Warlock Optimation

[pawsplay]

Fortunately (for them), Warlocks tend to be great at Use Magic Device - and wands of Lesser Restoration are relatively cheap.

-Stuart

Heck, they can use the Paladin version and make them by themselves, extra cheap.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Consider the dragonfire adept from (iirc) dragon magic. A buddy played one in a one-shot this past weekend. At will breath weapons, armor, UMD, and he took the draconic aura feats to provide the party with a bonus to attack and damage or fast heal (max 50% hit points).

I'm not dissing the warlock as a blaster but the DFA's breath weapon could be switched between line or cone at will and with the Shaping enhancement could dodge allies. The downside is that the Warlock's EB can have more range and that all breath weapons are Ref saves, so rogues can ignore it.

We had "quasi 4e" game of a crusader, warblade/barbarian, DFA, mindblade, and a ranger (decided against playing a scout for some reason at the last minute.). The DFA did a decent job at the close-clombat blaster who could usually get multiple foes in each blast and could shape it to avoid the party. His combat bonus was definitely appreciated as was the fast heal. His AC was pretty good as well and I think the DFA natural armor bonus is probably better for longevity than the warlock's DR.

 

[Prophet2b]

Consider the dragonfire adept from (iirc) dragon magic.

Overall, I think I like the Warlock better... Dragonfire Adepts get some cool stuff, granted, but the lower BAB and fewer Draconic Invocations Known (not to mention they [the invocations] seem less cool to me - but maybe that's just me) just don't do it for me. That, and it seems like just about everything revolves around the DA's breath weapon. If you want to talk about a repetitive class, I could imagine nothing more boring than leveling and thinking, "Yay! My breath weapon got better! ...again!"

But maybe that's just me.

All that said, one nice thing about the DA is that they at least get 4 + Int for skills...

Anyone think it'd be overpowering or unbalancing to give the Warlock 4 + Int instead of just 2?

 

[RigaMortus2]

Consider the dragonfire adept from (iirc) dragon magic. A buddy played one in a one-shot this past weekend. At will breath weapons, armor, UMD, and he took the draconic aura feats to provide the party with a bonus to attack and damage or fast heal (max 50% hit points).

Minor nitpick, but he would have had to dip into Dragon Shaman (at least 1 level) in order to get the draconic aura "Vigor" (which is the fast heal aura that heals you up to half you hit points). This aura is not on the list of possible Draconic Auras you can choose via the feat from Dragon Magic.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Overall, I think I like the Warlock better... Dragonfire Adepts get some cool stuff, granted, but the lower BAB and fewer Draconic Invocations Known (not to mention they [the invocations] seem less cool to me - but maybe that's just me) just don't do it for me. That, and it seems like just about everything revolves around the DA's breath weapon.

Agree the DFA is pretty one-dimensional but the OP was talking about an EB-optimized warlock. "Whee, my EB got better! Again!" In that comparison, the DFA is a viable alternative. And it is a flavor-rich class. The Dragon Disciple in my game is waffling between DFA and Pyrokineticist.

I agree that the DFA invocations aren't quite as ... magical as the warlock but that works IMO as the warlock should be more "magic" than the DFA. The DFA's low BAB isn't as much of a penalty since their breath weapons don't have attack rolls and, IIRC, don't evoke AoOs. Voidsense (Blindsense) + darkness/fog cloud/etc is very useful for the DFA since they can target areas while having full concealment.

 

[Patlin]

I like a Xeph warlock build with Psionic Shot.

 

[wildstarsreach]

Having played a warlock in NWN 2 gives me a new appreciation for wanting to play the class. The reserve feats out of the complete mage though frustrate me.

Reserve feats are free actions, supernatural abilities and not subject to SR.

Eldritch Blasts are standard actions, spell like abilities and are subject to SR.

They degrade and make the Warlock almost not wanting to be played in my opinion. I will eventually play one for flavor. The reserve feats need a changed.

 

[wildstarsreach]

I like a Xeph warlock build with Psionic Shot.

Look down the line for greater psionic shot. Some attack with the occasional +4d6 to the attack. The only problem is that a creature with SR, it will also have PR, that means 2 separate rolls for the separate damage.

 

[Krafen]

After playing a Warlock for quite a while, I'd say don't bother with Point Blank Shot/Precise Shot. A decent BAB combined with Eldritch Blast being a ranged touch attack more than makes up for it. Despite regularly firing into melee through cover, I almost never miss.

I like Maximize Spell-like Ability: Eldritch Blast, mostly because it is nice to have a trump card.

See the Unseen and Fell Flight are really nice to have.

Use Magic Device is really nice to have. Make sure to take advantage of it. A few suggested wands are Shield, Reduce Person, True Casting (SC), Silence, and Glitterdust.

 

[pawsplay]

The reserve feats need to be erased from all recorded history.

Fixed that for you.