Human Warlock Build Guide

Levels 1-4

At level 1, select Magic Initiate (Wizard) via your Human Versatile trait. Grab Minor Illusion, Mage Hand, and the Shield spell. Your Warlock spells should be Hex and Armor of Agathys. At level 2, take the Agonizing Blast and Repelling Blast invocations; your primary job is to push enemies away while dealing consistent force damage. At level 3, choose Pact of the Tome for access to Find Familiar and Detect Magic via the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation (which you will take at level 5). At level 4, take the Fey Touched feat to bump your 15 Charisma to 16, and select Silvery Barbs or Command as your free spell.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 is a massive power spike. Eldritch Blast now fires two beams, and your Pact Slots upgrade to 3rd level. Drop Hex from your standard rotation; your concentration now belongs to Hunger of Hadar or Hypnotic Pattern. Use Repelling Blast to physically shove enemies back into the freezing void of Hadar. At level 8, use your Ability Score Improvement to increase your Charisma to 18. Pick up Dimension Door to escape melee threats, as your 14 Dexterity and studded leather won't protect you from multiattacking brutes.

Levels 11-16

At level 11, you receive your first Mystic Arcanum. Take Mass Suggestion; it doesn't require concentration and can instantly end encounters. Eldritch Blast upgrades to three beams, pushing your at-will DPR to 12.38. At level 12, max your Charisma to 20 with your ASI. At level 15, select the Visions of Distant Realms invocation for at-will Arcane Eye. For your level 15 Mystic Arcanum (8th level), Feeblemind or Maddening Darkness are prime choices. At level 16, take the Resilient (Constitution) feat to bump your 13 Constitution to 14, securing your concentration checks and boosting your HP.

Levels 17-20

Level 17 grants your 9th-level Mystic Arcanum. Foresight is undeniably the best choice, granting you advantage on all your Eldritch Blast attacks (now four beams!) and imposing disadvantage on attacks against you for 8 hours without concentration. If your campaign reaches level 19, take the Spell Sniper feat to ignore half and three-quarters cover, ensuring your four force beams always hit their mark. At level 20, Eldritch Master provides a desperate capstone to recover your four 5th-level Pact Slots in one minute.

Cantrips

Eldritch Blast is mandatory; it is the entire engine of this build. Take Mind Sliver as your secondary Warlock cantrip to target Intelligence saves and debuff an enemy's saving throw right before an ally drops a control spell.

Level 1-2 Spells

Armor of Agathys is spectacular because it scales perfectly with your Pact Slots, providing 25 temporary HP when cast at 5th level. Misty Step (gained free from Fey Touched) solves your mobility issues without eating a Warlock spell known.

Level 3-5 Spells

Hunger of Hadar (3rd level) creates difficult terrain and blinds enemies; synergize this with Repelling Blast to keep them trapped. Synaptic Static (5th level) is your premier non-concentration AoE blast, acting as a psychic Fireball that permanently debuffs enemy attack rolls.

High-Level Spells

For your Mystic Arcanum selections, Mass Suggestion (6th) is unrivaled for non-concentration crowd control. Forcecage (7th) traps enemies with no saving throw. Foresight (9th) mathematically breaks the game by giving you advantage on every Eldritch Blast roll.

Fey Touched

Take this at level 4. It rounds your starting 15 Charisma to a 16, giving you an immediate +1 to your spell attack rolls and save DC. More importantly, it grants a free cast of Misty Step and a 1st-level divination/enchantment spell (like Silvery Barbs), preserving your heavily restricted Pact Slots.

Resilient (Constitution)

Take this at level 16. Your starting Constitution is an awkward 13. This feat bumps it to 14 (adding 16 HP instantly) and gives you proficiency in Constitution saving throws. At this tier, failing a concentration check on Banishment or Wall of Light can cause a total party wipe.

Spell Sniper

Take this at level 19. By Tier 4, Dungeon Masters frequently use terrain and cover to protect their monsters. Ignoring half and three-quarters cover means your four Eldritch Blast beams will consistently hit, maintaining your 16.5 DPR output.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Purchase Studded Leather armor immediately to pair with your 14 Dexterity, resulting in a modest 14 AC. Keep an Arcane Focus handy. If you can find a Wand of Magic Missiles, it provides fantastic guaranteed damage when you absolutely cannot afford to miss an Eldritch Blast.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Your absolute priority is a Rod of the Pact Keeper +1 or +2. It increases your spell attack bonus and save DC, and lets you regain one Warlock spell slot as an action—effectively increasing your daily spell output by 50%. A Cloak of Protection is also vital to shore up your mediocre AC and saving throws.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

Seek out Illusionist's Bracers. If your DM allows this Ravnica item, it breaks the game by letting you cast Eldritch Blast as a bonus action every time you cast it as an action. Alternatively, upgrade to a Rod of the Pact Keeper +3.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

The Staff of the Magi provides free casts of premium spells, spell absorption, and a +2 bonus to spell attacks. Pair this with a Robe of the Archmagi to set your base AC to 15 (17 with Dexterity) and gain advantage on all saving throws against spells.

As a Warlock Blaster, your primary goal is to push enemies around the battlefield and drop devastating AoE zones. To do this effectively, you need a sticky frontline. An Oath of Conquest Paladin or a Cavalier Fighter are exceptional pairings; they can lock enemies in place, preventing them from rushing past your Hunger of Hadar zone to attack your fragile d8 Hit Die chassis.

You also synergize brilliantly with a Sorcerer or a Wizard who heavily utilizes persistent ground effects. If a Druid casts Spike Growth or a Wizard drops Wall of Fire, you can use your Repelling Blast invocation to forcefully push targets through the hazardous terrain, triggering the damage multiple times in a single turn without expending your own spell slots.

Fighter 2 Dip

Starting your first level in Fighter fixes almost all of the Human Warlock's defensive flaws. You gain CON save proficiency natively, Medium Armor, and Shields, easily pushing your AC to 19. At level 2, Action Surge allows you to cast two leveled spells in a single turn—meaning you can cast Sickening Radiance and immediately follow it up with multiple Eldritch Blast beams to push enemies back into the radiation zone.

Sorcerer 1 Dip

A single level of Divine Soul Sorcerer gives you access to the Shield and Absorb Elements spells (freeing up your Human Origin feat for Alert or Tough), plus the Favored by the Gods feature. Adding 2d4 to a failed saving throw stacks beautifully with your Human Heroic Inspiration, making you nearly immune to failing critical saves.

• Wasting the Versatile trait on utility feats: Do not take Skilled or Linguist. You must take Magic Initiate (Wizard) or Tough to survive Tier 1, as you lack medium armor and shield proficiency.
• Casting Hex at higher levels: Spending a 3rd-level or 5th-level Pact Slot on Hex is a massive waste of resources. By level 5, your concentration belongs to crowd-control spells like Hypnotic Pattern.
• Forgetting you lack Darkvision: Humans cannot see in the dark. If you cast Darkness without spending an invocation on Devil's Sight, you blind yourself and negate the advantage of being a ranged blaster.
• Hoarding your Heroic Inspiration: The Resourceful trait gives you Inspiration every Long Rest. Don't save it forever; use it to reroll a missed Eldritch Blast that would kill a priority target, or to pass a critical concentration check.