A pure Fiend Warlock has fewer spell slots than a Wizard, but the slots come back on a Short Rest and automatically scale to the highest Pact Magic level you have. That changes how the class should be played. Hunger of Hadar, Fireball, Counterspell and Wall of Fire are not “save for the final boss” resources when two Short Rests — and a Bard's Song of Rest if present — can reload the core kit. Eldritch Blast handles the turns where spending a slot would be wasteful, while Dark One's Blessing gives temporary HP after you personally finish a hostile creature.
Fiend Warlock is at its best when a Short Rest feels like a reload, not a consolation prize
This build uses Pact of the Tome rather than Pact of the Blade. The goal is a ranged Charisma caster: Agonising Blast turns Charisma into repeatable beam damage, Repelling Blast turns those beams into forced movement, Hunger of Hadar creates an area enemies hate crossing, and the Fiend list adds Fireball/Wall of Fire/Cone of Cold-style burst options without asking the character to enter melee.
Eldritch Blast is the default turn, not the whole build. The spell slots are for turns where the battlefield actually changes.
Build at a glance
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| Build slot | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
Class | Fiend Warlock 12 | Three level-5 pact slots at 11, Mystic Arcanum, sixth invocation and three feats. |
Pact | Pact of the Tome | Guidance/Vicious Mockery/Thorn Whip; Deepened Pact adds free Haste, Call Lightning, Animate Dead uses. |
Starting stats | STR 8 / DEX 16 / CON 14 / INT 8 / WIS 10 / CHA 16 | Initiative/AC plus reliable concentration and a clean Charisma path. |
Feat 4 | +2 CHA | 18 Charisma. |
Feat 8 | +2 CHA | 20 Charisma. |
Feat 12 | Alert or Spell Sniper | Alert for turn order; Spell Sniper for a cantrip/crit-oriented party. |
Invocations 2 | Agonising Blast + Repelling Blast | Damage plus forced movement on the spell you use all game. |
Core control | Hunger of Hadar | Blind/slow/damage zone plus Repelling Blast creates a reusable control engine. |
Invocations are permanent build choices, not decorative passives. Agonising and Repelling Blast define the ranged Fiend baseline.
Eldritch Blast scales with character level; the invocations make the scaling matter
Eldritch Blast gains additional beams at character levels 5 and 10, reaching three beams in the endgame. Agonising Blast adds your Charisma modifier to each beam. Repelling Blast can push a hit target, which is not just ledge comedy: it can move enemies back into Hunger of Hadar, away from your concentration caster, or out of melee range so another ally can move without provoking.
Because the build stays pure Warlock, you do not need to solve multiclass spellcasting ability or Sorcery Point economy. The price is lower nova potential than a Sorlock; the benefit is a cleaner short-rest loop and stronger pure-class progression.
A pure Warlock level-up remains compact: spell choices, invocations and pact decisions are the build rather than a long multiclass spreadsheet.
Level 1–12 progression
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| Level | Pick / feature | What changes |
|---|---|---|
1 | Fiend; Eldritch Blast; Hex/Command/Burning Hands choices | Dark One’s Blessing grants CHA + Warlock level temporary HP on kill. |
2 | Agonising Blast + Repelling Blast | The default ranged turn is online. |
3 | Pact of the Tome; 2nd-level slots | Guidance and Tome utility arrive; Blindness/Scorching Ray are Fiend options. |
4 | Feat: +2 CHA | 18 Charisma. |
5 | Deepened Pact; Hunger of Hadar / Counterspell; Fireball from Fiend | Pact slots become 3rd level; Tome gains once-per-long-rest Haste/Call Lightning/Animate Dead. |
6 | Dark One’s Own Luck | Add 1d10 to an Ability Check when a critical non-combat check needs help. |
7 | 4th-level pact slots; Wall of Fire available through Fiend | Control/damage zones become stronger. |
8 | Feat: +2 CHA | 20 Charisma. |
9 | 5th-level pact slots; Cone of Cold / Flame Strike from Fiend | Every normal Warlock slot now casts at 5th level. |
10 | Fiendish Resilience; Eldritch Blast now has 3 beams at character level 10 | Choose one damage resistance; change it on Short Rest when needed. |
11 | Third pact slot + Mystic Arcanum | Three 5th-level slots per Short Rest plus one chosen 6th-level Arcanum per Long Rest. |
12 | Feat + sixth invocation | Alert or Spell Sniper; finish the invocation package around the party. |
Warlock knows few spells, so each selection should solve a different problem instead of collecting six versions of direct damage.
Hunger of Hadar is the control plan; Fireball is the “solve it now” plan
Hunger of Hadar is a concentration zone that blinds creatures inside, creates difficult terrain and deals damage at the start/end of turns. Repelling Blast is the natural partner because a beam can push a creature back into the zone after it finally reaches the edge. Fireball is the opposite decision: no concentration, immediate area damage, ideal when the targets are clustered and simply need to disappear before their turns.
Do not automatically cast Hex in every serious fight. Hex competes for concentration with Hunger of Hadar and costs a Bonus Action. On a boss where three Eldritch Blast beams will land for several rounds, Hex can be efficient. In a doorway fight where Hunger of Hadar deletes enemy movement and line of sight, the zone is usually the real spell.
Hunger of Hadar is valuable because it changes geometry and sight lines, not because its tooltip has the largest damage number.
Fiend features are survivability with conditions attached
Dark One's Blessing triggers when you reduce a hostile creature to 0 HP, granting temporary HP equal to Charisma modifier + Warlock level. That encourages you to finish low-health enemies when doing so does not waste a whole turn. At level 10 Fiendish Resilience lets you choose one damage resistance and swap it on a Short Rest. Use the resistance for the encounter you are entering instead of leaving the default on a damage type the next boss never uses.
Dark One's Own Luck at level 6 adds 1d10 to an Ability Check. Current BG3 implementation is an ability-check tool, not a general saving-throw rescue. Treat it as dialogue/exploration insurance rather than a combat defensive reaction.
Gear progression
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| Stage | Useful pieces | Why |
|---|---|---|
Act 1 | The Spellsparkler; Protecty Sparkswall or solid clothing; Melf’s First Staff as an alternative | Spell attack/DC and repeated Eldritch Blast hits give early caster gear real mileage. |
Act 2 | Potent Robe, Risky Ring if the saving-throw drawback is acceptable, Reverberation pieces | Potent Robe adds Charisma to cantrip damage; it is the signature Eldritch Blast chest. |
Act 3 | Birthright, Spellmight Gloves if accuracy supports them, Markoheshkir or Staff of Spellpower | Charisma, spell accuracy/DC and extra casting resources improve both beams and slot turns. |
Fiend Warlock has access to Fireball at level 5; use it when immediate AoE is more valuable than maintaining a control zone.
Potent Robe has one awkward interaction worth knowing
Potent Robe's Gregarious Caster adds Charisma modifier to cantrip damage, which is excellent on Eldritch Blast. It also grants Charisma-modifier temporary HP at the start of your turn. Temporary HP does not stack, and Dark One's Blessing has a documented stack-priority quirk that can be overwritten by another temporary-HP source. The robe is still excellent; just do not assume every temp-HP number on the bar is adding together.
Combat loop
1. Before combat, decide whether the fight is a zone-control problem or an immediate-damage problem.
2. If a doorway/choke exists, open Hunger of Hadar where enemies must cross it.
3. Use Repelling Blast to push escaped targets back into the zone or away from allies.
4. If targets are already clustered and fragile, Fireball instead of spending concentration setup.
5. Use normal Eldritch Blast turns whenever a pact slot would not materially change the fight.
6. Short Rest once the pact slots and important short-rest resources are spent. The class is designed to reload.
Honour Mode notes
The pure Tome plan does not depend on Pact of the Blade Extra Attack stacking, so Honour’s multiclass Extra Attack rule is irrelevant.
Repelling enemies off ledges can remove loot; pushing into Hunger of Hadar keeps the reward on the map.
Counterspell competes for your small pool of pact slots. The correct reaction can still prevent more damage than your own Fireball would deal.
Dark One’s Blessing requires your Warlock to get the kill. Do not distort target priority just to chase temporary HP.; Potent Robe is quest-gated. The build still functions without it; the robe is an amplifier, not the class engine.
Pure 12 versus 9 Fiend / 3 Sorcerer / Common mistakes
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| Version | Gain | Give up |
|---|---|---|
Fiend 12 | Third pact slot, Mystic Arcanum, sixth invocation, three feats, simple rest loop | No Sorcerer Metamagic. |
Fiend 9 / Sorcerer 3 | Metamagic and Sorcery Point burst | Pure Warlock level 10–12 features and third level-5 pact slot. |
FAQ
Casting Hex automatically and locking yourself out of Hunger of Hadar.; Saving both pact slots through an encounter and then Short Resting anyway.
Taking damage-only invocations before Agonising/Repelling Blast.; Using Dark One’s Own Luck as if it were a universal saving-throw bonus.
Standing in melee because temporary HP appeared after a kill.; Is Fiend Warlock still worth playing after Hexblade arrived? Yes. Hexblade is the melee/weapon patron; Fiend remains a clean ranged spell-damage/control patron.
Why Pact of the Tome? It reinforces the caster identity and at Warlock 5 adds free Haste, Call Lightning and Animate Dead uses.; How many pact slots does a pure Warlock have late game? Three level-5 slots at Warlock 11, restored on Short Rest.
Does Eldritch Blast get three beams? Yes at character level 10.; Is Potent Robe mandatory? No, but it is a major cantrip damage piece for Charisma casters.