How I Started My Hexblade Warlock Party Experiment
Opened Baldur’s Gate 3 yesterday thinking about warlock mechanics. Saw Hexblade subclass and remembered Pact of the Blade – seemed perfect for frontline damage. Grabbed Shadowheart immediately cause she fits support role so well.
Built my Tav as pure Hexblade first. Chose Tiefling for fire resistance. Went all-in on Charisma during level ups. Took Agonizing Blast and Devil’s Sight invocations early – needed that ranged magic damage for backup.
Party Setup Struggles and Fixes
Found my Tav dying too fast in melee around level 4. Added Karlach as barbarian tank after two wipes at Goblin Camp. Her rage kept aggro off my warlock. Then realized I had zero lockpicking. Made Astarion replace Gale since rogue skills were mandatory.
Final party looked like this:
- Tav: Hexblade warlock (melee striker)
- Karlach: Barbarian (damage sponge)
- Shadowheart: Life domain cleric (healer/buffer)
- Astarion: Thief rogue (utility/dps)
Combo Discoveries That Actually Worked
Figured out two killer setups after getting knocked out repeatedly:
First: Have Shadowheart cast Bless before fights. My Hexblade would use Darkness + Devil’s Sight combo. Karlach shoved enemies into the dark cloud – total chaos advantage.
Second: Astarion applies Hex via bow, then Tav triggers vulnerability with Curse. Karlach finishes with Reckless Attack. Saw 50+ damage crits regularly after this rotation.
Key Build Insights
- Don’t dump Constitution! My warlock kept getting stunned with low HP
- Pact Weapon choice matters big time. Greatsword beat longsword for damage
- Armor of Agathys spell saved me more than Hellish Rebuke
- Position Karlach behind enemies before blasting them into walls
Nearly rage-quit when Phase Spiders wrecked us twice. Changed approach: Had cleric cast Sanctuary on warlock, rogue dropped poison clouds everywhere. Finally worked after three attempts.
Hexblade parties need babysitting early but become monsters after level 5. Just survived Moonrise Towers because Shadowheart spammed Healing Word on my Tav during boss fight. That concentration maintenance is brutal but pays off.