Mists of Pandaria Classic Demonology Warlock Stat Priority
On this page, you will find out the optimal PvE stat priority for your Demonology Warlock in Mists of Pandaria Classic. We first present the stat priority, before delving into more complex explanations.
Stat Priority for Demonology Warlock
The stat priority for Demonology Warlock is as follows:
- Hit Rating (15% - 5100 rating is Hit Cap)
- Intellect
- Haste Rating soft cap (3036 for one extra
Doom tick, 8064 for two) - Mastery Rating
- Critical Strike Rating
- Haste Rating
Intellect
Intellect is the primary stat for all Warlock specializations. This not only makes your spells do more damage, but Intellect also increases your critical strike chance. This stat should be on ALL of your gear.
Every point of Intellect gives one Spell Power, which increases your and your demon’s damage. After you obtain your 15% Hit cap, prioritize stacking Intellect and it should be on all of your gear. You'll get more of it on higher iLev gear, making that the main factor to consider while gearing.
Hit/Expertise Rating
Hit rating is the next most important stat and is vital to doing damage because you must hit the boss in order to deal damage. Hit is very easy to obtain since it not only comes from many pieces of gear, but you can also reforge and gem hit in your gear.
15% is the hit cap, which is 5100 hit rating and is CRUCIAL to obtain. Once you hit the cap, you can never miss. However, once you hit the cap, hit is USELESS, so try not to go much higher than the cap, with the aim to be right at the sweet spot of 5100 Hit rating.
Note that both Gnomes and Humans have a Racial that gives them 1% Expertise/Hit.
- Gnomes:
Shortblade Specialization - Humans:
Sword Specialization
Haste Rating
Haste not only makes you cast your spells faster, but also makes your DoT spells tick
faster. With enough haste, you can reach certain breakpoints that will give you an
extra ticks of damage. For example, if you have 30.94% Haste - 13,153 Haste Rating - your
Doom will tick two extra times.
The following table is assuming you have raid wide 5% Spell Haste buff from Shadow Priests, Balance Druids and Elemental Shamans. This is also WITHOUT Bloodlust.
| Extra Ticks | Shadowflame | Corruption | Doom |
|---|---|---|---|
| +1 | 3.12% — 1,330 Rating | 5.41% — 231 Rating | 7.14% — 3,036 Rating |
| +2 | 18.97% — 8,064 Rating | 11.09% — 4,717 Rating | 30.94% — 13,153 Rating |
| +3 | 34.99% — 14,873 Rating | 21.67% — 9,211 Rating | 54.76% — 23,276 Rating |
| +4 | 50.81% — 21,596 Rating | 32.32% — 13,737 Rating | 78.56% — 33,389 Rating |
| +5 | 66.64% — 28,325 Rating | 42.83% — 18,207 Rating | 102% — 43,516 Rating |
| +6 | 82.62% — 35,115 Rating | 53.42% — 22,706 Rating | 126% — 53,636 Rating |
Mastery
Mastery greatly increases all the damage we deal while in our Demon Form, 
Metamorphosis.
You want to stack this after obtaining your Haste breakpoints.
Critical Strike
Critical strike makes you crit more, meaning you deal more damage. As long as you have your meta gem in that increases your crit damage, crits deal roughly twice the damage of normal hits. Your DoTs can crit as well.
For gearing recommendations before stepping into the new raids, check out our Pre Raid Gear Guide.
Changelog
- 02 Jun. 2025: Guide created.
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This Guide has been written by Crix, a long time tester for Ashes of Creation, with over 1,000 hours playing the game, and a majority of the time being spent on Mages. He is in the guild Enveus and hosts multiple PvP Tournaments. You can find his Ashes of Creation guides on YouTube and his stream on Twitch.