Dungeons & Dragons: How To Multiclass As A Warlock

A guide to all the classes that can combine with the Warlock class for a powerful magic-user.

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Warlocks are a relatively new class that was first officially introduced to the Dungeons & Dragons universe in 2004 when they appeared as a playable race in the 3.5 edition D&D sourcebook, Complete Arcane. Since then, Warlocks have become a fixture in a variety of RPG games, both of the MMO and tabletop variety. They’re often complex characters that walk a fine line between good and evil, pledged to an inherently evil patron or destined to became the ward of a good one, so it’s a class with a lot of great role-playing and lore potential.

The Warlocks of D&D are great for people who want magic powers with no studying or worship. Some Warlocks like to diversify with a few levels of another class. However, not all classes mesh well with Warlocks. Here’s a guide for what works and what doesn’t.

Updated on August 17th, 2021, by Kristy Ambrose: With the introduction of some new classes, rules, and playable races, there are even more options available for those that want to multiclass their Warlock. There are other classes that use Charisma as their primary ability score, and depending on the specific details of your character, multiclassing might be a better choice for your character’s unique build. Some Warlock Pacts blend well with Paladin Oaths; Barbarian Paths, or Cleric Domains. Remember that your Warlock must have a Charisma score of at least 13 before you can multiclass them, and if your character happens to be Human, there’s the option of dual-classing as well. With all of that in mind, we’ve updated our multiclass guide for Warlocks.

Artificer

• Source: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
• Main Benefits: Can craft equipment to improve AC and the use of Infusions.
• Primary Ability Score: Intelligence
• Ideal Race: Half-Elf, Human, Tiefling

The Artificer’s abilities don’t work amazingly well with a Warlock, but there are benefits to taking two or three levels in this class. Infusions can give bonuses to spellcasting, or to weapons and armor for Bladelocks or Warlocks that carry a sword or dagger and deal both melee and spell damage. Most Warlocks who dip into classes with a martial focus will be Hexblades or homebrewed derivatives.

The Artillerist or Battle Smith subclasses each let you produce a minion that deals extra damage by utilizing your underappreciated Warlock bonus action. Still, it’s an investment, so only take it if you’re interested in the flavor.

Barbarian

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Main Benefits: Unarmored Defense, improves a Warlock’s AC for melee fighting.
• Primary Ability Score: Strength
• Ideal Race: Dragonborn, Half-Elf, Triton

There are a few things you get by taking a level or two of Barbarian, but due to the melee-focused nature of the class, they mostly benefit Bladelocks. While spells can’t be cast during Rage, non-spell invocations like Eldritch Smite can be a better use of spell slots in combat.

Unarmored Defense helps warlocks gain a little more survivability on the front lines as well. However, the best Bladelock subclass, the Hexblade, uses Charisma-based attacks, which means it won’t apply Rage damage.

Bard

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Main Benefits: A variety of choices for both Warlock and Bard subclasses that can be complementary.
• Primary Ability Score: Charisma
• Ideal Race: Dragonborn, Teifling, Half-Elf

There’s nothing that doesn’t work with this multiclass, but there’s also nothing that works especially well. A major advantage here is the common ability score. Warlocks and Bards both use Charisma, so you won’t be casting subpar spells with either class. This multi or dual-class is worth dipping into if you’re looking to fill a role as the party’s face or you want to take three levels to add the combat prowess of the College of Swords to your Bladelock.

Cleric

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Main Benefits: Access to the Cleric’s list of healing and support spells, plus the choice of a Domain at first level.
• Primary Ability Score: Wisdom
• Ideal Race: Human, Half-Elf, Kalashtar

Clerics get a subclass at the first level, meaning they get a lot of abilities for very little investment. However, for those dual-classers out there, two Cleric levels give Channel Divinity, which depending on the subclass could be worth looking into. One level of Light Domain is good for any Warlock build, and a level of Forge Domain is great for Bladelocks, with its free bonus to weapon damage and Searing Smite.

If you’re a Celestial Warlock that wants to add a boost to healing, Light and Grave Domain are both decent. Grave Domain even more so, and depending on how supportive you want to be you could even add a second level. Two levels of War Domain add to the combat potency of any Bladelock. Two levels of Tempest Domain are great provided that you take Shatter and Thunderstep as Warlock spells.

Druid

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Main Benefits: Access to some Druid spellcasting and shapeshifting abilities.
• Primary Ability Score: Wisdom
• Ideal Race: Half-Elf, Kalashtar, Human

Aside from some unique spells and the Druid’s signature shapeshifting powers, there’s not much here unless your Warlock has some kind of connection in their backstory with Druids. These abilities are more useful depending on your Pact. A lot of the utility that comes from Wild Shape can be replaced with the Warlock’s Pact of the Chain, and even the combat-oriented Circle of the Moon Wild Shape doesn’t include melee weapons, so it doesn’t combine well with a Bladelock. A Warlock who multiclasses into a Druid after making a pact with an entity like the Archfey or The Fathomless would make more sense.

Fighter

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Main Benefits: Extra melee abilities, such as a choice of Fighting Style and a higher AC.
• Primary Ability Scores: Strength or Dexterity
• Ideal Race: Dragonborn, Half-Elf, Human

Combining a Fighter with a spellcasting class is one of the oldest and most versatile class combinations that exist. Hexblade covers some of the Fighter abilities, but if you want another patron, Fighter is a good multiclass for any Bladelock. Action Surge and a fighting style like Dueling are both good abilities. It can actually be useful to take your first level in Fighter to get the equipment and proficiencies.

Monk

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Main Benefits: Unarmored Defense, which improves a Warlock’s AC.
• Primary Ability Scores: Dexterity and Wisdom
• Ideal Race: Kenku, Human, Half-Elf

Martial classes generally aren’t good for Warlocks if they don’t help out Bladelock builds with extra abilities for weapons, buffs, and armor. The limited selection of Monk weapons also makes this a less obvious choice. There might be some potential here for backstory depending on the nature of your Warlock patron, however. Unarmored Defense is the biggest advantage here, but your Warlock can get that by multiclassing into Barbarian instead.

Paladin

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Main Benefits: Extra weapon, armor, and equipment proficiencies, choice of Fighting Styles, and access to Paladin healing spells.
• Primary Ability Scores: Strength and Charisma
• Ideal Race: Dragonborn, Triton, Half-Elf

Taking two levels in Paladin is incredibly powerful for a Bladelock build. For those looking into dual class options, it might be better to take the first level in Paladin to get equipment and proficiencies. Heavy armor and a shield mean you’re almost untouchable, emergency healing is nice, and fighting styles like Dueling are just a flat increase to damage.

The real benefit, though, comes from Divine Smite. The D&D Player’s Handbook has clarified that any spell slots can be used for Divine Smite, not just Paladin spell slots. Therefore, since all Warlock spell slots are the highest level available, this means you have some hefty burst damage available that scales even if you don’t level up in Paladin. This gets even better if you take the Celestial Warlock patron, which adds bonuses to all radiant damage.

Ranger

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Main Benefits: Hunter’s Mark, which grants bonus damage, and the choice of a Fighting Style.
• Primary Ability Scores: Dexterity and Wisdom
• Ideal Race: Kenku, Aarakocra, Human

Hunter’s Mark is a very good spell for Bladelocks, especially because it can stack with the Hexblade patron’s Hexblade’s Curse ability, allowing for a lot of bonus damage for every attack. Gaining a fighting style, such as Dueling, is useful too. However, rangers do not get either of these until the second-level in ranger. First-level rangers gain nothing particularly good for a warlock, so you have to decide whether it’s worth it to take an extra level in another class order to get these powers.

Rogue

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Main Benefits: Expertise, which makes your character better at virtually everything, and Sneak Attack.
• Primary Ability Score: Dexterity
• Ideal Race: Half-Elf, Satyr, Tabaxi

For a Warlock to multiclass into a Rogue is a similar build to multiclassing into Bard. If you’re the party representative, it can be nice to have expertise in some Charisma skills. Sneak Attack can be a bit of extra damage if you have a light or finesse Pact of the Blade weapon, but it won’t scale as you level up. Cunning Action doesn’t give enough of a benefit to Warlocks to justify the second level in Rogue, but depending on your own build or backstory, don’t rule it out completely.

Sorcerer

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Main Benefits: Metamagic, the Sorcerer’s innate spellcasting ability.
• Primary Ability Score: Charisma
• Ideal Race: Dragonborn, Yuan-ti Pureblood, Tiefling

This is possibly the best multiclass option if you’re building your Warlock into a full spellcaster. It’s worth putting three levels into sorcerer just to get Metamagic. Quickened Spell lets Warlocks cast Eldritch Blast twice per turn, once as an Action and once as a Bonus Action. When it comes to RP, your innate Sorcerer’s abilities could be connected to your Warlock Patron.

Eldritch Blast is a cantrip, so it gains extra blasts based on your player level, not your class level, and it doesn’t lag behind in damage because of the multiclass levels. This means that the effectiveness of the Agonizing Blast invocation is doubled, and since your Warlock spell slots return after a short rest, you’re unlikely to ever run out of spell slots to convert into sorcery points.

Wizard

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Main Benefits: Access to the Wizard’s vast spellbook.
• Primary Ability Score: Intelligence
• Ideal Race: Half-Elf, Tiefling, Yuan-ti Pureblood

This multiclass combination could be interesting depending on the Pact your Warlock has undertaken and their ability score in Intelligence. As a spellcasting build it has potential, but the Sorcerer option is generally better since they share a Charisma ability score, and nobody said Warlocks had to be smart. Wizards get more from Warlocks than the other way around, so unless you need that spell variety and have a high Intelligence score, it’s not the best choice.

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