D&D Warlock 5.5e Guide

Warlock 5.5e Guide Rating Scheme

This guide is a deep dive into the DnD 5.5e Warlock. For a quick overview of other classes, check out our Guide to DnD Classes.

The color code below helps you quickly identify how good an option is for your Warlock. These ratings are guidelines, and sub-optimal choices can still be fun and viable.

• Red: Weak, unlikely to contribute to your build
• Orange: Situationally good, but below average
• Green: A solid choice
• Blue: A great option worth considering
• Sky Blue: One of the best choices for optimization

Warlock Overview

Warlocks are versatile casters who strike bargains with powerful patrons, gaining eldritch invocations and pact magic. They are renowned for powerful cantrip-based damage, customizable abilities, and the ability to lead the party’s social endeavors as a master manipulator.

Playing a 5.5e Warlock

Warlocks specialize in burst damage, battlefield control, and negotiation:

Party Roles

1.  Ranged Damage Dealer: Reliable, potent damage thanks to buffed Eldritch Blasts or other attack cantrips.
2. Control: Battlefield-controlling spells like Hypnotic Pattern and debuffs like Fear.
3. Face of the Party: Social interactions thanks to high Charisma, and charm and illusion magic.

Your chosen patron strongly influences your Warlock’s playstyle. Each subclass offers distinct flavor and mechanics:

Levelling Up Your 5.5e Warlock

In this section, we’ll walk through your Warlock’s journey, level by level, highlighting key features and optimization tips to make the most out of your eldritch powers.

Level 1

• Eldritch Invocations: Seeing as Warlocks don’t get their subclass at level 1 anymore, you now gain an Eldritch Invocation right of the bat, letting you still start to customize your Warlock early. We cover the Warlock’s invocation journey in more depth in our guide to Warlock invocations. Remember, you can swap out invocations as you level up to stay flexible.
• Pact Magic: Pact Magic is another one of the Warlock’s differentiating features. It’s a form of spellcasting, but with some interesting twists. First, you know have less spell slots to spend than traditional casters, but regain all Pact Magic slots on a Short or Long Rest. Also, you only have one spell slot level, meaning all of your spells are cast at the “Slot Level” that corresponds to your Warlock’s level in the Warlock features table. This makes Warlocks able to toss around some big magic, but they’ll have to have a Short Rest after to recharge. In the 2024 rules, Warlocks now prepare spells rather than knowing a fixed list, giving you Cleric-like flexibility. For a breakdown of the best Warlock spells, check out our Warlock Spell Guide.

Level 2

• Magical Cunning: A huge quality-of-life feature, Magical Cunning lets you regain half your Pact Magic slots (rounded up) with just 1 minute of focus, once per Long Rest. This makes you less reliant on your party constantly taking Short Rests and helps keep you in the fight longer, especially in action-packed adventuring days.

Level 3

• Warlock Subclass: You pick your Patron Subclass here (like the Archfey, Fiend, Great Old One, or Celestial). Subclasses provide both expanded spell lists and unique features that shape your playstyle. We’ll cover each subclass in detail in a future breakdown.

Level 4

• Ability Score Improvement: Maximize Charisma first, since it’s tied to spell attacks, save DCs, and invocations like Agonizing Blast. But if you’re considering feats, our Warlock Feat Guide has you covered. You gain this feature again at Warlock levels 8, 12, and 16.

Level 9

• Contact Patron: No more awkward DM hand-waving when you’re reaching out to your mysterious benefactor! You can now cast Contact Other Plane once per Long Rest without any risk of madness. But here’s the catch—while a direct line to a powerful Fiend, Fey, Celestial, or Great Old One can be incredibly beneficial, how useful this truly is hinges on how entwined your patron is with your campaign. On top of that, it also brings intriguing moral dilemmas into play. For instance, a Warlock who frequently chats with an Archfiend might slowly become corrupted, subtly influencing their decisions or goals. Ultimately, the effectiveness and narrative impact of Contact Patron depend heavily on how your Dungeon Master wants to handle your Warlock’s relationship with their Patron, so make sure you talk about expectations ahead of time!

Level 11

• Mystic Arcanum: Starting at level 11, you gain a free cast of a level 6 spell, chosen from the Warlock list. Unlike 2014, you can swap these Arcanum spells when leveling up, meaning you’re no longer locked into a spell that no longer fits the campaign. Need a damage nuke one arc, and a utility spell the next? You’ve got options! You gain more high-level spells (and the ability to cast them once per Long Rest) as you level up: level 13 (level 7 spell), 15 (level 8 spell), and 17 (level 9 spell). We cover the best options to choose for your Mystic Arcanum in our Warlock Spell Guide.

Level 20

• Eldritch Master: A minute is 10 rounds of combat so this isn’t useful if you’re in a fight. If you can find a minute between fights, you can usually find 60 minutes to do a Short Rest. Plus, you can only do this once per Long Rest AND it doesn’t restore Mystic Arcanum slots. This is a disappointing capstone ability.

Warlock Origins

2024 Player's Handbook Species

Aasimar: Some good options for an Eldritch Blast-happy blaster caster Warlock, especially with the evasion that comes with an innate Fly Speed. The extra damage from Celestial Revelation will also be decently easy to trigger with all your spell attack options.

Dragonborn: You already have access to Burning Hands, and would rather avoid damage than have Resistance. Flight and Darkvision are good, but there are more synergistic options.

Dwarf: Poison Resistance and extra Hit Points help offset the Warlock’s low Hit Dice, while Tremorsense and Darkvision can aid in situational awareness. A Dwarf Pact of the Blade Warlock can be surprisingly durable.

Elf: Getting to take your pick of a Wizard cantrip each Long Rest is great for Warlocks. Combined with some extra useful spells, the High Elf lineage is a solid pick.

Gnome: Gnome Cunning protects Warlocks from enemy spellcasters. Darkvision and Small size help with positioning, while Forest Gnome’s illusion can add tricks to their repertoire.

Goliath: Warlocks struggle with keeping spell slots through a long adventuring day, a the Goliath helps in two aspects. You can take Cloud's Jaunt for access to teleportation which doesn't require spell slots. Or, you can lean into it and take Fire's Burn and deal an extra 1d10 with your Eldritch Blasts.

Halfling: Basically the only thing worthwhile here is Luck, which is decently useful for all the Eldritch Blasting you'll be doing. It can also apply to saving throws or ability checks, but there are other races that offer more value for Warlocks.

Human: Humans are a solid choice for Warlocks. Heroic Inspiration ensures you land key attacks or saves, and the extra skill proficiency can get you access to Persuasion, which helps your role as the party face. For an Origin feat, Magic Initiate expands your spell selection and a free level 1 spell slot, while Lucky offers increased reliability across combat and exploration.

Orc: Orcs make decent Warlocks. Adrenaline Rush allows better positioning for Eldritch Blasts or other AoE spells, and Relentless Endurance offers survivability, though other races may suit spellcasters better.

Tiefling: Chthonic Tieflings make exceptional Warlocks. They're very on-theme with Resistance to Necrotic damage and include a couple of extra spells with free uses. Both False Life and Ray of Enfeeblement fit great into the Warlock playstyle. Infernal Tieflings are also a solid look, but you'll probably want to cast Eldritch Blast more often than Fire Bolt. Still, Resistance to Fire damage and useful spells like Hellish Rebuke and Darkness make this a tempting choice.