multiclass of fighter, barbarian and wizard, really incredible, that's why I watch your videos) and it seemed like an interesting idea, but I don't know if it would really optimize to the class of the bladesinger more than if it were a pure wizard as you propose in this video...
First of all: thank you for all your guides. I play wizard from.. ever and when i read your guide for 5e i totally agree with you. I love to play the wizard as GOD. Help me here. I'm a DM and (incredible) i found a substitute for an adventure. It's my big occasion (cheersss) and i want to play my wizard ofc. The problem is that i dont know what to choose cause i love all the traditions (except necromancy cause it's too much focused on the undead army type and it's not mine). The party is all ranged (rogue, ranger SS, cleric grave, wild sorcerer and celestial warlock) and the other master doesnt undestrand the game and how encounters work (this is the reason all my group ask me to dm all the time ahahaha). His encounters are always deadly till someone die and the mob start playing less aggressive or some miss happens. Yesterday i tryed a cleric in full tank mode (plate-shield-hill dwarf for hp) and in the last encounter i died twice with SG up, haste and dodge!. So i decided to go back to my love, the wizard. Against such threats, Bladesinger or Battlemage i think, i both of the cases i will problably focus entirely on control while ranged kill mobs. I?m here for a sort of brainstorming ahahahah ! sorry i dont know if this is the good place to ask, but i was watching (again) your bladesinger video and i tought to ask here! In this campaign we have a bonus talent, so with a BS i was thinking about 16 dex 16 int 14 wis (13+ Resilience Con), a +1 in wisdom and rest str and cha (27 PB)
If super-tank builds are getting destroyed, I would be inclined more towards Wizards that hang back and can aid other party members primarily. Honestly, if you haven't done Diviner in awhile, that would be my go-to, though War Mage for bonuses to initiative and saves might be a good option as well...
Treantmonk's Temple I played a diviner and it was amazing the last time that guy been master i played that and it was so funny! ! I was thinking about the war mage and I like it but I don’t like it’s origins in FR.. Cormyr and all that kind of stuff it’s to military for me but hey! It’s dnd and I can figure out! The Transmuter too.. it’s not the best but with wisdom prof, con pro with the alchemist stone and resilience dex i could have all three big saves covered.. but diviner it will be the best choice. Against that kind of enemy one good roll of portent and nothing (legendary apart) can stand against me 😂😂 thank you for answering! Tomorrow I’ll create the wizard
Wizards getting their subclass at level 2 is a mixed bag to me. Spend years unlocking the secrets of the arcane, get a few magic tricks and the ability to be a minor reality warper. Which is about the same as those born with the gift(sorcerers) or those who took the quick path(warlocks). And both of those get more innate abilities than the wizard as well.
I honestly think that WOTC could have moved the signature spell abilities that wizards get back a few levels to like about level 10, if not five.
As for Bladesingers themselves, I admit I love them. They have the potential to have the most AC in the game, so melee isn't a bad thing for them. Wish they got Zephyr Strike or that there were more weapon attack spell options. Parts of Tensers Transformation might work as a last ditch effort depending, I'll admit I haven't looked at that spell for awhile. Also, why can't you use a shield, or buckler, with bladesong WOTC? Is it just because you don't get proficiency with shields or bucklers? Is there a deeper lore reason I'm unaware of? I get that it'd be a bit unbalancy but that's honestly kind of a poor explanation.
I mean, potential ac 25-28 with shield is nothing to sneeze at.
Yea especially since u can get that at lv 2. They can even get up to 30 (32 even) without magic items which is insane 😂. This is y this is my fave Wizard subclass.
Any chance we could have the cliff notes of how Tashas changes this with the bladesinger update? Great video dude.
Is Mage Armor that great a spell for a Bladesinger if you are going to become proficient with light armor at level 2?
It doesn’t work if wearing armor.
If you get magic studded leather armor, then you can stop preparing mage armor at that time. At mid levels though, if we're talking studded leather vs mage armor, a 1st level spell is worth 8 hours of +1 AC.
I think at L8 you should include Mobility. Since you focus so much on Booming Blade, Mobility would really help it to trigger.
Hey Treantmonk, any thoughts on Tashas cauldron of everything mentioning a new bladesinger variant or rework? I am so excited. So hoping the take this in the right direction.
While I do love the new multi attack feature where you can replace and attack with a cantrips, I dislike bladesong getting kicked down to a long rest. Bothers me a lot. Yes, in late levels you can use it more frequently, but in early and mid levels it really damns any bladesinger wanting time build around being in melee. Goddamn, why would they do this?
@@jeremybertsch5414 I think It was a Fine tradeoff and gives more thematic consistency to the difference between a caster/gish and a nonmagical combatant. Plus mid (+4) to later levels (+5-6) you are back as the superior everything. YMMV ofc depending on how your group is with several combats a day.
The changes to GFB and BB is a bummer though, i still don't know If It was worth Just to stop using It with conjured weapons.
Isn't shadowblade the best damage option? Requires concentration but when in melee with 2 attacks it does good damage and scales well.
at start go dagger and go high dex then you give more damage then staff.
lv 7 43:48
lv 8 46:53
lv 9-10 50:20 song of defense
cantrip 54:33
spell 55:29
lv 11-12 58:36
why cant i find burning blade or green flame blade in my dnd online builder?
It’s in swords coast. Do they have other swords coast stuff in their (like bladesinger)?. Also it’s booming blade not burning blade.
Hey Treantmonk!
first of all, i love your channel and you are doing great!
second, i am building a bugbear bladesinger at the moment what do you think would change if you have 5ft extra reach?
is it total dumb because booming blade wouldnt trigger?
I'm new to this, but my PHB doesnt show Stealth as an option for the Noble background, only History and Persuassion. What am I missing? I really want to have that skill!
This video needs a redo, I vote Goblin!
I have a question because I cant seem to find a ruling on this. Can you cast glyph of warding on an object inside of a bag of holding? Kind of like a batman utility belt I guess.
32 min mark: I don't really understand why warcaster (which is a great feat) trumps +2 INT, or even +2 DEX. You're not planning on two weapon fighting, so what makes it a better option?
Would you ever consider starting fighter or rogue 1 before going into wizard? fighter can give you a few more HP, and increase your damage output (dueling, two weapon fighting) or defense, and rogue makes you really skillful with an extra 1d6 damage most rounds.
I forgot to mention CON save proficiency. This makes warcaster less important
If your planning to go either of those than I would say yes. Like u said it starts u with a little extra hp but if u were to start with Rogue u get 2 more skill Proficiencies and get more and better ones to choose from.
I thought mage armor can't be used if your wearing any armor? It's either studded leather armor or mage armor you have equipped.
Without Shadow Blade this build is just a wizard who sometimes uses a sword.
Shadow Blade takes your concentration, which is awful for a wizard
What would be some recommended items for a pure Bladesinger character ?
How does shadow blade compare when you get the second attack at level 6?
I think eladrin from DMG is a better race choice... You can really use that misty step when you get to melee and have to escape.
I might consider defensive duelist instead of tough, that with blade song and shield will give you a crazy ac
Can’t use the reaction of defensive duelist after using your reaction for the shield spell
Yea u can’t use both cause they both use up your reaction and shield is a million times better cause it last the whole round (defensive duelist only last for one attack so it sucks and I thought it used to be good 😂). Definitely take tough to make it so your health is up their with the rest of the party. U can still get up to 30 ac (even 32) without magic items. Which is just crazy and y this is my fave Wizard subclass.
High elves already have competence in longbow, as well as shortbows, shortswords and longswords
Yes, this build only uses the longbow from the elf weapons. Rapier is gained through Bladesinger
@@TreantmonksTemple It can save your life, my diviner is still carrying his longbow and his shortsword; you'll never know when they'll be useful!
And they are always better than a sling and a dagger.
Gotta be careful with the longbow, two handed weapon attacks end the blade song.
Also, how effective would two weapon fighting be?