D&D 5E Building a better Warlock

[Waterbizkit]

If I were inclined to make any changes, these are what come to mind at the moment:

1) Stop beating around the bush and just make Eldritch Blast a class feature while allowing Warlocks to select the same number of cantrips from a larger pool. This helps add more at-will magic to the class and frees players from always having Eldritch Blast sitting there screaming "Take me!"

1b) Additionally, make agonizing blast part of Eldritch Blast from the get-go and have Eldritch Blast scale with Warlock levels, no character levels. This removes what many feel is an "invocation tax" and reduces the likelihood of Warlock "dips" just to grab EB.

2) Give Pact of the Blade abilities that essentially mimic those of the Valor Bard. Some might not like this kind of "copy/pasta", but giving Bladelocks proficiency with medium armor, shields, and access to extra attack automatically at 6th level fixes just about every issue the pact has. You're no longer "taxed' to get extra attack and strength builds become much more viable without having to dip into fighter or paladin.

3) Invocations that grant a once per day spell don't also require the Warlock to expend a spell slot.

That's it off the top of my head. I like the class as is just fine, I haven't made any of these changes in my games, but I think the class would be the better for it if it's been built with some of these things in mind from the start.

 

[Racing Breca]

I really enjoy creating niches for my characters. Feats are awesome for this. Invocations serve this function also.
Having access to Eldritch Blast makes any non-combat specialized warlock instantly viable. Casting great damage from the safety of 120'. That is a huge boon.
If you haven't played around with mask of many faces yet; you are missing out. Such great RP fun!
One change to the class would be adding more at will invocations to the list.

 

[chunkosauruswrex]

If I were inclined to make any changes, these are what come to mind at the moment:

1) Stop beating around the bush and just make Eldritch Blast a class feature while allowing Warlocks to select the same number of cantrips from a larger pool. This helps add more at-will magic to the class and frees players from always having Eldritch Blast sitting there screaming "Take me!"

1b) Additionally, make agonizing blast part of Eldritch Blast from the get-go and have Eldritch Blast scale with Warlock levels, no character levels. This removes what many feel is an "invocation tax" and reduces the likelihood of Warlock "dips" just to grab EB.

2) Give Pact of the Blade abilities that essentially mimic those of the Valor Bard. Some might not like this kind of "copy/pasta", but giving Bladelocks proficiency with medium armor, shields, and access to extra attack automatically at 6th level fixes just about every issue the pact has. You're no longer "taxed' to get extra attack and strength builds become much more viable without having to dip into fighter or paladin.

3) Invocations that grant a once per day spell don't also require the Warlock to expend a spell slot.

That's it off the top of my head. I like the class as is just fine, I haven't made any of these changes in my games, but I think the class would be the better for it if it's been built with some of these things in mind from the start.

In addition to this I would prefer all future classes to take notes from the Raven Queen patron as I think it is the most well designed warlock we have seen(regardless of what peoples thoughts are as to having her as a patron). The Raven queen showed what a familiar based class should look like. Granting you abilities no other class can do with the merging, and a solid mechanical reason to use your familiar in combat with the advantage on someone who kills it.Then it has a really flavorful and powerful extended spell list with some spells that work really well with the limitations of pact magic like spiritual weapon and cone of cold.

 

[jgsugden]

I'd change the spell invocations so the you gain fewer, but they have more impact. There would be one invocation that accumulates all the eldritch blast buffs. Another invocation might give a cantrip, access to four spells added to your spells known, and the ability to cat another spell as a ritual. I want invocations to be major chart developments rater than little tweaks.

 

[Gadget]

I think the blade'lock needs a bit of help, it has pretensions of gish-ness that it doesn't quite deliver on, or at least not without a lot of system mastery. You're almost required to take a level in fighter to really make a go of it. The invocations that are once a day but cost a slot shouldn't cost a slot (and even then, most of them are not worth it except the polymorph one).

 

[mrpopstar]

I'd ditch the pact boons and free up the familiar, tome, and blade design space for dedicated class concepts.

What I mean is the classes cannibalize eachother's design space.

Tend to agree!

That whole pact slot thing is really weird, and it doesn't play well with the multiclass rules at all. I would either switch them over to regular spell slots, but keep them with a restricted spell list, or remove their slots entirely and go back to being at-will.

Definitely not a huge fan of the alternate casting system, myself.

 

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

I like this alternate Warlock that Caliburn101 offered in another thread.

the Warlock... with the following changes;

(a) Replace all but the 6th level Mystic Arcanum with an Eldritch Invocation
(b) Add Arcane Tradition of choice from the Wizard Class (now called 'Path of Mastery')
(c) Rename 'Otherworldly Patron' to 'Eldritch Bloodline' (the casters source of power)
(d) Rename 'Pact' to 'Arcanum' and the character gets Chain and Book variants
(e) Make Intelligence the spellcasting stat
(f) Use the Your Spellbook rules for the Wizard Class, this otherwise being the Book from the Warlock Pact
(g) Use Wizard Class Cantrip and Spells Known progression
(h) Use Wizard and Warlock Spell Lists
(i) Has Font of Magic like Sorcerer Class
(j) Remove Eldritch Blast from the game but allow all relevant Eldritch Invocations to apply to all damaging Cantrips

I haven't gotten to try it out, yet, but I am planning on building a few as NPCs for an upcoming adventure.

 

[Caithdein]

I was playing around with a revised Warlock that went back to a more 3.5e version, more invocation based and more eldritch blast shaping. Thread was here: Revised Warlock Thread

link to the latest build was: Warlock Rules

I haven't had a chance to play it yet due to not getting much time to game, I still think the spellcasting probably needs a review and a tweak as well