Table of Content
– Affliction Warlock
– Talent build
– Stats
– Glyphs
– Consumables
– Spell Rotation
– Additional information
– Conclusion
Affliction warlock
The affliction warlock is different from all (/most) other playstyles in World of Warcraft.
It relies heavily on DoTs (=Damage over time effects) and instant burst damage is surpricingly of very little value. Yet, they are capable of causing tons of damage if played correctly. The destruction tree is dominant as of now which is a real shame, and the affliction tree has been forced into the shadow. My own point of view is different though, and I certainly believe that the affliction warlock has some advantages over other dps classes. There are few classes that can multidps several targets simultaneously as well as the affliction warlock can do and it pays out big time in for example the Yogg – Saron encounter. In Wrath of the Lich King, good quality gear didn’t seperate the good and skilled players from the bad ones, but the outcome of how well you play your affliction warlock greatly seperates you from the worse skilled ones. The playstyle of the affliction warlock is more complicated than most dps’ers in the game and planning ahead of your casts as well as timing your current casts correctly are the keys to success.
Talent builds
The affliction build that I’ve decided to work around is this:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#IfxMbzMAoVA0IktZE0hV The 53/00/18 build is of great value. It focuses heavily on your own performence and not your demons. Many affliction warlocks have never been used to actually include their pet in their damage done and nor will this build focus around it. Using the right playstyle and dps’ing multiple targets requires lots of attention so personally I’ll prefer keeping the pet in the background. Of course there are options, and should you wish to seriously include your pet, this build should allow you to do so:
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#IfxMbzMAoiAoIktZE00V The build focuses around your Felhunter as your pet and it works as a great mana battery together with Dark Pact. Its damage capability is limited, but its mana supply is heavy and so is its survivability.
Apart from that, there’s little to say. Most of the talents chosen are mandatory to the affliction warlock. Should you happen to have enough hit rating from gear, you can always sacrifice a point in Suppression and put it into something like Cataclysm, Improved Drain Soul (if you have aggro troubles) or get yourself the Shadowburn spell. But really; better take all points in Suppression and then sacrifice some hit rating from gear and go for haste or crit.
Stats
Stamina: Stamina is the stat that every class would and should have. Of course, almost all items provide at least some amount of stamina but for affliction warlocks in particular stamina doesn't play a very big role. You'll need enough stamina to survive the various bossfights, but apart from that you shouldn't aim too much for stamina. Affliction warlocks recieve plenty of healing through Siphon Life and Haunt not to mention Drain Life in needed circumstances, so even though you recieve some health drops cause of Life Tap and perhaps other bossfight mechanisms, it'll be covered very fast through the healing you recieve from your spells. And that's not even to mention the healers who'l be on their toes at all times ...
Intellect: Intellect is much like stamina. It's a stat that you cannot avoid to get through gear items and a stat that you shouldn't avoid either. It provides mana and crit rating which is very valuable to the warlock in general – also as an affliction warlock. You shouldn't gem for intellect, but the amount of intellect you get from items is definitely enough to cover your needs. Right now, intellect is also looked upon as the most valuable stat when it comes to restoring mana. The reason is, that the more mana you have the bigger effect Replenishment will have on you. This does of course play a part in your playstyle but it's not crucial at all. Your Life Tap and Dark Pact should cover for it most of the time.
Spirit: Spirit was once the stat that all warlocks hated. The stat that we always wanted to get rid of. Now, this has all turned upside down and the spirit stat is now one of our most valuable stats. The mana restoring that it provides is still ridiculous and means very little to our performence, but the effect that we recieve from Fel Armor and Glyph of Life Tap (which you should have as an affliction warlock) makes a crucial difference to your overall performence on the field.
Spell Power: Spellpower is of huge importance to the affliction warlock. One of the many advantages of the affliction warlock is the fact that they are immensely good at doing damage on multiple targets simultaneously. Because of that and because of the fact that DoTs scale very well with spellpower, stacking spellpower makes an enormous difference to the damage output. Most classes can stack crit and haste alone and through that be able to do tons of damage even if their spellpower is very low. But this doesn't count for the affliction warlock. In order to be able to do a significant amount of damage, high spellpower is a must. Keep this in mind particularly when choosing gems and consumables.
Spell crit rating: In the past, critical strike rating meant nothing to the affliction warlock. It had little usefullness and only affected Shadow Bolts which has always been the filler. Today, this isn't true. Pandemic has turned things upside down and critical strike certainly plays a part. But it's important to add that still only some of the spells at the affliction warlocks disposal are actually able to crit, so its usefullness is still limited – yet not superfluous. But the usefullness of critical strike rating has to be scaled with the amount of crit rating that you stack in your equipment. So; you'd not want to stack as much crit as a destruction warlock would do (as an example), but nor would you want to have no crit chance at all. A total critical strike chance of about 16 – 17% is very appropriated but in my opinion, crit rating is – for affliction warlocks – very much about personal matters and I have no documentation for what I've written above, but it is what I believe gives the most benefit. Remember; when choosing crit rating from gear equipment, you sacrifice haste rating so you have to balance it between needs/superfluousity.
Haste rating: It is a very known fact that the faster you can get your DoTs up on a target, the better. Also, Shadow Bolt which works as the filler for affliction warlocks has a very long cast time. The shorter this cast time is, the better it works as a filler. Particularly because the DoTs for a warlock must be kept up at the target at all times, and preferrably being recast right when it's about to tick off. So to break things down; haste rating allows you to be more exact with your DoT recasts and allows you to work around Shadow Bolt better as the filler spell without causing downtime on your DoTs. Therefore, haste rating is a very important stat to the affliction warlock and obviously something you'd want to stack a lot. More than roughly 550 is adviceable (without spellstone)
Spell hit rating: This part is shared with most other spellcaster classes and the current hit rating needed to be 100% hit capped is 459 or 17% (1% = 27 hit points. 17x27=459). Suppression allows you to only cover for 14% which is equal to 378 hit points (27x14=378). You should always try to get your hit rating through gear stats. Sockets are way more valuable and way better used on other gems than the hit rating ones and it shouldn't be too difficult either to get enough hit rating through the equipment stats alone since lots of items can provide this. Being hit capped is one of the first and biggest priorities for a caster, particularly an affliction warlock since Haunt must hit every single time. If it is resisted, it decreases your damage output drastically because it has an 8 sec cooldown and lasts for 12 sec which means that there will be at least 8 sec where your DoTs will tick without the Haunt buff should it be resisted. A very bad situation to be in and a huge dps drop.
Glyphs
Major Glyphs:
– Glyph of Life Tap
– Glyph of Haunt
– Glyph of Curse of Agony/Corruption
Minor Glyphs:
– Glyph of Souls
– Glyph of Kil'rogg
– Glyph of Unending Breath
Most things are already settled here and some glyphs really are a must to be able to make your affliction warlock work.
I've already mentioned it, but Glyph of Life Tap is necessary here. You do not want to run without that. Same counts for Glyph of Haunt which improves the buff effect by 3%. Not a drastical change, but in the long run this is a very big boost to your damage output and should not be left out. This leaves you with one major glyph spot left. There are two choices here; the first being Glyph of Curse of Agony. Of course it has a value and you should not forget the fact that the damage done by Curse of Agony increases over time meaning that adding 4 sec to the DoT causes a quite remarkable dps increase. Yet, it's worth mentioning that Curse of Agony'll then last for 28 sec which is pointless in most trashfights as the mobs rarely last that long. On the other hand, we have Glyph of Corruption. You already have the effect in your talent tree in the matter of Nightfall, but truly it is a nice addition to have. The fact that you'll sometimes have a free Shadow Ball cast is definitely worth considering and with the fights that we face these days, movements during bossfights are very demanding making an instant Shadow Bolt cast very valuable. On the other hand, keep in mind that Shadow Bolt is the filler, not your main priority. I'll leave it to one self to decide between the two glyphs; they both have benefitting effects and which one you choose is up to yourself.
I won't talk much about the minor glyphs, but Glyph of Souls is a must cause it allows you to generate Soul Shards way better and easier. There really isn't anything to discuss there. The rest is pure fun; Glyph of Kilrogg is a fun one to play around with occasionally and Unending Breath is purely because there is no other options.
Consumables
Flask: Flask of the Frost Wyrm
Food: Tender Shoveltusk Steak
Weapon enchant: Grand Spellstone
Potions: Runic Healing Potions and Potions of Wild Magic
There are little options and most people go for pure spellpower here.
Flask of the Frost Wyrm is a no – brainer just like Tender Shoveltusk is the obvious foodbuff choice at higher level. But keep in mind that should you need a little extra haste or hit rating, there are food buffs out there to support that as well. But eventually; Tender Shoveltusk is the option to pick. The Grand Spellstone is the best choice for the affliction warlock and while Runic Mana Potions are ridiculously superfluous to warlocks, having Runic Healing Potions and Potion of Wild Magic is a very good boost. Some fights requires your own healing support because the healers are busy elsewhere while other fights requires a full nuke in perhaps a very short amount of time. Those two brilliant potions provides that indeed.
Spells at disposal
In the following I will give a short summary of the spells used by the affliction warlock and also give a small account of how they work and what benefit they serve.
Corruption: This is one of the main DoTs at your disposal. It is supposed to always be on the target and Everlasting Affliction helps you meet this requirement. The DoT is probably one of the most improved ones as well as it is boosted heavily on its damage output through at least 6 talents. Nightfall benefit from it as well as Siphon Life so certainly this DoT should be up at all times.
Curse of Agony: Curse of Agony is a very powerful DoT and you should get it on the target as fast as possible. The special thing about this DoT is that it improves over time and does more damage the more it lasts. When using this in a boss encounter, you’ll always want this DoT to tick full out. Therefore, CoA is an exception to most other DoTs. Better have it tick out and leave the target without this curse for a sec or so and then reapply it rather than recasting it a few sec before it tick out. Every tick from this DoT is usefull.
Unstable Affliction: This DoT is again a different DoT. This DoT is also exeptionally powerful when used correctly. Of course, you should keep it up at all times and the particular important thing to remember is that it has a cast time. With some proper haste rating, the cast time for this DoT should be decreased to about 1.2 sec and it’s important that you cast it so that the last tick only just ticks away when your next UA hits. This is the DoT you can time with exceptional perfection to get the best benefit and so should you do. When there is 1.5 sec remaining, start your next UA cast and it will hit just in time.
Haunt: Haunt is – similarly to Corruption – a spell that should be kept on the target at all times. The 8 sec cooldown gives it limitations when dps’ing multiple targets but your choice should always be the target that has the most debuffs from friendly raiders. That is where it benefit the most. Also, it is most secure to recast Haunt as soon as it is off cooldown just to be 100% sure that the effect stays on the target. Rather cast it too early than too late. Important to add is that Haunt gives you health back, so timing a Life Tap with your Haunt cast is a good idea should you be in a fight with heavy raiddamage.
Shadow Bolt: This spell works as the filler. When all DoTs are up on the target, this will be the spell to use. Spamming it as much as you can in the time you have before the first DoTs needs to be reapplied is important. Also, this spell has a raid benefitting effect that is worth mentioning. With Improved Shadow Bolt, the critical strike chance against the target is increased by 5%. A very valuable effect to have up on the target.
Life Tap: There’s little to say here except from the very important fact that you’ll always want to keep the effect from Glyph of Life Tap up on yourself. It’ll cause a huge damage boost and Life Tap will be your only real mana source if you’re running without Dark Pact.
Drain Soul: This is the execution ability of the warlocks. When the target gets below 25% health, it’s crucial that you use this spell instead of Shadow Bolt. The only case in which you should use Shadow Bolt on a target under 25% health is when Nightfall proccs. But keep in mind; DoTs should always stay on the target no matter if you’re using Drain Soul or not so don’t be afraid to break the Drain Soul channel to reapply DoTs. They are always first priority ...
Spell rotation
Much has been said about spell rotations, but the most effective spell rotation is said to be the following:
LT – SB – Haunt – Corr – CoA – UA – SB ...
This is the opener. You'll start out with the spellpower boost from Glyph of Life Tap before launching your first Shadow Bolt after which you add Haunt. It'd be strategically the most clever if you Life Tap while running towards the boss or just before engage. Doing things this way, you'll have both the Life Tap buff and the Improved Shadow Bolt effect up before you launch your real artillery. One thing though to keep in mind is that you can try to change around Haunt and Corr. The effect that this'll have is that you can add the first DoT faster and get it tick faster. The only thing you'll have to keep in mind is that Haunt must reach the target before Corr ticks for the first time so that it's affected by the Haunt effect too. After this opener, all you'll have to focus on is to make sure that Haunt, Corr, UA and CoA are all up on the target. Even one second without a certain DoT can cause your dps to decrease and you'd not want that. Time your DoT recasts and try to apply them in the same second as your last DoT ticks away. This means that when you see that UA for example has 1.2 sec left, that's the right time to recast it. You do not want to recast a DoT when it has 5 sec left. That's a waste. Shadow Bolt works as the filler until your target reaches 25% health. At that point, your playstyle changes a bit. The executioner ability for warlocks is Drain Soul. It's a great spell to use at this point and you should channel it at all times from this point and only break it when the DoTs need a recast. They are still main priority. Remember to use Life Tap to keep up the Glyph of Life Tap effect at all times. This buff is never supposed to go away at any time during combat.
One of the specialities of the affliction warlock is the capability of doing damage to multiple targets at the same time. Keep all DoTs up at all targets and use Haunt on the target that has the most debuffs from friendly raiders. That way, Haunt'll make the most benefit. Using Haunt on a target that is yet ”untouched” by friendly raiders and their debuffs is a dps waste. Of course, you'll have to make sure that the Haunt effect lasts for its full duration. If you cast Haunt when a mob is on 5% health and it dies right after you finish your Haunt cast, it's of no benefit and Haunt is only available again 8 sec later. In such a case, it's better to use Haunt on the next target meant to be dps'd down. Always make sure that your DoTs tick and when multidps'ing you rarely use Shadow Bolt. You'll have to make it all flow. When the dps group in the raid changes to a new targets, your DoTs should already be applied to that target causing your DoTs to gain full effect. Predict your casts and be one step ahead of the rest of the dps'ers and you will make a difference as an affliction warlock. That is the advantage we do have in the long run.
Additional information
AddOns: I'm sure there are tons of AddOns out there that greatly supports the warlock in maximizing his performence but I'll just look at some of the most usefull ones. First of all, being able to track your DoTs is of utmost importance. I'd suggest two AddOns that helps you do this very well. The first one is DoTimer. It does the job very well and has lots of different ways of tracking the DoTs making it easy to customize to your own needs. The second AddOn that I'd mention is ForteXorcist. It does pretty much the same thing as DoTimer but one could argue that ForteXorcist fits better into a highly selfcustomized UI and has a more attractive look. It also works better with the next AddOn that I’ll mention: Quartz.
Quartz is a castbar AddOn and it helps you cast your spells more precisely. It is a must have for most spellcasters since the Blizzard castbar is of very low quality.
One of the most known AddOn I'd mention is of course Omen. Being able to track your aggro is an important advantage and you should always keep an eye on the Omen meter.
The last AddOn that I'll mention is called Lifetapper. What it does is that it interacts with your Blizzard Combattext and announces whenever you have to recast Life Tap to keep up the Glyph of Life Tap effect. The AddOn does of course also work around with SimpleCombatText and MiksCombatText and similar combattext AddOns should you be using them already.
Equipment enchants: Each and every spellcaster with respect for himself will enchant his gear. It has a stunningly improving effect on your gameplay and performence and every single additional enchant can turn out to make the difference in the critical bossfights. In the following part, I'll make a small list of enchants you should use on your gear:
Head: +30sp and 20cr.
Shoulders: +24sp and 18 cr or +61sp and 15 cr (if Inscriptionist).
Back: +23 haste rating or +10 spirit and slightly decreased threat (worth considering if you have aggro troubles)
Chest: +10 all stats
Wrists: +30 sp or +61 sp (if Leatherworker).
Hands: +28 sp or +340 haste/10 sec (if Engineer).
Waist: Prismatic socket.
Legs: +50 sp and 20 spirit/stamina.
Feets: +12 hr and 12cr.
Rings: +19 sp (if Enchanter).
Main hand: +63 sp (if 1H) or +81 sp (if 2H).
Gem choices: When it comes to gem choices, there are a few options however most things are decided by either gear quality and/or needs.
Personally, I'm going for the +21cr and +3% cr dmg meta gem. It's quite easy to get and you do crit enough to make it benefit after all. And it has yet another advantage; for other dps’ers using this meta, they usually hit with high damage single spells but the affliction warlock has several small DoTs critting once in a while. That’ll actually make the +3% cr dmg more benefitting than for lets say a destruction warlock. Also, it's a good choice if you're a bit low on crit rating. That way the meta will boost you a bit there. Of course, a spellpower meta gem'd be a good choice here if it wasn't because of the fact that the meta gems at current state are really bad. The +25 spellpower that they provide is simply too low to make it worth getting. I'm confident with the spellcrit meta gem as it is now and I believe that it's a bigger boost than any of the other gem'd provide at the moment.
When you have covered the meta gem requirements, all you have to go for is +19spellpower gems. They'll provide the biggest benefit to you under any condition. Should you be forced into using a blue socket, then the best option is +9spellpower and +8spirit and with the yellow gems, it'd be +9spellpower and +8haste/crit. Apart from that, it should be written Runed Scarlet Rubies all over the place. When you pick your blue gems to meet the meta gem requirement, use them in sockets where the bonus effect is spellpower. Meeting a requirement that gives you additional stamina for example is very superfluous.
Conclusion
Affliction warlocks have a playstyle of their own. The closest you get is the shadowpriest but then again; they're not as DoT dependant as the warlock.
I'm sure that much more could be said about the affliction warlock but the above is a description of the most important things. I thank you for reading through it if you actually did read through it and not just scrooled down to the bottom, and most of all I hope that you actually learnt something from this guide or atleast got some new ideas for a new and interesting playstyle or what not.
After all, who am I to tell you what to do if you’ve already figured a very effective way of playing your affliction warlock already.
But remember ... it takes zero brain to spam one button mercilessly until your target is dead, but it takes class to combine 7 – 8 different spells, track DoTs and time the casts correctly. That's what makes the affliction warlock a continuously challenging class to play.
