The WoW Classic Affliction Warlock is a master of shadow magic, specialising in curses, life draining and damage over time.
The Affliction Warlock is a decent caster in PvE and quite good at PvP. Above all, it serves as a support, bringing many curses, healing stones and crowd control in addition to scattered DoTs on a large number of targets. In PvE, it's not among the best DPS and is only represented in one or two slots per raid, the others going to Demonology. In PvP, however, it is found in the backline to inflict multiple curses on all opponents to weaken them before being completed by other DPS and their more direct damage.
Talents
The PvE Shadow Mastery build focuses on applying Corruption to one or more targets in order to take advantage of the Nightfall talent that allows you to generate as many Shadow Bolt procs as possible, dramatically increasing DPS. However, it remains weaker in terms of DPS than Demonology in pure damage, and its gameplay is frustrating if you fail to get Nightfall procs .
This PvP Shadow Mastery builds on the Warlock DoTs while allowing it to generate maximum direct damage once the DoTs are in place using Searing Pain and selected Destruction Tree talents. The idea is clear: DoT everyone and spam Searing Pain .
Editor's note: We do not have in mind the best statistics for the Warlock Affliction of the time, we are working to recover them. Of course, if some of you remember it, do not hesitate to let us know in the comments, we thank you in advance.
Rotation and main skills
Single Target
- Keep the curse you have been assigned to the main target permanently,
- Maintain (if the buffs limit allows it) Corruption on the target,
- Shadow Bolt to fill,
- Shadowburn when the target is about to die.
- Life Tap when you have little mana left.
Multitarget
- Corruption on a maximum of targets,
- Curse of agony on a maximum of targets,
- Head into melee and use Hellfire.
Ritual of Summoning
The Ritual of Summoning is one of the Warlock's best tools. Although unusable in combat, it saves a lot of time to teleport latecomers directly into the instance or raid.
Major Healthstone, Major Soulstone, Major Firestone
The different stones of the Warlock are of great help to the whole group or the raid. Helping to heal, resurrect an ally or increase fire damage inflicted, respectively, are crucial to any self-respecting raid. However, the Warlock must farm a monumental amount of Soul Shard in order to create them.
The Warlock's curses are also one of his great strengths as they allow him to increase the DPS of allied casters, reduce the power of opponents or simply inflict damage. Generally, a Warlock is assigned to apply each curse before each raid boss.
Pet
PvE
In PvE, it is always your Imp who should be invoked in order to benefit from the Blood Pact to your group (you will be placed in the Tanks group in raid). If ever the Imp of one of the Warlocks is already present to buff Tanks Group, the Imp is still the best option.
PvP
Against classes that can inflict magic effects (Paladin or Mage for example), always use the Felhunter to take advantage of his Devour Magic skill that should save you more often than not. What's more, it's also the best pet against casters since it allows you to kick them with the Spell Lock.
Against melee classes such as Warrior or Rogue, generally, prefer the Voidwalker for his mighty Sacrifice.
Which race do I play for my Affliction Warlock?
Horde
The real interest of the Undead, besides his incredible style, is the Will of the Forsaken which is excellent in PvP. Apart from that, Cannibalism is interesting in levelling. The only interest they have in PvE is that they have a base of slightly more points of Intelligence and Spirit than other races.
The Orc is great in PvE as in PVP thanks to its racial blood Fury, but also Command which is interesting in Warlock (but not in raid). Finally, Hardness gives them a clear advantage over other races in PvP.
Alliance
If there is one race to remember, both PvE and PvP, Warlock, this is it. Expansive Mind has no equal even side Horde in PvP as in PvE, Escape Artist is an obvious asset in PvP and, if you follow our trades advice, Engineering Specialization is excellent.
The Human is not as good as the Gnome, but still has two passive assets: his Diplomacy makes grinding easier, and his Perception in PvP to counter your nemisis: the Rogue.
World of Warcraft: Classic has a number of races to choose from, and making that choice has long-term consequences. You don't want to regret your choice later, so we've broken down the races in our tier list for WoW: Classic.
Professions
Tailoring is a must-have for the Warlock: it allows you to craft pre-raid armour pieces of unparalleled power, including the Robe of the Void. This is the quintessential profession of the Warlock.
The Engineer is the best choice by default as it's great in both PvE and PvP. From Goblin Sapper Charge to the Arcanite Dragonling to the Dense Dynamite, everything about this role will always be useful!
If you do not opt for Engineering, then the Enchanting profession will certainly delight you since it will allow you to make your own enchantments by disenchanting the items you get on the way and in raids/dungeons, but also the ones you make for yourself from Tailoring.
World of Warcraft: Classic has a number of professions to choose from, from crafting armour with Blacksmithing and Leatherworking to farming materials with Herbalism and Minning. With something for everyone, here is our Classic Profession tier list.
