D&D 5E Making new warlock. Need advice on Magic Initiate Feat

[monsterworkbench]

Making a warlock who is currently a Patron of the Fiend. I am human so have 2 feats. I chose Elemental Adept -Fire because the Fiend gives me tons of Fire spells. As for my 2nd I want Magic Initiate. Just not sure what sub class to pick for it. I assume I want to choose a level 1 spell that goes up with level since I only get 1? Thoughts?

 

[monsterworkbench]

My first thought was Wizard and learning Grease so I can really capitalize on my fire spells. Than I thought maybe Cleric for Heal Wounds...

 

[Prism]

The class you choose from defines which stat you use for the additional spells so since warlocks have got a cha focus you could look at bard spells. Alternatively choose spells that have no saving throw or attack roll so it doesn't matter, for example 'shield'. Also it doesn't scale with level - its always 1st and you can only ever cast it once per day. It doesn't add to your existing spell list. So for your heal wounds example you can cast one 1st level cure per day.

With all these restrictions its best choosing it for the extra cantrips really unless you really want another classes spell.

 

[monsterworkbench]

OK thanks, seems like it is not as good as I thought. Any other Feat suggestion? Thoughts on my Elemental feat?

 

[abirdcall]

Making a warlock who is currently a Patron of the Fiend. I am human so have 2 feats. I chose Elemental Adept -Fire because the Fiend gives me tons of Fire spells. As for my 2nd I want Magic Initiate. Just not sure what sub class to pick for it. I assume I want to choose a level 1 spell that goes up with level since I only get 1? Thoughts?

Are you using house rules for the feats? Otherwise you only get 1, and that is only if you are using Variant Human.

I think Actor is the best feat for a Warlock. It is really good with at will Disguise Self and/or Silent Image.

Elemental Adept is pretty weak. Stronger choices include: Inspiring Leader, Moderately Armoured, Resilient: Con

 

[monsterworkbench]

I thought it was 1 plus human variant.

 

[MarkB]

I thought it was 1 plus human variant.

Nope - aside from human variant, feats only kick in at 4th level.

 

[flametitan]

'. Also it doesn't scale with level - its always 1st and you can only ever cast it once per day. It doesn't add to your existing spell list. So for your heal wounds example you can cast one 1st level cure per day.

There was a sage advice from I think shortly before the errata was published that covered this. If you chose "warlock" using it, then the RAI was that warlock spells from MI counted as warlock spells on your spell list.

 

[ccs]

OK thanks, seems like it is not as good as I thought. Any other Feat suggestion? Thoughts on my Elemental feat?

Oh no, MI is great! You just have to REALLY consider wich list you're going to get those extra cantrips/lv1 spell from. And while you're doing that you should consider A) wich invocations you'll want, B) wich bonus spells from your patron are available. You might also want to consider wich spells are "in-character" for your warlock, not just wich ones provide the most bang.

For ex;
When my 1/2ling warlock (fey patron, chain pack) took MI at 4th lv I chose: Light, Mage Hand, & Expeditious Retreat (from the Sorc. list).

Light - because I'm a 1/2ling & I don't see in the dark. That's kinda important.... I also don't want to always be carrying a torch/lantern. (Neither does anyone else, really.) And as cool as the devil sight invocation is? There were just other invocations that fit my character much better. Like the one where I can cast detect magic at will! (trust me, it completely fits the character to do that).
Light is not on the Warlock spell list. So I had to go shopping elsewhere for it.

Mage Hand - another extremely useful utility. Especially if you're a 3' tall Halfling.... Do you know how many things are naturally out of my reach??? Well not any more. And it's provided a lot of amusement as well as utility.

Expeditious Retreat - I can, will, & do, run the heck away from danger! I had this spell from the warlock list initially for a few lvs. But how it played out at the table revealed that I really only ended up casting it about once per day. So it was really costly to keep it prepped as one of my 2 spells.
Taking it via MI allowed me to swap it out for something else, freed up that slot, and still allows me to flee at high speeds if the poop starts hitting the fan.

 

[Herobizkit]

I don't always take Magic Initiate
But when I do
I always take Find Familiar.

Find Familiar gives you many similar benefits as the Chain Pact's familiar does. You have a mutable, easily-replaceable pal on the battlefield that can Help you gain advantage on your foes, act as scout/spy (by seeing through its eyes), as well as being stereo-typically thematic (every "wizard"/warlock has a Familiar!). Sure, it costs you 10 bucks every time it dies, but if you don't abuse it, your DM might not try and target it all the time. Also, do keep in mind that you can change the shape of your Familiar with every new casting. And, being able to deliver touch spells (like, say, Shocking Grasp) for you is great.

I generally take Prestidigitation and either Minor Illusion (utility) or Shocking Grasp (combat) as my cantrips.