World of Warcraft: Forever Demonology Warlock Leveling Guide

Demonology focuses on keeping a powerful Demon fighting alongside you, using your spells to deal damage while your talents focus on empowering your Demon itself. Demonic Energies makes this much easier early on by healing your Demon whenever you deal damage, and Demonic Brand makes Searing Pain brand the target, greatly increasing your Demons damage dealt to them.

This build improves your Voidwalker for solo questing and takes Soul Link at Level 30, making you much harder to kill while your Demon is active. You learn Demonic Sacrifice at Level 29, but should keep your pet until Demonic Pact at Level 40 lets you keep a sacrifice buff alongside a different Demon. You then move into Affliction for more reliable spells, instant Corruption, and better mana regeneration.

Use the level sliders below to follow the talent build and find zones and dungeons for your current level. If you find an area you enjoy or a group you want to keep playing with, spend some extra time there! There are plenty of ways to reach Level 60, and you don't need to follow the same route every time.

This build starts in Demonology and focuses on improving your Demon's damage, resources, and ability to tank enemies while you cast. You take Demonic Pact at Level 40 before moving into the Affliction tree for Suppression, Improved Corruption, and additional damage and Mana recovery. The finished build has 31 points in Demonology and 20 in Affliction.

Your first five points go into Unholy Power from Levels 10 to 14, increasing all damage dealt by your Demon by 10%. Your pet is a large part of your damage throughout leveling as Demonology, be sure to send it in at the start of combat. Unholy Power affects all of your demons, where as other talents only apply to a specific demon.

Take Demonic Energies at Levels 15 and 16. At two points, you heal your Demon for 15% of the damage you deal, and Life Tap gives it Mana equal to the amount you gain. This talent is massive for Demonology and helps keep your demon healthy and full of Mana.

Take Fel Vitality from Levels 17 to 19, increasing your Demon's max Health and Mana by 15% and your own max Mana by 15%. The extra Health is big thing here, keeping your Demon alive longer.

Take Improved Voidwalker from Levels 20 to 22, improving Torment, Consume Shadows, Sacrifice, and Suffering by 30%. This makes your Voidwalker much better at holding enemies and recovering between pulls, while also improving its emergency shield. With these talents you can easily solo most group quests and elite mobs by simply hiding behind your Voidwalker.

Take Master Summoner at Levels 23 and 24, reducing the cast time of your Demons by four seconds and their Mana cost by 40%. Replacing a dead pet or changing Demons will take much less time, makes setting up your sacrifice buff easier once you have Demonic Pact, and is required for a future talent.

Take Demonic Brand from Levels 25 to 27. Your Searing Pain now brands its target for ten seconds, empowering your Demon's next attacks against that enemy. This is one of the best talents in the Demonology tree, and is a huge part of your gameplay.

Learn Fel Domination at Level 28. Gives you a cooldown that reduces the cast time of your next Demon by 5.5 seconds and its Mana cost by 50%. Combined with Master Summoner, this lets you replace a Demon almost instantly if it dies during a fight.

Learn Demonic Sacrifice at Level 29, but you wont be sacrificing your just pet yet. Keep using your pet normally until Demonic Pact at Level 40 allows you to keep both the sacrifice buff and a different Demon.

Learn Soul Link at Level 30. While active, your Demon takes 30% of the damage you have taken, and both you and your pet deal 3% more damage. This is absolutely incredible for solo play and PvP, but also means that your pet will take damage even when it's not tanking. Keep it healthy and apply Soul Link again after replacing your Demon.

Take Demonic Knowledge from Levels 31 to 33. At three points, it gives both you and your Demon additional spell damage equal to your level while you have a pet active. This is a strong damage increase that continues growing each time you level up. Put one point into Demonic Aegis at Level 34 to unlock the next tier of talents.

Take Master Demonologist from Levels 35 to 39. At five points, your active Demon grants both of you a bonus: an Imp gives 10% Fire damage, a Succubus gives 10% Shadow damage, a Voidwalker reduces Physical damage taken by 10%, and a Felhunter reduces Magic damage taken by 10%. For this build you will primarily be using Succubus and taking advantage of the increased Shadow damage buff.

Learn Demonic Pact at Level 40. You can now use Demonic Sacrifice and summon a different Demon without losing the buff. For solo questing, we recommend sacrificing a Felhunter to hea 3% of your max Health every four seconds; for dungeons you will want to sacrifice your Imp for the 15% increased Shadow damage. After sacrificing your first Demon, summon your Succubus back as your permanent Demon.

The Demonic Sacrifice buff lasts two hours; summoning the same type of Demon you sacrificed will remove it, so don't summon another Felhunter if you want to keep the healing buff. If you need the sacrificed pet's utility, use it and set up your sacrifice again afterward.

Move into Affliction and put four points into Suppression from Levels 41 to 44. This gives you 4% Hit chance and reduces your threat by 16%; against equal or lower level enemies, this will remove your chance to miss entirely. We leave the final point until Level 60.

Take Improved Corruption from Levels 45 to 49. At five points, Corruption becomes instant and deals 10% more damage. This makes applying it while moving much easier, but you will still need to stand and cast it before finishing the talent.Put one point into Improved Life Tap at Level 50 for 10% more Mana from Life Tap; we will finish this off later.

Take Improved Bane of Agony at Levels 51 and 52, increasing Bane of Agony damage by 10%. Let the spell finish its duration when possible, since its strongest ticks come toward the end.

Take Pandemic from Levels 53 to 55, increasing the Critical Strike damage bonus of your main Shadow DoTs and Drain spells by 100%. This makes their critical hits much stronger, but doesn't increase their Critical Strike Chance. We take this later as you have more opportunities to find Critical Strike on gear, making it more valuable than it would be during the early levels.

Take Nightfall at Levels 56 and 57. At two points, damage from Corruption, Drain Soul, and Drain Life has a 4% chance to make your next Shadow Bolt instant. Use the proc before it expires, ideally on an enemy with enough Health to take the full hit. Finish Improved Life Tap at Level 58, bringing the Mana bonus to 20%.

Learn Amplify Curse at Level 59. It improves your next Bane of Agony, Curse of Weakness, or Curse of Exhaustion by 50%. Use it before Bane of Agony on a durable enemy for more damage.

Learn Curse of Exhaustion at Level 60. It slows an enemy by 30% for 12 seconds, giving you space to move or stopping a runner from reaching another pack. Great for soloing difficult enemies that you can slow and kite around.

Your Demon quests are worth doing as soon as you can. Each one adds another pet and its abilities, giving you more options for both questing and dungeons. The main quests become available at the levels below.

Starting area: Summon Imp. Complete the Warlock quest offered in your starting area as soon as you can. Humans receive The Stolen Tome from Drusilla La Salle in Northshire, Gnomes receive Beginnings from Alamar Grimm in Anvilmar, and Undead receive Piercing the Veil from Venya Marthand in Deathknell. Orcs and Trolls should follow Ruzan's Vile Familiars in the Valley of Trials.

Your Level 10 class quest unlocks Summon Voidwalker. Alliance players should check with Gakin the Darkbinder at the Slaughtered Lamb in Stormwind, and Horde players can follow the route offered by Gan'rul Bloodeye in Orgrimmar or Carendin Halgar in Undercity depending on race. Complete the chain and its final The Binding (Stormwind), The Binding (Orgrimmar), or The Binding (Undercity) encounter to learn the summon. This is your first tanking pet and is a massive help when questing alone early on.

At Level 20 you can begin the quests for Summon Succubus or Summon Incubus. Check with Gakin the Darkbinder in Stormwind, Gan'rul Bloodeye in Orgrimmar, or Carendin Halgar in Undercity for your available chain depending on your race. The two Demons have the same abilities, including Seduction once trained at Level 26, so simply choose which one you want based on the look. These quests involve travel, so grab the quest before leaving town and keep this quest in mind while you are out.

Your Level 30 class quest unlocks Summon Felhunter. Follow your trainer's intructions to find Strahad Farsan near Ratchet in The Barrens, then complete the Tome of the Cabal (Alliance) or Tome of the Cabal (Horde) chain, followed by The Binding. The book research sends Alliance players to Krom Stoutarm in Ironforge and Horde players to Jorah Annison in Undercity. Your new Demon gives you Devour Magic, while the Grimoire for Spell Lock becomes available at Level 36, adding an interrupt to its abilities.

Demonology fights alongside an active pet throughout leveling. Send your Demon in, apply DoTs that will have time to deal damage, and use Searing Pain to empower its attacks once you have Demonic Brand. Your damage heals your pet, while Life Tap supplies both of you with Mana thanks to Demonic Energies.

Most Warlock spells cost Mana, but Life Tap lets you use your Health to pay for more casts. You will also collect Soul Shards, which are needed for several Warlock spell such as demonic summonings and utility spells.

The following priorities cover both solo questing and dealing damage in dungeons. For short fights, focus on spells that will deal their damage before the enemy dies rather than applying DoTs that will not fully tick. Against elites and bosses, you have more time to benefit from your full set of DoTs and damage increasing debuffs.

Keep Demon Skin active, replacing it with Demon Armor after Level 20. Send your Demon in as you begin attacking, giving it time to build threat when it is tanking for you. A Voidwalker is a comfortable solo choice with this build, while a Succubus or Incubus gives you more melee damage and an Imp attacks from range. From Level 30, keep Soul Link active and reapply it after changing Demons.

From Level 40, prepare your Demonic Sacrifice buff before pulling, then summon a different Demon to keep it through Demonic Pact. Sacrificing a Felhunter and using a Voidwalker is our recommended solo setup for steady healing and a tanking pet. Don't begin doing this at Level 29 when you first learn Demonic Sacrifice, as you can't keep both benefits yet.

At lower levels you want to find a balance of kill speed and Mana cost efficiency; using too few spells to kill an enemy results in you taking far too much damage and needing to heal up afterwards, too many spells and you overkill the mob, wasting DoTs and not utilizing your wand at all. Trial and error is the best way to approach this; try to find that sweet spot where things are dying right around the same time that your DoTs are falling off.

1. Start every fight by first sending your Demon in. You want it to reach the enemy first so it can generate some threat and tank for you. Proper control of your Demon is crucial to this build, so find some keybinds that you are comfortable with to control your pet.
2. From Level 25, use Searing Pain to apply Demonic Brand to the enemy your pet is attacking. It empowers your Demon's next 6 attacks against that target, so keep your pet on it and reapply the Brand when its empowered attacks are used or it expires. Keeping this debuff up is a major part of the Demonology rotation.
3. Use Curse of the Elements from Level 20 against durable enemies to increase their Magic damage taken. It is especially useful on dungeon bosses where other casters also benefit. Use Curse of Weakness instead when reducing melee damage is more useful; you can keep either Curse active alongside Bane of Agony.
4. Apply Bane of Agony when the enemy will survive enough of its duration. Its damage increases toward the end, so let it finish before reapplying it. Refreshing it early loses its strongest ticks and starts the weaker part of the spell again. From Level 58, use Amplify Curse before it when you want more damage against a healthier enemy.
5. Apply Corruption early when the mob will live long enough. It has a cast time until Level 49, when you finish Improved Corruption and can apply it while moving. From Level 56, its damage can also trigger Nightfall.
6. Use Nightfall procs for instant Shadow Bolt casts from Level 56 onward. Use the proc before it expires, fitting the cast between DoT applications and channels when possible. The cast is instant, but still costs Mana; try to use it on the highest health enemy to more evenly spread your damage.
7. Immolate can be used as a filler here, applying it to multiple enemies that will live for most of its duration. Without Bane, the cast time of Immolate is high, so only do this if you have nothing better to do.
8. Use your wand to finish enemies without spending Mana, especially during the early levels when a strong wand will carry a large portion of your damage. Let your DoTs and pet finish the enemy rather than paying for another spell that it won't survive. Wanding should be a large part of your gameplay as this build, letting DoTs and your pet finish most enemies off.
9. Use Drain Life from Level 14 when you need healing. Your DoTs and Demon continue dealing damage during the channel, letting you recover Health while still attacking. Use Health Funnel instead if your pet needs urgent healing that Demonic Energies can't provide quickly enough.
10. Use Life Tap when you have Health available to turn it into Mana. With Demonic Energies, this also restores your Demon's Mana, so watch its bar to see if it needs Mana, as well as your own. Fit Taps between casts or while moving, and don't spend so much Health that you can't safely take a hit.
11. Use Drain Soul when you need Soul Shards. Its ticks can generate Shards from eligible enemies before they die, and channeling as one dies also gives you a Shard.

When questing, keep your Demon attacking one enemy while you apply DoTs to the others. Keep Demonic Brand on the enemy your Demon is actually attacking, and swap your pet frequently between targets after you Brand them to spread its threat around evenly.

In dungeons, adjust to how quickly the group kills each pack. Durable enemies give your DoTs time to work, while large packs that die quickly can make your Fire AoE spells more useful. Always keep your Demon attacking, and move it out of dangerous effects quickly rather than leaving it to die.

1. Apply Corruption to enemies that will survive enough of its duration. It still has a cast time until Level 49, so don't spend the entire pull applying it to weak mobs that are already dying. Once you have Nightfall at Level 56, several copies ticking give you more chances for an instant Shadow Bolt.
2. Put Bane of Agony on durable enemies. You don't need to fully DoT every weak mob in a dungeon pack that your group is already killing quickly, especially when it won't survive the spell's stronger final ticks.
3. Use Searing Pain from Level 25 to keep Demonic Brand on your pet's current target. Let it use the empowered attacks before moving it to another mob unless you need to change targets for a more important reason.
4. Use Rain of Fire from Level 20 against enemies grouped together, especially in dungeons where a tank is holding the pack. It lets you damage the whole group without spending several casts applying DoTs to each enemy.
5. Use Hellfire from Level 30 against enemies grouped around you when you have healing to support it. Its self damage and melee range make it better suited to organized dungeon pulls than your normal solo questing rotation. Watch your pet's Health as well as your own while Soul Link is active.
6. Channel Drain Life when you need healing while your DoTs and Demon keep attacking. Use Health Funnel if your pet is taking more damage than Demonic Energies can heal, especially when several mobs are hitting it.
7. From Level 56, use Nightfall procs for instant Shadow Bolt casts while your DoTs continue ticking. Use these on an enemy with enough Health to take the hit, or to finish a dangerous mob before it can keep attacking.

Your Demon is a large part of your damage, with DoTs and direct casts adding your own damage alongside it. Searing Pain becomes especially important once Demonic Brand lets it improve your pet's attacks, while your Drain spells still help recover Health and collect Soul Shards.

• Corruption: Learned at Level 4. A Shadow DoT that becomes instant at Level 49 with Improved Corruption. Its damage can also trigger Nightfall from Level 56 onward.
• Bane of Agony: Learned at Level 8. Deals more Shadow damage toward the end of its duration, so refreshing it early cuts off its strongest ticks. Improved Bane of Agony increases its damage from Levels 51 and 52, and it can stay active alongside a utility Curse.
• Searing Pain: Learned at Level 18. A short Fire damage cast that generates high threat before your talents reduce it. From Level 25, Demonic Brand makes it empower your Demon's next 6 attacks against the target. Keep your pet attacking that enemy to make use of the Brand, dealing increased damage and threat.
• Life Tap: Learned at Level 6. Converts Health into Mana, with Spirit increasing the amount converted. Improved Life Tap gives you 20% more Mana per use.
• Drain Life: Learned at Level 14. Channels damage into an enemy while restoring your Health. Your DoTs and Demon continue attacking during the channel, making it useful after Life Tap or when a mob is hitting you.
• Drain Soul: Learned at Level 10. Channels Shadow damage and generates Soul Shards. From Level 54, killing a nontrivial enemy while channeling it also triggers Soul Harvest for Mana regeneration. Its damage can trigger Nightfall from Level 56.
• Shadow Bolt: Your main direct cast early on and an option for damage between DoT applications and Demonic Brand refreshes. From Level 56, Nightfall procs let you cast it instantly, adding direct damage without its normal cast time.
• Immolate: Available from Level 1. An initial Fire hit followed by a Fire DoT. You can precast it on the pull while your Demon moves in, then apply your other spells while it keeps ticking.
• Rain of Fire: Learned at Level 20. Channels Fire damage into a selected area, giving you an AoE option from range.
• Hellfire: Learned at Level 30. Channels Fire damage around you, damaging nearby enemies and yourself. Very high damage at the cost of your own Health, and puts you in a dangerous position to pull aggro from the mobs you are attacking.

Keep an active Demon throughout leveling. This build improves your Voidwalker for comfortable solo questing, while a Succubus or Incubus is useful when you want more damage. Don't use Demonic Sacrifice when first learned at Level 29; instead, wait until you get Demonic Pact at Level 40, then summon a different Demon after sacrificing so you keep the buff and your pet.

Train your Demon's abilities. Unlike a class trainer, Demon Trainers sell Grimoires that teach new abilities as well as newer ranks of previous spells. Summon the appropriate Demon before using its book to teach it that particular spell; keep the main abilities you use trained up throughout leveling. Your pet's damage, threat, and utility remain important after Demonic Pact, so don't stop buying its useful Grimoires.

• Summon Imp: A ranged Fire damage pet that provides extra Stamina and group support. Its ranged attacks let you keep it away from mobs that are being tanked by someone else.
  • Blood Pact: Available for your Imp from Level 4. Increases the Stamina of nearby party members. Keep your Imp in range so the group receives the buff.
  • Fire Shield: Available for your Imp from Level 14. Buffs a friendly target to deal Fire damage to melee attackers that hit it. Use it on someone who is taking regular melee hits.
• Summon Voidwalker: Your tanking pet. It generates high threat and holds mobs while you cast. Having it take melee hits reduces your damage taken and prevents those attacks from delaying your casts and channels.
  • Torment: Your Voidwalker's threat ability. Keep it on autocast when the pet is tanking for you. It generates threat, rather than forcing the mob to change targets like a taunt.
  • Sacrifice: Available for your Voidwalker from Level 16. Sacrifices the Demon to give you an absorb shield. While the shield holds, damage won't cause spell pushback. This gives you protection and time to finish a cast, but removes your pet from the fight.
  • Consume Shadows: Available for your Voidwalker from Level 18. Lets the pet channel a heal on itself out of combat. Use it between pulls while you are leveling with a Voidwalker.
• Summon Succubus and Summon Incubus: Melee damage pets with Humanoid crowd control. They have the same abilities, so choose whichever appearance you prefer. Their attacks deal high damage, making them strong pets early on.
  • Seduction: Available for your Succubus or Incubus from Level 26. Controls a Humanoid while your Demon channels the spell. Any damage breaks it, including DoT ticks, so use it on a mob you haven't already dotted. Leave your pet channeling until you are ready to fight that target.
• Summon Felhunter: A pet with an interrupt and a Magic dispel, making it useful against casters and enemies with strong Magic buffs or debuffs.
  • Devour Magic: Available for your Felhunter at Level 30. Removes a harmful Magic effect from an ally or a beneficial Magic effect from an enemy, healing the Felhunter when successful. Use it to clear a dangerous debuff or remove an enemy's Magic buff.
  • Spell Lock: Available for your Felhunter through a Grimoire at Level 36. Silences an enemy and interrupts its cast, locking that spell school if it interrupts successfully. Use it manually so it is ready for the spell you want to stop.

Use the "Move To" command. This command lets you send your Demon to a location within 100 yards. Use it to place your pet near an enemy caster, move it out of AoE, or keep it clear of mobs you are passing. Keep Attack and Follow easy to reach as well, so you can send your pet in and bring it back without clicking through its bar.

Control important abilities yourself. Put spells such as Spell Lock and Seduction on manual keybinds so you can choose when to use them. Using autocast on these spells will cause them to go off randomly, usually accomplishing nothing. Turn off Torment when a dungeon tank is holding the mobs, and use Passive mode when you want full control over which target your pet attacks by choosing when to send it in. The Shadow damage from Demonic Brand also generates high threat, so only turning off Torment doesn't remove every source of pet threat.

When changing Demons, your current pet is stunned for the summon cast duration; if you need to make a pet swap, try to do so before a fight. Dismiss your pet before jumping down a ledge if it would otherwise take a different route and pull mobs on the way, especially inside dungeons.

Warlocks bring Curses, stones, summons, and several ways to control mobs. Your pet adds more utility on top of that, including dispels and interrupts. Keep these abilities available alongside your damage spells; they are a large part of what you bring to a dungeon or group quest.

Click for Utility and Crowd Control Explanation

• Demon Skin: Your early Armor and Health regeneration buff. Keep it active until you replace it with Demon Armor.
• Demon Armor: Learned at Level 20. Increases Armor, Shadow Resistance, and Health regeneration. Keep it active and remember to refresh it after dying. Demonic Aegis improves its effects by 15% with your one point at Level 34.
• Shadow Ward: Learned at Level 32. Absorbs Shadow damage. Use it before a Shadow spell lands to absorb part of the hit. If you are fighting enemies that you know deal Shadow damage, you can use this before entering combat, essentially giving yourself an absorption shield against them.
• Health Funnel: Learned at Level 12. Channels your Health into your Demon to heal it. Demonic Energies handles much of its normal healing, but use this when your pet is losing Health faster than your damage can restore it. You can't deal your normal damage while channeling, so use it when the extra healing is needed.
• Create Healthstone: Learned at Level 10. Uses a Soul Shard to create a Healthstone for an instant heal. Make one for yourself and offer them to your group before a dungeon; these are consumed when used.
• Create Soulstone: Learned at Level 18. Uses a Soul Shard to create a Soulstone. Apply it to yourself or an ally before death to let that player resurrect if they die while the buff is active. Keep it on yourself when questing alone, and in a dungeon using it on a healer can let them resurrect the party after a wipe.
• Ritual of Summoning: Learned at Level 20. Summons a party or raid member to your location. It costs a Soul Shard and needs two other group members to help. Have them click the portal while out of combat and remain still until the summon finishes. This is everyone's favorite Warlock spell.
• Unending Breath: Learned at Level 16. Gives a friendly target 10 minutes of underwater breathing. Buff your group before an underwater quest so everyone can stay submerged. Leveling areas often have underwater spots where players struggle with the short breath timers in WoW Forever.
• Detect Invisibility: First learned at Level 26. Lets you or a friendly player detect invisible enemies. This doesn't reveal enemies that are using Stealth. This has very niche uses, so don't worry about always buffing yourself with it while questing.
• Fear: Learned at Level 8. Makes one enemy flee while your DoTs can continue dealing damage. Damage can break the effect, and the mob can run into another pack. Use it where there is room for the enemy to move without pulling more mobs; certain creatures are immune to fear effects, such as Undead and Machines.
• Howl of Terror: Learned at Level 40, fears up to five mobs around you. It gives you room to move or recover if you get surrounded, but the fleeing mobs can pull more enemies just as they can with Fear Unless you planned to use Howl, this is typically a panic button you use before running away.
• Death Coil: Learned at Level 42. Instantly damages an enemy, heals you, and causes three seconds of Horror. Damage doesn't break the Horror, so your DoTs keep dealing damage throughout it. Great to interrupt a enemy casting or healing, or to simply get an enemy off you temporarily.
• Banish: Learned at Level 28. Takes a Demon or Elemental out of the fight, making it unable to act or take damage. Use it to control an extra mob while you deal with the others, then be ready to cast it again when the effect ends. Different ranks of this spell control the enemy for different durations.
• Subjugate Demon: Learned at Level 30. Uses a Soul Shard to control a suitable enemy Demon for up to five minutes. You can use that Demon's abilities while it replaces your normal pet. The control can break early, so be ready to deal with the Demon when it turns hostile.
• Curse of Weakness: Learned at Level 4. Reduces the Physical damage a mob deals, making it useful against elite melee enemies that hit you or your pet hard.
• Curse of Recklessness: Learned at Level 14. Reduces Armor and stops the target from fleeing, making it useful for melee groups and for keeping runners from reaching another pack. It also prevents Fear and Horror; replace it with another Curse before trying to fear that target. This is really useful when fighting enemies that flee when they reach low health, such as Humanoids or Murlocs.
• Curse of the Elements: Learned at Level 20. Reduces Magic resistances and increases Magic damage taken. It helps both your Fire and Shadow spells, along with any other casters in your group.
• Curse of Tongues: Learned at Level 26. Slows enemy casting, giving your group more time to interrupt a heal or dangerous spell. This is really useful against elite caster mobs, or enemies that have healing spells.
• Curse of Exhaustion: Taken at Level 60 with this build. Slows an enemy by 30% for 12 seconds. Use it to give yourself room to move or to stop a runner. It replaces your other Curse on that enemy, but can stay active with Bane of Agony.
• Amplify Curse: Taken at Level 59 with this build. Increases the effect of your next Bane of Agony, Curse of Weakness, or Curse of Exhaustion by 50%. Use it for more damage on a durable enemy or to strengthen a debuff when you need it.
• Fel Domination: Taken at Level 28 with this build. Makes your next permanent Demon summon much faster and cheaper, working alongside Master Summoner. Use it to replace a dead pet quickly or make an urgent swap. It doesn't remove a summon's Soul Shard cost.
• Soul Link: Taken at Level 30 with this build. Your Demon takes 30% of the damage you would take, and both of you deal 3% more damage. Keep it active and reapply it after replacing your pet. Watch your Demon's Health even when it isn't the one holding the enemy.
• Demonic Sacrifice: Taken at Level 29 with this build, but wait until Demonic Pact at Level 40 before using it for your normal leveling setup. Sacrifices your Demon for a two hour buff. An Imp gives 15% Shadow damage, a Felhunter restores 3% maximum Health every four seconds, a Voidwalker restores 2% maximum Mana every four seconds, and a Succubus or Incubus gives 15% Fire damage. With Demonic Pact, summoning a different Demon preserves the buff; summoning the sacrificed type removes it. This is separate from your Voidwalker's emergency Sacrifice shield, which you can still use before Level 40.

Use Create Firestone from Level 28, with Create Spellstone adding another option at Level 36. Both create weapon imbues that can be applied alongside Wizard Oil.

Firestone is a good choice when you are regularly casting Searing Pain and Immolate, since it adds Fire damage and spell Critical Strike Chance. Spellstone adds Shadow damage and spell Haste, making it useful when more of your damage comes from Shadow DoTs, Shadow Bolt, and drains. You don't need to replace your Firestone simply because Spellstone becomes available. Choose the one that fits the spells you are using and reapply it when changing weapons or when the timer expires.

Look for Spell Power to improve your damage alongside your Demon. You use both Fire and Shadow spells, so general Spell Power is more flexible than damage limited to one school. Spirit, Intellect, and Stamina support your Health and Mana and also buff your Demons directly. Hit makes your casts miss less, and later in this build we will grab Suppression to take care of it while leveling.

• Spell Power
  • Directly increases your spells' damage. General Spell Power improves both Searing Pain and your Shadow spells, while damage limited to Fire or Shadow only improves that school. We highly recommend that you use general Spell Damage gear rather than a specific school for this build.
• Critical Strike
  • Increases how often your spells critically strike, adding damage to your casts and DoTs. This build doesn't take the deeper talents that increase critical damage, so don't give up a large amount of Spell Power just to gain a small amount of crit.
• Hit
  • Makes spells more reliable. This build doesn't begin taking Suppression until Level 41, reaching 4% Hit at Level 44. Hit is useful when you can find it, especially against higher level enemies, but is uncommon on early gear.
• Intellect & Stamina
  • Intellect increases maximum Mana and spell Critical Strike Chance, while Stamina increases maximum Health. Fel Vitality improves your maximum Mana, and your Health can pay for both Life Tap and Health Funnel. Your demons also directly scale off of your stats, making these buff them as well as yourself.
• Spirit
  • Increases the amount of Mana restored by Life Tap, along with its Health cost. Demonic Energies gives that Mana to your pet as well, while Improved Life Tap improves the amount you gain later on. Spirit also helps your Mana regeneration, which becomes more useful once you have Soul Harvest, but prioritize offensive stats first.

Use the slider below to find questing zones and dungeons around your level. Finish nearby objectives together and collect dungeon quests before joining a run so you can complete several in one trip. Our Dungeon Hub lists the recommended levels and quests for each dungeon.

Be Efficient With Your Time

Warlock class quests can send you between continents. Pick up the chain before leaving town, collect flight paths along the way, and use your Hearthstone to cut down the return trip. Plan trainer visits around that travel so you can learn new spells and pet abilities without making a separate journey for each one.

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Loch Modan/Darkshore
  • The Barrens
• Available Dungeons:
  • Hall of Thanes
  • Ragefire Chasm

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Westfall/Darkshore
  • Silverpine Forest
• Available Dungeons:
  • Hall of Thanes
  • Ragefire Chasm and Ruins of Lordaeron

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Westfall/Redridge Mountains
  • The Barrens/Stonetalon Mountains
• Available Dungeons:
  • Hall of Thanes and The Deadmines
  • Wailing Caverns

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Redridge Mountains/Duskwood
  • Hillsbrad Foothills/Stonetalon Mountains
• Available Dungeons:
  • The Stockade and The Deadmines
  • Shadowfang Keep and Wailing Caverns

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Ashenvale/Duskwood
  • Ashenvale/Duskwood
• Available Dungeons:
  • Blackfathom Deeps and The Stockade
  • Blackfathom Deeps and Shadowfang Keep

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Wetlands/Ashenvale
  • Hillsbrad Foothills/Wetlands
• Available Dungeons:
  • Excavation Site: Wetlands and Blackfathom Deeps
  • Excavation Site: Wetlands and Blackfathom Deeps

• Zones to Quest in:
  • Wetlands/Ashenvale
  • Wetlands/Thousand Needles
• Available Dungeons:
  • Excavation Site: Wetlands and Gnomeregan, and City of Dalaran
  • Excavation Site: Wetlands and Razorfen Kraul, and City of Dalaran

Below are some items worth looking for as you level. There are options available for all different levels matching the slider above, with the item at the top of the list being the best choice for the current level, and a few options that are from quests included below. Gear options beyond level 35 are not entirely known at this time and will be filled out more thoroughly in the future once the game has fully released.

Gear coming soon!

With the WoW Forever Beta only reaching Level 30, we unfortunately are unable to provide more specific advice on which zones or gear to tackle beyond Level 30. Make sure to check back once WoW Forever has launched, as we will be updating this section of our Subtlety Rogue leveling guide soon after!

Get a wand early. A wand gives you damage without spending Mana, which is extremely helpful during the starting levels, and remains useful for the entire leveling journey. Crafted wands can be bought from other players even if you don't have Enchanting. You need to stand still briefly before shooting, and Spell Power doesn't increase your wand's damage.

Keep food, water, and bandages available. Your Health and Mana work together, so recover whichever resource you need before moving on. Bandages are useful after Life Tap, while eating and drinking together can refill both bars at once. Keep a Healthstone available for healing during a fight if you ever get low on health.

Keep up with your professions. Gather herbs, ore, or leather while questing instead of returning to low level zones later to catch up. Those materials help pay for new spell ranks, and can be kept for a crafting profession if you plan to change professions later.

Plan your training visits. Check the rank table below and visit town when you have important upgrades available; remember that your spells and your Demon's abilities are trained separately. Keep pet abilities up to date for at least your Succubus, or whichever other pet you are using the most.

Log out in rested areas. Finish a session at an inn or another rested area when possible, ideally using your Hearthstone to return after your last quest. Rested experience adds up over the journey to Level 60 and costs very little extra time when you plan around it.

Make friends. Warlocks bring a lot to a group beyond just damage. Offer health and soul stones, summon missing players, and use your pet's utility if it's needed. Add players you enjoy running with as having people to quest or run dungeons with saves a ton of time organizing groups and remains useful when you reach max level.

New Demons, utility spells, and stronger damage ranks become available throughout leveling. The tables below show when to complete your class quests and which levels offer new ranks of the spells you use.

The table below highlights your class quests, important spells, and major talent unlocks. Talent levels follow this build's point order, so they may differ if you spend your points differently.

Level	Important Unlock
Starting Area	Summon Imp Class Quest
6	Life Tap Unlocked
8	Fear and Bane of Agony Unlocked
10	Summon Voidwalker Class Quest; Drain Soul and Create Healthstone Unlocked
12	Health Funnel Unlocked
14	Drain Life and Curse of Recklessness Unlocked
16	Sacrifice Available from a Voidwalker Grimoire; Demonic Energies Maxed with this build
18	Searing Pain Unlocked
20	Summon Succubus and Summon Incubus Class Quests; Ritual of Summoning, Curse of the Elements, Demon Armor, and Rain of Fire Unlocked
25	First Demonic Brand point
26	Curse of Tongues Unlocked; Seduction Available from a Grimoire
28	Banish and Create Firestone Unlocked; Fel Domination Learned with this build
29	Demonic Sacrifice Learned with this build; wait until Demonic Pact at Level 40 before using it for leveling
30	Summon Felhunter Class Quest; Hellfire Unlocked; Soul Link Learned with this build
33	Demonic Knowledge Maxed with this build
36	Create Spellstone Unlocked; Spell Lock Available from a Felhunter Grimoire
40	Summon Felsteed Class Quest; Howl of Terror Unlocked; Demonic Pact Learned with this build
42	Death Coil Unlocked
44	4 points in Suppression; 4% Hit soft cap against equal level enemies
49	Improved Corruption Maxed; Corruption Becomes Instant with this build
53	Improved Life Tap Maxed with this build
55	Soul Harvest Maxed with this build
56	First Nightfall Point
58	Amplify Curse Learned with this build
59	Curse of Exhaustion Learned with this build

The following are your main abilities that you will want to keep trained. New ranks of Corruption and Bane of Agony increase your DoT damage, while Searing Pain remains important for direct damage and Demonic Brand. Visit a Demon Trainer for Grimoires as well, since your Demon's abilities are trained separately from your own spells. Plan your trainer visits around levels where you can pick up several spell ranks and pet upgrades at the same time, and keep your pet's useful abilities trained throughout leveling.

Ability	Rank 1	Rank 2	Rank 3	Rank 4	Rank 5	Rank 6	Rank 7	Rank 8	Rank 9
Shadow Bolt	1	6	12	20	28	36	44	52	60
Corruption	4	14	24	34	44	54	—	—	—
Bane of Agony	8	18	28	38	48	58	—	—	—
Searing Pain	18	26	34	42	50	58	—	—	—
Drain Life	14	22	30	38	46	54	—	—	—
Life Tap	6	16	26	36	46	56	—	—	—
Health Funnel	12	20	28	36	44	52	60	—	—
Death Coil	42	50	58	—	—	—	—	—	—
Rain of Fire	20	34	46	58	—	—	—	—	—
Hellfire	30	42	54	—	—	—	—	—	—
Create Healthstone	10	22	34	46	58	—	—	—	—
Demon Armor	20	30	40	50	60	—	—	—	—

Tailoring gives Warlocks cloth armor and bags while leveling. It pairs well with Enchanting, since you can disenchant unwanted crafts for materials. Enchanting also provides early wands, although you can buy those from another player without taking the profession yourself.

Gathering professions are useful if you would rather earn gold as you quest. Skinning gives materials from mobs you are already killing, while Herbalism and Mining let you collect herbs and ore along your route. Herbalism also provides ingredients for Healing Potions made through First Aid.

Engineering pairs with Mining and gives you explosives and other gadgets. Choose it if you want extra damage and utility from these tools while leveling, running dungeons, or doing PvP.

Warlocks should pick up First Aid as well. Bandages give you another way to restore the Health spent on Life Tap, and First Aid also makes Healing Potions in WoW Forever. Cooking supplies food, while Fishing provides ingredients for many recipes. Leveling these two together is highly recommended, but can take up a large amount of time.These secondary professions don't take either primary profession slot.

More WoW Forever Warlock Guides

Destruction Warlock Ranged DPS Guide Destruction Warlock Ranged DPS Leveling Demonology Warlock Ranged DPS Guide Affliction Warlock Ranged DPS Leveling Affliction Warlock Ranged DPS Guide

More WoW Forever Guides from Other Classes

Feral Druid Melee DPS and Tank Leveling Frost Mage Ranged DPS Leveling Protection Paladin Tank Guide Shadow Priest Ranged DPS Guide Restoration Shaman Healer Guide Combat Rogue Melee DPS Leveling