Affliction Warlock DPS Spec, Builds, and Talents — Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0)

With the introduction of the new talent system and the ability to freely change points and share/import builds free of consumables costs. At the same time, out of combat, it is highly advised to adapt the build based on the type of situation at hand.

Available at level 71 Hero talents are mutually exclusive trees you can choose to slightly alter gameplay and visuals. Affliction Warlocks can choose between Hellcaller and Soul Harvester.

Hellcaller is themed around Shadowflame damage and harder hitting DoTs. Wither replaces Corruption and can generate a second Shadowflame DoT effect in Blackened Soul. The Hero tree offers a more methodical approach to shard expenditure with Malevolence bolstering burst windows every minute.

In terms of utility Curse of the Satyr offers a debuff that is relevant on both melee and caster enemies without the need to choose and is especially relevant with Foul Mouth being added in patch 12.0.

Soul Harvester identity lies in spending shards very aggressively, in order to benefit from the various DoT effects triggered, and generating more Nightfall procs through Sataiel's Volition.

As for utility Gorebound Fortitude guarantees stronger Healthstones without the need of Soulburn shards, Friends In Dark Places increase the active mitigation, and Gorefiend's Resolve brings Soulstone on par with alternative combat resurrection spells.

For specific Mythic+ advice, which typically involves having a set-up that can perform both in single target and AoE, this set-up can also be influenced by affixes and other things like party composition and pull layout. Check out our dedicated Mythic+ page below.

Since several talent choices affect your gameplay, we recommend reading our rotation page linked below to find out how to adapt your playstyle and priority based on your selected talents.

Other than a handful of DPS increase nodes, the path progression is generally flexible and allows one to opt in or out of specific utilities that may not be relevant in a specific situation. The following sections will highlight the key talents while suggesting what to pick to progress down the tree.

For detailed information about each talent, follow the link to the spell Summary page:

Under our Talents section, there is the option to enter "War Mode." Enabling War Mode provides the following benefits:

• PvP talents enabled in the outdoor world;
• 10% increase in World Quest rewards at maximum level;
• 10% more experience gained while leveling;
• Earn Conquest Points, which can reward gear every week.

With the benefits of enabling War Mode for leveling and PvE content, you should enable the feature. In most situations, this will allow maximum returns despite the risks. You will make yourself available for open-world PvP, and the possibility to be "ganked" while leveling or doing World Quests exists.

In this section, we will rank the PvP talents best for leveling and doing solo / small group PvE content. Below is a ranking of both General PvP Talents and Affliction Warlock-specific PvP talents.

1. Essence Drain stacks a damage reduction effect on enemies that are damaged by your Drain Life. You can reduce their damage by up to 25%, which greatly increases your ability to survive and sustain.
2. Bonds of Fel allows to burst targets by dragging them away from the marked location.
3. Gateway Mastery increases your gateway's range by 20 yards and reduces the duration of the debuff placed on players using it by 15 seconds, making it a good choice when increased mobility is needed.
4. Nether Ward summons a shield lasting 3 seconds and reflecting all harmful spells targeted at you.
5. Call Observer is only relevant when dealing with a lot of casting mobs.

1. Rampant Afflictions increase the target limit for Unstable Affliction to 3.
2. Call Observer guards a location for 20 seconds; any enemies that cast spells in the radius will take up to 5% of maximum Health as damage. This has a lot more limited use but can have absurd value in specific situations.
3. Rot and Decay can be handy in situations with high sustained damage intake. Combining this with Essence Drain dramatically increases your survivability and sustainability and opens many doors for soloing difficult content.