Affliction Warlock DPS Gems, Enchants, and Consumables (Legion 7.3)

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 7.3 Changes
  • 3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes
  • 4. Strengths
  • 5. Weaknesses
  • 6. Viability in the Current Patch
  • 7. Contents
  • 8. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics
  • 2. Talent Choice
  • 3. Stat Choice
  • 4. Basic Rotation
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resources
  • 3. Basic Abilities
    • 3.1. Damage Over Time Spells (DoTs)
    • 3.2. Direct Damage Spells
    • 3.3. Demonic Summons
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheets
    • 2.1. Raid Encounters
      • 2.1.1. Single Target
      • 2.1.2. 2 Targets
      • 2.1.3. 3 Targets
    • 2.2. Mythic+
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression — First 35 Points
    • 1.1. Early Point Investment
    • 1.2. Second Golden Trait
    • 1.3. Third Golden Trait
    • 1.4. Final Point Investment
  • 2. Patch 7.2: 35+ Trait Path
  • 3. Relic Choice
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths
  • 1. General Optimization Advice
  • 2. Tier 2 Upgrade Priority
  • 3. Tier 3 Upgrade Priority
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Playstyle
    • 1.1. Single Target Rotation
    • 1.2. 2-Target Priority List
      • 1.2.1. 3-Target Priority List
    • 1.3. Mythic+
  • 2. Important Notes
    • 2.1. DoT Usage (7.2.5)
    • 2.2. Reap Usage
    • 2.3. Unstable Affliction Usage
      • 2.3.1. 2-3 Targets
    • 2.4. Soul Shard Sniping
    • 2.5. Pet Choice
    • 2.6. Agony
    • 2.7. "Nightfall" — Shard Generation Explained
    • 2.8. "Pandemic" — Learning to Efficiently Refresh DoTs
    • 2.9. Defensive Utility
    • 2.10. Doomguard and Infernal
  • 3. Core Concepts
    • 3.1. DoT Uptimes & Shard Expenditure
    • 3.2. Movement Management
      • 3.2.1. Quiet Movement
  • 4. Opening Sequence
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Basics
  • 2. Stat Weights
    • 2.1. Why is Mastery Good?
  • 3. Statistics Explanations
  • 4. ChangeLog
• ×Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems
  • 2. Enchants
  • 3. Consumables
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Addons
    • 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
    • 2.1. Warlock Macros
      • 2.1.1. Pet Macros
      • 2.1.2. Soulstone Mouseover
      • 2.1.3. Demonic Circle
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot
  • 1. Tier 20 Set Bonuses
  • 2. Trinket Discussion
  • 3. Best in Slot List
  • 4. Evaluating Upgrades Using Stat Weights
  • 5. Legendaries
    • 5.1. Legendary Quick Reference
  • 6. Loot Competition
  • 7. ChangeLog

General Information

On this page, we present you with the best gems and enchants for an Affliction Warlock in World of Warcraft Legion 7.3. We also list the best consumables (food, flasks, and potions) and profession-specific perks.

The other pages of our Affliction Warlock guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author and Reviewer

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.

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Deepshades, a top raider who plays in Method; you can his stream on Twitch and follow him on Twitter.

1. Gems

You should use Masterful Argulite in all sockets, or the cheaper Masterful Shadowruby.

2. Enchants

Slot	Enchantment
Neck	Enchant Neck - Mark of the Trained Soldier
Back	Enchant Cloak - Binding of Intellect Enchant Cloak - Word of Intellect (cheaper)
Rings	Enchant Ring - Binding of Mastery Enchant Ring - Word of Mastery (cheaper)

3. Consumables

Potion of Prolonged Power is the best choice in all situations for players in current raid gear. Players with lower item levels (<905) will find that Potion of Deadly Grace is slightly better for single target damage while still being inferior for cleave and AoE encounters.

Flask of the Whispered Pact should be always be used as your flask of choice.

The two main options for food buffs are the Nightborne Delicacy Platter (+375 Mastery) and the Lavish Suramar Feast (+500 Intellect). If possible, the Nightborne Delicacy Platter should be eaten. This is due to the relative power of Mastery over Intellect. As demonstrated by our stat weights provided in the Stat Priority page, the weight of Mastery is 1.55 versus the 1.0 of Intellect. If we compare the food buffs when corrected for the relative power of the stats, we discover:

Compared to the Intellect feast:

As shown above, when corrected for stat weights, the Mastery buff is worth slightly more despite being less total stats. Cheaper alternatives to the Nightborne Delicacy Platter and Lavish Suramar Feast are the Barracuda Mrglgagh and Hearty Feast, respectively.

Since Patch 7.3, Healthstones now heal for 25% of the user's maximum health. This means that any player with more than 1.92 million health should always use Healthstones over Ancient Healing Potions whenever available.

If you can afford it, you should also use augment runes (which work in both raids and Mythic+ dungeons). Defiled Augment Rune is the cheap rune with a one-time use. Lightforged Augment Rune costs 50,000 and requires exalted reputation with the Army of the Light faction.

4. ChangeLog

+ show all entries - show only 10 entries

• 29 Aug. 2017: Adjusted recommended gems, redesigned "Consumables" section, and added a note about Healthstones in Patch 7.3.
• 28 Aug. 2017: Added Lightforged Augment Rune and new 7.3 epic gems.
• 13 Jun. 2017: Page reviewed and deemed updated for 7.2.5.
• 29 Mar. 2017: Added Lavish Suramar Feast.
• 13 Jan. 2017: Added trained soldier.
• 09 Jan. 2017: Updated potion section to be more concise.
• 30 Oct. 2016: Added a "Potion Choice" section to illuminate the pros and cons of pots, following the addition of Potion of Prolonged Power.
• 29 Aug. 2016: Updated for Legion's launch.
• 18 Jul. 2016: Updated for the Legion pre-patch.