Dragonborn Great Old One Patron Warlock Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start with 15 Charisma and 14 Dexterity. At level 1, grab Eldritch Blast and Armor of Agathys. Your Dragonborn Breath Weapon is your best tool for multiple targets early on. Level 2 brings Eldritch Invocations; Agonizing Blast is mandatory, and Repelling Blast is highly recommended to push enemies into environmental hazards. At level 3, your Great Old One Patron comes online. Awakened Mind immediately changes your party dynamics, allowing silent communication during stealth. You also gain your Great Old One Spells—swap a known spell for Dissonant Whispers immediately. At level 4, take the Telekinetic feat. This bumps your Charisma to 16 and gives you a bonus action shove, which perfectly fits the invisible, psychic flavor of the GOO Warlock.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 brings 3rd-level spell slots and the incredible Hunger of Hadar. Use Telekinetic and Repelling Blast to force enemies back into the cold void. At level 6, Clairvoyant Combatant completely upgrades your DPR. The moment your first Eldritch Blast beam hits, you gain advantage on all subsequent attack rolls against that creature until the end of your turn, and they lose opportunity attacks against you. It's an incredible skirmishing tool. Level 8 warrants bumping Charisma to 18. Level 10 is the crown jewel of this subclass: Eldritch Hex and Thought Shield. Thought Shield grants psychic resistance (stacking beautifully with your Dragonborn Damage Resistance) and reflects psychic damage. More importantly, Eldritch Hex lets you use a bonus action to give a cursed target disadvantage on saves—set this up before dropping a debilitating spell.

Levels 11-16

At level 11, your Warlock spell slots upgrade to 5th-level, and you gain your first Mystic Arcanum. Take Mass Suggestion; it doesn't require concentration and can completely end an encounter. Level 12 is your time to max Charisma to 20. Your Draconic Flight is a massive asset in this tier, allowing you to float above the battlefield, immune to ground-based melee while you rain down Eldritch Blast. At level 14, your subclass capstone (Create Thrall or similar, depending on your table's exact GOO iteration) adds permanent control. Level 16 gives you another ASI—take Resilient (Constitution) to round your CON to 14 and protect your concentration checks.

Levels 17-20

Level 17 grants your 9th-level Mystic Arcanum. Foresight is mechanically optimal, giving you advantage on everything and disadvantage to attackers, but True Polymorph offers unmatched utility and fits the bizarre, reality-bending theme of the Far Realm. At level 19, take the Alert feat or Metamagic Adept. Remember that at this tier, your Dragonborn Breath Weapon falls off in damage, but your Warlock spellcasting is at its absolute peak. Use your Draconic Ancestry resistances and Thought Shield to shrug off incoming damage while maintaining concentration on high-impact spells.

Cantrips

Eldritch Blast: The best damage cantrip in the game. With Agonizing Blast, it's your primary damage source. Mind Sliver: Thematically perfect for a GOO Warlock. It deals psychic damage and penalizes the target's next saving throw, pairing perfectly with your control spells.

Level 1-2 Spells

Dissonant Whispers: A phenomenal Great Old One Spell. It forces enemies to flee, triggering opportunity attacks from your melee allies. Hex: Your bread and butter for early game damage, and crucial for triggering your level 10 Eldritch Hex feature. Phantasmal Force: Targets Intelligence (a weak save for most monsters) and takes a threat completely out of the fight.

Level 3-5 Spells

Hunger of Hadar: The quintessential Far Realm spell. Blinds enemies, deals acid and cold damage, and creates difficult terrain. Push enemies back into it with Repelling Blast. Evard's Black Tentacles: A stellar level 4 Great Old One Spell for locking down an area. Synaptic Static: Basically a psychic Fireball that also debuffs enemy attack rolls and ability checks. It targets Intelligence, making it incredibly reliable.

High-Level Spells

Mass Suggestion (6th): No concentration required. Tell six enemies to walk away and reconsider their life choices. Forcecage (7th): The ultimate lockdown spell. No saving throw to trap them, and they need Charisma saves to teleport out. Feeblemind (8th): Reduce an enemy spellcaster's Intelligence and Charisma to 1, effectively deleting them from the encounter.

Telekinetic

Take this at level 4. Bumping your Charisma from 15 to 16 improves your spell save DC and attack rolls. The invisible Mage Hand fits the psionic theme of the Great Old One, and the bonus action shove gives you a resourceless way to push enemies into your Hunger of Hadar or Evard's Black Tentacles without needing to hit them with Repelling Blast.

Resilient (Constitution)

Warlocks are entirely dependent on their concentration. Losing an Evard's Black Tentacles because a goblin shot you with an arrow is a disaster. Taking Resilient (CON) at level 12 or 16 gives you proficiency in Constitution saving throws, rounding your odd 13 CON up to a 14, massively improving your chances to maintain your debilitating spells.

Fey Touched

If you don't like Telekinetic, Fey Touched is the premier alternative for rounding out your Charisma. Misty Step is a vital escape tool that saves your precious Pact Magic slots, and you can pick up Silvery Barbs or Gift of Alacrity. Silvery Barbs combined with your Eldritch Hex feature ensures an enemy will almost never succeed on a crucial saving throw.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Secure Studded Leather armor immediately to capitalize on your 14 Dexterity, giving you an AC of 14. Keep an eye out for a Bloodwell Vial +1 to boost your spell save DC and recover spell points if your DM allows Warlock attunement, otherwise seek a Wand of the War Mage +1 to ensure your Eldritch Blast connects.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

This is where you hunt for a Rod of the Pact Keeper +1 or +2. It increases your spell attack rolls and DCs, and lets you regain a Warlock spell slot as an action—an absolute lifesaver. Winged Boots are fantastic if your Draconic Flight trait has limited uses per day. A Cloak of Displacement pairs well with your Warlock d8 hit die to keep you alive.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

Upgrade to a Rod of the Pact Keeper +3. A Ring of Protection or Cloak of Protection is vital here to shore up your saving throws, particularly since your base Wisdom is only 10. If you can acquire a Staff of Power, it gives you a massive bump to AC, saving throws, and an arsenal of spells that don't consume your Pact Magic slots.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

Seek out the Robe of the Archmagi. It sets your base AC to 15 + DEX modifier, grants advantage on saving throws against spells, and further boosts your spell save DC. Illusionist's Bracers are the holy grail for this build—allowing you to cast Eldritch Blast as a bonus action. Combined with Clairvoyant Combatant, you'll be firing eight advantage-boosted beams a turn.

As a Controller, your job is to dictate the terms of the engagement, but you need allies to capitalize on the openings you create. A Paladin or Rogue is your best friend when casting Dissonant Whispers. When the spell forces the target to use its reaction to run away, it provokes opportunity attacks. A Rogue getting a second Sneak Attack or a Paladin dropping an off-turn Divine Smite will instantly delete high-threat targets.

You also pair beautifully with other AoE casters like Druids or Sorcerers. Your Repelling Blast and Telekinetic shove allow you to play "billiards" with enemies, constantly pushing them back into your ally's Spike Growth or Wall of Fire. Because your Great Old One Patron spells like Evard's Black Tentacles lock enemies in place, a Wizard can safely drop a Meteor Swarm or Delayed Blast Fireball right on top of the immobilized group.

Fighter 2

Starting with one level of Fighter (or dipping two levels later) grants you medium armor, shields, and the Defense fighting style, skyrocketing your AC. The real prize is Action Surge. At level 2, you can cast Evard's Black Tentacles to restrain a group of enemies, then Action Surge and unleash a Dragonborn Breath Weapon directly onto the restrained targets in the exact same turn.

Sorcerer 3 (Aberrant Mind)

Thematically, Aberrant Mind Sorcerer is a flawless match for a Great Old One Warlock. Mechanically, it provides low-level spell slots for defensive staples like Shield and Absorb Elements, protecting your Warlock spell slots for big control spells. Three levels grant Metamagic; Quicken Spell lets you cast a control spell as a bonus action and immediately follow up with an Eldritch Blast to trigger Clairvoyant Combatant.

• Ignoring your Breath Weapon against swarms: Warlocks only have two spell slots for most of their career. Don't waste a 3rd-level Pact Magic slot on a handful of 5 HP goblins when your resourceless Dragonborn Breath Weapon can clear them out just as effectively.
• Forgetting to set up Eldritch Hex: At level 10, Eldritch Hex is your trump card. If you are about to cast a save-or-suck spell like Banishment, you must apply a curse (like Hex) first, then use your bonus action to enforce disadvantage on their saving throw.
• Misunderstanding Clairvoyant Combatant: This level 6 feature triggers after you deal damage. If you cast a multi-beam Eldritch Blast, the first beam rolls normally. If it hits, the subsequent beams on that turn against that target have advantage. Always direct your first beam at your primary target!
• Overestimating Thought Shield's immunities: Thought Shield reflects psychic damage and prevents mind reading, but it does not make you immune to the Charmed or Frightened conditions. Your low 10 Wisdom makes you highly susceptible to these effects, so stay far back using your Draconic Flight.