The Ultimate One D&D Warlock Guide – Mastering Warlocks

I do a standard S-F tier ranking and here’s how I categorize them:

S Tier – The absolute best of the best. These options can even broach into unfair territory and may be subject to being banned at certain tables. If you’re looking for power level alone, there’s functionally no reason not to use these.

A Tier – While not as broken as the S Tier options, these are as good as you can get without broaching into unfair territory, although some of them may be strong enough to feel unfair!

B Tier – These will not be as inherently powerful as A Tier options, but are still quite strong in their own right. These are likely a bit more situational or slightly weaker than the A tier options, but still very good.

C Tier – Decent options, but likely not particularly strong. These options don’t offer too much or may just be a bit too situational to be ranked higher, but are still options you should consider as these will be the average power level.

D Tier – While not completely useless, these options are either very weak or very situational so are unlikely to be used, but unlike F tier, these aren’t completely unusable or actively detrimental.

F Tier – Either so weak or so situational that these should functionally never be taken or considered unless in the most niche of circumstances.

Level 1

Starting Proficiencies – C- Tier – While not ideal, light armor is better than no armor!

Eldritch Invocations – B+ Tier – Eldritch Invocations are excellent and each additional one you get is generally a big power spike to this class.

1st Level Spells – B- Tier – First level spells are foundational to all casters, but Warlock does get the short end of the stick in this capacity both because their options aren’t the best and your later spells will likely overtake these options really quickly.

Level 2

Two Additional Eldritch Invocations – A Tier – Getting two Eldritch Invocations at the same time is really strong.

Magical Cunning – B- Tier – While getting more spells per day is nice, this is going to be just one additional spell per day for most of the campaign. Definitely solid, but not super high impact.

Level 3

2nd Level Spells – A- Tier – Since Warlocks spellcast differently, your higher spell levels tend to be better than the previous iteration. That said, you do get much better options than your first level spells so this is a solid power spike.

Level 5

Two Additional Eldritch Invocations – A Tier – Getting two Eldritch Invocations at the same time is really strong.

3rd Level Spells – A+ Tier – Third level spells, like a martial characters Extra Attack, is a huge power spike for every full caster as you have a lot of extremely powerful options on the list.

Level 7

Additional Eldritch Invocation – B+ Tier – Each additional Eldritch invocation is really good!

4th Level Spells – A- Tier – Warlocks get great spells and all your spell slots are the same so you may as well use your best ones! Your third level options are generally a bit more impactful as you have better options, but you do get some strong spells here.

Level 9

Contact Patron – C+ Tier – Getting to Contact Other Plane once a day for free is nice, but not super standout.

Additional Eldritch Invocation – B+ Tier – Each additional Eldritch invocation is really good!

5th Level Spells – B+ Tier – In a perfect world, your 5th level spells would be the best ones since Warlock has to use the same spell slot for each, the spells you get are just good, not incredible.

Level 11

Mystic Arcanum (6th Level Spell) – B- Tier – You used to have a really good sixth level option with Mass Suggestion, but you still have some decent options.

Level 12

Additional Eldritch Invocation – B+ Tier – Each additional Eldritch invocation is really good!

Level 13

Mystic Arcanum (7th Level Spells) – B Tier – Crown of Stars is a solid option, but only being able to pick one 7th level spell to cast is definitely weaker than what other full casters.

Level 15

Additional Eldritch Invocation – B Tier – Each additional Eldritch invocation is good, but now that you’ve gotten nearly every one you want, this additional one isn’t as impactful.

8th Level Spells – C Tier – Unfortunately, Warlocks don’t have the best 8th level options so this isn’t going to be that large of a power spike.

Level 17

Mystic Arcanum (9th Level Spells) – A Tier – While only getting one 9th level spell option does hurt, they are absolutely broken and the game is very much going to revolve around using them at this point.

Level 18

Additional Eldritch Invocation – B- Tier – You probably already have all the Invocations you really want, but they are still good.

Level 20

Eldritch Master – B Tier – Making your Magical Cunning refresh all your spell slots is solid, but a little unexciting for a capstone ability.

The Complete Warlock Spell List

Warlock Spell Tier List – The Best Warlock Spells

Aasimar – A Tier – A generically strong species that gives you a lot of things for any class. Two damage Resistances (Necrotic and Radiant), Darkvision is great to have, some free healing, the Light cantrip for free, and a cool form to transform into with 3 reasonable options. Just a great all around choice and my general pick for Warlocks.

Dragonborn – B Tier – A decent species in general as you get a damage resistance, Darkvision, Flight at level 5, and a breath weapon that can be useful in a pinch. Dragonborns are good, but are generally just outshined by Aasimar who offer a similar, but stronger package.

Dwarf – C- Tier – Long range Darkvision, Tremorsense for scouting, and extra health is nice. Resistance to poison damage and advantage to save against the poisoned condition is alright, but pretty rare so it’s not going to come up that often and the poisoned condition is not that relevant to spellcasters.

Elf – B+ Tier – Darkvision is great, an extra skill proficiency is nice, and advantage on saving throws against being Charmed can be useful in some situations. The real treat, however, is being able to pick your lineage for free, prepared spells. Wood Elf in particular to get Longstrider and Pass Without Trace on top of extra movement speed is particularly appealing, but High Elf for Misty Step is definitely great as well..

Gnome – C+ Tier – Darkvision is obviously good, but more importantly, advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws is excellent. This is a decent choice if you want to be relatively resistant to enemy spells/effects, but Gnome does give you less than most of the other classes.

Goliath – C+ Tier – Extra movement speed and a free ability is nice, but the only one you’d be super interested in is Cloud’s Jaunt for a functional Misty Step, and you could’ve just chosen Elf with High Elf ancestry if you wanted that (you do get more teleports for free, but you’re trading off all the other abilities Elf gets for it).

Halfling – D Tier – Brave is ok and Luck is a fun feature, but Warlocks don’t get much out of being a Halfling.

Human – A- Tier – A free Heroic Inspiration every day, a free skill, and a free Origin feat is great for any class. A generically good choice.

Orc – C Tier – Long range Darkvision, bonus action Dash, and not going down the first time you hit 0 health are all fine abilities, but none of them are super exciting for Warlock in particular.

Tiefling – D Tier – Damage resistances and Darkvision are always great, but the spells package is just worse than what Elves could give you.

Acolyte – A- Tier – Boosting Charisma is great, and while you don’t get Dexterity or Constitution as well, Wisdom is a decent alternative. Getting Insight as a skill proficiency is excellent, but more importantly, getting to pick up Guidance and Bless because of Magic Initiate (Cleric) is excellent.

Artisan – D Tier – Great skill proficiencies, but only being able to boost Dexterity and getting an awful feat does not help the situation.

Charlatan – B+ Tier – Perfect ability scores, decent proficiencies, and a decent feat culminates to a solid background.

Criminal – B Tier – Not being able to boost Charisma isn’t ideal, but you get an excellent feat and solid proficiencies.

Entertainer – A+ Tier – Nearly perfect ability scores, good proficiencies, and the best Origin feat makes this the go to feat for Warlocks.

Farmer – C Tier – Medium ability scores, medium feat, and pretty sad proficiencies for a Warlock. Not a bad pick up, but not exciting.

Guard – C Tier – Great feat and getting Perception as a proficiency is great, but the rest of the package really isn’t good for you.

Guide – B Tier – Not boosting Charisma is rough, but you get solid proficiencies as well as Magic Initiate (Druid) which can get you Guidance and your choice of Entangle or Goodberry which is quite awesome.

Hermit – C+ Tier – Ideal ability scores, but mediocre feat and proficiencies. Could do worse, but can definitely do better.

Merchant – B+ Tier – Ideal ability scores, a solid feat, and solid proficiencies makes this a great option.

Noble – B- Tier – Boosting Charisma is awesome, great proficiencies, and you get a decent feat to boot. Skilled in particular is a decent, just not the best feat for Warlocks who get Jack of All Trades.

Sage – B Tier – Not getting the chance to boost Charisma, per usual, hurts, but you can get a nice Wizard spell like Shield and great proficiencies is a decent tradeoff.

Sailor – D Tier – Beyond Dexterity to boost and Perception proficiency, this is not what you want to be picking normally.

Scribe – C- Tier – Not getting to boost Charisma and getting a mediocre feat for Warlock is far from ideal, but the skill proficiencies are solid.

Soldier – D+ Tier – Dexterity and Constitution are decent ability scores, but your feat is horrendous for you and your proficiencies don’t make up for it.

Wayfarer – B Tier – Nearly perfect ability scores, a decent feat, and good proficiencies are all great.

Arcana – B+ Tier – Unless you have a Wizard on your team, it’s very unlikely anybody is going to be good at this making it a tempting option. This is a bit too common of a skill check to not at least consider.

Deception – A- Tier – You’re going to lie to people so it’s definitely good to be good at it.

History – C Tier – Warlocks don’t generally have high intelligence nor is this a common skill check, but it can be very helpful in the right situations.

Intimidation – B+ Tier – I generally believe that Deception or Persuasion are more universal checks, but this is still obviously great.

Investigation – B+ Tier – While your Intelligence is going to probably be low, having proficiency in what may be one of the most used skills in the game is never going to be bad.

Nature – C Tier – It really depends on the campaign, but this skill can be useful in most campaigns even if your Intelligence sucks.

Religion – D Tier – Your Intelligence is going to already low and this is a very uncommon skill check.

While not every feat can be mentioned as that would be an oppressively long list, the ones I would at all consider would be here (all the Origin feats included as any of the backgrounds could be potential choices). Feats left off the list are not ones I would normally not consider for any Warlock build, but a full reference on the all the feats in the Player’s Handbook and their associated rankings, check the link below.

The D&D Feats, Fighting Styles, and Epic Boons Tier List

Origin Feats

While your Origin feat is tied to your background, it’s good to know how good each feat is to help consider which background you may want or if you decided to pick Human as your species. Past level one, I would functionally never consider taking an origin feat (though it is allowed).

Alert – A+ Tier – An excellent feat, especially for Warlocks who want to go first to lay down some battlefield control.

Crafter – F Tier – The feat is just bad unless there’s something big about it I’m missing.

Healer – C Tier – It’s not a bad feat, just a strange one for Warlocks in general as you’ll run the risk of getting too close to the action.

Lucky – C Tier – A decent feat in general, fine for any class or build.

Magic Initiate (Cleric) – C+ Tier – Guidance is an excellent cantrip to have and you can never have too many Guidance on your team (plus you get another cantrip which can be an attack cantrip to give you a decent ranged option if you lack it). Getting long distance healing in the form of Healing Word is nice, but you only get to do it once per day as a Warlock.

Magic Initiate (Druid) – C+ Tier – Like Cleric, Guidance and Healing Word are great to have, and if you are feeling spicy, you can take something like Entangle or Goodberry instead. While your second cantrip option is less consequential (probably an attack cantrip for a decent ranged option, but a utility option can be reasonable as well), but if you are playing with spells from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, Magic Stone can be a good pickup to synergize with your team if they are about that lifestyle.

Magic Initiate (Wizard) – C Tier – These cantrips can give you some really nice utility cantrips which is nice and you can pick up a pretty strong combat spell like Shield or Silvery Barbs which can be useful, even if it’s once per day.

Musician – S Tier – An excellent feat for any class, an adventuring party should always have at least one Musician!

Savage Attacker – F Tier – Doesn’t do anything for Warlocks unless in the most niche of niche circumstances.

Skilled – C+ Tier – A reasonable feat for pretty much any class save Bards or Rogues where it’s a bit weaker.

Tavern Brawler – F Tier – Unless you have an incredibly wacky build in mind or you want the flavor, this is something I would never pick.

Tough – B Tier – Extra health is always solid, even if you shouldn’t be taking that many hits.

General Feats

Fey-Touched – A Tier – A great feat to get spells you wouldn’t normally have access to (Misty Step in particular) while bolstering Charisma.

Inspiring Leader – A+ Tier – A staple for almost any Warlock as this gives so much temporary health. You only need one per team realistically, but it makes the most sense on a Warlock.

Resilient – A- Tier – Always a solid feat on any spellcaster that needs to hold their concentration.

Ritual Caster – B- Tier – If you’re the only spellcaster in your party, I can see grabbing this to have a greater suite of spell options to work with.

Speedy – C Tier – While not super exciting, you’re never going to be mad at extra movement speed and more concentration.

Telekinetic – B Tier – Not every Warlock will always have something to do with their bonus action, so shoving enemies or allies around is definitely not bad.

War Caster – B+* Tier – While an excellent feat, the main reason to take this is for casters who risk having their hands full which Warlock rarely struggle with and for advantage on Concentration checks. If having a free hand is potentially an issue, then go for it. If you want better Concentration checks, I’d pick up Resilient (CON) instead (though having both does make it extremely hard to fail concentration checks which is nice). All that said, for anyone using Pact of the Blade, this feat is pretty much mandatory.

Unsure how to build your specific Warlock? This section can help you! While each subclass guide has my specific way of building it (with plenty of overlap between builds), there’s a lot of directions you could take Warlock.

(For all builds, this is assuming you have 17 starting Charisma between your initial ability score distribution and your background)

The Caster – A Tier – This is a very generic build for Warlock, but Warlocks are kind of unique in that they feel that they simultaneously have a lot and very little versatility. Since you have so few spell slots available until you have to short rest, you have to be extremely conservative in what spells you cast most of the time. To that end, you generally (like other casters) want to have a lot of versatility in what types of spells you have so you can pick the right one for the right situation. While this may not sound that different compared to other spellcasters, unlike other spellcasters, you don’t want to be so reserved in your spell slots as, if you have any available before you short rest, those might go to waste. All of that in mind, have a versatile spell list, use them as needed, Eldritch Blast otherwise. If you’re going this route, you’re going to want to pick up Inspiring Leader (or a different Charisma feat) at level 4, Resilient (Con) at level 8, and pumping Charisma to 20 at level 12. If you want more insight on how I would build this, all of my build guides beyond Hexblade utilize this strategy.

The Bladelock – A- Tier – A very specific Warlock build using a bunch of Eldritch Invocations to make you into a melee menace. While you don’t particularly need any spell choices to make this work, you do need to take (at a minimum) Pact of the Blade, Thirsting Blade, and Devouring Blade to make this a worthwhile choice. This definitely isn’t as straight forward as The Caster as you do also need armor proficiencies to make this worthwhile so that would probably necessitate a multiclass dip or going Hexblade (which also shows my Eldritch Invocation and feat progression for this build).

Not every potential multiclass is going to be mentioned as most don’t synergize well with Warlocks, just the ones I would consider. Furthermore, these multiclass considerations are going to assume that Warlock is remaining your base class. For a more thorough breakdown on multiclassing, check out the link below.

The Ultimate Guide To Multiclassing in One D&D

Cleric – A- Tier – Having at least 13 Wisdom is no big deal, especially when you don’t need a decent Dexterity score going this route! Heavy armor proficiency and shield proficiency is huge for Warlocks as you go from a pitiful AC to an extremely high AC. Furthermore, you get access to a bunch of spells that Warlocks normally wouldn’t get access to like Bless and Healing Word to give you even more versatility than you would normally get. Unfortunately, going this direction will take away from your Pact Magic progression so this is definitely not free.

Druid – A- Tier – Another excellent multiclass choice, it’s just a bit more awkward to have the 13 Wisdom as you need at least 14 Dexterity to get the most out of this multiclass. If you can manage both, Druid gives you medium armor and shield proficiency which is great, but obviously weaker than Cleric’s heavy armor proficiency. However, where Druids excel is the spells you get. Your cantrips options are better than Clerics, and your 1st level spell options are way better and you get a bunch of them with just one Druid level as you can pick up Entangle, Goodberry, and Healing Word as excellent spell options. Like Clerics, this does take away from your Pact Magic progression which is rough so this is not a free dip. I would probably give a slight edge to Clerics still, but both this and Cleric are excellent options.

Fighter – A Tier – The Fighter multiclass is classic as you get heavy armor proficiency, shield proficiency, Second Wind, a Fighting Style (if you aren’t going for a Pact of the Blade build, the Defense style is obviously great), and Weapon Mastery if that’s relevant to you. For an additional level, you can get Action Surge which is obviously an excellent ability, but less good now that you are limited to one leveled spell per turn. These are some excellent benefits, but it’s definitely not free. First off, Fighter doesn’t contribute to your spellcasting level so you are slowing down your spell progression going this route. Second, you’ll need at least 13 Strength (not happening on your average Warlock) or Dexterity (obviously reasonable) to multiclass in, but if you decide to use Heavy Armor, your Dexterity is going to be wasted which is not ideal but it is only 13. If you are going for Pact of the Blade, this multiclass dip is even more appealing.

Archfey Warlock Build Guide: Influenced by the beguiling nature and trickiness of a Fae, the Archfey are absolute masters of battlefield movement with constant teleportation.

Celestial Warlock Build Guide: Taking a lot from the Cleric class, Celestial Warlocks somewhat get the best of both worlds with powerful support spells on top of the strong Warlock kit.

Fathomless Warlock Build Guide: With a focus on water and tentacles, this patron is surprisingly powerful and versatile with strong abilities for both in and out of combat situations.

Fiend Warlock Build Guide: With a slew of powerful abilities and an emphasis on fire spells, Fiend Warlock is just a generally excellent patron.

Genie Warlock Build Guide: While there are many specific patrons to choose from with their own unique spell lists, the Dao patron takes center stage as it enables an extremely powerful build known affectionately as “The Cheese Grater”.

Great Old One Warlock Build Guide: With a solid expanded spell list and unique abilities, the Great Old One lets you be pals with ancient horrors like Cthulu.

Hexblade Warlock Build Guide: The most powerful Warlock patron, the Hexblade allows you to operate more as a martial character while still retaining all the powerful spellcasting of a Warlock.

Undead Warlock Build Guide: Making use of the power of the dead, Undead Warlocks channel different facets of undead to empower and even change themselves.

Undying Warlock Build Guide: Emphasizing staving off death rather than embracing it, Undying Warlocks look to prolong their life by any means necessary.

Finally, the Hexblade has been toppled from it’s throne (kind of) and is no longer the obvious best Warlock. I say kind of as it’s still by far the best multiclass dip, but there’s not much you can do about that. Beyond that, Genie is still a great option with Fiend and Archfey looking really good in this iteration as well. Unfortunately, Great Old One still lags behind despite getting a face lift in 2024.

1. Genie – A+ Tier
2. Fiend – A Tier
3. Hexblade – A Tier
4. Archfey – B+ Tier
5. Celestial – B Tier
6. Undead – B Tier
7. Fathomless – B Tier
8. Undying – B- Tier
9. Great Old One – B- Tier

Archfey

Steps of the Fey (Level 3) – A Tier – Free Misty Steps are already good, but two good abilities attached to it as well? We are cooking. Neither ability is super high impact, but both are definitely good making this a strong ability.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C- Tier – Two decent options, but neither upcast well making them a bit awkward.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – B Tier – Misty Step is a big pick up even if the other two spells are a bit of a whiff for Warlocks, but even then, Misty Step is a bit painful to cast considering how few spell slots you have.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – C Tier – I personally hate Blink, but Plant Growth is solid.

Misty Escape (Level 6) – B Tier – Two more potential effects to the Steps of the Fey arsenal, and both are solid additions.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – C+ Tier – Greater Invisibility is a solid spell if you plan on sharing the love, but if you aren’t, Shadow of Moil will do the same thing but a bit better for you anyway.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D Tier – Not excited about either of these, but they have their moments.

Beguiling Defense (Level 10) – C- Tier – Reflecting some of a big attack can be good, but most of the time, enemies are going to be hitting you with multiple attacks rather than one big attack.

Bewitching Magic (Level 14) – B Tier – More free Misty Steps are always welcome, but you are restricted in how you get them.

Celestial

Healing Light (Level 3) – A Tier – You have a functional wellspring of Healing Words, and better yet, this actually scales really well. Best yet, Warlock does not normally get access to healing, especially a spell as good as Healing Word, so this is an excellent alternative for having a dedicated healer on the team.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C- Tier – Two cantrips and two reasonable spells. While your cantrips won’t get much use and Guiding Bolt will only remain reasonable for a few levels, an upcasted Cure Wounds can be solid in a pinch.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – B Tier – Two solid spells as Lesser Restoration is good in a pinch and Aid upcasts well.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – A- Tier – If you don’t have any party member that can cast Revivify, this is a necessity for your team. If you do, then this is insurance.

Radiant Soul (Level 6) – C- Tier – Extra damage is always nice, even if it’s a bit restrictive in when you get it.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – A- Tier – Guardian of Faith is not great, but can help protect you during a rest. The real prize is Wall of Fire as it’s a great spell Warlock doesn’t normally get.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – C Tier – Not bad spells, but not too exciting either.

Celestial Resilience (Level 10) – B- Tier – This is a solid ability if you don’t have any party members with the Inspiring Leader feat, but if you do, then this is pretty much worthless as that’s just better. That said, this rating is assuming nobody has the feature, but even if someone does, you do also get to use this post Magical Cunning so it’s not like you get nothing out of it.

Searing Vengeance (Level 14) – A Tier – I’m a big fan of abilities that let you (or allies) keep fighting ewhen they should be downed, and this is easily one of the best ones. This works for either yourself or allies, gives them a massive heal, damages enemies around them and potentially blinds them while avoiding your allies. This is really strong, even if you only get it once per day.

Fathomless

Tentacle of the Deep (Level 3) – C+ Tier – A little bit of damage and CC is nice and it only costs a bonus action which Warlocks aren’t using much of anyway.

Gift of the Sea (Level 3) – D Tier – Breathing underwater can be helpful in rare cases, but that’s about all this has going for it.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D- Tier – These spells are not good unfortunately.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Silence can have its moments, but it’s rare.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – A+ Tier – A great blast spell and a great CC spell, two things that Warlocks do not generally get, so this is obviously a really nice pick up.

Oceanic Soul (Level 6) – D+ Tier – Cold damage is pretty uncommon so this resistance isn’t the best. The two way Tongues spell when you’re underwater is really interesting, but very situational.

Guardian Coil (Level 6) – D+ Tier – Your reaction isn’t being used much anyway, but this is a pretty paltry amount of damage reduction.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D Tier – Once again, not good options.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – B Tier – Both are pretty solid spells you’d be relatively happy to cast.

Grasping Tentacles (Level 10) – C+ Tier – You get a good spell and temporary health when you cast it. A bit underwhelming for an ability, but definitely decent.

Fathomless Plunge (Level 14) – B Tier – This is excellent as an escape mechanism as it gives you a pretty big range to grab your friends from and teleports you far enough away that it will be nearly impossible to find you. A bit niche in application, but this is a nice option.

Fiend

Dark One’s Blessing (Level 3) – B+ Tier – While you shouldn’t be getting hit often anyway, having a constant stream of temporary health makes you really hard to knock down.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Burning Hands is atrocious, but Command can be good once you start getting higher spell levels.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – C+ Tier – Both spells are solid, even if Suggestion can’t be upcasted.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – A- Tier – Fireball is a huge pickup for Warlocks who normally don’t get good blast spells. This is easily one of the biggest reasons players pick Fiend!

Dark One’s Own Luck (Level 6) – B Tier – This is a pretty significant boost to your rolls and is even better than getting advantage on it as you both see the number first and, mathematically, you’ll get more from this than advantage.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – A- Tier – Fire Shield isn’t ideal, but Wall of Fire is excellent and a spell Warlocks can’t normally get.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D- Tier – Yuck.

Fiendish Resilience (Level 10) – B Tier – Customizable damage resistance is really cool, and crucially, this is not limited to elemental damage types!

Hurl Through Hell (Level 14) – B Tier – While this is weaker than its previous version, it is still pretty good! If this works, this is some really nasty CC to use against a creature, just watch out for Legendary Resistances!

Genie

*These rankings will be for what’s considered the strongest path of Genie which is going for Dao

Genie’s Vessel (Level 3) – B Tier – The first half of this ability is cool and will be more relevant later, but the second half of it is what makes the build work. Getting extra damage to your cantrips is nice, but bludgeoning damage in particular is important to push enemies around with Crusher.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Really situational spells, but not completely unusable.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – A+ Tier – Spike Growth is broken and this build can make really good use of it. You’re going to be a huge asset to your party with this as you can absolutely shred enemies.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – D Tier – Pretty niche spells, but Create Food and Water can be solid in the right adventures/campaigns.

Elemental Gift (Level 6) – A Tier – Bludgeoning resistance is solid, but getting multiple bouts of flight a day is really strong.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D+ Tier – Some ok adjacent spells, but not spells I would be too happy about casting.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – B Tier – Wall of Stone is a great spell, especially as Warlocks do not normally get good CC spells.

Sanctuary Vessel (Level 10) – C- Tier – This ability is very specific, but getting protected short and long rests with your team is definitely nice.

Limited Wish (Level 14) – C Tier – This ability is powerful, but you do not get it often. Make sure you really make it count when you use this.

Wish (Level 17) – S Tier – While technically not that much better than your other 9th level options, Wish is still the best spell in the game for a reason.

Great Old One

Awakened Mind (Level 3) – D Tier – Not terrible, but in what situation is a telepathic communication that: only works between two people, you need to share a language, and it only lasts minutes when you can be miles from each other AFTER they were within 30 feet of you? I’m not saying this will never come up, but this is pretty specific.

Psychic Spells (Level 3) – C Tier – Being able to switch damage type to Psychic to avoid damage resistances is nice, but casting some spells without somatic or vocal components is really sneaky and can be good!

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C- Tier – Hideous Laughter is alright as it does now upcast, but nothing special.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Not too happy about these options, but they have their uses.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – C+ Tier – Two solid, but somewhat unexciting spells.

Clairvoyant Combatant (Level 6) – B Tier – Using a bonus action to potentially get functional invisibility against an enemy each short or long rest or by using a spell slot is a pretty solid ability! Obviously this may be a bit inconsistent, but when this works, it works really well!

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D+ Tier – Definitely not great options, but Summon Aberration is alright.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – C- Tier – Telekinesis is a solid spell and not something Warlock normally gets, but it’s not so good that this is super exciting.

Eldritch Hex (Level 10) – D Tier – This can be useful if you have a lot of caster allies with a lot of CC, but otherwise, this is not particularly useful.

Thought Shield (Level 10) – D- Tier – Extremely specific and I’d be somewhat surprise if anything came up.

Create Thrall (Level 14) – C Tier – The ability to make a Summon Aberration stronger and not need concentration is nice, but this isn’t that exciting for a capstone.

Hexblade

Hexblade’s Curse (Level 3) – B Tier – A solid Hex adjacent ability that gives flat damage, a wider crit range, and healing when you kill the target. This is solid, especially in conjunction with Hex.

Hex Warrior (Level 3) – A Tier – This is a lot of proficiencies for one ability and the main reason Hexblade was one of the most popular multiclass dips in the game.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – B Tier – Shield is an awesome spell, but it’s not ideal on Warlocks who get few spell slots. Really good if you’re multiclassing though!

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Not great options here unfortunately, but not worthless.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – D Tier – Once again, not great spells at all.

Accursed Specter (Level 6) – C- Tier – This is a decent ability, but being limited to humanoids can really make it hard to use this ability.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D+ Tier – These are a bit better than your previous options, but not by a large margin.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – C- Tier – These are probably the best options on the list (besides Shield), but I will say, you don’t play Hexblade for the spell list.

Armor of Hexes (Level 10) – C- Tier – Your reaction isn’t going to used too often which is nice, but it only being useful on one attack against a target you had to curse first and it still only works half the time is pretty rough for an ability.

Master of Hexes (Level 14) – C+ Tier – Just being able to spread your Curse makes this easier to use as you don’t need to be concerned about focusing down your cursed target, but this is a bit sad for a capstone ability.

Undead

Form of Dread (Level 3) – B- Tier – A solid ability all around giving you some temporary health, some CC, and a free immunity. What’s not to like?

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Not terrible, but definitely not excited about either. False Life in particular can be alright.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – C+ Tier – Two reasonable CC options which Warlock didn’t naturally have access to which is nice.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – B- Tier – A bit of a mixed bag as Speak with Dead is pretty bad while Phantom Steed is great, and outside of Wizard, this is the only class that can get this (not including Bard technically).

Grave Touched (Level 6) – C Tier – A sometimes relevant ribbon feature and an alright buff (mainly to Form of Dread) is fine, nothing super exciting.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – B Tier – Two solid spells you’ll be happy to use and didn’t normally have access to.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – C Tier – Antilife Shell is a unique one, but it is a bit niche in application. Cloudkill doesn’t do too much for you.

Necrotic Husk (Level 10) – B Tier – A free resistance/immunity is quite nice, even if it doesn’t come up often. Furthermore, stopping yourself from going down once per long rest is really strong, but this particular ability is a bit weaker than those like it. Still, this is overall a solid ability.

Spirit Projection (Level 14) – C+ Tier – While this form is strong with damage resistance, slightly better casting, flying, and even some healing, there is a lot of implicit risk that comes along with using it as you are leaving your body potentially undefended. With proper planning, though, this can be a pretty powerful ability.

Undying

Among the Dead (Level 3) – D+ Tier – The first half of this ability is not particularly useful and the back half is very niche. Not bad, just doesn’t add a lot to the class.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C Tier – Both decent spells, nothing special and won’t be great long, but fine in the interim.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – C+ Tier – Two reasonable CC options which Warlock didn’t naturally have access to.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – D Tier – These spells aren’t useless, but they are definitely flirting with the idea.

Defy Death (Level 6) – B Tier – While not the best of the revive yourself abilities, getting it this early is very rare and very good (even if the condition to get it is more complicated than simply going down).

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – C+ Tier – Two solid spells you’ll be happy to use and didn’t normally have access to.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D+ Tier – Neither spell is exciting, even if you didn’t have access to it normally.

Undying Nature (Level 10) – D? Tier – For normal campaigns, this is probably not going to particularly helpful, if ever even helpful. In more survivor oriented campaigns, this can be pretty strong if food/water is scarce. At worst, you can explore underwater areas with impunity.

Indestructible Life (Level 14) – C Tier – This definitely isn’t a bad ability as it is a decent amount of healing, but a bit unexciting overall. If you play in campaigns with lingering wounds, then this can get even more value.