If you are so sure that the Warlock* is inferior to both the Ranger and the Rogue try this experiment:
Make a Infernal or Fey Warlock and set up a battle with a Rogue or Ranger in a 100’ by 100’ room. Maybe give it some pillars so everyone can use cover and play hide and seek. Run the fight and you’ll find that most of the time the Warlock rips the Rogue or Ranger to pieces.
Why?
Warlocks are best when the enemy has to attack them. Then both the Fey and Infernal at will powers are most effective and potentially do the most damage.
Compare Ranger with Twin Strike 2d10+1d8, Rogue with Rapier and Backstabber 3d8+8, and Infernal Warlock with Hellish Rebuke 3d6+10. See the post above. (Assuming 20 in main stat.)
The Infernal Warlock does about equivalent damage to the Ranger and the Rogue _even though_ s/he is attacking their best defense (Ref) and they are attacking the worst (AC), and tends to win out because s/he plain has more hitpoints: with Con as the primary stat, Infernal Warlocks tend to be about as tough in terms of hp and surges as a Fighter or Paladin.
The Fey Warlock wins consistently because Eyebite wastes the opponent’s attacks. Even though you do less damage, when you hit they probably lose their next turn. One on one, invisibility is almost as good as stun.
This doesn’t “prove” anything—the whole situation is completely artificial and unlikely to happen in actual combat. What it does suggest, however, is that a Warlock is most effective—potentially more effective than any of the other strikers, and thus a “better” class—when the situation most closely resembles this imaginary one on one missile battle.
Infernal Warlocks shine when they take damage, using their temp hp and getting the damage bump from Hellish Rebuke. When that is happening they potentially do as much damage as a Rogue while remaining on their feet much longer.
The Fey Warlock, by contrast, does less damage, but is a waste of time—for your opponents. One opponent will rarely be able to take out a Fey Warlock because of Eyebite and Misty Step teleports. Two become dangerous, but will still take sometime to beat the Warlock down—and tying up two opponents for the battle is more than worth it.
So, what does this tell us about how (and when) to play Infernal and Fey Warlocks?
First: Always try to set up a mini-fight in which you square off, one on one with a monster on the other side. Of course, this doesn’t work when the GM plain ignores you, so you should go for the soft targets, such Controllers, Missile troops and Lurkers. However, it doesn’t matter who it is, so long as you attract someone’s attention. Often if you attack the Leader you’ll suck in someone else and then you are off to the races.
Second: the Warlock is best when it is the only missile striker, perhaps the only striker, in a party. Even more so in a smaller party and when you don’t have a Wizard. Then the Warlock becomes a target of choice because s/he does more damage than the other characters and seems squishier. In these cases, moreover, except when fighting solos, there is usually someone to attack the Warlock, at which point their special abilites come into play.
(Note the corollary: the more strikers you have, the fewer Warlocks you want. Bow Rangers are the opposite of the Warlock: they are weakest when they attract fire, best when they are left alone. Thus, the imaginary “ideal” is the party of 5 Bow Rangers at extreme range, consistently running away and showering the opponents with arrows. The enemies’ best bet is to concentrate fire on one of them, leaving the rest to operate in ideal conditions.)
*Offer not valid for Star Warlocks. Try the tactics up thread instead.
