Sorlock, how soon is it viable?

[EndEver]

For a 3 Lock, 17 Sorc. Mainly Dex, Cha, Con based.

How soon would it be viable damage wise?

How soon do I go Lock 3?

(Thinking chain or tome)

Also if I was divine soul sorcerer, does Spirit Guardians work well with Sorlock or less so cause of melee range?

Also if you have the time, is darkness/devils sight really that worth it (concentration )?

*Bear in mind I’m make a tibbit so V Human and Half Elf are out the window. I get Dex +2, Cha + 1

Sorta wondering if full sorcerer would be better at this point

[PeteNutButter]

I'd go Sorcerer 1/Warlock 2 then sorcerer the rest. It's good as soon as you get 2nd warlock level and stays good all the way through. I wouldn't bother with warlock 3.

Darkness is sometimes worth it. Against low AC targets, you'll get more damage from a simple hex. The darkness still gives disadvantage for most enemies to hit. As levels go up things like fiends and things with blindsight become more common making it worthless in those fights. Better spells are available for concentration at higher levels as well.

I wouldn't bother with spirit guardians unless you plan on being up front. Can be ok if you are hexblade or manage a decent AC some other way.

[Nhorianscum]

For a 3 Lock, 17 Sorc. Mainly Dex, Cha, Con based.

How soon would it be viable damage wise?

How soon do I go Lock 3?

(Thinking chain or tome)

Also if I was divine soul sorcerer, does Spirit Guardians work well with Sorlock or less so cause of melee range?

Also if you have the time, is darkness/devils sight really that worth it (concentration )?

*Bear in mind I’m make a tibbit so V Human and Half Elf are out the window. I get Dex +2, Cha + 1

Sorta wondering if full sorcerer would be better at this point

Level 11 is where EB becomes worth the investment but a one level dip into Hexblade for AC/Spells known is good as early as level 2.

You're a sorcerer, twin greater invis, or just go shadow. Devils sight is a wasted invocation.

Divine souls with a dip for armor are great at SG since they easily hit 20 AC, can cast SG as a bonus action, and take the dodge action right up in monsters grills with shield on tap for an effective 30 AC

[Laserlight]

Darkness depends somewhat on the type of battle you're usually in. Long fights in open terrain where you can maneuver, it can be a lot of fun. If you tend to have three-round fights, it's not worth it because you spend the first round casting Darkness rather than doing damage. If you're in tight terrain such as twisty dungeon corridors, it may be hard for you to avoid interfering with your rogues and casters.

[EndEver]

I'd go Sorcerer 1/Warlock 2 then sorcerer the rest. It's good as soon as you get 2nd warlock level and stays good all the way through. I wouldn't bother with warlock 3.

Darkness is sometimes worth it. Against low AC targets, you'll get more damage from a simple hex. The darkness still gives disadvantage for most enemies to hit. As levels go up things like fiends and things with blindsight become more common making it worthless in those fights. Better spells are available for concentration at higher levels as well.

I wouldn't bother with spirit guardians unless you plan on being up front. Can be ok if you are hexblade or manage a decent AC some other way.

Okay, cool. Only thought with Warlock 3 was for a familiar that could be invisible and give advantage.

I’m still working out how to get good AC since I do want to fight in melee at times. Thanks for the input.


Level 11 is where EB becomes worth the investment but a one level dip into Hexblade for AC/Spells known is good as early as level 2.

You're a sorcerer, twin greater invis, or just go shadow. Devils sight is a wasted invocation.

Divine souls with a dip for armor are great at SG since they easily hit 20 AC, can cast SG as a bonus action, and take the dodge action right up in monsters grills with shield on tap for an effective 30 AC

I didn’t think about using Dodge. Invisibility is a great point. Is there another invocation you would recommend? Like Repelling Blast?

I’m almost consider pure sorcer besides the AC thing


Darkness depends somewhat on the type of battle you're usually in. Long fights in open terrain where you can maneuver, it can be a lot of fun. If you tend to have three-round fights, it's not worth it because you spend the first round casting Darkness rather than doing damage. If you're in tight terrain such as twisty dungeon corridors, it may be hard for you to avoid interfering with your rogues and casters.

Okay, I guess I have to be more choosey as a sorcerer since I know less spells so I’ll probably veto darkness. Maybe try to find it in an item.

[Yunru]

Technically? Level 2. You'll probably want to start Sorcerer though, so level 3.

[EndEver]

Technically? Level 2. You'll probably want to start Sorcerer though, so level 3.

Is the delay in spell progression pretty bad? Especially if we’ll be stuck in the 3-6 range for a bit

[Grod_The_Giant]

Is the delay in spell progression pretty bad? Especially if we’ll be stuck in the 3-6 range for a bit
Eh, you're shooting twice a round for d10+d6+Cha. That's on par with what a Fighter or Ranger is doing before you even touch on what you can do with your other slots.

[PeteNutButter]

Is the delay in spell progression pretty bad? Especially if we’ll be stuck in the 3-6 range for a bit


Eh, you're shooting twice a round for d10+d6+Cha. That's on par with what a Fighter or Ranger is doing before you even touch on what you can do with your other slots.

It's important to understand what you're gaining and what you're losing by multiclassing into warlock. Coffee lock shenanigans aside, you are behind on spell power. Even with coffee lock stuff you're missing out on higher level spells.

What you gain is at will damage, which is what Grod is pointing out. Eldritch blast with agonizing blast is competitive damage all the way through your career. Casting it twice (action & quickening it) on a target that has a hex is going to be more single target damage than most leveled spells, likely out-damaging most people in the party. With an 18 cha at level 6 that's 4d10 + 4d6 + 16. Assuming a 65% hit chance that is 33.8 DPR. That's massive. For context a GWM V Human Barbarian is recklessly attacking for 29.4 under the same conditions. A SS & CBE Fighter at the same level is putting out 26.25 DPR. So after 1 bonus action round to set up, you are out-damaging most optimized builds.

It's great damage for just a couple sorcery points. Which is just another reason to ignore warlock 3; you need those sorcery points. Besides, the familiar only helps on one attack per round. You'll be making 2 or 4 attacks levels 5-10, and 3 or 6 attacks 11+.

To sum up. If you want to get powerful spells fast, skip warlock. If you want to have something you can spam which is better than most most damaging spells grab 2 levels of warlock. I can say from experience the warlock dip is probably stronger, but less satisfying if you like variety, as the same action ever turn can bore a lot of players.

[Nhorianscum]

Is the delay in spell progression pretty bad? Especially if we’ll be stuck in the 3-6 range for a bit

Yes. Being 5-10 sorc pionts behind along with a full 2 levels of fullcasting delay is awful. The sorc list is great.

Firebolt on draconic at 5 does 16 average, 32 twinned, 48 quickened and twinned. EB does 21 average, 42 quickened.

It's less on multiple enemies IE 99% of fights, and does laughbly less than actual spells in single target fights.

Hex would lean in favor of EB of it didn't trigger off of Sray for ahaha, ahahahahahhaa amounts of damage.

Edit: Quick cl8 comparison of hex1/sorc7 and hex2/sorc6 at 3 rounds. We'll use divine soul and go nova. Mook fights firebolt vs EB is still a wash here.

Sorc7/hex1

Single target:

R1: Move hex as BA, cast bestow curse(5th level, 1d8 necro)
R2: Hexblade curse, Sray at 5th (10d6+5d6+5d8+5×3 = 103.5)
R3: EB+ Quickened Sray (5th) = 147.5

251 total.


Hex2/Sorc 6

R1: Hex, EB (28)
R2: Sray (4th) Hexcurse (54)
R3: Sray 4th + EB (88)

170 total.

This is before empowered metamagic which favor's sorc 7 slightly. Call it 276 vs 187 after empower for some sloppy ez comparison math.

Wow. Giving up TWINNED POLYMORPH was sure worth that extra damage from warlock 2! This is worth noting as a 7th level sorc hex 1 can drop twinned buffs of 3rd/4th level or heightened control effects 6 times a day. There is no comparison. Sorc 7 is our breakpoint, we want this level.

[EndEver]

Yes. Being 5-10 sorc pionts behind along with a full 2 levels of fullcasting delay is awful. The sorc list is great.

Firebolt on draconic at 5 does 16 average, 32 twinned, 48 quickened and twinned. EB does 21 average, 42 quickened.

It's less on multiple enemies IE 99% of fights, and does laughbly less than actual spells in single target fights.

Hex would lean in favor of EB of it didn't trigger off of Sray for ahaha, ahahahahahhaa amounts of damage.

I thought Fire was a pretty common resistance? I’ll have to take another look at Dragon Sorcerer though.

[Nhorianscum]

I thought Fire was a pretty common resistance? I’ll have to take another look at Dragon Sorcerer though.

It is, but I just use firebolt as a filler example.

Twinned booming blade hits for 4d8+10 or 28 damage and is a thing sorc x/hex 1 can do.

EB is good past cl11 and is well worth the second level of lock.

Added a nova comparison to the previous post. To illustrate the staggering power of EB pre 11.

Worth noting that lock gives 3 "sorc points" per level assuming 2 shorts/day. Sorc gives 2 at 2nd level (sorc 2 is basically a dead level and I hate it) but gives a whopping 6 at 3rd, 3 at 4th, 7 at 5th, 4 at 6th, 5 at 7th, 5 at 8th, 10 at 9th (!!!), 6 at 10th and 7 at 11th.

So lock levels only five more fuel before sorc 2, or after 11. 1 up front finish out after 11 gives us our best spammage.

[Thorgrim]

The thing with this build is that you shouldn't think of it as a sorcerer who is giving up two levels to go warlock. You should think of it as a warlock who is gaining levels of sorcerer.

Here's the reasoning.

A single-class, non-melee warlock, because of their limited spell slots and strong Invocation mechanics, is going to spend the majority of their turns casting Eldritch Blast. Therefore, to optimize a non-melee warlock, you take the Eldritch Blast cantrip and the Agonizing Blast invocation, and that gets you 90% of the way there. Sure, there's plenty of great options for flavor, but from a strictly mechanical standpoint that's an overwhelming part of optimizing damage.

The 2-level dip sorlock is going to play a lot like the single class EB spamming warlock. They're optimizing for round-over-round damage the way a martial character might. The difference is that between metamagic and their full-caster progression, they have a lot more options available to them than a regular warlock does.

It's not a build that needs to "come online" and there aren't any dead levels. It's both fun and powerful.

Level 1 - Start Sorcerer, any background. Plays like a regular sorcerer
Level 2 - Take one level of warlock, any patron (although Hexblade is best). Plays like a regular warlock, unbuffed Eldritch Blast
Level 3 - Second level of warlock. Full strength EB, Invocations, two spell slots recharging on a short rest
Level 4-20 - All sorcerer

[EndEver]

Yes. Being 5-10 sorc pionts behind along with a full 2 levels of fullcasting delay is awful. The sorc list is great.

Firebolt on draconic at 5 does 16 average, 32 twinned, 48 quickened and twinned. EB does 21 average, 42 quickened.

It's less on multiple enemies IE 99% of fights, and does laughbly less than actual spells in single target fights.

Hex would lean in favor of EB of it didn't trigger off of Sray for ahaha, ahahahahahhaa amounts of damage.

Edit: Quick cl8 comparison of hex1/sorc7 and hex2/sorc6 at 3 rounds. We'll use divine soul and go nova. Mook fights firebolt vs EB is still a wash here.

Sorc7/hex1

Single target:

R1: Move hex as BA, cast bestow curse(5th level, 1d8 necro)
R2: Hexblade curse, Sray at 5th (10d6+5d6+5d8+5×3 = 103.5)
R3: EB+ Quickened Sray (5th) = 147.5

251 total.


Hex2/Sorc 6

R1: Hex, EB (28)
R2: Sray (4th) Hexcurse (54)
R3: Sray 4th + EB (88)

170 total.

This is before empowered metamagic which favor's sorc 7 slightly. Call it 276 vs 187 after empower for some sloppy ez comparison math.

Wow. Giving up TWINNED POLYMORPH was sure worth that extra damage from warlock 2! This is worth noting as a 7th level sorc hex 1 can drop twinned buffs of 3rd/4th level or heightened control effects 6 times a day. There is no comparison. Sorc 7 is our breakpoint, we want this level.

That’s a lot of damage haha. So essentially, rushing Hex 2 is a waste before it stacks up at level 11?

[Nhorianscum]

That’s a lot of damage haha. So essentially, rushing Hex 2 is a waste before it stacks up at level 11?

Hex2 is actively worse than full sorc before 11. For the stated goal of damage OP.

Full sorc at 8 nova. We'll say draconic I guess.

R1: Animate Objects + firebolt.
R2: Sray5th animate
R3: same as 2

226 before empower.

[EndEver]

It is, but I just use firebolt as a filler example.

Twinned booming blade hits for 4d8+10 or 28 damage and is a thing sorc x/hex 1 can do.

EB is good past cl11 and is well worth the second level of lock.

Added a nova comparison to the previous post. To illustrate the staggering power of EB pre 11.

Worth noting that lock gives 3 "sorc points" per level assuming 2 shorts/day. Sorc gives 2 at 2nd level (sorc 2 is basically a dead level and I hate it) but gives a whopping 6 at 3rd, 3 at 4th, 7 at 5th, 4 at 6th, 5 at 7th, 5 at 8th, 10 at 9th (!!!), 6 at 10th and 7 at 11th.

So lock levels only five more fuel before sorc 2, or after 11. 1 up front finish out after 11 gives us our best spammage.

Guess I was pretty narrow minded that sorlocks could only Quicken EB with Hex for damage and just hung back all day doing that.

Since you mentioned booming blade, do you have any thoughts on Twinned Booming Blade + Spirit Guardians to be a bit more Gishy as either Sorlock or Sorcerer?

[Nhorianscum]

Guess I was pretty narrow minded that sorlocks could only Quicken EB with Hex for damage and just hung back all day doing that.

Since you mentioned booming blade, do you have any thoughts on Twinned Booming Blade + Spirit Guardians to be a bit more Gishy as either Sorlock or Sorcerer?

How about quickened SG + Dodge + Shield for an effective 30 AC with quickened fireballs for giggles on r2 and 3 if needed?

Will it blend?

[EndEver]

Hex2 is actively worse than full sorc before 11. For the stated goal of damage OP.

Full sorc at 8 nova. We'll say draconic I guess.

R1: Animate Objects + firebolt.
R2: Sray5th animate
R3: same as 2

226 before empower.

Welp... Straight sorcerer is a lot better than I thought. I was figuring I’d need to be Sorcadin, Sorlock or something to compete. I guess if I’m going Divine Soul or shadow, I’d still need to figure out AC.

[Malifice]

I'd go Sorcerer 1/Warlock 2 then sorcerer the rest. It's good as soon as you get 2nd warlock level and stays good all the way through. I wouldn't bother with warlock 3.

Is it though?

A straight Sorcerer would be 3rd level (with metamagic and 2nd level spells). 4/2 slots (and 3 SP). Enough for an extra 2nd level slot.

The Sorlock has 2 x 1sts, plus 2 x 1sts every short rest (presuming 2 x short rests, that's 8 x 1st level slots/ long rest).

The Straight Sorcerer pulls in front pretty rapidly from there, gaining an early ASI the following level and an extra 2nd level slot and an extra SP (the Sorlock gains a 1st level slot and 2 SP for an extra 1st level slot)plus more 2nd level spells known.

At 5th level the Straight sorcerer gains access to Fly, Counterspell, Fireball, Haste (maybe Spirit guardians and Revivify) etc. All of which are game changers. Plus he gets 4/3/2 slots (and 5 SP), while the Sorlock is finally getting seconds.

The Sorcerer can create 4th level slots at 6th level, while the Sorlock is still stuck with 2nds. The next level the Sorcerer gains 4th level spells known (Banishment) and can create 5th level slots, while the the Sorlock finally gets access to 3rds.

It's usually around this time most campaigns end.

I dont know man. The Sorlock gets better at will damage via Eldritch blast and Hex, but im not sure that's a trade off I really like that much.

[MaxWilson]

It depends a great deal on the rest of the party makeup. Do you have a friendly druid or ranger who likes to cast Spike Growth? Then Agonizing Repelling Eldritch Blast for d10+4d4+CHA (possibly +d6 for Hex) would be painful to live without, more painful IMO than the sorc slots. In this case I'd go Sorc 1/Warlock 2 ASAP.

If on the other hand you've got a whole party full of fighters and barbarians who are already outputting great damage, it's not that exciting to turn 2d10 damage into 2x(d10+CHA possibly +d6), and I'd probably be more excited about getting access to Revivify (Divine Soul), Web, Haste, Polymorph, etc. In this case I wouldn't take the warlock levels until quite late, and maybe I'd never get around to it at all. Of course, in this case I'd probably also prefer to play a wizard instead of a sorcerer, so YMMV.

[Thorgrim]

I'm definitely on board with people talking up the power of the full sorc - the most underrated class in my opinion - but I'm not clear on why we're comparing the sorlock vs. straight sorc in a nova situation.

Obviously all full long-rest casters are stronger than short-rest-based multiclasses in nova situations. The advantage of the sorlock is the strong, martial-level damage over a long adventuring day that still has powerful spellcasting.

[MaxWilson]

I'm definitely on board with people talking up the power of the full sorc - the most underrated class in my opinion - but I'm not clear on why we're comparing the sorlock vs. straight sorc in a nova situation.

Obviously all full long-rest casters are stronger than short-rest-based multiclasses in nova situations. The advantage of the sorlock is the strong, martial-level damage over a long adventuring day that still has powerful spellcasting.

That, and the ability to evade the normal restrictions on casting two powerful spells in one turn by making one of them a cantrip.

[EndEver]

I'm definitely on board with people talking up the power of the full sorc - the most underrated class in my opinion - but I'm not clear on why we're comparing the sorlock vs. straight sorc in a nova situation.

Obviously all full long-rest casters are stronger than short-rest-based multiclasses in nova situations. The advantage of the sorlock is the strong, martial-level damage over a long adventuring day that still has powerful spellcasting.

What do you do about AC as a full Sorc if you go Divine soul?

[Malifice]

What do you do about AC as a full Sorc if you go Divine soul?

Mage armor and shield.

[Bloodcloud]

I've seen more damage come from repelling blast than agonizing blast tbh, but my game has featured high mountain terrain a lot since the warlock joined, so YMMV a lot.

But yeah, think how your character fits in the grand scheme of the party. Optimizing a character is fine and all, but optimizing tactics between character is where it's at in 5ed. Say, the monk can deplete the legendary save for the wizard's portent fueled save-or-suck. The fighter uses his short rest burst to mop the easier encounter so the paladin can smite his heart ou on the boss. The bard uses dissonant whisper to give the rogue a sneak attack of opportunity.

Sorlock, indeed, is a slow burn nova (sustaining double eldritchblast with hex). Sorcadin is the quick burst nova (say holdperson into double-crit smite).

[Nhorianscum]

What do you do about AC as a full Sorc if you go Divine soul?

You're SoL until a mask of the dragon drops.

1 level in cleric /hexblade/etc at CL2 fixes bulk nicely while expanding utility/damage. Well worth a 1 level delay on pretty much any sorc not named Stone. +8 AC and more spells known at level 2 is just amazing. Font of magic is OP but at 2 it's pretty close to a dead level. Bite the bullet and be a level behind.

-------------

Nova was compared because as shown in the same post, average encounter dpr also favors a 1 level dip or straight sorc pre 11. Twinned cantrip beats EB all game long in mob fights. We just take EB at 11/13 to replace a dead level and gain a little more dpr on singles.

Seriously we're a sorc, burning 6 SP to eb+ quicken EB 3 tomes is not ever going to be more efficent than burning 5 on Fireball, Hypnotic pattern, etc. Much less higher level spells. Which we can spam more than anything else in the game. Because Sorcerer.

[EndEver]

You're SoL until a mask of the dragon drops.

1 level in cleric /hexblade/etc at CL2 fixes bulk nicely while expanding utility/damage. Well worth a 1 level delay on pretty much any sorc not named Stone. +8 AC and more spells known at level 2 is just amazing. Font of magic is OP but at 2 it's pretty close to a dead level. Bite the bullet and be a level behind.

-------------

Nova was compared because as shown in the same post, average encounter dpr also favors a 1 level dip or straight sorc pre 11. Twinned cantrip beats EB all game long in mob fights. We just take EB at 11/13 to replace a dead level and gain a little more dpr on singles.

Seriously we're a sorc, burning 6 SP to eb+ quicken EB 3 tomes is not ever going to be more efficent than burning 5 on Fireball, Hypnotic pattern, etc. Much less higher level spells. Which we can spam more than anything else in the game. Because Sorcerer.

Yeah I’m thinking Cleric/ sorcerer at this point. Maybe making a homebrew domain to boot and see if my DM allows it

[MaxWilson]

Yeah I’m thinking Cleric/ sorcerer at this point. Maybe making a homebrew domain to boot and see if my DM allows it

Or just forget about AC and take the Mobile feat, and play like a wizard does, staying out of combat. Only unlike a wizard you have the option to Quicken a spell and then use your action on Disengage or Dodge if you want to.

If you don't want to spend a feat on Mobile, you can buy a horse. In any situation where the terrain is too tight for horses to be useful, there's a good chance the terrain will also be tight enough that the party front-liners can prevent monsters from getting through to the back-liners, assuming (1) that your party has front-liners, and (2) that the party works as a team and exploits terrain intelligently. I realize that these are big assumptions, which is why it can be kind of nice to pick up high AC from elsewhere. :-) Still, perhaps 60-75% of 5E survivability consists simply of not being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Also, get used to exploiting partial or total cover.

[Nhorianscum]

Yeah I’m thinking Cleric/ sorcerer at this point. Maybe making a homebrew domain to boot and see if my DM allows it

Check the planeshift UA if none of the (ohgodwhyaretheresomany) existing domains don't do it for you.

What would you be looking for in your domain?

[EndEver]

Check the planeshift UA if none of the (ohgodwhyaretheresomany) existing domains don't do it for you.

What would you be looking for in your domain?

I’m looking for a cat domain haha. Similar to trickster but more cat flavor that fits with curiosity/ 9 lives. Maybe a god only known to cats. My race will be a tibbit (werecat)

[Nhorianscum]

I’m looking for a cat domain haha. Similar to trickster but more cat flavor that fits with curiosity/ 9 lives. Maybe a god only known to cats. My race will be a tibbit (werecat)

Planeshift UA Amamomajama has a cat god worshiping cleric.

[Orc_Lord]

Playing a Sorlock right now, here are my personal thoughts on it.

Going 3/2 Sorlock hurts a lot at level 5. Mind you this is when you get the Sorlock Nova, because you want to quicken Eldritch Blasts. However they cost 2 sorcery points and you have 3 points total.

This means you can only Nova once.

If I could change my progression I would have went Sorc 10 at least. Up until then quicken firebolt works just as well, because at level 5 you can quicken 2 times with firebolt netting you more damage.

Decide if you are maximizing personal DPS or party DPS. Realize that party DPS easily outpaces greedy DPS.

This can help you choose archetypes and spells.

In terms of archetypes I went Divine Sorcerer/Hexblade and it's not optimal.

I think Hexblade is overrated, if you never get hit does your AC matter? The counterargument is that you get to add your proficiency and critical on 19/20 per short rest.

However Archfey can give you Faerie Fire, which gives advantage to your whole party, can hit multiple people and prevents invisibility.

So it comes down how greedy you want to be. Oh and as Archfey if someone comes close to you can you Fey Presence and charm or frighten, who needs AC?

On the Sorcerer side Divine Soul is nice for the healing and extra buffs. Again this creates an interesting situation, do you cast Bless or Hex? At higher levels Darkness?

For pure Damage I think Archfey/Shadow Sorc would do the most. Archfey/Draconic to have a bit more AC.

Hexblade/Divine Soul is considered the standard, but that's in a vacuum.

Remember the personal vs party damage I mentioned? This applies for utility as well personal damage vs utility. Warlock 3 is not a damage increase, but you can use it to convert your 2 spell level 2 spells to Sorc spells or points so it can increase your Nova...

However lock 3 gives you access to either a familiar or a bunch of rituals. Both of those give you utility. To me rituals are worth it, and I can get Find Familiar that way.

[Yunru]

Which is just another reason to ignore warlock 3; you need those sorcery points.

Eh, Warlock 3 gives you 4 Sorcery Points per rest, that's your Sorcerer Capstone (with less conditions iirc) right at the start, at the cost of being three levels behind (which can hurt, but considering you're keeping rough pace with a Fighter without them...).

[MaxWilson]

However Archfey can give you Faerie Fire, which gives advantage to your whole party, can hit multiple people and prevents invisibility.

Web is similar and all sorcerers have access to it. (Careful Web is even better!)

[Nhorianscum]

Eh, Warlock 3 gives you 4 Sorcery Points per rest, that's your Sorcerer Capstone (with less conditions iirc) right at the start, at the cost of being two levels behind (which can hurt, but considering you're keeping rough pace with a Fighter without them...).

EDIT: Headache hurt make dumb me.
Yeah, no reason to go to Warlock 3. Warlock 2 gives you your capstone early.

Warlock 1 gives 3/day, warlock 2 gives 3/day assuming 2 shorts. And so on till 11 where lock gives a good return for once (5)

They actually spam 5ths harder than locks to before cl17.

That said even at higher levels the cost for a level in lock over another fullcaster dip for utility is a 6th, and 7th level slot. IE 13 sorc points/day or... actual fight-ending spells. For hex it's worth it. Not sure on other partrons.

[EndEver]

Planeshift UA Amamomajama has a cat god worshiping cleric.

I can’t seem to find Amamomajama

[Nhorianscum]

I can’t seem to find Amamomajama

I can't spell the name of that shift to save my life. It's the one starting with A.

The domain may be solidarity? Memory is fuzzy.

[EndEver]

Playing a Sorlock right now, here are my personal thoughts on it.

Going 3/2 Sorlock hurts a lot at level 5. Mind you this is when you get the Sorlock Nova, because you want to quicken Eldritch Blasts. However they cost 2 sorcery points and you have 3 points total.

This means you can only Nova once.

If I could change my progression I would have went Sorc 10 at least. Up until then quicken firebolt works just as well, because at level 5 you can quicken 2 times with firebolt netting you more damage.

Decide if you are maximizing personal DPS or party DPS. Realize that party DPS easily outpaces greedy DPS.

This can help you choose archetypes and spells.

In terms of archetypes I went Divine Sorcerer/Hexblade and it's not optimal.

I think Hexblade is overrated, if you never get hit does your AC matter? The counterargument is that you get to add your proficiency and critical on 19/20 per short rest.

However Archfey can give you Faerie Fire, which gives advantage to your whole party, can hit multiple people and prevents invisibility.

So it comes down how greedy you want to be. Oh and as Archfey if someone comes close to you can you Fey Presence and charm or frighten, who needs AC?

On the Sorcerer side Divine Soul is nice for the healing and extra buffs. Again this creates an interesting situation, do you cast Bless or Hex? At higher levels Darkness?

For pure Damage I think Archfey/Shadow Sorc would do the most. Archfey/Draconic to have a bit more AC.

Hexblade/Divine Soul is considered the standard, but that's in a vacuum.

Remember the personal vs party damage I mentioned? This applies for utility as well personal damage vs utility. Warlock 3 is not a damage increase, but you can use it to convert your 2 spell level 2 spells to Sorc spells or points so it can increase your Nova...

However lock 3 gives you access to either a familiar or a bunch of rituals. Both of those give you utility. To me rituals are worth it, and I can get Find Familiar that way.

Party damage is a good tip. I was being a bit greedy wanting to outpace it Paladin haha. In your experience with survivabilty, do you think just a level 1 Cleric dip would work for AC and then go pure divine soul after that?

[Yunru]

Warlock 2 gives 3/day assuming 2 shorts.
I assume you meant 6?

[EndEver]

I can't spell the name of that shift to save my life. It's the one starting with A.

The domain may be solidarity? Memory is fuzzy.

Yup, you were right with Solidarity, thanks for the tip!

[Nhorianscum]

I assume you meant 6?

No.

You have to take warlock one for lock 2.

Both levels give 3 points.

This is piss low.
---------

As for Sorc/Cleric and damage, your output will be the same as a straight sorc of your type unless you are zeal/tempest domain. So good damage.

It's worth it to take cleric 2 for CD, sometimes even cleric 3 for 2nd level cleric spell utility late if your capstone is trash.

[PeteNutButter]

Eh, Warlock 3 gives you 4 Sorcery Points per rest, that's your Sorcerer Capstone (with less conditions iirc) right at the start, at the cost of being three levels behind (which can hurt, but considering you're keeping rough pace with a Fighter without them...).

True, but it doesn't raise the sorcery point cap. You'll want sorcerer 4 before it even helps, since you want to be able to quicken two turns in a row. Then you'll be one level away from those huge 3rd level sorcerer spells. Then you're one level away from your subclass ability and being able to quicken 3 turns in a row, then 4th level spells etc.

There's really not a good place to put warlock 3. Even if you are actively coffeelocking (which many tables prohibit) you end up with more low level spells which just aren't as good as EB most of the time. My other issue with warlock 3 on a sorlock is it puts you in that awkward spot where your marginal level increase in power is fighting your long term power. Take a Sorcerer 5/Warlock 3. In most cases they'd have a better level 9 if they picked up warlock to max charisma instead of having to wait 3 more levels. But in the long term that means they you never get 9th level spells.

Then before long you're a sorcerer 6/warlock 5 wondering where you life went wrong, thinking if you never made a pact with that thing, you could have 6th slots, but instead you're just a doomed alcoholic with a lot of fireballs.

Either way it has its advantages. I suppose it's a matter of taste.

[SVamp]

I think there are two “best ways” to sorlock. (Imho only obviously)

First of all, there’s the race. I think halfelf is pretty mandatory for high dps, because elven accuracy is just that good. (No, you don’t need it for most tables, but I’m going to assume the other dps at this theoretical table are sharp shooter crossbow experts, GWM+PAM barbarians, etc etc)

When talking dps it’s pointless if you don’t include a meaningful AC for your enemies which is why elven accuracy matters : it can turn a 65ish to hit into an 85ish (I’m too tired to do math, I’ll add a reply with real numbers later)

1) Go to sorcerer 5 (or 6 if you are shadow or draconic, little point in not getting the hound or the fireball damage, I mean that’s why you really went with either of those right) , then go hex 2. At this point, you gain pretty strong single target damage which you were lacking unless you burned most resources, you gain a lot of AC (specially if you chose 14 dex and 16 con in point buy, you should now have an 18 cha as well as elven accuracy (assuming half elf(drow), for free 1x faerie fire and 1x darkness) ) with medium armour and a real shield you rock really high AC. Add shield spell or absorb elements and you are no longer squishy.

The reason why you wait until 5 (or 6) is that before that eldritch blast isn’t really better than firebolt. I mean, pushing an enemy back a bit is nifty but .., eh. And instead you get fireball(!) and/or hypnotic pattern, both of which are game changers.

That’s 2d10(eb)+8(cha)+2d6(hex) first round ,
4d10+4d6+16 rounds 2&3.

Resources used: 1 short rest slot, 4 sorcery points (equivalent to two lvl 2 spells)

This compares quite favourably vs:

4D10 each round (or 4d10+8 for lvl 6 draconic sorcs)
Resources used: 6 sorcery points (if lvl 5 you can only sustain this for 2 turns)

(Notes: combats, on average, last 3 rounds vs non boss encounters, but ymmv a lot!)

2) go to lvl 9 first, get your 2nd ASI (prolly +2 CHA, but spell sniper, combat caster and elemental adept for draconic sorcerers are all reasonable options), get your new mega spell (animate objects) and then go warlock 2. Since you aren’t squishy at all here, you don’t really need the AC from hexblade as much, so arch fey is pretty decent for faerie fire and a different flavour but has a bit less dps (not as much as you’d think since you would only use hex or curse: it takes too long to set both up, and it’s questionable whether you’ll regain the dps lost setting up the other spell unless it’s a boss with really huge hps) and a bit less AC

as you can see above, you gain a fair bit with option 1, but you are not rocking the universe. You don’t have the spell slots and sorcery points to do that often, without touching the big guns (fire ball / hypnotic pattern), which is precisely what you don’t want to do. And it’s nice that you can do it twice, but eh, you can get by just fine with scorching rays or fireball w quickened fire bolt for the boss, and just do more crowd control/debuff/bufff until then.

At at lvl 11, your eldritch blast is suddenly crazy strong, and your low level slots are no longer that valuable, so turning them into sorcery points to continue your eb burst encounter after encounter is easy and painless. And for the boss fight, you use animate objects & stuff or spam eldritch blast + upcast scorching ray

I would only take a level of hexblade earlier if I were planning to play a sorcblade
Human sorc with war caster or PAM, hexblade 5, rest sorcerer, with divine sorcerer probably being ideal.

Hope any of these thoughts help with your choice.

[Citan]

For a 3 Lock, 17 Sorc. Mainly Dex, Cha, Con based.

How soon would it be viable damage wise?

How soon do I go Lock 3?

(Thinking chain or tome)

Also if I was divine soul sorcerer, does Spirit Guardians work well with Sorlock or less so cause of melee range?

Also if you have the time, is darkness/devils sight really that worth it (concentration )?

*Bear in mind I’m make a tibbit so V Human and Half Elf are out the window. I get Dex +2, Cha + 1

Sorta wondering if full sorcerer would be better at this point


I'd go Sorcerer 1/Warlock 2 then sorcerer the rest. It's good as soon as you get 2nd warlock level and stays good all the way through. I wouldn't bother with warlock 3.

Darkness is sometimes worth it. Against low AC targets, you'll get more damage from a simple hex. The darkness still gives disadvantage for most enemies to hit. As levels go up things like fiends and things with blindsight become more common making it worthless in those fights. Better spells are available for concentration at higher levels as well.

I wouldn't bother with spirit guardians unless you plan on being up front. Can be ok if you are hexblade or manage a decent AC some other way.
Agreed with the start, disagreed with the "stop at 2". (quick edit : I'd take the 3rd level of Warlock after at least Sorcerer 5 though, we definitely want 3rd level spells as soon as possible + decent amount of sorcery points and ability to create 2nd level slots with them. Unless I was tasked with being the actual ritual-caster for party)

Sure Sorcerer 18 is tempting for that huge quick heal and another 9th level learned...
But benefitting from short-rest 2nd level spells as soon as char level 8-9 is imo much more interesting overall. Not only that, you also get huge benefits from Pact choice.
In particular, Tome pact with Rituals gives you a big rebreather in terms of spell versatility so you can just learn the spells you want most as Sorcerer/Warlock and still get lots of option. Especially since *metamagics are applicable whether you ritual cast or not*.

So, while I can understand people would find "better" a 18/2 split at level 20 (although I wouldn't agree myself ;)), I daresay the 17/3 is still largely good enough for a level 20 character, and much better even in mid-levels in spite of the further delayed spell progression.

With that said, I do am biaised towards versatility. If OP doesn't care about rituals/cantrips, then it's about whether you want 2nd level short rest slots or quicker access to quicker metamagic and higher level spells, and I can understand both preferences. :=)


For me there is no discussion on the fact 17/3 is better, because I'm basing thinking on the premises that...
a) You will usually get enough short rest slots for Warlock multiclass to be worthwhile. Especially as a Sorcerer (Catnap can affect yourself, Extend Polymorph to bury underground or hide in plain sight and rest), with Ritual Caster feat (Leomund's Tiny Hut).
b) You will have enough spells available that are equally great upcast / extended / or cast as basic 2nd level spell: Suggestion, Enhance Ability, Invisibility, Silence, Spiritual Weapon, Blindness, Command, Mirror Image, Detect Thoughts, Misty Step, See Invisibility, Sleep, Phantasmal Force, Mind Spike etc...
c) In non-hostile environment, meaning you can get many short rests simply by eating/discussing/strolling (aka being in a city without a tag on your head) you will get much, much use of those aforementioned spells (at least those non directly offensive) when paired with Subtle or Extended (especially Invisibility, Enhance Ability, Silence, Sleep, Suggestion, Command).
---> I'm thinking not only about fights, but about all three pillars of exploration, AND basing this on a particular choice of Metamagics. My view obviously doesn't hold well if you picked only fighting spells and Quicken + Empowered metamagics for examples. :) For those, the highest and earliest Sorcerer the better in majority of cases.

[Yunru]

No.

You have to take warlock one for lock 2.

Both levels give 3 points.

This is piss low.

Warlock 1 is a 1st level spell every rest, 3 points.
Warlock 2 is 2 1st level spells every rest, 6 points.

[Nhorianscum]

Warlock 1 is a 1st level spell every rest, 3 points.
Warlock 2 is 2 1st level spells every rest, 6 points.

Yes, and 6-3 is 3!

By comparison sorc 2 is 2 points, and sorc 3 is 6. Nobody says "sorc 3 gives the capstone early!" Nobody says "sorc 3 gives 10 points!"

A warlock level that gives 6 points with no semantic bullhocky is lock3.

The sorc capstone level bad as it is is worth +16. (1+7+4x2) which is admitedly, a lot of gas.

[Orc_Lord]

A warlock level that gives 6 points with no semantic bullhocky is lock3.

It's 4 Sorcery Points.



Converting a Spell Slot to Sorcery Points: As a bonus action on your turn, you can expend one spell slot and gain a number of sorcery points equal to the slot's level.

So 2nd level spell slot gives you 2 SP

[Nhorianscum]

It's 4 Sorcery Points.



So 2nd level spell slot gives you 2 SP

Yes, 4/short rest =12 day, 12-6 =6.

My point here is that we should consider each level of lovk on it's own merit vs a level of sorc when optimizing rather than saying "3 levels in warlock gives sorc20 early!" Aside from being just plain wrong this is kinda insane as we're weighing 2-3 levels of lock against one level of sorc. The way this keeps getting phrased is extremely misleading.

[EndEver]

I think there are two “best ways” to sorlock. (Imho only obviously)

First of all, there’s the race. I think halfelf is pretty mandatory for high dps, because elven accuracy is just that good. (No, you don’t need it for most tables, but I’m going to assume the other dps at this theoretical table are sharp shooter crossbow experts, GWM+PAM barbarians, etc etc)

When talking dps it’s pointless if you don’t include a meaningful AC for your enemies which is why elven accuracy matters : it can turn a 65ish to hit into an 85ish (I’m too tired to do math, I’ll add a reply with real numbers later)

1) Go to sorcerer 5 (or 6 if you are shadow or draconic, little point in not getting the hound or the fireball damage, I mean that’s why you really went with either of those right) , then go hex 2. At this point, you gain pretty strong single target damage which you were lacking unless you burned most resources, you gain a lot of AC (specially if you chose 14 dex and 16 con in point buy, you should now have an 18 cha as well as elven accuracy (assuming half elf(drow), for free 1x faerie fire and 1x darkness) ) with medium armour and a real shield you rock really high AC. Add shield spell or absorb elements and you are no longer squishy.

The reason why you wait until 5 (or 6) is that before that eldritch blast isn’t really better than firebolt. I mean, pushing an enemy back a bit is nifty but .., eh. And instead you get fireball(!) and/or hypnotic pattern

I would only take a level of hexblade earlier if I were planning to play a sorcblade
Human sorc with war caster or PAM, hexblade 5, rest sorcerer, with divine sorcerer probably being ideal.

Hope any of these thoughts help with your choice.

Hmm I didn’t consider going Sorcerer 5 first, that might actually ease some of my concerns. It’s hard cause I want to be DPS blasterish and a bit Gish-Like as well.

I rolled a 15, 15, 14, 12, 7, 17 if that makes a difference and I’m actually considering two homebrew races with natural AC (18-16)



With that said, I do am biaised towards versatility. If OP doesn't care about rituals/cantrips, then it's about whether you want 2nd level short rest slots or quicker access to quicker metamagic and higher level spells, and I can understand both preferences. :=)


For me there is no discussion on the fact 17/3 is better, because I'm basing thinking on the premises that...
a) You will usually get enough short rest slots for Warlock multiclass to be worthwhile. Especially as a Sorcerer (Catnap can affect yourself, Extend Polymorph to bury underground or hide in plain sight and rest), with Ritual Caster feat (Leomund's Tiny Hut).
b) You will have enough spells available that are equally great upcast / extended / or cast as basic 2nd level spell: Suggestion, Enhance Ability, Invisibility, Silence, Spiritual Weapon, Blindness, Command, Mirror Image, Detect Thoughts, Misty Step, See Invisibility, Sleep, Phantasmal Force, Mind Spike etc...
c) In non-hostile environment, meaning you can get many short rests simply by eating/discussing/strolling (aka being in a city without a tag on your head) you will get much, much use of those aforementioned spells (at least those non directly offensive) when paired with Subtle or Extended (especially Invisibility, Enhance Ability, Silence, Sleep, Suggestion, Command).
---> I'm thinking not only about fights, but about all three pillars of exploration, AND basing this on a particular choice of Metamagics. My view obviously doesn't hold well if you picked only fighting spells and Quicken + Empowered metamagics for examples. :) For those, the highest and earliest Sorcerer the better in majority of cases.

I do really love versatility. Especially love coming up with crazy plans to handle fights before they happen. If anything I love versatility, spellcasting and Melee combat too much so it’s really hard to find a sweet spot with earlier levels. I’m definitely looking hard at Lock 3, though still thinking of a Sorcadin or Sorlockadin if it didn’t take too long to build.

We are starting at level 3 and then getting a feat instead of a level around 6 and 10 so it’ll be a longer campaign in the 3-10 range. Maybe hit 14-16



Thanks for all the input everyone. It’s really opeing my eyes to a lot more possiblties and styles for both damage and fun

[InspectorG]

I know OP is about Sorlock, but...


For the damage pump why not take Magic Initiate for E. Blast and Hex with another(likely utility) cantrip?

Ride Firebolt and/or Scorching Ray(magic missile?)+Hex for damage until E. Blast comes online.

Preserves other spell choices for non-damage options. I guess the question becomes, 'what is the fewest AOE Blasts this char needs for this setting?'.

Then its a matter of Concentration use vs Setting and Party makeup? If optimized.

Otherwise pick whats cool.

This stays pure Socr and only misses out on the Short Rest backdoor slot recovery or Hexblade benefits.

[EndEver]

I know OP is about Sorlock, but...


For the damage pump why not take Magic Initiate for E. Blast and Hex with another(likely utility) cantrip?

Ride Firebolt and/or Scorching Ray(magic missile?)+Hex for damage until E. Blast comes online.

Preserves other spell choices for non-damage options. I guess the question becomes, 'what is the fewest AOE Blasts this char needs for this setting?'.

Then its a matter of Concentration use vs Setting and Party makeup? If optimized.

Otherwise pick whats cool.

This stays pure Socr and only misses out on the Short Rest backdoor slot recovery or Hexblade benefits.

Thanks for pointing this out! I’m actually looking at magic initiate stuff right now since our DM will be giving us feats in between 5-6 and 9-10 so it’s definitely an option

[TheUser]

I know OP is about Sorlock, but...


For the damage pump why not take Magic Initiate for E. Blast and Hex with another(likely utility) cantrip?

Ride Firebolt and/or Scorching Ray(magic missile?)+Hex for damage until E. Blast comes online.

Preserves other spell choices for non-damage options. I guess the question becomes, 'what is the fewest AOE Blasts this char needs for this setting?'.

Then its a matter of Concentration use vs Setting and Party makeup? If optimized.

Otherwise pick whats cool.

This stays pure Socr and only misses out on the Short Rest backdoor slot recovery or Hexblade benefits.

Because then you don't get the Potent Blast Invocation which is what Eldritch Blast so powerful in the first place...You need 2 warlock levels to make Eldritch Blast worthwhile.

At level 5 it's an 8 damage difference.

By level 8 it's 10 damage per cast extra damage and by level 11 it's 15.

If you start doing double Eldritch Blasts (with quicken) those values all double.

[Citan]

Hmm I didn’t consider going Sorcerer 5 first, that might actually ease some of my concerns. It’s hard cause I want to be DPS blasterish and a bit Gish-Like as well.

I rolled a 15, 15, 14, 12, 7, 17 if that makes a difference and I’m actually considering two homebrew races with natural AC (18-16)



I do really love versatility. Especially love coming up with crazy plans to handle fights before they happen. If anything I love versatility, spellcasting and Melee combat too much so it’s really hard to find a sweet spot with earlier levels. I’m definitely looking hard at Lock 3, though still thinking of a Sorcadin or Sorlockadin if it didn’t take too long to build.

We are starting at level 3 and then getting a feat instead of a level around 6 and 10 so it’ll be a longer campaign in the 3-10 range. Maybe hit 14-16



Thanks for all the input everyone. It’s really opeing my eyes to a lot more possiblties and styles for both damage and fun
Quick note : Tome pact's value still depends on either your party having several other casters (everyone is happy, especially Bards but all in general: they can "push" rituals to you to free their spell known/prepared - or at least have a backup-, and you don't need to spend time and patience trying to find them elsewhere), or a nice DM that understands that extra rituals are for you like magic equipment is for martials.
If you don't feel either case is valid, then main value of Tome is the extra cantrips, which means you may instead prefer the versatility brought by an enhanced Familiar (Chain) or a magical, hideable at-will weapon (Blade). :)

EDIT: Also your stats are crazy good, I'd totally go plain Humain honestly. Especially if you plan on picking Hexblade patron
15, 15, 14, 12, 7, 17
-> 16, 16, 15, 13, 8, 17
-> pick Elven Accuracy to pair with DevilSight/Darkness and starting 17 (now 18) in CHA or DEX (Hexblade or not) to become unparalleled in dealing damage (I think it's overkill personally but hey, it is beneficial to party)
-> pick Resilient: Constitution to pair with starting CON 15 (now 16) so you start with a comfortable +3 in your three main stats and both most important saves (DEX can be coped with other ways in particular Absorb Elements for elemental damage).
-> pick Observant to pair with a starting 13 in WIS (now 14) so you can also spy/steal/scout great without too much effort.

In any case, going normal human means having only a -1 in INT (and barring Wizard multiclass) but otherwise have a +3 in Initiative, +3 or 4 on attacks, +3 or 4 on spells, and ability to multiclass in *frigging every other class* (including *ahem* Druid for Wild Shape shenanigans or Life/Tempest/Order/Trickery Cleric for bonus spells and/or channel divinities and/or features). As well as ability to pick Ritual Caster: Wizard if you'd rather like that instead of Tome (yeah, strangely, feat requires 13 in INT OR WIS, but does not tie those attributes to respective caster classes XD).

[EndEver]

Because then you don't get the Potent Blast Invocation which is what Eldritch Blast so powerful in the first place...You need 2 warlock levels to make Eldritch Blast worthwhile.

At level 5 it's an 8 damage difference.

By level 8 it's 10 damage per cast extra damage and by level 11 it's 15.

If you start doing double Eldritch Blasts (with quicken) those values all double.

Oh yeah. I forgot about agonizing blast being one of the main damage sources

[MaxWilson]

Because then you don't get the Potent Blast Invocation which is what Eldritch Blast so powerful in the first place...You need 2 warlock levels to make Eldritch Blast worthwhile.

At level 5 it's an 8 damage difference.

By level 8 it's 10 damage per cast extra damage and by level 11 it's 15.

If you start doing double Eldritch Blasts (with quicken) those values all double.

IME the biggest impact Eldritch Blast can have is when Repelling Blast starts knocking enemies into bad spell effects (Spike Growth: 4d4, Wall of Flame: 5d8) or better yet off spelljamming ships/cliff ledges. Completely removing an enemy from the fight for the immediate future puts the extra +CHA damage from Agonizing Blast utterly to shame. I've seen Agonizing Repelling Blast be the difference between likely-TPK and victory against IIRC a Deadly x6-10 threat enemy (mid-level party facing dozens of umber hulks on a neogi deathspider, 1d4 umber hulks emerging per round).

[Citan]

Oh yeah. I forgot about agonizing blast being one of the main damage sources
Honestly? You shouldn't care that much about it.

Agonizing Blast does not make enough of a difference by itself before level 11 compared to Repelling Blast.
And Quickening a cantrip is an awful lot of resources consumed for just a nova. Until you're char level 7-8 you're basically using all metamagic awesomeness on one or two turns, then finished for the day or consume slots (so even faster resource depletion).

Quicken can be worth be taken at level 3. Just don't take it "just to nova Eldricht Blast". Take it "so I can cast a powerful spell and do something else in dire situations".

Also, Agonizing Blast is just adding a bit of damage, and adding it just for you. From level 1 to level 20 it's really unimpressive imo.
Repelling Blast can deal damage indirectly in many ways:
- pushing away enemies from you/allies, disabling OA and possibly pushing them behind/into some kind of debuff (Fog Cloud, Stinking Cloud, Wind Wall, Web) (meaning less attacks against party overall, meaning lesser number of turns in which one ally was 0 HP instead of trying something offensive).
- grouping up enemies for upcoming offensive spell from an ally (easier friendly fire avoidance, more targets to potentially hurt).
- pushing enemies into hazards or traps
- pushing enemies into/behind AOE*

* Three examples:
1. ally synergy Druid/Ranger/AncientsPaladin Spike Growth, 2d4 every 5 feet: at level 3 it's average 5, at level 5 it's average 10, at level 11 it's average 15.
2. Quicken synergy: Quicken cast Sickening Radiance (or Evard's Black Tentacles if GOO, or Wall of Fire if Fiend), then action Repel Blast enemies into/behind it (or reverse the order depending of the spell obviously ^): at level 7 you can hopefully push at least one enemy, and best situation 2: average 20 damage per enemy for Sickening Radiance.
3. Usual synergy: exactly the same, on subsequent turns (marvelous with Wall of Fire or Stinking Cloud ^^).

You're a Warlock. You're smart and mischievous.
But you're also, and more importantly, a Sorcerer: powerful in all acceptions of the word.
Agonizing Blast is a nice tool for a class which actual resources depend on something that can wildly vary from one day to another (short rest). Which is the main challenge you avoid thanks to being primarily a Sorcerer.

Agonizing Blast is simply unworthy of your potential (considering you'll only get 2 Invocations for all your life -if you were a pure Warlock I'd certainly say "hey pick it it always help" as the 3rd or 4th one-. ;)

[MaxWilson]

- pushing away enemies from you/allies, disabling OA and possibly pushing them behind/into some kind of debuff (Fog Cloud, Stinking Cloud, Wind Wall, Web) (meaning less attacks against party overall, meaning lesser number of turns in which one ally was 0 HP instead of trying something offensive).

This cam also break enemy grapples, which can save a PC from being restrained by e.g. a T-Rex's bite (the T-Rex is moved, but the PC is not, and if the PC is no longer within the T-Rex's reach the grapple ends).