Demonology Warlock DPS Guide — Dragonflight 10.2
Welcome to our Demonology Warlock guide for World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.2. Here, you will learn how to play as a Demonology Warlock in both raids and Mythic+ dungeons: from the very beginning to maximizing your DPS.
If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Demonology Warlock guide.
Demonology Warlock Overview
Demonology Warlock is a versatile specialization centered around summoning waves of expendable minions to do your bidding while you generate resources in between. While the specialization does have some ramp-up time, it does feel smooth and fast once it is running at full steam. Demonology Warlocks are especially strong in encounters that have stable mobility rather than helter-skelter movement.
Like all Warlock specializations, Demonology brings
Demonic Gateway, a powerful raid cooldown that can transport your
entire group 40 yards instantly.
Demonology Warlock and Guide Changes for Patch 10.2
This patch Demonology Warlock received another mini-rework with
specialization talents being changed and their position shuffled in order to
tone down the extremely bursty damage profile (which was further amplified by
the previous tier set bonus and the class trinket). As a
result, Nether Portal and
Reign of Tyranny burst have been
severely toned down to the point where there are better options in terms of
capstones for sustained damage.
Grand Warlock's Design now provides a
flat cooldown reduction, which makes
Grimoire: Felguard sync natural,
while the reworked
Immutable Hatred is the new go-to choice for
single target.
Some newly introduced talents have proven to be a positive addition, not
just in terms of numerical output but specifically towards increasing the
usability of a given ability (such as Fel Invocation
for
Summon Vilefiend); however, despite that, there are a number
of "dead picks" that make pathing even more restrictive than before with less
of a choice in how to fill the gaps between pivotal nodes.
For a full breakdown of all Class Changes in Patch 10.2, check out our dedicated page below.
These talent changes and spell adjustments prompted a whole revisit on both Talents Page and Rotation Page.
A new Season means new gear from new and returning Mythic+ Dungeons alongside a new raid Amirdrassil. As such, Gear Page has been updated with new BiS lists, weapon and trinkets recommendations, and different embellishments to craft.
Leveling a Demonology Warlock
We have a dedicated leveling guide to help you get your Demonology Warlock to max level, complete with many tips and suggestions.
While playing with the default UI for the leveling is entirely possible, transitioning to a max level rotation with a substantially different UI layout can feel overwhelming and ultimately disorient or frustrate the player. We recommend instead to implement Layout changes gradually in order to allow yourself to acclimate to a more effective and personal UI. The Addon page below offers some recommended options.
Basics of Demonology Warlock Gameplay
Demonology Warlock is a spec designed around continuously summoning temporary demons to do your bidding with relatively short cooldowns, some of them requiring a precise setup and a good amount of pet management. At its core, the gameplay is about generating and spending the Warlock's iconic resource: Soul Shards.
Demonology is the spec that embodies the rule of Always-Be-Casting the most
but is also straightforward and intuitive. Keep generating Soul Shards
through Shadow Bolt and
Demonbolt and
spend those resources on
Call Dreadstalkers and
Hand of Gul'dan.
If you are a newcomer to the spec but would like to learn the basics, start browsing the Spell Summary and head over to the page linked below.
For those more familiar with Warlocks, we invite you to check out the Talents and Rotation pages to have access to more detailed and in-depth information.
How to Gear Up as Demonology Warlock
Due to the increased number of variables and additional systems, picking gear has become a much less intuitive and immediate process. Nevertheless, you can find guidelines on how to best equip your Demonology Warlock on our dedicated gearing page, including the current Best in Slot equipment for the current tier.
Equipping gear is not enough, as you also need to choose the right consumables and gear augments to maximize your character potential. Below is listed a page that can guide you through those choices as well as a page to better understand the implications each stat has on your Warlock.
End-Game as a Demonology Warlock
Being geared and well-equipped is only half of the journey, as the end game activities require each a different approach to the spec. In order to find out more information regarding how to better tackle these challenges, check out the pages below.
Improving as a Demonology Warlock
Understanding your errors and refining your performance is a constant exercise, which can be frustrating or confounding at times. Below are listed some pages that offer tools and can point to and help correct those mistakes.
Demonology Warlock Viability in the Current Patch
DISCLAIMER: As with every new tier, the first two weeks will see noticeable tuning changes, as such the information provided below is a snapshot of the balance at the time of writing and will get updated as more changes happen.
At the time of writing (Patch 10.2), the current situation is the following:
Demonology Warlock presents itself as the numerically better Warlock specialization, offering competitive single target and AoE with a new tier set offering a fun optimization angle in multitarget while retaining the spec flavor. The rework has been successful at what it intended to accomplish, as the spec is now in a healthier state in terms of both the damage profile and the resources flow, having essentially eliminated the extreme but niche cases where resources could be pooled for very remarkable burst occasions.
That being said, looking at the bigger picture, there are new, more
burst-oriented spec in 10.2 that retains similar if not higher damage
potential, so the spec relative performance might drop in value in comparison.
The silver lining is that you will not have to beg for
a Power Infusion or feel miserable anymore.
Changelog
- 28 Nov. 2023 (talents page): Updated Single Target setup.
- 12 Nov. 2023 (Amirdrassil page): Updated talents for bosses available on PTR testing.
- 07 Nov. 2023 (gear page): Embellishment recommendations updated after Undulating Sporecloak has been annihilated.
- 07 Nov. 2023 (mythic+ page): Updated Tyrannical Talents.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (gear page): Updated Gear recommendations for Patch 10.2 and Season 3.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (enchants page): Updated for Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (stats page): Updated for Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (Amirdrassil page): Page Added.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (mythic+ page): Updated for Patch 10.2 and Season 3.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (talents page): Talents updated for Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (spells page): Updated for Patch 10.2
- 06 Nov. 2023 (easy mode page): Updated talents for Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (this page): Updated for Patch 10.2.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (gear page): Reformat of the page with BiS tables and section updates.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (mythic+ page): Restructured Talent section.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (rotation page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (talents page): Updated for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (this page): Updated for Patch 10.1.7
- 10 Jul. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (gear page): Updated for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible page): Talents updated for patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (mythic+ page): Talents updated for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (talents page): Updated talents for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (spells page): Updated for talent changes in Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (easy mode page): Updated talents for Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (this page): Added Patch 10.1.5 and updated the viability sections.
- 06 May 2023 (Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible page): Page added.
- 01 May 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (gear page): Updated for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (enchants page): Updated Phial recommendation after Corrupted Rage buff.
- 01 May 2023 (stats page): Updated for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (mythic+ page): Talents updated for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (talents page): Reviewed talents for Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (spells page): Renamed From the Shadows to The Houndsmaster's Stratagem as per change in Patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for patch 10.1.
- 01 May 2023 (this page): Added a new section for patch 10.1 and updated the viability section.
- 24 Mar. 2023 (gear page): Updated Onyx Annulet section to account for live hotfixes.
- 24 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Updated Primordial Stones recommendations to account for the additional live hotfixes.
- 22 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Updated Primordial Stones recommendations to account for 25% buff hotfix.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (Legendaries): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (gear page): Added patch 10.0.7 new ring section. .
- 20 Mar. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (enchants page): Added Primordial Stones section for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Talents updated for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (mythic+ page): Talents updated for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (rotation page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (talents page): Updated talents for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (spells page): Updated talent trees to reflect class and spec changes for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (easy mode page): Updated talents for Patch 10.0.7.
- 20 Mar. 2023 (this page): Added Patch 10.0.7 and updated the viability sections.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (simulations page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (gear page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (addons page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (enchants page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (stats page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (mythic+ page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (rotation page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (talents page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (spells page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 24 Jan. 2023 (this page): Updated for Patch 10.0.5.
- 07 Jan. 2023 (enchants page): Updated dungeon phial to a more reliable Phial of Tepid Versatility.
- 03 Jan. 2023 (addons page): Removed Soulburn macro.
- 24 Dec. 2022 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Updated talent suggestions.
- 23 Dec. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated talent tree.
- 15 Dec. 2022 (stats page): Clarified the priority list reasoning.
- 14 Dec. 2022 (enchants page): Updated Weapon Runes.
- 14 Dec. 2022 (stats page): Split the stats priority between single and multitarget.
- 13 Dec. 2022 (gear page): Updated Embellishment recommendations.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (FAQ page): Added Guillotine/Demonic Strength sections.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (simulations page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Season 1 launch.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (addons page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (stats page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (Vault of the Incarnates page): Page added.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated recommended build.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (rotation page): Updated selectors for the openers and priority lists.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (talents page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (spells page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (easy mode page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (this page): Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (FAQ page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (simulations page): Reviewed for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (addons page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (stats page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (spells page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (Legendaries): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (Torghast): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (Covenants and Soulbinds): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (FAQ page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (how to improve page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (simulations page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (addons page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (enchants page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (stats page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (Castle Nathria page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (Sanctum of Domination page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (Sepulcher of the First Ones page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (mythic+ page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (talents page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (spells page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (easy mode page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 25 Oct. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 22 Feb. 2022 (Patch 9.2 Analysis): Updated to reflect Patch 9.2 launch.
- 15 Jan. 2022 (Patch 9.2 Analysis): Page added with initial thoughts and information.
- 01 Nov. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Updated for Patch 9.1.5.
- 13 Jul. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Removed PTR disclaimer.
- 27 Jun. 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): baseline changes, legendary and covenant recommendations updated.
- 05 May 2021 (Patch 9.1 Analysis): Page created.
- 12 Oct. 2020 (Ny'alotha page): Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 14 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Updated Boss Tips and Talent/Essences selection.
- 09 Jul. 2019 (The Eternal Palace page): Guide added.
- 25 Jun. 2019 (Uldir page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 25 Jun. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 25 Jun. 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): This page has been reviewed for the release of Patch 8.2 and no changes are necessary.
- 14 Apr. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Updated after recent raid nerfs.
- 14 Apr. 2019 (Crucible of Storms page): Guide added.
- 11 Feb. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Updated with better talent choices, and more tips.
- 21 Jan. 2019 (Battle of Dazar'alor page): Page added.
- 03 Jan. 2019 (Uldir page): Updated Nether Portal value after simc hotfix.
- 10 Dec. 2018 (Uldir page): Updated for Patch 8.1. Reviewed talent advice for all bosses.
- 06 Nov. 2018 (Uldir page): Updated tips for Uldir bosses.
- 07 Sep. 2018 (Uldir page): Updated for Uldir.
- 12 Aug. 2018 (Uldir page): Page added.
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This guide has been written by Motoko, Warlock main since The Burning Crusade, co-admin in the Warlock Discord, and theorycrafter and contributor for LockOneStopShop.
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