Wizards of the Coast uses the Unearthed Arcana playtest series to test reactions to proposed new content for Dungeons & Dragons. Some of these ideas never make it into a book, and some are published with only slight tweaks. But the backlash to the proposed new version of the Warlock subclass Hexblade released in May proved so negative that the designers of D&D have taken another crack at it.
Spellcasters who gain magical abilities from making a pact with a powerful entity, Warlocks in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition typically stand in the back of the fight and lob eldritch blasts and hexes at enemies. The 2017 book Xanathar’s Guide to Everything changed that up with the Hexblade subclass, giving Warlocks who cut a deal with a mysterious force from the Shadowfell a magic blade they could summon and use to fight in melee while wearing heavier armor.
The subclass – which rolled out to Baldur’s Gate 3 in May’s final Patch 8 – quickly became one of the most popular options for Warlocks because of how powerful it is. The original version of the Pact of the Blade feature, available to all Warlocks, which let them take an action to conjure a magical weapon, was thematically cool but not especially effective because the weapon still requires either Strength or Dexterity to attack, making the character reliant on multiple high ability scores besides Charisma. Instead, at first level, Hexblades gained the ability to use their Charisma to attack and deal damage with a martial melee weapon, making them just as effective in close quarters as they are at a distance.
Hexblade wasn’t printed in the 2024 version of the Player’s Handbook, which instead added the Celestial patron from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything to the three patrons in the original book. D&D’s designers instead made the melee build more viable for any Warlock by giving Pact of the Blade a huge upgrade. It now allows Warlocks to conjure their weapon as a bonus action, gives them the power to deal three different types of damage, and – most importantly – use their Charisma to attack and deal damage. The Eldritch Mind invocation also mitigates one of the biggest problems Warlocks have in melee combat by giving them advantage on the saves needed to keep concentrating on their ongoing spells if they take damage from an attack.
However, this change meant that the Hexblade was now largely irrelevant as a subclass, even for players who got permission from their DMs to mix Xanathar’s Guide to Everything with the new 2024 rules. D&D took its first crack at updating Hexblade for the 2024 ruleset in May’s Horror Subclasses Unearthed Arcana, changing the flavor by having Warlocks actually make their deal with a sentient magic weapon. This is honestly a much better idea than the vague concept of something from the Shadowfell, instead drawing on the long history of cursed weapons in D&D and fantasy literature. But the mechanics made the blade just a magical manifestation of a hex rather than something you wield in combat, removing the very thing that most players enjoyed about the class.
The version released in June’s Arcane Subclasses Unearthed Arcana is focused more on enabling melee combat. Hungering Hex allows a Warlock to heal when the target they’ve cursed drops to 0 Hit Points, while Unyielding Will gives them the ability to succeed on a failed concentration check once per day. It also damages creatures in melee when you succeed on a concentration check. The level 6 ability Harrowing Hex is a great addition to the subclass, emphasizing their ability to switch fighting styles by providing a Bonus Action attack with a weapon on a turn when the Warlock casts a non-cantrip spell.
Unfortunately, neither of the versions of the subclass gives Hexblades the medium armor proficiency they originally had. The Accursed Shield ability meant to bolster a Hexblade’s defenses isn’t good enough since it requires not wearing armor and staying close to the target of their hex. It’s meant for builds taking the Armor of Shadows invocation and casting Mage Armor, but Warlocks who want to be in melee would be better off just wearing light armor and using their invocations for Pact of the Blade and Eldritch Mind.
Arguably, the Hexblade was overpowered in its original ruleset, with weak flavor and a weird level 6 specter summoning ability that was confusing and likely to upset any Paladins in the party. It makes sense that the subclass would get a significant overhaul for the new ruleset. It’s good to see that the developers are listening to feedback, and hopefully, by the time Hexblade makes it into print, it will be something that is fun to play without necessarily dominating the class.
