Elf Warlock Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start with 8 STR, 14 DEX, 13 CON, 12 INT, 10 WIS, and 15 CHA. If your subrace grants +2 CHA, you're starting at a 17. At level 1, your entire identity hinges on the Eldritch Blast cantrip. At level 2, select the Agonizing Blast and Devil's Sight Eldritch Invocations. This allows you to see through the magical darkness you'll soon be casting. At level 3, choose the Pact of the Tome to pick up Guidance and Find Familiar (via the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation) to grant the Help action. At level 4, immediately take the Elven Accuracy feat, bumping your 17 Charisma to 18. Your blaster chassis is now fully online.

Levels 5-10

At level 5, Eldritch Blast fires two beams, bringing your spell DPR to roughly 9 against standard ACs—though with Elven Accuracy, your effective DPR will be much higher. Swap out Darkness for Shadow of Moil at level 7. Shadow of Moil heavily obscures you without blinding your melee allies, granting you advantage on all attacks and imposing disadvantage on enemies targeting you. At level 8, take an Ability Score Increase to max your Charisma to 20, maximizing your attack rolls and Agonizing Blast damage modifier.

Levels 11-16

Level 11 is a massive power spike. Eldritch Blast now fires three beams (Spell DPR jumps to 12.38 base, significantly higher with advantage), and you unlock your 6th-level Mystic Arcanum. Take Mass Suggestion for non-concentration, encounter-ending crowd control. At level 12, select the Resilient (Constitution) feat. This bumps your odd 13 CON to a 14, increasing your HP and giving you proficiency in Constitution saving throws to protect your Shadow of Moil concentration. For your 7th and 8th level Arcanums, select Forcecage and Feeblemind.

Levels 17-20

At level 17, Eldritch Blast reaches its final form with four beams. Your 9th-level Mystic Arcanum choice is the crown jewel of the Elf Warlock: Foresight. Casting this non-concentration buff gives you advantage on all attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws for 8 hours. This completely removes the need to cast Shadow of Moil to trigger Elven Accuracy, freeing up your Pact Magic slots and your action economy. Spend your final ASI at level 19 on War Caster or boosting your Dexterity to 16 for better AC and Initiative.

Cantrips

Eldritch Blast: The undisputed king of cantrips. With Agonizing Blast, this is your primary attack action for the entire campaign. Minor Illusion: Excellent utility for creating total cover (like a 5-foot crate) to hide behind, forcing enemies to guess your location.

Level 1-2 Spells

Hex: Your bread and butter at tier 1. Adding 1d6 necrotic damage to every hit of Eldritch Blast scales beautifully. Armor of Agathys: A staple defensive spell that scales with your Pact Magic slots, punishing melee attackers while giving you temporary HP. Darkness: Essential at level 3 to pair with Devil's Sight for early-game advantage.

Level 3-5 Spells

Hunger of Hadar: Fantastic area denial that deals cold and acid damage while blinding enemies. Shadow of Moil: The most important spell in this build. It heavily obscures you (granting advantage to trigger Elven Accuracy) and doesn't grief your party like Darkness does. Synaptic Static: A phenomenal AoE debuff targeting Intelligence saves, effectively giving enemies a d6 penalty to attack rolls.

High-Level Spells (Mystic Arcanum)

Mass Suggestion (6th): Affects up to twelve creatures without requiring concentration. Forcecage (7th): Trap a boss with no saving throw. Foresight (9th): Eight hours of advantage on everything. This turns Elven Accuracy from a situational combo into a permanent, passive buff.

Elven Accuracy

Take this at level 4. It allows you to roll three d20s instead of two whenever you have advantage on a Charisma-based attack. Combined with Shadow of Moil or Darkness, this effectively guarantees your Eldritch Blast beams will hit, significantly increasing your critical hit rate and average DPR.

Resilient (Constitution)

Take this at level 12. You start with a 13 Constitution to accommodate your high Charisma and Dexterity. This feat bumps your CON to 14, granting a +2 modifier, and adds your proficiency bonus to Constitution saving throws. This is mandatory for maintaining concentration on Shadow of Moil when taking high-tier damage.

Spell Sniper

A solid option for your level 16 or 19 ASI if you find yourself fighting in complex terrain. It doubles the range of Eldritch Blast to 240 feet and lets your beams ignore half and three-quarters cover. Combined with the Eldritch Spear invocation, you can snipe targets from 600 feet away.

War Caster

While Resilient (CON) is mathematically better for high-level concentration checks, War Caster allows you to cast Eldritch Blast as an opportunity attack. If an enemy tries to run past your heavily obscured form, you can punish them with four beams of force damage.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Start with Studded Leather Armor to capitalize on your 14 Dexterity, giving you a baseline AC of 14. Seek out a Ruby of the War Mage or a basic Wand of the War Mage +1 to ensure your spell attacks hit even when your self-advantage combos aren't fully online yet.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Your primary goal is securing a Rod of the Pact Keeper +1 or +2. This adds to your spell attack rolls (stacking with Elven Accuracy) and allows you to regain a precious Pact Magic slot once per long rest. Also, look for a Cloak of Protection to bolster your mediocre AC and your crucial concentration saves.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

If your DM allows items from Ravnica, beg for the Illusionist's Bracers. This legendary-tier item allows you to cast Eldritch Blast as a bonus action if you cast it as an action. With Elven Accuracy, you will be firing six heavily-advantaged beams per turn. Otherwise, upgrade to a Rod of the Pact Keeper +3.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

Equip a Robe of the Archmagi. It sets your base AC to 15 + DEX modifier (bringing you to 17 AC), gives you advantage on saving throws against spells, and increases your spell save DC and spell attack bonus by 2. Pair this with a Staff of Power for a massive boost to your defensive stats and an arsenal of extra spells.

As a Blaster Warlock, you excel at consistent, single-target ranged damage. However, you are highly dependent on maintaining distance and concentration. You pair exceptionally well with an Oath of Devotion Paladin. Their Aura of Protection adds their Charisma modifier to your saving throws, patching up your vulnerable 10 Wisdom, while their frontline presence keeps enemies away from your Shadow of Moil bubble.

You also synergize brilliantly with control-focused casters like an Aberrant Mind Sorcerer or a Divination Wizard. If they cast restraining spells like Web, Evard's Black Tentacles, or Hold Monster, they provide you with the advantage you need to trigger Elven Accuracy, saving you from having to spend your own Pact Magic slot and action on setup.

Sorcerer 3 Dip

The infamous "Sorlock" build. Taking 3 levels of Sorcerer (Clockwork Soul or Divine Soul) gives you the Metamagic feature, specifically Quickened Spell. This allows you to cast Eldritch Blast as a bonus action and an action on the same turn. Combined with Elven Accuracy, this creates an unparalleled nova round of force damage.

Fighter 2 Dip

Taking your first level in Fighter secures heavy armor, shields, and Constitution saving throw proficiency right out of the gate. Taking a second level grants Action Surge. At level 17+, casting Eldritch Blast twice in one turn via Action Surge yields 8 beams. With Foresight and Elven Accuracy, that's 24 d20s rolled in a single turn.

• Blinding the Party: Casting Darkness in a small room to proc Elven Accuracy will blind your melee allies like the Rogue and Fighter. Always cast it on an object you hold and move to the perimeter of the battlefield, or rush to level 7 for Shadow of Moil.
• Forgetting Trance Utility: Elves only need 4 hours for a long rest. Use the remaining 4 hours while the party sleeps to cast an 8-hour Armor of Agathys, take a 1-hour short rest to regain the slot, and start the adventuring day at full resources.
• Ignoring Wisdom Saves: With a 10 WIS, you are highly susceptible to Hold Person or Fear. Rely heavily on Fey Ancestry against charm effects, but position yourself far from enemy spellcasters to avoid being locked down.
• Using Slots on Shield: If you take a Hexblade dip, do not waste your 5th-level Pact Magic slots on the Shield spell. Pact slots don't downcast; burning a massive slot on a +5 AC reaction is terrible resource management.