Affliction Warlock PvE guide: level 60 Drain Hope and damage over time raid build

Overview

Level 60 · Affliction Warlock · DPS in dungeons and raids.

Affliction was a support spec in Classic raids, because debuff slots were scarce and damage over time did not crit. The WoW Forever Affliction tree changes that. Pandemic doubles the crit bonus of Corruption, Bane of Agony, Siphon Life, Drain Soul, Drain Life and Drain Hope, Malevolence adds Shadow crit, and the new capstone Drain Hope raises your other Shadow damage over time on its target by 10% while it channels. Curse of Agony and Curse of Doom are now Banes, a separate slot from Curses, so one warlock can run Bane of Agony and a raid Curse on the same boss. Demonic Sacrifice on the Imp adds 15% Shadow damage for two hours.

Your job in the group

You bring steady damage that keeps ticking through movement, plus the raid Curse your leader assigns: Curse of the Elements, Curse of Shadow or Curse of Recklessness, depending on who else is in the raid. Keep that Curse up first, then your own Bane and effects. Warlocks also own Soulstones and Healthstones, so hand those out before each boss, and keep Banish ready for demon or elemental adds in dungeons.

Why play it

• Damage while moving: once your damage over time effects are rolling, a phase that forces you to run costs less than for a caster that needs Shadow Bolt.
• Low threat: Suppression cuts all threat you generate, so Affliction can open hard on a fresh boss.
• Uses the new Bane and Curse split: Bane of Agony for damage plus the raid Curse the leader assigns.
• Drain Soul finisher: Improved Drains triples its bonus below 60% health, which fits long execute phases.

Weak points

• Debuff limits: if WoW Forever raids keep a cap on debuffs per target, some of your effects may be pushed off.
• Short fights and trash: damage over time needs time to pay off.
• Crit scaling is untested: Pandemic’s value depends on how often periodic effects crit in practice.
• Boss immunities: some bosses may ignore certain curses; watch your combat log.

Level 60 talent build

Affliction 40 / Demonology 11 / Destruction 0, all 51 points. The talent tree above shows the finished build.

Affliction (40)

• Suppression 5/5 — +5% hit on all spells and 20% less threat: the hit talent every Affliction build starts with.
• Improved Corruption 5/5 — Instant Corruption with 10% more damage.
• Malediction 5/5 — +5% periodic damage from all your warlock spells, which is most of this build’s damage.
• Improved Drains 3/3 — Drain Life and Drain Soul gain damage for each of your other Affliction effects on the target, tripled on Drain Soul below 60% health.
• Improved Bane of Agony 2/2 — +10% Bane of Agony damage.
• Pandemic 3/3 — Doubles the crit bonus of Corruption, Bane of Agony, Bane of Doom, the drains, Siphon Life and Drain Hope.
• Malevolence 5/5 — +5% Shadow crit chance, which Pandemic turns into real damage over time.
• Nightfall 2/2 — Corruption and the drains can proc Shadow Trance for an instant Shadow Bolt.
• Siphon Life 1/1 — Another Shadow effect on the target, more Improved Drains value and some self-healing.
• Soul Siphon 3/3 — Drain Life and Drain Soul deal damage 51% faster, at the cost of less Drain Life healing.
• Shadow Mastery 5/5 — +5% Shadow damage and life drained.
• Drain Hope 1/1 — A 6 sec channel that also makes your other Shadow damage over time on the target 10% stronger.

Demonology (11)

• Improved Health Funnel 2/2 — Cheaper, threat-free Health Funnel that works regardless of pet health, so a pet can be saved before you sacrifice it.
• Demonic Embrace 5/5 — +15% Stamina, which pays for Life Tap and raid damage.
• Fel Vitality 3/3 — +15% maximum mana for you and your demon.
• Demonic Sacrifice 1/1 — Sacrifice the Imp for +15% Shadow damage for 2 hours.

Rotation and priority

1. Before the pull: summon the Imp, then Demonic Sacrifice it. Keep a Healthstone and Soul Shards ready.
2. Apply your assigned raid Curse and Bane of Agony. They no longer share a slot in WoW Forever, so both can stay on the target.
3. Keep Corruption and Siphon Life up at all times; refresh them just before they fall off.
4. Channel Drain Hope when it is ready: while it runs, your other Shadow damage over time on the target is 10% stronger.
5. Fill with Shadow Bolt, and cast it right away when Nightfall grants Shadow Trance.
6. Below 60% boss health, Drain Soul becomes a much stronger filler through Improved Drains; compare it with Shadow Bolt in the beta.
7. Life Tap when mana runs low and let the healers know you will use it during quiet phases.

Resources

Warlocks trade health for mana with Life Tap, so your real resource is your health bar. Life Tap during low-damage phases and use a Healthstone or potion if a mechanic follows. Soul Shards come from Drain Soul kills on trash; keep enough for Healthstones and Soulstones before a raid. Eureka! (baseline, 2 min cooldown) halves the mana cost of your next 3 damaging spells and adds 10% damage: use it after reapplying all effects.

Stat priority

Spell hit first: a resisted Corruption or Bane is lost damage for its whole duration, and Suppression covers part of it. Then Shadow spell damage, which every effect in this build scales with, then spell crit, which matters far more than in Classic because Pandemic doubles periodic crit damage. Stamina has extra value because of Life Tap. Intellect and Spirit come last.

Gear and set bonuses

Demonheart Raiment is the Tier 1 warlock set in the datamine: +1% hit at 2 pieces, a 1.5 sec faster Banish at 3, up to 21 spell damage against Demons at 4, and 20% more mana from Life Tap at no extra health cost at 5. The pieces themselves are withheld, so their slots and stats are not known yet. For Affliction, the 2-piece hit and the 5-piece Life Tap bonus are the useful ones; the Banish bonus helps in dungeons and demon-heavy encounters.

Consumables and professions

• Shadow damage: Elixir of Shadow Power and Greater Arcane Elixir, and Brilliant Wizard Oil on your weapon, as in Classic.
• Health instead of mana: Major Healing Potions and Healthstones support Life Tap; Demonic Runes in Classic also cost health for mana.
• Stamina: food and elixirs that add Stamina give you more room to Life Tap.
• Professions: Tailoring for Shadow damage cloth and Alchemy for elixirs; Engineering is the raid alternative for explosives.

Tips

• Talk to your raid leader about which Curse you own; the Bane slot is yours regardless.
• Soulstone a healer before every boss.

Sources

Rotation, stat and matchup advice adapts these Classic 1.12 guides to the WoW Forever talent trees; talents, set bonuses and new abilities come from this site’s WoW Forever data.

• Icy Veins: Classic Warlock DPS Guide
• Icy Veins: Classic Warlock DPS Spec, Builds, and Talents
• Icy Veins: Classic Warlock DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
• Icy Veins: Classic Warlock DPS Stat Priority
• Icy Veins: Classic Warlock DPS Enchants and Consumables