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Hunter + Warlock duo leveling 10–60: Demonology Warlock Soul Link talents

TheorycraftUpdated Oct 24, 2026

WoWForeverBuilds

Published Sep 15, 2026 · 721 views

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Demonology Warlock build for leveling with a Hunter: the Voidwalker tanks the add, Soul Link and Master Demonologist make you hard to kill, and Demonic Pact keeps a sacrifice buff up.

Leveling group

Pick a group member to see their talents and when to learn each point.

Demonology Warlock talents

The build this guide is about. Warlock leveling

17 / 34 / 051 of 51 points · level 60Open in calculator

Affliction17 pts

Hover or tap a talent to see what it does.

Talent order by level

One talent point per level, starting at level 10. Spend them in this order as you level.

  1. 1.Improved Corruption1/5Lv 10
  2. 2.Improved Corruption2/5Lv 11
  3. 3.Improved Corruption3/5Lv 12
  4. 4.Improved Corruption4/5Lv 13
  5. 5.Improved Corruption5/5Lv 14
  6. 6.Demonic Embrace1/5Lv 15
  7. 7.Demonic Embrace2/5Lv 16
  8. 8.Demonic Embrace3/5Lv 17
  9. 9.Demonic Embrace4/5Lv 18
  10. 10.Demonic Embrace5/5Lv 19
  11. 11.Improved Voidwalker1/3Lv 20
  12. 12.Improved Voidwalker2/3Lv 21
  13. 13.Improved Voidwalker3/3Lv 22
  14. 14.Fel Vitality1/3Lv 23
  15. 15.Demonic Energies1/2Lv 24
  16. 16.Master Summoner1/2Lv 25
  17. 17.Master Summoner2/2Lv 26
  18. 18.Demonic Sacrifice1/1Lv 27
  19. 19.Demonic Energies2/2Lv 28
  20. 20.Unholy Power1/5Lv 29
  21. 21.Demonic Brand1/3Lv 30
  22. 22.Demonic Brand2/3Lv 31
  23. 23.Demonic Brand3/3Lv 32
  24. 24.Unholy Power2/5Lv 33
  25. 25.Unholy Power3/5Lv 34
  26. 26.Soul Link1/1Lv 35
  27. 27.Demonic Knowledge1/3Lv 36
  28. 28.Demonic Knowledge2/3Lv 37
  29. 29.Demonic Knowledge3/3Lv 38
  30. 30.Unholy Power4/5Lv 39
  31. 31.Master Demonologist1/5Lv 40
  32. 32.Master Demonologist2/5Lv 41
  33. 33.Master Demonologist3/5Lv 42
  34. 34.Master Demonologist4/5Lv 43
  35. 35.Master Demonologist5/5Lv 44
  36. 36.Demonic Pact1/1Lv 45
  37. 37.Unholy Power5/5Lv 46
  38. 38.Fel Vitality2/3Lv 47
  39. 39.Fel Vitality3/3Lv 48
  40. 40.Suppression1/5Lv 49
  41. 41.Suppression2/5Lv 50
  42. 42.Suppression3/5Lv 51
  43. 43.Suppression4/5Lv 52
  44. 44.Suppression5/5Lv 53
  45. 45.Grim Reach1/2Lv 54
  46. 46.Grim Reach2/2Lv 55
  47. 47.Improved Drains1/3Lv 56
  48. 48.Improved Drains2/3Lv 57
  49. 49.Improved Drains3/3Lv 58
  50. 50.Improved Life Tap1/2Lv 59
  51. 51.Improved Life Tap2/2Lv 60

See how this group ranks among the best leveling combos.

Experience changes that affect this route

The beta changed the leveling maths twice in October, so advice written in September no longer holds. Each entry is what Blizzard wrote, with our reading of it marked separately. Last change .

  1. Dungeon kill experience was being paid at the group's highest level, fixed October 8Live in a build

    Aggrend confirmed that experience per kill inside a dungeon was calculated from the highest-level character in the group instead of your own. His example: a level 20 in the Deadmines with four other level 20s and one level 25 earns very little per kill. The October 8 build fixed it, so kill experience uses your own level against the mob's. A party member far above the mob's level still means no one gets experience.

    What it means for your route: Every XP-per-hour number testers posted from a mixed-level group before October 8 was measuring this bug as well as the nerf, so treat those older dungeon-speed claims as unusable.

    Source: Blizzard Entertainment · The bug and the fix

  2. Base kill experience in dungeons goes up about 20%Live in a build

    Shipped in the October 8 build alongside the bug fix. Blizzard says the two together should make dungeon runs feel better and more even.

    What it means for your route: Trash pulls pay more than they did, which favours full clears over quest-only runs that skip packs.

    Source: Blizzard Entertainment · The bug and the fix

  3. The target is parity with questing, not Classic Era dungeon speedAnnounced, not in a build yet

    Blizzard's stated aim: after these changes, perfect experience-per-hour dungeon play should land very close to, if not equal to, optimal questing. It also said dungeon experience will not return to Classic Era levels, because dungeon spam being the optimal path fails its design pillars.

    What it means for your route: Plan a mixed route. Dungeons are for the levels where an instance sits on your path and the group is close to your level; questing carries the levels in between. A pure dungeon run to 60 is being balanced out of the game on purpose.

    Source: Blizzard Entertainment (Aggrend) · Blizzard's reasoning

  4. Dungeon quests give 50% less bonus experienceLive in a build

    In the level 30 build Blizzard cut the extra experience dungeon quests award beyond normal quest values by half, and recalibrated some quest rewards. Normal quest experience and experience from killing things in a dungeon were not touched.

    What it means for your route: Chaining dungeon quests is still worth doing on the first run of an instance, but it no longer beats a good quest chain outside by the margin it did in September.

    Source: Blizzard Entertainment · What the level 30 build changed

Legacy Points while you level

Unconfirmed

Where to spend Warlock Legacy Points for group questing, in the order the points arrive. A character can spend 16, and an account can earn 65 at launch. Stop wherever your total is — the list is cumulative. Effects are quoted from the Beta client 1.60.1.70532 data.

  1. 1.

    Well Restedrank 1 · Adventure

    Your rested experience accumulates 4% faster and your rested experience cap is increased by 4%.

    Only one point here for now — it is the prerequisite for Talented, and rested experience is worth having while you are at it.

    1 point · 1/16
  2. 2.

    Talentedrank 5 · Adventure

    You gain talent points every level starting at level 5 instead of starting at level 10, but you still may not have more than 51 total talent points.

    The strongest leveling node in the tree: talent points from level 5 instead of 10, so you reach your first real build five levels sooner.

    5 points · 6/16
  3. 3.

    Thrill of Adventurerank 5 · Adventure

    You gain 5% of your maximum Health and Mana over 10 sec each time you deliver the killing blow to a non-trivial enemy. Ineffective in dungeons, raids, and battlegrounds.

    Health and mana back on every killing blow. It works while questing as a group, and switches off the moment you step into a dungeon.

    5 points · 11/16
  4. 4.

    Gourmandrank 1 · Resourcefulness

    Increases the duration of beneficial effects from eating food by 33%.

    Food buffs last a third longer, so the group stops to eat less often.

    1 point · 12/16
  5. 5.

    Reinforcerank 2 · Resourcefulness

    You take 16% less durability loss when you die.

    Cheaper deaths while you learn the pulls.

    2 points · 14/16
  6. 6.

    Field Guiderank 1 · Adventure

    Reduces your cooldown on adding Camp features by 8%

    Prerequisite for Frequent Flier, and shortens the wait between camp features.

    1 point · 15/16
  7. 7.

    Frequent Flierrank 1 · Adventure

    You receive a 50% discount on all flight paths, and your flight path mount flies 20% faster.

    Half-price flight paths and 20% faster flights. You will fly hundreds of times before 60.

    1 point · 16/16

What to skip, and why

  • Reinforce beyond two ranks: Deaths are rarer with a group than solo, so durability savings add up slowly.
  • For Great Honor: Honor only — pick it up when you move to battlegrounds.
  • High Alert: Only matters against stealthed players.

Variants

  • If you gather while you level, one or two points in Bountiful Harvest (20% more scarce materials per rank, Mining, Herbalism and Skinning) pay for your mounts; take them out of the last picks on this list.

Legacy values are datamined from the beta client and can change. Plan your own spread in the Legacy planner, see where points come from inLegacy Points, or read the Legacy system guide. The order above is our recommendation; the effects are game data.

Contents
  1. The duo at a glance
  2. How the hunter & warlock duo plays
  3. Your job as Demonology Warlock
  4. Pull by pull
  5. Resources and cooldowns
  6. Mistakes that get the duo killed
  7. Talent order by level
  8. Where to level
  9. Where the duo struggles for a Demonology Warlock
  10. Sources

The duo at a glance

Hunter & Warlock Duo for levels 10–60: two pets in front, two ranged damage dealers behind them.

No tank or healer needed: the Hunter’s beast holds the kill target, the Voidwalker holds the add, and both players stack ranged damage behind them. Each class covers the other’s gaps.

Role Spec Job
DPS Beast Mastery Hunter Beast tanks the kill target; emergency buttons
DPS Demonology Warlock Voidwalker holds the add; Fear, Soulstone, Healthstones

Both specs link to their own guide with the talents for that half of the duo.

How the hunter & warlock duo plays

  1. One target per pet: the beast opens on the kill target, the Voidwalker takes the add; nobody shoots before two pet hits.
  2. From 25: Demonic Brand lets Searing Pain mark the add, so the Voidwalker keeps it without waiting on Torment.
  3. From 40: Bestial Wrath handles elites; Fear, Intimidation, Feign Death and a Soulstone cover pulls that go wrong.

Your job as Demonology Warlock

Think of your Voidwalker as the second tank and yourself as the duo’s toolbox. The Hunter’s beast owns the kill target, so the Voidwalker owns whatever else shows up, and you stand at range spreading DoTs without ever pulling a mob off either pet. Demonology fits because its points protect you when nobody can heal: Soul Link moves 30% of your damage taken onto the demon, Master Demonologist trims physical hits, and Demonic Embrace adds Stamina early because your own health also pays for every Life Tap. Only you can Banish a demon or elemental, Fear a third mob, hand out Healthstones and keep a Soulstone ready. Before 25 the add stays on Torment alone, so wait for two or three Torments before it gets a DoT. From 25, Demonic Brand turns Searing Pain into a mark that makes the Voidwalker’s next attacks stick.

Pull by pull

  • Wait for two beast hits on the kill target, then Corruption on it.
  • Voidwalker to the add. Before 25, Torment two or three times; from 25, one Searing Pain for Demonic Brand.
  • Bane of Agony and Corruption on the add, then Shadow Bolt the beast’s target.
  • Third mob: Fear it away from the Hunter in open ground, or Banish it if it is a demon or elemental.
  • Hunter low: hand over a Healthstone. Voidwalker below half: Health Funnel.
  • After the kill, Life Tap standing still; Demonic Energies passes that mana on to the demon.

Resources and cooldowns

Life Tap is your mana bar, but your own health pays for it because the Hunter cannot heal you. Tap between pulls, eat when health drops, and never tap below half in the middle of a fight. Keep Soul Shards for a Soulstone and fresh Healthstones before elite quests. Summon demons outside combat: Master Summoner makes it cheap, and Demonic Pact keeps your Imp sacrifice buff through the Voidwalker summon.

Mistakes that get the duo killed

  • DoTs on the add before the Voidwalker has it: Corruption is the easiest way for a second mob to find you.
  • Swapping demons before Demonic Pact: any summon cancels your sacrifice buff until you have that talent.
  • Fear in tight terrain: it moves the problem into another pack. Banish demons and elementals instead.
  • Life Tapping low mid-pull: nobody in this duo can heal you back.

Talent order by level

One point per level from level 10. The talent tree above shows the finished level 60 build; use the level slider to see it at any level.

  • Levels 10–14 · Improved Corruption (Affliction) 5/5 — A faster, 10% stronger Corruption: the DoT that goes on the beast’s target after its second hit.
  • Levels 15–19 · Demonic Embrace 5/5 — 15% more Stamina this early because no one in the duo heals you, and your health also pays for Life Tap.
  • Levels 20–22 · Improved Voidwalker 3/3 — 30% stronger Torment, Consume Shadows, Sacrifice and Suffering, so the Voidwalker keeps the add before Demonic Brand.
  • Level 23 · Fel Vitality 1/3 — More health and mana for the Voidwalker and a larger mana pool for you, which means fewer Life Taps.
  • Level 24 · Demonic Energies 1/2 — Your spell damage heals the demon and Life Tap mana reaches it too, so the Voidwalker rarely needs Health Funnel.
  • Levels 25–26 · Master Summoner 2/2 — Faster, cheaper summons, so swapping demons outside combat costs little mana.
  • Level 27 · Demonic Sacrifice 1/1 — Sacrifice a demon for a 2-hour buff. Mostly taken as the path to Soul Link.
  • Level 28 · Demonic Energies 2/2 — finish the talent.
  • Level 29 · Unholy Power 1/5 — More Voidwalker damage, and pet damage is pet threat on the add.
  • Levels 30–32 · Demonic Brand 3/3 — Searing Pain brands the add with less threat, and the pet’s next 6 attacks on it cause high threat and bonus damage. From here the add is the Voidwalker’s problem.
  • Levels 33–34 · Unholy Power 3/5 — finish the talent.
  • Level 35 · Soul Link 1/1 — 30% of your damage taken goes to the demon and both of you deal 3% more: the closest thing to a healer this pair has.
  • Levels 36–38 · Demonic Knowledge 3/3 — Spell damage that scales with your level while a demon is out, which is every pull.
  • Level 39 · Unholy Power 4/5 — finish the talent.
  • Levels 40–44 · Master Demonologist 5/5 — With the Voidwalker out, you and it take 10% less physical damage, useful when a melee mob slips past the beast.
  • Level 45 · Demonic Pact 1/1 — Summoning a different demon no longer cancels your sacrifice: sacrifice the Imp for Shadow damage, then keep the Voidwalker out for Soul Link.
  • Level 46 · Unholy Power 5/5 — finish the talent.
  • Levels 47–48 · Fel Vitality 3/3 — finish the talent.
  • Levels 49–53 · Suppression (Affliction) 5/5 — +5% spell hit and 20% less threat, so both pets keep their targets while you spread DoTs.
  • Levels 54–55 · Grim Reach (Affliction) 2/2 — +10% range on Affliction spells per point.
  • Levels 56–58 · Improved Drains (Affliction) 3/3 — Drain Life, Drain Soul and Wrack drain or deal up to 20% more.
  • Levels 59–60 · Improved Life Tap (Affliction) 2/2 — 20% more mana per Life Tap, so each tap costs less of the health nobody heals.

Where to level

Levels 10–30: Westfall, The Barrens, Redridge, Hillsbrad and Shadowfang Keep (23–29). 30–40: Stranglethorn, Desolace, Scarlet Monastery. 40–50: Tanaris, Feralas, Krol’dok Stronghold (40–55). 50–60: Un’Goro, Felwood, Plaguelands. Banish shines in the City of Dalaran (28–33), where the chart lists demons.

Where the duo struggles for a Demonology Warlock

  • Three or more melee mobs are too much for two pets. Fear the extra one early and keep Banish for demons and elementals.
  • Caster mobs skip the Voidwalker and hit you. Pull them behind a corner, or Shadow Bolt them down while the beast holds the melee.
  • Early pet threat is thin until Demonic Brand at 25; wait for Torments before touching the add.
  • Deaths are expensive without a healer. Keep a Soulstone on one of you at all times so Feign Death plus a rez saves the pull.

Sources

The talent path and leveling advice adapt these Classic guides to the WoW Forever talent trees; talents that are new or changed in Forever are chosen from this site’s talent data.

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More Demonology Warlock guides

All Demonology Warlock guidesWarlock levelingWarlock talent calculator

Feedback (2)

Notes badged Moderator or Admin come from the WoW Forever Builds team. They are editorial notes on the build, not reports from playing it.

  1. WFB_TheorycraftModeratorSep 16, 2026

    Demonic Brand is the pivot of this build and it is worth understanding what it replaces. Before 25 the Voidwalker holds the add on Torment alone, which is thin, so the guide has you wait two or three Torments before adding DoTs. From 25, Searing Pain marks the target and the pet's next attacks on it carry high threat, which is what makes the second mob genuinely the Voidwalker's problem rather than yours. Note the Demonic Sacrifice into Demonic Pact ordering too: Sacrifice is a prerequisite for Soul Link, and without Demonic Pact, resummoning the Voidwalker throws the sacrifice buff away.

  2. WFB_EditorModeratorSep 16, 2026

    Practical caveat on Life Tap. Unlike the Warlock plus Priest pairing on this site, nobody here can heal you, so Life Tap is bounded by your own health bar and your Healthstone, not by a partner. That is the real reason Demonic Embrace takes five points early. The Fear guidance is the other half: in tight terrain Fear moves a problem rather than solving it, and Banish is the cleaner answer for demons and elementals. If the Hunter is offline, this build still levels perfectly well solo with Soul Link and the Voidwalker, which is not true of every partner spec we publish.

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