BG3 Patch 8: Hexblade Warlock + Paladin = Game-Breaking Combo ~ HaploGamingChef

The Rise of the Hexblade Warlock in Patch 8

In Patch 8 of Baldur’s Gate 3, the Hexblade Warlock has emerged as one of the most dominant classes in the game. Thanks to powerful cantrip access, flexible multiclass potential, and newly available spells, this build is not only strong — it's busted in the best way.

Why This Build Works So Well

The magic starts with how the Hexblade Warlock makes the most of Eldritch Blast and Booming Blade — the two best cantrips in the game. You’re also granted access to Shield, a powerful spell that boosts your AC by +5 for a full turn, adding a much-needed defensive layer.

Core Mechanic: Binding Your Weapon

At level one, you gain the ability to bind a weapon to your character with the Hex Weapon feature. This lets you use your Charisma modifier for attack rolls, which is game-changing. Now, you can pump Charisma to the max and dump Strength or Dexterity as attack stats.

The Power of Hexblade’s Curse

With the Hexblade’s Curse, you can boost your weapon damage by +2 to +4 and gain a 5% increase to critical hit chance. As a bonus action, it’s easy to use and works with every weapon attack — great for output and crit-fishing.

Building the Stats Around Charisma and Dexterity

For ability scores, your best route is to prioritize Charisma and Dexterity, while leaving Strength behind. A solid spread would be:

16 Dexterity (for AC and initiative)
16 Charisma (for attacks, saves, and spellcasting)
14 Constitution (for extra HP)

This gives you excellent survivability and damage output without needing any other attack stat.

What Makes Multiclassing So Powerful

Warlocks typically get only two spell slots. That’s the main limit. But when you multiclass into another casting class like Paladin or Sorcerer, you can access additional level 1+ slots that refresh separately, creating a more sustainable spell economy.

Warlock Level 2: The Devil’s Sight Combo

At level two, you can pick up Devil’s Sight. This lets you see through magical darkness — a perfect synergy with the Darkness spell. While enemies are blinded inside it, you can still see and hit them just fine.

Shadow Blade Adds Massive Damage

Patch 8 introduced Shadow Blade, and it fits this build perfectly. When inside darkness, Shadow Blade deals 3d8 psychic damage and gains advantage on attack rolls — a huge boost to your melee potential.

Pact Boon Choice: Pact of the Blade

You’ll want to select Pact of the Blade as your boon. This is what unlocks an Extra Attack at level 5, which is critical for making the build scale well with both melee and spell damage.

Spell Picks That Matter Early On

Early spells that stand out include:

Hellish Rebuke: Strong reactive damage
Hex: Bonus action damage every turn
Mirror Image: Boosts AC
Hold Person: Locks down humanoids with paralysis

These offer both offense and survivability right from the start.

Using Shadow Blade in the Darkness Strategy

Once you get Darkness and Shadow Blade, you can start using the infamous combo:

Cast Darkness where you plan to fight.
Enter the zone with Devil’s Sight.
Attack with Shadow Blade — all hits have advantage.
Enemies inside can’t see you, but you can hit them freely.

This combo remains one of the best synergies in the game.

Feat Choice: Pumping Charisma

At level 4, take a feat that raises your Charisma to 18 or 20. This increases both your attack rolls and spell effectiveness — and it's the core stat for your damage-dealing and saving throw bonuses.

Hitting Level 5: Extra Attack & Hunger of Hadar

Reaching level 5 gives you Thirsting Blade, letting you swing twice per Attack action. You can also pick Hunger of Hadar as your spell — a great AoE tool that blinds, deals damage, and slows enemies down.

Agonizing Blast: Scaling Up Eldritch Blast

Once you have Agonizing Blast, each beam of Eldritch Blast adds your Charisma modifier to the damage. As your level increases, this becomes one of the best ranged options in your arsenal.

Specter Summon: Cursed but Buggy

While you do get the option to summon a Cursed Specter at higher levels, it can be unreliable in Baldur’s Gate 3 due to some in-game glitches. It’s better to focus on more consistent mechanics unless you're experimenting.

Top Multiclass Options

Three main classes multiclass extremely well with Hexblade Warlock:

Paladin: Smites and shared Charisma scaling
Sorcerer: Flexible metamagic and high Charisma synergy
Monk: Gets three attacks with Martial Arts and can stun

These offer varying playstyles — tanky, spell-heavy, or high-speed DPS.

Why Paladin Multiclass Is the Best Option

Among the options, Paladin stands out. You can use Divine Smite with Warlock spell slots, and the shared Charisma scaling makes stats super efficient. You also get access to heavy armor and better AC.

Divine Smite and Fighting Style Choices

At level 2 Paladin, you unlock Divine Smite. With any melee hit, you can burn a spell slot for radiant damage. You’ll also choose a Fighting Style — go with Defense to get +1 AC.

Spells and Class Features That Matter

Pick up Command as a utility spell — it doesn’t require concentration and has good crowd control potential. Bless is okay, but not essential. You’ll mainly use smites, so your other spell picks don’t need to be top-tier.

Level 3: Vow of Enmity + Free Advantage

Paladins at level 3 get Vow of Enmity, giving you advantage on attack rolls for 1 minute against a single target. Combine this with Shadow Blade in darkness and you’re almost guaranteed to hit every swing.

Boosting Charisma to Max at Level 4 Paladin

At Paladin level 4, take another Ability Score Improvement to bring your Charisma to 20. This maxes out your spellcasting power, improves saving throws (thanks to Aura of Protection), and boosts your weapon attack rolls.

Divine Smite vs. Spells: What to Focus On

You’ll find that using spell slots for Divine Smite is generally more efficient than casting most Paladin spells. Burst damage is king, and smiting after a critical hit turns your regular attack into a massive blow.

How Extra Attack Interacts With Multiclass

At this point, your build has two options depending on your play mode:

In non-Honor Mode, Warlock’s Thirsting Blade gives you two attacks.
In Honor Mode, Paladin’s Extra Attack won’t stack, so consider Pact of the Chain or multiclassing into Sorcerer instead for better synergy.

Utility From Hold Person and Misty Step

You’ll get access to Hold Person and Misty Step through your Paladin levels. These spells offer strong control and mobility, useful in both open combat and narrow dungeon scenarios.

Aura of Protection: Making Everyone Tankier

At Paladin level 6, you unlock Aura of Protection. This gives all nearby allies a bonus to saving throws equal to your Charisma modifier — which, by now, is +5 or +6. It’s one of the best passive buffs in the game.

The Cursed Specter Option Revisited

While you get access to the Cursed Specter again around this time, it remains situational. In practice, it’s inconsistent. If you're optimizing, skip it and focus on reliable features like Counterspell or Fear instead.

Smart Spell Choices: Counterspell or Fear?

Although you can cast Counterspell, it will only use Warlock slots. So, if those are already reserved for Smites or Shadow Blade, consider Fear instead. It doesn’t require a lot of setup and works as an AoE disabler.

Staying Pure Warlock vs. Multiclassing

You could go straight to level 12 as a pure Warlock — and that’s still very viable. At level 10, you unlock Armor of Hexes, which gives a 50% chance to nullify any attack from a cursed target. It’s excellent for defense.

The Best Rings for Warlock + Paladin Builds

Equip Ring of Arcane Synergy to get bonus damage when using Booming Blade. Combined with high Charisma, this adds significant burst potential. The Band of the Mystic Scoundrel also lets you cast an enchantment or illusion as a bonus action after attacking.

Amulet Recommendations for Maximum Impact

Good options for amulets include:

Greater Health Amulet: Adds a solid HP pool
Amulet of Restoration: Gives you bonus healing tools
Ballad’s Amulet: Boosts damage over time with wounds
Spine Shatter Amulet: Applies reverberation effects for combo play

Each serves a purpose depending on your party setup and play style.

Helmets That Boost Spellcasting or Charisma

Two standout headgear choices:

Helm of Arcane Will: Increases your chance to land spells
Birthright: +2 Charisma, which means higher spell save DC, more damage, and better saves

Birthright is generally the best option for this build due to its synergy with your core mechanics.

Cloaks and Armor for Survivability

Cloaks that work well include:

Cloak of Protection: +1 to AC and saving throws
Dark Urge Cloak: Applies unique effects if you’re playing as Dark Urge
Elemental Absorption Cloak: Mitigates elemental spell damage

For armor, go with Armor of Agility. It allows full Dex scaling and easily gets your AC to 26+, especially when combined with rings and gloves.

Gloves That Add Firepower or Defense

Gloves of Dexterity: Boost initiative and AC early on
Gloves of Battle Mage's Power: Grants Arcane Acuity for better spell accuracy
Gloves of Uninhibited Kushigo: Adds fire damage and spell DC

All are great choices, depending on whether you're leaning melee or caster.

Best Footwear for Defense and Initiative

The Evasive Shoes provide +1 AC and are easy to equip. You can also find boots that raise saving throws or movement speed. Any extra defense matters, especially in turn-based fights.

Weapon Options to Pair With Hex Weapon

Good early weapons:

Blade of Oppressed Souls
Valor’s Blade
Knife of the Undermountain King

These scale well with Hexblade’s Charisma-based attacks and offer built-in buffs like bonus spells or unique effects.

Shields and Off-Hands That Work

Pair your weapon with a good shield for max defense. You could also use items like Beonia’s Walking Fortress for added AC and spell resistance. The right setup can get your AC to 29 or higher — perfect for tanking.

Spellcasting Staffs and Power Items

If you want to lean caster-heavy, the Staff of Spell Power lets you recharge Shadow Blade for free. Combine this with Arcane Battery for efficient spell slot use. It’s also a great way to mix smite damage with spell DPS.

Setting Up Before Combat Starts

Before you enter battle:

Use Hex Weapon to bind your weapon
Cast Darkness or prep Vow of Enmity
Activate Aura of Protection for defense

Being proactive can make a huge difference once initiative is rolled.

Crowd Control First, Then Damage

Your opening moves should always control the field:

Drop Hunger of Hadar or Darkness
Use Booming Blade inside the darkness
Follow with Shadow Blade and your free attacks

This lets you deal massive damage while staying nearly untouchable.

Combining Attacks With Bonus Actions

Thanks to the Band of the Mystic Scoundrel, you can mix in enchantment spells like Command or Hold Person right after attacking. This bonus action cast helps you lock down extra targets without giving up your turn.

Why Darkness Keeps You Safe

The Darkness spell isn’t just for hiding — it’s your key to dominating melee combat. Enemies who can’t see you will miss most of their attacks, while your Devil’s Sight lets you land hits with advantage every time.

How Arcane Synergy Pushes Booming Blade

Using Booming Blade with Arcane Synergy boosts your total damage by applying your Charisma modifier to the spell’s damage. Since you’re using it every round, the damage gain stacks up fast.

Hitting With Near-Perfect Accuracy

With this build, you’ll regularly see 95–99% hit chances. That’s thanks to:

High Charisma boosting attack rolls
Advantage from Shadow Blade in darkness
Vow of Enmity giving more advantage

You’ll rarely miss, making every swing count.

Triple Attacks = Total Control

Outside Honor Mode, you can perform three melee attacks per turn:

Main hand attack
Extra Attack from Thirsting Blade
Bonus Action spell (like Command) via your gear

This gives you the kind of attack density normally seen only in Fighter builds.

Using Command as a Finisher

Command: Approach or Command: Drop can disable enemies even if they survive your attacks. These spells don’t require concentration, making them perfect bonus action options when you want to stall a boss or control a flank.

Why Divine Smite Stays Relevant

Even in later stages, Divine Smite stays useful. You can:

Burn higher-level spell slots for major burst damage
Save smites for crits to maximize the damage output
Use them flexibly when Shadow Blade isn’t needed

It’s still your best use of spell slots in a 1v1 fight.

Smart Counterspell Timing

Counterspell is limited to your Warlock slots, so use it wisely. Reserve it for fights with strong casters, or when an enemy is about to land a critical control spell like Hold Person or Disintegrate.

How Enemies React to Darkness

Most AI-controlled enemies will still move toward you — even in Darkness. That means they’ll enter your melee range blindly, setting themselves up to be attacked with Booming Blade and smites as they stumble into your zone.

Battle Opener: Your Ideal Turn

Your perfect opening turn might look like this:

Cast Darkness
Engage an enemy using Booming Blade
Follow up with Shadow Blade main attack
Use bonus action to Command another threat
End turn with multiple enemies controlled or downed

This routine works consistently in most encounters.

Finishing Off Enemies With Precision

If an enemy is still standing after two or three hits, follow up with another Booming Blade. It applies more psychic and thunder damage and triggers if they move, giving you a chance to finish them off passively.

Managing Resources Efficiently

Because you have access to both Warlock and Paladin spell slots, you can manage your resources flexibly:

Use Warlock slots for smites and Shadow Blade
Use Paladin slots for utility spells like Hold Person or Misty Step

This lets you cast freely without feeling starved for slots.

Scaling to Late Game Power

At high levels, you gain:

High AC (up to 29 with gear)
Strong save bonuses (+6 from Aura of Protection)
Three melee attacks per turn
Burst potential from Smites and Shadow Blade
Strong spell options for control and utility

This makes you a late-game monster in both damage and support roles.

Gear Checklist for Max Output

Here’s a short list of top-performing gear for this build:

Weapon: Blade of Oppressed Souls or Knife of the Undermountain King
Armor: Armor of Agility or Adamantine Scale Mail
Helm: Birthright
Amulet: Arcane Synergy or Restoration-based
Ring: Mystic Scoundrel and Arcane Synergy rings
Gloves: Battle Mage’s Power or Dexterity gloves
Boots: Evasive Shoes

This gear boosts your survivability, damage, and control capabilities all in one.

Positioning and Combat Flow

In battle, always take the center of your Darkness zone. This makes sure enemies have to enter melee range blindly. Keep a shield equipped and your aura active — this gives you a strong defensive core while still dishing out heavy damage.

Strategic Use of Aura Effects

Don’t forget about your Aura of Protection and Aura of Courage (if taken). These boost your entire party’s survivability, especially against fear and crowd control effects. Stay close to allies when possible.

Adapt Based on the Encounter

Against low-mobility enemies, use Hunger of Hadar to zone them out. Against high-damage melee enemies, set up Darkness and force them to come to you. Against spellcasters, be ready to Counterspell or burst them down quickly.

Alternative Class Paths to Consider

While this build leans heavily into Paladin, you could swap for:

Sorcerer: More spell slots and Metamagic
Monk: Faster attacks and Stunning Strike
Rogue (Swashbuckler): Sneak Attack and mobility boosts

Each changes how the build feels, so experiment based on your play style.

Final Thoughts: Is This Build Really Overpowered?

Absolutely. Between the control, the damage, the durability, and the action economy, this Hexblade Warlock + Paladin combo is among the strongest builds in Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8. Whether you're new or experienced, it's easy to play and hard to counter.

Conclusion

The Hexblade Warlock and Paladin multiclass build in Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 is one of the strongest combinations currently available. It combines high burst damage, consistent melee attacks, strong crowd control, and top-tier survivability. Whether you're navigating early-game encounters or diving into the late-game boss fights, this build can handle it all with ease. With smart gear choices, Charisma-focused scaling, and clever use of darkness and control spells, you can dominate almost any situation. For players looking for an overpowered, flexible, and fun-to-play build, this is a top-tier option.

FAQs

Q: Why is the Hexblade Warlock so powerful in BG3 Patch 8?
A: The build benefits from top cantrips, powerful bonus action features, and synergy with multiclass options like Paladin and Sorcerer.

Q: Can I use this build in Honor Mode?
A: Yes, but you'll want to adjust your pact choice or consider swapping the multiclass path to Sorcerer for better spellcasting synergy.

Q: Is Darkness still viable with this build?
A: Absolutely. With Devil’s Sight, you can fight effectively inside your own Darkness zone while enemies are blinded.

Q: What's the best feat to take early on?
A: Prioritize increasing Charisma. This improves attacks, spell save DCs, and survivability with Aura of Protection.

Q: What gear boosts this build most effectively?
A: Items like the Birthright helm, Arcane Synergy ring, and Armor of Agility maximize your damage and AC.

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BG3 Patch 8: Hexblade Warlock + Paladin = Game-Breaking Combo