D&D 5E [poll] Warlock Satisfaction Survey

[Ath'kethin]

I went "mostly." The warlock annoys me less than the other caster classes. It is the only caster class I allow in my campaigns. I make two changes:

1. Warlocks have access to martial weapons. This is an almost insignificant boost (I really think the perceived value of martial weapon proficiency is overblown) but a warlock wielding a sword, axe, or mace is just a cool image.

2. I detest eldritch blast and the class's focus on it. It you take the cantrip you will basically do nothing else in combat, and if you don't take it half the invocations no longer apply to you.

I ban the cantrip and any invocations that normally would apply to it apply as applicable to any damage dealing spell.

EDIT: I have been talked into allowing the cantrip; we reflavored it to match the warlock's specific patron. For example, a warlock of Shub-Nigurath had an EB that manifested as vines and leaves exploding out of the target's body.

I also treat Warlocks as alchemists and experimenters, or at least I position them as such in my campaigns and encourage such approached by players. With no PC wizards or bards or clerics.or druids, warlocks have a number of roles they need to fill.

My 2 coppers.

 

[Seramus]

Couldn't disagree more. All three pacts offer a very meagre benefit which only becomes more useful if you invest in it via invocations. There's nothing really special about 3 cantrips, or the find familiar spell.

Pact of the Tome is massively powerful compared to both Blade and Chain. It just doesn't present that power immediately, and is more of a snowball effect as you accumulate rituals during play. Chain gives you an amazing scout, and you can leverage that recon and intelligence to some pretty impressive benefits, but there are many situations where having an invisible flying scout is not particularly useful. So Chain is so-so.

Blade is stuck in the unfortunate position of playing catch up with the Valor Bard, and they need to spend too many resources to get what Valor Bards just get for free.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

2. I detest eldritch blast and the class's focus on it. It you take the cantrip you will basically do nothing else in combat, and if you don't take it half the invocations no longer apply to you.

I''ve seen this complaint, and I don't get it. That's like griping that an eldritch knight uses his weapons too much. They get, like, NO spells. What else are they supposed to do in a fight?

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Couldn't disagree more. All three pacts offer a very meagre benefit which only becomes more useful if you invest in it via invocations. There's nothing really special about 3 cantrips, or the find familiar spell.

Additionally, your working under the assumption that flexibility, in terms of being competent at both range and melee, is worthless. The pact doesn't invalidate EB/AB, it just gives you another option when ranged combat isn't optimal. IME this happens a fair amount of the time, i.e. most of the combats when the party is facing more 1.5X combatants, and there are no barriers or bottlenecks.

3 Cantrips from any source is good utility. One of those will probably be guidance, which helps a lot in multiple pillars. An invisible spy is great use out of the box. A free melee weapon to encourage you to get into trouble is next to useless.

I've never seen a fight where I wished I had spent a considerable amount of my limited character resources to deal 50% of my regular damage as a backup plan. Plan to win, not to lose less badly.

 

[Ath'kethin]

I''ve seen this complaint, and I don't get it. That's like griping that an eldritch knight uses his weapons too much. They get, like, NO spells. What else are they supposed to do in a fight?

It's a great question, and one I'll answer with another: why was a caster class designed with only one option to use in a fight? A fighter can use a variety of weapons. A rogue has a variety of both weapons and options. Why design a class that has only one good tactic?

Removing Eldritch blast makes a warlock player think outside the box. If you want to just press the "b" button repeatedly, play a video game.

I don't force anybody to take any class.

 

[Caliban]

3 Cantrips from any source is good utility. One of those will probably be guidance, which helps a lot in multiple pillars. An invisible spy is great use out of the box. A free melee weapon to encourage you to get into trouble is next to useless.

I've never seen a fight where I wished I had spent a considerable amount of my limited character resources to deal 50% of my regular damage as a backup plan. Plan to win, not to lose less badly.

*shrug* You just have to use the right build for your bladelock. I've played a few and no one has ever felt they didn't pull their weight or that they did inadequate damage. Is is easy to do it poorly though, only a few builds work for them.

 

[Leatherhead]

I dislike the Warlock. (Shocker, right?)

Mostly because it limits what can be done with the Sorcerer. The Sorcerer isn't going to get powerful at-will magic, like a person who is made out of magic should, because the Warlock does that already. And there isn't going to be any "Fiendblood", "Fey-kissed", or "Aberration Spawn" Sorcerer, because that's too close to what the Warlock does already.

Which is ironic, because the other big problem I have about Warlocks, is that they are cribbing heavily from the Cleric's fluff as a servant of otherworldly beings. You can even make pacts with gods now.

Mechanically speaking, I don't care for their multiclassing (which isn't a problem about Warlocks per-say), or how 2/3 pacts are overshadowed by the other one. Yes, 3 extra cantrips+ all the ritual spells ever, is better than both invisible imps and summoning your own melee weapon.

 

[Caliban]

Mechanically speaking, I don't care for ... how 2/3 pacts are overshadowed by the other one. Yes, 3 extra cantrips+ all the ritual spells ever, is better than both invisible imps and summoning your own melee weapon.

"all ritual spells ever" requires an invocation (Book of Ancient Secrets). Plus you have to actually find the ritual spells, you don't get them automatically.

So you need to consider the other two pacts with the addition of at least one of their pact specific invocations as well.

So invisible imp plus unlimited range (voice of the master) or unlimited Hold Monster on fiends/celestials/elementals (chains of carceri)

Or summoning your own melee weapon (that looks however you want it too) plus an extra melee attack (thirsting blade) or adding charisma to damage on every attack (lifedrinker).

(Note: I'm not denying that the Pact of the Blade couldn't use some buffing, but it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be, if you work around its limitations.)

 

[Seramus]

It's a great question, and one I'll answer with another: why was a caster class designed with only one option to use in a fight?

To be fair, Silent Image is incredibly good in a group fight against anything but enemies with Blindsight/True Sight.

 

[Ganymede81]

I dislike the Warlock. (Shocker, right?)

Mostly because it limits what can be done with the Sorcerer.

I've actually advocated that, since the Warlock makes the Sorcerer redundant both thematically and mechanically, we should just scrap the Sorcerer and add dragons to the list of Warlock patrons