So warlock for me is one of the tougher classes to build. Can I get a few experienced players to share their level 5 builds and how they use them in a party. No multiclass please, just straight warlock is what I’m looking for.
Question number 1... do you have a certain style of play for your warlock in mind? There are several different ways to build a warlock based upon the style of play. If you're looking for all different styles, we can do that as well!
For example, are you looking for battlefield control? Debuffing? Straight damage? Ranged or melee? Etc.
I typically play martial characters but am looking to see what this class can do in that realm but also outside of it. So I guess to answer your question, all builds are welcome. Show me what it can do :)
Good to know! I'll share with you my favorite warlock thus far; he's currently 4th level but I have my 5th level planned out.
For his patron I chose the Raven Queen from UE and his primary focus is battlefield support/debuffs and utility. Here is a link to his sheet. His party consists of Warforged Fighter (Brute), Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer), Half-elf Bard (Lore), and a Human Barbarian (Zealot) so damage output is pretty much covered by the rest of the party; however, we sorely lack in caster support so I decided to fulfill that area. My Invocations are: Armor of Shadows (more thematic than anything) and Books of Ancient Secrets (obviously I selected Pact of the Tome). For my extra Cantrips from the Tome I selected Guidance (always a wonderful option), Minor Illusion, and Spare the Dying (only because of our limited healing options and thematic for Raven Queen). I love that with Book of Ancient secrets I can get access to every single ritual spell in the game. That is just amazing if you have limited casting options in your group. At 5th level I'm planning on selecting Mire of the Mind for my 5th level Invocation, because who doesn't love Slow?!
Now as far as damage dealing goes, there are really several different options: martial-based then you want to go with Hexblade and focus on spells the will boost your melee attacks as you get Charisma to attack/damage with your Hexblade weapon.
OR you can focus primarily on your Eldritch Blast as there are several different Invocations to make that a VERY potent cantrip; you can get Cha to damage, Push, Pull, slow their speed, etc.
Chainlocks are pretty cool (Pact of the Chain) as you can get an Invocation that grants you maximized healing while your familiar is within 100'.
Hosted a battle between the Cult of Sedge and the Forum Countershere(Done now). I_Love_Tarrasques has won the fight, scoring a victory for the fiendish Moderators.
Warlock (non hexblade) Eldritch blast cantrip, Agonising blast invocation (+cha damage to eldritch bolt) and repelling blast (knockback is great) At some point spell sniper to double range and ignore cover penalties (your allies in combat) at some point if your party / race doesnt cover it then devil sight invocation - IF you get this early enough (after the first two mentioned invocations which have priority) then take the darkness spell. You must take hex, as standard you will hex, and shoot EB, move hex as required on later rounds and shoot EB, knock enemies that can threaten you away and into dangerous terrain. Maddening hex can make the rounds you dont need to move Hex an opportunity to use an autohit hex grenade
Hex lock - two options Damage or Gamebreaker
For damage you just take blade pact and melee invocations, remember hex for your weapon damage and let someone distract and take the hit before you start chopping. Maddening hex Thirsting blade Cloud of flies? they all play well with your in your face build
Gamebreaker. Harder to do, either 1 level of Fighter first then hexblade or variant human required. You need heavy armour to start. The next ASI or feat option is heavy armor master which reduces the non magical physical damage you take by 3(if in heavy armour and taken off BEFORE resistance is applied) So far so good here we go:
Armour of Agathys gives you temp hits and retributive damage
At 5th you have a 15 hit cold temp hits and when hit in melee 15 cold damage is deal back even if only 1 point is left. BUT all that incoming damage is halved if you bladeward rather than attack. So a 1-3 hit does nothing, a 4 point hit does nothing 5-6 does one, 7-8 does two. A 15 point hit, enough to wipe out AoA normally will deal 12 initially, halved to 6 leaving you with 9 points of AoA left and no actual damage. Against minor gaurds (low damage and high multiple attack) it can be easier to intentionally provoke attacks of opportunity and gain one extra 'attack' per enemy you do this to. If you find a suit of adamantite armour its more useful to you than enchanted + armour as its crit prevention negates the crit damage destroying your ablative death chill early whilst making sure you can still be hit. When they stop targetting you because that hurt them its time to hex up:
Damage Invocations - improved blade pact, thirsting blade at 5th (two melee attacks) maddening hex(bonus action damage) cloud of flies after that and now just standing near you poisons people on their turn for 5, you attack twice and deal 3d6+6 damage (two handed sword and hex) and a bonus action for 5 psychic damage on all in 5'of hex including hexee. At 12th you may gain lifedrinker and the melee damage rises to 3d6+11. Thats when your attacking, past ninth your AoA stops 25 and deals 25 damage a hit till expended. that's immense and you recover them on a short rest whilst your hex could have been precast yesterday. Your a monster. Now if you find a creature that is vulnerable to cold? Ouch thats 50 damage a hit they take, unfortunately most creatures like that will deal magical damage ignoring HAM and fire damage which bladeward doesn't stop, still its only one spell right? :)
I've got 2 Warlocks I've built up - a melee Hexblade that I started from scratch, and a Celestial I made as a backup.
Ash, the Teifling Hexblade, is very melee focused. She uses EB only when she's out of combat range, and has used Misty Step to get into range. She much prefers to go in with her Raven Queen-granted Pact Katana, using Hex or Hexblade's Curse, and going for an Eldritch Smite or Branding Smite - hopefully on a Crit. Ashkara'a
I made a backup for Ash - more about light and healing. Saga is a young Aasimar Protector, with the Celestial Patron. She did 2 levels as Fighter, and now 3 as Warlock. Her story is she found what looks like an aged, ancient shortsword in a lake. Once she grips the handle, it shows it's pristine brilliance. Haven't played her yet, but I intend her to be more of a balance between melee & healing. Saga
Thats my Tiefling HexBlade. He butts around with his Glaive (heh) and I really enjoy playing him. Going for Sentinel as the next feat. Awesome to play both in and out of combat.
I've got 2 Warlocks I've built up - a melee Hexblade that I started from scratch, and a Celestial I made as a backup.
Ash, the Teifling Hexblade, is very melee focused. She uses EB only when she's out of combat range, and has used Misty Step to get into range. She much prefers to go in with her Raven Queen-granted Pact Katana, using Hex or Hexblade's Curse, and going for an Eldritch Smite or Branding Smite - hopefully on a Crit. Ashkara'a
You forgot to mention that your DM has been incredible nice and given you a weapon with almost artifactlevel power, a weapon that replenishes your spells per day when you get a kill. That tactic with misty stepping close and smiting during every combat is hard without a overpowered weapon like that.
I've got 2 Warlocks I've built up - a melee Hexblade that I started from scratch, and a Celestial I made as a backup.
Ash, the Teifling Hexblade, is very melee focused. She uses EB only when she's out of combat range, and has used Misty Step to get into range. She much prefers to go in with her Raven Queen-granted Pact Katana, using Hex or Hexblade's Curse, and going for an Eldritch Smite or Branding Smite - hopefully on a Crit. Ashkara'a
You forgot to mention that your DM has been incredible nice and given you a weapon with almost artifactlevel power, a weapon that replenishes your spells per day when you get a kill. That tactic with misty stepping close and smiting during every combat is hard without a overpowered weapon like that.
Right... there is that. That was an unexpected gift... I was hoping for a +1, but he added that one spell slot regen effect, which has honestly only paid off a couple of times - lots of badasses in our party, so I don't always get a kill. But, I played her reckless without that "safety net," and now maybe even more so.
I've got Kairon, the Tieflng Tomelock with the Conman background (modified Charlatan: Persuasion, Subterfuge), Fiendish Patron
Eldrich Invocations: 2nd level Agonizing Blast, Mask of Many Faces, 5th level Book of Ancient Secrets
Cantrips: Eldrich Blast, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Thaumaturgy (Racial); and then gained from the Pact of the Tome: Produce Flame, Sacred Flame, Spare the Dying
So warlock for me is one of the tougher classes to build. Can I get a few experienced players to share their level 5 builds and how they use them in a party. No multiclass please, just straight warlock is what I’m looking for.
Much appreciated
Question number 1... do you have a certain style of play for your warlock in mind? There are several different ways to build a warlock based upon the style of play. If you're looking for all different styles, we can do that as well!
For example, are you looking for battlefield control? Debuffing? Straight damage? Ranged or melee? Etc.
Valaith "Rimehand" Kalukavi - Chronicles of Arden
I typically play martial characters but am looking to see what this class can do in that realm but also outside of it. So I guess to answer your question, all builds are welcome. Show me what it can do :)
Good to know! I'll share with you my favorite warlock thus far; he's currently 4th level but I have my 5th level planned out.
For his patron I chose the Raven Queen from UE and his primary focus is battlefield support/debuffs and utility. Here is a link to his sheet. His party consists of Warforged Fighter (Brute), Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer), Half-elf Bard (Lore), and a Human Barbarian (Zealot) so damage output is pretty much covered by the rest of the party; however, we sorely lack in caster support so I decided to fulfill that area. My Invocations are: Armor of Shadows (more thematic than anything) and Books of Ancient Secrets (obviously I selected Pact of the Tome). For my extra Cantrips from the Tome I selected Guidance (always a wonderful option), Minor Illusion, and Spare the Dying (only because of our limited healing options and thematic for Raven Queen). I love that with Book of Ancient secrets I can get access to every single ritual spell in the game. That is just amazing if you have limited casting options in your group. At 5th level I'm planning on selecting Mire of the Mind for my 5th level Invocation, because who doesn't love Slow?!
Now as far as damage dealing goes, there are really several different options: martial-based then you want to go with Hexblade and focus on spells the will boost your melee attacks as you get Charisma to attack/damage with your Hexblade weapon.
OR you can focus primarily on your Eldritch Blast as there are several different Invocations to make that a VERY potent cantrip; you can get Cha to damage, Push, Pull, slow their speed, etc.
Chainlocks are pretty cool (Pact of the Chain) as you can get an Invocation that grants you maximized healing while your familiar is within 100'.
Valaith "Rimehand" Kalukavi - Chronicles of Arden
Thanks Lyrel, good looking support player.
Anyone have a good damage dealing build they want to share?
All I have to say is Fiend Warlocks get fireball.
Subclass Evaluations So Far:
Sorcerer
Warlock
My statblock. Fear me!
Hosted a battle between the Cult of Sedge and the Forum Counters here(Done now). I_Love_Tarrasques has won the fight, scoring a victory for the fiendish Moderators.
Warlock (non hexblade) Eldritch blast cantrip, Agonising blast invocation (+cha damage to eldritch bolt) and repelling blast (knockback is great) At some point spell sniper to double range and ignore cover penalties (your allies in combat) at some point if your party / race doesnt cover it then devil sight invocation - IF you get this early enough (after the first two mentioned invocations which have priority) then take the darkness spell. You must take hex, as standard you will hex, and shoot EB, move hex as required on later rounds and shoot EB, knock enemies that can threaten you away and into dangerous terrain. Maddening hex can make the rounds you dont need to move Hex an opportunity to use an autohit hex grenade
Hex lock - two options Damage or Gamebreaker
For damage you just take blade pact and melee invocations, remember hex for your weapon damage and let someone distract and take the hit before you start chopping. Maddening hex Thirsting blade Cloud of flies? they all play well with your in your face build
Gamebreaker. Harder to do, either 1 level of Fighter first then hexblade or variant human required. You need heavy armour to start. The next ASI or feat option is heavy armor master which reduces the non magical physical damage you take by 3(if in heavy armour and taken off BEFORE resistance is applied) So far so good here we go:
HAM reduces damage by three,
BLADEWARD reduces physical (even magic physical) to half (and rounding down)
Armour of Agathys gives you temp hits and retributive damage
At 5th you have a 15 hit cold temp hits and when hit in melee 15 cold damage is deal back even if only 1 point is left. BUT all that incoming damage is halved if you bladeward rather than attack. So a 1-3 hit does nothing, a 4 point hit does nothing 5-6 does one, 7-8 does two. A 15 point hit, enough to wipe out AoA normally will deal 12 initially, halved to 6 leaving you with 9 points of AoA left and no actual damage. Against minor gaurds (low damage and high multiple attack) it can be easier to intentionally provoke attacks of opportunity and gain one extra 'attack' per enemy you do this to. If you find a suit of adamantite armour its more useful to you than enchanted + armour as its crit prevention negates the crit damage destroying your ablative death chill early whilst making sure you can still be hit. When they stop targetting you because that hurt them its time to hex up:
Damage Invocations - improved blade pact, thirsting blade at 5th (two melee attacks) maddening hex(bonus action damage) cloud of flies after that and now just standing near you poisons people on their turn for 5, you attack twice and deal 3d6+6 damage (two handed sword and hex) and a bonus action for 5 psychic damage on all in 5'of hex including hexee. At 12th you may gain lifedrinker and the melee damage rises to 3d6+11. Thats when your attacking, past ninth your AoA stops 25 and deals 25 damage a hit till expended. that's immense and you recover them on a short rest whilst your hex could have been precast yesterday. Your a monster. Now if you find a creature that is vulnerable to cold? Ouch thats 50 damage a hit they take, unfortunately most creatures like that will deal magical damage ignoring HAM and fire damage which bladeward doesn't stop, still its only one spell right? :)
#Edited for pesky spelling gremlins
I've got 2 Warlocks I've built up - a melee Hexblade that I started from scratch, and a Celestial I made as a backup.
Ash, the Teifling Hexblade, is very melee focused. She uses EB only when she's out of combat range, and has used Misty Step to get into range. She much prefers to go in with her Raven Queen-granted Pact Katana, using Hex or Hexblade's Curse, and going for an Eldritch Smite or Branding Smite - hopefully on a Crit. Ashkara'a
I made a backup for Ash - more about light and healing. Saga is a young Aasimar Protector, with the Celestial Patron. She did 2 levels as Fighter, and now 3 as Warlock. Her story is she found what looks like an aged, ancient shortsword in a lake. Once she grips the handle, it shows it's pristine brilliance. Haven't played her yet, but I intend her to be more of a balance between melee & healing. Saga
Skamos Valchar
Thats my Tiefling HexBlade. He butts around with his Glaive (heh) and I really enjoy playing him. Going for Sentinel as the next feat. Awesome to play both in and out of combat.
You forgot to mention that your DM has been incredible nice and given you a weapon with almost artifactlevel power, a weapon that replenishes your spells per day when you get a kill. That tactic with misty stepping close and smiting during every combat is hard without a overpowered weapon like that.
Right... there is that. That was an unexpected gift... I was hoping for a +1, but he added that one spell slot regen effect, which has honestly only paid off a couple of times - lots of badasses in our party, so I don't always get a kill. But, I played her reckless without that "safety net," and now maybe even more so.
I've got Kairon, the Tieflng Tomelock with the Conman background (modified Charlatan: Persuasion, Subterfuge), Fiendish Patron
Eldrich Invocations: 2nd level Agonizing Blast, Mask of Many Faces, 5th level Book of Ancient Secrets
Cantrips: Eldrich Blast, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Thaumaturgy (Racial); and then gained from the Pact of the Tome: Produce Flame, Sacred Flame, Spare the Dying
1st level spells: Hellish Rebuke (Racial), Hex, Illusionary Script
1st level rituals: Ceremony, Comprehend Languages, Find Familiar
2nd level spells: Crown of Madness, Darkness (Racial), Scorching Ray
3rd level spells: Tongues
Feat at 4th level: Actor
Kairon is the face of the party, using social trickery when possible to gain an advantage.
Fierna is the best Duchess of Hell