Lockadin build (paladin/warlock) help

[ILBaffoRumenian]

hello everyone, i would like to create a lockadin but i don't know how to start, which class to level and which stats to increase. any help?

[RamzaBehoulve]

Standard STR/CHA Paladin til lvl 5, then 1-3 levels in Blade Warlock

[Soft Lockpick]

I'm just napkin mathing this but it depends on how you want to play.

I'm guessing Paladin first level is the better one. With breakpoints at 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10. Using the rest of the levels for lock. Unless there's something you really want to make sure you hit on the lock side.

I don't use 1 as a breakpoint because going paladin without getting divine smite seems like a waste.

[Szorrin]

The extra attack from Warlock's 'Deepened Pact' at level 5 is bugged and actually stacks with Paladin's Extra Attack. So going at least 5 levels in each gives you three attacks per action. That is, if you're okay with exploiting an obvious bug.

[ILBaffoRumenian]

Originally posted by RamzaBehoulve:

Standard STR/CHA Paladin til lvl 5, then 1-3 levels in Blade Warlock

how many points do you recommend on str and cha? i was thinking a 16 str and 16 cha
with bonuses etc

[Snake_In_The_Eye]

You are wasting putting into Str, when you unlock level 3 warlock your weapon will hit and do damage on Chr.
It all varies what you want to dump. You can make a lot of builds.

I personally would go for Dex 14, can use medium armours for extra AC, and helps with initiative. dump Str, Int, max Chr and the remaining between Con and Wis.

As leveling you want to avoid power peak losses. So pure until you get the extra attack -at level 5, then multi-class.

[Zanuffas]

Generally, Lockadin's are best played on Tactician and Balanced difficulty. This is where the Extra Attack from Paladin and Warlock's Deepened Pact extra attack stack. So you gain 3 attacks per action.
Now thanks to Divine Smite you will also get additional radiant damage on each of these hits, so you are looking at an extremely strong frontline, that can deal large burst damage on a single turn.
As you can guess this makes it somewhat irrelevant for you to use other spells as it is very hard to beat 3 attacks :)
For progression, I have a few recommendations:

• 10 Paladin -> Respec -> 5 Paladin/5 Warlock -> 7 Paladin. This is the optimal setup, which gives access to Paladin auras earlier but you get to enjoy the full setup only at level 10
  
• 5 paladin -> 5 Warlock -> 7 Paladin. This is what I would use personally, as you are probably eager to try this multiclass as early as you can :)

Overall, no matter which one you pick, the build fully becomes online at level 10, before that you are mostly just a Paladin. Moreover, once you get access to Plade of the Pact you can totally dump Strength and go all-in on Charisma.

Here is my Lockadin Build[gamestegy.com] if you need an in-depth guide with gear progression and other stuff.

[RollerPig]

Originally posted by ILBaffoRumenian:

hello everyone, i would like to create a lockadin but i don't know how to start, which class to level and which stats to increase. any help?

depends on difficulty. Most multi class builds don't do well until level 8+ with a few exceptions, (ranger/rogue, barb/fighter, temest cleric+ 1 wiz) otherwise 5 levels in almost any class will beat multi classes.

I would take warlock until level 5 .This gets you pact of the blade (extra attack) and which will use your charisma modifier for melee strikes. meaning you can dump str in favor of more constitution, dex or Charisma. I prefer opening lock because they have short rest renewable spell slots (although very few) but i play tactician and honor runs where you cant spam long rest all the time...for balanced or adventurer id take pally to level 7 ( 5 minimum for extra attack) then branch off

[RollerPig]

Originally posted by ILBaffoRumenian:

Originally posted by RamzaBehoulve:

Standard STR/CHA Paladin til lvl 5, then 1-3 levels in Blade Warlock

how many points do you recommend on str and cha? i was thinking a 16 str and 16 cha
with bonuses etc

I wouldnt bother about charisma early. Id go str 16 con 14, 14 dex (for inititave and saves). You're not going to be casting many offensive spells, you'll be smiting, so charisma attack roles and saves wont be a concern but landing those smites will and that's based off Str. Bless , shield of faith and maybe cure wounds should be the only thing you're using spells slots on other than smites early game. Those work regardless

[ouijaman1]

Originally posted by Szorrin:

The extra attack from Warlock's 'Deepened Pact' at level 5 is bugged and actually stacks with Paladin's Extra Attack. So going at least 5 levels in each gives you three attacks per action. That is, if you're okay with exploiting an obvious bug.

That is not a bug it's a FEATURE.

[AnonymousWizard]

If you're willing to cart around a second melee fighter for several levels then dump STR and level Warlock first. Or go Paladin for five levels and then at level 6/7 respec into Paladin (1 or 2)/Warlock 5.

It's probably best to begin as a Paladin, because they get access to a slightly better social skill and Heavy Armour proficiency. In fact Warlock/Paladin is one of the few truly DAD builds out there: if you wear heavy armour you pretty much want DEX 10, CON and CHA maxed, and the other stats at whatever you feel like.

Dumping Strength means you'll lose reliable access to shoves, but you might not care.

Taking two levels of Paladin and then five levels of Warlock is also viable, although maybe not as strong for levels 5 and 6. At that point you're basically relying on two level 2 Smites per combat and Eldritch Blast to carry you to the point that you finally unlock Extra Attack.

[harken23]

We would also have accepted "Palock". 😀

[Tom]

If you want to maximize bonk might i suggest Paladin 5 Blade Warlock 5 and fighter 2 for action surge granting 6 attacks?

[Tresh]

Played this build a couple times now and it can pull insane numbers: 7 levels in Paladin (oath of vengeance) and 5 in warlock (fiend) with pact of the blade.
You start with a level in Paladin, switch to warlock for level 2, get all of your levels in Warlock out of the way to get the extra attack with your pact weapon and then return to levelling Paladin for the rest of your levels.

Strength actually does not matter for this build at all and is one of your dump-stats, since, at level 4, your attack stat is going to become charisma and before that, you can get by with dex/finesse weapons.

[AokiYakumo]

Originally posted by ILBaffoRumenian:

hello everyone, i would like to create a lockadin but i don't know how to start, which class to level and which stats to increase. any help?

Start PLD at the beginning. Don't worry about your stats, the default array should be good enough to get you comfortably to Act II. I should know, that's what I did.

Take PLD up to 7th (if you're Ancients or an Oathbreaker), or 6th (if you're anything else). 7th level unlocks the subclass auras/perks and the Warding/Hate auras are insane on a DPS build like this (one for general tankiness since it halves incoming spell damage, and one for damage amp since it will let you double-dip CHA later).

On your 8th level you're going to multiclass to WLK. Take Hex and Armor of Agathys here regardless of your pact. Hex will be a persistent damage amp for you while AoA is more temp.HP and a damage shield which will ramp up as you get stronger.

When you get to your 10th level, you'll want to do a re-spec, but you won't be changing classes. Instead, you'll go back to PLD 1 just like before, only this time you'll move your STR to CON and bump CHA to the moon. Level up just like before, and when you have WLK 3 take Pact of the Blade. At this point, level WLK for the rest of the game.

By WLK 5 you should have access to Hunger of Hadar. Take it. It's the best 3rd level WLK spell in the game for its persistent damage over time and huge crowd control. You can swap between this or Hex as your concentration option depending upon the situation.

The final ability score spread should look something like this:
STR: 12 | DEX: 8 | CON: 16 | INT: 10 | WIS: 13 | CHA: 20(22 with Mirror of Loss, 24 with MoL + Birthright or Ravengard's Longsword).

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For items, it really depends, but because you're a PLD you can get away with a lot thanks to high burst damage from Smites, and with the WLK levels you'll have Eldritch Blast to fall back on when you need it. On Honor Mode you'll have 2 melee attacks or 3 beams per round, and on Tactician or below you'll have 3 attacks per round thanks to Blade-Pact amping Extra Attack. These numbers are unbuffed; using Haste or Bloodlust will add even more attacks to the number.

However, for a sample spread from act to act, look to find the following items as a Sword & Board PLD:

ACT I
Weapon: Blood of Lathander
Shield: Safeguard Shield.
Ranged: Hunting Shortbow.
Rings: Caustic Band, Strange Conduit
Amulet: Broodmother's Revenge (if Kagha still lives, get the Pearl of Power Amulet or the Misty Step Amulet as a substitute).
Armor: Any heavy armor (Get Adamantine Splint as one of your 2 adamantine items if you don't have a BRB in your party, otherwise give the BRB Adamantine Scale while you get a +1 Chainmail or something to tide you over.
Boots: Disintegrating Night Walkers.
Helmet: Haste Helm or Diadem of Arcane Synergy (If you're an Oathbreaker, you can use this to triple dip CHA but it requires a specific setup to do consistently).

ACT II
Weapon: Blood of Lathander, Thorn Blade, Sword of Screams, Larethian's Wrath (Any good one-hander will do, pick your poison).
Shield: Shield of Devotion.
Ranged: Hunting Shortbow or Darkfire Shortbow.
Gloves: Flawed Helldusk Gloves.
Rings: FOR GENERAL USE, use a mix of Callous Glow, Caustic Band, Strange Conduit, or Risky Ring. FOR ARCANE SYNERGY, you must use Callous Glow and Coruscation Ring together while wielding a weapon buffed with Light, or Blood of Lathander. This is critical to trigger Radiant Orb, which will trigger Arcane Synergy, which will let you double or triple dip CHA taking you to +10-+14 or +15-+21 on your damage modifier.
Amulet: Broodmother's Revenge, Spellcrux, Spineshudder, Harper Amulet, or Surgeon's Subjugation.
Armor: Flawed Helldusk Plate, Dwarven Splint, Adamantine Splint, Armor of Devotion, or Rippling Force Mail.
Boots: GENERAL USE, Disintegrating Night Walkers. ARCANE SYNERGY, Boots of Stormy Clamour.
Helmet: Flawed Helldusk Helm or Diadem of Arcane Synergy.
Cloak: Cloak of Protection or Fleshmelter Cloak.

Act III
Weapon: GENERAL, Belm. ARCANE SYNERGY, Blood of Lathander or Nyrulna (any one-hander that has a light emitting effect in its description).
Shield: GENERAL, Ketheric's Shield. GREAT OLD ONE, Shield of the Undevout.
Ranged: Deadshot.
Gloves: Helldusk Gloves.
Rings: GENERAL, Risky Ring and Strange Conduit. ARCANE SYNERGY, Callous Glow and Coruscation Ring.
Amulet: Fey Semblence Amulet. (A bit of an odd choice here but with your insane mental saves this item will grant near-immunity to ALL mental effects. Anything it can't block can be blocked by Heroes' Feast or Freedom of Movement.)
Armor: Helldusk Armor or Armor of Persistence.
Boots: GENERAL, use Boots of Persistence (these give Longstrider and Freedom of Movement by default, rendering you immune to most floor hazards or crowd control. Paired with Heroes' Feast for poisons/diseases, and Fey Semblence for mental effects like charm or fear, you're basically immune to every nasty control or hazard effect in the game.). ARCANE SYNERGY, Boots of Stormy Clamour.
Helmet: GENERAL, Helm of Balduran, Mask of Soul Perception, Helldusk Helm, or Birthright. Any can work for any build. ARCANE SYNERGY, Diadem of Arcane Synergy.
Cloak: You've got options. Cloak of Displacement is great against attack-heavy encounter. Cloak of Protection is great for save boosts. Fleshmelter or Cindermoth are great for amping damage shields (although Cindermoth can be sacked when you get Helldusk Armor). If you are casting a lot of spells, Cloak of the Weave is potent.

Grabbing Duelling for the +2 and assuming Blood of Lathander as it's an Act I weapon, you should see a base damage average by the time you get to Act II of 17 per hit, provided you're holding concentration on a spell like Bless or Protection from Evil/Good. Divine Favor could amp this up to 19.5 but that's risky.

Act III numbers for this setup can get nutty. With the standard Sword & Board build, assuming Hex and BoL with 20 CHA, that's 22 per hit for 3 hits averaging 66 damage a round. With Arcane Synergy on an Oathbreaker, you could be seeing upwards of 29.5 per hit averaging 88.5 per round all while debuffing the ever living sh*t out of a single target.

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Hope this helps.

[Gob]

My previous play-through was with a Lockadin and though OK it wasn't significantly better than many other builds.

You are investing 5 levels in Warlock pact of blade for an extra attack and get pretty much nothing else for it.

Just two levels of fighter instead gives an extra attack for one round and one more level get's you some very useful battle master moves with extra damage.