Affliction Warlock DPS Easy Mode in Battle for Azeroth (BfA) 8.0.1

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 8.0.1 Changes for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Affliction Warlock Strengths
  • 4. Affliction Warlock Weaknesses
  • 5. Affliction Warlock's Viability in the Current Patch
  • 6. Contents
  • 7. ChangeLog
• ×Easy Mode
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. The Basics of an Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Talent Choice for Affliction Warlock
  • 4. Stat Priority for Affliction Warlock
  • 5. Single Target Rotation for Affliction Warlock
    • 5.1. Multiple Target Rotation for Affliction Warlock
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Affliction Warlock Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resources for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Affliction Warlock
    • 3.1. Damage Over Time Spells (DoTs)
    • 3.2. Direct Damage Spells
  • 4. Cooldowns for Affliction Warlock
    • 4.1. Damage Cooldowns for Affliction Warlock
    • 4.2. Defensive Cooldowns and Tools for Affliction Warlock
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices for Affliction Warlock
  • 2. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 4. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 5. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 6. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 7. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 8. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 9. PvP Talents (War Mode)
    • 9.1. Affliction Warlock War Mode Talents
      • 9.1.1. General PvP Talents
      • 9.1.2. Affliction Warlock PvP Talents
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Azerite Traits and Armor
  • 1. Disclaimer
  • 2. Azerite Traits for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Azerite Traits Rotation Changes and Details for Affliction Warlock
  • 4. Relative Strength of Azerite Traits for Affliction Warlock
  • 5. Azerite Trait Rankings for Affliction Warlock
    • 5.1. Single Target
      • 5.1.1. Outer Ring
      • 5.1.2. Middle Ring
    • 5.2. 3 Targets
      • 5.2.1. Outer Ring
      • 5.2.2. Middle Ring
  • 6. Find Azerite Armor By Trait/Power
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Playstyle for Affliction Warlock
    • 1.1. Single Target Priority For Affliction Warlock
    • 1.2. Cooldown Usage for Affliction Warlock
    • 1.3. Opening Sequence for Affliction Warlock
    • 1.4. Multiple Target Priority for Affliction Warlock
  • 2. Important Notes for Affliction Warlock
    • 2.1. Soul Shards
    • 2.2. Deathbolt Usage
    • 2.3. Agony
    • 2.4. Unstable Affliction Usage
    • 2.5. "Pandemic" — Learning to Efficiently Refresh DoTs
    • 2.6. Pet Choice
    • 2.7. Movement Management
      • 2.7.1. Quiet Movement
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Coming soon!
• +Common and Worst Mistakes
  • 1. Letting Agony Stacks Drop
  • 2. Delaying Deathbolt Usage
  • 3. Patchy Unstable Affliction Coverage
  • 4. Improper Soul Shard Management with Drain Soul
  • 5. Seed of Corruption
  • 6. Summon Darkglare
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Frequently Asked Questions
  • 1. Frequently Asked Questions for Affliction Warlock
    • 1.1. How Should I Play with Deathbolt?
    • 1.2. What Pets/Demons Should I Use?
    • 1.3. Is Phantom Singularity Affected by Darkglare or Deathbolt?
    • 1.4. Why is Phantom Singularity a Stronger Choice than Vile Taint?
    • 1.5. When Should I Use Seed of Corruption?
      • 1.5.1. What About With Sow the Seeds?
    • 1.6. What Piece is Better, X or Y?
    • 1.7. How Much of X Stat Should I Have?
  • 2. ChangeLog
• Boss by Boss Strategies
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. The Basics of Stats for an Affliction Warlock
  • 2. Statistics Explanations for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Affliction Warlock
  • 2. Enchants for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Consumables for Affliction Warlock
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Addons for Affliction Warlock
    • 1.1. Generic Addons for Warlocks
    • 1.2. ElvUI
    • 1.3. Weak Auras
    • 1.4. Boss Mods
      • 1.4.1. BigWigs Bossmods
      • 1.4.2. Deadly Boss Mods
    • 1.5. Name Plates
      • 1.5.1. KUI Nameplates
      • 1.5.2. TidyPlates
    • 1.6. Damage Meters
      • 1.6.1. Skada
      • 1.6.2. Details
    • 1.7. Extra AddOns
      • 1.7.1. Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 1.7.2. DeathNote
      • 1.7.3. Doom CooldownPulse
      • 1.7.4. Angry Assignments
  • 2. Macros for Affliction Warlock
    • 2.1. Pet Macros
      • 2.1.1. Soulstone Mouseover
      • 2.1.2. Demonic Circle
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear and Best in Slot
  • 1. How To Effectively Compare Upgrades as an Affliction Warlock
  • 2. Best in Slot Items for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Trinkets for Affliction Warlock
    • 3.1. Trinket Simulations for Affliction Warlock
      • 3.1.1. Patchwerk
      • 3.1.2. Hectic Add Cleave
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Simulations
  • 1. Disclaimer Page
  • 2. Affliction Warlock Racial Bonus Simulation
  • 3. ChangeLog

About Our Author

This guide has been written by Furty, who has an illustrious history in the World of Warcraft raiding scene and race for World First. He has been a member of guilds such as Serenity, Midwinter, and many more, and is currently raiding in Future. He plays most classes at the highest level. You can follow him on Twitter and watch him play on Twitch.

1. Foreword

This section is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty, or simply want a more straightforward way to play their specialization without being overwhelmed by the numerous priorities and active abilities that need to be taken into consideration for optimal play.

2. The Basics of an Affliction Warlock

Affliction is a specialization that revolves around maintaining damage over time effects on your active targets. While it may not have many buttons, it requires careful attention to cooldowns and uptimes, with the level of complexity increasing with number of targets. Despite that, it is a good specialization for all levels of players, and it can be streamlined to a simple set of priorities.

3. Talent Choice for Affliction Warlock

These Talent recommendations are optimized for ease of use. If a talent requires significant optimization to provide DPS gains, we will instead recommend a competitive talent that requires less knowledge to make use of. See the Talents page for a full and objective evaluation of the Talent tree. These talents aim to present a strong build that has very little punishment for unfamiliarity or mistakes.

• Level 15: Deathbolt
• Level 30: Absolute Corruption
• Level 45: Burning Rush
• Level 60: Phantom Singularity
• Level 75: Demonic Circle
• Level 90: Haunt (Single Target/Light Cleave) OR Grimoire of Sacrifice (Dungeons/Multitarget)
• Level 100: Creeping Death

4. Stat Priority for Affliction Warlock

Currently, you will want to prioritize secondary stats as follows:

1. Mastery;
2. Intellect;
3. Haste;
4. Critical Strike ≅ Versatility.

5. Single Target Rotation for Affliction Warlock

1. Maintain the Agony DoT.
2. Maintain the Corruption DoT.
3. Apply Unstable Affliction if you have full Soul Shards.
4. Maintain Haunt on the target.
5. Cast Phantom Singularity when available.
6. Cast Deathbolt when available.
7. Maintain the Unstable Affliction debuff for the 10% damage increase it provides.
8. Cast Shadow Bolt as a filler.

Be sure to cast Summon Darkglare when you have the maximum amount of DoTs applied. This will extend them and deal strong damage to the main target. In most cases, you want to refresh your main DoTs, apply 5 Unstable Afflictions and Phantom Singularity, then immediately Summon Darkglare and cast Deathbolt. This combo results in a very large amount of burst and some impressive sustained damage while the Darkglare persists.

5.1. Multiple Target Rotation for Affliction Warlock

When multiple targets are stacked together, you should always use your Seed of Corruption to apply and maintain Corruption. Keep Agony applied to all targets (up to 5) for Soul Shard generation and damage. Cast Phantom Singularity on cooldown for damage.

Soul Shards are usually better spent on using Unstable Affliction to buff the Agony and Corruption damage on each target rather than spamming Seed of Corruption. When you reach true AoE scenarios with an extreme number of targets, Soul Shards should be used to fund Seed instead.

6. ChangeLog

• 13 Aug. 2018: Updated for Battle for Azeroth launch.