How to Play a HexArcher: Ranger, Warlock, Fighter Multiclass for D&D 5e

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Introducing the HexArcher

A master of menacing archery with an arcane twist. By combining 10 levels of Hexblade Warlock, 7 of Arcane Archer Fighter, and 3 of Gloom Stalker Ranger, you’ll create a versatile bowman who cripples his foes in unexpected ways, day or night.

You’ve lived in the dark, studied with the Drow, and learned how to weave their dark magic into your arrows. Now you call upon a patron to grant you sinister power. All you need is your bow and a target worthy of your attention.

In this build, your character will deal an average of 198 damage to a target with six weapon attacks in the first turn, 79 to another target and banish it in the second turn, and another 27 to the first cursed target in the second turn.

Here’s the Build Breakdown:

Race: Variant Human

• Increase Charisma stat and another, possibly Wisdom or Dexterity.
• Skill Gained: Your choice. You will gain Arcana with Gloom Stalker.
• Feat Gained: Sharpshooter.

Ranger Gloom Stalker: 3 Levels

Start your build in Ranger to gain 10 initial hit points at level one. Focus your stats on Charisma, which you will use for weapon attacks in lieu of Dexterity or Strength (Hexblade Level 1: Hex Warrior ability). Remember, though, that you will need Strength or Dexterity 13, Charisma 13, and Wisdom 13 to multiclass into Warlock and Fighter.

• Fighting Style: Archery. +2 to attack rolls and damage with ranged weapons.
• Spells: 3 spells known with 3 first-level spell slots. Focus on buffs, wards, and utility.

Gloom Stalker Abilities (Xanathar’s Guide to Everything):

Dread Ambusher (level 3):

• Give yourself a bonus to initiative equal to your Wisdom modifier.
• At the start of your first turn of each combat, your walking speed increases by 10 feet until the end of your turn.
• If you take the Attack action on that turn, make an additional weapon attack as part of that action. Deal an extra 1d8 damage on a hit. (This builds upon Extra Attack!)

Note: According to RAW, a player who takes the Attack action on his first turn can take an additional weapon attack on that action. This is not limited to “once per first turn” or “once per short rest,” so we argue that, should a player Action Surge on his first turn and again take the Attack action, that he can use the Dread Ambusher ability a second time. Stack that with Extra Attack, and you’re making six attacks on your first turn. Jeremy Crawford has also confirmed this ruling.

Umbral Sight (level 3):

• Darkvision range 60 feet or an additional 30 feet if already have Darkvision.
• While in darkness, you are invisible to any creature that relies on dark vision to see you.

Hexblade Warlock: 10 Levels

Hexblade Patron

Extra Smite Spells from Hexblade Patron:

• Wrathful Smite (Bonus action, 1st level, extra 1d6 damage, WST or creature becomes frightened. Concentration.)
• Branding Smite (Bonus action 2nd level extra 2d6 damage and makes invisible targets visible. Concentration.)
• Banishing Smite (Bonus action, 5th level, extra 5d10 force damage. Banish creature under 50 hit points for one minute. Concentration.)

See which other Warlock spells and invocations complement your Hexblade in our Warlock Spells and Invocations In-Depth Analysis.

Hexblade Curse (level 1):

• As a bonus action, curse someone for one minute.
• Deal an additional +5 damage and crit on a 19 or a 20.
• If the target dies, regain hit points equal to your Warlock level + your Charisma modifier.

Hex Warrior (level 1):

• Use your Charisma modifier to attack with a weapon you are proficient with that lacks the two-handed property instead of Strength or Dexterity for attack and damage rolls.
• With Pact of the Blade, this feature applies to your pact weapon, regardless of weapon type. This comes at level 3 Warlock.

Note: Take the Improved Pact Weapon invocation (Xanathar’s Guide to Everything) in order to use your longbow as your Pact weapon, giving you the Charisma bonus to attack rolls and damage.

Accursed Specter (level 6):

• Curse the soul of a person you’ve slain and bind them in your servitude.
• Raise this soul as a specter, giving it temporary hit points equal to half your Warlock level. It has its own initiative in turns and obeys verbal commands and bonus to attack rolls equal to your Charisma modifier.
• The specter vanishes after the end of your long rest.

Armor of Hexes (level 10):

• If a target you cursed with Hexblade’s Curse hits you with an attack, roll a d6. On a 4 or higher, the attack misses you.

Pact of the Blade (level 3):

• You will be able to use a longbow as your pact weapon with Improved Pact Weapon or Superior Pact Weapon Invocations.

Choose 5 Invocations. We recommend:

• Eldritch Smite (Prerequisite: 5th level, Pact of the Blade)
  • Once per turn when you hit a creature with your pact weapon, you can expend a warlock spell slot to deal an extra 1d8 force damage to the target, plus another 1d8 per level of the spell slot, and you can knock the target prone if it is Huge or smaller.
• Improved Pact Weapon (Xanathar’s. Prerequisite: Pact of the Blade feature)
  • You can use any weapon you summon with your Pact of the Blade feature as a spellcasting focus for your warlock spells.
  • In addition, the weapon gains a +1 bonus to its attack and damage rolls, unless it is a magic weapon that already has a bonus to those rolls.
  • Finally, the weapon you conjure can be a shortbow, longbow, light crossbow, or heavy crossbow.
• Superior Pact Weapon (UA, Prerequisite: 9th level, Pact of the Blade feature)
  • You can use any weapon you summon with your Pact of the Blade feature as a spell casting focus for your Warlock spells.
  • In addition, the weapon counts as a magic weapon with a +2 bonus to its attack and damage rolls, unless it is already a magic weapon that you transformed into your pact weapon.

Arcane Archer Fighter: 7 Levels

Fighting Style: Close Quarters Shooter (UA).

• When making a ranged attack while you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature, you do not have disadvantage on the attack roll.
• Your ranged attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover against targets within 30 feet of you.
• You have a +1 bonus to attack rolls on ranged attacks.

Basic Fighter Abilities:

• Second Wind (level 1): Regain 1d10 + Fighter Level hit points once per short/long rest.
• Action Surge (level 2): Take an additional action once per short/long rest.
• Extra Attack (level 5): Make an extra weapon attack when you take the Attack action.

Arcane Archer Abilities (Xanathar’s Guide to Everything):

Arcane Archer Lore (level 3):

• Gain proficiencies in Arcana.
• Learn Prestidigitation or Druidcraft cantrip.

Arcane Shot (level 3):

• Unleash magical effects with your arrows. Once per turn, you fire a magical arrow with the Attack action and can apply an Arcane Shot option (listed below).
• After the arrow hits, you can decide to use the Arcane shot.
• At 3rd level, you know two options, and at 7th level, you will know three options.
• You have two uses of Arcane Shot until you finish a short or long rest.

Arcane Shot Options:

• Beguiling Arrow: Extra 2d6 psychic damage, charmed by your ally within 30 feet.
• Bursting Arrow: All creatures within 10 feet take 2d6 force damage.
• Shadow Arrow: Extra 2d6 damage. On a failed Wis ST, target’s vision becomes 5 feet.
• Enfeebling Arrow: Extra 2d6 necrotic damage. On a failed Con ST, target’s weapon damage is halved until your next turn.
• Grasping Arrow: Extra 2d6 poison damage. Wrapped by brambles. Speed reduced to 10 feet. Plus deal 2d6 damage each turn target moves. Other creatures can make a Strength ST to remove the brambles.
• Piercing Arrow: Hits multiple targets in a line of 30 feet, no attack roll. On a failed Dex ST, deal damage and an extra 1d6 to all targets. If pass, they take half damage.
• Seeking Arrow: If target has been seen in the last minute, she makes a Dex ST. On a fail, your arrow hits with an extra 1d6 damage, and you now know the target’s location. If pass, she takes half damage, and his location is not known.

Magic Arrow (level 7):

• When you fire a nonmagical arrow, turn it magical for overcoming resistance/immunity to non-magical attacks.
• The magical arrow fades after it is shot.

Curving Shot (level 7):

• When you make an attack roll with a magical arrow and miss, you can use a bonus action to redirect the arrow to another target within 60 feet. Reroll the attack roll.

Damage Output at Level 20

Assume Charisma is maxed out to 20 and UA is accepted by DM.

Here are a few things you’ll accomplish in your first two turns:

Deal an average of 198 damage to a target you’ll have cursed with six attacks in the first turn, deal 79 damage and banish a second target in the second turn and another 27 damage to your cursed target, and shrapnel hit up to 24 additional targets who are near your cursed target.

Why focus on two targets?

The following example shows two turns with attacks that have conflicting abilities:

• Hexblade Curse lasts one minute, gives you an additional bonus to damage against one target, and can be cast as a bonus action.
• Banishing Smite lasts one minute, deals heavy damage, and is cast as a bonus action, but you also banish your target to another dimension.

If you banish the target you curse, you will be wasting your Hexblade Curse. Thus, we split the example into two rounds, where Hexblade Curse is set in the first turn and Banishing Smite in the second turn against different targets.

First Turn:

Bonus Action: Hexblade Curse

Attack 1: Choose a target to curse. The majority of this turn, you will attack that target.

• Longbow (magical): 1d8
• Charisma Modifier: +5
• Superior Pact Weapon (UA): +2
• Hexblade Curse: +6
• Sharpshooter: +10
• Bursting Arrow: 2d6 + up to 12 x 2d6 (for each creature within 10 feet of target, so up to 12 additional creatures)
• Eldritch Smite: 5d8

Attack 2 (Extra Attack):

• Longbow (magical): 1d8
• Charisma Modifier: +5
• Superior Pact Weapon (UA): +2
• Hexblade Curse: +6
• Sharpshooter: +10

Attack 3 (with Dread Ambusher):

• Dread Ambusher: 1d8
• Longbow (magical): 1d8
• Charisma Modifier: +5
• Superior Pact Weapon (UA): +2
• Hexblade Curse: +6
• Sharpshooter: +10

Attack 4 (Action Surge):

• Longbow (magical): 1d8
• Charisma Modifier: +5
• Superior Pact Weapon (UA): +2
• Hexblade Curse: +6
• Sharpshooter: +10

Attack 5 (Extra Attack in Action Surge):

• Longbow (magical): 1d8
• Charisma Modifier: +5
• Superior Pact Weapon (UA): +2
• Hexblade Curse: +6
• Sharpshooter: +10

Attack 6 (Dread Ambusher in Action Surge):

• Dread Ambusher: 1d8
• Longbow (magical): 1d8
• Charisma Modifier: +5
• Superior Pact Weapon (UA): +2
• Hexblade Curse: +6
• Sharpshooter: +10

Damage to Cursed Target: 13d8 + 2d6 + 138
Damage to Surrounding Creatures: Up to 12 x 2d6

Average to Cursed Target: 59 + 7 + 138 = 204
Average to Surrounding Creatures: Up to 12 * 7

Second Turn:

Bonus Action: Cast Banishing Smite (concentration 1 minute)

Attack 1: Against a target you did not curse, but you will banish for a minute (unless it’s from another plane or dies).

• Banishing Smite: 5d10
• Longbow (magical): 1d8
• Charisma Modifier: +5
• Superior Pact Weapon (UA): +2
• Sharpshooter: +10
• Bursting Arrow: 2d6 + up to 12 x 2d6 (for each creature within 10 feet of target, so up to 12 additional creatures)
• Eldritch Smite: 5d8

Attack 2: Against the target you cursed in turn 1

• Longbow (magical): 1d8
• Charisma Modifier: +5
• Superior Pact Weapon (UA): +2
• Sharpshooter: +10
• Hexblade Curse: +6

Damage to Banished Target: 5d10 + 6d8 + 2d6 + 17
Damage to Cursed Target: 1d8 + 23
Damage to Surrounding Creatures: Up to 12 x 2d6

Average to Banished Target: 28 + 27 + 7 + 17 = 79
Average to Cursed Target: 5 + 23 = 28
Average to Surrounding Creatures: Up to 12 * 7

Things to Note:

Spells

Ranger spells are up to you. Pay attention to Warlock spells available in case the effects overlap. Many Warlock spells are cast as a bonus action and require concentration. Try focusing on buffs, wards, or utility spells. However, note you can use your level 5 Warlock spell slots to cast your level 1 Ranger spells at a higher level.

Prone

An attack roll against a prone creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature. Otherwise, the attack roll has disadvantage. With Close Quarter Shooting, you no longer have disadvantage on ranged attacks that are 5’ from a target. Thus, if the target is prone, and you are 5’ away, you have advantage with your longbow. Don’t be afraid to get into the thick of things!

Which Classes to Choose First?

Start with the Ranger class for level 1 for maximum hit points and equipment. It would be beneficial to take a Warlock level for level 2 to gain the Hexblade Warrior ability, which uses Charisma instead of Strength or Dexterity for attack rolls and damage. This way, you’re maximizing your high Charisma. You may have to use a melee weapon for the next few levels until you reach Level 5 Warlock, but you will still use Charisma to attack. Bonus: roleplay how you find your arcane focus and patron! This allows for great character development early in the game.

Next, you want to get to Warlock Level 5 as soon as possible to make your longbow your Pact weapon. This will give you many benefits.

Then start building to level 3 Ranger, level 7 Fighter, and level 10 Warlock. If you find being an Archer difficult due to close combat, take a level in Fighter early to get the Close Quarters Shooter Fighting Style, where range does not impose disadvantage.

Feats to Take

You don’t want to waste those six attacks on your first turn. Dealing 200 damage will easily cripple a big bad guy. So we recommend you take the Lucky feat to give you three extra chances to land your blows.

Other Ability Score Improvements should be used to get Charisma up to 20, Wisdom to at least 13, and Strength or Dexterity to 13 in order to multiclass.

Additional Build Options:

When a Warlock reaches level 14 with the Hexblade patron, he gains the ability to transfer his Hexblade’s Curse to another creature when his target dies. In longer battles, this is an incredible feature, as you will be able to apply 5 damage to every attack for a minute, provided you attack your cursed target.

To reach level 14 Warlock, start your build with at least 3 levels of Fighter, take only 5 levels in Fighter, and take 15 levels in Warlock. This will also give you the Mystic Arcanum Warlock feature, where you can cast a 7th level Warlock spell without expending a spell slot once per long rest.

However, you will lose the Dread Ambusher ability and two weapon attacks on your first turn (provided you Action Surge that turn).

Because Ranger and Warlock don’t synergize very well (see our Multiclass Combinations Guide for explanation), this alternative build may be better altogether through a building campaign.

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Alternative Build

In the comments, Flutes Loot reader Chad A. Amidon lays out a powerful alternative build, suggesting 1 level of Rogue, 3 of Ranger, 5 of Warlock, and 11 of Fighter to get a second Extra Attack. Use the Crossbow Expert feat and maxed out Dexterity.

Please check out his comment below for the full explanation and build.

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Need help multiclassing? See our Ultimate How To Multiclass Guide.

Interested in other multiclassing combinations? See what works in this Multiclass Combinations Article.

Need more ideas? See these other multiclass builds:
Aasimar Paladin/Warlock/Rogue
Monkey Fist: Druid/Monk
Assassin of the Grave: Rogue/Cleric
Master Assassin: Rogue/Fighter
Arcane Assassin Archer: Rogue/Fighter
Ranger Paladin Multiclass Analysis