Prerequisite: Eldritch Blast cantrip
When you hit a creature with eldritch blast, you can push the creature up to 10 feet away from you in a straight line.
Repelling Blast: Social Distancing
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
Empowering Eldritch Blast is something a lot of warlock players stick to. It's their go-to character build, the easy route to making a character that feels really good at doing one thing. Repelling Blast compares favorably against all of the given options outside Agonizing Blast; if you’re going to spend your invocations empowering a single cantrip, and already have Agonizing Blast, Repelling Blast scales superbly well in the upper tiers, loves the cheesy sorcerer builds that want to Quicken Spell Eldritch Blast, and add some utility that will change up how you play (slightly).
The crux of Repelling Blast is it gives you a no save 10 ft. shove on every Eldritch Blast. Unlike the pull you get with Grasp of Hadar or the slowing effect you get with Lance of Lethargy, Repelling Blast affects each and every blast of energy fired. With four blasts, you can shove something you hit four times 40 feet back. That’s a HUGE distance to move, mitigating most creatures' entire movement, no save allowed. Before 5th level, it's a 10 ft. shove. To disengage with it, you’re probably making the attack roll with disadvantage (as its ranged attack roll likely against a creature within 5 feet of you), but it still offers up a damaging disengage action that will force a creature to dash, which can be valuable. Past 5th level, you get more attempts to disengage, and can start playing around with damaging areas and forcing creatures reliably into them over and over, which can be a rewarding play style to mess around with.
Juicing Repelling Blast to its fullest will usually involve Quicken Spelling your Eldritch Blasts to double the quantity of blasts you’re firing out, and doubling the shoves given. Against two or three creatures, an Eldritch Blast warlock/sorcerer multiclass can feel like an endless gale of eldritch energy, eviscerating them before they can get in range as they’re constantly blown back by the bolts. It is a fairly unique play style, too, as there aren’t a lot of other ways in the game to get this reliably of a shove so frequently.
Repelling Blast is definitely my favorite of the Eldritch Blast invocations. You probably don’t want it until you’re making at least two or more blasts a turn, but post 5th level this is an easy pickup. Repelling Blast is 2nd and only other invocation I think I’d consider on a dedicated Eldritch Blast character. Give it a shot if that’s your character’s goal.
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