2024 DnD 5e Warlock Invocations Guide

Introduction

DnD 5e’s Warlocks choose Eldritch Invocations at several points throughout their career, starting with 1 at level 1 and gaining up to 10 by level 20. Invocations are a major decision point, giving tons of options to customize your Warlock. Selecting your invocations is as important as picking your patron, and knowing what options are available and how to use them is crucial if you want to succeed as a Warlock.

While most Eldritch Invocations are independent, a few form feat chains with the Pact Boon invocations: Pact of the Blade, Pact of the Chain, and Pact of the Tome. In the 2014 rules, these invocations were a separate feature which encouraged Warlocks to adopt a specific playstyle, focusing on weapon use, a familiar, or spellcasting, depending on your choice. In the 2024 DnD 5e rules, Pact Boons are now optional, but can still be very powerful choices. You can also pick more than one, which wasn’t possible in the 2014 rules.

This article is for the 2024 DnD Warlock. For help with the 2014 rules, see our 2014 DnD 5e Warlock Invocations Guide.

Table of Contents

Disclaimer

RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks, which is simple to understand and easy to read at a glance.

  • Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
  • Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
  • Green: Good options. Useful often.
  • Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character. Useful very frequently.

We will not include 3rd-party content, including content from DMs Guild, in handbooks for official content because we can’t assume that your game will allow 3rd-party content or homebrew. We also won’t cover Unearthed Arcana content because it’s not finalized, and we can’t guarantee that it will be available to you in your games.

The advice offered below is based on the current State of the Character Optimization Meta as of when the article was last updated. Keep in mind that the state of the meta periodically changes as new source materials are released, and the article will be updated accordingly as time allows.

Changes From the 2014 Rules

Invocations which allowed you to cast a specific spell once per day using a spell slot are gone. Most of these were awful, so very little was lost. A surprising number of Invocations from Xanathar’s and Tasha’s were not updated for the 2024 rules, including options like Grasp of Hadar. Eldritch Adept didn’t make it into the 2024 rules, either, but there are very few level 1 Invocation options which you could select with Eldritch Adept.

  • Agonizing Blast. You now pick any one Warlock cantrip that deals damage. Repeatable to select more cantrips.
  • Devil’s Sight. You can now see in dim light in addition to the previous effects.
  • Devouring Blade. New! Bladelocks can now get 3 attacks per Attack Action.
  • Eldritch Spear. Now works with any Warlock cantrip that deals damage and has 10+ feet of range, and adds +30 feet per Warlock level to its range. Repeatable to select more cantrips.
  • Fiendish Vigor. Now automatically gives you the max roll rather than requiring you to sit around and cast it repeatedly.
  • Gaze of Two Minds. Now targets any willing creature instead of a willing humanoid, now takes a Bonus Action to use and to maintain, and if you’re within 60 feet of the target you can cast spells as if you were in its space. A massive buff. Warlocks are going to turn invisible allies into predator drones. Predator drones are Order of Scribes’ thing. How dare you, WotC.
  • Gift of the Depths. New. Cast Water Breathing once per day and get a permanent swim speed.
  • Investment of the Chain Master. Now allows your familiar to change weapon damage types to necrotic or radiant, but otherwise the same as the version in Tasha’s.
  • Lessons of the First Ones. Gain an Origin Feat. Repeatable.
  • Lifedrinker. No more double-dipping Charisma to damage. Once per turn, deal 1d6 extra damage on hit with your pact weapon and spend a Hit Point Die to heal yourself.
  • Master of Myriad Forms. Dropped from 15th level to 5th.
  • One With Shadows. Now it just lets you cast Invisibility without a spell slot. An absolutely massive buff.
  • Pact of the Blade.
    • Create or bind a weapon as a Bonus Action. 
    • You can now use it as a spellcasting focus. 
    • Like Baldur’s Gate 3 or Hex Warrior, we now get Charisma to attack and damage. 
    • You can make it deal necrotic, psychic, or radiant damage, decided every time you hit.
    • Ability increases provided by martial feats almost exclusively provide increases to Strength or Dexterity. This is going to make 1-level dips for Pact of the Blade much less appealing than Hexblade dips in the 2014 rules. It’s also going to make Dexterity-based builds the go-to option for weapon-focused warlocks.
  • Pact of the Chain. Now a bunch of new forms! Otherwise, the same as 2014. The last Unearthed Arcana for the Warlock had a standalone stat block for familiars, but they apparently reversed that change. 
  • Pact of the Tome. Now includes 2 level 1 Ritual spells in addition to the cantrips.
  • Repelling Blast. Now works with any one Warlock cantrip which requires an attack roll. Repeatable to select more cantrips.
  • Visions of Distant Realms. Dropped from level 15 to level 9/.
  • Whispers of the Grave. Dropped from level 9 to level 7.
  • Witch Sight. Upgraded to permanent Truesight within 30 feet.

Warlock Eldritch Invocations

Level 1 Invocations

Armor of Shadows (PHB)

Take Magic Initiate. Mage Armor’s duration is 8 hours, so one casting will get you through the day.

The one use case for this is School of Abjurer wizards, who can use this to repeatedly cast Mage Armor in order to recharge your Arcane Ward without spending spell slots.

Eldritch Mind (PHB)

Excellent on nearly any spellcaster, but War Caster provides the same benefit plus some other stuff, and since War Caster can get you a +1 Charisma increase, it’s a very easy feat choice.

Eldritch Mind is only appealing if there’s no way to fit War Caster into your build because you need other other feats instead. Remember that you can replace an Invocation each time that you gain a Warlock level, allowing you to take this temporarily and then replace it when you’re ready to take War Caster.

Pact of the Blade (PHB)

Pact of the Blade is the primary way in which Warlocks are expected to use weapons. By using Charisma for attack and damage, you remove MAD (Multiple Ability Dependent) issues, allowing you to easily transition between weapons and spells. There is a clear progression of Invocations which will fill most of your Invocation slots and add scaling benefits which will make you feel a lot like a Fighter.

However, the reality of Pact of the Blade is a bit more complex. General Feats which improve your weapon use like Great Weapon Master and Piercer all provide increases to Strength or Dexterity. This means that if you’re focusing on Charisma, you won’t want to take these feats until you hit 20 Charisma, which may not be until you reach level 12.

It is fine to build Pact of the Blade around Charisma, ignore weapon-focused feat options, and rely on Invocations and spells. But if you want to lean heavily into weapon use, you’ll need to build around Charisma.

Pact of the Chain (PHB)

Find Familiar is already a fantastic spell, and the added forms give you better options than those available to any other spellcaster.

  • Imp: CR 1 and a lot to like. Immunity to the two most common non-weapon damage types, plus resistance to Cold damage, magic resistance, and a respectable 21 hp make the Imp reasonably durable. With Devil’s Sight, the ability to turn invisible, a Fly speed, and Shape-Shift to both disguise itself and change movement types, it’s also very effective as a scout. In combat, the Imp’s sting attack does a respectable 13 average damage, though poison damage is commonly resisted, so it’s not a fantastic option.

    You may be better served by casting Darkness on an object, sending your familiar to carry the Darkness effect over your enemies, then using Devil’s Sight to attack them. If you’re worried about your familiar’s safety, cast Darkness on an object hanging from a string, and have your imp dangle it down from above like a weird, aggressive lakitu.

  • Pseudodragon: With only 10 hit points and no damage resistances, the Pseudodragon is extremely frail, though Blindsight and Sting offer some tempting options. The Pseudodragon’s Sting can poison enemies for a full hour, and could even knock them unconscious. However, it targets a Constitution save, and Constitution saves are consistently high. Even with Investment of the Chain Master. you can’t rely on it, and without an easy way for your pseudodragon to move in and out of melee safely, it’s dangerous for your familiar to actually use. Despite how effective Sting can be if it works, the unreliability, the Pseudodragon’s poor durability, and its comparably poor scouting options make it a poor choice.
  • Quasit: CR 1, and plenty durable. 25 hp, three damage resistances, and immunity to poison. The Quasit can also change its movement options with Shape-Shift, making it fantastically versatile. With +5 Stealth and the ability to turn invisible at will, it’s also an excellent scout. The Quasit isn’t an obvious combat threat since its single attack doesn’t deal much damage, but making a target Poisoned without a save is a huge debuff for many enemies, which is worth the relatively poor damage, especially at high levels where other familiars’ damage feels less impactful. The Quasit’s Scare feature won’t be much use without Investment of the Chain Master.
  • Skeleton: It can use equipment like weapons, it has Darkvision, and it’s immune to fatigue. But it also had 13 gp and its attacks are underwhelming. This isn’t a combat pet, and it certainly isn’t a scout. Its best advantages are its ability to use objects, to carry things for you, and to keep watch without getting tired.
  • Slaad Tadpole: With 5 damage resistances and Magic Resistance, the Slaad Tadpole seems very tanky until you notice its 7 hit points. The tadpole’s biggest advantage is that it’s the only option with a burrow speed. But with no hands, it can’t do much more than burrow to a place, look around, and maybe deliver touch spells.
  • Sphinx of Wonder: 24 hp, 3 damage resistances, one attack dealing 12 average damage, flight, 24 hp, and Magic Resistance all make your sphinx an appealing combatant. It’s proficient in Arcana and Religion, and can speak, making it a useful substitute for proficiency in those skills. On top of that, Burst of Ingenuity can help you and your allies pass crucial saving throws, thought it does need to be applied when you make the saving throw rather than after you see the result. No other familiar options ha similar proficiencies or support options, giving the Sphinx of Wonder an exciting niche.

    Where the Sphinx of Wonder falls short is as a scout. Despite proficiency in Stealth, without the ability to turn invisible, it can’t compete on scouting with options like the Imp or the Sprite. If your party has an effective scout already, that may not be an issue. Just be prepared to have your familiar run away and hide in combat if it takes any damage at all. 24 hit points doesn’t go very far beyond low levels.

  • Sprite: Flight, invisibility at will, good Perception and Stealth modifiers, and it can speak three languages. It’s notably the only option added by Pact of the Chain with proficiency in Perception. Heart Sight seems interesting, but you could arguably use an Insight check for the same purpose. The Sprite’s bow attack automatically charms its target on hit, but that only prevents the target from attacking the sprite. This is a great scout, but it is not a combat pet.
  • Venomous Snake: 10 feet of blindsight, a swim speed, and a passable attack. If you want blindsight, get a bat. If you want good attacks or a familiar with a swim speed, look elsewhere.

Pact of the Tome (PHB)

Three cantrips and 2 Rituals offer quite a bit of utility, but you can’t add additional Rituals to the book, so you never get more value than what you get initially. If you want Rituals, this won’t fully substitute for Ritualist, but it may be enough.

Level 2 Invocations

Agonizing Blast (PHB)

Absolutely essential on any build that’s not relying solely on Pact of the Blade. While you can apply this to any damaging cantrip, Eldritch Blast is the best choice since it gets multiple damage rolls. Area cantrips like Thunderclap or ongoing damage cantrips like Create Bonfire are similarly effective, as they can apply the damage bonus multiple times.

This can also be effective with Booming Blade and Green-Flame Blade, making them very effective options for melee Pact of the Blade builds. Melee cantrips already outpace unmodified weapon attacks, and the bonus damage from Agonizing Blast stretches that gap even further. The math gets a little fuzzy with options like Hex and Spirit Shroud, but it’s still a powerful option for Pact of the Blade builds.

It’s not totally clear if this works with True Strike before it deals additional damage, though I believe that it would do so. Consult with your DM before making assumptions.

Devil’s Sight (PHB)

Darkvision can be an immense tactical advantage, but it’s negated by a torch. Devil’s Sight allows you to use magical darkness, including the Darkness spell, to gain a massive advantage over your foes. However, keep in mind that your allies may still struggle to fight in magical darkness so using this option can often lead to selfish tactics which are frustrating for your allies.

Eldritch Spear (PHB)

Eldritch Blast’s 120-foot range is already excellent, giving you a reliable long-range attack option. Eldritch Spear can massively improve that range, but that capability is rarely impactful.

Fiendish Vigor (PHB)

Guaranteed 12 Temporary Hit Points, and the hit points last until your next Long Rest. This is consistently useful on any Warlock, but it’s absolutely essential on melee-focused Pact of the Blade builds.

Lessons of the First Ones (PHB)

Many Origin Feats are excellent, but without an Ability Score Increase they can be hard to select when you get an ASI. This makes Origin Feats much more accessible without slowing your ability scores and potentially falling behind the Fundamental Math.

Mask of Many Faces (PHB)

In a game involving stealth or intrigue, the ability to disguise yourself is a big advantage. The ability to do it at a moment’s notice at no cost allows you to be anyone any time. However, in a simple dungeon crawl, this will be almost completely useless.

Misty Visions (PHB)

A clever player with a DM who is willing to play along can accomplish a lot with even a basic illusion. A 15-foot cube is a huge amount of space, too. Place illusory walls, doors, statues, or other objects which creatures don’t expect to move or produce other stimuli like heat or smells, and in many cases that’s just as good as creating something. If creatures don’t realize that your illusory wall is an illusion, they’re going to treat it like a wall.

Otherworldly Leap (PHB)

A passable way to get around the battlefield without worrying about difficult terrain or other obstacles on the ground, but it becomes obsolete as soon as you have a way to fly, so expect to retrain this.

Repelling Blast (PHB)

Similar to the Push Weapon Mastery, this allows you to keep enemies at a safe distance, to break grapples, or to force enemies into dangerous positions. The go-to use is with Eldritch Blast, but you can also apply it to cantrips like Shocking Grasp or Thunderclap in order to launch enemies away from you at melee range.

As you add additional shots from Eldritch Blast, the ability to repeatedly push enemies away can become very powerful. Combining this with speed reductions can easily lock enemies out of melee or keep enemies inside a small, dangerous area, allowing to win many combat encounters with minimal resource cost.

Level 5 Invocations

Ascendant Step (PHB)

Warlocks get access to Fly, but it’s hard to justify spending your precious few spell slots on it. Levitate gets you the biggest benefit of flight (distance from the ground) at much lower cost. However, you still need to Concentrate, which makes it hard to use in combat since you’re giving up the benefits of a damage buff like Hex.

Eldritch Smite (PHB)

Pact of the Blade

This is rarely worth a spell slot to activate. The damage is decent, but you can usually do a lot more by using that spell slot to cast a spell, even if the spell only does damage. Knocking enemies prone is tempting, but it also makes them hard for you to hit with ranged attacks, including Eldritch Blast.

Your best bet is to reserve this for when you score a critical hit, at which point you can choose to use Eldritch Smite and double the damage dice. You can also use this to knock flying enemies prone, causing most flying creatures to fall.

Gaze of Two Minds (PHB)

Cast Invisibility on an ally, then hit them with Gaze of Two Minds. Send them into a room with enemies. Cast spells without an obvious source like Toll the Dead or Hunger of Hadar. Your ally’s position won’t be revealed, their Invisibility won’t be broken, and you’re in another room, completely safe.

Gift of the Depths (PHB)

Only useful in aquatic campaigns, and, if you’re in an aquatic campaign, you probably want the ability to function underwater much sooner than level 5. Even if this does look appealing, you can take Master of Myriad forms to use the Aquatic Adaptation option.

Investment of the Chain Master (PHB)

Pact of the Chain

Only essential if you want your familiar to be a combat pet, which isn’t necessarily a good idea. You familiar is at most CR 1, and their stats will never improve, making their attacks unreliable and their low AC and hit points a huge liability. Giving them Resistance to damage as a Reaction helps, but maybe not enough.

If you want to turn your familiar into a reliable combat pet, you’ll need to make other investments to improve their durability. Sources of Temporary Hit Points like Inspiring Leader and boosts to their AC like Mage Armor are a must. If your familiar can turn invisible, have them use their Action on their turn to become invisible, and use your Bonus Action to activate the Quick Attack feature, allowing your familiar to remain invisible and therefore relatively safe most of the time.

Strongly consider the Swim Speed over the Fly Speed. The best familiar options can already fly.

Master of Myriad Forms (PHB)

Aquatic adaptation is rarely useful. Change Appearance is fine, but Mask of Many Faces is available at lower level. Natural Weapons is neat, but there’s no reason for the Warlock to use unarmed strikes. Between the three options you may find some use, but it won’t be consistent.

You might choose to replace Mask of Many Faces with this since Alter Self’s Change Appearance option has some advantages over Disguise Self (it’s not an illusion), but remember that Alter Self requires Concentration, so it’s not strictly better in every way.

One With Shadows (PHB)

Consistently amazing. You’re probably now your party’s best Scout.

Thirsting Blade (PHB)

Pact of the Blade

Absolutely essential if you plan to use weapons consistently. If you don’t take this at level 5, you immediately fall behind Eldritch Blast builds and any martial character that gets Extra Attack.

Level 7 Invocations

Whispers of the Grave (PHB)

Speak with Dead is one of my favorite divinations because it grants you easy access to information which is otherwise lost forever. With the ability to cast it at will with no cost means that you can interrogate every random mook you kill in your long, sordid career of murder-hoboing. But keep in mind that the target isn’t compelled to tell you anything helpful, so this isn’t always reliable.

Level 9 Invocations

Gift of the Protectors (PHB)

Pact of the Tome

Imagine the Half-Orc’s Relentless Endurance trait, but shared between your entire party. While it won’t help you actively accomplish anything, this is a great support option that any party should welcome.

Lifedrinker (PHB)

Pact of the Blade

The damage bonus is small, but consistent. The ability to spend a Hit Point Die to heal mid-combat adds a but of durability which you almost certainly need with light armor and d8 hit dice.

Visions of Distant Realms (PHB)

Arcane Eye is one of my favorite scouting options, and the ability to cast it at will makes it even better. Never go into a room without knowing exactly what’s inside.

Level 12 Invocations

Devouring Blade (PHB)

Pact of the Blade

A must for Pact of the Blade builds.

Level 15 Invocations

Witch Sight (PHB)

Extremely powerful, though not consistently impactful. Very few characters have access to Truesight, and the ones that do usually need to cast a high-level spell to get it.

2014 Eldritch Invocations

Not all of the Eldritch Invocations from the 2014 rules have made their way into the 2024 rules. The remaining legacy Invocations should work as written with the updated rules. However, the level requirements don’t align with the updated Warlock’s level progression, and some Invocations are functionally obsolete, so you may find very little value here.

Keep in mind that some Invocations were written to give Warlocks access to spells outside of their spell list and some of those spells have changed in the 2024 rules. Use legacy content carefully, and make sure that your DM is comfortable with using it.

Level 1 Legacy Invocations

Beast Speech (2014 PHB)

Only situationally useful, and massively dependent on how your DM handles the spell. Strongly consider a level of Druid before taking this.

Beguiling Influence (2014 PHB)

Functionally obsolete. Take Lessons of the First Ones to take the Skilled feat. The only niche for this is you have already taken Skilled, and even then, there are better ways to get more skill proficiencies like from your Species or from the Skill Expert feat.

Eldritch Sight (2014 PHB)

You can cast Detect Magic as a Ritual.

Eyes of the Rune Keeper (2014 PHB)

You can cast Comprehend Languages as a ritual.

Grasp of Hadar (XGtE)

If you’re using Eldritch Blast enough to justify investing in it, you generally want to keep enemies away from you. However, the option to pull enemies closer may be helpful for your allies, and you may be able to use this to keep enemies inside ongoing area effects like Hunger of Hadar. You won’t use this on every attack or even in every encounter, but sometimes it’s helpful.

Lance of Lethargy (XGtE)

In the 2024 rules, speed penalties are easy and abundant, making it easy for parties to reduce enemies’ speeds to 0. Stack this with the Slow mastery, Ray of Frost, and any number of other speed reductions, and you can prevent enemies from moving. Combine that with ongoing area damage, and you can win fights with stunningly little resource cost.

Thief of Five Fates (PHB)

Not worth an Invocation. Rarely worth a spell slot.

Pact Boon Invocations

These Invocations don’t have a level requirement, but do require you to have the appropriate Pact Boon, which effectively means that you can’t take them until level 2.

Aspect of the Moon (2014 PHB)

Pact of the Tome

If you really feel like you need this, you should have played an elf or a race that doesn’t sleep like the Warforged. Even then, the benefits here are extremely minor compared to most invocations.

Book of Ancient Secrets (2014 PHB)

Pact of the Tome

Partially obsolete, but not entirely. The updated version of Pact of the Tome already gives you 2 free Rituals, and in the 2024 rules everyone is a Ritual caster.

However, the new Pact of the Tome doesn’t give you the ability to learn additional Rituals, which is where Book of Ancient Secrets remains useful. The Ritualist feat similarly only gets you level 1 Rituals. How useful this Invocation is comes down to how much use you will get out of Ritual spells from other classes.

Gift of the Ever-Living Ones (2014 PHB)

Pact of the Chain

This includes healing spells like Healing Word and Cure Wounds, but it also includes Hit Dice rolled while resting. This is good, especially if you take damage a lot, but Pact of the Chain builds shouldn’t be drawing enough fire that this is important.

This may be more useful for builds that take both Pact of the Blade and Pact of the Chain. If you’re built to fight in melee, you’re doing it in light armor with d8 hit dice, so the ability to heal quickly may prove useful, especially since Cure Wounds and Healing Word heal for twice as many dice as in the 2014 rules.

Improved Pact Weapon (2014 PHB)

Pact of the Blade

The only remaining value here is the +1 to attack and damage, but that’s still a pretty good benefit if your game doesn’t have abundant magic weapons.

Rebuke of the Talisman (TCoE)

Pact of the Talisman

Pact of the Talisman wasn’t published in the 2024 PHB, and the 2014 Pact Boon feature is gone, so Talisman is not available to 2024 Warlocks.

Voice of the Chain Master (2014 PHB)

Pact of the Chain

Familiars make great scouts, so exploring dangerous places through your familiar is a great way to do things. It’s also helpful for communicating with other creatures at a safe distance. Take Investment of the Chain Master first, but give this some consideration after that.

Level 5 Legacy Invocations

Cloak of Flies (XGtE)

This remains in effect until you dismiss it, making it an excellent buff both offensively and defensively. Melee Warlocks can capitalize on this by diving into groups of enemies and attempting to catch as many as possible in the area. If enemies attempt to flee, take opportunity attacks, then chase them down on the following turn. Against enemies that are especially hard to hit, force them into a corner, block their escape, stand next to them, and Dodge. The damage is guaranteed and doesn’t allow a save, so against many enemies you can stand still and wait for them to fall over.

Despite its benefits, I wouldn’t take this on any Warlock without Pact of the Blade and some investments in durability. Poison damage is also commonly resisted, so you can’t always count on Cloak of Flies to be effective.

Far Scribe (TCoE)

Pact of the Tome

Very cool, but very situational. I love the way that this invocation works, but it’s just not very useful for most Warlocks. Your DM could make this appealing by adding powerful NPCs to the pool of creatures with whom you can communicate, but that’s heavily dependent both on your DM’s willingness to play along and on those NPCs being conscious, helpful, and willing to respond at any given point. If you’re repeatedly Sending “You up?” to people at all hours of the night, they’re eventually going to get sick of you.

As a DM, I would consider adding the Warlock’s patron to the list of creatures. That would be a really interesting way to provide semi-direct interaction with the Warlock’s patron, and it could give the DM a great way to feed the players information or just generally mess with them.

Maddening Hex (XGtE)

5 damage as a Bonus Action to the target and targets of your choice within 5 feet. If you run Hex all day long, this will be constistent, nearly free damage during most rounds. You could maximize the benefits by using Repelling Blast and Grasp of Hadar to push/pull enemies into a group, but remember that spending Eldritch Blast rays to attack other creatures means giving up the Hex bonus damage on your primary target, so you’re trading for roughly equivalent damage.

Mire the Mind (2014 PHB)

Slow is a good spell, but it doesn’t scale with spell slot and you only get to use it once per day. Save your spell slots for more powerful options.

Sign of Ill Omen (2014 PHB)

Bestow Curse is a great single-target debuff with some challenges. It only affects one target and since you can only cast it once per day with Sign of Ill Omen your best bet is to cast it on powerful single targets. However, it requires Concentration and allows a saving throw, so there’s a good chance that the target passes their save and your once-per-day Bestow Curse is wasted.

Even if it does work, you’re stuck Concentrating on it and, unlike Hex, you can’t move the effect between targets. Hex has some overlap with Bestow Curse, providing a similar debuff to ability scores and a similar damage buff, but Hex doesn’t allow the target a saving throw and allows you to move the spell between targets so you get considerably more benefit from your tiny number of spell slots.

Tomb of Levistus (XGtE)

This is a passable panic option, and at 10 temporary hit points per warlock level, it should be able to absorb basically anything that hits you unless you’re fighting something with a CR well above your level. However, you’re incapacitated for the turn after you use this, which means you give up your turn to use it. Unless your allies can come to your aid, that could be a serious problem. Because 5e’s death mechanics are so gentle, it may actually be safer to take the damage and fall unconscious, then have an ally heal you later.

Undying Servitude (TCoE)

You get one skeleton or zombie, and not even a cool one. It’s a generic humanoid skeleton/zombie. CR 1/4. You can’t upcast the spell to get more of them since you’re not using a spell slot. I guess they could carry your loot or something? Set off traps? If you want a pet, go get a familiar. If you want an undead warrior, cast Summon Undead. I honestly can’t explain why they didn’t just add Animate Dead to the Warlock’s spell list.

Level 7 Legacy Invocations

Bewitching Whispers (2014 PHB)

Compulsion is a fun crowd-control effect, but it doesn’t scale with spell slot level, you only get to use it once per day, and it’s not effective enough to justify an Invocation.

Dreadful Word (2014 PHB)

Confusion is an unreliable debuff in the best of cases.

Ghostly Gaze (XGtE)

The ability to see through walls, even with limited range, is a huge benefit for adventurers. Knowing what’s in the next room of a dungeon can often turn a difficult fight into a cakewalk, or it might help you totally circumvent a problematic encounter.

Protection of the Talisman (TCoE)

Pact of the Talisman

Pact of the Talisman wasn’t published in the 2024 PHB, and the 2014 Pact Boon feature is gone, so Talisman is not available to 2024 Warlocks.

Relentless Hex (XGtE)

Potentially useful for Pact of the Blade builds. Your movement and options like Misty Step are typically sufficient, but if an enemy is especially fast or there are barriers in the way you may find this situationally useful.

Sculptor of Flesh (2014 PHB)

Even once per day, Polymorph is a fantastic single-target save-or-suck spell combined with a fantastic utility spell. Turn your enemies into harmless animals, or turn yourself or an ally into something which allows you to escape, explore, or fight better. However, remember that the target’s mental statistics change, so don’t go turning your allies into animals or they might forget who they are temporarily.

Trickster’s Escape (XGtE)

Situational. Freedom of Movement is occasionally great, but you don’t get enough Invocation options to make this an easy choice, and the fact that you can only target yourself doesn’t help.

Level 9 Legacy Invocations

Minions of Chaos (2014 PHB)

The 2024 PHB rewrote Conjure Elemental, and the new version is fantastic for the Warlock. Combine Grasp of Hadar and Repelling Blast to forcibly move enemies so that an enemy is always within the elemental’s reach. This gets even better if your party includes characters who can grapple enemies and drag them around and drop them adjacent to your elemental.

Unfortunately, the damage won’t scale since Pact Magic spell slots stop at 5th level, but don’t let that stop you. Restraining an enemy repeatedly for the duration of an encounter is useful at any level, and, even at high levels, many enemies have poor Dexterity saves.

Level 12 Legacy Invocations

Bond of the Talisman (TCoE)

Pact of the Talisman

Pact of the Talisman wasn’t published in the 2024 PHB, and the 2014 Pact Boon feature is gone, so Talisman is not available to 2024 Warlocks.

Level 15 Legacy Invocations

Chains of Carceri (2014 PHB)

Pact of the Chain

Hold Monster is really good, but limiting the targets to three specific creature types dramatically reduces how useful it is. You do get to use this at will, though, which is tempting. You can’t use it on the same target until you complete a long rest, but if you’re facing creatures of the right types you can use this several times in a day, making it a go-to option similar to Eldritch Blast. But, again, it’s limited to just three creature types.

Shroud of Shadow (XGtE)

This is so good that they made it into an Epic Boon. If you have a free moment, you should turn invisible. The only times you should be visible are when you’re talking to people or when you’ve broken invisibility.

Eldritch Adept

Introduced in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, the Eldritch Adept feat allows players of almost any class to access Eldritch Invocations. However, as legacy content, it falls into an odd niche. Under the 2024 rules, there are very few level 1 Invocations, but your options now include Pact Boons.