these are all sexual/romantic identities + genderfae by @odocoileus-cardinalis ‘s request ! names in alt text as usual and give me more flags please !!! you are valid and loved !!!
This is how I built Wyll in my Origin Wyll playthrough. This keeps Wyll in his canon Warlock class, while also ensuring he’s handy with his trusty rapier.
The vibe of this Warlock is a spellcaster (Eldritch Blast, AOE, and Enchantment spells) with good melee action. (Very gishy! 👽) The goal is to build up both Arcane Synergy and Arcane Acuity.
Leveling up is fairly flexible, so the focus for this guide is on gear interaction. Key pieces of gear include the Ring of Arcane Synergy (Act 1), Helmet of Arcane Acuity (Act 2), and Band of the Mystic Scoundrel (Act 3).
Overall, this is a fairly standard Fiend Bladelock build, and is not so much an “end all, be all” as it is a basic (but strategic!) approach.
(Fair warning: Possible spoilers ahead!)
Leveling
Please note that this guide is really just my personal preference! I recommend fully reading through the Wiki page on BG3’s Warlock so you get a good idea of what this class can do. In this guide, I’ve added a star (⭐) next to each of the class features or spells that I especially like.
To start with, this is my Wyll’s base stats:
Since Pact of the Blade Warlock’s “Bind Pact Weapon” feature scales weapon Attack Rolls and Damage Rolls off your spellcasting modifier, I recommend heavily prioritizing Charisma. The Warlock class becomes very SAD (Single Ability Dependent) with Charisma which is very convenient.
I prioritized Dexterity after Charisma because your Dexterity modifier affects your Initiative – and the higher your Initiative, the easier it is to get a leg up in combat. Additionally, your Dexterity modifier is added to your AC (when wearing Robes or Light Armor, which this build will be utilizing).
The next prioritized stat is Constitution, which is good for maintaining Concentration spells as well as boosting your total HP.
Level 1
One Level 1 Warlock Spell slot
Select:
Subclass: The Fiend
Two Cantrips: ELDRITCH BLAST 💥, Minor Illusion ⭐
Two Warlock spells (Level 1): Hellish Rebuke, Command
The Fiend subclass gives you:
Dark One’s Blessing (Temporary bonus HP when you kill a hostile creature)
Access to the Spells: Burning Hands, Command
Eldritch Blast genuinely solves any and all problems. (Force Damage is especially good in BG3, where 99% of your enemies do not have Force Resistance.) And Minor Illusion is a really good utility spell – especially if you’re into barrelmancy and need a safe and reliable method to cluster enemies.
The added HP from Dark One’s Blessing is really good, especially in earlier levels (Act 1) when your party is extremely squishy.
Deepened Pact: Pact of the Blade → Gain an Extra Attack with your weapon ⭐
Scaling Cantrips (ie., Eldritch Blast fires an additional beam) ⭐
Improved Warlock Spell Slots: Warlock Spells are now Level 3
Select:
One Eldritch Invocation: Devil’s Sight ⭐
One Warlock Spell (Level 3): Hunger of Hadar ⭐
Replace a Spell: Hellish Rebuke → Counterspell
The Fiend subclass gives you:
Access to the Spells: Fireball, Stinking Cloud
Level 6
Select:
One Warlock Spell (Level 3): Fireball
Replace a Spell: N/A
The Fiend subclass gives you:
Dark One’s Own Luck: Add +1d10 to an Ability Check once per Short Rest
Level 7
Improved Warlock Spell Slots: Warlock Spells are now Level 4
Select:
One Warlock Spell (Level 4): Banishment
Replace a Spell: Cloud of Daggers → Wall of Fire
Eldritch Invocation: Armour of Shadows ⭐
Armor of Shadows is excellent if you’re wearing robes. Because you’ll probably be wearing the Potent Robe at this point (early Act 2), this Invocation is particularly useful.
Level 8
Select:
Feat: ASI +2 to Charisma
One Warlock Spell (Level 4): Fear
Replace a Spell: N/A
Alternative Feats:
You may want to consider Alert to get the jump on enemies, especially when playing in Honor Mode.
War Caster is a good idea if you plan to lean heavily on Concentration Spells such as Hunger of Hadar or Wall of Fire.
Another good Feat for Concentration Spells is Resilient, which you’d take for Constitution. However, your initial Ability Score numbers would probably look different than how I have mine set up!
Spell Sniper is fun if you plan to lean heavily on Attack Roll spells – like Eldritch Blasts!
Level 9
Improved Warlock Spell Slots: Warlock Spells are now Level 5
Select:
One Warlock Spell (Level 5): Hold Monster ⭐
Replace a Spell: N/A
Eldritch Invocation: Life Drinker ⭐
Hold Monster is extremely useful in Act 3, where a lot of the major bosses you face (Orin in her Slayer form, Raphael, etc.) are Monsters.
Level 10
Scaling Cantrips (ie., Eldritch Blast fires an additional beam) ⭐
Select:
One Warlock Spell (Level 5): Flame Strike
Replace a Spell: N/A
The Fiend subclass gives you:
Fiendish Resilience: Once per Short Rest, choose a Damage Type to become Resistant to
Level 11
Gain an additional Warlock Spell slot (for a total of 3 Warlock Spell slots)
Select:
One Warlock Spell (Level 5): Cone of Cold
Mystic Arcanum: Eyebite
Any of the Mystic Arcanum spells are good, though! I just find that Arcane Gate, Circle of Death, and Flesh to Stone are only useful situationally. Create Undead is good for summons-focused teams.
Level 12
Select:
Feat: ASI +2 to Dexterity, or see Level 8.
One Warlock Spell (Level 5): Blight
Replace a Spell: N/A
Eldritch Invocation: One With Shadows
Final Composition
By Level 12, Wyll can have the following notable qualities:
Three Level 5 Warlock Spell slots
One Level 6 Warlock Spell that can be used once per Long Rest
Three Damage die on Damaging Warlock cantrips – AKA three bolts of Eldritch Blast for 3d10+5 Damage (the +5 applies to each Blast bolt)
An Extra Attack (Weapon) from Pact of the Blade
Spells List and Invocations
Note: Scaling Cantrips (Level 5, Level 10) is based on your overall caster level rather than your Warlock level. As such, if you multiclass Wyll with a class like Bard or Paladin, he’ll still get the fully scaled three bolts per Eldritch Blast at Level 10.
Gear
The goal of this gear selection is to maximize the effectiveness of Wyll’s spells – particularly Enchantment spells. With the Band of the Mystic Scoundrel, Enchantment spells can be cast as a Bonus Action. Without this Band, Wyll generally won't be doing much with his Bonus Action as a Warlock – so let's fix that!
To align with his backstory, Wyll should be a formidable swordsman as well as spellcaster. As such, the weaponry in this build enhances his spellcasting, and ensures that his spellcasting enhances his sword fighting as well. (Synergizing!!!)
Headwear: Helmet of Arcane Acuity
Battle Acuity: Whenever you deal damage with a weapon attack, you gain Arcane Acuity (+1 to Spell Attack Rolls and Spell Save DC) for 2 turns.
+1 to Dexterity Saving Throws
Armor: Elegant Studded Leather
14 AC + Dexterity Modifier (18 AC)
+2 to Initiative Rolls
Can cast Shield once per Short Rest
Alternatively, you can use the Potent Robe and cast Armour of Shadows to bump your AC. However, you cannot wear the Helmet of Arcane Acuity if you do so (the helmet qualifies as Light Armor, meaning it cannot be used simultaneously with Armour of Shadows). If you’d like to use the Potent Robe instead, an alternative headwear is the Diadem of Arcane Synergy.
However, I wouldn't recommend the Potent Robe for a Fiend Warlock once you get the Elegant Studded Leather or an equivalent Light Armor. This is because the Potent Robe's added temporary HP (equal to your Warlock's Charisma Modifier) overrides the Dark One's Blessing, which will grant your Warlock temporary HP equal to your Warlock's Charisma Modifier plus your Warlock's Level.
Cloak: Cloak of the Weave
Arcane Enchantment: Gain a +1 bonus to Spell Save DC and Spell Attack Rolls.
Absorb Elements: Absorb elemental damage once per Short Rest. Take half damage from the next elemental attack targeting you, and deal an additional 1d6 of that element type on your next attack.
Alternatively, if you expect Wyll to regularly be in melee range, I’d recommend the Cloak of Protection (defensive, +1 to AC) or Thunderskin Cloak (offensive, pairs well with the Spineshudder Amulet).
The Nymph Cloak pairs well with the Band of the Mystic Scoundrel.
Handwear: Daredevil Gloves
+1 to Spell Attack Rolls
Daredevil Proximity: Can make Ranged Spell Attack Rolls as Melee Spell Attack Rolls
For boosting the effectiveness of Eldritch Blasting! Alternatively, the Gloves of Battlemage’s Power would be perfect for this build, but apparently they’re currently bugged (as of Feb. 20, 2024, Hotfix #18).
The Spellmight Gloves, Quickspell Gloves, Gemini Gloves, and Helldusk Gloves are also interesting options.
Footwear: Helldusk Boots
Ignores Difficult Terrain
Cannot be forcibly moved by spells or actions
Use a reaction to succeed on a Saving Throw
Hellcrawler: Teleport to an area and deal 2d8 Fire Damage upon landing in a 3m/10ft zone
Utilizing infernal gear is very synergetic with Wyll’s story. However, these boots are good for characters who want to move into melee range. Alternative teleportation boots include the Disintegrating Night Walkers or the Spaceshunt Boots.
Additionally, the Boots of Stormy Clamour pair well with the Spineshudder Amulet.
Amulet: Spineshudder Amulet
Inflict Reverberation when you deal Damage with a Ranged Spell Attack
Eldritch Blasts are Ranged Spell Attacks. :)
Ring A: Ring of Arcane Synergy
Synergetic Cantrip: When you deal damage with a Cantrip, you gain Arcane Synergy for 2 turns
When you have Arcane Synergy, your Weapon Attacks deal additional damage equal to your Spell Casting Ability Modifier. This makes a lot of sense since Wyll’s highest stat should be Charisma (aka his Spell Casting Ability Modifier), and because Wyll will probably be Eldritch Blasting (Cantrip) a lot.
Ring B: Band of the Mystic Scoundrel
Illusion Quickening: After hitting a creature with a Weapon Attack, you can cast Illusion or Enchantment spells as a Bonus Action
This item is why this build prioritizes Enchantment spells! Otherwise, the only thing Wyll can really do with his Bonus Action in combat is chug a potion (or teleport), haha.
Melee Main Hand: Infernal Rapier
High Spellcasting: +1 to Spell Save DC
Planar Ally: Cambion (Summon a Cambion as an ally)
However, being able to Bind Pact Weapon via Pact of the Blade means Wyll can wield any weapon in the game! So this slot is very flexible depending on the encounter. I favor the Infernal Rapier for the +1 to Spell Save DC and the RP value.
Melee Off Hand: Viconia’s Walking Fortress
Rebuke of the Mighty: When a foe hits you with a melee attack, you can use a Reaction to deal 2-8 Force damage and possibly knock them Prone
Spellguard: You have Advantage on Saving Throws against spells; Spell Attack Rolls against you have Disadvantage
Swires’ Sledboard is also interesting for potential Force damage. Ketheric’s Shield is good for casters in general (+1 Spell Save DC and +1 to Spell Attack Rolls), although I usually have this shield on my party’s Wizard (Gale).
Ranged Main Hand: Darkfire Shortbow
Grants Resistance to both Fire and Cold Damage
Can cast Haste as a Level 3 spell once per Long Rest
This weapon slot is less important since Wyll will be Eldritch Blasting if he needs to make a single-target Ranged Attack. The only reason he might be using a Ranged Weapon is if he’s Silenced.
As such, it’s nice to just benefit from this bow’s passives. With Fiendish Resilience, Wyll can potentially have four Resistances at once in (very late) Act 2 – Fire and Cold from the Darkfire Shortbow, Necrotic from Selûne’s Blessing, and another from Fiendish Resilience.
Additionally, an emergency Haste is great to have on the backburner.
The Bow of Awareness is another such bow that grants a useful passive (+1 to Initiative).
Ranged Off Hand: N/A
Number Crunching
If you’ve followed the above gearing, you should have 20 AC on Wyll. Hooray!
The following table should give you an idea of how Wyll performs on the battlefield as a result of his gear synergy.
Because this Warlock build has a lot of flexibility in what it can do (#gishy 👽), it’s hard to say how much damage Wyll can regularly dole out. However, in an ideal world, Wyll can take the following actions to get the most out of his gear:
Combat Round #1
Cast Eldritch Blast on three separate enemies, inflicting Reverberation on each and gaining Arcane Synergy.
Combat Round #2
Land a Weapon Attack (which uses Arcane Synergy) on an enemy, gaining Arcane Acuity.
Use Bonus Action to cast Hold Person or Hold Monster.
Land a Weapon Attack (which uses Arcane Synergy) on the held enemy; this Attack is automatically a Critical Hit.
Conclusion
Of course, this is just one way to class Wyll (or a general Warlock)! I prioritized thematic gearing over pure Damage output, so there are definitely ways to get this build even more powerful. For example, Wyll would probably be ethically opposed to using the Bhaalist Armor even though it would greatly enhance his rapier attacks.
As an aside, there’s a funny bug with Warlock’s Pact of the Blade Extra Attack – in Explorer, Balanced, and Tactician, this Extra Attack adds to (instead of overlaps with) any Extra Attack you get from another class.
So instead of having an Attack and Extra Attack like most other martial classes, the Lockadin gets an Attack, an Extra Attack, and an extra Extra Attack, for three Attacks total, LOL. (This bug is unfortunately resolved in Honor Mode.) Subsequently, the Pact of the Blade is a great multiclass with martial classes, but especially a Paladin (5 Warlock / 7 Paladin). 😁
Additionally, a lot of this gear is also excellent on a College of Swords Bard (another Charisma-based gish type). To that end, it may not be a good idea to have both a Bard and Warlock on the same team, as they’ll be fighting for the gear listed here.
Thanks for reading, and hope this gave you some ideas for your Warlock builds! :)
I wrote poems with the prompts for last inktober, but I'm probably gonna be less consistent with posting that aspect this year because I struggled to think of ideas when looking at the list. If I come up with something good for this one or any of them, I'll share!
