Blade of the Frontier build plan.

[Yojo0o]

Finally, we have confirmation that Pact of the Blade will enable charisma-based weapon scaling, a mechanic that in tabletop was reserved for the Hexblade subclass that isn't present in BG3. This is great news for anybody planning on playing Wyll according to his title of Blade of the Frontier, rather than as a traditional back-line blaster.

Now, Hexblade also critically provides medium armor/shield proficiency. To make up for that, my plan with Wyll is to take the Moderately Armored feat at level 4. As a half-feat, that'll round up his dexterity score to 14 and grant medium armor and shield proficiency, which potentially escalates his AC from 13-14 to 17-19, making him more than viable as a melee combatant.

It's a bit clunky to require level 3-4 before Wyll fully comes into his own as a warrior, but that'll go pretty quickly. Pact of the Blade further unlocks critical invocations such as Improved Pact Weapon, Thirsting Blade, and Eldritch Smite. With either sword+shield or a two-hander, Wyll should make for an effective melee warrior, perhaps not as robust as the likes of Lae'zel, and probably not "main tank" material, but still fully capable as a spellcasting warlock and able to dish impressive damage and control in melee. Armor of Agathys will go a long way towards enhancing his durability, too.

[Yojo0o]

Originally posted by dolby:

it wasn't confirmed... the changes to pact of the blade..
but its one the right track to be confirmed...

Dude, I linked a screenshot of the feature.

[xposethedarkside]

Originally posted by dolby:

it wasn't confirmed... the changes to pact of the blade..
but its one the right track to be confirmed...

I mean a screenshot of it is pretty high confidence for me. Short of actually playing the game myself or seeing a video of it, I can't imagine getting much closer than that.

[dolby]

Originally posted by Yojo0o:

Originally posted by dolby:

it wasn't confirmed... the changes to pact of the blade..
but its one the right track to be confirmed...

Dude, I linked a screenshot of the feature.

ok didnt see that had to yet scroll to that page only seen the interview...

this one
https://multiplayer.it/articoli/baldurs-gate-3-intervistata-lead-system-designer-larian.html

where is it from ? it is fake or we know its not?

apparently it's from here, nvm found it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSHgtd2JALk

Originally posted by xposethedarkside:

Originally posted by dolby:

it wasn't confirmed... the changes to pact of the blade..
but its one the right track to be confirmed...

I mean a screenshot of it is pretty high confidence for me. Short of actually playing the game myself or seeing a video of it, I can't imagine getting much closer than that.

so we have a video as well.

[Fletch Phantasm]

Oof, need a 3 level dip to get the charisma bonus, will probably still use the warlock+ mod

[larhtas]

So it is confirmed. No prerequisit for multiclassing.

[Yojo0o]

Originally posted by larhtas:

So it is confirmed. No prerequisit for multiclassing.

Yup, just saw that.

Looks like combining with Paladin will work well for a wide swath of warlocks, unless there's a oath/pact clash.

[The1Kobra]

An optimized build will really depend on the end product of how they implement the pact boons. Solasta's Pact of the Blade allows you to get an extra attack at L5, which means that if this is available, it wouldn't be a good idea to get 5 levels of a fighter class, and instead go more in on warlock.

Now what you might want to dip for? Paladin 2 means you get smiting and some healing. But more importantly, it means you could get the armor proficiencies (which will help a LOT with the AC), without needing to spend a feat on Moderately armored. That feat alone got EA Wyll's AC from 12 to 18 in a snap, which is really important if you want to frontline to any extent.

[xposethedarkside]

Originally posted by Yojo0o:

Originally posted by larhtas:

So it is confirmed. No prerequisit for multiclassing.

Yup, just saw that.

Looks like combining with Paladin will work well for a wide swath of warlocks, unless there's a oath/pact clash.

I also heard that there's no longer specific racial bonuses? It's just a flat +2/+1 now? Has anyone heard that? Half elf kind of loses out on that one as they previously had +2 charisma and then two different +1 bonuses.

[Yojo0o]

Originally posted by The1Kobra:

An optimized build will really depend on the end product of how they implement the pact boons. Solasta's Pact of the Blade allows you to get an extra attack at L5, which means that if this is available, it wouldn't be a good idea to get 5 levels of a fighter class, and instead go more in on warlock.

Now what you might want to dip for? Paladin 2 means you get smiting and some healing. But more importantly, it means you could get the armor proficiencies (which will help a LOT with the AC), without needing to spend a feat on Moderately armored. That feat alone got EA Wyll's AC from 12 to 18 in a snap, which is really important if you want to frontline to any extent.

That's just Thirsting Blade. Warlocks have always had that as an option at level 5 with Pact of the Blade, same as Eldritch Smite.

I'm generally of the opinion that a feat is a lower cost than a level dip, particularly two levels. Paladin is a really weak dip in general, since they don't get much of anything at level 1.

[Yojo0o]

Originally posted by xposethedarkside:

Originally posted by Yojo0o:

Yup, just saw that.

Looks like combining with Paladin will work well for a wide swath of warlocks, unless there's a oath/pact clash.

I also heard that there's no longer specific racial bonuses? It's just a flat +2/+1 now? Has anyone heard that? Half elf kind of loses out on that one as they previously had +2 charisma and then two different +1 bonuses.

The new flexibility doesn't remove the bonuses that half-elves, humans, and mountain dwarves get.

[xposethedarkside]

Originally posted by Yojo0o:

Originally posted by xposethedarkside:

I also heard that there's no longer specific racial bonuses? It's just a flat +2/+1 now? Has anyone heard that? Half elf kind of loses out on that one as they previously had +2 charisma and then two different +1 bonuses.

The new flexibility doesn't remove the bonuses that half-elves, humans, and mountain dwarves get.

Oh nice. In that case I'm all for it. It's nice to know I can make a warlock out of anything now, but can still return to that half elf/tiefling optimum if I want to.

[The1Kobra]

Originally posted by Yojo0o:

Originally posted by The1Kobra:

An optimized build will really depend on the end product of how they implement the pact boons. Solasta's Pact of the Blade allows you to get an extra attack at L5, which means that if this is available, it wouldn't be a good idea to get 5 levels of a fighter class, and instead go more in on warlock.

Now what you might want to dip for? Paladin 2 means you get smiting and some healing. But more importantly, it means you could get the armor proficiencies (which will help a LOT with the AC), without needing to spend a feat on Moderately armored. That feat alone got EA Wyll's AC from 12 to 18 in a snap, which is really important if you want to frontline to any extent.

That's just Thirsting Blade. Warlocks have always had that as an option at level 5 with Pact of the Blade, same as Eldritch Smite.

I'm generally of the opinion that a feat is a lower cost than a level dip, particularly two levels. Paladin is a really weak dip in general, since they don't get much of anything at level 1.

You can get a fair amount by dipping 2 paladin. Smiting. Cure wounds as a spell. Armor proficiencies. Defense combat style for +1 AC. If you're intending to build a character to front line and cast, it does provide it's benefits.

If thirsting blade is a thing and works as I think it would, (AKA gives an extra attack), it may be better though to just dip 1 fighter level, gets the Defense combat style and the armor proficiencies. Some multiclasses might also give additional skills, again depends on how close to the SRD they implement it. Pretty good bonuses for a single level dip.

Whether the feat is optimal or not also depends on if they retool his stats. Wyll's 13 DEX means he's only mediocre at melee combat. Though moderately armored can bring that up to 14. Still, I'd expect a better DEX for a melee warlock (or STR if they wanted to go that route), if they start with 16 DEX though, the feat becomes a bit more cumbersome because taking it means you buff that to an odd value.

[Yojo0o]

Indeed, it's nice to not feel pressured into certain races. I'd love to play a Dragonborn Dark Urge Warlock or something along those lines.

[larhtas]

Originally posted by Yojo0o:

Originally posted by xposethedarkside:

I also heard that there's no longer specific racial bonuses? It's just a flat +2/+1 now? Has anyone heard that? Half elf kind of loses out on that one as they previously had +2 charisma and then two different +1 bonuses.

The new flexibility doesn't remove the bonuses that half-elves, humans, and mountain dwarves get.

Hey what do you mean?
- We keep the +1/+1/+2 cha of the half-elf?
- The +1/+1/+1/+1/+1/+1 of the humans?
- The +2 str/+2 con of the shield dwarf?

Are you sure?

[Yojo0o]

Originally posted by The1Kobra:

Originally posted by Yojo0o:

That's just Thirsting Blade. Warlocks have always had that as an option at level 5 with Pact of the Blade, same as Eldritch Smite.

I'm generally of the opinion that a feat is a lower cost than a level dip, particularly two levels. Paladin is a really weak dip in general, since they don't get much of anything at level 1.

You can get a fair amount by dipping 2 paladin. Smiting. Cure wounds as a spell. Armor proficiencies. Defense combat style for +1 AC. If you're intending to build a character to front line and cast, it does provide it's benefits.

If thirsting blade is a thing and works as I think it would, (AKA gives an extra attack), it may be better though to just dip 1 fighter level, gets the Defense combat style and the armor proficiencies. Some multiclasses might also give additional skills, again depends on how close to the SRD they implement it. Pretty good bonuses for a single level dip.

Whether the feat is optimal or not also depends on if they retool his stats. Wyll's 13 DEX means he's only mediocre at melee combat. Though moderately armored can bring that up to 14. Still, I'd expect a better DEX for a melee warlock (or STR if they wanted to go that route), if they start with 16 DEX though, the feat becomes a bit more cumbersome because taking it means you buff that to an odd value.

I mean, two levels is a lot. That's an entire level of spell slot progression for the warlock. A pretty hefty opportunity cost for just a little bit of healing and +1 AC. Bladelocks already get Eldritch Smite, they don't need Divine Smite as well.

14 dex should be fine for Wyll with medium armor. We'll see what his stats look like in three weeks.