What's the Best Race for Warlocks?
It is a very good question, so we looked to some of the leaders in the D&D online community to help answer that question. We pilfered over tens of videos on every race combination with Warlock and locked down some of the best statistically and in terms of flavor. Thanks to those who provided insight on these races, they will be featured throughout the list!
5. Drow Half-Elf (Dark Elf Heritage)
I don’t really need to explain myself much here. After all, it’s Half-Elf, debatably the best race in all of Dungeons and Dragons. However, when we add in the Drow Half-Elf, we have some fun min-maxing to do. Getting the simple stuff out of the way, Fey Ancestry and Skill Versatility are amazing outright. Three languages also help and disincentivize wasting an Invocation on Eyes of the Rune Keeper.
Now, to the fun stuff. Having a Drow Half-Elf gives you a free cantrip, free use of Faerie Fire, and the ability to cast Darkness as well, all using your Charisma mod. Not only does this work well in-conjunction with Warlock, but the uses of Faerie Fire and Darkness can be incredible benefits since, taking Eldritch Sight, you ignore Magical Darkness entirely, and casting Faerie Fire ensures your teammates aren’t crippled by Darkness either. This is a great set of spells that most Warlocks can use well and fits the theme of the class beautifully.
Why Drow Half-Elf is Great for Warlock
- Free Spells
- Incentivises using Eldritch Invocations for more than Languages
- Gives more access to spells and magic resistances
Pick Drow Half-Elf if…
- You are using Eldritch Sight
- You want more spells you can use without Spell Slots
4. Legacy Kobold (Customized Origin)
The old Kobold from Volo’s Guide to Monsters is an example of an old race they should’ve kept, and I will carry that vendetta until I die. The Legacy Kobold has so much going for it in the case of being a Warlock that I think it can be complimented on and used creatively. The Legacy Kobold strives to be a creative race that can be used well with many things in the Warlock’s repertoire, this, of course, being in trove with the Customized Origin from Tasha’s Guide.
+2 in any stat is an excellent start. Using Pack Tactics in tandem with Pact of the Chain will make sure you get those advantages, either to offset the sunlight disadvantage or gain an advantage yourself. The Hexblade Patron will let you be in the middle of combat, so the Cower and Fear ability isn’t completely useless as you can barely try to survive as other mages. You could also go full range with Pact of the Chain and use Eldritch Blast to your advantage in most dungeons. Pack Tactics is just amazing. Use it to its fullest with Pact of the Chain and you will be a better Beast Master.
Why Legacy Kobold is Great for Warlock
- Pack Tactics in conjunction with Pact of the Chain
- Grovel, Cower and Beg AoE with Hexblade
- Small size (Additional Armor Class)
Pick Legacy Kobold if…
- You are using pact of the Chain
- Want a good, bulky Front-line Warlock
3. Fairy
A perfect race for the "avoid-melee" warlock build. Faerie Fire is amazing, period, for warlocks, as well as any other amount of innate spellcasting that would enhance the warlock’s spell list. Flight is also amazing, giving you the ability to fight from afar with relative ease. A +2, +1 stat array is also great, and so are Fairy’s basic racial traits in terms of combat maneuverability.
The Fairy is a great baseline for any non-hexblade warlock. This is perfect for those who want to be as far from combat as possible while slinging spells at their enemies. This prevents the "need" for the at-will mage armor invocation as you will be well outside of the reach of any non-ranged enemies, and having the ability to grant advantage to allies for free is an amazing addition as well.
Why Fairy is Great for Warlock
- Maneuverability at range
- Free use of support spells and more spells
- Combo-potentional for support warlocks
Pick Fairy if…
- You want to be well out of range of combattants
- You don’t want to take Armor of Shadows invocation every time you pick warlock
2. Hexblood
An amazing thematic choice for warlocks of all kinds. Getting free uses of Hex and Disguise Self fits perfectly in-line with a more mysterious, conniving warlock, with free uses per-day increasing the number of spells a warlock can cast daily. Ancestral Legacy is also incredibly customizable and helpful, which falls in-line with the customizability warlocks are built on.
It’s a close match between Hexblood and Fairy, but my only real opinion in that debate is that Hexblood has a range of versatility and basically gets you a free Gaze of Two Minds as well as making you immune to early-game humanoid-focused spells like Hold Person, giving you a minor form of magical resistance to low-level paralysis. A fantastic option and one of the best available.
Why Hexblood is Great for Warlock
- Customizability for all Patrons
- In-Theme with the class
- Basically has Gaze of Two Minds for free
Pick Hexblood if…
- You want versatility in options
- You want to save Invocations
1. Bugbear
Eldritch Blast and Scorching Ray are bread and butter here, making the Bugbear a tanky, by default, blasty-magic build that out-damages many early-game warlocks. In the opposite sense, having an additional 5 feet of range on melee makes Bugbear an amazing candidate for Hexblade as well. Advantage on charms and Surprise attack are simply amazing bonuses that put the icing on the cake.
Think about this, Scorching Ray, Fiend Patron, on three targets, which benefit from Surprise Attack and Hex. Even using Eldritch Blast, though, Agonizing Blast invocation makes Eldritch Blast nearly on-par in damage at a much cheaper cost. It’s the min-maxiest of Eldritch Blast Builds, and being that most people like that spell, it makes sense to put this at the top.
Why Bugbear is Great for Warlock
- Eldritch Blast / Scorching Ray Min-Max Damage
- Long-Limbed
- Surprise Attack
Pick Bugbear if…
- You want versatility in options
- You want to save Invocations
