I would say the greatest thing about the Mobile feat is that, so long as you make a weapon attack, you _never offer opportunity attacks_ to the target you attacked regardless of whether or not you hit. This means that you can dash on that very same turn instead of attacking and then disengaging. With Booming Blade this is almost a must because if you had to first move in to attack, then use BB, then disengage and run away, you likely wouldn't have much movement left to get very far. It would likely leave you within their reach to just catch up with you and attack. Mobile changes this. You run up (with an extra ten feet of movement and twenty when you dash, which is VERY nice btw), BB them, _and then dash away with no AoO._ It makes you the best kite in the game, and opens up so many options for you to get in and out safely. Something to be aware of: You only deny AoO from the targets you've attacked that turn. If two targets are standing side by side, you'd have to attack both of them to deny AoO or when you move away the one who hasn't been attacked DOES get a swing. So look at the map and plan your path carefully so that you don't enter and exit multiple danger zones. There is one curious use of Mobile that doesn't come up often, but it's a lot of fun when it does: If your DM gives your enemies access to feats, and one has the Sentinel feat, if you have attacked that target it _still would not be able to hit you with an AoO._ This is simply due to the wording, and it is in fact the only way to avoid an AoO from a Sentinel user. Granted, that would be very rare, but it does work when it comes up. Mobile states that you simply do not offer AoO to anyone you've attacked, and Sentinel cites disengage as not being effective in avoiding AoO, but that is not what Mobile uses to grant you freedom from AoO.
personally i'd skip mobile if i want to play skirmisher. i'd pick the better option which is ritual caster and pick up phantom steed. not only can they do the same thing by giving you a mount you can disengage with 100 ft speed, you also free up your bonus action for other things such as steady aim. getting find familiar too is also nice.
There is so much talk about how to build the best Gish or Spellsword in D&D. Most people really try to pump the damage up or just go straight bladesinger to have the benefits of those high level wizard spells but still have the option to make sword attacks. I honestly think the Rogue Wizard makes for one of the best *feeling* Spellswords to play. Start Rogue so you get your proficiencies and expertise in some skills. Then right after you get your subclass at level 3, start going Wizard. At level 5, you will have Bladesong to boost your AC, some spell slots for Mage Armor, and Find Familiar to help you get advantage on one attack. It's definitely not the most powerful build out there, but that's okay. You have the dexterity to pick locks, disarm traps, and be stealthy, as well as the intelligence for investigation, history checks, and general arcane knowledge. One thing a lot of Spellswords struggle with is integrating magic into their combat. Bladesingers get a cantrip with that extra attack at level 6, but they are generally squishy targets. Plus Shadow Blade is one of the best melee weapons you can get, but wizards probably want to concentrate on more impactful spells. Eldritch Knights can make a weapon attack as a bonus action when using their action to cast a cantrip after level 7. But by that point it's better to just make 2 weapon attacks with your action 99% of the time. But the Arcane Trickster Bladesinger doesn't need extra attack for a long time. So you can use a rapier to cast Booming Blade or Green Flame Blade, getting that extra damage and dealing sneak attack. They also love having Shadow Blade. Also, who doesn't love being able to rock up to a fight with absolutely nothing and still be about to function. You can conjure all the things you need. You just get a lot of the flavor of being a Spellsword character while also having a ton of utility for the party. The one drawback is damage. But as a Rogue, you probably weren't going to be the primary damage dealer of the party anyways. It's just a very fun and very roleplay conducive character. A rogue that learns or steals a bit of magic in order to enhance their abilities who then becomes fascinated with that power and studies it further.
I'm playing this just now, W2/R4. Bladesinging Wizard with Magic Initiate feat / Arcane Trickster Rogue The character gets 8 cantrips which makes roleplay more fun, their static AC is 18 with +1 armor and a +1 Ring of Protection and that jumps to 22 with Bladesong active. They've got Boots of Elvenkind and a Rapier of Warning so that they've got advantage of Initiative and Stealth checks and best of all - they can do sneak attack damage and get stuck in during combat. I really like this build.
Two thoughts. First, you could definitely use a hand crossbow to attack. Even though they have the losing property, the hand crossbow only attacks with one hand. Thus you could also fire bolt with one attack and then sneak attack with rogue with the hand crossbow with your other attack. This would deal an insane amount of damage from a distance. Second, Wizards can copy spells from other wizard spell books. But beyond this, rogues are really good at stealing things. Combined, this means that you can steal a lot of Wizard spellbooks, giving you a reliable way to collect spells.
this wouldn't work as crossbow expert requires you to take the attack action to allow you to attack with the bonus action. unless you have action surge, casting firebolt means you are using the cast a spell action.
Goblin + bladesinger + skilled expert feat (stealth) gives you the feel of a fighter/mage/thief, without any sacrifice to spell progression. Take either fog cloud or pyrotechnics to Bonus action stealth every round to become untargetable
Welcome to Way of the Spider, the ultimate Bladesinger. I used this combo for my Dark Elf Beguiler build. Rapier/hand crossbow with CB Mastery. Eventually got sniper and sharpshooter feats and completely ruined the game for my DM. Those feats made using the net viable, though that was just for flavor. I was nearly untouchable. ^I had 4 Bard of Swords, gives duel wielding, works great with Bladesinger since you're not using 2-hands to make an attack, and gives cool sword tricks. I believe I was Rog(AT)4/Bard(S)4/Wizard(BS)5 before we stopped playing. What a game!
It was nice hearing your opinions on these two. Currently arcane trickster nearly dying every combat. Wondering if the Bladesinger would have been better or more fun.
Pick up the Shield spell as one of your non-enchantment/illusion spells! It works wonders. You use it as a reaction to getting hit with an attack, and get +5AC to that attack and every single attack until the start of your next turn. It's saved me a whole bunch. Also, just picking up some studded leather bumps you up +1 over the standard leather armor, and that single point can save your skin
Bladesong would be a HUGE boon to an arcane trickster. A two level dip into bladesinger would benefit you greatly, because it lets you add your Int mod to your AC. Also, bladesong isn't wizard level dependent, it just depends on your proficiency bonus. Overall, I recommend it to increase your overall survivability as a rogue despite giving less hp. That will allow you to still hit like a truck, but be less of a glass cannon. I recommend using mage armor, since it lasts 8 hours and you can maximize your dex mod potential with it. It also lessens your overall gear burdens while leaving you the option of picking up magical light armor later.
The thing about the advantage abilities is that the one from Tasha’s gives you advantage on 1 attack roll and you won’t be able to move at all that turn, whereas the one level 13 ability from Arcane Trickster gives you advantage on all attack roles and you can move. They both require a BA tho. This is kinda important bc with Bladesinger you will be getting 2 attack roles due to having Extra Attack. Solid idea tho really like it!
One thing about the AT Lv13 ability (called Versatile Trickster): it requires your bonus action to activate, meaning you can't also move the hand to a new location because that would ALSO require a bonus action. So either it stays wherever it happens to be and you can use Versatile Trickster to gain advantage on multiple attacks, or you move it and... lose the ability to gain advantage with it. Seems very fussy, which is annoying. Also flat out seems like a mistake to me, unless WotC _meant_ for it to be that restrictive, but that is _also_ super annoying because AT is already pretty limited with what spells they can take, no extra attack as a Rogue, etc
And also, what was ever stopping an invisible Mage Hand from causing distractions anyway? You can't attack with it and it doesn't count as an enemy of the target for purposes of triggering Sneak Attack, but you could, say, aggressively wave a colorful handkerchief directly in the face of an orc or something. As a DM I would say that blocking a target's vision in that way would be enough to gain advantage on the first attack made to that target by the Rogue during the same turn, so long as the said target relied on sight (no blindsight or truesight targets, they are more perceptive and wouldn't be fooled so easily), and would do so by forcing a Dex save against your spell casting DC to swat it away (since you're using the hand and the hand is a spell). If they make the save, no advantage on the first attack and you've wasted your bonus action (so there is some risk involved, since bonus actions are useful and you generally want them to amount to something). If they don't make the save, you can try to Sneak Attack their ass with advantage! So basically, if it's very possible and reasonable to conceive of the ability to use your Mage Hand to get advantage as early as Lv3, I don't know why that's the published Lv13 ability. It's really really lame, and quite limited
The extra attack means you can use booming blade twice* in one round. Imagine you sweeping in, attacking two enemies (one with stealth attack through familiar's help) and disengaging again. Or bonus action to do touch damage through instead of sneak attack. Then silvery barbs/shield if an opportunity attack is triggered. 3 enemies at once. (Shadow Touched feat even gives you a free Inflict Wounds per Long Rest)
Sweet, another build video. I'm going to check this out at work tomorrow. Do you think you'll ever do anything with any of the new monk subclasses they added in with Tasha?
Ok boss, so I listened to this one later than expected, but after playing it and thinking about it I had an epiphany. Take a Drow, or something with a Charisma bump, then dual class Warlock with Bladesinger. Agonizing blast combo with the Blade singer multi attack. Even if you run out of spell slots you'll still be dangerous.
Woah, that's a great idea. You'll still need Int and Cha, but you can also go hexblade, meaning you don't need dex, so that balances out. EB+AB as one attack, your weapon attack as the other... you can even use eldritch smites if you get Warlock to 5+, though I'm not sure you need to. I love it.
@@thedungeon1578 I'm currently researching it, but RAW as far as I can tell, you should in theory get each individual Eldritch blast beam for your level. I don't think that's rules as intended though so let me know if you find a clarification.
@@Vagran currently playing an AT Rogue/Hexblade, so as far as the number of EB beams goes, it's by character level (combined level across all multi classes you may have). One beam from Lv1-4, two beams from Lv5-10, three from Lv11-16, and four from Lv17-20. I hope that helps! And if you haven't played a Warlock yet I highly recommend it because they're a lot of fun! And I'm definitely curious about that BS/HB multi now, so I'll give it a look... thanks!
I'm SO glad that the wording is "one of your cantrips" and not "one of your Bladesinger cantrips" because that makes this totally possible! A lot of features specify the class, like Eldritch Smite specifying that "you can expend a Warlock spell slot" which can be frustrating. Let's hope they don't catch on and change the wording in errata or something, hahaha
Weird idea, 3 artificer for battlesmith? You can make weapon attacks scale with int as long as you use magical weapons and you get a battle pet wich can tank for the party tho it isn't insane it's pretty good for a 3 lvl dip, also you would get proficiency with all martial weapons so as a rogue you could use longbow without having to be an elf for proficiency, and the shield spell from the subclass witch is always nice This might all be useless as you'll need dex for ac and stealth but now you could leave it at 2 or 3 and focus on +5 int as you'd use it for casting and attacking
@@mirkofraccastoro7573 that's such an awesome idea! I'd never really thought of pairing Artificer with Rogue, but that does make a lot of sense. Rogues are also seen as crafty and get proficiency with Intelligence saving throws to boot. I'm imagining the roleplay of a Rogue who steals a wide variety of stuff to tinker with, and it got to the point where that tinkering has paid off with the result of actual working magic items. Seems like lots of fun to play!
I'm currently playing this build in my current campaign. It has everything you need in a combat encounter. Key elements to my build are Booming Blade, Mage Armor, Haste, Shield, Mirror Image. Movement speed can be increased to 80, with a combination of Bladesong (+10 to movement) and Haste (x2 to movement). On defense, I'm currently a level 13 with an active AC of 23 and a max AC of 28. My Dex is 20 and Int is 16, so the combination of Bladesong, Haste and Mage Armor gets me to 23 and then Shield gets the 28 for a round. Then I utilize Uncanny Dodge or Mirror Image (if it's up) to mitigate any hits I do take. For AoE attacks, Dex save proficiency and Evasion works to either half or negate the damage. Offensively, Haste gives you four attacks per round, two of which are booming blade, because bladesinger multi-attacks allow for the use of cantrips. The first attack will give you sneak attack damage as long as your attacking with advantage. Second can be booming blade. Third will be a straight attack unless your DM allows you to hold your attack and use bonus action to hide so you can use sneak attack again. The fourth will be another booming blade. It's a great build, that does everything you need it to.
how does it get to 4 and 2 booming blades? i count 3: action: attack + booming blade haste action: attack (though i can see a DM allowing this to be booming blade) bonus action: hid are you dual wielding and doing that instead of hiding?
I'm taking 3 levels of rogue, AT subclass choice, for my bladesinger wizard. 2d6 sneak attack is just enough for me to tickle things consistently while maintaining maximum spell capability.
You would actually get all 6 ASIs if you went 8BS/12AT! At Lv4 and 8 for BS, at Lv4, 8, 10, 12 for AT. Now with Tasha's you could also just play a variant human and get the extra feat at first level, but.... I've always found that to be rather dull, personally. But that's just me, do you!
Im about to start a Dragon Heist/ Mad Mage 1-20 campaign. What order should I take the levels in? Knowing 12/8 is useful, but I also want to avoid dead levels esp at key points in the campaign.
You could just start BS and go to 6 to get extra attack, then take some rogue. It's never a bad plan to get a key feature like that before multi-classing. Since Bladesinger can use a cantrip as part of their extra attack, I'd favor that over starting rogue. 3rd level spells are also a good "power up" stage in spell casting usually, so getting that before grabbing rogue is also pretty good. After that, it's really up to you, but getting 3 rogue will give you your subclass, expertise, a couple die of sneak attack, etc which are all pretty nice.
@@arrowodd7695 I’m trying exactly this rn in my one campaign. Do you have any advice for what spells you’d recommend picking up for wizard levels 1-6? Rn my high elf Arcane Trickster at level 4 has both the blade cantrips, minor illusion, mage hand, charm person, Tasha’s hideous laughter, disguise self, and shield.
i think the fighter version of this is better. rogues typically like 1 big hit per turn while bladesingers like to multiattack. the spell lists are a bit redundant too. rogues would be better of multiclassing to fighter as well or rangers, grave clerics or hexblades/daolocks.
Hello chat! Can Y'all help me, I just made it to lvl 3 arcane trickster as a Duergar in the out of the abyss campaign. We should get to lvl 15, when should I split into blade singer and for how long? Also was torn between using my next feat for crossbow master or mobility, advice? Thanks Everyone!
@1:35 creating a strong offensive character...like...delaying force cage and if going for uncanny dodge and evasion giving up lv9 spells and also slowing leveled spell progression? No. Starting as a LV1 rogue and picking up bladesinger by lv3 might seem good for the extra skills and expertise, but giving up spell progression and battlefield control is a big no-no. Having BB or GFB is usually better to use in combat than sneakattack. Disabling 50%+ of the opposition or the lieutenant or the bbeg is more beneficial than iduknow dealing +4d8+4d6 with our AC and hp, when there are 12 creatures ravaging through the party. Tell me what's a better offense? Dealing 50 damage to one creature OR rendering the opposition a no threat by decreasing the DPR they do to your party alleviating pressure from the healer, letting party members not waste resources, diverting damage with summons, dealing damage with a cheap resource and having access to the MOST OP SPELL LIST IN THE GAME? At lv2 if I put 3-5 enemies to sleep with spell, sleep, go into bladesong and BB with the mobile feat (yes this is a custom lineage build) or shooting arrows while my familiar is giving me advantage and I'm also shooting from behind cover - created by minor illusion - how am I less effective at dealing with a 5-8 swarm? Also if I reeeeeeealy want to max out I can just take custom lineage and crit fish with elven accuracy. Animate dead, 2 grapple 2 help for advantage on check, familiar uses dragon's breath and/or wand of magic missiles, the enemy is disabled throughout a mirriad of spell options, you also deal damage with summons or bonus action economy spells while being a nuisance countersplessing or standing next to an enemy with the dodge action. Bladesingers don't need to be a striker or go nova, that's for the ranger, rogue, paladin and hexblade to do. I did actually teach a group of players to how best create and use their party. It consists of a celestial chain lock, a bladesinger, a gloomsassin and a totem barb moon dru combo. The DM came to me and asked for combat encounter advice so I taught him wargaming (40k and fantasy). As long as I can kill a party with and easy encounter with cr1/4-1 enemies and as long as my party can do the opposite with the right builds, specific characters don't need to be the best at another class' job, but specific builds need to do their job and do it well.
i think the disconnect between you guys is he's trying to make a gish striker and not necessarily a controller. if he wanted to cast as a main tactic, he would've picked another wizard subclass who can add more than what the bladesinger does for that purpose such as the diviner. generally, controllers add more offense to the party and would surpass strikers in value added to the party. Casters>martials in 5e anyway. however, there are a few exceptions when it comes to burst strikers. certain burst strikers can nuke enemies on turn 1. there's no need to control or summon when the enemies are typically dead by turn 1-2. the most OP spell list in the game i think depends on what tiers you're talking about but wizard is definitely top 3 though not always top 1. tier 1-2 the clockwork sorc has the better spell list AND metamagic. tier 3 the wizards is indeed the best. tier 4 bards are better since by that point they have stolen all the best spells on all the classes spell list including the wizard while having a better chassis. custom lineage cant take elven accuracy. you have to be an elf or half-elf. bladesingers can be effective at nova, especially crit fishing. for example my "stonesinger" can burst for 8 attacks with super advantage on round 1 at level 10, 10 attacks at level 12 without even using animate objects. that's alot of dmg at good accuracy with good sustained at 5 attacks at level 10 every turn. it typically breaks the century mark for round 1 dmg at level 10. i dont know if you meant specialization is better than being versatile with your last paragraph (doing their job well instead of doing another class's job) but if you did, i agree. this is how i optimize as well. being a master of one is better than being a jack of all trades.
Игры
Wizards ritual spells and knowledge skills are a massive boost to rogues versatility. especially Find Familiar of course.
I would say the greatest thing about the Mobile feat is that, so long as you make a weapon attack, you _never offer opportunity attacks_ to the target you attacked regardless of whether or not you hit. This means that you can dash on that very same turn instead of attacking and then disengaging. With Booming Blade this is almost a must because if you had to first move in to attack, then use BB, then disengage and run away, you likely wouldn't have much movement left to get very far. It would likely leave you within their reach to just catch up with you and attack. Mobile changes this. You run up (with an extra ten feet of movement and twenty when you dash, which is VERY nice btw), BB them, _and then dash away with no AoO._ It makes you the best kite in the game, and opens up so many options for you to get in and out safely.
Something to be aware of: You only deny AoO from the targets you've attacked that turn. If two targets are standing side by side, you'd have to attack both of them to deny AoO or when you move away the one who hasn't been attacked DOES get a swing. So look at the map and plan your path carefully so that you don't enter and exit multiple danger zones.
There is one curious use of Mobile that doesn't come up often, but it's a lot of fun when it does: If your DM gives your enemies access to feats, and one has the Sentinel feat, if you have attacked that target it _still would not be able to hit you with an AoO._ This is simply due to the wording, and it is in fact the only way to avoid an AoO from a Sentinel user. Granted, that would be very rare, but it does work when it comes up. Mobile states that you simply do not offer AoO to anyone you've attacked, and Sentinel cites disengage as not being effective in avoiding AoO, but that is not what Mobile uses to grant you freedom from AoO.
Good comments. I didn't go into a lot of detail on mobile, but I really like the feat and I'm glad you expanded on additional bonuses to having it.
personally i'd skip mobile if i want to play skirmisher. i'd pick the better option which is ritual caster and pick up phantom steed. not only can they do the same thing by giving you a mount you can disengage with 100 ft speed, you also free up your bonus action for other things such as steady aim. getting find familiar too is also nice.
There is so much talk about how to build the best Gish or Spellsword in D&D. Most people really try to pump the damage up or just go straight bladesinger to have the benefits of those high level wizard spells but still have the option to make sword attacks.
I honestly think the Rogue Wizard makes for one of the best *feeling* Spellswords to play. Start Rogue so you get your proficiencies and expertise in some skills. Then right after you get your subclass at level 3, start going Wizard. At level 5, you will have Bladesong to boost your AC, some spell slots for Mage Armor, and Find Familiar to help you get advantage on one attack. It's definitely not the most powerful build out there, but that's okay. You have the dexterity to pick locks, disarm traps, and be stealthy, as well as the intelligence for investigation, history checks, and general arcane knowledge.
One thing a lot of Spellswords struggle with is integrating magic into their combat. Bladesingers get a cantrip with that extra attack at level 6, but they are generally squishy targets. Plus Shadow Blade is one of the best melee weapons you can get, but wizards probably want to concentrate on more impactful spells. Eldritch Knights can make a weapon attack as a bonus action when using their action to cast a cantrip after level 7. But by that point it's better to just make 2 weapon attacks with your action 99% of the time. But the Arcane Trickster Bladesinger doesn't need extra attack for a long time. So you can use a rapier to cast Booming Blade or Green Flame Blade, getting that extra damage and dealing sneak attack. They also love having Shadow Blade. Also, who doesn't love being able to rock up to a fight with absolutely nothing and still be about to function. You can conjure all the things you need.
You just get a lot of the flavor of being a Spellsword character while also having a ton of utility for the party. The one drawback is damage. But as a Rogue, you probably weren't going to be the primary damage dealer of the party anyways. It's just a very fun and very roleplay conducive character. A rogue that learns or steals a bit of magic in order to enhance their abilities who then becomes fascinated with that power and studies it further.
I'm playing this just now, W2/R4. Bladesinging Wizard with Magic Initiate feat / Arcane Trickster Rogue
The character gets 8 cantrips which makes roleplay more fun, their static AC is 18 with +1 armor and a +1 Ring of Protection and that jumps to 22 with Bladesong active. They've got Boots of Elvenkind and a Rapier of Warning so that they've got advantage of Initiative and Stealth checks and best of all - they can do sneak attack damage and get stuck in during combat.
I really like this build.
Nice, that sounds pretty fun.
Two thoughts. First, you could definitely use a hand crossbow to attack. Even though they have the losing property, the hand crossbow only attacks with one hand. Thus you could also fire bolt with one attack and then sneak attack with rogue with the hand crossbow with your other attack. This would deal an insane amount of damage from a distance.
Second, Wizards can copy spells from other wizard spell books. But beyond this, rogues are really good at stealing things. Combined, this means that you can steal a lot of Wizard spellbooks, giving you a reliable way to collect spells.
Good points :)
this wouldn't work as crossbow expert requires you to take the attack action to allow you to attack with the bonus action. unless you have action surge, casting firebolt means you are using the cast a spell action.
@@TheRobversion1 you wouldn’t be using Crossbow Expert with what I mentioned.
@@bwhit7919 ah so just the normal bladesinger extra attack then. fair enough.
Goblin + bladesinger + skilled expert feat (stealth) gives you the feel of a fighter/mage/thief, without any sacrifice to spell progression. Take either fog cloud or pyrotechnics to Bonus action stealth every round to become untargetable
I feel this way as a Dhampir which grants a vampires bite for a con based healing + advantage granting ability
Welcome to Way of the Spider, the ultimate Bladesinger. I used this combo for my Dark Elf Beguiler build. Rapier/hand crossbow with CB Mastery. Eventually got sniper and sharpshooter feats and completely ruined the game for my DM. Those feats made using the net viable, though that was just for flavor. I was nearly untouchable. ^I had 4 Bard of Swords, gives duel wielding, works great with Bladesinger since you're not using 2-hands to make an attack, and gives cool sword tricks. I believe I was Rog(AT)4/Bard(S)4/Wizard(BS)5 before we stopped playing. What a game!
Very nice, haha. I like that idea a lot.
It was nice hearing your opinions on these two. Currently arcane trickster nearly dying every combat. Wondering if the Bladesinger would have been better or more fun.
Pick up the Shield spell as one of your non-enchantment/illusion spells! It works wonders. You use it as a reaction to getting hit with an attack, and get +5AC to that attack and every single attack until the start of your next turn. It's saved me a whole bunch. Also, just picking up some studded leather bumps you up +1 over the standard leather armor, and that single point can save your skin
Bladesong would be a HUGE boon to an arcane trickster. A two level dip into bladesinger would benefit you greatly, because it lets you add your Int mod to your AC. Also, bladesong isn't wizard level dependent, it just depends on your proficiency bonus. Overall, I recommend it to increase your overall survivability as a rogue despite giving less hp. That will allow you to still hit like a truck, but be less of a glass cannon. I recommend using mage armor, since it lasts 8 hours and you can maximize your dex mod potential with it. It also lessens your overall gear burdens while leaving you the option of picking up magical light armor later.
The thing about the advantage abilities is that the one from Tasha’s gives you advantage on 1 attack roll and you won’t be able to move at all that turn, whereas the one level 13 ability from Arcane Trickster gives you advantage on all attack roles and you can move. They both require a BA tho. This is kinda important bc with Bladesinger you will be getting 2 attack roles due to having Extra Attack. Solid idea tho really like it!
One thing about the AT Lv13 ability (called Versatile Trickster): it requires your bonus action to activate, meaning you can't also move the hand to a new location because that would ALSO require a bonus action. So either it stays wherever it happens to be and you can use Versatile Trickster to gain advantage on multiple attacks, or you move it and... lose the ability to gain advantage with it. Seems very fussy, which is annoying. Also flat out seems like a mistake to me, unless WotC _meant_ for it to be that restrictive, but that is _also_ super annoying because AT is already pretty limited with what spells they can take, no extra attack as a Rogue, etc
And also, what was ever stopping an invisible Mage Hand from causing distractions anyway? You can't attack with it and it doesn't count as an enemy of the target for purposes of triggering Sneak Attack, but you could, say, aggressively wave a colorful handkerchief directly in the face of an orc or something. As a DM I would say that blocking a target's vision in that way would be enough to gain advantage on the first attack made to that target by the Rogue during the same turn, so long as the said target relied on sight (no blindsight or truesight targets, they are more perceptive and wouldn't be fooled so easily), and would do so by forcing a Dex save against your spell casting DC to swat it away (since you're using the hand and the hand is a spell). If they make the save, no advantage on the first attack and you've wasted your bonus action (so there is some risk involved, since bonus actions are useful and you generally want them to amount to something). If they don't make the save, you can try to Sneak Attack their ass with advantage!
So basically, if it's very possible and reasonable to conceive of the ability to use your Mage Hand to get advantage as early as Lv3, I don't know why that's the published Lv13 ability. It's really really lame, and quite limited
The extra attack means you can use booming blade twice* in one round. Imagine you sweeping in, attacking two enemies (one with stealth attack through familiar's help) and disengaging again. Or bonus action to do touch damage through instead of sneak attack. Then silvery barbs/shield if an opportunity attack is triggered. 3 enemies at once. (Shadow Touched feat even gives you a free Inflict Wounds per Long Rest)
I like it :)
Sweet, another build video. I'm going to check this out at work tomorrow. Do you think you'll ever do anything with any of the new monk subclasses they added in with Tasha?
Ok boss, so I listened to this one later than expected, but after playing it and thinking about it I had an epiphany. Take a Drow, or something with a Charisma bump, then dual class Warlock with Bladesinger. Agonizing blast combo with the Blade singer multi attack. Even if you run out of spell slots you'll still be dangerous.
Woah, that's a great idea. You'll still need Int and Cha, but you can also go hexblade, meaning you don't need dex, so that balances out. EB+AB as one attack, your weapon attack as the other... you can even use eldritch smites if you get Warlock to 5+, though I'm not sure you need to. I love it.
@@thedungeon1578 I'm currently researching it, but RAW as far as I can tell, you should in theory get each individual Eldritch blast beam for your level. I don't think that's rules as intended though so let me know if you find a clarification.
@@Vagran currently playing an AT Rogue/Hexblade, so as far as the number of EB beams goes, it's by character level (combined level across all multi classes you may have). One beam from Lv1-4, two beams from Lv5-10, three from Lv11-16, and four from Lv17-20. I hope that helps! And if you haven't played a Warlock yet I highly recommend it because they're a lot of fun! And I'm definitely curious about that BS/HB multi now, so I'll give it a look... thanks!
I'm SO glad that the wording is "one of your cantrips" and not "one of your Bladesinger cantrips" because that makes this totally possible! A lot of features specify the class, like Eldritch Smite specifying that "you can expend a Warlock spell slot" which can be frustrating. Let's hope they don't catch on and change the wording in errata or something, hahaha
@@opus5770 I'm hoping to have a chance to play a Warlock soon. I have a ton of fun ideas to work with.
Weird idea, 3 artificer for battlesmith?
You can make weapon attacks scale with int as long as you use magical weapons and you get a battle pet wich can tank for the party tho it isn't insane it's pretty good for a 3 lvl dip, also you would get proficiency with all martial weapons so as a rogue you could use longbow without having to be an elf for proficiency, and the shield spell from the subclass witch is always nice
This might all be useless as you'll need dex for ac and stealth but now you could leave it at 2 or 3 and focus on +5 int as you'd use it for casting and attacking
P.S. the idea of an artificer rogue with a hunting god/wolf looks cool af in my head
@@mirkofraccastoro7573 that's such an awesome idea! I'd never really thought of pairing Artificer with Rogue, but that does make a lot of sense. Rogues are also seen as crafty and get proficiency with Intelligence saving throws to boot. I'm imagining the roleplay of a Rogue who steals a wide variety of stuff to tinker with, and it got to the point where that tinkering has paid off with the result of actual working magic items. Seems like lots of fun to play!
I'm currently playing this build in my current campaign. It has everything you need in a combat encounter. Key elements to my build are Booming Blade, Mage Armor, Haste, Shield, Mirror Image. Movement speed can be increased to 80, with a combination of Bladesong (+10 to movement) and Haste (x2 to movement). On defense, I'm currently a level 13 with an active AC of 23 and a max AC of 28. My Dex is 20 and Int is 16, so the combination of Bladesong, Haste and Mage Armor gets me to 23 and then Shield gets the 28 for a round. Then I utilize Uncanny Dodge or Mirror Image (if it's up) to mitigate any hits I do take. For AoE attacks, Dex save proficiency and Evasion works to either half or negate the damage. Offensively, Haste gives you four attacks per round, two of which are booming blade, because bladesinger multi-attacks allow for the use of cantrips. The first attack will give you sneak attack damage as long as your attacking with advantage. Second can be booming blade. Third will be a straight attack unless your DM allows you to hold your attack and use bonus action to hide so you can use sneak attack again. The fourth will be another booming blade. It's a great build, that does everything you need it to.
Nice, glad to hear you're enjoying it so much.
@@thedungeon1578 Hello! Thanks so much for bringing this build idea to light.
how does it get to 4 and 2 booming blades? i count 3:
action: attack + booming blade
haste action: attack (though i can see a DM allowing this to be booming blade)
bonus action: hid
are you dual wielding and doing that instead of hiding?
I'm taking 3 levels of rogue, AT subclass choice, for my bladesinger wizard. 2d6 sneak attack is just enough for me to tickle things consistently while maintaining maximum spell capability.
I like that mix too.
You would actually get all 6 ASIs if you went 8BS/12AT! At Lv4 and 8 for BS, at Lv4, 8, 10, 12 for AT. Now with Tasha's you could also just play a variant human and get the extra feat at first level, but.... I've always found that to be rather dull, personally. But that's just me, do you!
Ya, good call. I personally like variant human, but I totally get people who don't.
Im about to start a Dragon Heist/ Mad Mage 1-20 campaign. What order should I take the levels in? Knowing 12/8 is useful, but I also want to avoid dead levels esp at key points in the campaign.
You could just start BS and go to 6 to get extra attack, then take some rogue. It's never a bad plan to get a key feature like that before multi-classing. Since Bladesinger can use a cantrip as part of their extra attack, I'd favor that over starting rogue. 3rd level spells are also a good "power up" stage in spell casting usually, so getting that before grabbing rogue is also pretty good. After that, it's really up to you, but getting 3 rogue will give you your subclass, expertise, a couple die of sneak attack, etc which are all pretty nice.
Take your first 6 levels in blade singer the rest in arcane tricker rogue and you end up with a better arcane trickster
That's my thoughts exactly :)
I already started the other way (lvl3 arcane trickster) any advice?
Take one more level for the feat than 6 for Blade singer.
Then back into rogue the rest of the way.
@@arrowodd7695 I’m trying exactly this rn in my one campaign. Do you have any advice for what spells you’d recommend picking up for wizard levels 1-6? Rn my high elf Arcane Trickster at level 4 has both the blade cantrips, minor illusion, mage hand, charm person, Tasha’s hideous laughter, disguise self, and shield.
i think the fighter version of this is better. rogues typically like 1 big hit per turn while bladesingers like to multiattack. the spell lists are a bit redundant too. rogues would be better of multiclassing to fighter as well or rangers, grave clerics or hexblades/daolocks.
Hello chat! Can Y'all help me, I just made it to lvl 3 arcane trickster as a Duergar in the out of the abyss campaign. We should get to lvl 15, when should I split into blade singer and for how long? Also was torn between using my next feat for crossbow master or mobility, advice? Thanks Everyone!
Sharpshooter! I meant sharpshooter not crossbow expert... Whew
@@Buttercar420 what role are you filling in your party? And what are you trying to achieve with going into bladesinger?
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@1:35 creating a strong offensive character...like...delaying force cage and if going for uncanny dodge and evasion giving up lv9 spells and also slowing leveled spell progression? No.
Starting as a LV1 rogue and picking up bladesinger by lv3 might seem good for the extra skills and expertise, but giving up spell progression and battlefield control is a big no-no.
Having BB or GFB is usually better to use in combat than sneakattack. Disabling 50%+ of the opposition or the lieutenant or the bbeg is more beneficial than iduknow dealing +4d8+4d6 with our AC and hp, when there are 12 creatures ravaging through the party.
Tell me what's a better offense? Dealing 50 damage to one creature OR rendering the opposition a no threat by decreasing the DPR they do to your party alleviating pressure from the healer, letting party members not waste resources, diverting damage with summons, dealing damage with a cheap resource and having access to the MOST OP SPELL LIST IN THE GAME?
At lv2 if I put 3-5 enemies to sleep with spell, sleep, go into bladesong and BB with the mobile feat (yes this is a custom lineage build) or shooting arrows while my familiar is giving me advantage and I'm also shooting from behind cover - created by minor illusion - how am I less effective at dealing with a 5-8 swarm? Also if I reeeeeeealy want to max out I can just take custom lineage and crit fish with elven accuracy.
Animate dead, 2 grapple 2 help for advantage on check, familiar uses dragon's breath and/or wand of magic missiles, the enemy is disabled throughout a mirriad of spell options, you also deal damage with summons or bonus action economy spells while being a nuisance countersplessing or standing next to an enemy with the dodge action.
Bladesingers don't need to be a striker or go nova, that's for the ranger, rogue, paladin and hexblade to do.
I did actually teach a group of players to how best create and use their party. It consists of a celestial chain lock, a bladesinger, a gloomsassin and a totem barb moon dru combo. The DM came to me and asked for combat encounter advice so I taught him wargaming (40k and fantasy).
As long as I can kill a party with and easy encounter with cr1/4-1 enemies and as long as my party can do the opposite with the right builds, specific characters don't need to be the best at another class' job, but specific builds need to do their job and do it well.
i think the disconnect between you guys is he's trying to make a gish striker and not necessarily a controller. if he wanted to cast as a main tactic, he would've picked another wizard subclass who can add more than what the bladesinger does for that purpose such as the diviner.
generally, controllers add more offense to the party and would surpass strikers in value added to the party. Casters>martials in 5e anyway. however, there are a few exceptions when it comes to burst strikers. certain burst strikers can nuke enemies on turn 1. there's no need to control or summon when the enemies are typically dead by turn 1-2.
the most OP spell list in the game i think depends on what tiers you're talking about but wizard is definitely top 3 though not always top 1. tier 1-2 the clockwork sorc has the better spell list AND metamagic. tier 3 the wizards is indeed the best. tier 4 bards are better since by that point they have stolen all the best spells on all the classes spell list including the wizard while having a better chassis.
custom lineage cant take elven accuracy. you have to be an elf or half-elf.
bladesingers can be effective at nova, especially crit fishing. for example my "stonesinger" can burst for 8 attacks with super advantage on round 1 at level 10, 10 attacks at level 12 without even using animate objects. that's alot of dmg at good accuracy with good sustained at 5 attacks at level 10 every turn. it typically breaks the century mark for round 1 dmg at level 10.
i dont know if you meant specialization is better than being versatile with your last paragraph (doing their job well instead of doing another class's job) but if you did, i agree. this is how i optimize as well. being a master of one is better than being a jack of all trades.