To answer the original question, yes and no. I'd say in 70+% of the games I have played in there have not been enough encounters or short rests for the warlock to make up for it with invocations and a imp etc. Its not like they suck, they can put out mediocre damage round after round, but at least its not subpar damage, they have decent abilities outside that, not bard level or something but decent. So in most campaigns they will do fine, just maybe be overshadowed a bit by the full casters. In a game where full casters actually have to conserve their slots past 5th level and the lock gets a couple short rests it works out fine. I just find that to be rare in most campaigns, published ones included which in theory should be trying to stick with the game assumptions on which classes are balanced. Though if the campaign goes the other extreme and has 1 encounter a day, 2 spells is probably enough as encounters wont go much longer than that anyway.
As an aside I feel GMs should let locks work the system a bit. Long duration spell while eating breakfast, short rest before the day even begins, sustain away. If they have any spells before their next short rest do that again. I know some GMs like to slap down on cheese, but one its a pretty obvious tactic so you feel kind of dumb for not doing it, and 2 its allowing them to catch up with others not to overshadow them.
I see it.
<Insert clever signature here>
Thanks.
To answer the original question, yes and no. I'd say in 70+% of the games I have played in there have not been enough encounters or short rests for the warlock to make up for it with invocations and a imp etc. Its not like they suck, they can put out mediocre damage round after round, but at least its not subpar damage, they have decent abilities outside that, not bard level or something but decent. So in most campaigns they will do fine, just maybe be overshadowed a bit by the full casters. In a game where full casters actually have to conserve their slots past 5th level and the lock gets a couple short rests it works out fine. I just find that to be rare in most campaigns, published ones included which in theory should be trying to stick with the game assumptions on which classes are balanced. Though if the campaign goes the other extreme and has 1 encounter a day, 2 spells is probably enough as encounters wont go much longer than that anyway.
As an aside I feel GMs should let locks work the system a bit. Long duration spell while eating breakfast, short rest before the day even begins, sustain away. If they have any spells before their next short rest do that again. I know some GMs like to slap down on cheese, but one its a pretty obvious tactic so you feel kind of dumb for not doing it, and 2 its allowing them to catch up with others not to overshadow them.