Opinion on Totem Warrior Barbarian and Fiend Warlock?

[OverDemon]

So, I'm considering my next character, but I'm not quite certain. I've looked at Totem Warrior Barbarian and The Fiend Warlock, which have piqued my interest, but I haven't found any well-explained opinions of the two character types, so I hope to get some here.

The resistance to nearly all damage that Totem Warrior gets seems like a perfect thing for a tough melee character, but it's lvl 6 seems near useless. Then there's the level 10, not much to say there. Then there's the lvl 14 where I guess you choose between tanking or not. A Dwarf seems a nice choice for race.

For The Fiend Warlock, well, I guess it's a blaster? Temp HP when you kill something seems like a really nice ability to keep you alive, and the other abilities seem good too. For this, I consider a Thiefling.

I've also thought on whether to go some Barbarian or Warlock multiclass, but I don't know how that might look.

So I hope that someone has some advice or something that might make the choice a bit clearer.

Thank you in advance.

[Wuzza]

but it's lvl 6 seems near useless. e.

If you want to roll dice, then yes, I'll agree. However, if you think outside the box, then they're actually pretty good. :)
(same for lvl 10)

[CTurbo]

I think some Warlock could be a lot of fun mixed with Barbarian.

The biggest standout thing would be the ability to precast Armor of Agathys and then rage, but really you need a lot of Warlock levels to make it work best. It's not going to be very effective if it only lasts a single hit. 9 levels of Warlock and you can cast it from a 5th slot for 25 temp hit points.

[Nhorianscum]

Fiendlock is stellar as a Blaster/BC More so with the mestopholies kiss invocation (UA).

Totem barb is punchy and is as good as barbs get. Bear totem(3) is common but some other 3's are competitive and we can mix and match features. Ritual casting is *chefkiss*

As a mix Barb1/LockX is the only functional way to run this before tier 4. If we're going to a higher invest Sorc3 (quickened blade ward and absorb elements) just does everything barb does and more (standard sorlock shenanigans).

[sophontteks]

Bear totem is over-rated. Barbarians already have a ton of hp and resistance to the 3 most common damage types. It's less useful then it sounds, and very boring.

I always preferred taking the movement speed buffs for the totems. Very fun playing a grappling barbarian with 80 feet of movement per round. Reaction attacks have disadvantage, and at 14 they can freaking fly.

Fiendlocks are great blasters but it takes research to get the most out of them. I like abusing the long duration on hex to keep the spell up all the time. Fiendlocks have a great selection of non-concentration spells to allow this. Taking invocations that buff hex really adds a lot of damage to their blasting too.

[MilkmanDanimal]

Both very good; a Bear Totem is kind of ridiculous in terms of tankiness. Have played a Fiendlock quite a bit, and there's a lot to the subclass outside of just the THP (which are great); the Fiend spell list is really strong, and it's got a bunch of scales that work well for Warlocks because they scale well, like Scorching Ray or Blindness/Deafness, and Fireball and Wall of Fire are iconic for reasons. The higher-level abilities (Dark One's Own Luck, resistance to a damage type, Hurtle Through Hell) are also very good. It's a solid choice all around; I ran Tome and grabbed every ritual scroll I could and took a few levels of Lore Bard, and it becomes a very strong support class that flings EB all day. Very enjoyable.

[Xetheral]

I think some Warlock could be a lot of fun mixed with Barbarian.

The biggest standout thing would be the ability to precast Armor of Agathys and then rage, but really you need a lot of Warlock levels to make it work best. It's not going to be very effective if it only lasts a single hit. 9 levels of Warlock and you can cast it from a 5th slot for 25 temp hit points.

Keep in mind that, unless you've taken damage prior to your first turn (or can manage to take environmental or OA damage on your first turn with movement), it's unwise to both cast AoA and then Rage as a bonus Action. If you do, your Rage will instantly end because you've failed to meet the conditions to have Rage last beyond the end of your turn. Fortunately AoA can be precast, or you can just wait until your second turn to Rage.

I find the best use for a Barbarian Warlock multiclass is make a sniper that can also fight in melee. With level 6 Eagle totem you can see far enough to make use of Eldritch Blast with Eldritch Spear and Spell Sniper, giving you the ability to engage most enemies before they can effectively retaliate (add Distant Spell to make your range 1200'). Unlike most snipers, however, when in cramped confines your Barbarian levels mean you're still highly effective in melee.

[Sparky McDibben]

For warlock advice, I recommend searching EvilAnagram's "Selling Your Soul At A Premium: A Warlock's Guide to Power." Punchy, short, and has some good points. As for barbarian, the totem is less focused on pure damage and more focused on utility, both in and out of combat. As others have mentioned, it's a great "build your own" barbarian option. Also, check out the Sword Coast adventurer's guide - they have a couple more totems. The options in Xanathar's are also quite good.