D&D 5E Warlock as the arcane caster of the group?

[Eleclipse]

Hi everyone,


with a group of friends we are about to start a dnd next campaign, the rest of the party is composed of:


A paladin, a melee oriented cleric, an healing oriented cleric a ranger


So i need (and i want to ) be the arcane caster of the group, i like the new mage but i was intrigued by the warlock with the book pact.
The question is, can the warlock be a decent arcane caster for the group? I read it but i did't fully get what role he can have in a party with his limited number of spell.


Thanks in advance for any help

 

[Paraxis]

I think you should be fine, especially if you pick up the invocation Book of Ancient Secrets. Having access to every ritual spell in the game no matter the class, is a very cool ability.

 

[aramis erak]

The warlock is a perfectly reasonable arcane caster.

 

[transtemporal]

I guess slots refreshing on a short rest is nice, the eldritch blast thing is ok (if a bit one note), the spell selection is flavourful and kinda cool, hurl through hell is pretty sweet... but I must admit I found myself wondering what warlock does that wizard couldn't do better.

 

[aramis erak]

Really, the sorcerer's big deal is the faster recovery of slots.

The tweaking the hell out of Eldritch Blast, one of the longest ranged cantrips, is also pretty potent.

 

[Mirtek]

A warlock is more like an archer with the occasional arcane spell thrown in. No replacement for a wizard if you're looking for one who can lay down area damage over the whole day.

 

[Boarstorm]

I'm going to disagree. The warlock is more capable of all-day play than a wizard ... For frequent short battles, anyway. The short rest refresh also combos extremely well with fighters and others who get back their abilities after a short rest. They can go on and on and on, limited only by their hit dice.

With this group, you'll be a little handicapped by the clerics' need to long rest frequently at lower levels, but as the levels get higher, a warlock will come into his own

 

[Dausuul]

It really depends on what you want out of an arcane caster. Why do you think your party needs one?

Warlocks have less versatility than wizards or even sorcerers. First, the scope of their spell list is much more limited; second, while their slots do refresh on a short rest, they don't have a (relatively) big pool of low-level slots to draw on the way other casters do. So if you're looking for somebody to play Batman, with a utility belt full of tricks, warlock is not the class for you. You also don't have the option to "nova" the way other casters can.

On the other hand, warlocks can be very good in a more specialized role. If you want to be a blaster, for example, just go with a Fiend patron. Two fireballs every short rest is nothing to sneeze at. If you want to be an enchanter/trickster type, the Archfey has you covered. Et cetera. You can also pack a nasty punch as a sniper; with eldritch blast, hex, and Agonizing Blast, the warlock's single-target damage is not far off the martial classes.

 

[bganon]

As a Warlock you tend to have to focus on a 2-3 good tricks at early levels, but your patron selection can give you some variety. As has been pointed out, Hex + Eldritch Blast + Eldritch powerup invocations is a Warlock staple. Darkness + Devil's Sight is another good one (Devil's Sight is actually a remarkably powerful invocation).

You won't be Batman in combat. You basically only ever know around 2 spells of each spell level, but with some careful selection you can still get some variety. For example, if you're Infernal Patron at 5th level then you can know Command, Hex, Scorching Ray, Darkness, Fireball, and Dispel Magic. That's not a long list but still offers a variety of possibilities.

Tome Pact can give you a lot of utility outside combat, however. Potentially learn any ritual? Yes, thank you.

 

[Mirtek]

I'm going to disagree.

I have to disagree with your disagreement then.

The warlock is more capable of all-day play than a wizard

A day isn't long enough for enough hour-long breaks to have a warlock catch up with a wizard.

... For frequent short battles, anyway.

By level 10 a warlock has 2 spells per short rest as opposed to the wizard's 15 (plus his arcane recovery for another 5 spell levels). Assuming a four battles day, a level 10 wizard can drop 4 spells per battle without having to take a single short rest. The level 10 warlock will never be able to cast more than 2 even if there's a short rest after every battle. And if there's a situation when you can't short rest inbetween, you might be entirely without arcane spell slots in a battle even early in the day.

but as the levels get higher, a warlock will come into his own

I see quite the opposite. As levels get higher the warlock only having so few spells to cast per battle really hurt.

For the most part of a battle the warlock is playing archer with eldritch blast or figter with his pact weapon, but not a reliable replacement for a wizard who can lay down an area spell every round if needed.