Warlock in WoW Classic

WoW SoD Warlock DPS

In this WoW SoD Warlock DPS Build, you will find the best PvE DPS spec for Warlocks in the Season of Discovery in WoW Classic. The build shows the best talents, runes, BiS gear, and enchants to DPS in dungeons and raids with your Warlock.

📂 WoW Classic > Warlock

📅 Last updated on February 13, 2025.

WoW SoD Destruction Warlock Talents & Runes

Choose the following talents and runes as a Destruction Warlock Warlock for Phase 7 at level 60:

Loading...

The Destruction spec is focused on shadow damage instead of fire damage in Phase 7. Use Summon Imp Summon Imp as your pet with this Destru build. Learn where to find each rune in our guide WoW SoD Warlock Runes.

WoW SoD Demonology Warlock Talents & Runes

Choose the following talents and runes as a Demonology Warlock Warlock for Phase 7 at level 60:

Loading...

This Demonology Warlock Warlock spec is also known as MD/Ruin, stemming from the key talents Master Demonologist Master Demonologist and Ruin Ruin. Use Summon Succubus Summon Succubus with this Demo build.

WoW SoD Affliction Warlock Talents & Runes

Choose the following talents and runes as an Affliction Warlock Warlock for Phase 7 at level 60:

Loading...

This Affliction Warlock Warlock spec is also known as SM/Ruin, stemming from the key talents Shadow Mastery Shadow Mastery and Ruin Ruin. Use Summon Imp Summon Imp with this Affli build.

SoD Phase 7 DPS Warlock BiS List

The following DPS Warlock Warlock BiS list contains the best items you can get in Phase 7 of Season of Discovery:

Legend: Items marked with Icon are BiS for the Destro Locks. Items marked with Icon are BiS for Affli Locks. Items marked with Icon are BiS for the Demonology MD/Ruin spec.

1 The new Phase 7 shoulder enchant depends on your spec:

SoD Phase 6 DPS Warlock BiS List

The following DPS Warlock Warlock BiS list contains the best items you can get in Phase 6 of Season of Discovery:

Legend: Items marked with Icon are BiS for the Destro Locks. Items marked with Icon are BiS for Affli Locks. Items marked with Icon are BiS for the Demonology MD/Ruin spec.

1 Use Enchant Gloves - Fire Power Enchant Gloves - Fire Power as Icon Destruction Warlock, otherwise Enchant Gloves - Shadow Power Enchant Gloves - Shadow Power.

SoD Phase 5 DPS Warlock BiS List

The following DPS Warlock Warlock BiS list contains the best items you can get in Phase 5 of Season of Discovery:

Legend: Items marked with Icon are BiS for the Destro Locks. Items marked with Icon are BiS for Affli Locks. Items marked with Icon are BiS for the Demonology MD/Ruin spec.

SoD Phase 4 DPS Warlock BiS List

The following DPS Warlock Warlock BiS list contains the best items you can get in Phase 4 of Season of Discovery to DPS in raids and dungeons:

Legend: Items marked with Icon are BiS for the Destro Locks. Items marked with Icon are BiS for Affli Locks.

1 This quest requires Dreadmist Mask Dreadmist Mask from Scholomance and Dreadmist Robe Dreadmist Robe from Blackrock Spire to complete.
2 This quest requires Dreadmist Sandals Dreadmist Sandals from Stratholme, Dreadmist Leggings Dreadmist Leggings from Stratholme, and Dreadmist Mantle Dreadmist Mantle from Scholomance to complete.
3 This quest requires Dreadmist Belt Dreadmist Belt from Stratholme and Dreadmist Wraps Dreadmist Wraps from Scholomance to complete.4
You only need the reputation with Timbermaw Hold to craft the base item. If you buy the base item from another player, being Friendly with Timbermaw Hold is enough to upgrade the base item to the epic version.

Fire Resistance for Heat Level 2 and Heat Level 3

To raid the more difficult heat levels in Molten Core you need to hit Fire Resistance thresholds. For Heat Level 2 you need at least 96 Fire Resistance and for Heat Level 3 you need at least 226 Fire Resistance. To increase your Fire Resistance you can equip gear, utilize enchantments, use consumables, and get buffs from your Druids Druids, Shamans Shamans 1, and Paladins Paladins 1.

Use the following sources to increase your Fire Resistance to the required threshold:

Using Fire Resistance items often results in a DPS loss in comparison to your BiS list. After you’ve acquired new raid items recalculate your Fire Resistance and re-optimize your gear loadout.

🔥 Since the boss Garr from Molten Core can dispel magic effects, you should make sure your Warlock Warlock is hitting the Fire Resistance threshold without Mark of the Wild Mark of the Wild for that specific fight. This might require you to have some off-pieces for that boss fight.

1 For most guilds, it is not recommended to rely on Shaman Shaman totems or Paladin Paladin auras to hit the minimum Fire Resistance thresholds. If the aura or totem is out of range or the player dies, you will lack Fire Resistance. Use the totems or auras as additional mitigation, but calculate your Fire Resistance without them.

SoD DPS Warlock Pre-Raid BiS List

The following DPS Warlock Warlock pre-BiS list contains the best items you can get in Season of Discovery before entering the endgame raids at level 60.

Legend: Items marked with Icon are BiS for the Destro Locks. Items marked with Icon are BiS for Affli Locks.

1 This quest requires Dreadmist Mask Dreadmist Mask from Scholomance and Dreadmist Robe Dreadmist Robe from Blackrock Spire to complete.
2 This quest requires Dreadmist Sandals Dreadmist Sandals from Stratholme, Dreadmist Leggings Dreadmist Leggings from Stratholme, and Dreadmist Mantle Dreadmist Mantle from Scholomance to complete.
3 This quest requires Dreadmist Belt Dreadmist Belt from Stratholme and Dreadmist Wraps Dreadmist Wraps from Scholomance to complete.
4 You only need the reputation with Timbermaw Hold to craft the base item. If you buy the base item from another player, being Friendly with Timbermaw Hold is enough to upgrade the base item to the epic pre-BiS version.

While collecting your pre-BiS in Phase 4, you need to change the prioritization of the items to your current situation. Try to unlock the 4-set bonus of “Deathmist Rainment” and avoid over-capping your Spell Hit Chance. As a Icon Destruction Warlock you don’t want more than 10% Spell Hit Chance from your gear. As an Icon Affliction Warlock with 4 talent points in Suppression Suppression, you don’t want more than 2% Spell Hit Chance from your gear.

Warlock Rotation in Season of Discovery

The rotation for a Warlock Warlock depends on whether you play as Destruction, Demonology, or Affliction Warlock Warlock.

Icon Destruction Warlock Rotation

The rotation as a Fire Destro Warlock Warlock in WoW SoD consists of the following priority list:

  1. Keep Curse of Recklessness Curse of Recklessness or Curse of the Elements Curse of the Elements active, if required by your raid.
  2. Keep Shadowflame Shadowflame active.
  3. Keep Corruption Corruption active.
  4. Keep Unstable Affliction Unstable Affliction active.
  5. Cast Haunt Haunt whenever it’s available.
  6. Cast Shadowflame Shadowflame.

Icon Demonology Warlock Rotation

The rotation as a Demo Warlock Warlock in WoW SoD with the MD/Ruin spec has the following priority list:

  1. Keep Curse of Recklessness Curse of Recklessness or Curse of the Elements Curse of the Elements active, if required by your raid.
  2. Cast Curse of Agony Curse of Agony when it’s not active and Shadow and Flame Shadow and Flame is active.
  3. Keep Shadowflame Shadowflame active.
  4. Keep Corruption Corruption active.
  5. Keep Unstable Affliction Unstable Affliction active.
  6. Cast Haunt Haunt whenever it’s available.
  7. Cast Shadowflame Shadowflame.

Icon Affliction Warlock Rotation

The rotation as a Shadow Affli Warlock Warlock in WoW SoD with the SM/Ruin spec has the following priority list:

  1. Keep Curse of Recklessness Curse of Recklessness or Curse of the Elements Curse of the Elements active, if required by your raid.
  2. Keep Shadowflame Shadowflame active.
  3. Keep Corruption Corruption active.
  4. Keep Unstable Affliction Unstable Affliction active.
  5. Cast Haunt Haunt whenever it’s available.
  6. Cast Shadow Bolt Shadow Bolt if Shadow Trance Shadow Trance procs.
  7. Cast Shadowflame Shadowflame.

Only one Curse of Recklessness Curse of Recklessness and one Curse of the Elements Curse of the Elements need to be active on the boss. Each Warlock Warlock has one defined curse they are responsible for. If there are more than 2 Warlocks Warlocks in your raid and you are not responsible for one of the curses, skip this step.

DPS Warlock Consumables in SoD

The following list of consumables can be used by DPS Warlocks Warlocks in endgame raids at level 60:

DPS Warlock Stat Priority

As a DPS Warlock Warlock you want to prioritize gear with the following stats:

  1. Up to 16% Spell Hit Chance against level 60 raid bosses.
  2. Spell Critical Hit
  3. Spell Damage = Fire Damage (or Shadow Damage depending on your build)
  4. Spirit
  5. Intellect

After reaching the hit cap, more Hit Chance has no additional value. Due to the Spell Hit Chance from your finger runes and talents, you need less Spell Hit Chance from your gear.

Tank Build for Warlock in Season of Discovery

To tank in dungeons and raids, use the WoW SoD Warlock Tank Spec. The Tank Warlock Warlock spec is optimized to maintain your opponents’ threat and reduce incoming damage.

Additional Resources

You can find more resources about the WoW SoD Warlock here, including Warlock Macros for WoW Classic. Special thanks to the WoWSims team for providing an invaluable simulation tool to optimize BiS lists. The BiS list for the current phase is based on current simulations. If you want to learn more about Warlocks Warlocks and optimize your gameplay, visit the Classic Warlock Discord community for discussions and insights.