Affliction Warlock PvP Stat Priority, Gear, and Trinkets (BfA / Patch 8.3)

The stat priority for Affliction Warlock in PvP is as follows:

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

Intellect is the best stat in all situations. Haste is the strongest secondary stat at all times due to it reducing the Global Cooldown on abilities and increases the tick rate of your DoTs. Your Mastery ( Mastery: Potent Afflictions) significantly increases your overall damage output.

Gear has a chance to get a Corruption@ effect on them. This Corruption can have 2 different affects: dealing damage or increasing one of your stats. The more Corruption to have, the more damage you will take from the Corruption effects. It is recommended to not have more than 40 Corruption at once or you will take too much damage and die quickly.

For a general guide on Corruptions, check out our guide.

Corruptions that deal damage proc from your damaging abilities. Although you do not have a choice on when they proc, most of them proc often and can make up a large amount of your overall damage. Below are the best Corruptions to have that will deal damage from using your abilities.

1. Infinite Stars — Although the debuff is dispellable, it procs very often and can drastically increase your cleave damage.
2. Gushing Wound — Places a very large DoT on the enemy that cannot be dispelled. Perfect for increasing your overall damage output.
3. Twisted Appendage — gives your abilities a chance to summon a tendril that will deal damage and slow the enemy. This tendril can be killed, but you can spawn multiple on one target and will do incredible amounts of damage if they are not killed quickly.

Corruptions that increase Stats are also extremely powerful. These Corruptions also have two different variations. The first is a proc chance to gain a stat. This is just like any other proc, where you will randomly get a buff that greatly increases one of your stats. The second, is you receive a certain stat from any source. This means you can gain that stat from anything from gear to traits. These stat increases are much more powerful to have. Below are the best Corruptions that increase your stats.

1. Versatile — If you want to be tankier and want to make it extremely difficult for the enemy team to kill you, this corruption is your best choice. Versatility is important for surviving and this gives you a flat Versatility increase.
2. Surging Vitality — Similar to the Versatile corruption, Surging Vitality also increases your Versatility. However, this is a proc, so you will not have control over when you get this Versatility increase.

The biggest weakness that Affliction Warlocks have is surviving. Because they can be targeted easily, the only corruption you want is Versatile. This will make it so that teams will have a more difficult time killing you.

In general, Affliction Warlocks want to get trinkets that line up well with Dark Soul: Misery. These trinkets can have a passive or on-use effect. The stat you want to be increasing is Intellect. The reason you want to increase Intellect is because it drastically increases your overall damage output.

To be successful in 3v3 arena, you need to have all of your pieces of gear to have the Inevitable Demise trait. You will also want either Gutripper or Heed My Call in the second tier.

Below, we list the items that have these traits.

• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Hood;
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Hood;
• Cowl of Unspeakable Horrors;
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Cap;
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Cap.

• Spaulders of Miasmic Mycelia;
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Mantle;
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Mantle.

• Robe of the Fallen Keeper;
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Chestwrap;
• Corrupted Gladiator's Silk Chestwrap;
• Blood-Drenched Robes;
• Robes of the Reborn Serpent.

Forbidden Obsidian Claw is a must-have trinket that drops from Maut in the Ny'alotha raid. This not only restores Mana, but it also deals a large amount of damage. Ideally, you will want to use this trinket when the enemy healer does not have a dispel, so it will stay for the entire duration.

Corrupted Gladiator's Maledict is a great trinket to have. The on-use damage and healing absorption is capable of forcing defensives, especially when coordinated with your other teammates Maledicts. This can be used by itself or while you are using your burst rotation to force multiple cooldowns out of enemy teams. If you use this trinket, make sure your other teammates are using it as well. Otherwise, the enemy healer can just dispel the debuff and it will force cooldowns.

Corrupted Gladiator's Badge is strong for the Versatility and the on-use Intellect effect. The 2-minute cooldown lines up well with Dark Soul: Misery, and should be used every time you want to use your burst rotation.

Corrupted Gladiator's Insignia has a good amount of Versatility on it and has a passive effect. This effect increases your Intellect. This increases your sustained damage.

Enchant Weapon - Machinist's Brilliance is the best weapon enchants. This enchant provides a proc that gives you more Haste. This reduces the cast time of your important spells and results in an increase to your overall damage.