Warlock Class Guide — Class Guides · WoW Wrath of the Lich King
A cloth-wearing caster who curses enemies, drains their life and summons demons to fight beside them. Warlocks use Soul Shards, Life Tap and Healthstones.
- Roles
- Damage
- Specializations
- 3
- Popular builds
- 6
- Version
- WoW Wrath of the Lich King
How the warlock plays
Warlocks in Wrath gain Metamorphosis (Demonology), Haunt, Chaos Bolt, Demonic Circle (teleport back to a circle you placed) and Shadowflame. All three specs see raid use, and Demonology's Demonic Pact raises the raid's spell power.
Life Tap is still your mana, and Fel Armor turns part of your Spirit into spell power. Warlocks are still the group's summoners and the source of Healthstones and Soulstones.
Curse of the Elements raises the magic damage the target takes from the whole raid.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Strong damage in every spec.
- Demonic Circle, Fear, Death Coil and Howl of Terror.
- Healthstones, Soulstones and summons for the group.
Weaknesses
- Affliction ramps up slowly.
- Cloth armour.
- Life Tap costs health that someone has to heal.
Specializations
The specs compared
Each spec rated from 1 to 5 at what it does in WoW Wrath of the Lich King. Single and several targets mean damage for damage specs, healing for healers and threat for tanks; a spec's own guide names its ratings for its role.
| Rating |  Affliction |  Demonology |  Destruction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single target | |||
| Several targets | |||
| Survivability | |||
| Utility | |||
| Solo and leveling | |||
| Ease of play |
- Affliction
Damage · 3 builds
Curses, damage over time and drains: the tree for long fights and leveling alone.
Top talent:
Affliction guide
Haunt - Demonology
Damage · 1 build
A stronger demon and a stronger warlock through it: pet damage and survivability.
Top talent:
Demonology guide
Metamorphosis - Destruction
Damage · 2 builds
Direct damage with Shadow Bolt and fire spells, crits and burst.
Top talent:
Destruction guide
Chaos Bolt
Gear
- Cloth with spell power, hit, haste and crit.
- Hit to 17% (446 rating) against raid bosses, less any from talents.
- Spirit is worth something with Fel Armor.
Each spec guide ranks its stats and says what to look for on its gear.
Warlock class quests
The quests that unlock class abilities, by the level each route starts at.