D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook reveal: "New Warlock"

"The character builder's paradise".

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We last saw the Warlock in Playtest 7, with a lot of features from 2014 restored from the previous version. Still, a lot of questions (for me) remain: here's my list from before the video ran:

Spoiler

• Will the three pacts still be invocations, and will it be possible to get all of them by level 2? (I hope not). Yes.
• If they are invocations, will people still believe they are getting more invocations than thry had in 2014? Yes.
• What will the Pact of the Chain special creature options be? (We've seen the Sphinx of Wonder previewed already.) Is there still going to be a (M-sized) skeleton option? YES!
• Will Pact of the Tome still have the lame rewritten Ritual Caster rules, of only two 1st level rituals, and never any more? (I hope not). No answer, but I doubt it's been changed.
• Is it conceivable that anyone would not take Pact of the Blade as one of their Invocations? (Doubt it.) No answer. They did not talk about whether later invocations will give Extra attack, or other concerns here.
• Will anyone be able to take Eldritch Blast? "Warlock Specific"

(Happily, many of these questions were indeed answered in the video!).
I think warlock really benefits from having the subclasses come at level 3: you can "dabble" in the occult without selling your soul until level 3 (though admittedly, the wording of the fluff text does not require you to sell your soul).

OVERVIEW

• Invocations at 1, Magical Cunning at 2 (as in PT7)
• Crawford claims we will get more eldritch invocations. Assuming the table's as in PT7, this is a bit of a fudge: there's one for a pact at level 5 (no gain) and one extra, at level 5, and for most it will go, I feel, to another pact). Yes there's more flexibility.
• Main choices are Pact Boons. "This is a big deal" -- "it is a juicy choice" they say, and Crawford makes it clear you can get them all "over time". "Over time", though, is by level 2. To me this is too much too early.
• NEW: all pact boons at level 1 now.
• NEW: "More Spooky critter options" for Pact of the Chain, speaking to Patron types. Complete list: Slaad tadpole. Skeleton, Imp, Pseudodragon, Quasit, Sprite (Fey), Sphinx of Wonder (Celestial), Venomous Snake. All will be in the PHB.
• Spellcasting has been enhanced: more invocations work with warlock spells. Now they don't just affect Eldritch Blast (which is warlock-specific -- not clear how that's mechanized, though). You can have Ray of Frost with Repelling Blast.
• NEW: Lessons of the First Ones only lets you take an Origin Feat.
• Contact Patron at 9, Mystic Arcanum at 11+, expanded spell list (though not as big as sorcerer).
• All subclasses get an expanded spell list.

SUBCLASSES

ARCHFEY - "a teleportation fantasia"

• Gameplay was not living up to the flavour. Going "all-in" on Teleportation.
• Additional effects occur whenever you cast the spell, not just the free casting from Steps of the Fey. (Refreshing step and Taunting Step confirmed, as in PT7 apparently).
• Beguiling Defenses, causing psychic damage
• Bewitching magic at 14 as in PT7 -- "ridiculous in all the best ways".

CELESTIAL

• NEW: from expanded class spell list. Summon Celestial on spell list.
• NEW: Guiding Bolt, Cure wounds and Aid (Aid was not on PT7 list) on subclass list
• You can be "a hired hitman from the gods"
• NEW: Searing Radiance at 14 now can apply to an ally.

FIEND

• Magical weapons no longer pass your damage resitance (in reference to Fiendish Resilience at 10?)
• "tankiness" seen in BG3 is also here: Dark One's Blessing seems completely rewritten, as it was described in the Design Note of the PT7.

GREAT OLD ONE

• NEW: Summon Aberration might be a version of the Mind Flayer (an option in the Summon Abberation spell)
• when you do damage, you can do psychic.
• Psychic Spells for enchantment/illusion without Verbal/Somatic (but you still need Material); damage may be Psychic. Clairvoyant Combatant can be a battle of wills (focusing damage to one target -- a nod to AD&D psionic battles). Eldritch Hex also as in PT7.

 

[overgeeked]

About 17:00 minute mark. Taunting step. Teleport and give a target disadvantage to attack anyone but you. Hmm. That’s downright swordmage kite tanking. Might have to try 2024 after all.

 

[Stalker0]

Really?
Charisma to Attack, always having an unresisted damage type, mastery property on any weapon. That's substantial, even without extra attack.

EB already has charisma to attack, and force damage is basically unresisted in like 95% of combats. So unless your investing in it, your taking the invocation purely for weapon mastery.

I mean that sounds fine, not saying its a bad choice, but certainly not a "must have" option.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

From the sounds of the video they’ve folded a lot of the hexblade into the blade pact.

The portion of Hexblade that is just "look, we fixed blade pact", yes.

I'd argue there's still plenty of room for a proper "Shadowfell" patron focusing on dark shadow magic, hexes, and curses, though... With a bit of work (and perhaps a new name), a revised Hexblade could fill that role pretty well.

 

[Pauln6]

The portion of Hexblade that's "look, we fixed blade pact", yes.

I'd argue there's still plenty of room for a proper "Shadowfell" patron focusing on dark shadow magic, hexes, and curses, though... With a bit of work (and perhaps a new name), Hexblade could fill that role pretty well.

My character is exactly this and I have been mixing and matching to try and retain the flavour. I ended up multiclassing into sorcerer but even there, there are just none of the classic shadow spells in 5e.

What's the word on Eldritch Blast? Class feature based on warlock level or class specific spell not on the main list?

 

[mellored]

Fair enough.

As I said in the OP, for me there's a big disappointment coming from the placement of pacts with invocations:

• you can have all three by level 2 (and I expect many will want two)

Agonizing blast, repelling blast, lance of lethargy (?), Eldritch mind, devils sight, mask of many faces.
Lots of good options.
Tome is probably on the weaker side, but the level 9 is solid.

And true strike exsist now too. So blade isn't the only way to attack with Cha (Though it is the only way to multi-attack).

• the "expanded number of choices" (from 8 to 10 in the playtest) in fact boils down to only one extra invocation at level 5 (since pact is one of them)

Not sure why an extra invocation or 2 is a disappointment.

• pact of the blade is too good compared to the others -- I think eveyone wil end up with it, by level 5 at the latest.

I disagree.
Certainly good for paladins, but you need to spend 2/3 of your invocation for it to work well at 5. Maybe all 3 in order to get medium armor via the lessons of the first one.

I would probably stick with the classic devils sight + Agonizing blast + repelling blast over hexblade.

Now at 11, that's a different story. Hopefully they nerfed the 3rd attack.

• (unconfirmed) the weakening of Ritual Caster feat (carried over into Pact of the Tome) ultimately weakens the teamwork aspect of an adventuring party -- having two rituals, both level 1, is just a disappointment.

This i agree is a disappointment. Assuming it's the same.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

It depends on how it's implemented. If it's just +Cha to damage for one cantrip, then EB is still the right choice at 5th level, OR EB has been majorly nerfed.

The example they gave was adding Repelling Blast to Ray of Frost so that you could knock back and slow an opponent at the same time.

 

[Micah Sweet]

My character is exactly this and I have been mixing and matching to try and retain the flavour. I ended up multiclassing into sorcerer but even there, there are just none of the classic shadow spells in 5e.

What's the word on Eldritch Blast? Class feature based on warlock level or class specific spell not on the main list?

Have you thought about working with your GM to add the old ones back in?

 

[mellored]

What's the word on Eldritch Blast? Class feature based on warlock level or class specific spell not on the main list?

Think it's still just a warlock cantrip.

It's really not much of an improvement over firebolt unless you get Agonizing blast.

 

[Pauln6]

Have you thought about working with your GM to add the old ones back in?

3e Tome of Magic had some great flavourful shadowcaster spells that you might be able to tie into invocations maybe? They fitted into at will, short rest, and long rest from what I recall.

 

[Kurotowa]

The example they gave was adding Repelling Blast to Ray if Frost so that you could knock back and slow an opponent at the same time.

In UA7, Agonizing Blast had the option to apply to it other Warlock cantrips. The thing is it was better for EB, because it applied to every hit, and you could only reassign which cantrip it was attached to when you leveled up. So it wasn't a very strong option unless you had another good reason not to use EB, like Celestial getting a bonus to fire and radiant damage spells.

While it's cool they're expanding the design to Repelling Blast, and probably Eldritch Spear too, it's pretty limited unless they loosen the restrictions on when you can reassign what cantrip it applies to. With the UA7 design it's still encouraging you to go all-in on one cantrip. I'd love to see them open it up, so that a Tome Pact Warlock could really leverage having an arsenal of more niche cantrips at their disposal.