As a professional gamer and content creator specializing in RPG class builds and optimization, I know first-hand how devastating an optimized Warlock can be in Baldur‘s Gate 3.
But I also constantly see players handicapping their Warlock‘s potential with subpar Feat choices.
So today, let‘s cut through the noise and break down the 6 quintessential Feats for unlocking your Warlock‘s full domination potential.
Why Feats Matter More for Warlocks
Before diving into the feats themselves, it‘s important to understand why Feats are so integral for Warlocks compared to other classes.
You see, the Warlock class in Baldur‘s Gate 3 thrives on specialization. Their core strength comes from narrow focus into very specific playstyles:
- Heavy ranged damage
- Debilitating control
- Support through buffs/debuffs
Feats augment these playstyles tremendously. Moreso than incremental ability score increases, they provide Warlocks unique tools that no other class gets access to.
But there‘s a catch…you only get up to 6 Feats total!
So you need to choose extremely wisely. The wrong Feats mean seriously gimping your tactical options and damage potential.
Throughout this guide, I‘ll highlight the optimal, battle-tested Feats for enabling different Warlock specialties:
Top 6 Warlock Feats
Now let‘s dive into powering up your Warlock!
1. Ability Score Improvement (ASI)
- Benefits: Increase one ability score by +2, or two by +1 each
Ability Score Improvement might seem boring.
But boosting those core abilities ties directly into specialization and compounding domination.
Here is the ASI priority order I recommend based on hundreds of hours mastering Warlocks:
- Charisma: Get this to 20 ASAP
- Constitution: For concentration and HP
- Charisma/Constitution: Depends on specialization
Pumping Charisma fuels the literal firepower behind your spells and kill potential. Constitution keeps you alive and maintains crucial disables like Hypnotic Pattern.
So why is this simple ASI far better than more flashy Feats for Warlocks?
- Spells DC keys directly off Charisma
- +1 higher spell DC can increase odds of landing a disable by over 10%
- Higher DC also exponentially boosts damaging spell radii
- Constitution boosts HP/concentration checks massively
Let‘s crunch some numbers!
| Charisma | Spell DC | Odds of Disabling 4 Targets |
|---|---|---|
| +3 | 15 | 31% |
| +4 | 16 | 42% |
| +5 | 17 | 53% |
As you can see, ASIs directly translate into deadlier, smarter Warlocks through heightened spell efficiency.
Now let‘s see how other Feats measure up…
2. War Caster
- Benefits
- Advantage on concentration checks
- Cast spell as reaction against enemies moving away
While simple on paper, don‘t underestimate the power of War Caster, especially for disabling Warlocks.
Advantage effectively doubles your odds of making those crucial concentration checks to maintain game-changing disables like Hypnotic Pattern.
And landing a clutch shocking grasp as enemies flee often means preventing a total team wipe.
In all my time optimizing Warlocks, War Caster has far and away provided the most bang for buck after Ability Score Improvement. It enables you to actually land those big spells reliably.
3. Durable
Benefits:
- +1 Constitution
- Regain maximum HP from HD on short rest
Ah good old Durable. Boring but incredibly effective.
Simply put, it compounds the core survival strengths of a Warlock:
- High sustainability between rests
- Solid self healing
- Range favorability
An extra 20-30 HP might not seem like much by level 8.
But when playing Immersive Mode with restricted healing, believe me – it‘s the difference between life and death.
Combine Durable with Fiendish Vigor and you have tremendous survivability at low levels. And you can never go wrong with more HP and higher concentration saves.
4. Spell Sniper
Benefits:
- Learn one extra cantrip
- Attacks ignore half and three-quarter cover
- Expand critical threat range by 1
Now this Feat provides some seriously sexy offensive benefits – specifically for blaster Warlocks.
Gaining an additional Eldritch Blast beam alone equals a flat +1d10+Cha damage per turn. But also improving its accuracy and crit potential takes your DPR into astronomical levels.
Here are some samples DPR shakes out at higher levels:
| Level | Avg. Damage | With Spell Sniper |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 31.5 | 36 |
| 11 | 57 | 63 |
| 17 | 82.5 | 90 |
And keep in mind that crit fishing with eldritch blast enables some of the highest possible Nova potential in the entire game.
So while more utility-driven Warlocks have other priorities, Spell Sniper should be an auto-include for blasters.
5. Actor
Benefits:
- +1 Charisma, up to 20
- Advantage on Deception and Performance checks to mimic others
- Mimic speech patterns and voices
Where Spell Sniper fuels raw damage, Actor fuels devastating trickery.
Creative Warlocks can cause absolute chaos with Actor by impersonating enemies and sowing confusion from within their ranks.
And the flat Charisma bump further enhances your disabling and mind-altering spells like Suggestion and Geas.
In general, Actor benefits manipulative, infiltration focused Warlocks far more than basic hexers/blasters. It depends entirely on your specialty.
6. Metamagic Adept
Benefits:
- Learn 2 Metamagic options available to Sorcerers
- Gain 2 Sorcery Points to fuel Metamagic
Now here‘s a dark horse of a Feat that most Warlock players completely overlook.
Accessing metamagic gives so much extra tactical flexibility, whether boosting damage, extending disables, or bursting healing in clutch moments.
I highly recommend Quickened Spell and Subtle Spell since they perfectly complement the Warlock playstyle. Being able to instantly disable enemies with a Subtle Hypnotic Pattern before they even have time to react is just dirty.
And having extra Sorcery Points to fuel more metamagic gives you tremendous long-rest sustainability.
Mastering Feat Synergy and Strategy
So those are the top Warlock Feats in a vacuum. But things get even spicier when you build synergy between multiple Feats and your patron/pact boon.
Here is an example of a specialized Feat combo I love:
- Fiend patron
- Pact of the Chain (Gift of the Ever-Living Ones)
- Spell Sniper + Eldritch Spear + Durable
Gift of the Ever Living Ones lets you maximize all healing when your familiar is nearby…including healing surges from dark one‘s own luck.
Combine this with boosted HP from Durable and the sheer ranged threat of Spell Sniper + Eldritch Spear and you have extremely oppressive poke/sustain.
The key takeaway is to choose Feats that magnify your intended specialization rather than thinly spreading attributes across different roles. Distribute your attributes in a focused way according to how you want to dominate – not what seems individually powerful in a vacuum.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully this guide has illuminated the wondrous potential of Warlock Feats and how to utilize them effectively. The days of haphazard, thinly spread Feats should be behind you!
Now you have the tools to utterly dominate Baldur‘s Gate as the pinnacle specialized Warlock. Yet plenty exciting optimizations still await.
For More Expert Insights, Check Out My Other Warlock Guides:
And please drop a comment letting me know what topics you want me to cover next for pushing your Warlock to the next level!
Sincerely,
Kane
