Warlock Subclasses 5e
From Fiend-powered eldritch powers to Celestial-infused divine healing, what Warlock subclass will you choose?

Martina Fackova - Wizards of the Coast - Tasha, the Witch Queen
What is this guide?
This guide is meant as a deep dive into the 5e warlocks subclasses. For the full overview of the warlock class, check out our warlock class guide.
To allow you to scan through the options quickly, we use the following color rating scheme:
- 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
Hexblade
Channel your powers through a weapon summoned from the plane of shadows.
Check out our Hexblade 5e guide for a more in-depth breakdown of the Hexblade subclass, including build recommendations, playstyle breakdowns, and an example build.The Archfey
The Archfey Warlock focuses on using the glamor and magic of the fey to ensnare the senses of enemies.
Check out our The Archfey 5e guide for a more in-depth breakdown of the The Archfey subclass, including build recommendations, playstyle breakdowns, and an example build.1st level
The Archfey spells:
1st level
- Sleep: Sleep is a very good 1st level spell slot. It can easily end encounters at lower levels. By the time you reach 5th-level it will be pretty useless unless you want a semi-consistent way of none lethal damage.
- Faerie Fire: Faerie fire is a better spell overall than sleep for the Archfey warlock because it scales and is a great way to deal with pesky invisibility.
2nd level
- Calm Emotions: The fact that this spell has two different use cases makes it decent, even if those events may not come up too often. Enemies often have effects that charm or frighten in an area of effect, so being able to suppress those effects also in an area of your choosing could save your whole party. When used on enemies, you can make them non-hostile for a whole minute, giving you enough time to escape. The main issue with this spell is the concentration and the relatively small radius.
- Phantasmal Force: There are extreme situations where this could be useful, but it is simply not a good spell.
3rd level
- Blink: 50% chance of completely avoiding any damage for a turn is more consistent over a long period than mirror image and better for builds with lower ACs than blur. Plus, it isn’t concentration.
- Plant Growth: Slows down pesky enemies moving around a lot or trying to escape, but not particularly good at either. Also cool for story beats to restore nature that has been devastated by war.
4th level
- Dominate Beast: Not many Beasts are going to be worth your 4th level spell to dominate. If you’re fighting a CR8 T-Rex you’ll wish you had this spell.
- Greater Invisibility: Being able to attack or cast spells while invisible is a huge upgrade from regular invisibility. Give it to a melee party member and watch them get advantage on every attack and disadvantage on attacks against them, bonus points if it’s a paladin or rogue for extra crit + Divine Smite / Sneak Attack potential.
5th level
- Dominate Person: Amazing spell when fighting humanoids. Taking over the mind of an enemy can completely swing the direction of the encounter. While spells like hold person can take an enemy of the fight, dominate person can make that enemy into an ally essentially creating a two for one. If you are fighting against humanoids a lot in the late game, this is a simply outstanding spell.
- Seeming: Neat out of combat spell.
6th level
10th level
14th level
The Celestial
Channel the power of an entity of the Upper Planes into divine healing energy.
Check out our The Celestial 5e guide for a more in-depth breakdown of the The Celestial subclass, including build recommendations, playstyle breakdowns, and an example build.1st level
The Celestial spells:
Cantrip
- Light: Useful, but there are plenty of ways around having to pick up this spell. As long as your not underwater, simple torch could save you a slot for another cantrip.
- Sacred Flame: Good ranged damage option early on but not as good as eldritch blast. Scales well as a source of radiant damage and works with Radiant Soul.
1st level
- Cure Wounds: A staple healing spell that is very unusual for Warlocks to possess. Unfortunately, it’s touch and costs a full action. Scales well with levels.
- Guiding Bolt: Fantastic damage early on, and if the creature doesn’t die the next attack against it gets advantage which should do the trick.
2nd level
- Flaming Sphere: Not the best damage, but AoE and the ability to move the sphere and continually cause damage as a bonus action makes this a good use of resources. Especially so if you are up against a horde of weak enemies. Damage scales well with warlock spell levels.
- Lesser Restoration: Diseases and conditions do come up from time to time, so you’ll be happy to have this when they do.
3rd level
- Daylight: The light cantrip on steroids. The biggest downside of this spell is the misleading name which causes people to think that this spell actually produces daylight, which can be helpful when fighting creatures with Sunlight Sensitivity. Dispelling darkness could be situationally useful.
- Revivify: Every party needs a party member with revivify. The nature of D&D is such that PC deaths happen fairly easily, so your friends will be looking to you to save them from that fate. Because each round of combat is 6 seconds, a party member that dies during combat can typically be revived within 1 minute. Make sure you’ve got diamonds worth 300 gp on you if you’re planning on stocking this spell.
4th level
- Guardian of Faith: A decent way to get some extra damage in if you know that a fight will take place in a specific location. Guardian of Faith can also be used as a sort of alarm when taking a long rest in a dangerous place. Doesn’t scale with Warlock spell levels.
- Wall of Fire: Amazing battlefield control option to divide enemies and deal massive damage.
5th level
- Flame Strike: Not particularly exciting when you compare it with fireball but seeing as the Celestial warlock doesn’t get fireball this is as good as your AoE will get.
- Greater Restoration: Great spell to have that can get you or party members out of very tricky situations.
6th level
10th level
14th level
The Fathomless
Draw power from the crushing, dark cold of the deepest oceans.
Check out our The Fathomless 5e guide for a more in-depth breakdown of the The Fathomless subclass, including build recommendations, playstyle breakdowns, and an example build.1st level
The Fathomless spells:
1st level
- Create or Destroy Water: Being able to conjure 10 gallons of water isn’t particularly effective unless you are dying of thirst in a desert.
- Thunderwave: A fantastic, low-level way to knock opponents back if you find yourself in a sticky situation. Damage isn’t bad either but it targets CON saves.
2nd level
- Gust of Wind: This spell is usually useless unless you find yourself in a rare situation where you can use it to push multiple enemies off of a cliff.
- Silence: Silence is a niche spell with a high ceiling. It can be used in stealth scenarios but it’s most powerful usage is if you can target a caster who won’t be able to cast spells requiring a verbal component. Of course, it’s only a 20ft radius so you will either need to be fighting in close quarters or will need to find a way to prevent the caster from moving.
3rd level
- Lightning Bolt: Does as much damage as fireball but has a less effective AoE because it’s a line rather than a circle.
- Sleet Storm: Messes with enemy concentration, can extinguish flames, and has the potential to knock enemies prone.
4th level
- Control Water: A very effective spell, but only if you’re around water.
- Summon Elemental: Unfortunately, the water elemental is by far the weakest summon because it has the worst damage resistance and movement buff. That said, it is still effective and scales with higher spell slots.
5th level
- Bigby’s Hand: Bigby’s hand truly does it all. It can do turn after turn damage, help you escape dangerous situations, hold down a baddy, and allow you to fly all while increasing your action economy because it only uses a bonus action to command. Warlock’s usually want to keep their bonus action open for hex, but the utility that Bigby’s hand provides is well worth it.
- Cone of Cold: Not quite as potent as fireball or lightning bolt for the resource of a 5th-level spell slot and it targets CON saves which are a common proficiency in monsters.
6th level
10th level
14th level
The Fiend
Summon the power of the Nine Hells to smite your enemies with fiery dark energy.
1st level
The Fiend spells:
1st level
- Burning Hands: One of the better AoE damage spells you can get at 1st-level but there are better direct damage spells and better mass effect spells. This filler spell can be great if you catch a group of enemies close together.
- Command: Very effective charm spell that can be very versatile in combat, you can lock down opponents, cause them to drop important items, and so on. Make sure the target can understand your language before casting. Unfortunately, it only lasts one round so using it out of combat is pretty tricky.
2nd level
- Blindness/Deafness: Very effective debuff that doesn’t require concentration. The only downside is that it targets CON.
- Scorching Ray: A potential 6d6 focused damage at a 2nd-level spell slot, can target multiple opponents, and has crit potential. Combines especially well with hex.
3rd level
- Fireball: The gold standard for damage spells in 5e. This spell was intentionally designed to be overpowered for a 3rd-level slot, making it the most optimal choice when looking to lay the hurt down.
- Stinking Cloud: Used in the right circumstances, like locking enemies in a room then casting this into the locked room or when an enemy has to funnel through a “choke” point (heh). Outside of these specific situations, it’s quite mediocre.
4th level
- Fire Shield: Fire shield is a decent buff for martial casters but casters that prefer to maintain a distance likely won’t find much use for it. The fact that it provides resistances to two different damage types can make it especially potent for builds looking to tank for their party.
- Wall of Fire: Amazing battlefield control option to divide enemies and deal massive damage.
5th level
- Flame Strike: Not particularly exciting when compared to fireball. It does the same amount of damage but has a better damage type (half radiant/half fire) and has a slightly larger radius. The “improved” damage type doesn’t mean much because it still does half of it’s damage as fire damage. So, if you’re looking to work around fire resistance, this won’t be a worthwhile choice.
- Hallow: More of a DM spell than a player spell. It has an extremely long casting time and no particularly potent effects.
6th level
10th level
14th level
The Genie
Make a deal with a genie to gain access to elemental abilities and the genie’s infamous wish-granting powers.
Check out our The Genie 5e guide for a more in-depth breakdown of the The Genie subclass, including build recommendations, playstyle breakdowns, and an example build.1st level
6th level
10th level
14th level
The Great Old One
Draw upon the unfathomable power of eldritch beings to drive your enemies insane.
Check out our The Great Old One 5e guide for a more in-depth breakdown of the The Great Old One subclass, including build recommendations, playstyle breakdowns, and an example build.1st level
The Great Old One spells:
1st level
- Dissonant Whispers: One of the best 1st-level spells in the game. Verbal only components, good range, psychic damage, and can cause an enemy to move away from an ally. Not only does this provide support on the battlefield, but it can also cause an opportunity attack which makes the spell even more powerful.
- Tasha’s Hideous Laughter: Poor man’s hold person. Still a great spell but the fact that they get to make saves after each time they take damage drastically reduces its effectiveness. If you can, save this for non-humanoids and use hold person on humanoids.
2nd level
- Detect Thoughts: Useful spell for interrogations, or to determine if there are any hidden creatures near your location.
- Phantasmal Force: There are extreme situations where this could be useful, but it is simply not a good spell.
3rd level
- Clairvoyance: Not many situations will call for this spell but it can be useful for scouting.
- Sending: Nice utility spell. Hopefully, you don’t have to waste your precious spell slots on it but if you need to make a long-distance call right before taking a short rest it can prove useful.
4th level
- Dominate Beast: Not many Beasts are going to be worth your 4th level spell to dominate. If you’re fighting a CR8 T-Rex you’ll wish you had this spell.
- Evard’s Black Tentacles: Crowd control that grants the Restrained condition and continuous damage depending on if you can keep enemies in the area.
5th level
- Dominate Person: Amazing spell when fighting humanoids. Taking over the mind of an enemy can completely swing the direction of the encounter. While spells like hold person can take an enemy of the fight, dominate person can make that enemy into an ally essentially creating a two for one. If you are fighting against humanoids a lot in the late game, this is a simply outstanding spell.
- Telekinesis: This is a great spell to have perpetually stocked. Toss enemies around the battlefield or crush your enemies with a giant rock.
6th level
10th level
14th level
The Undead
Break free from the circle of life and death by channeling the power of a patron who exists beyond death’s veil.
Check out our The Undead 5e guide for a more in-depth breakdown of the The Undead subclass, including build recommendations, playstyle breakdowns, and an example build.1st level
The Undead spells:
1st level
- Bane: A simple and effective low-level debuff. Scales well with warlock spell slots.
- False Life: A good way to get temp hp, but you will be given a better way to do this in your Form of Dread feature. Still, one-hour duration and no concentration can make this a worthwhile way to heal after your Form HP have run out.
2nd level
- Blindness/Deafness: Very effective debuff that doesn’t require concentration. The only downside is that it targets CON.
- Phantasmal Force: There are extreme situations where this could be useful, but it is simply not a good spell.
3rd level
- Phantom Steed: Situational. If you need to do any serious traveling, this spell means you won’t need to buy a horse but only lasts for one hour.
- Speak with Dead: Get some interesting lore, help solve a mystery, or get advice on how to proceed through a dungeon.
4th level
- Death Ward: Has an 8-hour duration and doesn’t require concentration so it could be a good spell to cast pre-emptively if you have the ability to regain spell slots during a short rest.
- Greater Invisibility: Being able to attack or cast spells while invisible is a huge upgrade from regular invisibility. Give it to a melee party member and watch them get advantage on every attack and disadvantage on attacks against them, bonus points if it’s a paladin or rogue for extra crit + Divine Smite / Sneak Attack potential.
5th level
- Antilife Shell: Great option if you find yourself in trouble in melee combat. It will also hedge out your allies so keep that in mind.
- Cloudkill: Not great in an open field but if you can get the drop on an enemy or contain a group of enemies within the spell it can be very effective because it deals damage turn after turn, as long as the caster keeps concentration. It can also be effective to block off a vantage point used by ranged enemies.
6th level
10th level
14th level
The Undying
Gain mastery over death with the help of an unnaturally immortal patron.
1st level
The Undying spells:
1st level
- False Life: Temporary hit points are always useful, especially at very low levels where characters can be taken out in a single hit.
- Ray of Sickness: Damage isn’t great but Poisoned is a nasty condition. Unfortunately, the save targets CON, a common proficient saving throw, and immunity to the Poisoned condition is also fairly common. Don’t try to cast this at Constructs, Fiends, or Undead at the very least.
2nd level
- Blindness/Deafness: Very effective debuff that doesn’t require concentration. The only downside is that it targets CON.
- Silence: Silence is a niche spell with a high ceiling. It can be used in stealth scenarios but it’s most powerful usage is if you can target a caster who won’t be able to cast spells requiring a verbal component. Of course, it’s only a 20ft radius so you will either need to be fighting in close quarters or will need to find a way to prevent the caster from moving.
3rd level
- Feign Death: Extremely niche. Could be useful if you are attempting to recreate Romeo and Juliet.
- Speak with Dead: Get some interesting lore, help solve a mystery, or get advice on how to proceed through a dungeon.
4th level
- Aura of Life: Protection from hit point maximum reduction is very situational, although resistance to necrotic damage is handy when facing the undead. Bringing up all downed allies within the radius at the start of their turn sounds useful, but you will need to maintain your concentration until then for this to have an effect.
- Death Ward: Has an 8-hour duration and doesn’t require concentration so it could be a good spell to cast pre-emptively if you have the ability to regain spell slots during a short rest.
5th level
- Contagion: The poisoned condition is a pretty strong one and this spell grants the condition on-hit for at least 3 turns. You get the potential for more turns under the poisoned condition and a lasting effect which are both quite strong. Make sure to avoid casting this on constructs, undead, fiends, or elementals.
- Legend Lore: Gain some knowledge on things of legendary importance. While cool, it doesn’t do much most of the time.
6th level
10th level
14th level
Sources Used in This Guide
- : 2014 Player's Handbook
- 2024 PHB: 2024 Player's Handbook
- BR: Basic Rules
- GotG: Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
- SotDQ: Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
- ERLW: Eberron: Rising from the Last War
- EEPC: Elemental Evil Player’s Companion
- EGtW: Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount
- FToD: Fizban's Treasury of Dragon
- GGtR: Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica
- MotM: Monsters of the Multiverse
- MToF: Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
- MOoT: Mythic Odyessys of Theros
- PAitM: Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse
- PHB: Player's Handbook
- SAiS: Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
- SCoC: Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
- SCAG: Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
- TCoE: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
- TTP: The Tortle Package
- WBtW: The Wild Beyond The Witchlight
- : Unearthed Arcana
- VRGtR: Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft
- VGtM: Volo's Guide to Monsters
- XGtE: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything