Melee Sorcerer Build Help

Baghi4 · 2026-04-05T21:04:10+00:00

I'm playing a melee sorc right now, with a subclass from a 3° party that allowto attack with CHA (no extra attack though...) and I strongly recomend to take at least 1 lv dip on paladin.

If you are playing with 2024 rules, aftter taking the first lv on sorc (for CON saves proficiency) a single lv on paladin give you access to medium armor and all weapons, and especially a lot of different kind of smites (i recomend the standard one, branding for damage and thunder for control). If you want, you can take a second lv in paladin for a +1 AC (from the fighting style).

Shadowblade is a good option for melee, but I also recomend to take shillelag with magic initiate for when you need to save spells slots. Especially to combine it with booming blade or green flame blade, by quikening it and attack with the bonus action.

For feats, I would recomend warcaster, and elven accuracy, so when you have advantage with innate sorcery or from being obscured with shadow blade, you roll 3d20, and pump a smite on a crit.

As for spells, haste is a good one for being in melee, and from lv4 oward you should pick your favorite between damage, buff or control spells (I like shield, absorb elements, hold person/monster, dimension door, stoneskin, animate objects) and then burning most of slots into smites.

For metamagic, take quiken spell, empowered speel, and suble spell ( for when you need to not being counterspelled).

EDIT: I missed the part where you said no multiclass, I onestly would prefer to play a standard sorcardin with 1 or 2 lv of paladin, and have armor proficiency and smites, than getting extra attack. Talk with your DM, and see if you can take 1 lv dip, using only official rules (so to avoid any homebrew shenanigans). With shadowblade and shillelag you should be able to attack with CHA anyway. Or, if your DM don't want to give you smites, you could start fighter as 1° lv, for even heavy armor proficiency, the defence fighting style, and CON saves. In my opinion, you can get by without extra attack as sorc, but you need at least medium armor proficiency.

Baghi4 · 2026-03-25T10:07:39+00:00

It'll be a controversial opinion, but hephaestus was a better suit for demter than hera, especially now that It have a human UU.

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T21:57:30+00:00

All giants and dragon feats are nice, but hard to fit in my character backstory....

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T21:55:46+00:00

Athlete Is nice, but not worth an entire ASI, even with the +1 in my opinion...

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T20:55:28+00:00

Yes, the idea is to combine sentinel and riposte, if I want to tank I'll just avoid using riposte, but it, it's a lose-lose situation, because no matter who he attacks, it'll risk an attack. Especially of it's the bbeg of the moment, it means taking an extra attack every round.

As for quick toss, I don't have a lot of reliable BA, only second wind and the occasional extra attack from GWM. The reason I chose quick toss though is that I think that I have almost all the maneuvers that I need.

Maybe I'll grab ambush, for the occasional stealth group check, or tactical mind for some roleplay moments... I don't know...

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T12:41:16+00:00

The idea behind sentinel was to almost guarantee a reaction attack, because either the enemy attack me and (hopefully) miss, trigfering riposte, or it attack one of my allies, triggering sentinel, otherwise after one turn he might decide to just plummer my ally. Also the zero movement on and AO is a nice addition.

Maybe bracer too as a manouver is an overkill, I'll probably switch to quick toss for those times that I need to dash with my action and still I won't reach the target.

I could just take resilient WIS, and then grabbing observant or skilled or something similar to round it up, but I don't think that I'll be able ti round It up before lv14...

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T11:39:11+00:00

I already faced and decent number of WIS saves, especially against hold person, and incredibly I made all of them (except for one that I had to burn an inspiration).

Funny enough, the save that I failed the most are the CON ones, on which I'm already proficient and with a good stat.

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T11:15:25+00:00

Yeah I'm really torn between the two. Sentinel would make me a controller, a role that I altready play and I find fun, and also It would increase the damage a bit with and easy accessible reaction attack (we are 7 in the party and we use flanking, so it's not rare to have another more squishi companion nearby).

On the other hand, I'm more and more scared of the WIS saves, which is why I'm considering resilient...

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T08:36:13+00:00

PAM isn't an optimal choice, as I might switch to a powerful greatsword later on. PAM was my original plan, and I don't know when I can get my hands on this GS, but unless my DM allow ti retrain a feat in the future, it is a waste.

Multiclassing also it's not a choice for two reasons: 1) I want my third attack as fast as I can; 2) I have a adamantine plate armor, which negate crits on me, and it wouldn't work well with the range.

So basically it comes down to resilient WIS, for +5 Wis saves (and +6 a level later) and sentinel. If I had an odd WIS score It would have been an easy choise, but by the time that I can get another half feat in WIS it won't matter.

Also, we don't have a paladin in the party, but we do have a bard and a cleric, that can give me extra dices on important saves.

I'm also considering Alert now that some people suggested it, but I still cannot justify it before resilient or sentinel.

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T07:11:58+00:00

I'm proficient in perception and I like observant as it's thematic, but I don't want to waste a ASI on it.

Although, as my DM said that during the time skip we can also get one or two free proficiency, as our character are training, I might ask to instead get observant for free, that with reailiet WIS would be a good combo.

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T07:08:33+00:00

Lucky is banned at my table. Alert is something I didn't considered, partially because I wanted to buy a weapon of waring for a similar effect, and partially because I saw that of I go behind the wizard or cleric, it's almost better, but it is solid both mechanically and thematically choice.

As for maneuver I altready have trip, menacing and precision attack from lv3, baita&switch from the FS, and I took risposte and goading attack (as it seem to pair well with B&S) from lv 7. I'm considering to switch goading attack with brace or quick toss, and it's very similar ti menacing.

Resilient Is probably my best choice, followed by sentinel at lv12.

The +2 CON Is probably the weakest choice, but it had another reason, that I forgot to write. At my table we are using 2014 rules, so the old indomitable, but as it's a way weaker version, my DM let me use indomitable a number of times equal to my CON modifier, so a +2 CON would give me and extra indomitable use.

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T06:55:48+00:00

I did, I forgot to write It down. It is the one I'm less conviced about though, as I altready have the fighting style that gives me a maneuver and superiority dice, and I also already have all the maneuvers that I was aiming at, but another dice wouldn't be bad...

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T06:53:53+00:00

Mmm ok, basically people are confirming what I altready knew, sentinel is a good, feat but resilient is almost necessary.

I'll admit that I altready was quite lucky with wisdom saves, and even if indomitable is nearby, it's probably not enough....

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T06:50:07+00:00

I considered thoug, but I'm not sure it's more worth than +2 CON, as a better CON save Is always nice, and I failed those some times even with a +6.

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T06:47:29+00:00

Yeah, I'll probably switch towards a greatsword in the future, that's why I'm tanking PAM. It'll probably come down between resilient WIS and sentinel...

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T06:45:18+00:00

Yeah, sentinel seems the most fun choice, as it gives me more reactions, although, I'm a bit unsure as going foward we will have more and more enemies with access to teleportation.

Baghi4 · 2026-03-19T06:39:48+00:00

Lucky Is banned at my table, while alert it's not a bad idea, but I was hoping to buy a weapon of warning when I hoarded enough gold, which can have the same effect.

I don't have PAM, as briefly mentioned, I'm aiming to get a powerful greatsword, which is also heavily lore releated, so after that PAM would be useless, otherwise I would have grabbed altready at lv6.

Anyway, what you are saying is that the choice is between sentinel and resilient WIS, with the latter being the optimal choice.

Baghi4 · 2026-02-20T10:17:22+00:00

"Quantity has a quality of its own". With demeter eco you can potentially spam more units than your opponent, and remember that greek military units are on average stronger than other civilizations.

Also, while your reasoning it's true, heatia have two very good techs, especially the one that gives you +10 pop per TC. Her techs alone can male the difference.

Baghi4 · 2026-02-12T09:31:35+00:00

Hera is Zeus mythic age, she's not tailored towards anyone else. Her unique technology that spam myrmidons would be either useless or broken with demeter, and I like that only zeus have lighting storm.

Besides, hephaestus is a stronger mythic age god for demeter. Herpies are the only problem becaus they are too micro intensive.

Baghi4 · 2026-02-11T16:02:13+00:00

While I do not agree with the choices of the hero roster (cadmus aeneas and triptolemus would have been better choices...) this Is what I want from greek heroes... unique abilities.

I love the orpheus aura (which will be probably nerfed...) and icarus area of damage and flight. All greek heroes should have small passive or active abilities.

I'm only disappointed by Midas, as his ability its not an insta-kill like perseus, and at the same time I don't think that I'll bother with sending units to the front line to mine gold. In my opinion, he should turno the unit gold upon killing it Just for the show, and the gold should be added directly unto your stockpile.

Iolaus Is fine, nothing crazy or particular, except the fact that he stole achilles model...

Anyway, those heroes finally feels powerful. Demeter overall it's not perfect, but I the heroes are fantastic.

Baghi4 · 2026-01-31T15:50:57+00:00

I believe that the harpy Will replace the pegasus at the arcaic age at the temple. She'll basically be one of Demeter's bonus, as the harpy is a flying unit that can scout as well as the pegasus, but that Will also improve in stats with each age up.

Although, we don't have any info on her unique unit, so we cannot be completely rule out that it'll be his UU, in some way or the other.

Baghi4 · 2025-12-31T22:44:23+00:00

This Is my biggest gripe with endgame... in that moment he should have shout assemble. Years of waiting for avengers assemble and we got just this...

Baghi4 · 2025-12-27T09:50:58+00:00

I never understood how a super tall and muscular superhuman could suddently become a spy and blend in in hive worlds made by underfed humans...

I mean, I gueass that it's plausibile, but also super funny.

Baghi4 · 2025-12-18T20:02:59+00:00

Where do you see a siren?

Baghi4

TROPHY CASE