WoW Forever Warlock Guide
The Warlock in WoW Forever keeps its demons, damage over time and Soul Shards, but Blizzard split its damaging curses into a new category: Banes. Bane of Agony and Bane of Doom no longer compete with utility curses, so you can keep a damage Bane and a raid Curse like Curse of the Elements on the same target. Demons now scale with your own stats, and Create Firestone and Create Spellstone turn into weapon imbues that stack with wizard oils.
The specs gained signature spells. Affliction gets the drain-style Wrack, Demonology can combine a sacrifice buff with an active demon through Demonic Pact, and Destruction mixes Incinerate, Conflagrate and Shadowburn with the new Bane of Havoc. Warlocks are still physically fragile and lean on their demons for protection.
This guide sums up every Warlock change, lists the spells you learn at each level, explains demons, Banes and Curses, compares Affliction, Demonology and Destruction and helps you pick a race before the November 4 launch.
Warlock Changes in WoW Forever
Blizzard's Warlock updates open new ways to combine Shadow, Fire and demonic power. The changes fall into three groups: Banes and Curses, demons and stones, and quality-of-life fixes.
Banes and Curses
The biggest change is a new spell category:
| Change | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Bane of Agony and Bane of Doom | The old Curse of Agony and Curse of Doom are now Banes; you can have one Bane and one Curse from you on a target |
| Curse of the Elements | Now raises all magic damage taken, not only Fire and Frost |
| Curse of Shadows | Removed, since Curse of the Elements now covers Shadow |
In Classic, a raid often asked a Warlock to drop its damage curse to keep a utility curse on the boss. In Forever you keep both, and every talent that improved Curses now improves Banes too.
Demons and Stones
- Demons scale with your own stats, so your gear upgrades also make your Imp or Voidwalker stronger.
- Create Firestone and Create Spellstone now apply weapon imbues that stack with wizard oils: the Firestone adds Fire damage and crit, the Spellstone adds Shadow damage and spell haste.
- Summon Incubus joins Summon Succubus at level 20 as an alternative look for the same demon role.
Quality-of-Life Fixes
Life Tap now scales with Spirit and its tooltip shows the real amount, and Drain Soul has a growing chance per tick to give a Soul Shard until one is guaranteed. Farming shards no longer depends on landing the killing blow during the channel.
Latest Beta Changes for Warlock
The October 15 beta build replaced the new Malediction talent with the returning Grim Reach, doubled Shadow Mastery back to 10% Shadow damage, and limited Destructive Reach to Destruction spells again. The racials of the Warlock races were reworked in the same build.
We compare every talent in all three trees with its Classic version in our WoW Forever Warlock talents guide.
Key Warlock Abilities
A Warlock learns new spells from the class trainer every two levels, while most demons come from class quests. Warlocks wear cloth for their whole career, and talent points start at level 10, one per level, for 51 points at 60. Dual Specialization opens at level 40. Your first mount, Summon Felsteed, comes at 40, and the epic Summon Dreadsteed from a quest chain at 60.
The table below shows only the key abilities, the ones that change how you play, and the level at which you get each of them.
| Level | Key Abilities |
|---|---|
| 1 | Summon Imp |
| 8 | Fear |
| 10 | Summon Voidwalker (class quest), Drain Soul, Create Healthstone |
| 20 | Summon Succubus and Summon Incubus (class quest), Ritual of Summoning |
| 30 | Summon Felhunter (class quest) |
| 40 | Summon Felsteed |
| 42 | Death Coil |
| 50 | Inferno |
Every other ability, each stronger rank level by level, what changed against Classic and a planner that shows what you learn at your level are in our WoW Forever Warlock abilities by level guide.
Talents add the rest of the toolkit. The key talented spells are Siphon Life, Curse of Exhaustion and Wrack for Affliction, Demonic Sacrifice, Fel Domination, Soul Link and Demonic Pact for Demonology, and Shadowburn, Conflagrate, Bane of Havoc and Incinerate for Destruction.
Our WoW Forever Warlock leveling guide shows which of these spells to use at each stage from 1 to 60.
Warlock Demons, Banes and Curses
Your demon and your choice of Bane and Curse decide most of what a Warlock brings to a fight. Forever changes both: demons scale with you, and Banes free up the Curse slot for utility.
Demons
You can have one demon out at a time. Each serves a different job, and Demonology talents turn them into buffs as well.
| Demon | Level | Role | Demonic Sacrifice Buff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imp (Summon Imp) | 1 | Ranged Fire damage, Stamina buff for the party | More Shadow damage |
| Voidwalker (Summon Voidwalker) | 10 | Tanks enemies while leveling | Restores mana |
| Succubus or Incubus (Summon Succubus, Summon Incubus) | 20 | Melee damage and a crowd control | More Fire damage |
| Felhunter (Summon Felhunter) | 30 | Interrupt and magic dispel, the PvP pick | Restores health |
| Infernal (Inferno) | 50 | Temporary AoE guardian | None |
| Doomguard (Ritual of Doom) | 60 | Powerful demon summoned with help from your group | None |
Sacrifice effects now last 2 hours. With the 31-point Demonic Pact, summoning a different demon no longer cancels the sacrifice, so Demonology can stack a sacrifice buff with the bonus of an active demon from Master Demonologist for the first time.
Banes
Only one Bane per Warlock can be on a target:
- Bane of Agony (8): damage over time that ramps up, your default Bane.
- Bane of Doom (60): one big delayed hit on long fights.
- Bane of Havoc (21-point Destruction talent): copies 15% of the damage you deal to other targets onto the cursed target.
Curses
Curses are now pure utility, and you can keep one alongside your Bane:
- Curse of the Elements (20): more magic damage taken, the standard raid curse.
- Curse of Weakness (4): lowers the target's Attack Power.
- Curse of Recklessness (14): stops fleeing and Fear, useful against runners.
- Curse of Tongues (26): slows casting.
- Curse of Exhaustion (Affliction talent): a 30% movement slow.
In groups, coordinate with other Warlocks so each target gets a different Curse.
Warlock Specs: Affliction, Demonology and Destruction
All three Warlock specs deal ranged damage, and Blizzard says each now competes with any other caster in its own style. Affliction works with damage over time and drains, Demonology empowers you and your demon, and Destruction mixes direct Fire and Shadow damage.
| Spec | Playstyle | Key New Talents | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affliction | DoTs and drains | Pandemic, Malevolence, Wrack | Self-healing through drains, strong on many targets | Slow ramp on short fights |
| Demonology | Demon and self buffs | Fel Vitality, Demonic Knowledge, Demonic Pact | Sturdiest leveling, pet holds threat | Damage depends on demon management |
| Destruction | Fire and Shadow nukes | Molten Skin, Bane of Havoc, Incinerate | Burst, cleave through Bane of Havoc | Threat and mana use |
Affliction
Affliction DoTs can now crit for full value: Pandemic doubles their crit damage bonus and Malevolence adds Shadow crit chance. Soul Siphon makes your drains hit up to 36% harder for each of your other Affliction spells on the target, Nightfall now also procs from Drain Soul and Wrack, and Curse of Exhaustion is the 16-point talent. The 31-point Wrack is a drain-style channel that also makes the target take 10% more damage from your other Shadow DoTs.
Demonology
Demonology now has real damage of its own. Demonic Knowledge adds spell damage for you and your demon while it is out, Demonic Brand lets your Searing Pain empower your demon's next attacks, and Decimation makes Soul Fire faster and free on low-health targets. Demonic Sacrifice moved to 11 points and its effects last 2 hours, Soul Link is now the 21-point talent, and Demonic Pact at 31 points lets you keep a sacrifice buff while another demon fights.
Destruction
Destruction weaves Fire and Shadow. Conflagrate moved to 16 points, Shadow and Flame makes Conflagrate boost your Shadow damage and Shadowburn boost your Fire damage, and Ruin sits much higher in the tree. Bane of Havoc at 21 points lets you keep hurting a priority target while you fight adds, and the 31-point Incinerate deals 25% more damage to targets with your Immolate.
Our WoW Forever Warlock tier set guide lists the raid set bonuses along with the crafted pieces.
Best Races for Warlock in WoW Forever
Five races can be Warlocks in Forever: Orc, Undead and, new in Forever, Troll for the Horde, and Human and Gnome for the Alliance. Skyborne cannot be Warlocks.
| Race | Faction | Key Racials for a Warlock | Best Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orc | Horde | Blood Fury: +10% spell power for 15 sec; Shatter Curse: removes Curses and Banes; Command: +5% pet damage | Raids and PvP |
| Undead | Horde | Will of the Forsaken: breaks Fear and Charm; Touch of the Grave: health drain | PvP |
| Troll | Horde | Berserking: +10% casting speed; Rapid Regeneration: heals 50% health out of combat | Raids and leveling |
| Gnome | Alliance | Escape Artist: breaks snares; Eureka!: cheaper and stronger spells for 8 sec; Expansive Mind: +5% maximum Mana | Raids and PvP |
| Human | Alliance | Will to Survive: breaks stuns; The Human Spirit: +10% Spirit for Life Tap | PvP and Affliction |
Since Life Tap now scales with Spirit, the Human Spirit bonus has more value than in Classic, and as of the October 26 update it is 10% instead of 5%. Human is now the stronger Alliance pick for raids, because Eureka! does not affect damage over time. Gnome stays strong for Destruction and PvP. On the Horde side, Orc and Troll bring damage cooldowns, Orc also adds 5% pet damage through Command, and Undead is the PvP choice.
For a spec-by-spec comparison of all five races, read our WoW Forever best Warlock race guide.
Our WoW Forever race tier list ranks every race for every class.
WoW Forever Warlock FAQ
These are the questions players ask most about the Warlock before launch.
Is Warlock good in WoW Forever?
Yes. Warlocks are among the strongest solo classes thanks to their demons, drains and Fear, and Blizzard says all three specs now compete with other casters in damage. The class is still fragile without its demon.
What are Banes in WoW Forever?
Banes are a new spell category for damaging curses. Bane of Agony, Bane of Doom and Bane of Havoc are Banes, and you can have one Bane and one Curse on a target at the same time.
Can Trolls be Warlocks in WoW Forever?
Yes. Troll Warlock is a new combination, joining Orc and Undead on the Horde side.
Do Warlock demons scale with gear in WoW Forever?
Yes. Demons now gain stats from their summoner, so your gear upgrades make your demon stronger too.
How do Soul Shards work in WoW Forever?
Drain Soul now has a growing chance per tick to give a Soul Shard until one is guaranteed, so you get shards more reliably than in Classic.
What is the best Warlock spec for leveling?
Affliction or Demonology. Affliction heals itself through drains and spreads DoTs across several enemies, while Demonology keeps a strong Voidwalker tanking for you. Both rely on Life Tap and Drain Life to keep going without rest.
Which races can be Warlocks in WoW Forever?
Orc, Undead and Troll for the Horde, and Human and Gnome for the Alliance.
More WoW Forever Warlock Guides
These guides take your Warlock from the first level to the first raid:
Update history 2
- Trimmed the abilities section to the key Warlock abilities and linked the new level-by-level abilities guide.
- Release
