Warlock builds / Level 70 This is a page of old builds that were used at level 70 . Most of them are now non - functional due to talent changes , but are here for posterity . What builds are good for . . . ? Arena . The premier arena build for warlocks is generally considered to be Soul Link / Siphon Life for its survivability , instant cast DoTs and powerful life draining . Heavy affliction builds like Unstable Affliction / Shadowburn can also be effective due to the fact that they use many instant casts , allowing the warlock to stay mobile , powerful life draining and also include Unstable Affliction for use against dispelling classes . Battlegrounds . The survivability offered by the arena builds also works in battlegrounds , and there are also several destruction builds based on offloading damage as quickly as possible that are also viable . Raiding . Affliction builds such as Unstable Affliction / Destructive Reach are good starter builds for new raiders as they are less dependent on gear for their damage . Once a certain gear level has been reached the Demonic Sacrifice / Shadow and Flame build becomes the highest damage raiding spec . The two most used Demonology raiding specs are variants of a Felguard raiding build and Demonic Tactics / Ruin , the second of which is especially useful for warlock resistance tanking fights . Farming . As with leveling , various affliction builds and Felguard leveling builds remain the most effective specs for grinding gold and materials at 70 due to their lower down time . The arena builds are also competitive due to their survivability allowing them to engage and DoT or AoE several enemies at once and outlast them until they die . Affliction Builds . The DoT s Curse of Agony and Corruption are some of the most mana - effective spells available for the Warlock . That is , the amount of damage per mana is higher compared to Direct Damage spells like Shadow Bolt . The Affliction talent tree can improve on these even more . There are problems using DoTs in parties and raids . There is a risk that the mob is killed before the completion of a DoT . This is especially bad for Curse of Agony , that causes more of its damage near the end of its duration . If this happens , then mana and time will be wasted . Curse of Elements is often used instead to avoid this problem for Curse of Agony , though it still applies for other dots . Unstable Affliction / Shadowburn 45 / 5 / 11 . Talent Calculator Link This build goes to the end of the affliction tree to get another DoT ( Unstable Affliction ) which does a large amount of instant damage if dispelled and silences the dispeller . It also has 11 points in Destruction to get Shadowburn and 5 points in Demonology for Demonic Embrace . Notes : Contagion / Demonic Sacrifice ( SM / DS with Contagion ) 40 / 21 / 0 . Talent Calculator Link This build mainly leaves out Unstable Affliction to get Demonic Sacrifice . It combines heavy DoT damage with the main benefits from the Demonology tree , including DS , which offers a lot of flexibility . In general , sacrificing the Succubus for extra damage or the Voidwalker for extra health regeneration is preferred . The major downsides of this build are the losses of the minion and of two Affliction ultimates , namely Dark Pact and Unstable Affliction . Whereas the former spell can be partly replaced by a sacrificed Felhunter or Voidwalker ( at the cost of another sacrifice ) , the latter has no viable substitution ( neither as an additional DoT nor as a powerful weapon against dispelling classes ) . Dark Pact / Ruin ( SM / Ruin with DP ) 40 / 0 / 21 . Talent Calculator Link This build enhances the SM / Ruin - build with Affliction talents , mainly to improve Shadow Bolt ' s damage potential and DoTs . It is a very potent instance / raiding spec until later in the game when the duration of boss fights exceeds 1 - 2 minutes . Then , Unstable Affliction clearly outnumbers Ruin . Ultimately at T5 / 6 gear level , 0 / 21 / 40 is the most devastating spec . The build offers excellent survivability paired with high damage output . In contrast to heavy destruction builds mana is rarely an issue . While there are many different tastes of SM / Ruin w / DP the following elaborates a specific build in more detail trying to make the choice of talents comprehensible . Focus will be on the affliction talents as choice of talents in the destruction tree is comparatively straight forward . Shadowburn adds instant burst damage , thus addressing the greatest downside of affliction builds . Talents Variations : Dark Pact / Emberstorm ( Natural Evolution of SM / Ruin ) 31 / 0 / 30 . This SM / Ruin - build focuses on the Destruction tree to give the Warlock more flexibility with the two schools . Talent Calculator Link Affliction / Demonology build 42 / 19 / 0 . This build combines mana - efficiency with DPS . The curse of choice is Curse of Elements so Malediction is taken . Curse of Agony is unlikely to be used in raids or soloing so is given 0 points . Improved Drain Soul is taken for the threat reduction effect . Improved Imp is taken for the 30 % increase to Blood Pact . In the soloing build maximum points are placed in Fel Concentration to allow drain tanking , which are left out of the raiding build . Instead these points are placed in Shadow Embrace to give a raid buff . Improved Howl of Terror is taken for the soloing build , but these points are moved to Suppression for the raiding variant . Grim Reach could be a worthy addition to this build , but will require the warlock to move within 30 yards to take advantage of Nightfall procs . It is also difficult to find a place from which to take 2 points . Improved Healthstones , Fel Intellect , Fel Stamina or Improved Life Tap are probably the best possibilities . In raids this build lacks any talents in shadow bolts , instead relying on boosted Drain Life to deal direct damage between refreshing DoTs . Even fully talented Drain Life is lower DPS than moderately talented shadow bolt or incinerate , so this build ' s damage is unlikely to match that of Unstable Affliction / Destructive Reach . In return it contributes Improved Blood Pact and considerably more stamina via the low level demonology talents , greatly increasing survivability . The place where this build really shines is as a solo farming build . The combination of high stamina , Dark Pact , Improved Life Tap and powerful Drain Life will allow a warlock to grind with very few breaks to eat and drink . Unstable Affliction / Destructive Reach raid build 44 / 0 / 17 . This build a key warlock raiding build , and provides many important raid synergy effects , while providing decent damage to new warlocks . Points should be moved from Fel Concentration and Improved Curse of Agony to Suppression to bridge the spell hit rating cap , if one should exist . Malediction provides much - needed damage boost to Curse of the Elements . Shadow Embrace reduces damage done by the debuffed target and helps reduce the healing required on the main tank . Curse of Exhaustion helps the warlock kite which is useful in certain situations , such as Vashj ' s Coilfang Strider adds . This build excels for warlocks new to raiding . Affliction offers several raid buffs such as Shadow Embrace and Malediction , and your demon is not sacrificed or used for DPS , allowing you to keep an Imp out for Blood Pact . All of these will make you popular even when joining raids with those better geared than you . Much of the damage is done by DoTs , which have excellent mana efficiency . Suppression is available to make up for the lack of spell hit that most warlocks have before they obtain raid gear , making sure your DoTs land consistently . Between refreshing DoTs you have the talents to throw strong shadowbolts , each of which may apply Improved Shadow Bolt , further improving your DoT damage . SM / Sacrifice 30 / 21 / 10 . This is a DPS raiding build that is a cross between heavy affliction and 0 / 21 / 40 sac destro . It is generally NOT recommended for raid DPS because 42 / 0 / 19 variants and 0 / 21 / 40 are both generally considered superior in raid environments , but is here for completeness because it is an often discussed build . Talent Calculator Link Because your demon is sacrificed , progression through affliction stops before Dark Pact but 5 / 5 Shadow Mastery is obtained for DPS . Improved Shadow Bolt and Bane are taken to give punch to your shadow bolts . A succubus is sacrificed for an additional + 15 % shadow damage . Demonic Aegis is also picked up for some extra spell damage from Fel Armor . As with other sacrifice builds , talents can be shuffled around the demonology tree between master summoner , healthstones , improved imp , voidwalker and succubus and others as desired . The main criticisms are that while Demonic Embrace is taken , your demon is sacrificed so you do not benefit from Blood Pact which is offered by an affliction build so survivability is not significantly increased . It lacks the raid utility of an affliction build by not having a demon available and not having Malediction or enough affliction points spare for Shadows Embrace . It relies on shadow bolts as its main source of DPS , but lacks the big improvements of Devastation and Ruin offered by 0 / 21 / 40 . Finally , the major attraction in the affliction tree , which is the Shadow Mastery talent , is matched and often surpassed by the Shadow and Flame talent taken by 0 / 21 / 40 at the kind of gear level where most warlocks start looking to move away from affliction raid support . Demonology Builds . The Demonology talent tree and the use of summoned demons are what mainly distinguishes a Warlock from a Mage . Felguard Raiding Build ( 7 / 43 / 11 ) . Talent Calculator Link Pros : Cons : Having a Felguard raiding spec require you to keep track on your Felguard ' s positioning , abilities and health . One of the major drawbacks for this spec is keeping your Felguard healed with Health Funnel , if the minion is used as an off - tank . Using the provides much - needed survivability for your Felguard , and the two - piece bonus of Corruptor Raiment greatly helps reduce the active healing the he requires . Having a shadow priest with Vampiric Embrace in the group also provides passive healing . Buffs on your Felguard that increase his stamina and intellect , providing you with 15 % per point spelldamage increase as per Demonic Knowledge . Therefore it is doubly important that he does not die , as he will lose all buffs on death . It is possible re - summon him , at full or almost - full health and perserve the buffs . The Fel Domination and Master Summoner talents reduce this downtime to half a second , as well as one additional second of Global Cooldown . This spec is highly effective for tanking Leotheras ' Demon Form , Grand Astromancer Capernian in Kael ' Thas ' fight , blue beam tanking at netherspite , and several other mobs with spell - based attacks . Felguard Pure - Raiding Build ( 0 / 44 / 17 ) . Talent Calculator Link This build is to maximize damage in 25 man raids but requires a lot of micro - management and understanding of all fights , even trash pulls . Talents that appear in the above spec but were not taken for this spec , like Mana Feed and Shadowburn , were not taken because they aren ' t needed for 25 man content since Cleave and Anguish will be off most of the time and Shadowburn is generally only for 0 / 21 / 40 raid builds . Since Shadow Bolt are the main source of damage , Devastation is crucial for the increased crit and Destructive Reach helps from hitting the Threat Cap too soon . This spec has high gear requirements and using it without at least 2 pieces of Tier 5 is generally inadvisable , the is also highly recommended to help minimize damage to your Felguard from AoE effects from bosses like Void Reaver . Felguard Leveling Build ( 7 / 41 / 11 ) . This spec is focused on three things : Talent Calculator Link The general strategy is to send the Felguard in , and while you have mana , Shadowbolt or Immolate . Once you are out of mana , Life Tap to full and Drain Life . Grinding mobs becomes a cycle of fast kills followed by much slower kills . Corruption and CoA are generally avoided when soloing with this build because a lot of the DoT ticks will never have a chance to hit the already dead mobs . If you find that you ' re wasting mana with Corruption , you may want to put the first 5 points in the Affliction tree towards Suppression instead . Demonic Tactics / Ruin ( MD / Ruin with DT ) ( 0 / 40 / 21 ) . This spec would provide the basic beneficial survivability and stat boosting abilities from demonology , while getting bonus crit damage from destruction . Talent Calculator Link The ideas behind this talent specification are : Voidwalker / Felguard ( 20 / 41 / 0 ) . These builds are for demonology / affliction based PvE leveling and soloing . The combination of a buffed pet and Improved Drain Soul greatly reduces the chance to pull aggro from your minion . Drain Life becomes viable for damage and health / mana regen at lvl 30 , and using your minion as a strong tank leaves plenty of life left to tap . Lay down DoTs , Drain Life or Shadow Bolt spam ( mana efficiency vs . DPS ) till mob is almost dead , then Drain Soul ( rank 1 ) at last second for 15 % mana regen . Life Tap between fights . This maintains mana with high survivability and good DPS . As a bonus , you will have plenty of souls and enough mana for the occasional shadow bolt spam . A re - spec is recommended while leveling because Voidwalker and Felguard benefit from a few different talents . Since the demonology tree is very defense - heavy until the upper tiers ( soul link , demonic knowledge , master demonologist ) , affliction talents are used before the Felguard becomes available . Start with Improved Corruption and Improved Drain Soul . Second , fill demonology down to Improved Voidwalker . Finally , increase your DPS with the affliction tree until you reach level 50 - 55 , when you can re - spec to the Felguard based build . This will noticeably increase your DPS , while building up your mana / life regen on the road to 70 . Misc Builds : ( instant dots and the area effect corruption nukes hit 2500 + each target ) SL / SL ( Soul Link and Siphon Life ) ( 21 + / 31 + / 0 ) . Talent Calculator Link This build combines the survivability provided by the Demonology tree and the health regaining abilities from the Affliction tree . It particularly shines in solo and small - scale PvP , where it normally allows to " tank " enemies by constantly draining their life . The negative aspects are its susceptibility to dispel effects and the relatively low damage output , compared to pure damage builds . Notes : Drain Tank / Felguard ( 20 / 41 / 0 ) . Talent Calculator Link This is a good all around build , suitable for farming and 5 - man instances , but it especially shines in PvP . It combines all the benefits of the Demonology tree with extra power to your Drain Life and Corruption spells . Improved Life Tap and Drain Life help reduce downtime for you , while Mana Feed helps your Felguard to regain mana at the same time . Between these and Health Funnel , it is very easy to keep both you and your pet up and running at all times , especially if you ' re farming for extended periods . If mobs or your opponents attack you instead of your Felguard , you can drain tank them quite well , although in PvP Fear then Drain Life , Shadow Bolt , or Incinerate ( in addition to Corruption , Immolate , and a curse of course ) is preferable . The downside of this build is that your affliction spells don ' t provide as much DPS as in most affliction - heavy builds . However , the Felguard is incredibly useful in just about any situation and provides great DPS . Moreover , the affliction talents geared towards drain tanking , together with the damage mitigation benefits of the Demonology tree , offer incredible survivability . Also , if you have enough health and aren ' t under attack , spamming Shadow Bolt or Incinerate ( better than Shadow Bolt if Immolate is active ) instead of using Drain Life can improve your DPS significantly as long as you have decent + Spell Damage gear . Void Walker OT Build This build has not been tested . It gives the voidwalker abilities to tank elite mobs in Raids . USE THIS BUILD UNDER YOUR OWN RISK . http : / / www . wowhead . com / ? talent = Iydb0RcoZ0gI0IVzces Destruction Builds . DS / S & F ( 0 / 21 / 40 ) . This is a key heavy damage raid spec . Depending on the members of your raid you may want to make your build either shadow or fire . If you raid with a lot of fire Mages ( Improved Scorch ) then you may want to use the Fire DS / S & F raid spec , but if you raid with shadow priests ( Shadow Weaving ) then you may want to use the Shadow DS / S & F raiding build . The fire build should sacrifice an Imp for bonus fire damage , while the shadow build should sacrifice a succubus for bonus shadow damage . The spec excels at raiding , whereas it is not particularly viable in PvP due to its huge mana consumption and restriction on character movement . As for solo PvE , it is best to sacrifice a void walker instead for health regeneration buff and life tap after each kill . Variations : Alternative PvP Spec Shadow or Fire : This is a hotly debated subject among end - game raiding warlocks . The damage done by the two specs is very similar , with fire often producing marginally higher personal DPS , however , the shadow warlock ' s Improved Shadow Bolt is a powerful raid buff that boosts shadow priest and other shadow - based warlocks ' damage considerably . The fire spec has no corresponding buff for fire mages and warlocks . Hence raid composition has a great effect on which spec is best for a given situation . Soloing : Sacrificing a Voidwalker or Felhunter for health or mana regen is often suggested for solo grinding with this spec to offset its high mana consumption . The ability to summon a demon in 0 . 5 seconds with Fel Domination means that before engaging a tough enemy a voidwalker can be summoned , sacrificed for a strong personal shield , and then another pet summoned and sacrificed for the DPS buff . Heavy Destruction ( Heavy Destruction 2 . 0 . 1 ) ( - - / - - / 41 + ) . This spec has many of the benefits that a 0 / 21 / 40 spec has , but lacking in solid damage output . The only major difference is Shadowfury , which could be very useful in certain situations where aoe is necessary , and in pvp . If you are committing this many talents into this build , its hard to justify putting the rest of the talents in affliction , as corruption will not be used very often , except on longer fights , trash mobs will go down too fast to make it practical without your damage focused on it like an affliction lock would , and the only reason would be improved Life Tap ( although very nice to have ) . And also you will lack the talents to gain anything useful from Demonology , although healthstones are benefitial to everyone ( and a player can have up to 3 healthstones in their inventory ) and bonus stamina , health , mana , and the talents in Demonic Aegis are well worth getting . Imp LT / Aegis / Shadowfury ( 7 / 13 / 41 ) . This build drops Demonic Sacrifice from the classic DS / SnF build and uses the point to pick up Shadowfury . Points are then reinvested from the more lackluster Demonology talents into Affliction to get Improved Life Tap , picking up instant Corruption along the way . The raw damage will not match up to DS / SnF , but the addition of Shadowfury and the ability to keep a demon summoned gives a great deal more utility . The addition of Improved Life Tap gives this build better efficiency than DS / SnF before needing a heal . A variation on the shadow build is to take 4 points from Cataclysm and move them to Improved Immolate , then take a point from Nether Protection , Backlash or Soul Leech to obtain Conflagrate to give an additional instant cast direct damage spell . Nightfall / Shadowfury ( NF / Conf with Shadowfury ) ( 18 / 0 / 43 ) . Talent Calculator Link This build drops all demonology talents to progress in the affliction tree to Nightfall , arguably giving higher damage than 7 / 13 / 41 as Nightfall is generally considered better than Demonic Aegis . This decision only really makes sense with a shadow build due to Nightfall proccing to cast a shadowbolt only . The addition of Grim Reach allows better meshing of affliction and destruction spells , due to them both having the same range again . The addition of Soul Siphon and Fel Concentration allows the warlock to better drain life back from enemies when mana becomes scarce - this goes some way to offset the loss of stamina given by the low level demonology talents . More points can be moved from the destruction tree into the affliction tree to enhance the affliction aspects of this build , such as completing Fel Concentration and Improved Drain Soul . A build - changing decision is even to drop Shadowfury and instead take Siphon Life , to further increase longevity in long fights . Another variation is to take 4 points from Cataclysm and move them to Improved Immolate , then take a point from Grim Reach , Backlash or Soul Leech to obtain Conflagrate , to give an additional instant cast direct damage spell . There is also with a few minor adjustments this with more emphasis on dot damage . Firelock PvP Build ( 7 / 7 / 47 ) . Talent Calculator Link This build is similar to the Fire LT / Aegis / Shadowfury build , but drops Demonic Aegis and Improved Blood Pact ( and / or Improved Healthstones if preferred ) from the demonology tree to obtain the Nether Protection and Soul Leech talents . PvP Only - Shadow ( 28 / 0 / 33 ) . Talent Calculator Link This build sacrifices the Shadow and Flame talent to pick up as many points in Shadow Mastery as possible without losing Backlash . It is intended entirely for PvP . It is designed around using the stopping power of shadow bolts when possible , and the drain tanking aspects of the affliction tree when not , while using the synergy between the trees of the Nightfall talent . Includes : Combine this with : This build does only one damage type , shadow , so is weak against any player with a lot of shadow resistance . Therefore some spell penetration from gear is recommended .