Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons Shows Off New Gameplay

Wizards of the Coast just unveiled a brand-new gameplay trailer for its highly anticipated action-adventure RPG, Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons. During the opening hour of Gamescom 2026, we finally got nearly nine minutes of gameplay, giving us a closer look at protagonist Kaatri, her mysterious patron, and the powerful magic players will wield throughout the game.

Magic Has a Cost

During Gamescom, we got our first extended look at Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons, and the new trailer offers a much better idea of how its combat and magic systems will work. While the footage gives us a few glimpses into Kaatri’s story and the origins of her powers, most of the trailer focuses on gameplay, showcasing a mixture of melee combat and devastating spells.

One of the first things that stood out is how spellcasting works in Warlock. Rather than relying on traditional spell slots that require players to rest before they can recharge them, the footage suggests that players can restore spell charges by landing killing blows. This could make combat much more aggressive, rewarding players who actively use their magic instead of saving every spell for the next encounter.

The trailer also showcased some surprisingly powerful environmental interactions. At one point, Kaatri performs a ritual that changes the weather and causes rain to soak the surrounding area and enemies, thus making lightning spells become significantly more potent for a short period. This ultimately shows that players can combine their abilities in other ways to interact with the environment.

There is also plenty of melee combat on display, although it currently looks fairly bare-bones compared to the game’s magic system. It’s worth remembering that this footage comes from a very early build of Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons, so there’s still plenty of time for the combat to be refined and expanded before launch.

Still, the combination of spellcasting, melee combat, and environmental manipulation already makes Warlock look like it could offer more depth than simply spamming Eldritch Blast at everything that moves. If Wizards of the Coast can build on these systems, Kaatri’s journey could deliver a surprisingly flexible take on the Dungeons & Dragons universe.