Bladesinger 2.0 - D&D: Optimized #19
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- čas přidán 8. 08. 2024
- Finally! It's time to update the Bladesinger, which is both the character I've had the most fun playing in D&D, and also the one that was most impacted by the changes from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. Interested in doing amazing sustainable damage each round while also having access to the best spell list in all of D&D? Then you want to be a Bladesinger. Come find out why.
Table of Contents of all D&D Builds to date: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
/ colbypoulson
Character Concept:(0:00)
Levels 1-6:(10:38)
Levels 7-9:(46:08)
Levels 10-13:(53:48)
Levels 14-17:(1:00:56)
Final Thoughts:(1:06:03)
Links to math/graphs for this episode:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Sustained DPR Comparisons (3 Tabs): docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
What’s the best spell to use for your concentration? By spell level:
Level 2: Shadowblade
Level 3: Summon Fey (unless you’re in dim light/darkness and have two weapon attacks, then Shadow Blade)
Level 4: Summon Fey
Level 5: Animate Objects*
Level 6: Animate Objects** from enemy AC 0-15, Tenser’s Transformation beyond that
Level 7: Animate Objects**
Level 8: Animate Objects**
Level 9: Animate Objects***
*Unless enemy is resistant to non-magical weapon attacks, then go Shadowblade
**Unless enemy is resistant to non-magical weapon attacks and you have a magical weapon, then go Tenser’s Transformation (if they’re resistant and you have no magical weapon, go Shadow Blade)
***Unless enemy is resistant to non-magical weapon attacks, then go Blade of Disaster if you can get advantage
Music Credits:
Achaidh Cheide - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Angevin 120 loop by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Celtic Impulse - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Fiddles McGinty by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Lord of the Land by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Master of the Feast by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Note! If you were following this guide by taking Elven Accuracy with Custom Lineage, make sure you discuss with your DM as it conflicts with advice given by Jeremy Crawford. See our discussion about it here: czcams.com/video/CrqbFF9fOVM/video.html
if you roll for stats and get good stats telekenetic feat is a great pick due to you being able to push urself away without taking attack of oppertunity forcing them to take the extra damage by moving, or if the dmd rule they get attack of oppertunity push the enemy away and give them a smack. plus you can combo it really nice with mold earth pushing them down a hole making it deeper and deeeper. and the amount of roleplay thievery and shennaningans you can do is insane to since you basicly cant be noticed doing it more or less
@@ThaFreggy I love shenanigans!
@@DnDDeepDive My table has an Aarakocra bladesinger (assansin3 /bladesinger +) with whip is quite creative.
During surprise turn, he can do crazy dmg with 100% spell critical dmg. (like Steel wing strike)
During normal combat, he usually fly up and stay 10 ft above the enemy boss, action whip with sneak attack, extra attack with cantrips (Boomingblade with spell sniper); bonus action for summons atk (animated dead) or other spell atk. If the boss moves, then it will immediate be out of his whip 10ft reach triggering AoO. (another spell atk with warcaster)
@@DnDDeepDive I enjoy studying your builds. However, I cannot find a list of all your builds. Do you have a list summarizing your builds with specific multiclass distribution? In this way, we can easily find the build we like when we need it.
@@Zynovus Probably the easiest way to get close would be to just look at the "Full episodes" playlist, though that doesn't get a perfect breakdown, you can often get an idea as to what the build will be focused on with the video description. Sorry I don't have more!
"Why doesn't anybody get it? Why is everyone building a wizard that can melee sometimes instead of a melee build that can wizard?"
Yes, thank you. This is the guide I've been looking for.
Yep, this.
The whole reason why I play a bladesinger is so that I can fight in melee.
Which is why every guide that says „You dont want to fight in melee, you are a wizard“ in the first sentence confuses the heck out of me.
If I want to wizard around and throw spells everywhere I’ll take a different subclass. Most guides sound like „Bladesinging is suboptimal when playing as a caster“ and then proceed to create a wizard that plays like a normal wizard without the benefits of a special school while treating the bladesong as an emergency tool to only use when caught in melee.
Let me play my magical swordsman with no healthpool to speak of xD
@@Lucky180 I disagree the benefits of the bladsinger subclass are highly beneficial to a normal caster build. Improved AC and concentration checks are great with any build. If you want to play a melee only bladesinger, knock yourself out, but don't pretend like the subclass isn't useful for other playstyles.
@@cmckee42 I'm sorry, my rant wasn't supposed to convey the message that bladesingers are a bad subclass for playing a wizard while going for a more standard playstyle.
I was mainly complaining about the fact that most guides had no advice on how to act in a melee situation, when to go into close range and what spells are better useable for such situations.
I'm also not trying to only play in melee, as that would massivly restrict all the utility spells one can utilise and I definitely don't want to force others to only go for such a playstyle.
Though I do want to note that I never said anything of that note: "Let *ME* play my magical swordsman with no healthpool to speak of"
I really liked this guide due to the fact that it explains every ability and its uses expansively without restricting itself to a certain playstyle.
@@Lucky180 in fairness to most other guides, if you are focused on pure optimization, a melee only wizard is not optimal. That doesn't mean it isn't fun to play, but most guides are focused more on "best" than "here is a build I had fun with". Even this guide is more focused on specifically single target sustained damage (to the exclusion of all other factors) than a pure melee style build (animate objects is not a melee specific option). This guide makes no mention of aoe damage, even when it isn't hard to deal more damage with meteor swarm than it is with blade of disaster, and he ignores the partial loss of defense during tenser's transformation that you get from not being able to cast shield. Also, he only really focuses on at will and concentration options, making little to no mention of non-concentration damaging spells. Honestly, if you want pure melee, it is worth considering picking up two levels of paladin to smite with spell slots.
Giving specific advice for a specific style is hard when your needs vary by party composition and encounter design.
@@cmckee42 That‘s true, pretty sure I also mixed up some of the content of this guide with that of another, so some of the things I said should be taken with a few grains of salt xD
I was a bit too focused on the melee aspect anyway since I rolled quite well and was planning to go for some suboptimal stuff to have a bit more fun and fool around.
Another Animate Objects utilitarian trick is to get through a dungeon door..assuming 3 hinges, animate the 3 pins ( tiny) to float up and out of the hinges and then the door itself (large=4) and maybe the bar (medium=2) and wallop the guards with the door they're guarding, from 120ft away. Then the party can advance through the entrance using the floating door as half cover, or you could surf through the air on it over the pits.
Likewise tables and furniture can be used for cover to advance on mobs and block egress. Used after a Fear spell cone, where victims drop what they're holding then animate their own shields and weapons to chase them down, always satisfying to do on Dwarves as they have great kit. A sack of ropes can arrange themselves into handy climbing frames and also lasso. That cart you're high speed chasing just dug it's wheels in reverse...
Animate hanging tapestries and rugs etc..rearrange the dungeon with Feng Shui Fu! create indoor outdoor flow to entertain with ease. Resource consent may be required, check the local Mayors office for paperwork.
If you make the door flat while it's floating you basically have a flying carpet, and if you make another door go sideways you can have cover to
Not to necro an older comment, but THIS is the type of creativity I live and die for in D&D. Great suggestions and ideas, Samuel!
My creation bard does this same trick with doors using his animating performance feature. Same basic concept.
I've got some real cognitive dissonance going on with homelander gushing over his cute fumming Tinkerbell fluttering into battle
lol!
He'd totally make an amazing cosplayer for homelander. Lol
Homelander omfg XD
gf started forcing me to watch that so we can watch the new season together. good show
Now I can't get the visual Homelander vibe out of my head, but this man's dulcet tone... I'm here for it!
War Caster lets you cast a SPELL with an OA, not restricted to Cantrip.
yep i would have taken WC earlier too because even in my build I would have gotten the Con Resilience later anyway. better to have the ability to cast a simple fear or vampiric touch... even using a cantrip like shocking grasp on that guy who cant use his reaction till your next turn i believe.
Reaction banishment can you imagine
... Literally popped popcorn and make a drink to sit and watch this in peace... FINALLY!
ha ha! awesome!
[[WARNING: Colby makes a mistake that he corrects in a later video, thinking you can describe your custom lineage as an elf & it will allow you to take elven feats, that is not rules as intended & the errata clarifies what WotC meant. Though Colby does tell you to check with your DM.)
Level 1:(see above) [wizard 1, race & potential feat]
Level 2:(@22:07) [wizard 2 & sub-class]
Level 3:(@25:24) [wizard 3]
Level 4:(@29:12) [wizard 4 & ASI]
Level 5:(@35:01) [wizard 5]
Level 6:(@3:37) [wizard 6]
Level 7:(see above) [wizard 7]
Level 8:(@47:12) [wizard 8 & ASI]
Level 9:(@47:26) [wizard 9]
Level 10:(see above) [wizard 10]
Level 11:(@54:26) [wizard 11]
Level 12:(@57:17) [wizard 12 & ASI]
Level 13:(@58:31) [wizard 13]
Level 14:(see above) [wizard 14]
Level 15:(@1:01:18) [wizard 15]
Level 16:(@1:01:44) [wizard 16]
Level 17:(@1:01:58) [wizard 17]
But also, “must be elf” is just generic because the idea of Bladesinger came from books in the forgotten realms about elves. In your game, where you are not playing in the specified book series, it realy isn’t relevant. A tortle or a human or a tabaxi ought be able to bladesinger. “Must be elf” isn’t a hard rule like “roll attack vs AC” is. Enjoy your game. 😊
@@benjaminapetersenThe issue isn’t with Bladesinger, it’s with the Elven Accuracy feat.
Mostly a forever DM here finally getting to play soon and I'm stoked to make this build my next character.
Can't shake the urge to have infinite characters and more actions than anyone, I see. Good Luck and I hope you have fun.
Same
This channel and Treantmonk's temple might be my favorite channels on CZcams right now. I'm wanting to start making my own videos soon and watching you guys has really inspired me.
I'm playing a bladesinger for a new campaign in an hour, so glad this came out, been looking forward to 2.0 ever since Tasha's released!
I’ve seen a lot of people make build reviews and you’re one of the most detailed I’ve ever seen!! The only thing missing is a visual feat/skill chart by level that you display to make it even easier to build this at a quick glance
Thanks! I've got it on the to do list ;)
@@DnDDeepDive any updates on this? 👀😁
@@gareth4009 he has a Google doc with every build he has done
@@antuanlemon484 can you give us the link to that?
@@lenzi2110 I believe you join his membership on CZcams and get it
It feels like the first time I have actively been looking forward to a specific video :D
so true!
Great update on Bladesinger. Thanks! I appreciate you crunching through everything and reassessing the options based on the SCAG Errata and Tasha's CoE.
Hi. Your style of building this class is completely different from mine, but it's nice to hear other opinions and maybe discover new options. :) I really like your manner of speaking, too, so calm and soothing, very relaxing, so thank you for that.
Thank you - glad you enjoyed!
I'm curious what differences you are alluding to...
@@dp5261 He probably made a wizard you can melee sometimes instead of a melee wizard who might use other spells
22:18 Bladesinging is a perfectly valid tradition of magic and don't let anyone tell you otherwise
Absolutely Awesome video dude.
Glad to see someone else with a big setup for damage calcs and using math and stats to calculate accurate representations for damage per round.
Immediately subscribed and look forward to seeing more!
Thank you and welcome!
jokes on you, i always listen to videos at 2x speed
😮😂
Thanks for the suggestion, now I can double my CZcams viewing each day! 👍🏻
Alan Schaub there's a chrome extension to increase to 3x, and you can slowly increase it at 0.25 increments to train yourself. I can listen to British English at 3x now and American English at 2.5, unless they have an especially strong accent.
Watching an optimization video on 2x speed is true optimization
@@anachronisticon I needed to know that X2 is too slow
With animate objects, it says "Once given an order, the creature continues to follow it until its task is complete." So you could use one bonus action to command them to "kill that creature" and then they would keep making attacks every turn until the creature dies, freeing up your bonus action for two weapon fighting. Then just use a bonus action to switch targets. Or even a little more cheesy, you could just tell them to "follow me and attack what I attack".
Your order could also involve an interaction. For example, out of combat you could use a bonus action to give the command “attack any creature I point at until it dies or I call the attack”. When combat starts, use your interaction to point at a creature you want :) same idea with Animate Dead
Come join the conversation at reddit.com/r/DnDoptimized/
Always good stuff! I'm about to start a new campaign as a bladesinger and it's so nice to compare build ideas. On Summon Fey, I actually really like tricksy for the bladesinger. You booming blade your enemy, tricksy surrounds them in 5 ft darkness and now they either have to move and take the extra cantrip damage or stay put and suffer disadvantage on their attacks. Either scenario is nice for you. :)
There’s no one I can find on CZcams that takes character building as seriously as you, really appreciate this content - keep up the great work!
Also, I’ve seen other folks on r/3d6 recommending your videos, so glad to see you’re developing a following in one of my favorite little corners of the internet.
Hey thanks! Ha ha that's good to know - I haven't posted to reddit for awhile because... sometimes it can be a little Trolly :P.
@@DnDDeepDiveyeah, some folks are jerks, but don’t let them get you down - your content is great.
I was working on a Monk build (thinking about Spore Druid dip, I think it’s the only non-con ability that stacks on all attacks - although also thinking of a Hunter Ranger Monk build that uses Crusher to punch people into range of Horde Breaker) and they recommended your Monger video!
Bladesinger question: I rolled good stats (18, 16, 16, 13, 11, 9) - thoughts on race and feats in this case? Tempted to max Dex at 20 with 16 int and 16 con, but things get tricky with feats. Eleven accuracy is a half feat - take int to 17?? Go 18/18/16 and put EA into Dex, get Dex resilient later? Rolling above-average stats have actually given me some qualms about half-feats, I’m anxious to just get 20/20.
@@johncostello4565 hmmm... making me jealous that we don’t do rolls for abilities at our table 😉. Good problem to have. I’m thinking 19 Dex and the new Piercer feat later? Both Rapiers and Short Swords are piercing damage...
Check out min/max munchking any Treantmonk. They’re both awesome.
@@master_rafiki Yep am familiar with both. Good content!
Something you hadn't considered, you can still effectively use booming blade with shadow blade RAW, so long as you are at least level 6. You can have shadow blade in 1 hand, shortsword in another. Attack 1, shadow blade right hand. Attack 2 booming blade with shortsword in left hand, 2 weapon fighting attack with shadow blade. Because you are not required to use multiattack with the same hand and two weapon fighting requires only that you take the attack action and make an attack (which booming blade includes). You can still get 2 shadow blade attacks and 1 booming blade attack by dual wielding
How are you casing booming blade if you have shadowblade in your other hand? Booming blade has S and M components, so the non-shortsword hand has to be free
@@kianholden7387 From TCE the material component is "a melee weapon worth at least 1 sp" and from PHB ch 10 "A spellcaster must have a hand free to access a spell's material components - or to hold a spellcasting focus - but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components."
@@DESERTP1 How are you casting any spells with Somatic components in this case or when dual wielding weapons?
@@Nihongofreak He literally just explained it. The weapon is the M component, so the hand holding it can perform the S component. For other spells, drop (or throw) the shadow blade, you can recall it as a bonus action. A small price to pay, since if you cast another spell, you won't be attacking with it anyway.
Just stumbled across this channel and this was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I really like your voice as well as it is pretty calming especially with the light music in the background and the length of the video was perfect for me to play while I was doing other stuff. Subbed !
Thanks and welcome! :)
I think it's worth noting Animate Objects is only 1 minute duration, while Summon Fey is 1 HOUR duration. BIG difference in a dungeon crawl.
How does this video not have 10k+ likes? One of the most relaxing videos I've watched.
Right? I use it both for learning about awesome builds and for going to sleep (≧∀≦)
Great video, I particularly enjoyed the damage reports!
I'm playing a Variant Human Bladesinger that took War Caster at level 1, and ill be taking your advice on board in terms of best sustained dpr at each level. I still thinks its often better to use concentration on something like Slow or Hypnotic Pattern, but sometimes ya just gotta do damage!
Also, my Bladesong is Uptown Funk, because I envision my Wizard moving through battle the way Bruno Mars moves through that video
I didn’t optimize mechanically but I did just finish a 2 year campaign as a Bladesinger lvl 3-20 and I can confirm they are ridiculously fun, very strong, and very flavorful. Great job here and love your passion at the beginning.
Really good stuff bud! I enjoyed the crafting with Tasha'a update. Helped a lot with building a new character keep it up!
Dude I've been really binging all your videos and a suggestion I'd like to make is for you to add chapters or at least time stamps so the viewer can more easily jump to any point of interest coz they are kinda long. Not complaining I really appreciate long videos that I can listen to while doing other stuff
Thanks! And hopefully one day soon!
I’ve loved the bladesinger since ad&d. So glad they brought it back as such a kickass wizard archetype.
Cheers from Brazil, Colby!
Very nice channel! This was my first video of many already !
Bladesinger is my all time favorite class too.
Stay safe and healthy !
Thanks! Glad you’re enjoying!
Finally - someone who gets it! I have been playing adventure league for about a year, and when my tweaked for melee bladesinger shows up, it's a shock to people that the wizard isn't getting hit, and is actually doing a crap load of damage.
Been waiting for this and am not disappointed. A genuine evolution of the subclass, switching up tactics as needed and producing ridiculous results. Well done Colby, and thank you.
Lets hope they fix battlerager next
Recently found your channel when I was looking into my current hexblade build, and I'm working through your entire catalogue now.
I love the fact that this build evolves so much along the life cycle. The variation in primary spell choices to acheive the same goal really makes it feel like the character is evolving and out-growing abilities. Can't wait to try this out at a table!
Thanks, and thanks for watching!
Thank you for this guide! I'm roling up a bladesinger for a campaign soon and I've been looking for some melee-focused tips. You're very pleasant to listen to as well!
Thank you so much for the Animate Objects suggestion. I am playing a Bladesinger and definitely overlooked that spell. After hearing your video, I tried it out against an enemy that was concentrating on Globe of Invulnerability. I ran inside the sphere and the party thought I was going to swing twice to try and break the concentration, they did not expect 10 attacks. It was a super fun and epic moment :D
Ha ha! Nice!
Just a small thing, but Blade of Disaster only does melee attacks within 5 feet of it. It can be cast anywhere in 60' and it can move 30' and attack, but the range of the melee attack is still only 5' (which doesn't really diminish the awesome look, feel and potential of the spell)
Blade of Disaster as the 9th level spell of choice is such an incredible idea that I never would've thought of. I ruled out Blade of Disaster as cool but underwhelming, but that's a super cool AND in-character combination
Song for bladesong - "Politics and the Life."
Appreciate these videos, and I have to admit I still took the one level fighter dip for more of a roleplay justification, while acknowledging it was not optimized (that said, one thing you can always do with a fighter dip is done heavy armor and pick up a shield (if war caster) when bladesong is exhausted. In addition, taking fighter at one to get a constitution save, allowed me to take Tough at a later level, to add even more hps (40 total at level 20) to help when you are in the mix.) Recognize that i am delaying spell casting by one level (can anyone say - race to level 7), and also cost me a level 7 spell slot at later levels.
I use your videos so that I can know what is the most optimized path, though I make adjustments so that I don't irritate my DMs by only using the optimized version, and bladesinger has multiple courses that are near optimized to keep a DM on his toes and not anticipate exactly what a bladesinger will do. Alternatives to shadowblade early are use of Flaming sphere + booming blade to force them to take the fire damage; use of spirit shroud as an alternative concentration spell that adds damage to melee attacks; etc. Bladesinger is just so damn flexible.
First time seeing your content - you had me at Bladesinger. Outstanding walk through, keep at it, mate.
Hey thanks! Hopefully the newer content is better quality, at least from an audio/visual/editing perspective :).
It's extra nice that the cantrip from extra attack also works with ranged weapons. Makes you a better backliner too, if you don't feel like getting up close and personal all the time
This is a really fantastic video, I love your style of theory crafting 😁 There's just one correction I would make.
War caster says that "The spell must have a casting time of 1 action and must target only that creature". Now while booming blade has a range of "self (5ft)" it still only targets one creature.
In this case the spell's range, and its target, are two separate things. As a result, you can definitely still use booming blade when casting a spell instead of making an opportunity attack.
Love your videos! Keep up the good work
Thanks! Glad you're enjoying!
Also sorry I misremembered why you had said you can't use booming blade, I just corrected a point you never made 🤦♂️ my bad!
I played a bladesinger in a campaign once, and it was the most fun I've had. I read so many negative things about bladesinger and I've never understood why. Love you and love your builds!
They are still my favorite to play :)
If Ravnica backgrounds are available Orzhov rep is amazing as you get spirit guardians as level 3 spell. Which upcasts better than most of the ones listed
Spirit shroud could be a good replacement for shadow blade. The tactical use of bladesong makes it more fun. It becomes a matter of priority. The summon spells could also give an edge
Going to make a hobgoblin one of these.
He was a young boy when his father was challenged by an orc who wanted to ally with the BBEG. His father was killed and the Orcs took the leadership from the hobgoblins. He left and learned the ways of bladesinging from the elves and made a connection with them and is on a quest to redeem his people. Before the BBEG the goblinkin were peaceful with the rest of civilization and my character wants to challenge the orc in solo combat to earn the respect of his people.
I've watched this video no less than 4 times. I love it. I don't have a new campaign for awhile probably, but this is for sure the next class I'll be rolling up and I can barely wait.
Great video! The damage output is amazing, the AC, the versatility, I just love it! Having played a BS until level 11 in AL (before Tasha release), I'm excited to revisit it with the new version of the Extra Attack. One thing I will follow differently though is the use of animate objects. It's ultra strong, and pretty much a staple damage spell for any kind of wizard and even some bards, but I feel the theme derides a bit from the bladesinger, it can increase the DPR of about any mage. Besides, the way it messes action economy makes me feel kinda cheap using it (btw I love the solution you suggested of averaging all the rolls in 2, in my table we created a swarm). I feel more in theme using the shadow blade, it's almost a signature spell for the class IMO. And considering the sage advice tweet and TWF rules, attacking with it in TWF is pretty much RAW. Anyway, great video, just subscribed to the channel!
Wow, a lot to digest. I still love the thematic of casting shadow blade each time
Congratulations on being the guy who can say he summons cute faeries and sings Enya at the table to 100k+ people.
Awesome episode! This seriously makes me want to play a Bladesinger!
I wishI had discovered this video months ago, I have a level 8 blade singer that after watching this video I realized I missed a lot of useful choices in building her (specifically elven accuracy). I’m still one of the biggest damage threats on the field and the bane of every spell caster we face. My DM however makes a point of focusing on me every combat and has an uncanny knack of rolling nat 20s much too often for my tiny pool of hit points. I was forced into hiding using Greater Invisibility to take the heat off and giving me advantage on my attack rolls. I only wish I had seen this video before taking my level 8 ASI instead of grabbing Elven Accuracy instead. I’m still having a blast even though my character isn’t optimized, I’m really enjoying your content!
Thanks!
One thing to keep in mind is if you swarm another caster that's concentrating on a spell with your animate objects they'll have to make a concentration check for each of those attacks based on a numbers game they have a 5% chance to just straight up fail the check each time
How you figure? You know that there's no such thing as a critical failure on ability checks or saving throws, right?
So sorry idc if the numbers have changed I need my dark saber for my mandorian character and there is nothing you can do to change my mind.
Thanks for the video, do you do voice acting? You’re voice is very calming.
Thanks! :) I don't, but would enjoy it if an opportunity happened to fall in my lap :P.
Love your vids dude! The thing is, I love creating characters almost as much as… oh wait I’m stealing your line! Thanks for making me feel at home :D
The intro made me instantly fall in love.. Welcome home indeed :D.. You are now my spirit animal!
rawr?
@@DnDDeepDive Rawr indeed! You just hit he perfect spot for me. I LOOOVE theory crafting the hell out of my characters and finding inspiration for my characters in the build so I can can ultimately roleplay the hell out of it.
I really enjoy this subclass I like the restrictions on blade songs my campaign has a lot of combat between long rests so when I do choose to sing its like this badass moment where everyone stops and goes oh shit you pissed off the wizard
Shadow Dancer - At level 4 take Eldritch Adept (Devil's Sight) and Darkness for one of your spells. I realize that will slow the whole Con thing, but advantage on all attacks and disadvantage vs enemies sounds better to me. Of course if your summoning the Fey all the time it may not matter.
That is super cool from a flavor perspective, but through the lens of optimization, Darkness will consume your concentration and overall lower your damage compared to the other options at your disposal as you continue to level up. In terms of optimal building, the classic Darkness combo is best suited for a true Bladelock (or a Way of Shadow Monk) who gains most of their damage through non-concentration abilities (Agonizing Blast, Hexblade's Curse, Maddening Hex, Eldritch Smite, etc.).
@@ChunkyTheClown Darkness also impedes your party as much as it hurts the enemy. You're not likely to be able to solo enemy groups so Darkness is not optimal from a group perspective.
Just take one level of fighter (or the feat) for Blind Fighting and get the same effect from Fog Cloud. In fact, this is the combo I chose for my Bladesinger character who is going to hunt rogue warlocks, as their darkness trick won’t work on him but his fog cloud trick will work on them.
This is great! I know it doesn't synergize quite as well, but with a Drow or Half-Drow, you could use a hand-crossbow which would let you keep some of the melee threat away. The cantrip option for Bladesinger isn't limited to melee, so one could Ray of Frost + Attack to stay at range and not drop BladeSong like a High Elf would using a Longbow. Flexibility of the Bladesinger is amazing!!
also, I know it's a 5th level slot, but if you have advantage, Steel Wind Strike is amazing with Elven Accuracy. You could easily do 42d10 force damage if there are five creatures. That seems like a lot. I love Animate Objects against single targets or for long combats, but Greater Invis + SWS against multiple is my go to. So thematic as well !
This build seems so much fun, fuming Tinker Bells, shouting "shut up and take my money" with animate object, while also being very good at melee. I love it. :D
Now I want WotC to make a fighter that’s the best spellcaster in the game
Muscle wizard!
I'm playing a goblin bladesinger of 5th level (so fun with bonus action disengage, goblin should get an honorable mention as race for every caster in my mind). Anyway i would like to point out that there are a number of reasons to keep the shadow blade+ booming/green flame combo even RAW, the spell says that "it counts as a simple weapon" those have a listed cost so it may work. Even so you're walking on thin ice to have this combo so it's still a DM call. But for me it's still a legal combo only subjected to your DM judment so i would not write that off the build. Even Crawford judges it legal i'll put a link to history tweet here. In the end i think that both the ruling can be legal, the one good reason to not make the combo work is that you can easily overshadow any melee (even without extra attack) i saw that last night in my game 22+ dpr with a single attack using a 3rd level shadow blade so it kinda feels that a caster is a better melee than a melee class so maybe it's legit to put the combo down to balance the scales however this makes shadow blade almost worthless (maybe an eldrich knight still has use for it but i think that blur would be a better choice at until you get the 3rd and 4th attack) even for a gish. Thanks for your work i do not agree 100% with your build, for example i don't like the use of two weapon fighting i think it's less solid than other way to use that bonus action, but it's still a great guide.
Here's the link for the tweet www.sageadvice.eu/2020/11/18/does-the-monetary-value-of-the-component-now-negate-being-able-to-use-your-pact-of-the-blade-weapon-or-shadow-blade-in-conjunction-with-booming-blade/
Just found your channel, lived the video. Instant sub. As a almost forever DM I don't get the play much but I finally have a second DM so I had to watch some build videos Loved your work.
Thanks and welcome!
Love your builts keep up the great work! I plan on making my bladesinger with the harengon race. Bugs Bunny will be dancing and carving his way thru anything the dm throws at him lol.
6:46 we've actually gotten confirmation from Crawford that you can still cast booming blade with shadowblade as that wasn't their intention to stop that
Where do I find that ?
I think taking a level in Artificer is a viable choice as well. You get Con save proficiency as well as not losing any caster levels..
3 levels to go Battlesmith lets you just do INT instead of having to focus DEX too, but it delays you a lot if you start out that way.
Well done, flavorful build...I very much enjoyed your vision of this character. Unfortunately, back in the day of AD&D I ran the Bladesinger given in the Elven Handbook, and at the end of the campaign the DM (who is still my DM to this day) has forbidden be from ever running a bladesinger again...:) Song of choice at that time was Jethro Tull's Broadsword!!!
With the new Custom Lineage explanation, I think High Elf is really the best option for this build.
You get Elven Accuracy at 4th, but you recover half an ASI thanks to the +1 Int, so you can start with +3 Int +3 Dex instead of +4 Dex +2 Int (I agree it is not as good, but not so dramatically as in other builds) and move it to +4 Dex, +3 Int when you get Elven Accuracy at 4th. Long run it is similar, you are getting the +1 Int before and you shift Elven Accuracy and Res accordingly. Until 4th level you do not have Elven Accuracy, but you have Proficiency with long AND short swords (1 dam more per attack) and one additional cantrip. Both are very useful for this build.
The alternative is to ignore Elven Accuracy and still start with Custom Lineage and DEX18, the problem is what to take for the half talent for the +1 Dex... the only other talent really needed in this build is Res:con... you might go for slasher maybe, but it is quite meh with respect to crusher or piercer.
Yeah. I gave a Bladesinger in my party. Needless to say. I was surprised to find out that our party's wizard had a 19 AC with stacked bonuses. I do have some homebrew thrown in which could have contributed a bit.
AC 19 while using the Bladesong is standard for beginning point buy bladesingers
My group does the "I drop my weapon on the ground" so often and for so many reasons, switching weapons, casting spells, chugging potions, ect Just tonight someone almost dropped a weapon down a 50ft pit while fighting a grey ooze. I'm just glad there's no trackable durability points or all our weapons would all be 0/100 right now.
ha ha!
Thanks for creating this guide. I was thinking, you can cast Glyph of of Warding on a piece of paper, Spell: Summon Fey, Trigger ripping the paper. Summon Familiar prior to combat and give the familiar the Glyph to rip. If the spell summons Hostile Creatures or creates harmful Objects or traps, they appear as close as possible to the intruder and Attack it. If the spell requires Concentration, it lasts until the end of its full Duration. So you can have both Fey and Shadow blade up. (The problem is that you'd need 200gp each Glyph xD)
They're named Bladesingers canonically because of the whistling tune the sword makes when its 'dancing', not because the practitioners actually sing. No harm in doing it, but it's not what the class is named for. Good build!
What about caltrops for your animated objects? If you lose concentration for any reason or choose to end it cause another spell maybe needed then they fall to the ground and become a painful area for enemies to walk through slowing their movement. Could also use ball bearings with added chance to prone enemies.
Love it!
I’m trying to figure out how to use catapult, damaging enemies with a bag of ball bearings that spill out, making difficult terrain for them, then animate the ball bearings.
As much as it hurts losing Shadow Blade + Booming Blade I love the idea of have numerous tiny copper coin demons biting away at my enemies ankles
Why doesnt it work anymore?
@@MFinGonzo they altered Booming Blade so that it requires a weapon worth 1 Silver
@@legomaninatrolley7559 cant you just off hand a dagger then use shadow blade for your second attack?
@@MFinGonzo Not too sure
The Telekinetic feat from Tasha's Guide works well with Spellsingers. If you can hit the target with Booming Blade, with advantage on the target thanks to your familiar, and then spend your bonus action pushing the target back 5ft with Telekinetic, they have to choose between not pursuing you and wasting a round, or eating the secondary damage. And of course, it's free bonus action field control to help get your allies out of sticky situations if needed.
Go 8/15/15/15/8/8 for starting ability scores (I know it's silly but it works in this case!) And have the +3 to Dex from custom Lineage w/Elven Accuracy. Then get Telekinetic (Int) at 4th level, Resilient (Con) at 8th, Dex to 20 at 12th, and Int to 20 after that. Not sure how this change in ASI progression will influence average DPR, but I figure having a decent spell / Telekinetic save DC will help offset any losses from non-20 Dex
A nice combo with Animate objects would be the warlock with Darkness. Since the animated object have blindsight they would gain advantage with a combo with the darkness spell.
Also once you give them a command they you don’t have to use your bonus action to command them again till they are done. “Once given an order, the creature continues to follow it until its task is complete.”
So that saves your bonus action for more attacks. Unless you need them to switch targets or do something different.
you know, that's a good point. I think of it as my command being "attack that guy," which they would technically complete upon making an attack, but I suppose if you simply change the command wording to "kill that guy," they would continue attacking until he was dead, at which point, bonus action to a different target. Nice find :).
Colby, love the video! Here is a hot take I think you'll appreciate as a Bladesinger fan:
Both of these claims are false:
1- "according to the RAW, a Shadow Blade cannot be used as the material component for Booming Blade because it is not worth at least 1sp"
2- "according to the RAW, a Shadow Blade can be used as the material component for Booming Blade because it is worth at least 1sp".
These claims fall under a common type of fallacy called an "argument from ignorance" wherein the claimant assumes a binary of "true"/"false" (and misplaces the burden of proof away from themselves), however there are actually two other possibilities: "unknown" and "unknowable". The truth is that RAW does not specify whether or not Shadow Blade has a value. Therefore the correct claim is:
3- "according to the RAW, it is unknown whether Shadow Blade can/cannot be used as the material component for Booming Blade because it is unknown whether it is/isn't worth at least 1sp"
Whether a DM allows or disallows Shadow Blade to be used for Booming Blade's material component, if they are doing so based on an assumed value, they are house ruling (I'd say out of necessity). In both cases the DM would be assuming a value not given in RAW. Outside of RAW, obviously there are a bunch of arguments for whether Shadow Blade should/shouldn't be considered worth at least 1sp. I personally think it should be considered at lease 1sp for myriad reasons, but that's beside the point. The point is - the lack of clarification in the RAW essentially requires a house ruling outside of the RAW. Consult your DM!
I do also believe that a magic shadow lightsaber is worth more than 1 sp.
i thought this was laid to rest on sage advice last year, that SB and blade trips *can* be used together.
@@theangryMD oh really?
@@alex2legit Well, Jeremy Crawford said he'd allow it at his table last year I believe.
@@theangryMD right that's less so an official ruling and more so good perspective. Bottom line is with lack of a material value specified for conjured solidified gloom, it is up to DM discretion and the rules as written don't take a stance (despite soooooo many people assuming the rules simply prohibit it)
About Custom Lineage, from what I've read it doesn't actually allow you to take racial feats RAW (or at least it's a little muddy). This is because your race is technically ''custom'', not, say, Elf or human or whatnot and so you don't meet the requirements of any racial feats. I'm sure most DMs won't mind but I just wanted to let you know.
This is incredible! Hats off to you. Subbed.
Though unless I missed something, you only ever get one advantage dice, no matter how many sources of advantage you have (PHB p.173).
Thanks and welcome!
I once ran a bard character who was cursed to be unable to do any damage himself besides psychic, and animate objects was wonderful. He made ten tiny dolls that he kept in a special bag of holding that he would dump out. I was even eventually able to outfit them with special made swords so they could do piercing instead of bludgeoning if need be.
I find it absolutely hilarious that the community thought they were gonna fix the broken parts of the bladesinger but ended up just giving the whole subclass a buff. I'm also disappointed they didn't do something to make Str singers a bit more viable, as of now with how the bladesinger works it's literally pointless to make a str singer due to the one-handed weapon restriction.
Though I do like the removal of the race restriction, makes for more diversity other than "High Elf EA Warcaster Resilient: Con Dexsinger." we've seen so much.
Still my favorite subclass though. Frikin blast to play.
The class is supposed to be an agile, nible fighter who looks like dancing in combat. Giving him a dex focus over strength makes just way more sense.
Have you given any more thought to hashing out a war wizard build? I’ve been playing one for over a year now and I gotta say it’s better than people think. It boils down to a few things that are actually similar to what you did in this build, at least in sustainability.
Your first turn is usually your most important turn, and this is even more the case for a war wizard since one of your features can lock away leveled spellcasting.
Your intelligence modifier added to initiative is amazing. There’s roughly a 1.6% boost to overall damage per 1 initiative bonus. You’re likely to have 12-14 dex and 16-18 int at level 2. Later when you unlock more powerful spells, your ability to manipulate the battlefield before the enemy can react can have much more impact than just DPR boosts.
On that first turn that you’re likely taking first, you need to have prioritized your spell preparations in a few different ways.
1. Does the spell effect multiple enemies?
2. Does the spell last longer than one round?
3. Is the spell concentration?
4 does the spell give an action or bonus action effect that can be used on other turns to replace my spellcasting if you have to use your arcane deflection feature?
5. Does the spell has the ability to do damage multiple times in a round if you or your allies work together with forced movement?
6. Does the spell further increase my defenses?
You’re going to want to pick a race that gives armor proficiency, has natural armor, take a dip in cleric, or take a dip in artificer. Armor and a shield are important, but you may not need the shield.
If you roll initiative don’t have a good idea about your enemy, cast greater invisibility on yourself. It prevents you from getting counterspelled, prevents you from provoking opportunity attacks, and gives you advantage on all your attack rolls. Like if you use steel wind strike.
The alert feat is a wonderful addition is been using. Further solidifies my first turn, prevents being surprised and partially negates my low wisdom and lack of perception proficiency, and allows the use of fog cloud/darkness spells to give creatures disadvantage when attacking you since it’s not canceled out when you can’t see them.
Power surge is given a bad rep. When you first get the feature you’re relegated to maybe gaining a charge when you counterspell with your highest slot at the time, and the damage is limited and relatively small. But, it grows relatively quickly, and by about level 10-12 you have enough cantrips and intelligence to give up a 3rd level slot to dispel your own cantrips to fill your surges. Power surge can be used once a turn against a creature, not one a round. With proper spell choice and tactics you and your allies can use ongoing spell effects that cause damage to whittle down a specific target.
An example of this that I often use is casting wall of fire. When you cast the spell, each creature in the wall must make a save or take 5d8 fire damage. I make the inside wall dangerous. You can add your power surge to one of those creatures. You or your ally can now push the creature into the circle, perhaps a paladin with thunderous smite. On the enemy creatures turn, it has to decide on taking its action blindly/ineffectively to stay or chance dieing by walking through that wall again. Either way they take damage, and proc another surge. Thornwhip(artificer) would be a good way to keep the damage going if you use your arcane deflection.
Power surge is similar to empowered metamagic in its application. It is just limited to one creature. Instead of increasing average damage through rerolling, it adds flat damage. This increases minimum and maximum damage.
I really like your guides and I'm subscribed since you the first bladesinger video. this one is looking even better!!
some food for thought about the build for you and everybody in the comments section:
if for some reason you can sneak in a long ranged weapon (by starting with fighter, something else like you dm being overly nice, or juts the fact that wizards do get the light crossbow) and it's not worth casting a spell at the start of the battle (or you're too far away from other enemies and there's nothing more useful to do) you can cantrip and long range attack for your attack action. It's not always useful, but it might be worth carrying a long range weapon to have this option.
and since you're talking magic items: there's the ruby of the war mage. it's a common wondrous item, and it requires atunnement, but it let's you use one weapon as a casting focus (like the warcaster feat does). if your dm allows, should be fairly cheap and you won't need to be dropping your second weapon to cast spells until the time when you need the atunnement slot for a better item.
edit: there's also the new lvl 3 wizard ability that let's you switch around your cantrips. if you're are expecting a very long adventuring day, you could pick up blade ward and attack once then get resistance to piercing, cutting and bludgeoning damage. it's a big drop in dpr, but might be worth in some fringe situations =]
great tips!
Great video!! I've been playing a Bladesinger High Elf for 15 months (since BEFORE Tasha's) and my DM doesn't allow anything from Tasha's. Anyway, I love this character more than any I've played. He started as Level 1 Fighter due to backstory stuff, and yes it hurts to wait an extra level for everything. Hes now 10ft level ( Ftr1 Wiz9) with 20 INT and 16 DEX. He's hard to hit and a blast to play! Since my DM doesn't allow Tasha's, I still use Shadow Blade and Booming Blade together!!
Eh my blade song is more of a battle cry as I leap into the fray: Now witness the beautiful technique that has been passed down the Bladesong line FOR GENERATIONS!"
Yes I know he wouldn't really be a Bladesinger per say but the line was too perfect in my head. :)
Sounds like adon from berserk
I know you don’t include magic items, but this character really needs to obtain a Displacer Cloak!
I had one on my first Bladesinger and, honestly, it was OP :P. With Mirror Image and shield and that I just... never... got... hit.
@@DnDDeepDive intestestingly, at high levels, i have noticed that the bladsinger's ac is so high, that mirror image is a waste of spell slots and actions, because the images get taken down by attacks that can hit the images, but still aren't enough to hit your AC in the mid 20's.
@@cmckee42 Absolutely! I actually commented on this in... I think it was the Rogue Tank build? It's been frustrating to realize as I play my Bladesinger and I think Blink becomes the new go to for non-concentration defensive spells.
@@DnDDeepDive and from a party composition perspective, I would argue blink is counterproductive, because you almost want to invite attacks against your really high AC, and not force the monsters to attack your squishier allies because you blinked out.
Also, if you know you're getting an Amulet of Vitality you can dump constitution and make 15 dex 15 wis/cha 15 int.
Edit: con -> wis/cha
Great analysis!! Definitely a subclass I want to try! I'm starting a lvl 9 so not sure if shadow blade (only 1 lvl 5 spell slot) vs starting the round with say Greater Invisibility and if quite a few baddies are in a close area, then use the lvl 5 spell for Steel Wind Strike is better. With advantage from Greater Invisibility you're averaging 33 force dmg to up to 5 creatures within 30 feet of you. Then after that maybe just switching to a summon construct spell, it does about the same dmg as summon fey (non magical bludgeoning though) but Stony Lethargy is amazing (any creatures you choose within 10 feet of the construct must succeed a wisdom saving throw or lose their reactions and half their speed until their next turn). Great for allowing you a free run in and hit and run back. But Bladesingers have so many great combo's its hard to pick just one.
Maybe “Flock of Familiars “ to get advantage on other attacks vs find familiar just one help
Flock is second level spell so a little more spell level but worth it
I was one of the people, who recommended the fighter dip. As someone who played with a Bladesinger with a Fighter dip, I get what you mean when you say the delay to spells and the Extra Attack feature is painful, but as someone who plays the Bladesinger to get into melee, I personally find the extra bonuses to be worth it. Plus if you do reach late game you have the option of one more level to get Action Surge which is nuts. :3
Running through the Bladesinger videos in order to be ready for tomorrow (if the masses are to be believed)!
Thx for helping to unlock this build for me. Love playing this class.
Bladesong I sing is “Trippin, on a hole in a paper heart.” Annoys the shit out of my table.
Ha ha - love it!
Foresight. Is hands down the best lvl9 blade singer spell it bumps your defence, offence, untility both on and off the field as both a wizard and a fighter. And it lasts the whole day.
while i still say it's Wish (for insta-casted simulacrums), foresight is definitely the 2nd best.
My Bladesong will be Eye of the Tiger.... Classic!
Taking your first level as an Artificer instead of warrior will still net you proficiency with constitution saves, but it has several other benefits as well. You still get shield proficiency for those low level encounters where you are unable to bladesing, but the biggest draw is that you can still attack with Green Flame Blade and Booming Blade while Shadow Blade is active without a material component due to them being able to use a spellcasting focus. (Both are on the Artificer spell list and you get 2 cantrips at 1st level)
This is killer! I did my build a little different, we also rolled stats. But I definitely was wondering about spells. Shadow blade is a must. And one of the summon spells sounds great idk if I’ll do celestial just for flavor reasons, but I’m on board great job 👍🏼
1:08:10 That's easy: "Drunken Lullabies" by Flogging Molly.
Either that or "They're Taking the Hobbits to Isengard!"
Also when going level from level you could use something like dnd beyond or what you're most confortable with, this helps as props which keep the watcher engaded as well as making it easier to do seemless post commentary in case you make mistakes
Yeah, there are lots of ways I could improve things no doubt. I just need more time! Thanks for the feedback :).
@@DnDDeepDive no problem Man don't worry too much tho still great videos irregardless 👍
Especially cause it's clear that you put a lot of hearth into this
@@DnDDeepDive just saying, a visual presentation really helps to make an hour long video more enjoyable and comprehensible.
@@DnDDeepDive the biggest way you could improve would probably be by inviting a fellow Utahn to your optimized DnD parties.
(Perhaps even little ol’ me)
Should also make mention for high level play (15+) Illusory Dragon is a fantastic spell for dealing with large mobs of monsters. Int Save 7d6 in a 60’ cone as a bonus action for a min is nothing to sneeze at; on top of the wis save on summoning to frighten.
Thank you for this video! My Hexblade/Fighter I’ve been playing for 2 years just died and I’m building my Shadar Kai Bladesinger now. I’m thinking his blade song will be “Skyeboat Song”, from the show Outlander.
You have to start segmenting your video. Intro, character race and background, level 1-4 , level 5-10 , level 11-15, level 16-20, final thoughts.