All 9 Official Warlock Subclasses, Ranked

There are spellcasters with innate abilities, those who study and collect magical items, and those with supernatural patrons. These aren’t always benevolent deities, as in the case of Clerics. Warlocks are the perfect Dungeons & Dragons class for players willing to make a deal in exchange for cool magic powers.

A Warlock’s patron is often a malevolent force of some kind, such as a demon, but depending on the Pact you choose, that doesn’t have to be the case. Lucky for Warlocks, it’s a seller’s market right now, so players get to choose their otherworldly patron, and not all patrons are the same.

Updated November 17, 2024, by Alfredo Robelo: While the 2024 Player’s Handbook didn’t add any new subclasses for warlocks, it did change some key details of how they work. We’ve updated this article to include information from the latest Dungeons & Dragons books, letting you choose your patron in a more informed manner.

Note – Make sure you have a high Charisma before making deals with devils. It’s the primary ability of the class, and you need a score of at least 13 if you’re planning to multi-class in the future.

9

The Undying

The Undying patron is a powerful undead being. Liches and powerful gods of the undead fit the bill. Warlocks that follow Undying patrons gain the “Spare the Dying” cantrip and, at 6th level, can regain hit points whenever they use it to stabilize another creature (or succeed on a death-saving throw). The healing on death-saving throws is more useful since it allows the warlock to get back up in the middle of a fight without wasting party healing spells, but self-healing after casting Spare the Dying is less than useful because it still heals the warlock, not the unconscious creature the spell was cast on.

Those Spare the Dying cantrips will come in handy since many attacks by undead enemies will be redirected toward party members. Other abilities, such as not needing to eat or drink, aging more slowly, and being able to reattach limbs are interesting but not often mechanically useful. Any Warlocks who follow the Undying should invest in a good Perception skill since the fact that they don’t sleep means the party will almost definitely put them on watch duty.

8

The Fathomless

This creative angle on the Warlock connects you to a deity of the underwater realm. This could be a variety of creatures depending on other factors to consider, such as your character’s species and their choice of background. You can cast spells like Guardian Coil and Grasping Tentacles, which are just as horrific as they sound.

However, one drawback of this subclass is that most of its useful spells and abilities only work where water is present. A campaign at sea or exploring a swamp would be ideal locations, but their use becomes limited in deserts or arid plains.

7

The Hexblade

The Hexblade Patron is a mysterious force from the Shadowfell that manifests in sentient magical weapons. The best general abilities that this subclass gives are the bonus proficiencies: medium armor, martial weapons, and shields. Warlocks can also use the Charisma modifier for weapon attacks, making them about as effective as weapon attacks by a class that focuses on strength or dexterity.

The other abilities are less broadly useful. The Hexblade’s Curse, which improves at higher levels, gives a lot of bonuses to attack and defense against a single enemy. The Accursed Specter allows the Warlock to enslave the soul of a slain enemy until the next long rest. These are pretty useful, but can only be used once per day. The Accursed Specter lasts for a while, but the Hexblade’s Curse only lets the Warlock be useful for one fight per day. Great for sprints, not marathons.

6

The Undead

The ‘occult’ version of the Warlock is for players looking to connect with a darker power from beyond the grave. Naturally, it’s sourced from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, the infamous ‘vampire’ D&D module. You get to transform into a new form of dread, similar to a druid’s Wild Shape. This comes complete with temporary hit points and a new appearance.

The Undead is ideal for building a powerful spellcaster with focused abilities. You also have some spells that make you more durable in case you need extra hits points or an AC buff during a fight, and there are Feats you can take for ranged and melee weapons if you’d like to build a Warlock that does some weapon damage. If you’re looking for roleplay, it’s a great choice for a patron that doesn’t fear death but knows it intimately.

5

The Great Old One

The Great Old One is a mysterious being beyond comprehension. Seriously, though, we all know this is a Lovecraft reference, and it’s Cthulu. Its patronage starts out underwhelmingly, giving what is essentially a far better version of the Message cantrip with the awakened mind feature. Resistance to psychic damage and reflecting it back is nice, but it is rare enough that its usefulness is limited by the kind of monsters the DM likes to use.

We recommend using the 2024 version of the subclass, since all of its better traits have been improved. Entropic ward, a level six feature that gave you a chance to have advantage on a single attack roll, has been replaced by clairvoyant combatant, which gives you advantage on all attack rolls against the target, while they have disadvantage when attacking you, for the entire duration of the combat.

Create thrall, the final ability for these warlocks, has also been significantly changed into being a combat focused feature. Instead of making a thrall from an NPC, you gain a better use of the Summon Aberration spell, letting you summon your chosen creature without concentration and it even deals extra damage.

4

The Celestial

The Celestial is a powerful being of the Upper Planes, good for people who want to be Clerics but don’t want to do any of the prayer and devotion. Normally, subclasses that shoehorn a non-healer class into a healing role are something to avoid, but this one is pretty good. With access to Cure Wounds and a pool of ranged healing, Celestial Warlocks can make a better-than-average secondary healer or even a decent primary healer in a pinch.

Free temporary hit points after every short or long rest for the warlock and their allies further cements this subclass’s utility. Resistance to radiant damage is fine, but the bonus to fire damage (the most common type of spell damage) and radiant damage (the type of damage dealt by the free Sacred Flame cantrip the subclass gains) is much better.

The ability to get up after being dropped to 0 HP and deal area of effect radiant damage used to be just the fun cherry on top, but in the 2024 rules, this level 14 ability becomes incredibly useful. This is because you can now target an ally with the ability, making it so your party members can do all kinds of risky maneuvers and know that you will have their back.

3

The Archfey

The Archfey is a powerful fey lord, the perfect Patron for Warlocks who want to draw on the Feywild’s beguiling influences. While the spells given by this subclass are largely the same in the 2014 and 2024 renditions, we recommend the 2024 version since its focus on Misty Step is mechanically better than what the older version has to offer.

All the Misty Step uses you gain make this a highly mobile subclass, and the way it’s built makes it ideal for one of two playstyles: support or melee damage. This is due to the added effects you can give your misty steps, like gaining temporary hit points, invisibility, or dealing area psychic damage where you land.

2

The Genie

The Genie warlock subclass is an example of making a pact with a morally ambiguous being. This type of warlock can be of any alignment, and their specific powers depend on the type of Genie they choose to serve. The Efreeti, for example, is a fire demon, so it’s a good choice if you want increased damage. You’ll get an extended spell list based on the type of Genie, with spells based on the element of the chosen Genie partner.

No matter what Patron you choose, you get to carry a Genie’s Vessel around like a proper “genie in the lamp,” which can be used for buffs if you have it in your off-hand during a fight. You can also magically enter the vessel your genie occupies, vanishing and hiding inside while still being able to hear outside. Your Genie also grants you a bit of extra damage from your proficiency bonus based on the type of Genie you choose.

1

The Fiend

Faust was right. Selling your soul to the devil for badass powers is easy and fun. Maybe there was something to the Great Satanic Panic after all? The ability to add 1d10 to an ability check or saving throw every short rest and the ability to choose a damage resistance to fit different circumstances are both incredibly powerful.

The temporary hit points gained by killing enemies are an added bonus and will keep any follower of The Fiend alive in fights with plenty of foes. At high levels, dealing massive psychic damage and removing a single foe from the battle for a turn is great, even if it can only be used once per long rest.

The core abilities of this subclass were so good, that the only thing the 2024 Player’s Handbook added was being able to do them more. Nearly all the abilities given by the Fiend can be done more than once per rest, even their final level 14 feature; that one, however, requires you to spend a spell slot to use it again.