Season of Discovery Affliction Warlock DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities

You have a plethora of spells and abilities you can use as a Warlock. Your main priority is to keep your assigned curse up at all times, keep your damage over time spells ( Corruption, Unstable Affliction, your assigned Curse and Drain Life with the Rune Master Channeler) on the target, and then fill with Shadow Bolt. Use Shadowburn as a finisher as the boss is dying or while needing to move. If you choose to use Immolation Aura, then make sure that you have that active before you start combat.

1. Precast Shadow Bolt
2. Make sure your Imp is attacking.
3. Apply Curse of Recklessness, or whatever your assigned Curse is.
4. Cast Haunt and keep it on cooldown.
5. Cast Corruption and keep it on the boss at all times. Let the DoT expire before refreshing it.
6. Cast Unstable Affliction and keep it on the boss at all times. Let the DoT expire before refreshing it.
7. Cast Drain Life and keep it on the boss at all times.
8. Cast Shadow Bolt while waiting to refresh any of your DoT's.
9. Cast Shadowburn to finish the boss off or while needing to move. This ability costs a Soul Shard, so make sure you have one.

While there are a few different AoE spells that Warlocks can use, not all of them should be. Rain of Fire and Hellfire aren't used often as Affliction. Your best AoE comes from both Shadow Bolt Volley and Immolation Aura. It would be wise to keep an extra belt and glove with those Runes on them to quickly swap and enable the use of those AoE spells. Otherwise, you have to sit and deal with the cast time of equipping the new Runes in between each pull.

The best option for Affliction is to turn on Immolation Aura, apply Corruption to a few mobs and spam Shadow Bolt Volley. If you're lucky, you will get Nightfall procs and be able to spit out five Shadow Bolts instantly. If you're engineering, make sure to throw a Dense Dynamite and also use a Goblin Sapper Charge.

1. Swap both Immolation Aura and Shadow Bolt Volley on.
2. Cast Immolation Aura and keep it on.
3. Apply Corruption to a few enemies with the hopes of getting Nightfall procs, which will result in instant cast Shadow Bolt that shoots five projectiles instead of one.
4. Cast Shadow Bolt Volley.
5. Throw a Dense Dynamite and use a Goblin Sapper Charge if you are Engineering.

Below is a list of all spells you will find yourself using in Season of Discovery in order of what level you learn them. If you don't see a spell listed, then you won't need to use it.

• Shadow Bolt — Your main filler spell. Cast this once your priority DoTs are up.
• Corruption — Your main DoT. Keep this up as much as you can. Also can proc Nightfall.
• Unstable Affliction — A DoT that you should try to keep on the boss as much as you can, while making sure not to overlap(clip).
• Drain Life — A channeled spell that transfers health from the enemy to you. Becomes a DoT if you use the Rune Master Channeler.
• Shadowburn — Used as a finisher or when moving during the boss encounter. Costs a Soul Shard.
• Searing Pain — A very short cast that deals fire damage and causes high threat. Becomes instant cast if you use the Metamorphosis Rune.

Curse are the main priority for Warlocks. Raids will typically have a few Warlocks and each will have one of the main debuff curses; Curse of Recklessness, Curse of the Elements, Curse of Shadow and Curse of Agony. Only one Curse can be on the target per Warlock. Curse of Recklessness is the most important Curse as this significantly buffs all physical DPS in your raid. Curse of the Elements is the next most important one and should be applied by a second Warlock if applicable. Curse of Shadow is to be used if you have a third Warlock and only if there is an Affliction Warlock or Shadow Priest in your raid, as it only benefits them. Curse of Agony is to be used if you have a third Warlock and your raid lacks a Shadow Priest or Affliction Warlock, otherwise this is to be used if you have a fourth Warlock in the raid. Below is a list of all the curses you will find yourself using in Season of Discovery in order of what level you learn them.

• Curse of Agony — A DoT that last 24 seconds and ramps up, dealing most damage towards the end. Use this for damage if you don't have to put one of the main debuff curses up.
• Curse of Recklessness — Puts a debuff on the target, increases its attack power, but also reducing its armor. Should be maintained on the boss with full uptime, and has top priority in your list of curses.
• Curse of Weakness — Puts a debuff on the target that reduces the damage it does.
• Curse of the Elements — This makes the target take 8% increased Fire and Frost dmaage, as well as reduces their Fire and Frost resistances by 60.
• Curse of Shadow — This makes the target take 8% increased Fire and Frost dmaage, as well as reduces their Fire and Frost resistances by 60

Below is a list of all utility spells you will find yourself using in Season of Discovery in order of what level you learn them. If you don't see a spell listed, then you won't need to use it.

• Demon Skin — Puts a buff on you that increases your armor and gives you health every 5 seconds. Keep this on you at all times.
• Demon Armor — Same thing as Demon Skin, but stronger. Use this once you get it over Demon Skin.
• Death Coil — An instant cast spell that will cause your target to be horrified, and also heal you for the damage dealt.
• Life Tap — Turns your health into Mana. You will be using this a lot. You cannot kill yourself with this.
• Fear — Crowd control. Causes the target to run around in Fear. Used frequently while leveling, in dungeons and PvP.
• Drain Soul — Drains the targets soul for very little damage, but if you're draining the target and it dies, you gain a Soul Shard. This is the only way to get Soul Shards.
• Create Healthstone — Creates a stone that heals you.
• Health Funnel — A channeled spell that takes some of your health and transfers it to your demon
• Unending Breath — A buff that allows your friendly target to breathe underwater.
• Ritual of Summoning — Allows you, with the help of two others, to summon your party or raid members to your location.
• Drain Mana — A channeled spell that drains the targets Mana. Largely used in PvP.

Warlocks are one of two classes that can use pets. Demons are an integral part of being a Warlock and have many uses. Most of the time you will use the Imp to supply your party with Blood Pact, but there are niche times when you will use the other ones. A popular build uses a talent called Demonic Sacrifice, which sacrifices your pet in return for a powerful buff depending on which demon you sacrificed.

• Imp — Your main pet. It casts Firebolt and applies Blood Pact to your party, giving them Stamina. Also has Fire Shield and can Phase Shift so it doesn't die while in combat.
• Felguard — A Tanky Demon that charges and Cleaves. Does great damage, but loses out slightly to your Imp.
• VoidWalker — A tanky demon that will allow you to Sacrifice for a big absorb shield. Also has a taunt Torment and an AoE taunt Suffering.
• Succubus/Incubus — A squishy melee pet that has the ability to charm targets with Seduction.
• Felhunter — A felhound able to purge enemies and friendlies. Also able to interrupt spell casting.