Best Warlock Spells in 5E Ranked | Warlock Spells 5E Guide

Welcome to our top ten Warlock spell list! We went through every available spell in the Warlock’s arsenal and came out with a list that we believe to have the most reliable and efficient spells a Warlock can wield. We wanted to have a good mixture of utility, efficient damage dealing, and role-playing when creating this list, as every campaign should have a good mixture of all three of those aspects. So without further ado, here is our Warlock Spells 5E Top 10 List.

10. Hypnotic Pattern

• School: Illusion
• Level: 3rd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 120 feet
• Components: Somatic, Material (a glowing stick of incense or a crystal vial filled with phosphorescent material)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

The first entry on our Warlock Spells 5E Top 10 LIst summons a twisting pattern that creates a thirty-foot cube. Hypnotic Pattern is also on our list of the Top 10 Illusion Spells in 5E. It catches the attention of everything in the area and forcing them to make a Wisdom saving throw. If the character fails the saving throw, they become charmed until you drop concentration, completely unable to move. However, they can get snapped out of it by an action from an uncharmed character, or if they take damage. Great crowd control, especially if you want to avoid combat.

9. Dispel Magic

• School: Abjuration
• Level: 3rd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 120 feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Instantaneous

Target a spell that you know is there. If that spell’s level is less than or equal to this one’s, then that spell just ends. Otherwise, you’ll need to roll a d20 + Charisma (as a Warlock) and try to beat the DC of 10 + Spell Level. Warlocks are pretty great at this, since they can cast this as a 5th level spell by level 9, and refresh it constantly! If you’re worried about magical ruins, you can’t go wrong here!

8. Counterspell

• School: Abjuration
• Level: 3rd
• Casting Time: Reaction to another character casting a spell within range
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: Somatic
• Duration: Instantaneous

You try to interrupt another character’s casting process. If the spell they are casting is at the same or at a lower casting slot than Counterspell’s, the spell fails instantly. If the spell is above the casting level, you need to make a successful spellcasting ability roll against the spells DC, which is equal to the spell’s level plus ten.

Against mages, Counterspell can’t be beat. This is arguably one of the best reactions in the game, as long as your enemies sling magic!

7. Fly

• School: Transmutation
• Level: 3rd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (a Feather from any Bird’s Wing)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

A willing character that you touch gains Flying with a speed of sixty feet. You can target multiple willing characters per level above the third you prepare this spell in. Be careful though! When the spell ends, if the user is still in the air, they will fall.

While risky, this is one of our favorites on the Warlock Spells 5E Top 10 List. It’s great mobility, and almost required for late-game if you want to do melee combat… Or if you have a Barbarian on your team. Help your damage-dealers chase those annoying flyers!

6. Mirror Image

• School: Illusion
• Level: 2nd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Self
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: 1 minute

Three copies of yourself appear next to you. They will not deal any damage, but they will copy every move that you make. If an opponent tries to do anything to you, you have to roll 1d20 to see if they are successful, and the number needed to roll is determined based off of the number of duplicates that are present  – six or higher with three, eight or higher with two, and eleven or higher with one. Duplicates have an AC of ten, and one successful hit will make one of them disappear.

Great defense! Since some Warlocks can’t get high AC, this’ll make you hard to hit for a while.

5. Invisibility

• School: Illusion
• Level: 2nd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (an Eyelash encased in Gum Arabic)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

A friendly target (including yourself) that you touch along with everything that they are carrying becomes invisible. If you prepare Invisibility in a higher spell slot, you can target an additional friendly character for each slot above the second level you prepare this at. Unfortunately, you cannot attack or take anything while invisible, or else it will break the spell. But it is the easiest way to escape from impending doom when necessary. It’s also great for sneaking around and finding information about the upcoming dungeon.

4. Armor of Agathys

• School: Abjuration
• Level: 1
• Casting Time: 1 Action
• Range Self
• Components: V, S, M (cup of water)
• Duration: 1 hour

You’re surrounded in a spectral frost that covers you. You gain 5 temporary hitpoints, and whenever you’re hit in melee while you have those hitpoints, you deal 5 cold damage back. This scales exceptionally well with Warlock’s spell level (5 temp hitpoints and 5 reflect damage per level!); You could deal 25 damage multiple times to melee attackers by level 9! Really good for any frontlining Warlock.

3. Hold Person

• School: Enchantment
• Level: 2nd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (small, straight Piece of Iron)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You target a humanoid within 60 feet. If they fail a Wisdom save, they’re paralyzed. They can roll a Wisdom save every round, becoming freed on a success. Every spell slot above 2nd is another humanoid paralyzed for as long as you concentrate. Crazy good, especially if you know you’re going to be taking on humanoids for most of the campaign!

2. Hex

• School: Enchantment
• Level: 1
• Casting Time: 1 Bonus Action
• Range: 90 feet
• Components: V, S, M (the petrified eye of a newt)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

As long as you stay concentrated, your target takes 1d6 extra necrotic damage on each attack. In addition, the target rolls disadvantage on checks with a single ability score of your choice. If they’re knocked unconscious, you get to swap it to another enemy with a bonus action on your next turn. Super versatile, great damage, and heightening it increases the time that you can use it, saving a bunch of slots. The concentration effect is problematic, as it is for many Warlock spells in 5e. But if you’re doing a build with our Number 1 slot, then you won’t mind very much.

1. Eldritch Blast

• School: Evocation
• Level: Cantrip
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 120 feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Instantaneous

And finally, number one on our top ten Warlock spells is Eldritch Blast. This cantrip fires a beam of energy at an opponent that deals 1d10 of force damage. You fire two beams at level five, three beams at level eleven, and four beams at level seventeen. Each beam can be directed at a separate target when it is resolved. Additionally, Eldritch Blast requires no concentration, no components, and it does not need to be readied. If that wasn’t enough, Warlocks can get Invocations to make Eldritch Blast even more efficient, damaging, and far-ranged! Eldritch Blast is one of the most versatile spells in the game, and it is the reason that I would play a Warlock. It probably won’t surprise you that this spell also made our list of Best 5E Warlock Cantrips as well.