Eldritch Blast
Cantrip evocation · 1d10 Force damage, average 5.5
5.5 average Force damage · 1–10
Roll Eldritch Blast
Press a roll button. The dice land here.
Spell details
- Level
- Cantrip
- School
- Evocation
- Casting time
- Action
- Range
- 120 feet
- Components
- V, S
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Classes
- Warlock
- Attack
- Ranged spell attack
Eldritch Blast is the cantrip a warlock builds a whole character around
At the table. One ranged spell attack, 1d10 Force damage, 120 feet. On its own that matches Fire Bolt. The difference arrives at level 5: Eldritch Blast becomes two beams with separate attack rolls, where Fire Bolt becomes one attack for 2d10. Level 11 gives three beams, level 17 four.
The real engine is the Agonizing Blast invocation (Warlock level 2+), which adds your Charisma modifier to each beam's damage. Assume a level 5 warlock with Charisma 18 (+7 to hit) against AC 15. Each beam hits 65% of the time.
| Level 5, AC 15 | Expected damage per turn |
|---|---|
| Fire Bolt, one 2d10 attack | 7.7 |
| Eldritch Blast, two beams | 7.7 |
| Eldritch Blast + Agonizing Blast | 12.9 |
Without the invocation the two cantrips tie. With it, Eldritch Blast pulls well ahead, and the gap grows: 20.8 a turn at level 11, 31.5 at level 17 (Charisma +4, crits counted).
The choice that matters is splitting beams. Each beam is its own attack, so after the first one drops a goblin, the second can pick a new target. Two beams also smooth your luck: at least one hits 88% of the time.
The common mistake is taking Agonizing Blast late. It is the single biggest damage boost a warlock gets at level 2. Pick it first unless the character has a reason not to.
The human angle. Warlocks cast this every turn, and players never seem to tire of it. Norton, Mochon and Ariely found that people value things they helped build far more than identical things they did not: the IKEA effect. A warlock's blast is assembled piece by piece, one invocation at a time, and by level 5 it is theirs. Name the colour of the beam. It matters more than it sounds.
Source: Norton, M. I., Mochon, D., & Ariely, D. (2012). The IKEA effect: When labor leads to love. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(3), 453–460. doi:10.1016/j.jcps.2011.08.002
Eldritch Blast damage by level
| Character level | Dice | Average | Range | Critical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1–4 | 5.5 | 1–10 | 11 |
The odds of 1d10
| Total | Chance |
|---|---|
| 3 or more | 80% |
| 6 or more | 50% |
| 8 or more | 30% |
| 9 or more | 20% |
Rules text
You hurl a beam of crackling energy. Make a ranged spell attack against one creature or object in range. On a hit, the target takes Force damage.
Cantrip Upgrade. The spell creates two beams at level 5, three beams at level 11, and four beams at level 17. You can direct the beams at the same target or at different ones. Make a separate attack roll for each beam.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The averages, odds and tables are ours.