Warlock is one of the smoothest classes to level in WoW Forever, and the beta made it even more comfortable. Damage over time spells can now crit, Bane of Agony tags a mob the moment it lands, Drain Soul gives Soul Shards from regular ticks, and pets now grow with your own stats. A good Warlock kills two mobs at a time, rarely stops to drink, and turns health into mana with Life Tap.
This guide covers levels 1 to 30 as tested on the beta, and 31 to 60 as planned for the November 4 launch; the late levels will be updated once the full game is out. You will find Affliction and Demonology builds in our talent calculator, the rotation for each stage, which demon to use and when, the best race for each faction, a route for Horde and Alliance, and the small tricks that make Warlock leveling fast.
Affliction is the best leveling spec for most players. Your damage over time spells do most of the work, you can apply them while moving, and you keep killing the next mob while the last one is still burning. Instant Corruption and Bane of Agony let you tag several mobs in a busy zone, and Drain Life keeps you topped up between pulls.
Demonology is a close second in Forever and the safer choice. It starts to shine at 26 with Demonic Brand, which makes your demon hit harder and hold threat, and gets Soul Link at 30. It spends more mana than Affliction, so you sit down more often, but your demon does more of the work and you take less damage. Destruction is the weakest leveler: it burns through mana and needs to drink after almost every fight.
The two specs differ like this:
Until level 10 you have no talents. Train Immolate at level 1 as soon as you can afford it, and get the Imp from your class quest. Every build below is ready to open in our talent calculator; points from the Talented Legacy talent are not included.
Warlock Leveling Builds
Pick a build to open it in the talent calculator
Affliction Build to Level 30
Damage over time · Fast questing on the move
This build makes Corruption instant first, then stacks DoT damage and crits:
Affliction Warlock, level 30
Two alternatives are worth knowing. If you like to keep three DoTs on two targets at all times, you can take Improved Corruption and then 5/5 Bane from the Destruction tree up to 22 for a faster Immolate and Shadow Bolt, then respec. If you prefer drain tanking, take 3/3 Improved Drains and 3/3 Fel Concentration after Improved Corruption: without Fel Concentration, damage keeps interrupting your Drain Life.
Demonology Build to Level 30
Stronger demon · Safer pulls
The Demonology build makes your demon stronger and tougher: 3/5 Suppression from Affliction, then 5/5 Unholy Power for pet damage, 1/5 Demonic Embrace, 3/3 Fel Vitality for pet health and mana, 2/2 Demonic Energies to heal your pet as you deal damage, 2/2 Demonic Aegis for a stronger Demon Skin, 2/2 Master Summoner for faster resummons, and 3/3 Demonic Brand at 28–30.
Demonology Warlock, level 30
Affliction Build to Level 60
Full Affliction · Updated after launch
After 30, fill the Affliction tree: Siphon Life at 30, then Malevolence, Improved Drains and Fel Concentration, Soul Siphon, Shadow Mastery and the new Wrack capstone at 40. The last points go into Destructive Reach and Bane from the Destruction tree. Wrack is still untested above level 30, so this build will be updated after launch.
Affliction Warlock, level 60
Our WoW Forever Warlock talents guide explains every talent in all three trees.
The Warlock rotation changes as you unlock spells, but the idea stays the same: put your DoTs on, let your demon hold the mob, and finish it with your wand.
For Demonology, open with Searing Pain to apply Demonic Brand, add Bane of Agony and Immolate, refresh Searing Pain when the brand fades, and finish with your wand while the demon tanks.
Life Tap turns health into mana and in Forever scales with your Spirit. Use it while you walk between mobs, so you never arrive at a pull with full health and low mana. Drain Life, Siphon Life and your Demon Skin then bring the health back. Do not reapply Corruption before it has finished: it ticks every 3 seconds, and recasting early wastes the remaining damage.
Each demon fits a different stage of leveling:
Keep your demon on passive and send it in by hand, so it never pulls extra mobs. Health Funnel does not scale with spell power, so when your demon is almost dead, it is usually faster to summon a new one.
Your wand is your main filler until the 40s, so upgrade it before any armor piece. Since the September 24 beta build, wands no longer gain damage from spell power, which makes the wand's own damage even more important. Enchanters can make a Lesser Magic Wand at level 5 and a Greater Magic Wand at 13, and the best wand from 20 to 40 is the Gravestone Scepter, a quest reward from Blackfathom Deeps.
For stats, spell power comes first, then Stamina, Intellect and Spirit. Stamina feeds Life Tap and keeps you alive while drain tanking, and Spirit now also boosts Life Tap. Firestone and Spellstone are now weapon imbues that stack with Wizard Oil, so use both.
A few Warlock tricks save the most time:
Warlock is available to Humans and Gnomes on the Alliance side and to Orcs, Undead and Trolls on the Horde side. Human is the strongest pick overall, and Undead is the most comfortable for leveling on Horde.
| Race | Faction | Why it works for a Warlock |
|---|---|---|
| Human | Alliance | Sword Specialization gives 2% crit to spells, including DoTs, while you hold a sword; The Human Spirit adds 5% Spirit, which now boosts Life Tap; Will to Survive breaks stuns |
| Gnome | Alliance | Expansive Mind adds 5% maximum mana; Eureka! makes your next three spells cheaper and stronger; Escape Artist breaks roots and slows |
| Undead | Horde | Cannibalize now restores mana as well as health; Touch of the Grave sometimes drains health from the target; Will of the Forsaken breaks fears |
| Orc | Horde | Blood Fury adds 10% Spell Power; Shatter Curse and Hardiness add defense |
| Troll | Horde | Rapid Regeneration restores half your health out of combat, which pairs well with Life Tap; Berserking speeds up casts but not DoT ticks |
Forever keeps the Classic experience curve but pushes players into the open world. Since the October 1 beta build, dungeon quests give half their old bonus experience, and dungeon mobs give far less than in Classic even after the 20% increase on October 8. Low-level mobs were trimmed on purpose too, so once a zone turns green, move on. Warlock levels best by questing and killing two mobs at a time along the way.
| Levels | Horde | Alliance |
|---|---|---|
| 1–10 | Durotar, Tirisfal Glades | Elwynn Forest, Dun Morogh |
| 10–20 | The Barrens, Silverpine Forest | Westfall, Loch Modan, Darkshore |
| 20–30 | Stonetalon Mountains, Ashenvale, Hillsbrad Foothills | Redridge Mountains, Duskwood, Wetlands, Ashenvale |
| 30–40 | Thousand Needles, Desolace, Arathi Highlands, Stranglethorn Vale | Arathi Highlands, Desolace, Stranglethorn Vale |
| 35–45 | Riverglades (new in Forever) | Riverglades (new in Forever) |
| 40–50 | Tanaris, Feralas, The Hinterlands, Badlands | Tanaris, Feralas, The Hinterlands, Badlands |
| 50–60 | Un'Goro Crater, Felwood, Burning Steppes, Winterspring, Eastern Plaguelands | Un'Goro Crater, Felwood, Burning Steppes, Winterspring, Eastern Plaguelands |
The levels from 30 to 60 follow the Classic flow and will be updated after the November 4 launch. Do not skip Blackfathom Deeps: its quest gives the Gravestone Scepter wand. The other worthwhile clears on the way to 30 are Ragefire Chasm or The Deadmines, the new Ruins of Lordaeron, Wailing Caverns, Shadowfang Keep, and the new Excavation Site and City of Dalaran. Our WoW Forever dungeons overview lists every dungeon with its level range.
If you would rather skip the climb, our WoW Forever leveling service can take a Warlock to 60 while you focus on the endgame.
Warlocks kill a lot of humanoids, so cloth piles up fast. Every crafting profession also awards a Legacy point at 150, 225 and 300 skill.
Our WoW Forever professions guide covers every recipe path from 1 to 300.
Thrill of Adventure is the best first pick: at 5/5 every non-trivial kill outside dungeons, raids and battlegrounds restores 5% of your health and mana over 10 seconds, so you Life Tap and drink less. On an alt, Talented gives five extra talent points early; Malevolence or Unholy Power are good places for them.
We explain where every Legacy point comes from in our WoW Forever Legacy Points guide.
In a group you bring damage, crowd control and a lot of utility. These habits make you welcome in every group:
These habits keep a Warlock moving from mob to mob:
These are the questions players ask most often about leveling a Warlock in Forever.
What is the best Warlock spec for leveling in WoW Forever? Affliction. Instant Corruption, Bane of Agony and Drain Life let you kill mobs on the move with very little downtime. Demonology is close behind and safer.
Is Demonology good for leveling in WoW Forever? Yes. It comes online at 26 with Demonic Brand and is safer than Affliction, but it spends more mana, so you drink more often.
How do you get Soul Shards in WoW Forever? Drain Soul now has a growing chance to give a shard with every tick, so you no longer need to finish a mob with it.
Which demon is best for leveling? The Voidwalker for most of the way, since it tanks two mobs. The Succubus or Incubus kills single mobs faster.
Do curses and banes stack in WoW Forever? Yes. Bane of Agony and Bane of Doom are now banes, so you can keep Bane of Agony up together with one utility curse like Curse of Weakness.
Once you reach 60, these guides take your Warlock further:
