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Baldur’s Gate 3introduces the warlock as a blend of consistent ranged power and broad customization, with surprising ease-to-play for a spellcasting class. Leaning heavily on their signature Eldritch Blast cantrip, warlocks can consistently inflict damage without wrangling with the complex resource management that other full-casters face.
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Warlocks can further specialize through their pacts and Eldritch Invocations, unique enhancements that amplify their spells and character attributes. In all, Warlocks offer an accessible and versatile spellcasting experience while being one of the best ranged strikers of the game, which makes them a great choice for both novice and seasoned players alike.
Updated June 07, 2025:As of Patch 4, all Warlock patrons now grant a cantrip at level four as intended. This guide has been updated to reflect this, as well as offer recommendations for the best cantrips and spells to take for each playstyle.
Warlocks: An Overview
Bound by a pact to an all-powerful patron, warlocks trade their loyalty for supernatural abilities and unique magic.
The warlock is a highly formidablesingle-target striker, capable of deliveringrobust damageinshort bursts of combat. Itsunique spellcasting mechanismcenters onlimited spell slotsthat refresh onshort restsrather than the long rests of all other casters. They also always cast their spells at thehighest available level, yieldingintense, albeit brief, combat potency.
When they’re not blasting foes with pinpoint accuracy from afar, warlocks alsoflourish in social situationsdue to their high Charisma.
1
+2
2
1st
-
3
4
2nd
Pact Boon (Pact of the Blade, Pact of the Tome, Pact of the Chain)
5
Ability Improvement OR Feat
+3
6
3rd
7
8
4th
9
+4
10
5th
11
12
+1 Eldritch Invocations
Warlocks get two class ‘specializations’—theirpatron(subclass), which they choose atfirst level, and their pact, which they choose atthird level.
Theirpatronimpacts theirspells and class features, while theirpactgives them afurther specialization of playstyle. More on this in later sections!
Warlocks lean heavily on theEldritch BlastcantripandHex spell, which, while powerful, could lead torepetitive gameplay.
This can beoffset by the versatilityoffered byEldritch Invocations, which are smallcustomizationsthat enhance the Warlock’s abilities. Eldritch Invocations can give the warlocknew features andspellsandeven change how their existing spells work.
Although Warlocksindividually pack a punch, they don’t contribute significantly to theoverall synergyof a four-person party, lacking role specialization in support and reliable means of crowd-control.
And though hardier than some other full-casters, they stilllack the durabilityof most front liners.
These factors mean that warlocks flourish best in awell-balanced party with controllersanddefendersto keep enemies in check while the warlock blasts away.
Ability Scores
Charisma
The Warlock’smost important ability score. It’s yourSpellcasting Ability—affectingSpell Attack Rolls, SavingThrow DCs, andPrepared Spells.
Constitution
Constitutionwill affect your maximum hit points, and yourConcentration Savesto maintain long-term spells and Saving Throws against battlefield effects like poison.
Dexterity
Itaffects your AC.Dexterity Saving Throwsare also some of themore common onesseen on the field.
Strength, Wisdom, and Intelligence
ThoughStrength,Wisdom, andIntelligencehave less influence onmechanical benefits, they still impactskill checksandcarrying capacity, making themworth considering, depending on the type of character you are trying to build.
Skills Proficiencies
Warlocks start out with the standardtwo skill proficiencies,available in skills related toknowledge and magic.
Wisdom and Charisma
1d8
Starting Equipment
Padded Armor (11 AC + DEX Modifier), Simple Boots, 1x Dagger, 2x Potion of Healing, 1x Scroll of Revivify, 1x Supply Pack
Spellcasting
Warlocks use aspecial form of spellcastingthat completely differs from all other casters in the game.
Fewer spell slots
Many spell slots
Spell slots restored onShort Rest
Spell slots restored onLong Rest
Spells are always cast at thehighest level
Spells are cast at thelevel of the selected spell slot
Firstly, warlocks havemuch fewer spell slotsthan other spellcasters. For instance, afifth-level wizardwould havenine spell slots, while afifth-level Warlock has only two.
To balance this, instead of several differently-leveled spell slots, warlock spell slots arealways upcast to the highest level possiblefor that warlock level. This means thatevery single spellthat a fifth-level warlock casts will be castat third level—while a fifth-level wizard would havespell slots ranging from first to third level.
Lastly, warlock spell slots arerestored on a Short Rest, while all other casters onlyregain spell slots on a Long Rest.
Spellcasting Playstyle
All these factors make the warlocks excellentshort-term skirmishers, with the ability to castmanymorehigh-powered spellsper day than other spellcasters. However, they struggle indrawn-out fightsdue to their need toshort-restbetween every couple of spells.
In combat, warlocks should be using their scarce spell slots either onspells that scale well, thus benefiting greatly from the warlock’s upcasting,or spells that can help them set upconsistent damage increases for the rest of the fight(such asHex).
Cantrip
Eldritch Blast
Eldritch Blast is the bread and butter of the Warlock class, and is thehighest-damaging cantripin Baldur’s Gate 3, even without the extra buffs that theWarlock’s Eldritch Invocationsgive them. This is anexcellent ranged damage option, even if you plan on being a frontline.
Friends
It’s likely that your Warlock is the “face” of your party, being a Charisma caster. This cantrip can help you smooth palms and ease your way into otherwisedifficult social checks.
Hex
Hex works inperfect synergy with Eldritch Blast, as it takesonly a Bonus Actionto cast and can be used on the same turn as your Eldritch Blast. This adds on even more to youralready-high damage output,especially when you get more uses per Eldritch Blast at later levels.
Tasha’s Hideous Laughter
The Prone condition grants attackers aguaranteed critical hitwhen in melee, making this an excellent crowd-control spell to use with a hard-hitting martial ally. However, this spellcannot be up-castto higher levels, which makes it a bit of a waste for a Warlock.
Dissonant Whispers isa crowd-control alternativethat isn’t as devastating but scales better with the Warlock’s maximized spell level slots.
Shatter
Warlocks have excellent single-target damage by virtue of Eldritch Blast, but can bestrapped for good area-of-effect damage. Shatter is a low-level option that can help you fill that gap.
Misty Step
Whether you’re a caster or spellsword Warlock,positioning is vital. If you’re caught off guard in a fight, Misty Step can help you get onto enemies (or get them off ofyou).
Counterspell
As you proceed through the game and start facing more andmore formidable casters, Counterspell can mean the difference between a total party wipe when timed correctly.
Fireball
As mentioned above, Warlocks are oftenlacking in destructive area-of-effect spells, and what spell is more iconic than the classic high-damage Fireball?
Blight
Again, a gooddamaging area-of-effect spellfor consideration to make up for the Warlock’s lack thereof.
Dimension Door
Similar to Misty Step, Dimension Door can be used to not onlyreposition yourself, but a close ally.
Cone of Cold
A high-damage area spell thataffects targets in a cone, which can be useful if your allies are positioned disadvantageously for the more typical circular spell area. It inflictsCold damage, which can be used on wet targets todouble the damagedealt.
Circle of Death
Unleashes high area damagearound a specific target, which can be very helpful when enemies are plentiful and often grouped together in later parts of the game.
Class Features
In this section, we’ll go overeach warlock class feature,what they mean, and how toeffectively use them.
Prerequisites
Agonizing Blast
When you cast Eldritch Blast, add your Charisma modifier to the damage it deals unless it is negative.
Armor of Shadows
you’re able to cast Mage Armor on yourself at will without expending a spell slot.
Beast Speech
You can cast Speak with Animals at will without expending a spell slot.
Beguiling Influence
You invoke your patron’s bewitching charm. You gain proficiency in Deception and Persuasion Skills.
Devil’s Sight
You can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 24m
Fiendish Vigor
You can cast False Life on yourself at will as a 1st-level Spell without expending a spell slot.
Mask of Many Faces
You can cast Disguise Self at will without expending a spell slot.
Repelling Blast
When you hit a creature with Eldritch Blast, you may push the creature up to 4.5m away from you.
Thief of Five Fates
Once per long rest, you can cast Bane using a warlock spell slot.
One with Shadows
Vanish into the darkness and become Invisible. Invisibility ends early if you attack, cast another spell, take an action, or take damage.
Book of Ancient Secrets
You can inscribe magical rituals in your Book of Shadows.
Gain the Ray of Sickness, Chromatic Orb, and Silence spells. You can cast these spells once per Long Rest, and they don’t expend any spell slots when cast.
Warlock Level 9
Whispers of the Grave
you may cast Speak with Dead without expending a Spell Slot.
Lifedrinker
Your melee attacks deal additional necrotic damage equal to your Charisma modifier.
Warlock Level 12
At second level, warlocks gain twoEldritch Invocations. They continue to gain more as they progress through their warlock levels (once more at 5, 7, 9, and 12).
Unique to warlocks, invocations grant themsome versatile utilityin a class that would otherwise be locked into the striker role. Each invocation brings something new to the table, and they all have their own situational uses. That said, there are a few that stand out as especially strong picks in general play:
Pact Boon (Level 3)
Pact of the Chain
Gain theservice of a familiar, a fey spirit that takes a form you choose. This can be an animal, imp, or quasit
Pact of the Blade
You canSummon a pact weaponorBind the oneyou are wielding, making itmagical. Pact weapons use the wielder’sSpellcasting Ability Modifierinstead of Strength or Dexterity
Pact of the Tome
Your patron grants you a grimoire called “The Book of Shadows,” which allows you tocast Guidance, Vicious Mockery, and Thorn Whip
AtLevel 3,you gain extra power from your patron in the form of apact boon. Each pact can bevery usefuldepending on your play style and what roles your party lacks.
Chain providesa scoutandextra combatantfor your party; Blade makes you capable of dealingsizable damage with melee weapons; Tome grants you access to a list ofvery useful utility cantrips.
You gain anextra attackwith your pact weapon.
You can now castAnimate Dead, Haste and Call Lightningonce each per long rest.
AtLevel 6,your patron rewards you with an extra boon depending on which pact you chose at Level 3.
Grants you one of the following sixth-level warlock spells:
Warlock Patrons - Subclass Overview
Warlocks choose their subclass at their first level, meaning you start the game with thespecialization of your subclass. As such, it’s important to read ahead and properly understand each subclass before even starting the game.
Status Conditions, Mobility
Fiend Patron - Warlock Subclass
Warlocks in service to fiends work towards corrupting, destructive ends - intentionally or otherwise - and receive hellish blessings in turn.
The Fiend is a straightforward subclass, emphasizing offensive capabilities with a touch of defensive strengths. Focused on fire damage, the Fiend Warlock excels atblasting enemies,making it an effective choice in thefrequently-large fightsof Baldur’s Gate 3. Warlocks usually lack inarea-of-effect spells, but the Fiend’s extended spell list softens this deficiency. Dark One’s Blessing also provides agreat deal of durabilitythat the Warlock could certainly use.
Dark One’s Blessing
This feature nullifies the need for theFiendish Vigorinvocation, granting your warlocktemporary hit points each time you kill something. The requirement makes this feature a little less than reliable but still grants you asizable amount of durability, given that your party members are willing and able to let you ‘last-hit’ foes.
Dark One’s Own Luck
This feature isn’t flashy, but it’s solid and can help youpass certain important story checks.
Fiendish Resilience
Resistance to damage means that you takehalf as much damage from that damage type—needless to say, this can greatly bolster your defenses and give you a boost to survivability.
Which damage type you choose willdepend on what sort of enemiesyou plan on facing that day.
At this level,resistance to slashing and piercing damagecan be great to have due to the sheer number of humanoid enemies in the city of Baldur’s Gate, especially if you’refacing down one of the plethora of cultistscapable of inflicting vulnerability to piercing damage.
Great Old One - Warlock Subclass
Warlocks bound to eldritch beings in the Far Realms work towards inscrutable goals, gaining strange powers over entropy and the mind.
The Great Old One warlocks, often referred to as “GOOLock,” embody the mysterious essence of drawing power from the unknowable aberrations of Faerun, boasting ablend of potent but situational abilitiesthat make it aformidable controlleron the battlefield.
The Great Old One warlock’s spell list seems tailor-made for the class, providing spells thatgreatly enhance the capabilities of any quintessential Eldritch Blast-focused warlock.
Mortal Reminder (Level 1, Great Old One Warlock)
Mortal Reminder
When you land a Critical Hit against a creature, that creature and any nearby enemies are Frightened until the end of their next turn.
The requirement of a critical hit makes this feature a littletoo inconsistentto be reliable at early levels. However, provided with the right amount of support—advantages, multi-attacks, status conditionssuch as incapacitation, etc.—Mortal Reminder becomes an excellent control debuff that canbadly impair large groups of enemiesat once.
Cooldown: Short Rest
The short cooldown of this feature adds agreat deal of reliable survivabilityto you, all whileboosting your attack power. This is a solid feature that you should definitely use liberally during tough fights.
Thought Shield: Psychic Resistance
You gain resistance to thepsychic damage type.
Thoughpermanent resistance to a damage typeis generally good, this comes in much later than the parts of the game wherepsychic damage is most rampant—in theGithyanki Crèche,where each Githyanki deals psychic damage per attack, and in theMindflayer Colonywhen fighting large amounts of illithids.
Still, this feature will see some use in Baldur’s Gate, where there are stilloccasional spells and enemy featuresthat use psychic damage.
Thought Shield: Psychic Reflection (Level 10, Great Old One Warlock)
Thought Shield: Psychic Reflection
When you take psychic damage, the damage is reflected to the attacker.
As mentioned above,psychic damage is rarerin Act Three than in certain parts of Acts One and Two.
Still, this feature will still occasionally see use in Baldur’s Gate, where there are stillspells and enemy featuresthat use psychic damage.
Archfey - Warlock Subclass
Graced by a lady or lord of the fey, you are imbued with all the sumptuous and scary qualities of your patron’s extraordinary realm.
The Archfey warlock specializes in enchantment magic—inflicting the charm and frightened condition to crowd-control hordes of enemies while preventing themselves from suffering from these conditions themselves.
Save: WIS
Charm or frightenall nearby foes within a 10ft radius.
Area of Effect status-infliction like this is hard to come by and generally makes forsome of the best crowd controlin the game.
Unfortunately, an Archfey warlock should almost never find themselves in suchclose quarters and surrounded by enemies. Still, if you find yourself in this sticky situation, this feature will almost certainly save your life.
Cost: n/a
When you take damage, you can turn invisible. On your next turn, you can cast the spell Misty Step, which will reveal you.
Though asolid defensive featurethat can get you out of a hairy melee situation, an Archfey warlock should ideally never be close enough to the fray to require this.
Still, it’ll be useful in a pinch and can be especially valuableagainst enemies with several multi-attacks—stopping them short on the first one.
Beguiling Defenses
You are immune to theCharmedcondition.
This is, unfortunately, anextremely situational abilityfor such a high level. Still, it may see some uses in some parts of Act Three against certain undead and spellcasters.
Warlock Companions
Baldur’s Gate 3features onewarlockOrigin Character:Wyll, the Blade of Frontiers.
A disgraced noble seeking the thrill, glory, and honor of being a folk hero, Wyll is a Warlock whom you may meetearly on in the game, shortly after the Nautiloid crash.
You can find him by reachingthe Druid Groveandhelping the adventurers fend off the goblin raid. Enter the grove and look for Wyll in the training grounds. You canask him to join you on your travelsafter a short conversation.
