Shadow Cleave 5-man: Demonology Warlock Felhunter and Soul Link talents (levels 40–60)

Theorycrafted before the WoW Forever beta (September 17, 2026). The group plan follows how cleave groups played in Classic, the talents use the pre-release WoW Forever trees on this site, and ability levels quoted from Classic may differ in Forever. Expect updates once the beta is testable.

The group at a glance

Shadow Cleave for levels 40–60: a Feral Druid bear, a Shadow Priest, an Affliction Warlock, a Demonology Warlock and a Discipline Priest.

Shadow cleave kills medium pulls with damage over time instead of burst. The bear holds three to five mobs with Swipe, the Shadow Priest and the Affliction Warlock put their damage over time spells on every mob, and the Demonology Warlock adds Rain of Fire and interrupts casters with the Felhunter. Vampiric Embrace heals the whole party from the Priest’s Shadow damage and the Discipline Priest shields whoever takes the hits, so the group drinks less than a burst group.

Role	Spec	Job in the pull
Tank	Feral Combat Druid	Swipes three to five mobs and holds them through the damage over time
DPS	Shadow Priest	Shadow Word: Pain on every mob, Vampiric Embrace for party healing, Silence on casters
DPS	Affliction Warlock	Corruption and Bane of Agony on every mob, Curse of Exhaustion on runners
DPS	Demonology Warlock	Rain of Fire on the pack, Felhunter Spell Lock on casters, summons
Healer	Discipline Priest	Power Word: Shield on the bear, Penance on spikes, Power Infusion on a Warlock

Every spec in the table links to its own guide with talents for that slot.

How the shadow cleave plays

1. Pull size: three to five mobs. Damage over time needs a few seconds to work, so every mob has to live long enough to take the full effect.
2. Threat first: the bear gathers and Swipes three times before anyone casts. Suppression and Shadow Affinity cut the casters’ threat, but damage over time on every mob still adds up.
3. Spread the damage: the Warlock casts Corruption and Bane of Agony on each mob, the Priest uses Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Embrace, the Demonology Warlock places Rain of Fire on the bear.
4. Spread on death: with Devouring Contagion, a mob that dies with the Priest’s Devouring Plague passes it to a mob within 5 yards, so the last mobs of the pack die faster.
5. Interrupts and shields: the Felhunter’s Spell Lock stops casters, the Discipline Priest puts Power Word: Shield on the bear before the pull and on any caster who draws aggro.

Your job as Demonology Warlock

You are the group’s control and utility Warlock. Demonic Pact lets you sacrifice your Imp for 15% Shadow damage and still summon a Felhunter, whose Spell Lock comes back 6 sec sooner with Improved Felhunter. Soul Link moves 30% of your damage taken onto the demon, and Demonic Knowledge adds spell damage while it is out. Your damage is Rain of Fire on the pack and Shadow Bolt on the kill target.

Pull by pull

• Before the dungeon: summon the Imp, Demonic Sacrifice, then summon the Felhunter and Soul Link.
• Felhunter on passive; send it to Spell Lock the first caster that starts casting.
• Rain of Fire on the bear once the Affliction Warlock’s Corruptions are out.
• Shadow Bolt the kill target; Improved Shadow Bolt crits make it take more Shadow damage from you.
• Health Funnel the Felhunter between pulls, not during them.

Mistakes that wipe the group

• Leaving the Felhunter on aggressive: it runs into the next pack.
• Resummoning the Imp: that cancels your Demonic Sacrifice effect.
• Rain of Fire before the bear has threat.

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 · Demonic Embrace 5/5 — +15% Stamina: safer pulls and more health to Life Tap.
• Levels 15–17 · Fel Vitality 3/3 — +15% health and mana for your demon and +15% maximum mana for you.
• Levels 18–19 · Demonic Aegis 2/2 — Stronger Demon Armor.
• Levels 20–21 · Master Summoner 2/2 — Faster, cheaper summons after a wipe or a dead pet.
• Level 22 · Demonic Sacrifice 1/1 — Sacrificing the Imp gives +15% Shadow damage for 2 hours.
• Levels 23–27 · Unholy Power 5/5 — +10% damage for your Felhunter.
• Level 28 · Fel Domination 1/1 — A near-instant resummon when the Felhunter dies mid-pull.
• Levels 29–30 · Demonic Energies 2/2 — Your spell damage heals the pet, and Life Tap mana also fills the pet’s mana for Spell Lock.
• Level 31 · Soul Link 1/1 — 30% of the damage you take goes to your demon, and both of you deal 3% more damage.
• Levels 32–34 · Improved Felhunter 3/3 — Spell Lock comes back 6 sec sooner and Devour Magic heals more.
• Levels 35–37 · Demonic Knowledge 3/3 — Spell damage based on your level while a demon is out.
• Levels 38–42 · Master Demonologist 5/5 — A bonus for you and your demon that depends on which demon is summoned.
• Level 43 · Demonic Pact 1/1 — Summoning the Felhunter no longer cancels the Imp sacrifice: you keep both.
• Levels 44–45 · Decimation 2/2 — Soul Fire becomes a short-cooldown, faster nuke against mobs below 70% health.
• Levels 46–47 · Improved Health Funnel 2/2 — Health Funnel costs less health and causes no threat.
• Levels 48–52 · Improved Shadow Bolt (Destruction) 5/5 — Shadow Bolt crits make the target take 20% more Shadow damage from you.
• Levels 53–57 · Bane (Destruction) 5/5 — 0.5 sec faster Shadow Bolt and Immolate.
• Levels 58–60 · Cataclysm (Destruction) 3/3 — 9% cheaper Destruction spells, including Rain of Fire and Shadow Bolt.

Dungeons by level

Every WoW Forever dungeon that overlaps levels 40–60. Dungeons marked New were added in WoW Forever; the rest are the original Classic dungeons.

Levels	Dungeon	Notes
34–40	Scarlet Monastery Library	Original Classic dungeon.
35–40	The Drowned City (New)	Trolls, naga and pirates off the Stranglethorn coast.
37–43	Scarlet Monastery Armory	Original Classic dungeon.
38–44	Razorfen Downs	Original Classic dungeon.
39–45	Scarlet Monastery Cathedral	Original Classic dungeon.
40–55	Krol’dok Stronghold (New)	New WoW Forever dungeon.
44–50	Uldaman	Original Classic dungeon.
45–51	Zul’Farrak	Original Classic dungeon.
48–53	Alcaz Prison (New)	New WoW Forever dungeon.
48–54	Maraudon	Original Classic dungeon.
52–58	Sunken Temple	Original Classic dungeon.
52–60	Blackrock Depths	Original Classic dungeon.
55–60	Dire Maul East	Original Classic dungeon.
55–60	Blackmaw Hold (New)	New WoW Forever dungeon.
57–60	Lower Blackrock Spire	Original Classic dungeon.
58–60	Dire Maul West	Original Classic dungeon.
58–60	Scholomance	Original Classic dungeon.
58–60	The Shapers Terrace (New)	New WoW Forever dungeon.
59–60	Stratholme (Undead)	Original Classic dungeon.
59–60	Stratholme (Live)	Original Classic dungeon.
59–60	Dire Maul North	Original Classic dungeon.

Krol’dok Stronghold and Uldaman give this group long corridors of medium packs from level 40. Zul’Farrak, Alcaz Prison and Maraudon are good at 48–54, and Blackrock Depths is a strong 52–60 home because its many humanoid casters meet Spell Lock and Silence. At 58–60 the undead of Scholomance and Stratholme take full damage from Shadow spells in Classic, so check resistances in the beta before committing to a route.

Where the group struggles

• Short fights: mobs that die in a few seconds waste most of the damage over time. On weak trash, pull more or single-target it.
• Crowd control: damage over time breaks Polymorph, Sap and Fear on anything it spreads to. Keep crowd-controlled mobs far away from the pack.
• Shadow-resistant mobs cut the damage of three players at once. Use Rain of Fire, Mind Blast less, and let the bear hold longer.
• Runaways: feared or fleeing mobs carry their damage over time into the next pack. Curse of Exhaustion and Silence stop them.