D&D (2024) They butchered the warlock in the new packet

[Minigiant]

Yup from “some utility some times but normally a big boom” to “no booms just utility.”

Basically they took the "Eldritch Blast Spamming Warlock who never casts spells" Meme literally.

 

[Scribe]

Had issues with the current Warlock, but thats kind of my face. I'm pretty sure this is not the direction I'd like.

 

[HammerMan]

You still can get big booms. Mystic Arcanum will allow a boom of appropriate level. Just not two to six per day.

Yup we did it out to have some semblance of what we have now it takes 4-7 invocations.

 

[Minigiant]

You still can get big booms. Mystic Arcanum will allow a boom of appropriate level. Just not two to six per day.

It costs you an invocation and isn't in the power budget.

That's the other poroblem.
You can now now take Agonizing Blast and Mystic Arcanum of all the most bust Arcane Attack spells.

Now the range of power in Warlocks varies drastically.

 

[HammerMan]

It costs you an invocation and isn't in the power budget.

That's the other poroblem.
You can now now take Agonizing Blast and Mystic Arcanum of all the most bust Arcane Attack spells.

Now the range of power in Warlocks varies drastically.

Well I am sure we will be told that’s a feature

 

[Nightfly]

It works in 4e and its clones (which includes 13Age), because that game revolves primarily around combat, often even the utilies. I say this as someone who loves playing 13Age.

That is simply untrue in 5e, demonstrably so with the example of Wild Beyond the Witchlight - an entire adventure that you can avoid all combat with. As much as some people like claiming that 5e is primarily about fighting and combat, there are official adventures and many parts in home games where you ... don't do combat. I remember once when my group spent three weekly sessions doing nothing but building a town. The group fighter ended up cutting down trees, the mages used Fly to run between towns and get food and clothes and starter seeds, etc.

As much as D&D loves its dungeons and monsters, there are just times when... D&D isn't about either. So planning a class that has any kind of non-combat inclination around combat ends up... not working. It works for the fighter, because the ability in question is a combat-only ability. It doesn't work for the warlock, because the warlock wants to do things outside of combat.

These are very good observations. Instead of continuing to debate this, I'm going to tip my hat to you for some well thought out points and let it go, especially since the thread had moved on.

But one parting thought: all the likes on my original post suggesting warlocks use encounter powers demonstrate that there's a real appetite for that idea. If 5e won't do it (which, let's be honest, it won't) some 3pp will. And good for whomever that will be.

(Also, you're making me sad I haven't played Wild Beyond the Witchlight. It sounds good!)

 

[Remathilis]

Yup we did it out to have some semblance of what we have now it takes 4-7 invocations.

Or, you know, RETRAIN them every few levels when they become outdated. You don't need your 3rd level MA when at 9th level you get 3rd level spells anymore...

 

[Nightfly]

But it’s like calling yourself “a fan of fighters in general” and saying you don’t like at-will classes. An at-will class is what the fighter is. Either you like at least one at-will class, or you aren’t exactly a fan of fighters. At best, you like the idea of fighters.

Respectfully, I also like the old warlock but hate the short rest setup, so it's not just that poster. The current 5e warlock is great, but the fact that sometimes you get four short rests and sometimes none is not great. I don't see a contradiction there. But if it is a contradiction... I contain multitudes?

 

[HammerMan]

Or, you know, RETRAIN them every few levels when they become outdated. You don't need your 3rd level MA when at 9th level you get 3rd level spells anymore...

That was the 4

At 20th level you only need 4 mystic arcanum. Before that you need the extra 5th level slot at least so 5

 

[Charlaquin]

If their spells aren't as important, then it doesn't matter if they are being changed to half-caster. You still have your cantrips (more of them, as EB is free and you have the full wizard list now) and you have more invocations now.

Seems they left the important parts intact.

I didn’t say the spells weren’t important I said they aren’t the warlock’s bread and butter. They’re the big nova options. Big nova options are important for the class to have, and it’s especially important for them to actually be big and impactful, which this change stops them from being.