The Warlock in Dungeons & Dragons represents the “darker” aspects of D&D canon. Moreover, unlike the Sorcerer’s Sorcerous Bloodline and the Cleric’s Divine Domain, Warlocks gain their magic courtesy of a Pact with their Patron. Additionally, these Patrons come in the form of primordial beings, eldritch horrors, or mortal powers so old they could level demigods. However, the Warlock’s “unique” gifts often come with caveats. As such, Warlocks often worry about paying dearly for the powers they gained.
Interestingly, these elements make Warlocks extremely compelling as a character class. Moreover, the technical aspects of Warlock features make them just as versatile as Wizard spellbooks and Sorcerer Metamagic. However, just which Warlock features should players pay attention to? Moreover, which ones should players ignore?
10 Great: Eldritch Blast
If Wizards have the Fireball, Warlocks have their signature Eldritch Blast. Despite the overreliance on this Evocation Cantrip, the Eldritch Blast easily trumps other Cantrips in terms of damage. This Spell deals 1d10 Force damage on hit, and it increases its number of “beams” that can be directed to multiple targets. Essentially, the fact that Eldritch Blast can be a go-to damage option against powerful NPCs makes it a de facto Warlock feature, even if it’s just a Spell.
Moreover, Warlocks should definitely pair Eldritch Blast with the Agonizing Blast Invocation, which enables them to add their Charisma modifier to damage whenever their Eldritch Blast hits. Essentially, a 20 Charisma Warlock can give their Eldritch Blast a whopping +5 bonus to damage.
9 Pass: Eldritch Master
Warlocks can get frustrated when they can’t tap into their favorite Spells due to the lack of arcane power. Mechanically-speaking, Warlocks can drain through their Spell Slots fairly quickly in a single encounter. Thanks to Eldritch Master, a 20th-Level Warlock can spend a minute communing with their Patron to regain all Spell Slots from their Pact Magic feature. They can only use this once per long rest.
Despite the usefulness of this feature, Warlocks already get their Spell Slots just by completing a short rest. In short, Eldritch Master simply makes short resting a free time for Warlocks.
8 Great: Tome Pact
Wizards pride in their spellbook, which they can use to “store” and learn their favorite Spells. Interestingly, Warlocks can take a page off the Wizard’s spellbook with the Pact of the Tome. This Pact allows Patrons to give Warlocks a grimoire called the Book of Shadows. This Tome grants Warlocks access to three Cantrips from any Class, which they can cast at will for as long as the Tome is on their person. These Cantrips also count as Warlock Spells but don’t count towards Cantrips known.
Thanks to the Tome Pact, Warlocks can get far more useful Spells compared to their other counterparts. Essentially, the Tome Pact helps Warlocks bridge the gap between their usual Spellcasting and those of a utility caster.
7 Pass: Chain Pact
Unlike other Warlock Pacts, the Pact of the Chain allows Patrons to bestow a familiar to the Warlock. They do this by getting the Find Familiar Spell as a Ritual and choose a Familiar in the form of a sprite, quasit, pseudodragon, or imp. Moreover, Warlocks can forego an attack to allow their Familiar to use their reaction to make their own attack. Interestingly, the imp easily has the more desirable resistances, abilities, and attacks compared to the other Familiar options.
However, if Warlocks want a Familiar for the purposes of having a scout, perhaps they could leave this task to the stealthy Rogue or the more versatile Ranger.
6 Great: Spell Sniper
Warlock hexes and curses strike fear into the hearts of many. Thanks to the Spell Sniper Feat, Warlocks can hit almost anything with their ranged Spells, provided they’re within their visual range. Essentially, Spell Sniper doubles the range of Spells that need ranged attack rolls. Moreover, these attacks now ignore half cover and even three-quarters cover. As a kicker, Spell Snipers get access to a ranged attack roll Cantrip from a Spellcasting Class (e.g., Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard) that need the original Class’s Spellcasting Modifier.
Unlike other Spellcasting Classes, Warlock Spell Snipers don’t only capitalize on the Charisma Modifier of Bards and Sorcerers. Rather, they can take full advantage of their ranged Spells. They won’t need to take up the Eldritch Spear Invocation, which only extends the range of their Eldritch Blast.
5 Pass: The Undying
People consider the Warlock Patron as the entity possibly more frightening than the Warlock itself. Of all Patron variants, the Undying is also perhaps the more unique of the bunch. Instead of being a primordial entity, the Undying takes the form of a being that had gotten access to a means of being undying. In turn, the Patron’s Warlocks get almost the same perk.
Unfortunately, while the Undying wants to add survivability to the Warlock’s arsenal, they don’t work as efficiently as other Patrons or Subclasses. Their Expanded Spell List and other Features also work better in certain situations, and not as an all-around feature.
4 Great: War Caster
Not all Spellcasters can concentrate on Spells while in combat. Thanks to the War Caster Feat, Spellcasters now have enough training to skillfully weave Spells while navigating complex battlefields. Mechanically-speaking, War Casters get advantage on Constitution Saving Throws when they take damage that forces them to perform Concentration Checks. Moreover, they can perform somatic or gesture components of Spells even when both hands are full. Lastly, Opportunity Attacks that War Casters make can now take the form of a 1-Action Spell that targets that creature.
In turn, Hexblades can take full advantage of their melee-reliant skillset despite casting Warlock Spells. Thanks to War Caster, Hexblades can now take the brunt of combat damage without breaking Concentration of their more powerful Spells.
3 Pass: Magic Initiate
The gifts Warlocks receive from their Patron might not be enough to serve their goals, which may explain why some Warlocks try to find powerful artifacts or dabble into other arcane arts to gather useful Spells. Interestingly, Magic Initiate becomes a tempting Feat, especially for expanding Spell lists. Essentially, Magic Initiate gives players a chance to get two Cantrips and one 1st-Level Spell from the Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard lists and use their Spellcasting Modifier.
At first glance, Warlocks can capitalize on the Charisma Modifiers of Bard and Sorcerer Spells, right? Thing is, Magic Initiate is a poor Feat choice for the reason of wanting more Spells. In fact, Warlocks might get a more effective variant of Magic Initiate with the Tome Pact. In turn, Warlocks should only consider Magic Initiate if they need the Cleric’s healing Spells – but even then, a low Wisdom Modifier might not make them as useful.
2 Great: Ability Score Improvement
Warlocks twist their charm and wit into twisting eldritch forces into their favor. In turn, they rely heavily on their Charisma to cast the most powerful Spells in their repertoire. Mechanically-speaking, Warlocks also rely on Dexterity and a bit of Wisdom for their Saves against harsh melee and Spell attacks. Meanwhile, Constitution never fails Warlocks with their HP boosts. Thankfully, Warlocks get decent amounts of Ability Score Improvement (ASI) opportunities as they level up.
Like other Classes, Warlocks get five opportunities to get ASIs, which can become extremely plentiful at the right levels. Instead of relying on Feats, Warlocks might want to get 20 Charisma as soon as possible to capitalize on the Modifiers for their Spells.
1 Pass: Dual Wielder
Warlocks know that the Hexblade can be one of the most efficient subclasses for Spellcasters, thanks in part to their melee damage potential. In turn, Warlock Hexblades might become tempted to go dual-wield for this particular build. Thankfully, the Dual Wielder Feat immediately gives +1 AC bonus for wielding two weapons.
However, players need to consider the caveats of such a build as well. For instance, while Hexblades can now apply Hex Warrior (use Charisma for attacks) to two weapons, the Warlock still needs Two-Weapon Fighting Style to apply Charisma bonus to their Bonus Action off-hand attack. Moreover, while Hexblade’s Curse and Hex adds great bonuses to said attack, Warlocks might make better use of their Bonus Actions instead of just attacking.
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