- Author: Kurathis
- Date: July 18, 2021
- Updated: July 18, 2021
- Expansion: TBC Classic
In this section, we will cover the typical rotation for a Demonology Warlock, including a brief, yet in-depth, discussion on our minions and how each one benefits us in combat.
Single-Target/Boss Rotation
The most important thing to remember first is to ensure you have Fel Armor active on you at all times for the increased spell damage and health regeneration through spells and effects.
The next thing to figure out is what Curse you are assigned to maintain. This can be Curse of Doom, Curse of the Elements, or Curse of Recklessness. (This will often be determined through either communication with the other Warlocks in the group, or the leader) Outside of raids, the Curse you choose to maintain should reflect the group composition. For example, for a group with only casters with a Paladin tank, Curse of Recklessness wouldn’t benefit the group since no one is really focusing on inflicting physical damage. In that same group, Curse of the Elements would benefit the group much more, with the exception of the Paladin tank. If the DPS in your group are geared enough to kill the boss in less than 60 seconds, Curse of Doom wouldn’t be the optimal choice since it only inflicts damage AFTER 60 seconds has elapsed.
Once we have our assigned Curse active on our target, it’s best to use Immolate and Corruption next.
Thanks to Improved Shadow Bolt, our main spell we’ll be using is Shadow Bolt while refreshing our assigned Curse, Immolate and Corruption. It is important to try and maintain the debuff associated with Improved Shadow Bolt as much as we can.
Whenever necessary, and when it is safe to do so, you can be casting Life Tap to regenerate some of your mana. This is efficient when moving, since your other prioritized spells can’t be cast while on the move.
AoE Rotation
As a Warlock, we have access to three strong (one is insanely strong) AoE-capable spells:
- Rain of Fire: While it doesn’t provide as much potential damage as Seed of Corruption, it’s generally considered a lot safer to use since your threat output won’t randomly spike.
- Hellfire: This is one of the more dangerous spells to use for two reasons: 1. It often places you within melee range, which inevitably reduces your threat leniency from 130% of your tank’s threat down to 110% of your tank’s threat. If you happened to gain aggro as a result, it would be immediate damage that you would take. 2. This spell actually damages you, as well as the mobs surrounding you, so you could be setting yourself up for death if not controlled.
- Seed of Corruption: Universally renowned as one of, if not the best, AoE spells in the expansion for damage. Placing Seed of Corruption on just one target, will cause damage to every mob in its radius after 18 seconds. If you applied Seed of Corruption to multiple targets in the same pull, well, your damage will be unmatched. However, it should be noted that the mana cost is rather high to expect to apply it to every target in a pull.
Minions
As a Demonology Warlock, we have access to the following minions:
- Imp
- A tank’s best friend, thanks to Blood Pact
- With Master Demonologist, whenever we have the Imp summoned, our threat caused is reduced by 20%,
- Through Demonic Sacrifice, our Fire damage is then increased by 15%
- Voidwalker
- During our early levels, this will be our tanking minion, complete with a taunt, Torment (Later, we even get an AoE taunt, Suffering)
- With Master Demonologist, whenever we have the Voidwalker summoned, our physical damage taken is reduced by 10%
- Through Demonic Sacrifice, 2% of our total Health is restored every 4 seconds
- Succubus
- The Succubus would be our main go-to minion for dungeons that require some extra crowd control (C.C) with Seduction but it is only usable on Humanoid targets
- With Master Demonologist, whenever we have the Succubus summoned, our damage caused is increased by 10%
- Through Demonic Sacrifice, our Shadow Damage is increased by 15%
- Felhunter
- Complete with Devour Magic and Spell Lock, you can assist with managing caster targets. Felhunters also have Paranoia and Tainted Blood
- With Master Demonologist, whenever we have the Felhunter summoned, all of our resistances will be increased by 70 (1 per level)
- Through Demonic Sacrifice, 3% of our total mana is restored every 4 seconds
- Felguard
- While the Felguard may have less armor than the Voidwalker, the Felguard is gifted with an AoE ability, Cleave, affecting up to two targets. Through Demonic Frenzy, the Felguard’s attack power can be increased by up to 50%
- With Master Demonologist, all damage caused is increased by 5%, and all resistances are increased by 0.5 per level (35 at level 70)
- Through Demonic Sacrifice, our Shadow damage is increased by 10%, and 2% of our total mana is restored every 4 seconds
“I don’t see many Warlocks using pets, so should I use one?“
Because Demonology Warlocks benefit from Demonic Knowledge, it is recommended that you always have a minion actively summoned, and never sacrificed.
“Which minion should I have summoned?“
There are certain situations that my arise that will alter your choice of summoned minions:
If you notice your tank REALLY struggling to maintain aggro, despite their best efforts, you can summon the Imp in an effort to help since your threat output will be reduced by 20%.
If you are in a group that requires as much C.C as possible, it may be beneficial for you to have your Succubus summoned since we’d benefit from Seduction.
However, for the vast majority of the time, we will have our Felguard summoned.
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