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The archfey warlock brings something to the classic Dungeons & Dragons party that is difficult to put a name to. Sadly, the greatest bit of roleplaying fun of terrifying NPCs and party members whenever they give out their name is less doable inBaldur’s Gate 3.
This isn’t to say the archfey warlock has nothing to offer. The subclass offers a strong combination of defensive abilities and control spells, making them a challenge to kill and a good candidate for honour mode playthroughs where you need a designated survivor to escape from losing fights. Here’s how to build one.
The Best Pact For An Archfey Warlock
For this build, we’ll take Pact Of The Chain. This gives the archfey more of what they already want in survivability tools.
The imp familiar’s invisibility is a good source of reconnaissancein a game where a bad ambush can end your honour mode run. Whenever you’re first exploring an area, have your imp scout it out as much as possible.
You mostly don’t want to use thefamiliar in combat, but it can waste enemy bonus actions on trying to detect invisible foes andabsorb one or two attacksthat would otherwise hit important people.
Neither of the other two pacts are bad for a fey warlock. If you have a strong attachment to one, you can adjust your playstyle to incorporate them:
The Best Spells For An Archfey Warlock
The Archfey gives some nicespell options that a warlock wouldn’t traditionally have access to. The downside is that many of themdon’t benefit from being upcastin a warlock slot.
Consider when picking spells that you have at least some options that will scale into the late game.
Use
Blink
At the end of each turn, you have a 50 per centchance to become untargetable until your next turn.
You’ll want to be casting this spell in almost every combat. It gives you amazing staying power thatdoesn’t rely on your AC or saving throws.
Plant Growth
Create an area of extremely difficult terrain that quarters move speed. There isno saving throw to negate the effect.
This spell controls movement in a way thatpairs well with repelling blasts.
Unfortunately, the Tasmanian blue gum eucalyptus the spell conjures will simultaneously explode if any character drops a lit cigarette.
Scorching Ray
Throw out several damaging beams that scale to level.
Fire resistance is common, but this remains one of thestronger single-target spells.
Dimension Door
Teleport a large distance, allowing the Warlock toescape any losing fight.
While nerfed from its tabletop counterpart, it still boasts a nice range. This spell will normally be all you need toget out of dangerous situations.
Sleep
Knock out a number of enemies below a certain hit point total.
This spell scales to level very well in a Warlock’s toolkit.
Baldur’s Gate gives perfect control of the targeting, so you don’t need to worry about weakened allies being affected.
Counterspell
Negate an enemy spell as a reaction.
Counterspell’s strength is normally dependent on whether the DM announces a spell’s name before or after allowing people to counter it.
In BG3, the name is given upfront so you cansave your slots for strong spellswithout getting baited into countering a cantrip.
Your mystic arcanum is the reward for actually playing a Warlock from levels one to twelve and not using them as a two-level multiclass dip.
Eyebiteis the strongest spellavailable to Warlocks at this level.
Most control spells weaken as a fight goes on, and enemies break free of the effect. Eyebite is the rare option that lets youdebuff a greater number of enemiesas time goes on. You’ll typically use the panic version of the spell since sleep can be broken with a bonus action by any nearby ally.
Modded games can choose from a broader spell list. The most notable are thebroader options available for teleportation spells. Thunder step adds damage that dimension door lacks, while far step can be recast for free and conserve your spell slots.
Invocations
You’ll start withtwo invocationsthat both should go into upgrading your bread and butter eldritch blast.
Beyond these first two, you have a lot more freedom in invocations you take when leveling up. Most give specific situational uses that will vary with the composition of your team outside the one character.
When To Take It
Armour of Shadows
This gives you ahandy boost to your ACin a class that otherwise can’t defend itself.
If your party has a wizard who preparesmage armour, you may skip this invocation.
Beast Speech
Can speak with animals at will. To anyone who played Larian’s previous games, this willseem compulsory as events and sometimes entire quests will be gated behind the abilityto speak to squirrels.
Barbarians gain the same feature for free and at a lower levelbut often lack the charisma to make best use of it.
Beguiling Influence
Gainproficiency in Deception and Persuasion, two of the Warlock’s most important skills.
If your warlock does not have these skills already, this is your chance to gain them.
Devil Sight
Ignore the effects of mundane and magical darkness.
Paired with any character who makes frequent use of magical darkness, this becomes an amazing power.
Modded playthroughsmay have access to invocations from a wider range of sourcebooks. Here are a few standouts:
Best Feats For An Archfey Warlock
Without multiclassing, you canexpect three feats by the time you complete the campaign.You’ll need to invest at least three points into Charisma to keep your spells and blasts at full power. Thislocks two of our options as an ability score increase and a half-feat.
A playthroughusing mind flayer powerscan choose toforgo the Actor feat. The Illiithid expertise elite power grants the same expertise bonus.
Playstyle And Equipment For A Fey Warlock In Baldur’s Gate 3
The archfey warlock leans into the thematics of what the fey are meant to be: Incredibly annoying to deal with.
In combat, you’ll be throwing Eldritch Blasts at long range and repositioning constantly.Enemies will be tempted to chase you as a target withlow AC and mediocre HP scaling, letting yousnare them in Plant Growthor evade them with Blink.
Expertise in Deception means yourwarlock will do well as the party representative. Most of the skill checks that snap to the focus character are charisma-based, which you’ll be maxing out as early as possible anyway.
Equipment For An Archfey Warlock
Another team contribution the fey warlock offers is theirlow reliance on items and gear. Martial classes will be invested in getting the best weapons at any time, while your warlock cantrip will scale automatically.
Clerics and druids want the second-best picks from armour after the fighters have called dibs. There are still a few priority items you’ll want to get a hold of:
Gain +2 charisma, going over 20.
Charisma boosting items are rareand this hat hasno proficiency requirements.
It doesn’t matter how many Dragon Kill Points you need to cash in; talk your team into letting you take this from Sorcerous Sundries.
Potent Robes
Gain temporary hitpoints each turn and deal bonus damage with cantrips
This is yourbest-in-slot choicefor armour. The temp HP reduces attrition, andthe extra cantrip damageshines brightest in the hands of a warlock.
Daredevil Gloves
Can cast ranged spells as melee attacks
Daredevil Gloves allow you toblast melee attackers without needing to disengage,get hit, or take disadvantage.
In your remaining item slots you can oftentake what items your remaining team doesn’t need.Most of the strongest items have proficiency requirements your warlock doesn’t meet. Other items you’ll pick up as hand-me-downs.
Warlock Use
Boots of Speed
These are a greatmobility aid on any melee fighterbut are often forgotten about after upgraded alternatives appear.
On your warlock’s feet,they’ll stack onto their ability to reposition quickly between attacks.
Phalar Aluve
This is agreatmartial weapon in Act One. Later on, the +1 modifier becomes obsolete for fighters.
The buffing aura it providesdoes not require a character to actually use it as a weapon but simply needs a free hand to hold it in.
Amulet of Restoration
This isnormally carried by clericsuntil they learn to castmass healing wordby themselves.
This amulet is agreat emergency healfrom the warlock, who’ll be blinked out when an area spell kills all their party members.
Lastly, Bloodlust and Battlemage elixirs are easy to mass produce and can help the warlock eitherclean up weakened enemies or landattacksagainst high AC boss fights.
