WoW Classic Level 19 Twink Warlock Guide

The Warlock in World of Warcraft Classic is an unorthodox, yet highly effective choice for twinking. While not as mainstay as a Hunter or Rogue, a Warlock has a number of potent and interesting abilities that should catch the interest of even a passing PvP enthusiast.

From being able to tag multiple enemies with DoT (Damage over Time) through the use of Corruption, to the crowd control (cc) effectiveness of Fear and the added benefit of effectively an extra health potion with Healthstone, not to mention that the Warlock can achieve extreme HP highs there’s a lot to be had.

Races

For a WoW Classic Warlock Twink, your choices for race are only four: Undead and Orc for the Horde and Gnome and Human for the Alliance. So which of these is the best, and the best for each faction? The answer might depend on your play style and hinges on each races Warlock and PvP pertinent traits and buffs.

Horde

Undead: The two most PvP pertinent racial traits to a warlock are Shadow Resistance and Will of the Forsaken. Extra resistance to any kind of damage, especially spell damage, is great in all forms of PvP and will also give you a leg up on warlocks of other races. While WotF will help allow you to escape from the crowd control abilities of both the Priest and other Warlocks, without having to use your trinket to do so.

Orc: Hardiness and Command are the only two racial traits useful to a Warlock of any kind, let alone a PvP Twink. Hardiness, while being passive and random, is constant and your Imp getting five percent more damage speaks for itself.

Alliance

Gnome: The five percent increase in damage from Expansive Mind is a solid buff, while Engineering Specialization is going to be helpful in getting some of that BiS gear. Escape Artist, probably the most useful racial trait of gnomes, will allow you to escape the crowd control abilities of the druid, hunter mage and warrior classes. While not as useful as the gnome’s other traits, Arcane Resistance offers good protection and is useful to any class.

Human: The only human trait truly useful to PvP Warlocks of any kind is Perception and it is negligible, being only useful against rogues and potentially druids. The Human Spirit might be another, but this is again negligible, as it only increases health regeneration and not HP itself.

So who’s the best? Well, over all, the obvious winner is the gnome. In only because, unlike most of the races that can play a warlock, all of the racial traits for gnomes are useful to that class. If you are playing Horde though, it’s a toss up. If you are playing defensive, then you’ll want an undead for their better escape ability and damage resistance. If dealing damage is your thing, then go for an orc. If faction is not an issue, then definitely play as a gnome, as they will have better damage and defense than either of the Horde races.

Professions

So what professions and skills are the most beneficial to a warlock twink? For this section, actually, the answer is pretty straight forward. Because there are no stat increases from professions in Classic WoW, the only profession useful to a PvP warlock is also a necessity for a twink. Engineering.

That being said, your choice for other profession isn’t unimportant, but may change depending your main, or other alt character’s professions. If your other characters can provide the raw materials for your engineering, then you will have a much easier time crafting them.

Engineering: As stated, engineering is an absolute necessity for a warlock twink, especially at the 10-20 level range. There are a number of engineering items that are not usable in BGs in current WoW, but that have made a comeback in Classic. The Big Bronze Bomb, for instance, will allow you to stun enemies and do just a bit of extra damage. While the Flame Deflector protects against the attacks of fire mages, while also protecting you from the explosive damage that other PvP engineers will be throwing at you.

More importantly, some of your pre BiS gear (like the Green Tinted Goggles, which you will need until you get your Lucky Fishing Hat), is only accessible through this profession and let’s not forget about the Discombobulator Ray, which is a source of minor crowd control, as well as, extra damage.

Enchanting: For a second profession, this is a good choice, especially if you can provide the materials from another character. Being able to enchant pre-BiS items with lesser enchantments is helpful when waiting to get your actual BiS gear and disenchanting can be lucrative as well.

Other Professions: If you are funding your twink with your main’s gold, then the gathering professions (Herbalism, Mining, and Skinning) are not at all as viable, especially if you are providing your twink with all mats for Engineering. If you are going to need money for your PvP Warlock, then one of these might be worth taking, especially mining, as it will provide a lot of the raw materials for Engineering. Outside those your only real viable options left are Alchemy and Tailoring, of which Tailoring is the more economical choice, as its raw materials require no gathering profession. Tailoring is also good for providing you with some decent cloth gear, while you work your way to your BiS items.

Secondary Skills

Cooking: Aside from the buffs provided by food, there isn’t a lot here to interest a Warlock and since you can simply purchase food from vendors, or the AH (auction house), the benefits of making your own food for your twink are negligible.

First Aid: While you can not level your primary professions passed 150 at level 19, secondary skills can be leveled all the way to 225 right off. This will allow you to craft the Heavy Runecloth Bandage, which restores 2000 HP. Well over what your max health could be, even with BiS gear in every slot. Having an instant full heal in your back pocket can make all the difference, so make sure to pick up Expert First Aid – Under Wraps, Manual: Heavy Silk Bandage and Manual: Heavy Mageweave Bandage.

Fishing: This is probably the most important secondary skill to a level 19 twink Warlock, as two of your BiS gear items can only be acquired through fishing quests in Stranglethorne Vale. This is likely the only reason to raise your fishing swiftly, but it’s an important one. You can pick up the Strong Fishing Pole and Bright Baubles at any fishing or trade vendor and you’re going to want to do so. You’ll also want to craft an Aquadynamic Fish Attractor and attach it to your fishing pole as well.

For the most part, you’ll probably want to focus mostly on Engineering and Fishing, because those are both direct pathways to your gear and the fishing is likely going to be the more time consuming and frustrating of those two. That being said, you gain a lot of side benefits from it. There are just a ton of random items like the Deviate Fish that are still very valuable in WoW Classic. Not to mention the money you can make selling, or save using, the alchemy reagents you can only get through fishing. It’s a long and somewhat hard road, but it’s worth it to get that BiS gear.

Spells

There are only about four or so of the spells at a Warlock’s disposal that are useful to a level 19 twink when engaging in actual PvP. Most of the time, you’re going to be letting your pet do a lot of the work for you and relying heavily on your wand for DPS, which is why obtaining your BiS gear (Gravestone Scepter) is so important.

Corruption: This is going to be your work horse in PvP battles. Corruption allows you to tag multiple targets with DoT and effectively have an AoE DoT at a relatively low level. This can be invaluable when working in a group to widdle down your opponents’ HP, allowing your allies, your imp, or your wand to finish them off.

Curse of Agony: This will be your most damaging spell at level 19, because you will have just gotten a damage boost for it at level 18. Remember that you can only have one CoA activated at a time, so select your target carefully.

Fear: This is, perhaps, the Warlock’s most useful non-damaging spell, especially in PvP. You are going to want to keep your opponents feared constantly if you can and in 1v1 and duels in particular.

Immolate: This is the spell you should use to start just about any fight, but specifically those against opponents that do not see you, or those already engaged by allies. It’s actually a much better choice than the higher level Searing Pain in that it does more overall damage and adds to your DoTs.

Pet Summoning Spells: You will, of course, be using your Summon Imp and Summon Voidwalker spells to get your Warlock pets. Which pet you use will depend completely on your play style and tactics. If you want more DPS and to stay away from the fighting, then you are going to want to go with Summon Imp, as the Imp is the only ranged pet in the game. If stable damage and longevity is your thing, then stick with the Voidwalker.

Other Spells: Other than the above stated, the rest of your spells are pretty much either pre-combat buffs and specials like Demon Skin and Create Healthstone, which you should always cast before you fight, or are preferential. Drain Life is always good for ensuring a mana reserve and coupling it with Life Tap can counter its negative effects somewhat. Curse of Weakness is a good spell to cast, if you’re sure you can get it off (perhaps at the start of a fight), but Curse of Recklessness is a bad idea. You should never waste mana on anything that gives your opponent a buff advantage, even if it also weakens them. Another spell to avoid entirely is the mainstay of the PvE Warlock, Shadow Bolt, as its casting time if far too long for PvP.

Talents

This choice is definitely the simplest and straight forward, but also, perhaps the most critial. There are only two talents important to a level 19 Twink Warlock and they are Demonic Embrace and Improved Corruption. You will not need to worry about any other talents up to that level at all.

Demonic Embrace: Pretty simple, helps you to reach your maximum possible health. Pretty cool, right?

Improved Corruption: Also, very simple. This allows for your maximum potential DoTs, which adds to your potential, effective DoT AoE. Blanket the battlefield with your decay and let them slowly ROT!

BiS Gear

Of course, gear is what you will spend the majority of your time building to with your twink. It will be a time consuming and somewhat challenging task to acquire all of it, but that’s the point, right? If you weren’t looking for something a bit challenging and different, you wouldn’t be trying to Twink a Warlock in the first place. What follows is a simple list the best item for each equipment slot you will need to build your Twink and the enchantment you’ll want for each, along with where and how you can find them.

* The Furbolg Medicine Pouch absolutely offers the BiS status for an Off-hand item. It is, however, extremely difficult to acquire, being that to even get to Timbermaw Hold, one has to pass through Felwood, which is a level 50+ zone. That being said, if you are determined, persistent and careful, this can be achieved.

** Enchant Weapon – Spell Power is the best enchantment for your weapons, whether you choose the Night Watch Shortsword, or the Witching Stave.

Buffs

There are a multitude of boon granting magical items available in the World of Warcraft. From, scrolls, to potions, elixirs and other consumables, there is a lot to choose from, but which are the best? More importantly, which are the best for your Warlock?

Elixers

• Elixir of Firepower: This will increase the damage of your Immolate and Searing Pain spells and is the only Elixir that increases damage available to you at level 19.
• Elixir of Defense: Increases your armor by 40 points, which is almost the same amount as your BiS chest item.
• Strong Troll’s Blood Potion: An unorthodox choice for a Guardian Elixir over the Elixir of Defense, the Strong Troll’s Blood Potion regenerates your HP by a hefty amount for 1 hour. This may be a better choice for offensive players, who are planning to take some damage, but also use Drain Life a lot as well.

Potions

• Healing Potions: An absolute must, especially because one of the Warlock’s unique tactical advantages is having essentially two of these with their Healthstone spell.
• Lesser Mana Potions: Unfortunately, the use of a standard mana potions is restricted to level 22, so you will want to have a few of these on hand for when your mana pool is low.

Scrolls

• Scroll of Stamina: By and large, the only scroll you will want to use. They are plentiful and easy to acquire, just snatch them up when you see them at vendors, as the price has a tendency to gouge on the Auction House.

Team Buffs

Pretty much only going to get a benefit here from Arcane Intellect, Mark of the Wild, and Power Word: Fortitude, everything else is for non-casters.

Others

• Wizard Oil: Cause why not? It offers a useful buff that doesn’t interfere with any other buffs or enchantments you have. If you have it, or find it, just use it.
• Rumsy Rum Black Label: The higher your stamina, the better your chances of survival in PvP and in playing in general. The run gives a 5 to 10 pump in the stat and all you have to do is deal with being drunk.

There are also a buffet of foods that offer passive stamina bonuses, that are easy to come by.

Hopefully, you found this guide useful and informative. One can only hope. Now you know all you need, to create a fantastic and successful level 19 Warlock Twink. Go out into the battlegounds and arenas of Azeroth and enjoy murdering your friends. Have fun!