Demonology Warlock PvE guide: level 60 Demonic Pact and Master Demonologist build

Overview

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

Classic Demonology offered a choice: sacrifice your demon for damage or keep it for Soul Link and Master Demonologist. The new Demonic Pact capstone removes that choice. Your Demonic Sacrifice buff is no longer cancelled when you summon a different demon, so you can sacrifice the Imp for 15% Shadow damage, then summon a Succubus and gain Master Demonologist (10% more Shadow damage with a Succubus or Incubus), Soul Link’s 3% damage and Demonic Knowledge’s spell damage bonus while it is out. The Destruction half adds Improved Shadow Bolt, Bane and Ruin for Shadow Bolt damage.

Your job in the group

Your job is Shadow Bolt damage with a Succubus at your side, the Curse your raid leader gives you, and the warlock utility every raid expects: Soulstones on healers, Healthstones for everyone and a summon for late arrivals. The extra work is your demon. Keep it alive through raid-wide damage and away from enemies the tank has not picked up, because losing it takes Master Demonologist and Soul Link with it.

Why play it

• Stacks several damage buffs at once: Demonic Sacrifice, Master Demonologist, Soul Link and Demonic Knowledge.
• Tougher than other warlocks: Soul Link moves part of your damage taken to the demon, and Demonic Embrace adds Stamina.
• Simple rotation: Shadow Bolt, Curse, Bane and Corruption.
• Your demon adds damage instead of being sacrificed for good.

Weak points

• Demon deaths: raid-wide damage can kill your Succubus, and resummoning costs time and a Soul Shard.
• No hit talent: without enough hit gear, Shadow Bolt and Bane misses cost a lot.
• Untested interactions: Demonic Pact is new, so how it behaves with Soul Link and dismissed pets needs beta testing.
• Long setup before each pull compared with other warlock builds.

Level 60 talent build

Affliction 0 / Demonology 31 / Destruction 20, all 51 points. The talent tree above shows the finished build.

Demonology (31)

• Demonic Embrace 5/5 — +15% Stamina: more room for Life Tap.
• Unholy Power 1/5 — One point of pet damage to reach the next row.
• Demonic Aegis 2/2 — Stronger Demon Armor.
• Fel Vitality 3/3 — +15% health and mana for your demon and +15% maximum mana for you.
• Improved Sayaad 3/3 — Stronger Lash of Pain from the Succubus or Incubus you keep out.
• Demonic Sacrifice 1/1 — Sacrifice the Imp for +15% Shadow damage; Demonic Pact keeps the buff when you summon the Succubus.
• Master Summoner 2/2 — Faster, cheaper summons, which matters because this build summons twice before each pull.
• Decimation 2/2 — Shadow Bolt on a target below 70% health raises its damage taken from you by 6% and makes Soul Fire faster and shard-free for 20 sec.
• Demonic Energies 2/2 — Your spell damage heals the demon, which keeps Soul Link going through raid damage.
• Soul Link 1/1 — Both you and the demon deal 3% more damage, and 30% of your damage taken goes to the demon.
• Demonic Knowledge 3/3 — Spell damage equal to 99% of your level while a demon is summoned.
• Master Demonologist 5/5 — With a Succubus or Incubus out, you and the demon deal 10% more Shadow damage.
• Demonic Pact 1/1 — Summoning a different demon no longer cancels Demonic Sacrifice: the talent that makes this build work.

Destruction (20)

• Destructive Reach 2/2 — 20% more range for your damaging spells.
• Improved Shadow Bolt 5/5 — Shadow Bolt crits make the target take 20% more Shadow damage from you for 60 sec.
• Cataclysm 3/3 — 9% cheaper Destruction spells, which covers Shadow Bolt.
• Bane 5/5 — 0.5 sec faster Shadow Bolt at 5/5.
• Ruin 5/5 — Doubles the crit damage bonus of Destruction spells, including Shadow Bolt.

Rotation and priority

1. Before the pull: summon the Imp, Demonic Sacrifice it, then summon a Succubus. Check that the Demonic Sacrifice buff is still on you after the summon.
2. Activate Soul Link and keep Demon Armor up.
3. Apply your assigned Curse, then Bane of Agony or Bane of Doom depending on fight length, and Corruption.
4. Cast Shadow Bolt as your filler. Improved Shadow Bolt crits keep a Shadow damage taken bonus up for 60 sec.
5. Below 70% boss health, Decimation makes Soul Fire faster and shard-free for 20 sec after each Shadow Bolt; test whether Soul Fire beats Shadow Bolt in that window.
6. Use Eureka! with your opening Shadow Bolts and on cooldown after that.
7. Life Tap during low-damage phases; Demonic Energies passes the mana to your demon as well.

Resources

Mana comes from Life Tap, and Soul Link softens the health cost. Your demon is a resource too: if the Succubus dies, you lose Master Demonologist and Soul Link until you resummon, so keep Improved Health Funnel ready and let Demonic Energies heal it. Soul Shards pay for summons, Healthstones and Soulstones; farm them on trash with Drain Soul.

Stat priority

Hit first, since this build has no hit talent; gear and the Tier 1 bonus carry it. Then Shadow spell damage and spell crit, which feeds Improved Shadow Bolt and Ruin. Stamina has more value than for other warlocks because Demonic Embrace multiplies it and Life Tap spends it.

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. Demonology relies on gear for hit, so the 2-piece bonus is the most important one for this build.

Consumables and professions

• Shadow damage: Elixir of Shadow Power, Greater Arcane Elixir and Brilliant Wizard Oil.
• Health: Major Healing Potions and Healthstones for Life Tap, and Stamina food.
• Soul Shard supply: carry a Soul Pouch and farm shards before raids, since this build summons twice per pull.
• Professions: Tailoring for cloth spell damage gear, Enchanting for weapon and bracer enchants.

Tips

• Keep your Succubus on passive and away from the tank’s target if it would pull extra enemies.
• In dungeons, Banish and Enslave Demon are still your control spells; the 3-piece Tier 1 bonus speeds up Banish.

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