Goliath Warlock Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start as a Genie (Dao) Warlock to secure Sanctuary Vessel and the crucial Spike Growth spell later. At level 2, take the Agonizing Blast and Repelling Blast invocations. Because your Goliath lacks Darkvision, you cannot afford to take Devil's Sight yet—rely on a light source. At level 4, take the Fey Touched feat to bump your 15 Charisma to a 16, grabbing Misty Step and Silvery Barbs to force rerolls on the Wisdom saves you will inevitably fail.

Levels 5-10

At level 5, your Eldritch Blast fires two beams. Cast Spike Growth, and use Repelling Blast to push enemies 20 feet through the thorns for an extra 8d4 piercing damage. If an enemy shoots back, use Stone's Endurance to reduce the damage and protect your Spike Growth concentration. At level 8, take a +2 Charisma ASI to hit 18. Swap out lower-level spells for Sickening Radiance; dropping enemies into microwave zones and keeping them there with Repelling Blast is your primary tactical loop.

Levels 11-16

Level 11 unlocks your first Mystic Arcanum; take Mass Suggestion, as it doesn't require concentration. At level 12, your 13 Constitution is a glaring weak point. Take the Resilient (Constitution) feat to bump it to 14 and gain proficiency in Constitution saving throws. Combined with Stone's Endurance, your concentration on 6th-level spells is now practically unbreakable. At level 16, max your Charisma to 20.

Levels 17-20

For your 9th-level Mystic Arcanum at level 17, Wish is the only correct choice, allowing you to replicate Find Greater Steed for a flying mount. At level 20, Eldritch Master is lackluster, but firing four Eldritch Blast beams per turn from the back of a Pegasus while ignoring chip damage via your Goliath heritage keeps your DPR sitting at a comfortable 16.5 even without burning spell slots.

Cantrips

Take Eldritch Blast immediately; it is the engine of this build. Pick Minor Illusion to create a 5-foot stone wall to hide behind, granting you advantage on your attack rolls since you lack innate Darkvision to abuse the darkness.

Level 1-2 Spells

Armor of Agathys is mandatory. Cast it at your highest slot level, wade into melee, and use Stone's Endurance to mitigate the physical damage while the attacker takes the cold damage. Spike Growth (from the Dao list) is your primary control spell, turning your Repelling Blast into a cheese grater.

Level 3-5 Spells

Take Hunger of Hadar at level 5 for massive area denial. At level 7, grab Sickening Radiance. Enemies trapped inside by your push/pull invocations will quickly accrue exhaustion. Wall of Stone fits the Goliath theme perfectly and allows you to divide encounters in half without a saving throw.

High-Level Spells

For Mystic Arcanums, select Mass Suggestion (6th), Forcecage (7th), Maddening Darkness (8th), and Wish (9th). Forcecage combined with Sickening Radiance is an instant-kill combo against anything that cannot teleport.

Fey Touched

Take this at level 4. Your starting Charisma is 15, so this rounds you up to 16. More importantly, getting Misty Step on a Warlock saves one of your precious Pact Magic slots, and you desperately need mobility to stay out of melee when your Stone's Endurance is on cooldown.

Resilient (Constitution)

Take this at level 12. Your starting Constitution is an odd 13. This bumps it to 14, granting you a +2 modifier and proficiency in Con saves. A Warlock whose concentration drops loses half their impact; this ensures your Spike Growth stays up.

Spell Sniper

Take this at level 19. It doubles your Eldritch Blast range to 240 feet and ignores half and three-quarters cover. Since your Goliath has a massive frame, enemies will easily spot you; you need the range to stay safely out of their retaliation distance.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Acquire a Bloodwell Vial +1 as soon as possible to boost your spell save DC and recover 5 Sorcery Points—wait, you're a Warlock. Scratch that, get a Rod of the Pact Keeper +1. It buffs your Eldritch Blast attack rolls and lets you regain one Warlock spell slot as an action.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Seek out Goggles of Night. Your Goliath lacks Darkvision, and casting Eldritch Blast at disadvantage because you're fighting in a lightless dungeon is unacceptable. If you can't find them, settle for a Cloak of Displacement to force disadvantage on incoming attacks.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

A Staff of Power is your ideal pickup. It provides a +2 bonus to AC and saving throws, which patches up your abysmal 10 Wisdom saves, while giving you free casts of Wall of Force to trap enemies.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

Equip the Robe of the Archmagi. It sets your base AC to 15 + Dex (17 total), gives you advantage on saving throws against spells, and further boosts your spell save DC, guaranteeing your Dao Genie Wish spells land with devastating effect.

As a 3/10 synergy Blaster, you require a party that covers your glaring blind spots—namely, your lack of Darkvision, low Wisdom, and vulnerability when swarmed. Your primary role is to drop a massive area-of-effect spell like Spike Growth or Sickening Radiance and play ping-pong with the enemies using Eldritch Blast.

A Twilight Domain Cleric is your best friend. Their Eyes of Night feature immediately fixes your lack of Darkvision, sharing 300 feet of it with you. Additionally, their Twilight Sanctuary provides a constant stream of temporary hit points, which layers beautifully with your Stone's Endurance to keep you alive when targeted by archers.

You also desperately need an Oath of the Watchers Paladin. Their Aura of Protection will save your life against Wisdom-targeting spells like Dominate Person, and their Aura of the Sentinel gives you a bonus to Initiative, ensuring you can drop your Genie Warlock control spells before the enemies scatter.

Sorcerer 3 (Divine Soul)

Taking three levels of Divine Soul Sorcerer gives you the Shield and Absorb Elements spells, completely changing your survivability. Favored by the Gods gives you a 2d4 bonus to a failed saving throw, directly patching your terrible Wisdom saves. Metamagic allows you to Quicken Eldritch Blast for massive burst damage.

Fighter 2

A two-level dip into Fighter grants Action Surge. On turn one, you can cast Sickening Radiance, Action Surge, and fire Eldritch Blast with Repelling Blast to immediately shove enemies back into the radioactive zone. The defensive fighting style (+1 AC) also helps keep your large Goliath frame from being an easy target.

• Trying to play melee: Having Powerful Build and the Goliath name might tempt you to pick up a greataxe. With an 8 Strength, your DPR at level 5 is a pathetic 3.9. Stay in the backline and cast.
• Wasting Stone's Endurance: Do not use your reaction to reduce 4 damage from a goblin's shortbow. Save Stone's Endurance for massive hits that would otherwise force a DC 15+ concentration check on your Hunger of Hadar.
• Ignoring your lack of Darkvision: Goliaths cannot see in the dark. If you don't take the Devil's Sight invocation or wear Goggles of Night, you will have disadvantage on all your attack rolls underground.
• Overwriting Armor of Agathys: Temporary hit points do not stack. If you cast Armor of Agathys and then receive temporary hit points from a different source, you lose the retaliatory cold damage effect if you choose the new THP.