Warlocks are actually really good against other caster classes due to magma spray ignoring MP. I wish the rest of the warlock spellset worked like that though, since they aren't even magical in nature. In fact, I don't think it would be good to run across an ethereal warlock as another caster.
Their spells should even go so far as to not be affected by the innate magical resistance of certain races. That would go a long way to buffing up warlocks in the face of their undeniable weakness against other classes. My recent skirmishes with the cone of cold spell have shown it to be laughable when my elf paladin is taking 5% damage from the spell when I failed the save.
Furthermore, stone skin either needs reworked or removed from the game. This spell has been reduced to near uselessness due to the inundation of weapons that bypass the stone skin spell. Even weapons that do the half-and-half exchange seem to completely ignore the stone skin spell since I've absolutely wrecked warlocks with reaching pikes that work under that code.
It's unjustifiable that the presence of an elemental should make a warlock unable to have a storebought pet tag along with them. Elementals are the most inferior pets of all the spellcaster pets. Sure, someone can get a fire elemental that is hasted, but it gets no more than three attacks a round, doesn't have the ability to equip shields or reaching weapons, has a timer set to summon the next one, if it is dispelled or the warlock dies, then they must wait for the timer to expire before conjuring another one, so either warlocks need to get the ability to have a storebought pet and an elemental or sorcerers and necromancers need to lose their ability to have one and charm person/animate/control undead at the same time.
What are the bonuses to conjure elemental? It has no concentration and mana upkeep, but these are hardly bonuses considering that all barbarian and mercenary npcs and pcs are better tanks and damage output than the elemental. Hell, the last swashbuckler I played defeated a warlock with a fire elemental without using up any healing potions.
Warlocks should gain the ability to dismiss and conjure new elementals as new situations arise rather than wasting time idling. Warlocks that are brought back to life through any means should receive a fresh timer on their conjure spell.
The warlock spellset doesn't actually reflect the elements, sure they get a spell called earthquake, but I do not actually believe it does type: earth damage. I don't even think such a damage type exists, and it just appears to be an AoE cause light, or cause critical with a blunt attack tagged on. There's also no type: water. Builders have always used type:acid to emulate this sort of element, when in fact, they are not actually the same. Water type spells are strangely absent from the warlock's spell list because frankly I don't think type: water exists either.
Another so-called bonus that warlocks get is light armor. This is the same complaint that can be levied against heavy armor priests, this is not actually a bonus at all. Warlocks would do the same in clothing as they do in mithril. Not to mention that most mithril that has been built in the game is not up to par with the highest line of mithril.
The only real bonuses the class receives is that it has the wands and staves skills, which every other caster class receives as well. It's cool that they can use wands, but this can only be a beneficial bonus to warlocks if sorcerers and necromancers were to lose use of them, which I'm sure that they won't. Staves are just expected. I'm not sure why they don't get scrolls.
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