Ah yes, what will it be, Pact of the Chain warlocks? A Celestial spirit that can fly, speaks 2 languages, has 3 resistances, can deal radiant damage, and buff you and your allies? Or a snake that has 5 hit points and deals an extra 1d6 poison damage? Was venomous snake so powerful that it NEEDED to be removed from base Find Familiar?

I LOVE IT ALONG WITH THE TRESSYMS!!! SO CUTE!!! :3333333 

This is so true. The venomous snake doesn't belong with the improved familiars. So silly.

I like it just wish it had more actions. its super duper cute and so lovely!

Time to make a magical girl warlock

Ridiculously overpowered in comparison to the other options.

I assume the thinking was: wizards’ familiars don’t attack, so poison snake isn’t a flex for them. And, warlock familiars CAN attack. 

And, while many, maybe even most, players will go for the most stat advantageous familiar… some … pick familiars based on the ‘vibe’. So, IF you are playing a Yuan Ti character from the old rules, as a 2024 warlock, a snake familiar might make more sense than a …sphinx of wonder.

Now this is a very interesting celestial companion for you warlocks who feel less inclined to be edgy. I really hope dndbeyond incorporates the ability to have 2024 style statblocks in the actual statblock pages though because the new statblock layout is a lot more compact and easier to look at.

It's pretty on par with the Imp IMO, though it has a better damage type. Imp make a much better scout though.

They could have at LEAST given use flying snakes.

Quote from SorrowfulCheshire42 >>

They could have at LEAST given use flying snakes.

 Hard agree, I was really disappointed not to see them on the Pact of the Chain list. At the very least, I can't imagine a DM wouldn't let you make it look like one once you take Investment of the Chain Master.

i love this bean he is my favorite

:3

Perfect for Celestial Warlock! Ever since I discovered the subclass I craved for a celestial familiar option and this one is so cute aaaa

While I think imp is still the best, this is pretty close. Sadly, it starts to drop off fast after the top 3. They really should have reworked pat of the chains familiars. 

So at level one, my pack of the chain warlock can have a familiar that can attack for an average of 12, minimum 6, and maximum 19 damage per turn. Oh, and it has a flying speed, three resistances, magic resistance, 24 hit points, and an AC of 13 without armor. And if that weren't enough, it can add 2 to your checks and saves. And it can talk in two languages. And a plus 4 to arcana and religion, and a plus 5 to stealth. Even without any buffs you could give it, it's still well over twice as powerful as most characters that level. I took the sage background and the mage armor spell, which can be casted on any willing unarmored creature. It's AC is now 16. Again, this is at level one. Who the hell balance tested this kitty? It probably won't keep up at higher levels as well as a player would, but it's completely OP at the lower levels. All I need to do is hide and let my pet cat kill everything.

Quote from SushiDragon36 >>

So at level one, my pack of the chain warlock can have a familiar that can attack for an average of 12, minimum 6, and maximum 19 damage per turn. Oh, and it has a flying speed, three resistances, magic resistance, 24 hit points, and an AC of 13 without armor. And if that weren't enough, it can add 2 to your checks and saves. And it can talk in two languages. And a plus 4 to arcana and religion, and a plus 5 to stealth. Even without any buffs you could give it, it's still well over twice as powerful as most characters that level. I took the sage background and the mage armor spell, which can be casted on any willing unarmored creature. It's AC is now 16. Again, this is at level one. Who the hell balance tested this kitty? It probably won't keep up at higher levels as well as a player would, but it's completely OP at the lower levels. All I need to do is hide and let my pet cat kill everything.

Yes the pact of the chain familiars are bad design. They are OP at low levels and then devolve into a invisible scout at mid/high levels. Especially given that they aren't actually supposed to be a imp but a spirit taking a form the template model would have worked so much better for all familiars. And they could have had pact of the chain just add extra benefits that scaled with level or warlock level. 

level 3

not pact of the chain warlock any more, it's more like warlock that happens to use pact of the chain.

Quote from MyDudeicus >>

Quote from SushiDragon36 >>

So at level one, my pack of the chain warlock can have a familiar that can attack for an average of 12, minimum 6, and maximum 19 damage per turn. Oh, and it has a flying speed, three resistances, magic resistance, 24 hit points, and an AC of 13 without armor. And if that weren't enough, it can add 2 to your checks and saves. And it can talk in two languages. And a plus 4 to arcana and religion, and a plus 5 to stealth. Even without any buffs you could give it, it's still well over twice as powerful as most characters that level. I took the sage background and the mage armor spell, which can be casted on any willing unarmored creature. It's AC is now 16. Again, this is at level one. Who the hell balance tested this kitty? It probably won't keep up at higher levels as well as a player would, but it's completely OP at the lower levels. All I need to do is hide and let my pet cat kill everything.

 

Yes the pact of the chain familiars are bad design. They are OP at low levels and then devolve into a invisible scout at mid/high levels. Especially given that they aren't actually supposed to be a imp but a spirit taking a form the template model would have worked so much better for all familiars. And they could have had pact of the chain just add extra benefits that scaled with level or warlock level. 

 They're familiars, not a beast master's animal companion.