I am playing Warlock for the first time and just created a level 1 Pact of the Fiend Warlock. Any suggestions on which spells to take for each level? :-)
Spell Level (there are numerous web articles on a level by level progression).
Level 1 - Burning Hands. You will get to use this spell often to do some limited AoE damage, that will likely wipe out whatever you point at. Given you should have EB for range, this spell takes care of what to do when critters are at your doorstep.
Since you only have 2 spell slots for a long, long time your spell selections don’t matter as much as it does for other spell casters. I recommend the following as must have spells, but you won’t use them every combat.
Hex
Misty Step
Banishment
As you can see there are very few spells that I take with every warlock that I play. Other than those 3 spells I tend to pick spells based on what fits into the rest of the party the best.
Typically, with warlocks, you want to pick spells that scale well, make a huge impact when you use them, and/or have a long duration. Because you only have 2 spell slots per short rest for the majority of the campaign, you'll mainly be relying on cantrips (eldritch blast in most cases), and when you spend your spell slots you really want to make the most of them. Hex, for example, is a staple for many warlocks because it can eventually last through one or more rests due to spell slot scaling, so long as you maintain concentration.
Witch bolt is a trap spell tbh, don't take it. It looks okay on paper, but in practice it ends up being pretty bad because of all the restrictions it imposes on you just to keep the spell going.
I'm really surprised at how many terrible suggestions you've been given.
I have to agree...
OK - here's some advice - as Temery said above, you want spells that scale well, and that last. That means concentration, for the most part.
You might want to re-frame the way you think about a Warlock... you aren't so much a full spell caster, as an arcane blaster (practically an archer) that casts a few spells... particularly as a fiendlock.
Here's how I'd do it for the first few levels, but don't feel hemmed in. There's lots of utility in the 'lock, and lots of way to play it. I'll bold my top choices, but again.. this is just how I would do it, and there are plenty of people here who will tell you why I'm wrong, and they will be right. Sort of...
Level 1
Cantrips - You get 2 at first level.
Eldritch Blast is a must for most styles of Warlock play. It's your staple damage dealer, it scales, you have the means to buff it later on. Unless you're experienced and have something very specific in mind for your character, this is your go-to.
Otherwise, you have lots of options, and most of them are good. Personally, I'd probably take Prestidigitation for RP goodness and utility.
Along those lines, Minor Illusion is worth looking at.
Booming Blade is great if you plan to do some melee.
Toll the Dead is also a solid choice...
what's important to look at is how a spell scales as you increase in damage. As a Warlock, you depend on Cantrips more than most, so you have to make them count.
Spells - You get 2 at first level, although only one slot.
Hex is another must (along with Eldritch Blast, which it pairs nicely with).
My other recommendation would be Armor of Agathys. It scales fantastically, and you'll use it forever.
I've seen Hellish Rebuke and Protection from Good/Evil used to great effect at first level.
Burning Hands from Fiend is a solid choice as well...
(but AoA is my go to)
Level 2
Cantrips - no change
Spells - you get another first level spell, so add from the list above.
Eldritch Invocations - You get two of these at first level, and they can really add to your game play. Think hard about them. Here's a few good choices;
Agonizing Blast - buffs your primary attack
Armor of Shadows - buffs your AC if you aren't wearing armor
Beast Speech - depending on the campaign, this can be great RP
Devil's Sight - one of the most popular options, for good reason
Eldritch Sight - not a top pick, but... I really like it, particularly if you aren't going with Eldritch Blast for some reason.
Repelling Blast is amazing if you are focusing on being a blaster... it adds a great battlefield control rider to your blast.
Level 3
Cantrips - no change
Spells - four known spells, two slots per short rest, but now you add second level spells to the mix. Here are my top choices:
Darkness - incredibly powerful (particularly if you took Devil's Sight), but read up on how using it can effect your party. It's tricky to use well without pissing off your friends.
Hold Person
Invisibility
Shadow Blade - another favorite, and it scales nicely.
Suggestion
Both of your Fiend Spells - Scorching Ray and Blindness/Deafness are solid as well, although spells that are fully resisted on a save are touchy for Warlocks...
Level 3 is where you get your Pact Boon - again - HUGE impact on your play. There are lots of great threads on the pros and cons of each - I'll summarize here:
Pact of the Blade - you get to summon a groovy weapon. If you picture your 'lock mixing swordplay and spells, this is worth thinking about.
Pact of the Chain - you get to summon a groovy familiar, and do things with it you couldn't otherwise do.
Pact of the Tome - you get to summon a magic book full of spells, adding to your list of cantrips. This adds a ton of versatility down the road.
Pact of the Talisman - you get a magic doohicky from your patron, which allows you to do groovy things. Is it a 'cursed' ring handed down in your family?
Blade, Chain and Tome are the most popular, and it really depends on your style of play. Go with what sounds fun.
Eldritch Invocations - depending which Pact Boon you took, you might want to rethink your Invocations, as there are some that are essentially buffs for your boon. At each level, you can change them up, and you don't get a third until 5th level. Switching one out is strongly recommended. Here they are:
Pact of the Blade: Improved Pact Weapon
Pact of the Chain: Investment of the Chain Master, Gift of the Ever Living Ones, Voice of the Chain Master
I'm really surprised at how many terrible suggestions you've been given.
Okay wise guy, where are your suggestions? Hex, solid pick. AoA, great spell, and greater to keep as it scales very well, while also adding much needed durability and great damage. No saves required, works as one would hope and effectively at that. Misty step, while I didn't mention it, others did and it's a really good spell. Banishment is a fantastic control spell. Best spells? Debatable. Terrible? Not a chance.
I'm really surprised at how many terrible suggestions you've been given.
I have to agree... [...]
Bruh
of the 5 posts that make suggestions, prior to Wren's, four mention the spells you listed. If you agree yet make those same suggestions, doesn't that seem off?
I'm really surprised at how many terrible suggestions you've been given.
Okay wise guy, where are your suggestions? Hex, solid pick. AoA, great spell, and greater to keep as it scales very well, while also adding much needed durability and great damage. No saves required, works as one would hope and effectively at that. Misty step, while I didn't mention it, others did and it's a really good spell. Banishment is a fantastic control spell. Best spells? Debatable. Terrible? Not a chance.
I'm really surprised at how many terrible suggestions you've been given.
I have to agree... [...]
id
Bruh
of the 5 posts that make suggestions, prior to Wren's, four mention the spells you listed. If you agree yet make those same suggestions, doesn't that seem off?
I'd like to point out that I didn't say that all the answers given were bad. I thought yours was fine and, in fact, I'd likely recommend the same thing. I would not recommend any instantaneous Evocation spell such as Burning Hands, nor would I take Witch Bolt.
I'd like to point out that I didn't say that all the answers given were bad. I thought yours was fine and, in fact, I'd likely recommend the same thing. I would not recommend any instantaneous Evocation spell such as Burning Hands, nor would I take Witch Bolt.
At 1st and 2nd level, Burning Hands is a game changer. So many times 3d6 fire damage is going to take out 3 critters in one shot. Until EB allows that second bolt (and then switch it out for Fireball), a Warlock has minimal AoE damage spells. To each their own, but I disagree.
I'd like to point out that I didn't say that all the answers given were bad. I thought yours was fine and, in fact, I'd likely recommend the same thing. I would not recommend any instantaneous Evocation spell such as Burning Hands, nor would I take Witch Bolt.
At 1st and 2nd level, Burning Hands is a game changer. So many times 3d6 fire damage is going to take out 3 critters in one shot. Until EB allows that second bolt (and then switch it out for Fireball), a Warlock has minimal AoE damage spells. To each their own, but I disagree.
Yeah when you first get it its very good, and you can swap it out when it fades.
Personally I think the armor of ag spell is over rated. What is my goal to try and get hit in the next hour? Don't get me wrong I've seen a build that does exactly that and it was kind of hilarious. If its duration scaled, or it was 8 hours at least I'd like it more. And there are so many other ways to get Temp hit points in the game, it just doesn't feel worth it. On a hexblade who is throwing themselves into melee, its solid, for other locks its not bad, its just over rated.
I think Witch Bolt is good if you're in a large group and fighting a large opponent, because you can do the continuous damage thing.
witch bolt is an OK spell for a LOW level sorcerer who can Twin the spell... it's honestly a pretty poor choice for a Warlock, as you only target one creature, and ongoing damage does not scale upwards when cast at a higher spell slot. The INITIAL damage increases per warlock spell slot, but the ongoing damage DOES NOT.
Yes, it is nice that you do not have to roll to do damage on ongoing turns, but a single d12 is kinda MEH for an your action each turn. You only get two spells per short rest until late game, and this really isn't worth it for a Warlock
First level is kind of rough on the locks spell list. Hex is solid, though eventually fades. For fiend, burning hands is good for the first couple levels, for others options I'd look more towards what fit your characters personality, are they lazy, unseen servant for example. Hellish rebuke is kind of meh but it may thematically fit a fiend lock really well.
I think for a Fiend Warlock, you've got most of the right idea from the conversations above. One thing to note is your party composition.
Agreed that Hex is solid for low to mid tier, but it REALLY shines if you have party members that regularly force opponents to make ability checks. For am instance, if you have a grappling Barbarian, and the opponent is strength based, use Hex to force the target to have disadvantage on Strength checks like Atheletics... if they're a Dex based opponent, change the curse part to affect their Dex/acrobatics checks against your allies grapple checks. Just remember that it affects Ability checks, NOT Saving Throws.
Otherwise Misty Step will be useful in the long run for emergencies but you should use it only in emergencies. You only get two spells per short rest until mid game, so blowing one of your castings when a low damage minion ends its turn next to you is a complete waste... UNLESS you are relocating for more important reason than avoiding 1d6+1 damage.
Darkness, if you plan to get devil sight invocation or the Chained Imp with the Invocation that lets you see through their eyes without taking an action.
As a side note. If you really, really love Hex and Misty Step and have an odd casting stat then I strongly recommend taking Fey Touched at level 4 to grab both. You now have a free casting of each a day which helps stretch your warlock slots.
Even better than Hex, grab bless. If you spend the time doing the math you will find they are about equal in terms of damage for you (more damage from hex on low ac targets, and more damage on bless on high ac targets), BUT bless also helps your Great Weapon Master/Sharpshooter/Monk AND is clutch for saving throws.
I agree. If you think about it though, the ideal Warlock depends on the party around you, because if you already have a Cleric, it might be less beneficial to take bless, but more beneficial if you're the only spellcaster in the party.
100% pertaining team composition. You might not know what the party is made up of at character creation, but make note of changing spells around as you level up to meet party needs
Exaction. I remember the first time I played a warlock, I didn't know I could change my spells when I leveled up, so there where too many instances where I know look back and think how useful that info could've been.
I am playing Warlock for the first time and just created a level 1 Pact of the Fiend Warlock. Any suggestions on which spells to take for each level? :-)
Armor of Agythys and Witch Bolt
Orange Juice!
Armor of agathys and hex.
Spell Level (there are numerous web articles on a level by level progression).
Level 1 - Burning Hands. You will get to use this spell often to do some limited AoE damage, that will likely wipe out whatever you point at. Given you should have EB for range, this spell takes care of what to do when critters are at your doorstep.
Level 2 - Misty Step. Bonus action escape. Yes please!
Level 3 - Fireball. The entire reason you went fiendpact.
Level 4 - Banish. Save or suck that you will use often
Level 5 - Dream. On a relatively weak list, this spell is awesome.
Since you only have 2 spell slots for a long, long time your spell selections don’t matter as much as it does for other spell casters. I recommend the following as must have spells, but you won’t use them every combat.
As you can see there are very few spells that I take with every warlock that I play. Other than those 3 spells I tend to pick spells based on what fits into the rest of the party the best.
Professional computer geek
Typically, with warlocks, you want to pick spells that scale well, make a huge impact when you use them, and/or have a long duration. Because you only have 2 spell slots per short rest for the majority of the campaign, you'll mainly be relying on cantrips (eldritch blast in most cases), and when you spend your spell slots you really want to make the most of them. Hex, for example, is a staple for many warlocks because it can eventually last through one or more rests due to spell slot scaling, so long as you maintain concentration.
Witch bolt is a trap spell tbh, don't take it. It looks okay on paper, but in practice it ends up being pretty bad because of all the restrictions it imposes on you just to keep the spell going.
I'm really surprised at how many terrible suggestions you've been given.
I have to agree...
OK - here's some advice - as Temery said above, you want spells that scale well, and that last. That means concentration, for the most part.
You might want to re-frame the way you think about a Warlock... you aren't so much a full spell caster, as an arcane blaster (practically an archer) that casts a few spells... particularly as a fiendlock.
Here's how I'd do it for the first few levels, but don't feel hemmed in. There's lots of utility in the 'lock, and lots of way to play it. I'll bold my top choices, but again.. this is just how I would do it, and there are plenty of people here who will tell you why I'm wrong, and they will be right. Sort of...
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
That should get you started...
Okay wise guy, where are your suggestions? Hex, solid pick. AoA, great spell, and greater to keep as it scales very well, while also adding much needed durability and great damage. No saves required, works as one would hope and effectively at that. Misty step, while I didn't mention it, others did and it's a really good spell. Banishment is a fantastic control spell. Best spells? Debatable. Terrible? Not a chance.
Bruh
of the 5 posts that make suggestions, prior to Wren's, four mention the spells you listed. If you agree yet make those same suggestions, doesn't that seem off?
I'd like to point out that I didn't say that all the answers given were bad. I thought yours was fine and, in fact, I'd likely recommend the same thing. I would not recommend any instantaneous Evocation spell such as Burning Hands, nor would I take Witch Bolt.
At 1st and 2nd level, Burning Hands is a game changer. So many times 3d6 fire damage is going to take out 3 critters in one shot. Until EB allows that second bolt (and then switch it out for Fireball), a Warlock has minimal AoE damage spells. To each their own, but I disagree.
I think Witch Bolt is good if you're in a large group and fighting a large opponent, because you can do the continuous damage thing.
Orange Juice!
Yeah when you first get it its very good, and you can swap it out when it fades.
Personally I think the armor of ag spell is over rated. What is my goal to try and get hit in the next hour? Don't get me wrong I've seen a build that does exactly that and it was kind of hilarious. If its duration scaled, or it was 8 hours at least I'd like it more. And there are so many other ways to get Temp hit points in the game, it just doesn't feel worth it. On a hexblade who is throwing themselves into melee, its solid, for other locks its not bad, its just over rated.
witch bolt is an OK spell for a LOW level sorcerer who can Twin the spell... it's honestly a pretty poor choice for a Warlock, as you only target one creature, and ongoing damage does not scale upwards when cast at a higher spell slot. The INITIAL damage increases per warlock spell slot, but the ongoing damage DOES NOT.
Yes, it is nice that you do not have to roll to do damage on ongoing turns, but a single d12 is kinda MEH for an your action each turn. You only get two spells per short rest until late game, and this really isn't worth it for a Warlock
First level is kind of rough on the locks spell list. Hex is solid, though eventually fades. For fiend, burning hands is good for the first couple levels, for others options I'd look more towards what fit your characters personality, are they lazy, unseen servant for example. Hellish rebuke is kind of meh but it may thematically fit a fiend lock really well.
I think for a Fiend Warlock, you've got most of the right idea from the conversations above. One thing to note is your party composition.
Agreed that Hex is solid for low to mid tier, but it REALLY shines if you have party members that regularly force opponents to make ability checks. For am instance, if you have a grappling Barbarian, and the opponent is strength based, use Hex to force the target to have disadvantage on Strength checks like Atheletics... if they're a Dex based opponent, change the curse part to affect their Dex/acrobatics checks against your allies grapple checks. Just remember that it affects Ability checks, NOT Saving Throws.
Otherwise Misty Step will be useful in the long run for emergencies but you should use it only in emergencies. You only get two spells per short rest until mid game, so blowing one of your castings when a low damage minion ends its turn next to you is a complete waste... UNLESS you are relocating for more important reason than avoiding 1d6+1 damage.
Darkness, if you plan to get devil sight invocation or the Chained Imp with the Invocation that lets you see through their eyes without taking an action.
As a side note. If you really, really love Hex and Misty Step and have an odd casting stat then I strongly recommend taking Fey Touched at level 4 to grab both. You now have a free casting of each a day which helps stretch your warlock slots.
Even better than Hex, grab bless. If you spend the time doing the math you will find they are about equal in terms of damage for you (more damage from hex on low ac targets, and more damage on bless on high ac targets), BUT bless also helps your Great Weapon Master/Sharpshooter/Monk AND is clutch for saving throws.
I agree. If you think about it though, the ideal Warlock depends on the party around you, because if you already have a Cleric, it might be less beneficial to take bless, but more beneficial if you're the only spellcaster in the party.
Orange Juice!
100% pertaining team composition. You might not know what the party is made up of at character creation, but make note of changing spells around as you level up to meet party needs
Exaction. I remember the first time I played a warlock, I didn't know I could change my spells when I leveled up, so there where too many instances where I know look back and think how useful that info could've been.
Orange Juice!