Halfling Warlock Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start with the Fiend Patron. Dark One's Blessing grants temporary hit points when you kill an enemy, which you will do frequently with your reliable Eldritch Blast. At level 2, select Agonizing Blast for damage and Devil's Sight to compensate for your Halfling lack of Darkvision. At level 3, choose Pact of the Chain. An Imp familiar gives you an invisible scout and allows you to perceive through its senses, further offsetting your vision limitations. At level 4, take the Fey Touched feat. This bumps your 15 CHA to 16, and gives you Misty Step—crucial since your 25-foot Halfling movement speed can leave you lagging behind.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 brings 3rd-level spell slots. Swap out lower-level spells for Fireball and take the Repelling Blast invocation. Because Halfling Luck ensures your Eldritch Blast hits more often, you can reliably push enemies up to 20 feet away from you, keeping them out of your limited movement range. At level 8, use your Ability Score Improvement to bump Charisma to 18. This increases your spell save DC and adds a flat +8 damage to your two Eldritch Blast beams.

Levels 11-16

At level 11, you unlock your 6th-level Mystic Arcanum. Take Mass Suggestion; since it doesn't require concentration, it is incredibly efficient. Your Eldritch Blast now fires three beams, bringing your baseline spell DPR to 12.38. At level 12, max your Charisma to 20. Take the Investment of the Chain Master invocation so your Imp can use your spell save DC for its poison attacks. At level 15, select Feeblemind or Demiplane for your 8th-level Arcanum, depending on whether your campaign features more enemy spellcasters or requires utility.

Levels 17-20

At level 17, Eldritch Blast scales to four beams, pushing your spell DPR to 16.5. For your 9th-level Mystic Arcanum, select Foresight. Giving yourself advantage on all attacks, ability checks, and saving throws for 8 hours combines hilariously well with Halfling Luck—you will almost never fail an attack roll. At level 19, take the Resilient (Constitution) feat to bump your 13 CON to 14, granting you proficiency in Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration on your massive spells.

Cantrips

Eldritch Blast is mandatory; Halfling Luck allows you to reroll the natural 1s on every beam. Take Minor Illusion as your second cantrip. Because you are a Small creature, you can easily fit completely inside a 5-foot illusionary box, giving yourself heavy obscurement from ranged attackers.

Level 1-2 Spells

Armor of Agathys is a staple that scales brilliantly with your Warlock pact slots, punishing anyone who manages to catch your 25-foot-speed Halfling. Take Hex early on for sustained single-target damage, though you will drop it at higher tiers when your concentration is needed elsewhere.

Level 3-5 Spells

Hypnotic Pattern is your premier crowd control at 3rd level. Cast it, then use your Naturally Stealthy trait to hide behind a Medium ally so archers cannot break your concentration. Fireball (from the Fiend list) provides necessary AoE blast damage. At 5th level, take Synaptic Static—it targets Intelligence saves, does fireball-level damage, and debuffs enemy attacks without requiring concentration.

High-Level Spells

For your Mystic Arcanum choices, Mass Suggestion (6th) is unparalleled non-concentration crowd control. Forcecage (7th) traps enemies with no saving throw. Foresight (9th) is the ultimate buff; combining 8 hours of advantage with Halfling Luck means your Eldritch Blast accuracy will hover near 98%.

Fey Touched

Take this at level 4. Your Halfling starts with a 15 Charisma, so this half-feat rounds it out to a 16 (+3 modifier). More importantly, the 25-foot Halfling walking speed is a liability. Getting a free cast of Misty Step ensures you can escape melee or bypass obstacles. Choose Silvery Barbs or Gift of Alacrity for your 1st-level spell.

Resilient (Constitution)

Take this at level 19 to bump your 13 Constitution to a 14. Warlocks only get a handful of spell slots, meaning losing concentration on Hypnotic Pattern or Banishment is disastrous. Adding your proficiency bonus to CON saves ensures your spells stick even when enemies inevitably target the squishy caster.

Spell Sniper

If you find yourself frequently using your Naturally Stealthy trait to stand behind your party's Fighter or Paladin, you will often deal with cover rules. Spell Sniper lets your Eldritch Blast ignore half and three-quarters cover, allowing you to use your allies as meat shields without penalizing your own attack rolls.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Equip Studded Leather immediately to capitalize on your 14 Dexterity, giving you a baseline AC of 14. Seek out a Bloodwell Vial +1 to boost your spell attack rolls and spell save DC, ensuring your early Command spells land.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Acquire a Rod of the Pact Keeper +2 as soon as possible. Because Halfling Luck already protects you from natural 1s, adding a +2 to your attack rolls makes your Eldritch Blast incredibly consistent. A Cloak of Displacement is also vital to protect your d8 hit die from physical attacks.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

Look for Illusionist's Bracers. These allow you to cast Eldritch Blast as a bonus action if you cast it as an action. Firing six beams a turn at level 11, with Halfling Luck mitigating critical misses, will drastically outperform your expected 12.38 spell DPR.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

A Robe of the Archmagi will boost your AC to 17 (15 + 2 DEX) and increase your spell save DC. Combine this with a Staff of Power for a +2 bonus to AC and saving throws, helping shore up your weak 10 Wisdom against late-game save-or-suck spells.

The Halfling Warlock thrives in a party with a strong, Medium-or-larger frontline. Because of the Naturally Stealthy trait, you can attempt to hide behind any creature that is at least one size larger than you. Pairing with a bulky Oath of Conquest Paladin or a Rune Knight Fighter gives you a walking piece of cover to hide behind after you unleash your spells.

You also benefit immensely from a Ranger or Druid who can cast Pass without Trace. While you have a 14 Dexterity, you aren't naturally proficient in Stealth unless you grab it from your background. More importantly, until you secure Devil's Sight, a party that can operate in daylight or provide magical light sources will keep you from suffering disadvantage on your attack rolls in dark dungeons.

Sorcerer 3 Dip

Taking three levels of Divine Soul Sorcerer gives you access to the Shield spell and Absorb Elements, drastically increasing your survivability. More importantly, it grants Metamagic. Quickened Spell allows you to cast Eldritch Blast twice in one turn, maximizing the value of your Halfling Luck on attack rolls.

Fighter 2 Dip

Starting Fighter 1 gives you Constitution saving throw proficiency and medium armor/shields, fixing your AC and concentration issues immediately. Fighter 2 grants Action Surge, allowing you to cast two leveled spells in the first round of combat, such as dropping a Fireball and a Hypnotic Pattern back-to-back.

• Ignoring the Darkvision Tax: Halflings do not have Darkvision. If you skip the Devil's Sight invocation at level 2, you will be rolling your Eldritch Blasts at disadvantage in every dungeon.
• Wasting Stats on Melee: With 8 Strength and 14 Dexterity, choosing Pact of the Blade or trying to use a rapier is a mathematical trap. Your DPR at level 17 melee is a pitiful 3.58 compared to 16.5 with spells. Stay at range.
• Forgetting Naturally Stealthy: Many players forget they can hide behind their own allies. If you end your turn standing in the open instead of breaking line of sight behind your Paladin, you are wasting a core species feature.
• Neglecting Wisdom Saves: With a 10 Wisdom, you are a prime target for Hold Person and Dominate Person. While Brave helps against fear, you need positional awareness to avoid mind-control effects.