I will fix the thumbnail btw guys. Sorry.

Hex can also target a monster's spellcasting ability; since counterspelling often calls for an ability check, you can kneecap one of your enemy's best defensive measures with a slot you spent four hours ago and recovered since.

I'm playing a fighter grappler currently. Multiclassed into a single level of genie warlock for the bonus damage bludgeoning and giving enemies disadvantage on resisting my shoves/grapples via hex.

Honestly, I always saw the ability debuff as the main selling point of hex, the damage is just a bonus.

I took this for my Dimir Ravnica Warlock, I never used it in combat. My character was built around being deceptive so I would always cast it on NPCs before we would talk to them and give them disadvantage on Wisdom checks so there insight would suffer. That spell was clutch in several different social encounters

Minor note: Hex with wisdom disadvantage can reduce passive perception checks or make active ones harder. Perfect for helping your party rogue sneak about in combat (assuming they’re not using steady aim)

I agree that Hex is fairly strong at low level. D10 vs D10+D6 is a pretty significant difference. As you go up in levels though, the strength of a warlock moves more and more towards control over damage. You bring up Shield and Sleep as good first level spells, but like with Hex, not sure I would be spending pact slots once they can cast higher level spells (especially 3+). The spells known list of a 9th or 10th level warlock should pretty much be 3-5 level spells.

I think you actually got it right; Hex IS a trap. However, it's not a trap because it's sub-optimal. It's a trap because people don't understand Why it's optimal, and how to make it useful. 1.) It doesn't only cast as a bonus action, it also Moves on a bonus action; Meaning that, once cast, you can move it on your turn and cast another fully leveled spell. 2.) The duration is unmatched. It holds concentration, but what else are you concentrating on? If your DM allows holding concentration through rests, this spell is essentially free damage for the rest of the day after the first casting; At high enough levels, you can even use it on a squirrel before bed and hold it for the majority of the following adventuring day. 3.) Disadvantage on ability checks is actually quite relevant, because almost every party will have at least one character who can benefit from it. Figure out who it is, assign your Hex to give disadvantage on that check, and it's a constant bonus for that party member. 4.) Hex applies its damage to All attack roles, not just eldritch blast. This combos quite nicely with Scorching Ray as well as Hexblade builds. 5.) Hex deals Necrotic damage, a damage type that is quite rare to see resistance or invulnerability to. 6.) It's not Just warlocks that can take this spell. Bards can also get access to it, as well as anyone willing to spend a feat on magic initiate. Anyone with lower-level slots to spend on it will find it a valid option for those first level slots, and I've seen more than a few fighter builds that can make use of it on a set-up turn to gain a good deal of extra damage. If your DM likes putting distance between you and your targets on the first round of combat, maximizing your set-up turns can be a major benefit and Hex has more than enough range to allow for that. These are many of the reasons this spell is actually quite optimal. However, a careful eye will note that many of these reasons don't always apply, and don't generally revolve around it being an optimal source of damage. As many people take it to be a source of damage for them, that makes it a trap. It appears optimal-because it can be-but ultimately isn't optimal for the reasons people often take it. It's not 'wrong' to take this spell. However, people should carefully consider when and how they use it, and most usually don't.

I find hex to be a valuable spell because of its duration. From 5th level onwards, you're always casting it at 3th level, which means that you can mantain it active for 8 hours. That's most adventuring days, and you can do multiple short rests while still concentrating on it. When you play a class that only has 2 spell slots per short rest until 11th level, that is big. If you want damage, assuming you don't lose concentration, hex can grant you up to 2d6 extra damage every turn for the whole day.

Something I would enjoy in your videos is delineating between "Optimal", "Effective", and "Not Effective". You don't have to be the best, to be good. And I think that's a niche you could fulfill with your channel. Provide content that says "This is the optimal choice. But here are some other choices that are also effective compared to actual trap choices." Where a trap choice is one that brings the character's effectiveness in combat low enough that they're a detriment to the average party. i.e. going below what you might consider a Warlock's baseline damage per round.

You mentioned the two purposes of Hex: to add some damage at Tier 1 levels (level 1 to 4) and to combine with a party member that really wants to land spells that check on abilities or to grapple an enemy. But like ALL low-level Warlock spells, you should be swapping them out for HIGHER level Warlock spells on every level-up. There's ZERO reason to keep casting level 1 spells with a level 5 Pact Slot except in the the most unusual circumstances. I personally almost never go 20 straight levels of Warlock, preferring to instead take my favorite one-level dip: Cleric. That gives me access to Bless, which I would ALWAYS cast over Hex because I like hitting my target and making my saving throws.

Anyone ever cast Hex on their own familiar? Well you should. Combine with Relentless Hex for effectively infinite Misty Steps on 8h concentration.

3:39 A point to remember for Armor of Agathys is that warlock spells upcast automatically. That, and AoA is not concentration. At 1st level, yeah, it sucks (though extra HP helps a lot more, and 5 damage might be enough to finish off whatever enemy hit you). But by 9th+ level, it's giving you 25 temp HP and dealing 25 damage each time you get hit. The best time to cast it is when faced with a horde of weaker creatures, namely those who will die from the retaliatory damage and won't quickly deplete that temp HP. Cast it and run past some gobbos to provoke OAs from them, and kill 5 or 6 of them for the cost of a single action. Against heavier hitting monsters, or monsters who rely on ranged attacks, this spell gives a lot less value.

I don’t use Hex with warlocks. It’s great for other classes. Take the magic initiate feat for extra damage for fighters and rogues. Monks get 1d6 extra damage for all their attacks. Hex is a great spell if you use it in the right way.

Good video homie, appreciate the analysis!

I grabbed it as part of the Fey Touched feat on my Monk. Hex works really well when you are doing 3 hits per round, and it upped my Wisdom score, and the disadvantage to ability checks when you want to throw people around is a fun bonus.

Hex is still pretty useful at high levels. Hex is still a debuff spell that you can use without a saving throw. It allows you to give enemies disadvantage on strength checks which helps strength players like barbarian or any spellcaster that can cast Telekinesis against enemies with Legendary resistance. Also in terms of damage, it can still be useful to the new Undead Warlock, at level 6 ability doubles (2d6) hex damage.

Honestly, I start to respect AoA. Cause nowadays I see warlocks as less as full casters and more like the gish classes like Paladin and Rangers. If you got Hexblade you also have better armor options to reinforce that notion.

One thing with Hex is that the Warlock recovers spell slots on a short rest, which is normally FAR under the duration of higher level castings of it. 3rd/4th level slot ups it to 8 hours, meaning it's up for quite some time, and higher than that, you've got it until the next long rest. It becomes an all day bonus there if you have other options for your concentration there.

My favorite use of hex was on an Unarmed Fighting Rune Knight focused on grapples. Made it really easy to grapple when I had advantage, and they had disadvantage with no save. Damage was okay, but when you can punch someone 4x a turn for 2d8+3d6+1d4+7, another d6 is just a drop in the bucket.

So, I was playing a celestial warlock in one of my games, and the other players were wondering why I was using flaming sphere instead of hex at 5th level. I simply told then if I use my action to cast a healing spell Hex is useless, and if I use eldritch blast their is a chance I'll miss one or both of them giving me only 1d6 or no damage. Meanwhile, if I use a 3rd level flaming sphere even if the enemy doesn't end their turn within 5 feet of it I can deal 3d6 damage with a dex save for half regardless of whether I use eldritch blast, and if the enemy does end its turn within 5ft of the flaming sphere they take a total of 6d6 damage with two dex save for half each effecting 3d6 damage each. When casted at 5th level your flaming sphere does 5d6 damage dex save for half on collision, and another 5d6 damage dex save for half on any enemy that ends its turn within 5ft of the flaming ball of death.

You didn't address the additional Eldritch Invocations that enhance Hex. Maddening Hex is good when you don't have any other uses for your BA and that's at least a little more guaranteed damage. Relentless Hex is good for melee builds such as the Hexblade. Before you mention Hexblade's Curse, keep it mind you only get it once per rest, so if there's another enemy you need to pin down, Hex them and use Relentless to close the gap quicker. Alright, with that out of the way, lemme just mention my other thoughts about Hex. I currently have the privilege of playing a level 17 pure warlock (Undead pact best, fite me). I found that, as I leveled up, I was naturally casting Hex less and less. I was instead using my concentration on spells like Greater Invis, Enervation, and Hold Monster. Even then, once I hit level 14, I was foregoing those in favor of Spirit Projection, which eats up concentration anyway (I think that's stupid, but okay WIzards). My point is, many warlocks (who don't rely on Maddening/Relentless for their build) will eventually learn to stop casting Hex naturally. Was this video good advice? Yes, it's a further incentive to use the spell more sparingly. PS: If you doubt the warlock's DPR, you haven't seen one who's been given an Illusionist's Bracers. That shit's scary.

8:18 a good option for hex would be Wisdom checks for if you have a rogue in your party since having disadvantage on their perception checks will subtract their passive perception by -5 which is what a rogue's stealth check needs to beat in order to be hidden and then disadvantage if they use their action on their turn to make a perception check

Id like to point out that if we are comparing the damage effectiveness of this 1 slot/bonus action when compared to others, the total damage for the entire battle should be considered. It doesn't just do 2.3 average damage once, it does 6.9 average damage over a 3 round encounter. At level 5, that ups to 13.8. Which isn't much, but it isn't like there are a lot of other spells that can deal that much with a BA or 25+ average damage with an action (adjusted for 65% accuracy) at that level.

I find the disadvantage on ability check makes hex a great spell to pick up for a martial class through a feat. Though it is weird that the poster spell for warlocks scales so terribly with their spellcasting.

I'm currently playing a melee warlock that used Hex until I got the ability to cast Spirit Shroud because it gives me more of a damage benefit and I generally end up using it in combination with slasher and a Tidecutter(basically a longsword that works like the thorn whip cantrip) as well as Mobile Flourish(multiclassed into swords bard) to control the movement of enemies.

7:43 Counterpoint: The warlock feels to me like someone tried to design a caster using the design guidelines for martials, so it ends up feeling more like a martial than a caster in terms of how it's balanced. It's more similar to a magic archer than it is to other full casters. That said, you still have a point in that they _are_ casters, even if their balance is closer to that of a martial, and so you should be focusing more on what kind of spells you can cast, rather than pure damage output.

Treantmonk mentioned your channel in one of your videos, and so far I've really been enjoying the content. Keep up the great work

Small shout out to Hex on Wisdom and Dexterity. Wisdom decreases enemy passice perception with 5, making it WAY easier to get advantage against the enemy using stealth. this way you convert hex into granting advantage (some of the time) for some characters. The same goes for dexterity the other way, you make it way more difficult for enemies to stealth mid combat.

To list a number of superior options to Hex at various levels, available to Warlocks: Magic Stone: Bonus action damage cantrip, 1d6+mod per attack. Three attacks at maximum. Hand these out to NPC hirelings, Tiny Servants or whatever the party has. Bless: A 1-level dip in Divine Soul gives you a DPR boost better than Hex when you look at the whole party, factoring in the opportunity cost of not EBing that round. Phantasmal Force, when used to make something that obscures enemy line of sight and deals 1d6 damage, deals around 12 damage(party deals baseline damage). Shatter does more in one round than Hex in four versus three targets. Opportunity cost of not EBing included. Tasha summons do better damage and have special abilities. Summon Lesser Demons has abyssal chickens, throw them in a fog cloud(they have blindsight) and they do almost as much damage in one round as Hex does in a day! Fiend gets Fireball which is of course insane, even upcast Shatter outperforms. Level 4 spells, Summon Greater Demon gives two melee bruisers in the form of Barlglura and Tanarukk. There's also upcasting Tasha summons for 2 attacks. Level 5 spells, Danse Macabre is absolutely glorious with Magic Stone, it's basically the Warlock's Animate Objects but even better and ranged! Upwards of 40DPR while Hex is doing 4.9. Then there's Synaptic which is Fireball damage with a glorious condition applied on top. Hex lul.

I love the way you share all of your information. This is my favorite style for power builds.

when i first read Hex, i made the mistake thinking "disadvantage on ability checks" was the same as "disadvantage on saving throws". I thought i could hex their wisdom saves to make other spells more likely to land. . .and it doesn't work that way. ability checks are like, if you want to jump across a pit or keep from slipping on ice, and i realize, that's not quite so useful in midcombat when you are trying to damage the eemy down. but on the same grain, extra damage is extra damge , no? it's better than witch bolt, because wotch bolt requires an attack roll to hit and IF your witch bolt lands, you pretty much can't do anything else as long as you maintain it and when the target dies, the spell ends, you can't move it to another target like you can with hex. i do agree with the argument to swap it out when you reach higher levels and gain access to better options

You didn't talk about this part, "If the target drops to 0 hit points before this spell ends, you can use a bonus action on a subsequent turn of yours to curse a new creature." By the rules you can concentrate for an hour and transfer it between creatures. Subsequent turn means that outside the first combat you use it in, you can still concentrate on it till the next combat. In a dungeon crawl this is a really proficient use of a spell slot.

I've never casted this spell before, but I'd take it in a more roleplay heavy campaign, specifically if the dm has a lot of npcs doing active checks. Its supposed to be more like a debuff curse than a damage buff. Imagine casting hex on the manipulative bad guy you know is deceiving a royal court, so you can give him disadvantage on charisma checks. Or giving a guard keeping watch disadvantage on wisdom so your rogue has an even better chance to sneak past.

Judging Hex by its Damage per round is like judging Fairy Fire by how often you encounter invisible enemies...

I will always say this: warlocks were made for multiclassing In their story hooks, in their front-loaded nature, synergies with other classes, the sheer versatility, the ability to get a few spell slots on a short rest separate from regular casting but also compatible with it, and hex I think is the epitome of that. The thing is, with warlock pure, you'd be forced to use one of your few high level slots for that first level spell. Not so with even a single level in, say, sorcerer. Better yet, going deep enough for metamagic gives you better uses for your bonus action, which actually improves the dps of hex if you're quickening EB for burst. Also, if you can hex before the fight breaks out!! A dex hex will have general uses, AND stiffle the most important skill check in combat: INITIATIVE. Subtle Hex the enemy caster before initiative and then just double EB nuke em down

I'm in a campaign that typically does about 3 fights between short rests, one of those being a mini boss or occasional puzzle fight (the campaign is basically strung together micro adventures as we chase our teleporting baddie). Having hex up for 8 hours means I can go for 3 or 4 sessions without feeling compelled to cast a spell every fight to stay relevant, and I can still cast my big ones too! After the first short rest of the "day" I *still* have hex up, and *also* have my spell slots back for big spells. Hex isn't good in an individual fight no, and if I was in a situation where my concentration was constantly at risk it definitely would reconsider, but getting to have it all day for the cost of a slot you get back an hour later anyway? It's pretty efficient.

I'm gonna be honest, I think you're sleeping on the advantages eldritch invocations can give with hex. With hex placed on an owl familiar with the maddening hex and relentless hex invocations your bonus action can do aoe damage or be used for a speedy escape. If you have a source of first level castings for it, through multi-classing or feytouched or w/e, it can be really solid, and if the familiar dies you can just switch it to someone else and still get the damage

Thanks for running these numbers. Much appreciated!

On the topic of disadvantage on checks, let's not forget that a creature with disadvantage on perception takes a -5 to their passive perception, what makes it much easier for the rogue to successfuly hide against them

The real fun comes with the disadvantage to ability checks which is niche but has plenty of applications if you try. I wouldn't say that the entire point of Barbarian is to have good single target damage either. I think the only thing they get to increase their damage is a +2 per round, from levels 1-3. Other than that minor nitpick, great video. I love the subtle costume change at the end.

The value of hex comes over it’s duration. It’s a bonus 3.5 damage every attack for 8 hours. With eldritch blast it can get up to 14 extra damage per round for 8 hours. And with how few spell slots the warlock gets it pulls it’s weight hard. People just need to realize that there are certain scenarios in which your concentration is better served on other spells.

Hex can only continue being really useful at higher levels of you take advantage of it's increased duration. Wake up, cast it on a squirrel, blast the squirrel to bits, then spend an hour getting ready for the day. You've recovered the spell slot, and now still have the effect for 8 or 24 hours. If you need to throw something else with concentration later, go ahead--no big loss, since you had already recovered the spell slot.

Digging the pipes in the background. Really distinguished choice for fill noise. Thanks for the video!

Archfey Warlock also gets Faerie Fire to raise DPR for the entire party which is a more valuable use of concentration.

I second the thoughts on Sleep being underrated, particularly for Warlocks. At high level, it gets automatically upcast to 5th level, meaning you'll have 13d8 (avg 58.5) affected hp. Nothing 5th level or lower potentially matches that. If it rolls higher than their current hp, there is no save, no legendary resistance, nothing. Unless they are straight up immune to charm or sleep spells, they drop. That's actually a really powerful tool, even if it's not applicable in every single fight.

I couldn't subscribe until I checked you knew how to calculate advantage properly. You do. Great video!

I appreciate the Interesting take somthing I never considered before. Always enjoy optimisation talk

For Multiclassing, Hex can be pretty good. As a Fighter, a D6 to any Attack scales much faster

I like spamming _sypnotic static._

Nice vid, good job on making the point about it affecting ability checks, most people seem to sleep on that.

hey!! sos bueno explicando y tus videos son entretenidos, espero tu canal crezca mucho!!

Hey Kobold! For what it's worth, I haven't seen Hex on a Warlock in years with people I play with :) They'd rather try other things, at least beyond low levels. I wouldn't say they're optimizers, either.

Yeah, I was gonna say that the only reason most Locks use Hex so often is probably for the disadvantage to one ability check (edited out "save") to combo with other casters _but_ you covered that towards the end. 😄 Also, totally agree that Locks should be using the biggest spells. All. 👏 The. 👏 Time. 👏 To get the most out of that class. I don't recall the highest level my Fey Lock reached but when I realized I was upcasting many spells, you know I was going for the best bang for my buck (now if I could only pick spells better 😅).

Appreciate the love of just acknowledging Blood Hunters

This is why I really like taking the Fey Touched feat. It gives me the flexibility to still use hex, but not spend my spell slots unless I really need it. Plus misty step and a +1CHA

Look mom! Its the better Hunters Mark! Too bad its still not very good

The last warlock i played, I found using my few spell slots to support my party with counter spell, or negating other enemy actions was far more useful then hex.

Nice explanation, never understood why it was considered a trap when I couldn't pick anything better at first level, but this made a lot of sense

Okay, so I watched through the whole video and I feel like something very important about Hex was missed, especially in relation to the Warlock. Hex has an INSANE duration time and while it may do less straight up damage in one encounter, one casting can be dragged out throughout the WHOLE DAY when cast at a certain level, which is majorly important to a Warlock who only has like 2 or 3 spell slots. Additionally you can apparently maintain it through a short rest, meaning you now have Hex going AND all your spell slots, making it the best option at the start of the day. If it’s the end of the day and you’re probably going to long rest after the fight you’re doing, sure go for the big damage spells.

Instead of Hex, the best spell I have found to combo with Eldritch Blast is Spike Growth. Grab Repelling Blast and maybe Grasp of Hadar and you will be dealing 4d4 instead of 1d6 and sanding your enemy against the floor, while potentially affecting several different opponents. This also works wonders with Hexblade, because due to the wording of Hexblade's Curse, both the eldritch blast and the spikes count as separate damage sources, meaning your target takes double proficiency damage each time you move them across the field of spikes. With 20 CHA, EB, SG, RB, GoH and Agonizing blast, at level 17 you will be dealing 1d10+4d4+5+12 damage per hit. Throw in Metamagic Adept, Warcaster, Polearm Master, and Action surge if you really wanna minmax it.

Pact tactics I have to say I've found you only a couple days ago and honestly?? These guides have been a joy to listen to. This video alone made me go "Finally! Someone agrees with me on hex!" 🤣

great video loved the analysis would be cool to see more videos on feats like resilient or polearm master or something like that

On the one time I've played Warlock, I didn't grabbed Hex. For one, I had almost no defensive option (dumped Dex due to character concept), so Armor of Agathys was the thing that allowed me to survive when hit. Second, Archfey has two great first level spells on Sleep and especially Faerie Fire. And third, I was more geared towards support, so the damage was useless. I usually defend spells like Haste and Hunter's Mark for their secondary uses and cumulative value. But Hex is the one I honestly don't see myself grabbing it. It doesn't even have an out-of-combat utility like Hunter's Mark. It is mostly damage and, at most, disadvantage on Athletics and Acrobatics checks. You could cast it to give disadvantage on Perception and Insight checks on sneaking around, but guess what? Charm Person does it better. Overall Hex is not a trap, it's just a bad spell. And even considering Warlock's spell list, there are better options. Again, Armor of Agathys, while not amazing, gives you the survivability to hold one or two attacks. Hellish Rebuke is a decent damage tool on reaction, something rare to see. And, most importantly, you have Cause Fear, a great single target shutdown for 1st level. What would be better against the big boss from your first dungeon, 2 more damage per turn or forcing disadvantage against its attacks and forcing it to not approach the rest of the party? You have Arms of Hadar, Charm Person and Protection from Evil and Good as well, all options that do more than Hex.

Swap it for Spirit shroud immediately when the chance presents itself to you

"Have you ever seen a straight warlock--" I'ma let you finish, but no.

I have once made a warlock of dionysus, where I concentrated on mindaffecting spells and psychic damage spells. I found mind spike to be a really good pick there, because the spell becomes a good cc and multitarget spell on higher levels.

If you're playing against homebrew monsters where the DM can just say "oh it has immunity to charm/fear condition" when you cast hypnotic pattern/fear then Hex is still one of the most reliable option

In my experience it is almost always better to just kill what your fighting instead of crowd control, and debuff spells. Also you say it is bad damage, but you have two spells. Until water later. And at the end you only really have 4 slots. There is really no spell that will allow you to do consistently more damage then her. Being at higher level it lasts 24 hours. And yes you can do more damage faster with other spells. But unless your dm is really nice you are not getting a short rest after every fight. So thus ya you did damage faster in that one fight, but now you have no spells for the next one. Then all you have is a damage cantrip. And yes eldrich blast is the best damage one. Whether it is stand alone or with hex. Now yes others can be used and it is fine, but having a cantrip you can add a mod to damage makes you so much stronger. And with the whole bonus action thing unless you are multiclassing warlocks don't use there bonus action constantly. And because of this you can also get the evocation that makes it so you can do a small aoe damage from your hex every turn. Making it deal even more damage. Now to end a warlock is not and never will be a full caster. A full caster has 21 spell slots at level 20. A war lock has 4 and 4 special spells slots. That is not even half a full caster. And you can't even use spell points as a warlock by the rules. They get short sheeted in almost every regard. I love warlocks and ranges but they bothe need some love. That they probably will never get

Love the shout out for Sanctuary - it's always been one of my favorite spells and doesn't seem like it gets much love.

I really appreciate this video, thank you

**Sweats In Warlock Main who has never cast Hex.**

One thing I love about Hex that stays good is that if you have another spellcaster in the party, you can coordinate with them to target a saving throw that the caster uses a lot, making your buddy more effective.

Hex to Warlocks is Sheleighly to Druids. Bonus action, great at low levels, doesn't scale so gets left behind.

Warlock is cursed with being one of the strongest dips in the game so full or near full warlocks are pretty rare to see while dips are super common. At least in my experience. Same with paladins and to a lesser extent clerics.

You're forgetting the disadvantage on ability checks (with *no* save). Yeah, the spell may fall off on the damage curve, but if you pair it with something (like, say, a grappling front-liner) or target a strength to turn it into a weakness (such as an abjurer's spellcasting ability to cripple counters and dispels), Hex became extremely useful extremely quickly.

The reason why hex is so good is because you can basically hex a critter, kill it and then move it on something else with a bonus action later on. You can basically hex someone without them being able to notice it at all. A trap is something that looks good on first glance, but doesnt hold up to further investigation. Hex is none of that. Hex is even better if you make full use of its potential.

A day will come when Kobold correctly pronounces Synaptic static, but its not today.

I'd say one of the biggest boons for Hex is the upcasted duration, because you might not have a DM that follows the suggested number of short rests vs long rests per adventure arc. When playing from long rest to long rest, having the ability to keep a spell going for 8+ hours is a major boon for a Warlock, especially if you're more focused on the hex-based invocations. While the 1d6 bonus damage is minute, the necrotic aspect is useful against creatures who are vulnerable against it or have their regeneration prevented by it. Finally, the fact you can apply disadvantage to an ability check can be amazing inside and outside of combat: Strength: You've captured the Bandit Chief alive and are ready to turn him for the bounty. You cast Hex on him to make it difficult for him to break his restraints. Dexterity: You're chasing a cutpurse who nabbed your satchel down the market street. You cast Hex on the thief, which makes it difficult for her to weave through the crowd and to hide. Constitution: A bard offends you before he leaves for the red light district. You cast Hex on the bard to make it more difficult to endure the night. Wisdom: There is a lone guard on duty watching the warehouse entrance. You cast Hex so your Rogue Assassin has an easier time sneaking by or taking out the guard. Intelligence: Your party trying to pawn off a gold-coated lead statuette as solid gold to a black market merchant. You cast Hex on the merchant to make his inspection more difficult. Charisma: A comedian has offended a noble and the noble wants you yo humiliate the comedian publicly. You cast Hex on the performer to make his performance more difficult. While there are better short term options at the Warlock's disposal as you've mentioned, however I don't think Hex is as bad as you make it out to be.

I still think it's pretty decent for the magic missile build, though I do wish there was a greater hex type spell

I laughed a big when he said level 1 spells cant out do things like fighter. Chormatic orb 3d8 and inflict wounds 3d10 both level one spells. Also high level clarics are so scary at dps spirtal weapon + inficlt wounds = death

I just like the idea of psuedodragon making someone go unconscious by failing their con save

Great video! I appreciate your questioning of conventional wisdom. I agree that spending a precious higher level slot on Hex is usually suboptimal. With Tasha's warlocks can pick up Hex as part of Fey-touched with no effect on CHA progression. So hexing up after using the pact slots for higher level spells is a potential strategy. But you bring up the option of picking Bless instead, the optimization question becomes if Hex or Bless does more damage. I ran the math and the answer is complicated, depending on two things: 1. How many rounds will the two spells be used? Hex can potentially last for multiple combats, Bless is only one, which may not last 10 rounds. 2. What is the average damage of the characters with Bless on them? Roughly, if Blessing 3 characters (assuming full 10 rounds of Bless are fully utilized): 1. using GWM or Sharpshooter, it takes around 30 rounds of combat for Hex to catch up. 2. using Greatsword w/ no GWM, it takes 16-18 rounds for Hex to catch up. 3. using cantrips, Hex is better from the get-go. There is some level dependence, Hex + Eldritch Blast has the advantage of scaling all the way to 17, while damage for Barbarians, Rangers and Paladins tends to plateau. So the answer depends on factors you’ll know (party composition) and some you probably won’t (how many combats before your next short rest?). To me, more likely to pick Bless if there's a lot of heavy hitters in the party, but meh, hard to judge, both are fine.

Fathomless gets the tentacle at level 1, which actually just outclasses Hex it most situations in tier 1 play. Tentacle does 1d8 cold vs Hex's 1d6 necrotic. Both are bonus actions. The only issue is that Tentacle requires a seperate attack roll, and the bonus action every turn. So I dunno which is better, but I'm sure someone will tell you.

I enjoy the different perspective than most guides that, like you said "don't think, just take it"

thanks for the advice!

I think sometimes people optimize around proxy measures inappropriately: "If I'm using my BA, a slot, and my conc, I must be doing it right!" But of course that's not necessarily true. Still, the unmentioned advantage of Hex is the duration. At level 3, Hex can easily do more damage than Shatter over the course of an hour in an old-school dungeon crawl. At 9, you can both hex *and* cast two synaptic statics. So even though hex gets less use as a warlock levels up, it's a spell that I like to hold on to anyways.

Would like to throw out some advice, with tasha’s by level 4 as a warlock take fey touched feat every time and this gives a +1 to CHA (or wis/int but obvi take cha) PLUS you learn misty step and a 1st lvl divination or enchantment spell, and pick hex. You learn both spells and can cast them with spell slots but also get a free casting of each spell once per long rest, allowing you to still use ol reliable at any level without consuming those valuable spell slots. If your campaign goes on long enough I’d also consider taking 2 levels in fighter for extra AC (defense training plus shield proficiency for +3AC) and get action surge to throw out twice as many eldritch blasts once per short rest to potentially double that hex damage in a turn. Also the maddening hex feat is really good if you need something to do with your bonus action (bonus action to deal your cha mod in dmg to a hexed target and any creatures of your choice within 5ft of that target, which would also trigger hex damage). Enjoy!

Hey, I saw a funny combo here. Hex is received not only by sorcerers, but also by those who, as a masculine race, have taken the origin of witch blood, and a druid of the circle of the moon can, from the second level, with an additional action turn into a Gegan badger with three +3 attacks, dealing a total of 4d4+1d6 and +3d6 from the hex for a total of 24 damage in progress at the second level. It’s not crazy much, but witches’ blood and dawid look like a good narrative and stylistic combination

I've only wanted Hex for the debuff myself. Fantastic for helping your grappler locking down people. Or starting inititive wrecking

I am an fathomless, pact of the blade warlock using an heavy crossbow as my main source of damage. I only have cast eldritch blast once in the 5 sessions I played. But use tantecle of the Deep the most. You use your early evocations to do great but for me it's fun. (lvl 1 improved pact weapon; lvl 5 thirsting blade; lvl 12 livestealer). But still think of still using hex because after my initial turn of placing hex I can use attack (at lvl 5 attack 2x) and tantecle of the Deep and have 3 hex triggers.

The damage is just the cherry on top, my dude.

Don't use shield as a warlock either though because it's not worth one of you 2 spellslots (until level 11 far after you have higher level spells) for one turn of higher ac

Just found your channel! Loving your videos, helpful and informative to me, new to the D&D world! Totally subscribing! May i ask your opinion on Hex as a druid? My first character, I'm making a druid of the moon. Due to back story my DM gave me Fey Touched as a free feat at level 1, so I was looking at the spells to pick from and decided on Hex due to it being a bonus, so I can cast it and then shapeshift and move it about. What are your opinions on this? Could I have picked better? Would love to see a video or some druid advice! Thanks!

My perhaps best character concept is literally borne from asking "how can i maximise hex?" The answer is splitting between warlock (hexblade), and eccho knight fighter. Fighting alongside your own shadow, swapping places with them so each time you use eccho knight abilities you swap personality. The potential is insane.

Consider the following: be a College of Swords Bard with the Fey Touched feat, take hex with this feat. Your other caster friend has Hold Person. Hex, Hold Person, and do a flourish (in that order). Not particularly sustainable, but really fun to do, you really squeeze every last bit out of your attacks. Especially if your DM lets you teleport 30ft above the enemy for the extra 3d6 damage on a hit.

The reason is due to the older Hex spell. It never specified YOUR attacks. So while hexed a target would take that damage regardless of who damaged it. You would drop it on a target and everyone would dog pile it. A lot of tables have been playing since 3.5e and we still use the older spell rules out of habit for the spells we used so often before. Most DMs don't even question it because they are also used to it.

2 points about this great video 1. I have seen one person not take hex, in a gritty realism game using some homebrew balance changes. One change was to make thief of five fates viable, by letting you cast bane at will only targeting creatures up to your proficiency bonus, and creatures that make the save cant be targeted again for 24 hours. This one change opened up an incredible debuff Celestial warlock build that doesn't feel bad about dropping Hex and Eldritch Blast. 2. Like this video a lot, but I feel it's missing one option: Taking Hex with Fey Touched. This build choice keeps almost all the benefits of Hex post level 5. Out of slots for big spells and need something reliable? Hex is there for you when you actually need it. Sure, it doesn't come back on a short rest, but all your big spells do. This means even when Hex isn't there for you, your character is still reaping the benefits of being a Warlock. Taking Bless over Hex in Fey Touched is better on paper, but in my personal experience, your bonus spell from Fey Touched only comes out AFTER you've burnt your Warlock spells. That should mean you are at least in the 3rd round of combat and the fight could be a few rounds from its conclusion. Both spells are worse for it, but Bless takes your action when Hex comes online the turn its cast. Then if you are deep in a dungeon with no time to short rest, Hex will stay with you. At 1st level, Hex's duration is conveniently 1 hour, the amount of time needed for a short rest, so you are far less likely to be caught with your pants down out of spell slots. (Unless your DM attacks you in the last minute or so of a short rest, in which case, the optimal play might be to find a new DM.) I feel like there is something to be said for "ease of use" as well. I understand that most people watching are interesting in tactics, but maximizing the benefit of your Bless over Hex is harder, and nobody plays perfectly as a spreadsheet implies. Humans position poorly, waste slots on bad calls, and just target the wrong creatures. Hex is more forgiving than Bless on player mistakes and bad situations. Warlocks are already a higher skill floor class that relies on capitalizing limited resources, so giving yourself a "tactically simple" option to fall on has a different kind of value.

Starting as of level 2, Misty Visions is a great use of your concentration. Cover the entire party (if they are within a 15ft. cube) with illusory darkness. All covered members are heavily obscured but the enemies are not! All members make attacks at advantage and are attacked at disadvantage + immunity to sight spells. Win button

'The rangers spell list is better.' Every spellcaster ever in a batman voice: "You take that back!"