Shattered Kingdoms

I know as far as stats go int and wis should pretty much be maxed. But how important is art for a lock? I know I should at least train a few for wands and staves, but I don't really know the game well enough to find ones worth using anyway.

So should I put stats in art or just try to put the rest in mana and maybe something like con so I don't die behind my elemental b/c some NPC has a reach weapon?

Art isn't terribly important for a lock. All your spells are reflex saves, and nobody enchants for reflex. I'd do six or so art, max.

what Baldric says is true. Other than wis and Int, con and charisma is important. I'd also suggest HP if you can afford the points. This is why.

Your elementals HP is based on your con and HP count of your warlock. The tougher you are, the tougher it is, so extra HP and con is always a good thing. Max your int and wis first. Con comes next. Then dump about 5 or 6 art, then cha. An influential Cha is probably doable. I'd say if you wanted a cut off, leave it there. The order lag time for that isn't too bad though some argue to max it. HP is last and then followed by mana, str or dex, depending on what you want. Personally I'd suggest mana trains since the regen helps when holding spells. Best of luck on your lock.

Yeah I would probably train 3art.
I'd max int, charisma, wisdom naturally. Con and dex should be maxed either naturally or with mods. My personal preference would be to max con naturally and max dex with mods. By that point you should have an idea of whether you'd rather more hp or more mana.

The reason I'm saying to have dex maxed is simple. Dirt kick is your worst enemy.

Thanks for the replies. I'll have to admit, this class is a blast to play.

I'd ignore a lot of what was said in this thread, at least as far as reasoning.

Since elementals are almost always insta-poofed with dispel rather than melee'd or DD'ed down the HP of your elemental really doesn't matter.

CHA is still important because of order lag, and the ability get XPEES faster, also if you go tribunal(which warlock is generally a good call for)the cha helps there too.

Int and Wis are lovely just because you're a caster and have very little other places to put your stat points, most of the warlocks defensive skills have been nerfed either directly(ironguard) or indirectly(stone skin), so it's still super important to have a good HP base.

Also, I'd take art to 9, because if I remember right that's what wands max out at, and while wands generally aren't the most powerful things in the world, some good stuff can be found. That, and 9 would definitely get rid of the token reflex some people may have.

TLDR

Warlocks aren't really stat reliant, so don't worry about it too much. Just make sure to max CHA, and keep INT/WIS/CON respectable and you'll do just fine.

If you don't max int on your warlock, you're a moron. Nine art is a viable build, but I really think the points are better off put elsewhere.

It really depends on what you think your defensive abilities are actually worth any more. Unless you're an iron weak race, is iron guard really worth much of anything to you? Even then it isn't what it once was. Stone skin is useful, but really only against people that can't reach second row, since there are tons of magic damage weapons that reach the second row.

Int is only a good place to put points as a warlock, because there is no better place to put them. It isn't good by itself.

Max wisdom
Max intelligence
Get charisma influential
Max constitution
3 art
Finish with HP or Mana, depending on preference
Get mods for Dex and Str

Depends on the race though. If I played a sprite, I might do more dex to prepare for dirt kicks.

Best build for a warlock is to not build one at all.