Demonology Warlock — guide and builds

Overview

Demonic Pact, the new final talent, changes everything: summoning another demon no longer cancels your Demonic Sacrifice. You can sacrifice one demon and fight with another. By combining Demonic Sacrifice, Master Demonologist and Soul Link, you gain about 30% damage in one school: sacrifice the Imp and fight with the Succubus for Shadow, or the reverse for Fire.

Demonic Sacrifice now lasts 2 hours, and its bonuses were swapped: the Imp empowers Shadow, the Succubus Fire, the Felhunter health regeneration and the Voidwalker mana regeneration. Decimation cuts the cooldown of Soul Fire by 90%; after a Shadow Bolt or a Searing Pain on a target below 35%, Soul Fire casts faster and costs no shard. Demonic Brand turns Searing Pain into a brand that empowers your pet’s attacks, which could make the Voidwalker a tank, to be confirmed.

On paper, it is the spec with the best single-target damage, with damage that climbs at the end of fights. Soul Link and Demonic Embrace give you about 64% more effective health: strong for leveling and PvP alike. At level 20 on the beta, it leads the Warlocks in tier B among DPS.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Best single-target potential
On paper, the spec that hits hardest on a single target.
Fight endings
Decimation boosts your execute damage.
Very high survivability
Soul Link and Demonic Embrace: about 64% more effective health.

Weaknesses

Very pet dependent
A dead or badly placed demon costs you a lot of damage.

Read the details

Your single-target potential is the best of the class, Decimation boosts your fight endings, and you survive almost anything.

On the other hand, everything depends on your pet: a demon killed by area damage or badly placed costs you a lot of damage.

Key spells

Shadow Bolt
Destruction · level 1
Soul Fire
Destruction · level 48
Searing Pain
Destruction · level 18
Corruption
Affliction · level 4
Bane of Agony
Affliction · level 8
Immolate
Destruction · level 1
Demonic Sacrifice
Demonology · level 20
Soul Link
Demonology · level 40
Summon Succubus
Demonology · level 20
Summon Imp
Demonology · level 1
Summon Voidwalker
Demonology · level 10
Health Funnel
Demonology · level 12

Key talents

Unholy Power
+10% damage for your demons, now much higher in the tree.
Demonic Embrace
+15% Stamina. Demonic Aegis: Demon Skin and Demon Armor 30% stronger.
Fel Vitality
More health and mana for your demon, and more mana for you.
Demonic Energies
Your spells heal your demon.
Demonic Sacrifice, Decimation and Demonic Brand.
Improved Felhunter, Soul Link and Demonic Knowledge.
Master Demonologist, then Demonic Pact at the bottom of the tree.

Rotation and priorities

At level 20:

Priority 1: Summon Succubus
Send your Succubus in first.
Priority 2: Bane of Agony
First, for its low upfront threat.
Priority 3: Corruption
Next, then Immolate last.
Priority 4: Shoot
Your wand as filler.
When: At level 20
Priority 5: Corruption
Keep your damage-over-time effects rolling.
When: Later
Priority 6: Searing Pain
To keep Demonic Brand on the main target.
When: Later
Priority 7: Shadow Bolt
As your filler.
When: Later
Priority 8: Soul Fire
As soon as Decimation is active.
When: Later

Later: keep your damage-over-time effects rolling, Searing Pain to keep Demonic Brand on the main target, Shadow Bolt as filler, and Soul Fire as soon as Decimation is active.

Stats

1Spell power
then 2Spell hit
then 3Haste

3 Haste: For Soul Fire.

Order to be confirmed: the exact priority is not settled yet.

No list is established. Aim for spell power and hit, and haste for Soul Fire. The order is still to be confirmed.

Leveling

The level 20 build is to be confirmed: the advice lists Unholy Power and Suppression first, but the build shown reuses the Affliction one, Improved Corruption 5/5 and Suppression 4/5. The remaining points depend on your playstyle. With Legacy points, a pure Demonology build: Unholy Power 5/5, Fel Vitality 3/3, Demonic Energies 2/2 and Improved Sayaad 2/3. Demonic Sacrifice is probably not worth losing your pet’s damage at this level.

Buy your wands, keep two Soul Shards for your summons, and put a soulstone on your healer. Portal of Summoning, a new spell, lets 2 group members summon a third.