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The Warlock is a relative newcomer to RPGs, but World of Warcraft has had this class since the beginning. It's been almost two decades since the launch of the original MMO, and the class has gone through a lot of changes in that period.
In the most recent WoW expansion, Dragonflight, the Warlock has returned. There have been a few tweaks and improvements since Shadowlands, along with some dramatic changes to spells, talent trees, and demonic abilities. It's still one of the best classes to level, which is a long and proud Warlock tradition, and those that choose the Demonology spec are some of the game's most effective endgame casting classes.
Why Demonology?
- It's all about the demons and not only the company they lend but the powers they grant. All Warlocks have some access to the demons as pets, but this is the Demonologist's specialty, and they can summon an array of demons to fight for them either as companions or as destructive spells.
- Using demons and their related abilities in the most efficient way possible is one of the greatest challenges of this specification. It's ideal for damaging single targets and has some decent area-of-effect abilities.
- The one downside is that the Demonology Warlock is highly dependent on their pets in most situations. It takes some time to build up your power with this spec, but it's brutal when you do, so cast early and cast often.
All Warlocks need Soul Shards, either to cast certain spells, use Soul Stones, or summon certain pets. The Demonology Warlock generates Soul Shards by casting Shadow Bolt.
They appear under your character name and health bar. You can have a maximum of five at a time.
The Demons
All Warlocks have access to demons, and part of the whole point of being a Demonologist is being able to command a larger variety of demons that are also more powerful than those of your peers. Your demons will also have extra abilities from the Talent Tree that other specs do not.
Some of the demons, such as the Felguard and the Imp, can be summoned as both parts of a temporary spell and as a companion that also follows you.
These aren't the same demons, and you can have both of them active at the same time while in combat. Finding the best combination is the key to organizing your minions and the damage they deal.
Companions
The Demonologist has access to demons summoned as part of a spell and dismissed automatically after a set amount of time in addition to their companions. Some of these spells are part of the Warlock's common spellbook, while others are granted by spending talent points in the Demonology Talent Tree.
|
Demon |
Signature Ability |
Best Used For |
|
Felhunter |
Spell Lock |
Ideal for fighting magic users. |
|
Imp |
Fire Bolt |
Ranged DPS |
|
Felguard |
Felstorm |
Melee damage, some tanking ability. |
|
Sayad |
Seduction |
Crowd control when fighting humanoids. |
|
Inquisitor's Eye |
Shadowflame |
AoE damage |
|
Demonic Tyrant |
Rune of Alacrity |
Grants a Haste buff to all allies within the rune's AoE. |
Best Racial Traits
A total of 14 races have the Warlock class open to them, and some are better than others. The following suggestions have racial traits that are beneficial to Warlocks.
|
Race |
Racial Passive Name |
Racial Passive Effect |
|
Undead |
Will of The Forsaken |
Instant cast. Provides immunity to Charm, Sleep, or Fear Spells. |
|
Worgen |
Viciousness |
Increases your Critical Strike chance. |
|
Blood Elf |
Arcane Acuity |
Increases Critical Strike chance. |
|
Gnome |
Expansive Mind |
Increases Intelligence by 5%. |
|
Troll |
Berserking |
Increases Haste for a short time. |
Warlock Talent Trees
Another handy feature, especially for new or returning players, is the Starter Build option that can be found in the bottom left of your Talent Tree screen.
This suggests a basic, no-nonsense build, and recommends where to place your Talent Points every time you level. You can deviate from it at any time if you're feeling creative.
The new Talent Trees in WoW make customization a high priority, and there's a lot you can experiment with as you level. For those that are new to the process, this is a basic mid-level build that is equally effective in both dungeons and PvE as your character levels. It's focused on abilities that are specific to the Demonology build, and in this case, that means more demons.
Main Warlock Talent Tree
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There are core abilities that every Warlock needs to prioritize, along with some that are better for those of the Demonology persuasion.
The above tree is a standard example of how a completed Main Warlock Talent Tree will look once your Demonologist reaches level 80. This one is intended to optimize your effectiveness in high-level dungeons and raids. It builds on the previous leveling tree but with detailed additions.
The Demonology Raid Talent Tree
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There are several interesting activities for Warlocks that have reached level 80, and you customize your Talent Tree based on those choices. Both of the examples use the basic Demonology leveling build as scaffolding and build from there.
This raid build is designed for max-level dungeons and raids and focuses on the damage the Demonologist Warlock can do with AoE damage and the Cleave ability. It focuses on the Felguard, which is the most powerful demon when it comes to melee damage.
The Mythic Plus Tree
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Designed and intended for Demonology Warlocks that want to experience Mythic+ dungeons, this is known as the Guillotine M+ build. It's named after the fearsome special ability that's awarded at the very bottom of the tree. This build uses many of the same features and abilities as the AoE and Cleave build, but takes it to the next level for the increased difficulty level of Mythic+.
On the bottom center of your Specialization screen, next to the "Apply Changes" button, there's a red circle with a slash through it. Hover your mouse over this for the option to reset all of your specifications at any time. You can also change individual talents that have already been chosen by right-clicking on them.
Spell Rotation
The most important spells to keep in mind when leveling are Corruption and Shadowbolt. The former is a damage-over-time (DoT) spell, and the latter is used to charge your Soul Shards, which you need to power your casting and summon demons.
Every Warlock has passive abilities like Soul Leech and Demonic Core. These abilities are inherent and don't appear in the Talent Trees, but you can find them in your Spell Book. They are the source of power for the Warlock's most devastating abilities.
Solo Leveling
The Voidwalker and the Felguard make the best companion demons for leveling, but bear in mind your demons have a myriad of abilities, and many are situational. This rotation assumes you're starting with five soul shards, are still in the process of leveling, and don't have access to certain demons or spells yet.
When your Demonic Core charges and you can cast Demonbolt instantly, always do so.
|
Sequence |
Spell or Ability |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
An instant cast that slows your enemy down. |
|
|
2. |
Uses shadow to damage the target, lasts 13 seconds. |
|
|
3. |
These will attack the target for 12 seconds, after which they will fade and charge Demonic Core. |
|
|
4. |
Summons Wild Imps to your side for extra DPS. |
|
|
5. |
Sends a bolt of Shadow damage at the enemy and charges your soul shards. Repeat until Curse of Weakness and Corruption tick down. |
|
|
6. |
Time permitting, to recharge your shards. |
You can finish by using Implosion to send your imps into the fray and blowing them up if anything is still standing at this point.
Dungeons And Raids
That Voidwalker might be great when questing in the wilderness, but in a raid or dungeon, pulling aggro away from the tank is a bad idea. Corruption, used extensively in PvE, is much less important in dungeons for Demonology Warlocks.
Instead, your spell rotation focuses on getting as many demons on the battlefield at the same as possible. You'll coordinate with your fellow Warlocks and raid leaders as to what curse should be used and why.
|
Spell or Ability |
Description |
|
Wild Imps for DPS and AoE damage, also can be sacrificed. |
|
|
Sacrifice Wild Imps for a power boost. |
|
|
Send this demon in for melee damage. |
|
|
A ranged AoE ability your companion Felguard can use. |
|
|
Summons more demons and strengthens those you have. |
|
|
Recharges your soul shards. |
|
|
Also recharges soul shards but can be powered by Demonic Core for the instant cast. |
|
|
Another demon for AoE damage. |
|
|
Two more demons for more melee damage and to recharge Demonic Core. |
|
|
Send your Imps into the center of the fray for AoE damage. |
Macros
As tradition seems to imply, the most popular Warlock macros focus on the use of Soulstones. Cut and paste the following command so you can cast a soulstone on a raid member just by moving your mouse over their portrait.
#showtooltip Soulstone
/cast [target=mouseover,exists] [] Soulstone
For a more Demonology-focused macro, this one casts Power Siphon to sacrifice an imp and cast another demon.
/use Power Siphon
/use Summon Petname
Stat Priority
Intellect. Increases your spell power and damage.
Haste. Improves attack speed, including casting.
Mastery. Your demons do more damage the higher this stat.
Versatility. You avoid more damage and deal more damage.
Gems
Haste is important, so make sure you have at least one Fierce Illuminated Diamond, or more than one if you can afford it. Another ideal choice is the Quick Ysemerald.
There are a lot of choices for gems, and anything that improves Intellect should be your first choice, and the second choice would be anything that includes Mastery or spell power.
Enchants
A Seal of Critical Strike is a handy enchant for a ring that increases the power of your spells. It can be applied at any point during the leveling process.
Intellect is always important. An example of a weapon enchant is Machinists' Brilliance, an Enchantment from Zandalar, which increases the Intellect buff on a weapon by 18.
Demonology Warlock Gear
As you level, prioritize any gear that improves your Intellect or Haste. Tailors have a distinct advantage here, and most Warlocks take up said profession so they can craft their own gear.
If you're hoping to raid or experience Mythic+ dungeons, the following lists the ideal gear.