One of the best parts of creating a warlock character for Dungeons and Dragons is the backstory and picking a patron. Then after that, players are presented with a confounding amount of options whose benefits aren’t usually explained well in theory, leading to a lot of playthroughs where one warlock would wish they picked this or that instead.

Invocations are no exception from this. There are dozens of them and reading through or calculating their practical effects is not exactly as fun as picking spells or other aspects of warlock character creation. That’s why this guide exists– to let budding warlocks know which invocations and gifts from an eldritch sugar daddy are worth accepting. At the same time, there are some invocations one ought to avoid as well.

10 PICK: AGONIZING BLAST

Regardless of which warlock subclass one chooses, Eldritch Blast is always the best ranged skill and attack alternative. Even Hexblades would do well not to ignore this sweet cantrip. That’s why bolstering its power with Agonizing Blast is mandatory.

Adding the Charisma modifier to each Eldritch Blast might look like a small and negligible improvement in early levels, but later on– with higher Charisma, it adds up monstrously. Coupled with the high range, Agonizing Blast makes Eldritch Blast a blast to use.

9 AVOID: BEGUILING INFLUENCE

Skill bonuses especially to Deception and Persuasion are always welcome no matter the class in D&D. Beguiling Influence adds to those skills if a warlock picks it. However, despite the decent proficiency increase, it’s rather redundant.

After all, those are already the Warlock’s usual default proficiency pick during the character creation. Sure, it would let warlocks allot proficiency in other skills but it all still depends on the dice rolls, not much practical use here as fumbling social interactions don’t have too many consequences.

8 PICK: DEVIL’S SIGHT

At first glance, Devil’s Sight might look redundant especially if one’s warlock already has Darkvision from its chosen race but this invocation is different. That’s because Devil’s Sight lets warlocks see through magical darkness whereas Darkvision doesn’t.

On its own, it’s not groundbreaking but pair it with an early-level warlock skill called Darkness, it becomes a good way to frustrate your DM. Darkness practically blinds the enemies but warlocks with Devil’s Sight can still see them, that’s advantage for them and disadvantage for their enemies. It’s a great combo until warlocks unlock Shadow of Moil.

7 AVOID: DREADFUL WORLD

Dreadful Word would have been a more appealing invocation if only it was available at lower levels. It allows warlocks to cast the Confusion spell using a spell slot as an action. The problem is, it’s only available at level 7.

At that point, the warlocks already have access to more powerful spells like Enemies Abound or Hypnotic Pattern. Some are certainly more useful for both social situations and in combat compared to Confusion.

6 PICK: BOOK OF ANCIENT SECRETS

The warlock’s spell list is robust though there are certainly some wizard or druid spells that would make them green with envy. The Book of Ancient Secrets invocation alleviates this problem a bit.

It allows warlocks to “copy” other ritual spells from other classes or even their own. This will not count in their known spells list. It has better usage outside of combat and makes warlocks a good social interaction instigator or even a detective.

5 AVOID: OTHERWORLDLY LEAP

It’s a decent invocation that grants the Jump spell at will as an action but it’s given at level 9, of all the earlier levels where warlocks could have used it. It’s practically useless at that point due to better spells like Fly.

Moreover, the Jump spell is also not that good past the early levels of the game as it consumes an action and isn’t also that beneficial. It only allows for triple the jump distance which is still limited by the character’s movement speed.

4 PICK: TOMB OF LEVISTUS

Warlocks are definitely great at dishing out all kinds of damage and unleashing the most devastating crowd control against enemies. However, their one glaring weakness is their lack of defense; notwithstanding spells like Shadow of Moil, they’re glass cannons without any good heal spells.

That’s why making up for this weakness is crucial for warlocks and one of the best invocations for this is Tomb of Levistus. It’s a reaction feature that serves as a panic button, giving warlocks temporary HP to absorb potentially lethal damage. Used right, it can turn a warlock into a tank.

3 AVOID: LANCE OF LETHARGY

Lance of Lethargy is an invocation that augments Eldritch Blast and one would think that its effects are beneficial due to how intense its name is. Sadly, the only thing it does is reduce the movement speed of a target Eldritch Blast hits.

Additionally, it only reduces up to 10 feet of speed which resets once it’s your turn. It’s great for encounters where the enemies are strictly melee, but good luck betting on the DM not to use ranged monsters.

2 PICK: ELDRITCH SMITE

The paladin’s Smite feature is its bread and butter and makes it among the top melee damage dealers in the tabletop game. Warlocks apparently got jealous of this burst damage output and invented their own: Eldritch Smite.

It’s an invocation that allows Hexblade warlocks to smite as well. The difference is that it has no damage die ceiling, unlike the paladin’s Smite. This makes Hexblade warlocks with high-level spell slots compete with Oath of Vengeance paladins as boss killers.

1 AVOID: BEWITCHING WHISPERS

Bewitching Whispers is yet again another wasted invocation that’s only available at a level where warlocks already have much better spells. It allows casting of the Compulsion spell but it will cost a spell slot and it also costs an action. It’s available at level 7.

At that point, warlocks are just better off using their better level spells to take a single or even more enemies out of combat. Compulsion’s subpar effect simply does not justify spending a precious warlock spell slot. Luckily warlocks always have much better options.

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