Make a pact to tap into the powers of deities, demigods and eldritch entities, at the small price of your binding service.
Warlocks are spellcasters that have gained their powers through a pact from some powerful being. Of course, pacts are binding and doing so comes fraught with dangers. What if a patron demands you do something you’re unwilling to do or if your association with your patron closes other doors. For a warlock though, these are the risks they take in the pursuit of potentially incredible power (or out of desperation).
For this reason, warlocks can often be the more maligned of the spellcasters in the D&D universe. And while many warlocks do make deals with devils or eldritch beings from the Far Realm, many also tie themselves to less-nefarious entities like celestials and fey creatures (though both of these are perfectly capable of abusing their position over you).
Warlocks are unique among spellcasters. Their spellcasting is different to that of other casters and their modular nature means they can be highly adaptable. Warlocks can of course, be dedicated spellcasters, but they can also be melee combatants, utility characters and various other things in between.
This guide will take you through how you can build and optimise your warlock using the D&D 2024 rules.
At a glance
Strengths
- Spellcasters with slots that recharge after every short rest
- Highly adaptable class
- Gain customisable enhancements called eldritch invocations allowing you to take on different roles and specialties
- Make a capable party face
Weaknesses
- Have relatively few spell slots and spells known
- Highly reliant on regular short rests
- Can struggle in long combat encounters
- Can be quite vulnerable for a class that sometimes engages in melee combat
- Options can feel overwhelming when creating an optimised build
What’s changing for warlocks in D&D 2024?
While 2024 warlocks will still feel familiar, they do get some fairly substantial changes in the way they work, particularly through a far more flexible eldritch invocation system. You’ll find that warlocks are far more customisable now.
The biggest incoming changes include:
- Eldritch invocations can be applied to a range of cantrips now
- Bigger spell list
- Eldritch invocations can be taken from level 1, and what were pact boons, also come under eldritch invocations now, so you can pick multiple of these in early levels
- Some subclasses have received large changes to improve their flavour and capabilities (especially the archfey and great old one)
- There’s now a mechanical way to contact your patron
- They have more ways to recover spell slots if they need to
Tactics
Much of your tactical approach will come from the spells and eldritch invocations you take. I’d work to build your character around a certain approach making you highly effective in a particular discipline (such as melee combat, spell damage or as a utility specialist).
You can read more in my eldritch invocations analysis and my guide to warlock spells.
Optimising a warlock
Warlocks can be tricky to optimise as there are a lot of ways to go about building them. Below I’ve gone through the options you’ll need to consider when creating your warlock with advice around where to optimise along with some different build examples you can use.
Ability scores
Recommended options
- Charisma: This will improve your spells, subclass features, face skills and even your weapon attacks if you take pact of the blade.
- Dexterity: You’ll need this for some protection as you’re limited to light armor or mage armor (both of which require dexterity to be any good).
- Constitution: Warlocks aren’t naturally tough so the more constitution you have, the better. If you plan on playing a melee warlock, then this becomes even more crucial.
Options to avoid
- Strength: Just take pact of the blade to use charisma for weapon attacks.
- Intelligence: You don’t need intelligence.
- Wisdom: Only good for some saving throws and skills.
| Ability score | Point Buy | Standard Array |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | 8 | 8 |
| Dexterity | 15 | 14 |
| Constitution | 15 | 13 |
| Intelligence | 8 | 10 |
| Wisdom | 8 | 12 |
| Charisma | 15 | 15 |
Skills
Recommended options
- Arcana: Decent enough knowledge skill.
- Deception: One of the best face skills, especially if you intend on lying a lot.
- History: OK knowledge skill.
- Intimidation: Alright face skill if you intend to intimidate people a lot.
- Investigation: Decent skill but a more intelligent character might be better with this.
- Religion: Decent enough knowledge skill.
Options to avoid
- Nature: Used far too little to be of much use.
Species/race
I’d consider the following when picking a species for a warlock:
- Safety first: Warlocks aren’t that durable so you either want ways to stay out of reach of enemies, or gain some extra durability if you want to get stuck into melee combat.
- Innate spellcasting: Warlocks are a little on the light side when it comes to spells known and spell slots. Grab a species with innate spells to enhance this.
Recommended options
- Dragonborn (2024): Flight for safety, a damage resistance for durability and a breath weapon is great for a melee warlock to replace an attack with some AoE damage.
- Dwarves (2024): More hp and some damage resistance will help you keep up with other martials in toughness. Especially good for melee builds.
- Elves (2024): Lots of extra spells to cast. The High Elf is a good option for misty step which you can use to get yourself out of danger easily.
- Human (2024): Great for a party face as you’ll need extra skills. Grab an extra origin feat (which could include skilled to fill more skills gaps). You’ll also get a steady supply of heroic inspiration.
- Tiefling (2024): I’d go for an Infernal Tiefling for the darkness spell (which works well with the appropriately named devil’s sight eldritch invocation). You’ll also get fire resistance which is one of the more common damage types.
Backgrounds
Your background will give you an origin feat, ability score increases and skill and tool proficiencies.
As a potential party face with very few skills, grabbing the right background can be important. The most important thing though, is to ensure you have the right ability score improvements (charisma, then one of dexterity or constitution).
Below I’ve included the backgrounds that work well for a warlock.
| Name | Ability scores | Origin feat | Skill proficiencies | Tool proficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlatan | Dexterity, constitution, charisma | Skilled | Deception, sleight of hand | Forgery kit |
| Entertainer | Strength, dexterity, charisma | Musician | Acrobatics, performance | One kind of musical instrument |
| Hermit | Constitution, wisdom, charisma | Healer | medicine, religion | Herbalism kit |
| Merchant | Constitution, intelligence, charisma | Lucky | Animal handling, persuasion | Navigator’s tools |
| Wayfarer | Dexterity, wisdom, charisma | Lucky | Insight, stealth | Thieves’ tools |
Merchant will get you persuasion and lucky, both great options, but charlatan is also a strong choice as it gives you some roguish skills and the skilled feat (for persuasion and a couple of other skills).
Choosing your subclass
Warlocks now get their subclass at level 3, along with all the rest of the 2024 classes. You can still flavour your warlock as having made a pact with your patron, you just don’t receive any of the subclass specific benefits until you hit level 3.
Which subclass you choose comes down to which patron you want to be beholden to and how their features stack up for the roles you want to play. Check out my warlock subclass guide for advice on which subclass to choose.
Archfey patron
Infuriating tricksters, archfey warlocks are great at frustrating their enemies by jumping in and out of combat and buffing and debuffing as they do so.
Celestial patron
For warlocks that want to dabble in being a cleric and a bit of a healer.
Fiend patron
InfIf you want to go down the damage dealing and resilience route, then fiend warlocks are a good option. For this reason, they can make good melee warlocks.
Great old one patron
Great for tackling a single, powerful enemy at a time with some nasty mind tricks.
Feats
At 1st level, you can grab an origin feat through your background and from level 4, you can pick up a general feat (or another origin feat if you want) instead of an ability score increase. When you hit level 19 you can pick up an epic boon feat too. You can pick up additional epic boons each time you level up beyond level 20 too.
I’d suggest the following feats for a warlock:
Origin feats
Warlocks can potentially take 5 origin feats by level 2 (though this may be a little excessive). You can get these through your background, the Human species and lessons of the first ones eldritch invocation (which you can take multiple times), so there are a lot of opportunities to take more origin feats.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend taking lessons of the first ones this often as there are other eldritch invocations to prioritise, but if you are keen on multiple origin feats, the option is there.
Recommended options
- Lucky – Grant advantage or disadvantage on important d20 tests.
- Magic initiate – More spells from other class lists is handy for a warlock.
- Musician – Give everyone in the party a regular supply of heroic inspiration.
- Savage attacker – Make your attacks better if you’re going for a melee build.
- Skilled – Become a party face or fill skill gaps.
- Tough – Bring your hp more in line with other martials. Particularly good for a melee build.
General feats
Recommended options
- Actor – A good option if you want to play an impersonator. Pointless if you don’t.
- Fey-touched – 2 more spells prepared and 2 free castings expands your repertoire nicely. Misty step works well for getting out of danger.
- Inspiring leader – Go for the charisma increase and bestow temporary hit points on the party each rest. A good idea to have someone in your party with this.
- Lightly armored – Grab shield proficiency for extra durability.
- Mage slayer – Get better at dealing with mages plus a form of legendary resistance.
- Ritual caster – Can really expand your spell repertoire for some utility spells, plus they don’t require spell slots when cast as rituals.
- Skill expert – Get really good at a face skill like persuasion or deception (or any other skill).
- Shadow-touched – 2 free castings of spells expands your spell uses nicely and invisible is a great option.
- Warcaster – Will help you maintain the likes of hex when you’re getting hit a decent bit.
- Weapon master – Great for melee builds and something like push will make it easy to engage in hit and run tactics without using spells slots on something like misty step.
Epic boon feats
- Boon of combat prowess – works for melee warlocks making you more accurate.
- Boon of dimensional travel – Teleport every turn for hit and run tactics or just for maintaining a safe distance from enemies.
- Boon of fate – Turn failed d20 tests into successes.
- Boon of fortitude – Handy for melee warlocks who need a bit more durability.
- Boon of recovery – Survive longer by restoring hit points (including when you get knocked to 0hp).
- Boon of the night spirit – Turn invisible in darkness and gain damage resistances for greater safety.
Weapons
If you don’t choose pact of the blade, your spells will easily outperform weapons for damage, especially if you take the agonising blast eldritch invocation. For this reason, many warlocks should be using cantrips for a lot of their damage rather than weapons.
However, warlocks can make decent backup martials by taking the pact of the blade and other melee-focused eldritch invocations.
If you do go the melee route, you’ll really need to build your character around this with feats, spells, eldritch invocations and abilities that enhance your melee capabilities. This might mean things like the tough origin feat, using misty step a lot from the archfey patron subclass for safety or grabbing lightly armored for shield proficiency.
For your pact blade, I’d either recommend going for a two handed weapon (for higher damage) or a sword and shield build (if using the lightly armored feat) for greater protection. Dual wielding is a possible build to make work, but is quite challenging between the various feats you’ll need to juggle. Thrown and unarmed fighting styles are also problematic for a warlock due to their reliance on their pact weapon.
Which weapons you take may depend on whether you take the weapon mastery feat. You can check out my weapon mastery guide to help here.
Armor
Studded leather is your best armor option. You can also grab lightly armored for shield proficiency if you want to be even tougher.
Alternatively, grab the armor of shadows eldritch invocation and use mage armor without expending spell slots. It’s 1 AC better than studded leather and can be used without concentration so you could just continuously cast it.
Warlock builds
Warlocks are extremely customisable making it really easy to adapt your build to various playstyles. Below I’ve given examples of some strong builds you could use for your warlock. I’ve only taken these up to level 3 for a typical starting character and taking you up to your subclass choice.
Melee warrior
Good for
Melee combat mixed with spells.
Ability Scores (Point Buy/Standard Array)
- Strength: 8/8
- Dexterity: 15/14
- Constitution: 15/13
- Intelligence: 8/10
- Wisdom: 8/12
- Charisma: 15/15
Skills: Deception, intimidation
Species: Dragonborn
Background: Merchant – Add +2 to charisma and +1 to constitution.
Subclass: Archfey patron
Spells known (at level 3)
- Cantrips: Eldritch blast, mind sliver (for its interaction with bewitching magic)
- Level 1: Hex, Tasha’s hideous laughter
- Level 2: Hold person, mirror image
Recommended eldritch invocations: Pact of the blade, armor of shadows, devouring blade, eldritch smite, fiendish vigor, lifedrinker, pact of the blade, thirsting blade
Weapons: Light crossbow, great sword (as your pact weapon)
Armor: Studded leather
Combat caster
Good for
Firing off powerful spells.
Ability Scores (Point Buy/Standard Array)
- Strength: 8/8
- Dexterity: 15/14
- Constitution: 15/13
- Intelligence: 8/10
- Wisdom: 8/12
- Charisma: 15/15
Skills: Deception, intimidation, perception (High Elf)
Species: High Elf
Background: Merchant – Add +2 to charisma and +1 to constitution.
Subclass: Fiend patron
Spells known (at level 3)
- Cantrips: Eldritch blast, minor illusion, thunderclap (High Elf)
- Level 1: Hex, Tasha’s hideous laughter
- Level 2: Hold person, misty step
Recommended eldritch invocations: Agonising blast, pact of the tome, repelling blast
Weapons: Light crossbow, quarterstaff
Armor: Studded leather
Utility caster
Good for
Providing buffs and debuffs in combat and utility out of combat.
Ability Scores (Point Buy/Standard Array)
- Strength: 8/8
- Dexterity: 15/14
- Constitution: 15/13
- Intelligence: 8/10
- Wisdom: 8/12
- Charisma: 15/15
Skills: Deception, intimidation, persuasion (Human), thieves tools (skilled), stealth (skilled), perception (skilled)
Species: Human
Background: Charlatan – If using point buy, add +2 to charisma and +1 to dexterity. If using standard array, add +2 to dexterity and +1 to charisma (to get them both up to 16).
Subclass: Celestial patron
Spells known (at level 3)
- Cantrips: Eldritch blast, minor illusion
- Level 1: Hex, Tasha’s hideous laughter
- Level 2: Hold person, darkness
Recommended eldritch invocations: Agonising blast, devil’s sight, gaze of two minds, gift of the protectors, investment of the chain master, master of myriad forms, misty visions, one with shadows, pact of the chain, pact of the tome, whispers of the grave
Weapons: Light crossbow, quarterstaff
Armor: Studded leather
Other classes guides
Not sure a warlock is for you. Not to worry. Why not check out one of our other D&D 2024 class and subclass guides.
