Affliction Warlock PvP Guide (Shadowlands 9.2)

Affliction Warlocks continue to struggle in Arena in 9.2. Affliction Warlocks struggle against melee, however they perform well into casters and have the potential to do incredible amounts of spread damage. If left alone for a few seconds, they can easily apply their DoTs to multiple targets and begin melting entire teams simultaneously. If an Affliction Warlock is being focused by enemies, they take a lot of damage but have great mobility in order to get away and continue dealing out spread pressure.

This patch did not bring any significant changes to Affliction Warlocks. However, there have been nerfs to defensives and self-healing from other classes which indirectly benefit Affliction Warlocks. This puts Affliction in a better place than 9.1.5, however the new tier set bonuses are underwhelming for PvP and will likely see Affliction fall behind other specs in strength.

• Great spread damage
• Strong mobility
• Good against teams with low self healing or no hybrids

• Struggle to stay alive against melee teams
• Lack of reliable crowd control
• Weak single target damage and burst
• Very few defensive cooldowns

This guide ended up being very long, so we decided to split it in different pages.

• On the Affliction Warlock PvP Talents page, you will find an analysis of each PvE talent row to help you decide which talent to pick on each row, as well as an overview of the PvP talents, which advice on which ones to take and under which conditions.
• On the Affliction Warlock PvP Rotation and Playstyle page, you will learn how to use your spells, depending on the situation (opener, burst damage, surviving, controlling enemy players, etc.), and what is generally expected of your class and spec in PvP.
• On the Affliction Warlock PvP Covenants and Legendary Powers page, you will find advice on choosing the best Covenant, Soulbind, and Conduits as well as the best PvP Legendary Powers.
• On the Affliction Warlock PvP Stat Priority and Gear page, you will find the stat priority to follow in PvP, as well as advice for choosing your gear, particularly trinkets.
• On the Affliction Warlock PvP Best Races page, you will find lists of the Alliance and Horde races, ranked by how good they are for Affliction Warlocks in PvP, as well as explanations regarding why and how their racials benefit you.
• On the Affliction Warlock PvP Useful Macros page, you will find a collection of useful macros for PvP for Affliction Warlocks.
• On the Affliction Warlock Arena Composition page, you will find the list of the most powerful Arena compositions featuring Affliction Warlocks, in both 2v2 and 3v3 modes.