Together with patch 8, Baldur’s Gate 3 received its last major update with a total of 12 new subclasses. One of these subclasses can shed a completely new light on the warlock as one would previously know it as a spellcaster. A new pact transforms it into a formidable melee fighter.

What can the Hexblade warlock do? This warlock subclass allows players more freedom in melee combat by combining spells with weapon attacks and using the charisma modifier for attack and damage rolls. For this type of melee fighter, dexterity and especially strength are completely secondary.

Already at level 1, the Hexblade warlock is equipped with strong abilities:

• Hex Warrior:
  • You are proficient with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons.
  • You gain “Bind Hexed Weapon,” allowing you to use your charisma modifier instead of strength or dexterity when attacking with weapons you are proficient with.

• Bind Hexed Weapon:
  • Bind yourself to the weapon in your main hand. Its damage becomes magical, and you cannot throw or drop it, and you are proficient with it unless you already were. When you attack with this weapon, there is a chance that “Hexblade’s Curse” will be cast on the target. You can only have one pact weapon at a time, and it uses your charisma modifier.

• Hexblade’s Curse:
  • Condition: Cursed by a Hexblade warlock. This warlock adds their proficiency bonus to damage rolls against the target. Additionally, they require 1 less die face on attack rolls against the target to score a critical hit.

Who is the Hexblade warlock suitable for? The Hexblade warlock is particularly suitable for players who prefer a hybrid playstyle. It combines strong weapon attacks, solid ranged attacks through Eldritch Blast, and powerful spells that restrict enemies’ visibility and movement. In our poll on which of the new subclasses you were most looking forward to, the Hexblade warlock received the most votes.

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Here you can see a video about the new patch 8 in Baldur’s Gate 3:

A charismatic hybrid class that combines melee combat with magic

Next, we will show you how to create your warlock right from the start, which attributes are best suited, and how to make him stronger from level 1 to level 12. We are assuming a pure warlock in this build and will not incorporate any other class into the build.

Character Creation

Here we will show you how to best prepare your warlock for the adventure right at character creation.

Attribute values: With these attributes, your warlock is perfectly equipped:

• Strength: 8
• Dexterity: 16
• Constitution: 14
• Intelligence: 8
• Wisdom: 10
• Charisma: 17

Race selection: Two races are particularly suitable due to their racially specific abilities. However, you can still choose a race that appeals to you the most. The attribute values are comparatively much more important.

• Half-Orc: A Half-Orc already possesses the talent “Savage Attacker” (The damage is rolled twice, and the higher one is taken.) at the start.
• Zariel Tiefling: A Zariel Tiefling has fire resistance and access to two control spells.

Background: Based on your choice of attribute values, the following backgrounds are particularly suitable for being especially successful in these areas:

• Entertainer: Acrobatics (Dexterity) and Performance (Charisma)
• Charlatan: Deception (Charisma) and Sleight of Hand (Dexterity)
• Urchin: Stealth (Dexterity) and Sleight of Hand (Dexterity)

Other strong abilities:

• Deception: Useful in conversations
• Investigation: Uncover hidden clues and objects

Level Progression – From Level 1 to Level 12

Now we will discuss the individual level ups of your Hexblade warlock and which spells, cantrips, talents, and attributes are especially important.

Level 1

Here you choose your subclass, in this case, the Hexblade. Here you directly gain the aspects Hex Warrior, Bind Hexed Weapon and Hexblade’s Curse at level 1.

• Cantrips: 
  • Eldritch Blast
  • Booming Blade
• Spells:
  • Hex
  • Wrathful Smite

The Booming Blade is one of the new cantrips released with patch 8. Since it is a cantrip, it does not require a spell slot and can be used as often as you want. This makes it quite practical for a warlock with few spell slots, but it is generally one of the most powerful contents of the new patch.

Level 2

Here you gain a new spell and your first two Eldritch Invocations.

• Spell: Hellish Rebuke
• Eldritch Invocations:
  • Devil’s Sight: You can see up to 24 meters in complete darkness (both magical and non-magical)
  • Agonizing Blast: The charisma modifier is added to the damage of Eldritch Blast

The trick of Devil’s Sight is that you cast darkness and will be hard to see in that darkness making it harder to hit you, while you can still attack normally.

Level 3

Here you receive a new spell and the Pact Boon that you can choose at level 3.

• Spell: Shadow Blade
• Pact Boon: Pact of the Blade: While the benefits of this pact align closely with those of the Hexblade, the extra attack granted by the pact of the blade is particularly important for future levels. During the stress test of patch 8, the Hexblade warlock had the extra attack without the pact, but this has been fixed. Therefore, the Pact of the Blade is extremely important to unlock the full melee potential of the warlock.

When attacking a target in darkness with the Shadow Blade, you have an advantage on the attack roll. Therefore, it works ideally with the Darkness-Devil’s Sight strategy.

Important: Remember to bind the Shadow Blade (like any weapons you use in this build) to yourself and make it a pact weapon so that you can attack with charisma, not strength or dexterity.

Level 4:

Here you can choose between a new talent or an attribute increase. You will also receive a new spell and a new cantrip.

• Cantrip: Mage Hand
• Spell: Darkness
• Attribute increase: Charisma +2 (If you have obtained Aunt Ethel’s Vittlewort and thereby increased your charisma, you now have a charisma attribute score of 20.)

Now you are perfectly equipped for the Darkness-Devil’s Sight-Shadow Blade strategy! 

Level 5

Here you will gain a new spell, a new Eldritch Invocation, and the extra attack that you are granted by the Pact of the Blade.

• Spell: Counterspell
• Eldritch Invocation: Repelling Blast

Level 6

Here you will receive a new spell along with one of the most important passive abilities of the Hexblade warlock: the Accursed Specter.

• Spell: Hunger of Hadar
  • Additionally: Swap Hellish Rebuke with Misty Step to make yourself more mobile.
• Accursed Specter: When you or an ally reduces a creature that is affected by Hexblade’s Curse to 0 hit points within 18 meters, you can summon an accursed specter that briefly fights by your side.
  • Minor Specter (11 HP): Arises from tiny and small opponents
  • Regular Specter (21 HP): Arises from medium opponents
  • Primordial Specter (33 HP): Arises from large or huge opponents and can deal heavy damage

Level 7

Here you will gain a new spell and another Eldritch Invocation.

• Spell: Staggering Smite
• Eldritch Invocation: Here you can choose something you like that fits your playstyle.

Level 8

Here you will receive a new spell as well as a new talent or attribute increase.

• Spell: Dimension Door can be quite useful. If you are already satisfied with your mobility (for example, through Misty Step), Blight is a powerful spell for single targets.
• Talent: War Caster, to better maintain concentration for Hunger of Hadar or Darkness)

Level 9

Here you will receive a new spell as well as another Eldritch Invocation.

• Spell: Banishing Smite
• Eldritch Invocation: All the important Eldritch Invocations for the build have already been chosen, feel free to choose something. Perhaps the Chaos Subordinates, which teach you to summon an elemental that can act alongside your Accursed Specter.

Level 10

At level 10, you will receive a defensive buff that is exclusive to the Hexblade warlock, as well as a new spell and a cantrip.

• Spell: Hold Monster
• Cantrip: Here you have free choice.

Armor of Hexes: When a cursed enemy under Hexblade’s Curse attacks you, you can use your reaction to nullify all damage with a 50% success rate.

Level 11

Here you will receive a new spell and your Mystic Arcanum.

• Mystic Arcanum: A very powerful area spell is Circle of Death. This spell can be cast once per long rest without using a spell slot. 
• Spell: You have free choice again here.

Level 12

With the final level, you will receive one last talent or attribute increase, a new spell, and a final Eldritch Invocation.

• Talent: Savage Attacker (if you are not already a Half-Orc, otherwise you can choose something else) to deal even more damage
• Spell: Here you have another free choice.
• Eldritch Invocation: Life Drinker, so that your melee attacks deal +5 necrotic damage.

Additional Tips for the Hexblade Warlock

Here are some important notes for your experience as a Hexblade warlock in Baldur’s Gate 3 that we strongly recommend:

• Spells are tempting, but remember that the Hexblade warlock is primarily a melee fighter. Therefore, use your spell slots for smite spells unless another spell (like Hunger of Hadar for crowd control or Darkness for the shadow blade) is more useful in a situation 

• Use potions and elixirs: Especially Haste can be very strong for melee fighters with extra attacks and the Booming Blade

• Don’t forget to bind your weapon as a pact weapon so that the Hexblade’s Curse can be triggered. There is a 20% chance for the curse to trigger per strike.

• Use your Accursed Specter and always choose the largest target to have the strongest ally by your side

• Don’t ignore the new photo mode. A pact weapon shines in eerily beautiful light and looks really nice.

The Hexblade warlock is only one of the 12 new subclasses introduced in patch 8 of Baldur’s Gate 3. If you enjoy a spellcaster class that now engages in melee combat, then another build might also be interesting for you. Similar to the warlock, the new Bladesinger wizard combines magic with melee elements: Baldur’s Gate 3: Bladesinger Build in Patch 8 – How to Build Your Bladesinger Mage

In Patch 8 of Baldur’s Gate 3, the Blade Singer is one of the 12 new subclasses. We will show you what to focus on with the Blade Singing build.

What kind of class is the Blade Singer? The new Blade Singing is a subclass for Wizards. The new subclasses are part of the large Patch 8 that was recently released for Baldur’s Gate 3.

The class is characterized by combining the magical advantages of a Wizard with melee elements. So, you can not only throw fireballs at your enemies but also engage them directly with a sword – or with another melee weapon. You can choose this subclass at level 2 as a Wizard.

It is a fast, elegant class that also excels at deftly dodging enemy attacks. Additionally, Larian has provided the Blade Singer with a whole range of new animations that allow them to weave magic while dancing through enemies. It looks really cool.

However, for your Blade Singer to shine not only through style but also through useful actions, we will summarize here what you should consider for your Blade Singer build.

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Blade Singing Build: Which Attributes are Important?

Attributes for Blade Singers: Essentially, the Wizard draws their strength from Intelligence. This does not change for Blade Singers. So, you will be well advised with a high Intelligence value. It is also worth investing a bit in Charisma to not get left behind in conversations. Additionally, Dexterity and Constitution are useful in combat. Therefore, we aim for the following distribution:

• Strength 8
• Dexterity 16
• Constitution 14
• Intelligence 18
• Wisdom 8
• Charisma 12

Dexterity is useful because it directly increases your Armor Class. However, you should focus on finesse weapons with this build, as you would otherwise suffer damage due to low Strength.

Most Important Abilities in Blade Singing Build

What spells and abilities? First, the Blade Singing is not necessarily the strongest class from the new Patch 8. In the ranking of the strongest new classes in Baldur’s Gate 3, it ranks relatively low. That doesn’t mean the class is bad, just that others are better.

However, Blade Singers are particularly a class for role-players who want to play a cool combination of magic and melee without feeling drawn to the Warlock. Therefore, we mostly keep it open which spells suit Blade Singers – see what fits best with your role.

Here is a summary of some of the most important and useful elements of the Blade Singer that we would recommend for your build or that you should consider.

Blade Song: The Blade Song is one of the most important abilities of the Blade Singer. When you invoke the song, you gain a +2 bonus to Armor Class, an increased movement rate of 3 meters, an advantage on Acrobatics, and +2 points on Constitution saving throws. The effect lasts for 10 turns. In short: it contains important values for your melee actions.

At level 2, you gain 2 uses of the song per Long Rest. At level 5, you get a third, and at level 9, the fourth one is added.

Height of the Blade Song: This ability inflicts 1d6 damage on enemies and 1d6 healing for you and your allies.

Weapon Choice: You can choose a weapon to replace your staff. Short swords, scimitars, or rapiers are a good choice.

Training in War and Song: You are proficient in performance, light armor, as well as in daggers, scimitars, short swords, long swords, rapiers, and sickles. Keep this in mind when choosing your weapons and equipment.

Extra Attack: You gain the Extra Attack at level 6 of the Blade Singer Wizard. This is important for dealing a lot of damage in one round. If you want to play multiclass, you should ideally do that after level 6 to benefit from the Extra Attack first.

Which spells and abilities are worth it? Wizards have a wide range of spells available. Some that are worth considering for your Blade Singing class are listed here.

• Shadow Blade: This spell allows you to conjure a melee weapon that deals 2-16 psychic damage. It pairs well with the resonance stone, which you can find in the Illithid Colony of Act 2.
• Counterspell: Always important to slow down opposing spellcasters. Your team will thank you for it.
• Blur also helps you evade enemy attacks in melee.
• Fog Step: Important for moving across the battlefield and getting to distant enemies with your sword.
• Fireball: You are a wizard, of course, you take Fireball. (A lot of damage that can hit multiple enemies)
• Hold Person: Stops enemies so you can pound them with your melee attacks.

Otherwise, spells that can control enemy clusters are always useful. Ice spells, for example, that make your enemies slip, or fire attacks that can hit many opponents at once. Darkness is also useful – if you can see through it yourself.

Furthermore, the feat Alert is useful: This ability prevents surprise and helps you act early in combat. Always good.

Should I play the Blade Singer as a Multiclass?

 It is at least conceivable depending on which aspects of your Blade Singer you want to focus on more.

• A multiclass build with Fighters, for example, is a good approach. At Fighter rank 2, you can unlock “Action Surge,” which gives you another action and thus another attack. So, level up 10 levels in Wizard and then invest two levels in Fighter.
• Another option is to go up to level 3 of Fighter. There, you can choose the “Champion” subclass and receive an improvement on critical hits.
• You can also invest 2 levels in Paladin to gain even more options in melee.

In principle, it is important that you have fun with the Blade Singer. And: There are still plenty of other classes you should try out. Want an overview? Then check here: We have ranked all classes and subclasses in Baldur’s Gate 3 for you.

Every allied companion in Baldur’s Gate 3 comes with their own quirks. One needs fresh blood, another hellish metal, and yet another companion… desperately wants to absorb magical artifacts. In this article, we will name the most useless of these artifacts to feed Gale.

Why does Gale need magical artifacts? Without spoiling too much: Gale, the talkative wizard of your group, must consume magical artifacts at certain intervals to quench an inhuman, magical hunger that he cannot control.

If you agree to help him and regularly give him an artifact, he will be very grateful. However, if you let him starve, he will slowly but surely become a burden to the whole team, and in desperation, he might make a bad deal to improve his condition. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to sacrifice some artifacts for the companion. But which items can you sacrifice with a clear conscience? A player from the Steam community is ready to help.

Here you can see the animated short film for Patch 8 of Baldur’s Gate 3:

Feed your wizard before it’s too late

Where does the information about the most useless artifacts come from? A post by user Desamii on Steam presents a list of the most useless magical artifacts from the first act of Baldur’s Gate 3.

The mentioned artifacts are all found in the first act of the game, where Gale particularly needs help. It has also been ensured that you won’t miss them later in the game. So you don’t have to sacrifice your beloved longsword or the handy new armor to feed Gale. Just follow this list, and both you and your wizard will be satisfied.

Which items you need and where to find them

These magical artifacts are perfect to give to Gale due to their rather low usefulness:

• Komira’s Locket: You receive the locket in the Emerald Grove as a quest reward from Komira and Locke after you have rescued their daughter Arabella.

• Ring of Colour Spray: The ring is located in a (suspiciously large) nest on the beach near the Emerald Grove.

• Spiderstep Boots: The boots are located in the Whispering Depths, which you can reach via the Destroyed Village. You receive them as loot from the Spider Queen after defeating her.

• Ever-Seeing Eye Necklace: You can find this necklace in the tea house located in the swamp.

• Frayed Drow Hood: The hood, which apparently belonged to a Drow, is located at the western window of the Selûniten outpost in a backpack.

• Sunwalker’s Gift: You can obtain the ring by trading with Blurg. He is located in the Myconid Colony in the north of the Underdark.

• Amulet of the Unworthy: You receive the amulet as loot from a Minotaur in the east of the Underdark.

If these items are too important to you for any reason, you can, of course, feed Gale other items/artifacts.

They are marked with the note “Gale can absorb the magic of this item and destroy it.”

If you stay on the ball and invest the necessary resources in Gale, he can become a quite powerful wizard who supports your team with strong spells and deep conversations. If you always have an open ear and dedicate your time to him, he will appreciate it. And that could go beyond a platonic friendship: Baldur’s Gate 3: Gale Romance Guide – This is how you cast a spell on his heart