Basic Warlock Build

[Maxxcore]

Recently purchased the warlock class, and am planning to TR into one (will be a 2nd life), and I honest have no idea how to make one at all. I don't understand the feats or enhancements, or anything. I was wondering if anyone had a simple pure 20 warlock build. Plan on soloing mostly on hard, which I've heard shouldn't be hard for a warlock. - Thanks

[KoobTheProud]

Recently purchased the warlock class, and am planning to TR into one (will be a 2nd life), and I honest have no idea how to make one at all. I don't understand the feats or enhancements, or anything. I was wondering if anyone had a simple pure 20 warlock build. Plan on soloing mostly on hard, which I've heard shouldn't be hard for a warlock. - Thanks

Go look at one of Slarden or Nachomamma's builds, the initial build in the first post.

The best Warlocks for a solo player are Enlightened Spirit to capstone plus Tainted Scholar for the various blast types. This is almost certainly going to be where you wind up and both of the players mentioned above have explored the archetype in posts that are now hundreds of replies long.

[HastyPudding]

Go look at one of Slarden or Nachomamma's builds, the initial build in the first post.

The best Warlocks for a solo player are Enlightened Spirit to capstone plus Tainted Scholar for the various blast types. This is almost certainly going to be where you wind up and both of the players mentioned above have explored the archetype in posts that are now hundreds of replies long.

And another sentinel clone is born....

Seriously, can't people find some way to play warlocks other than a cleavebot with an easy-button to survive? It's practically a social cliche, now.

[Jasparion]

And another sentinel clone is born....

Seriously, can't people find some way to play warlocks other than a cleavebot with an easy-button to survive? It's practically a social cliche, now.

If there wasnt an easy button there would be complaints about how tough the content is...

[DrWily]

If there wasnt an easy button there would be complaints about how tough the content is...

I think, and most other players would agree, that Warlock as a whole is a big easy button.

[Tscheuss]

I like pure Warlock Tainted scholar, human with enough AP spent for healing amp. CHA is the main stat with CON and INT tied for 2nd, imo.
I like Fiend (cannot be good) pact for force/fire damage and Hurl Through Hell. The Chain shape in TS is fun for shooting around corners. XD

I like the Web and Evard's Black Tentacles spells, too. Check wiki for best metas for your preferred spells. Evocation and/or conjuration focus, maybe.

Impulse of Kinetic caster sticks come in handy, and they can be re-used in cleric lives for BB.

Maybe I will try the ES tree some day, or not. :p

[HastyPudding]

I like pure Warlock Tainted scholar, human with enough AP spent for healing amp. CHA is the main stat with CON and INT tied for 2nd, imo.
I like Fiend (cannot be good) pact for force/fire damage and Hurl Through Hell. The Chain shape in TS is fun for shooting around corners. XD

I like the Web and Evard's Black Tentacles spells, too. Check wiki for best metas for your preferred spells. Evocation and/or conjuration focus, maybe.

Impulse of Kinetic caster sticks come in handy, and they can be re-used in cleric lives for BB.

Maybe I will try the ES tree some day, or not. :p

I'm seeing more than a few warlocks focusing on force damage, nowadays, and not light/evil. This a growing trend? I recall being able to get light spellpower much higher than force (as is on my warlock). 3 morninglord past lives helps and you can twist in 30 from EA if you're not in that destiny. There's just so many more sources of light spellpower than force.

[KoobTheProud]

And another sentinel clone is born....

Seriously, can't people find some way to play warlocks other than a cleavebot with an easy-button to survive? It's practically a social cliche, now.

I'm currently in Fatesinger and enjoying a lot of extra caster levels and Charisma, alongside a few choice abilities with the usual twists. I'm not sure if I will switch out of Fatesinger when I have refilled the Arcane Sphere again. It adds a few things that are passive in nature but very powerful for a well-geared Warlock at cap.

I'd also go Exalted Angel, Divine Crusader or Shiradi Champion before I took Unyielding Sentinel. I don't even find it necessary to twist Legendary Shield Mastery at this point.

Also, Shining Through is not the reason that Warlocks are so survivable. It's something much simpler that that. Shining Through is like win-more and so it's not something I see as necessary at this point. Stanch handles the emergencies like the end boss of ToEE and other things that I am doing anyway are far more synergistic than waiting out the Shining Through cooldown and hoping a champion doesn't burst me again in the interim.

They could remove Shining Through from the Enlightened Spirit tree and I wouldn't miss it at all. The only people who would miss it are first and second life Warlocks who haven't quite figured out the synergies that make a Warlock mostly unsinkable.

[KoobTheProud]

I'm seeing more than a few warlocks focusing on force damage, nowadays, and not light/evil. This a growing trend? I recall being able to get light spellpower much higher than force (as is on my warlock). 3 morninglord past lives helps and you can twist in 30 from EA if you're not in that destiny. There's just so many more sources of light spellpower than force.

Ruin and Greater Ruin use Force as their spellpower add even though the damage is untyped.

[zehnvhex]

Also, Shining Through is not the reason that Warlocks are so survivable.

Precisely.

An ES/TS/US Warlock is nice for first lifers because it's full of safety nets. The DPS is mediocre but you don't care because nothing outside of LE raids can kill you and in heroic content Spirit Blast's high base damage but abysmal scaling hasn't impacted you yet so you're running around one-shotting everything.

Once you get a bit better at the game you start to trade defensive options for more offense. You realize shining through is a waste of AP since you never really need it. Then you start falling asleep doing blast, blast, afk for 4 seconds on bosses and switch to using the regular Eldritch Blast. Then you realize you don't really need Brilliance Aura either and displacement SLA is kinda dumb when you can get it as a spell anyways.

And this goes on and on until you shift from a ES/TS/US warlock to a TS/SE Shriadi or Fatesinger and wonder how you could ever tolerate being so slow. Sure you die occasionally because you weren't paying attention and didn't hit staunch in time but the fact that your damage has basically doubled makes you feel like the big man on campus.

And then you watch a undead shiradi absolutely obliterate you and cry deep inside.

[DrWily]

I'm seeing more than a few warlocks focusing on force damage, nowadays, and not light/evil. This a growing trend? I recall being able to get light spellpower much higher than force (as is on my warlock). 3 morninglord past lives helps and you can twist in 30 from EA if you're not in that destiny. There's just so many more sources of light spellpower than force.

There are still quite a few really good spells/abilities that rely on force/physical spellpower. There's (Greater) Ruin as described above, Evard's, and either Arcane Pulse or Spirit Blades depending on if you want either of those.

There's a lot more sources of force damage when you multiclass, though Max doesn't seem to want a multiclass so it might be better going light/evil.

[HastyPudding]

Ruin and Greater Ruin use Force as their spellpower add even though the damage is untyped.

Bleh. I never paid attention to them because my epic feats were always put into epic spell penetration, epic spell focus, etc for enchantment DC's.

[KoobTheProud]

Bleh. I never paid attention to them because my epic feats were always put into epic spell penetration, epic spell focus, etc for enchantment DC's.

The crits get people's attention in a hurry when they happen.

I've thought about using Force instead of Light but I like the fact that there's so little DR against Evil damage. I guess it's a trade off that some group Warlocks make to get good chunks of damage in with Greater Ruin and Ruin, living with the greater DR out there on their blasts in exchange for the huge untyped damage from Greater Ruin and Ruin. Solo I just prefer to do consistent damage with the blasts and save the feats for other things.