Best Illithid Powers For Hexblade Warlocks In Baldur's Gate…

In Baldur's Gate 3, those infected with Mind Flayer Tadpoles, such as your Tav and Origin Companions, have the ability to unlock and utilize Illithid Powers. These can be anything from combat actions to passive buffs, reactions, and even toggleable bonuses. While players have the freedom to unlock their choice of Illithid Powers through a skill tree-like brain system, depending on the Class and Subclass that you have chosen, some options tend to synergize better with others.

As you progress through the story of Baldur's Gate 3, ensuring that your build is operating as efficiently as possible becomes increasingly important. Builds that synergize well with Spell selection, weapon choice, armors, and accessory selection, along with other actions, reactions, and Illithid Powers, perform the most reliably to make your experience as enjoyable and fun as possible. When it comes to Hexblade Warlocks, if you're seeking the best Illithid Power selections, all the information you'll need has been outlined in the guide below.

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By Grace Black

Best Illithid Powers For Hexblade Warlocks in Baldur's Gate 3

Illithid Power	Type	Description	Requirements
Displace	Passive	Creatures suffering Falling damage because of your actions take an additional +1d8 Psychic damage.	Force Tunnel

Warlocks are known for using Eldritch Blast as their bread and butter—even Hexblades, who tend to use their weapon over Spells more often to strike. With Repelling Blast and Agonizing Blast, your Eldritch Blasts not only hit harder but can be used to push targets off ledges or high ground and deal Fall damage. With Displace, you can ensure that your Eldritch Blast gains +1d8 Psychic in these situations.

Illithid Power	Type	Description	Requirements
Psionic Backlash	Reaction	When an enemy within 30ft casts a Spell, you can use your Reaction to inflict 1d8 Psychic damage.	Concentrated Blast

Hexblades tend to dance a bit closer into melee range than other Warlocks, due to being able to inflict very solid damage with their weapon and even make use of Cantrips such as Booming Blade. Hexblades gain Accursed Spectre at level 6 and may gain access to Hellish Rebuke depending on their class or Spell selection. However, Accursed Spectre can only be triggered under certain circumstances, and Hellish Rebuke eats a Spell Slot when you react. Instead, you can get a very similar value from Psionic Backlash, as it won't consume your limited Spell Slots.

Illithid Power	Type	Description	Requirements
Favorable Beginnings	Passive	The first Attack Roll or Ability Check you make against any target gains a bonus equal to your Proficiency bonus.	None

The Hexblade can deal surprising amounts of damage on successful hits, with both weapon attacks and multiple Eldritch Blast beams. When it comes to tough foes and boss battles, ensuring you manage to secure a hit on every turn can be the difference between survival and failure, and Favorable Beginnings helps assist this by setting you up with a strong first turn.

Illithid Power	Type	Description	Requirements
Luck of the Far Realms	Passive	When you make a successful Attack Roll against a foe, you can change that into a critical hit once per Long Rest.	Favorable Beginnings

As stated with Favorable Beginnings, ensuring you have a strong early combat game sets you up for success in some of the toughest battles. Securing a crit early on is one of the best possible outcomes, and in some scenarios, can even result in one-shotting a targeted foe before they have a chance to get off powerful attacks of their own. The great thing about Luck of the Far Realms is that if you have enough Tadpoles available, you can even equip this Illithid Power on every member of your party that does huge damage on each attack, as stacking multiple crits on the same turn can seriously nerf even some boss fights.

Illithid Power	Type	Description	Requirements
Psionic Overload	Action	Once per Short Rest, your Attacks deal an extra 1d4 Psychic damage, but you take 1d4 Psychic damage every turn.	None

With the right build, a Hexblade can very well be your primary melee DPS. Thanks to their unique properties, which allow you to use CHA rather than STR or DEX for your weapon rolls, this enables some flexibility in the rest of your build. When taking a frontline DPS approach, Psionic Overload can make a Hexblade into a lethal fighter as long as you have another character to keep them healed and healthy throughout each turn.

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OpenCritic Reviews: Top Critic Avg: 96 /100 Critics Rec: 97%

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Released: August 3, 2023
ESRB: M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s): Larian Studios
Publisher(s): Larian Studios
Engine: Divinity 4.0
Multiplayer: Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
Cross-Platform Play: Full cross-platform play.