WotLK Classic Destruction Warlock Guide

Last updated on Jan 18, 2023 at 12:00 by Crix 3 comments

Welcome to our Destruction Warlock guide for WotLK Classic, tailored for PvE content. Here, you will learn how all you need to know to play Destruction Warlock proficiently. Click the links below to navigate the guide or read this page for a short introduction.

1.

Introduction

Destruction Warlocks, as they have always been, are focused on hard casting powerful abilities into your enemies, using all Fire spells and your Summon Imp IconSummon Imp shooting our Firebolt IconFirebolts faster and harder than ever. However, Destruction is known to be a little lackluster when it comes to damage. It cannot keep up with the single-target of Affliction and also cannot keep up with the AoE of Demonology.

That being said, Destruction is still very viable and extremely fun and engaging to play. You are able to at any moment do an immense amount of damage all in one go with powerful spells like Incinerate IconIncinerate, Conflagrate IconConflagrate, Immolate IconImmolate, and the new ability Chaos Bolt IconChaos Bolt.

For a better understanding of where Warlocks are in regards to other classes and specializations in Wrath Classic, you can check out our PvE DPS rankings below. However, ultimately, you should not let these lists dissuade you from playing what you enjoy.

2.

Strengths and Weaknesses

V Strengths
X Weaknesses
  • -The weakest of the 3 Warlock specializations.
  • -Lower single-target than Affliction
  • -Lower AoE than Demonology
  • -No execute ability
3.

Best Races for Destruction Warlock

The best race for Warlock is Human, if you are Alliance, and Orc, if you are Horde.

For Alliance players, Human grants you an excellent PvP racial in the form of Will to Survive IconWill to Survive, as well as additional Spell Power via Fel Armor IconFel Armor and the bonus Spirit Humans gain from The Human Spirit IconThe Human Spirit.

For the Horde, Command IconCommand and Blood Fury IconBlood Fury are both very strong for a Warlock, making Orc by far the best choice.

4.

Best Professions for Destruction Warlock

4.1.

Engineering

As a Destruction Warlock you have a few options. Engineering is extremely strong and is the best profession you can get in terms of damage. You get an insane Haste enchant called Hyperspeed Accelerators Icon Hyperspeed Accelerators on your Gloves that gives you 340 Haste for 12 seconds and it is only on a one-minute cooldown. This is an absolutely amazing ability and is worth Engineering simply for that. You can pop this with your Trinkets and all your other cooldowns.

You also get the infamous Nitro Boosts Icon Nitro Boosts, which are put ON your current Boots. It is not a separate pair of boots like it was in Classic and TBC. They not only give you some much needed mobility, but the boots can get you out of many sketchy situations, allowing you to very quickly get away from things or get to things and continue pumping. One thing I really like about them is that I am constantly trying to seed, which naturally has me falling back every so often, so I love to use the boots to catch quickly back up to the raid and continue seeding.

Another perk to Engineering is what has been known for years: the explosives. You have Global Thermal Sapper Charge Icon Global Thermal Sapper Charge, Saronite Bomb Icon Saronite Bomb, and even a Frag Belt IconFrag Belt, all of which you must be Engineering to use and all of which also will give you a solid boost in your overall damage.

You also get a cloak enchant called Springy Arachnoweave IconSpringy Arachnoweave for 27 Spell Power and also has the ability to turn your cloak into a parachute cloak.

4.2.

Tailoring

Tailoring allows you to enchant your cloak with Lightweave Embroidery IconLightweave Embroidery, which is a proc chance of 295 Spell Power for 15 sec with a 60-second internal cooldown. This is phenomenal for Destruction as it adds to the immense amount of damage you gained from your talents.

5.

Changelog

  • 18 Jan. 2023 (pre-raid gear page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 18 Jan. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 18 Jan. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 18 Jan. 2023 (rotation page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 18 Jan. 2023 (talents page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 18 Jan. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 18 Jan. 2023 (this page): Reviewed for Phase 2 release ahead of Ulduar raid release.
  • 17 Jan. 2023 (gear page): Updated for Phase 2.
  • 19 Oct. 2022 (pre-raid gear page): Page added.
  • 19 Oct. 2022 (gear page): Page added.
  • 19 Oct. 2022 (enchants page): General guide updates.
  • 19 Oct. 2022 (stats page): General guide updates.
  • 19 Oct. 2022 (rotation page): Page added.
  • 19 Oct. 2022 (talents page): Page added.
  • 19 Oct. 2022 (spells page): Page added.
  • 19 Oct. 2022 (this page): General guide updates.
  • 25 Sep. 2022 (enchants page): Page added.
  • 25 Sep. 2022 (stats page): Page added.
  • 25 Sep. 2022 (this page): Page added.
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