You move just like the wind. For the duration, your movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks. additionally, the first time you create a weapon attack on your turn before the spell ends, you create the attack roll with a plus, and your speed increases by 30 feet until the top of that turn.
Zephyr strike was a transmutation spell utilized by rangers that conferred the caster with a quick burst of speed and attack accuracy.
Zephyr Strike 5E
- Casting Time: 1 bonus action
- Range: Self
- Components: V
- Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
- Scales: No
- Casters: Ranger
Upon casting this particularly swift spell, the caster could consider one subsequent attack performed within 1 minute. That attack was granted a magically enhanced accuracy and therefore the caster gained a sudden burst of speed, moving just like the wind for a couple of seconds.
In short, while you’ve got spell slots, you’ll cast a spell as a bonus action that provides you a plus on your attack for sneak attack damage and therefore the same benefits as a disengage cunning action.
The downside to the present spell is that it’s a ranger spell. To utilize the spell, you’ll get to multiclass with the ranger class. It takes two levels of ranger to urge access to ranger spells and a couple of spell slots. The question is where does one stop the multiclass. Another level of ranger gives you a further spell slot and a ranger archetype with their benefits. The 4th level of ranger gives you the ASI you loose through multi-classing. A 2nd option is to require 2 levels of the ranger and a couple of levels of warlock. Taking 2 levels of warlock provides 2 spell slots that are regained during a brief rest. Ranger spell slots are regained during an extended rest.
You play a ranger and use Zephyr Strike exclusively as a get out of jail free card. the very fact that Hex and Hunter’s Mark remain for multiple turns probably means they’re going to deal more damage. In choosing between those two, you’d consider what percentage spell slots you’ve got left and therefore the cost of using one or the opposite. Warlock has some really neat spells (Armor of Agathys and Hellish Rebuke being two of my favorites) but at an equivalent time, you’d keep a Ranger slot free for Zephyr Strike. Also, if you’re fighting a grappling or stealthy opponent, Hex goes to be huge to scale back their skill checks (it also screws with concentration rolls if you’re fighting a caster that will not go down during a few attacks)
ATs just use wizard spell list and ZS isn’t a wizard spell. PS just uses the warlock list and ZS isn’t a warlock spell. Bard subclasses aren’t getting bonus spells, but all bards get magical secrets. For hexblade, I assume they only figured Wrathful smite fit better.
One thing I’ve never had satisfactorily explained is whether or not the speed bonus takes effect before or after the attack? My group says you simply catch on after attacking, so say if you were 60 feet an enemy and wanted to use ZS to shut the space, you could not. My understanding was the attack is that the last a part of the spell and therefore the magic wears off afterward, therefore the speed boost would need to precede the attack, as long as you continue to make an attack thereon turn.