Affliction Warlock

Affliction Warlock puts 33 points into Affliction, 13 points into Destruction and 5 points into Demonology by level 60, with no respec on the way.

Key talents: Siphon Life at 48.

Wrack is left out on purpose: in our sim it does less for leveling than the same points spent elsewhere.

By our sim, this build gets you from 10 to 60 in about 18% less time than playing with no talents.

At level 40 most of your ability damage comes from Shadow Bolt + wand (47%), Bane of Agony (19%) and Corruption (19%).

Each talent gets a tier for how much it helps this build level, by our sim: S best, A strong, B solid, C small, Filler needed to reach deeper talents.

1. 10
   

   Improved Corruption 1 S

   Affliction. S tier: one of this build's best points for leveling.
2. 11-15
   

   Bane 1-5 A

   Destruction. A tier: a strong point for leveling.
3. 16-20
   

   Demonic Embrace 1-5 A

   Demonology. A tier: a strong point for leveling.
4. 21-25
   

   Molten Skin 1-5 C

   Destruction. C tier: a small gain for leveling.
5. 26-28
   

   Cataclysm 1-3 B

   Destruction. B tier: a solid point for leveling.
6. 29-48
   First, filler points:

   • Suppression 1-5C
   • Improved Corruption 2-5S
   • Improved Life Tap 1-2
   • Malediction 1-5
   • Soul Harvesting 1-2
   • Improved Bane of Agony 1

   

   Siphon Life 1 B

   Affliction, at level 48. B tier: a solid point for leveling.
7. 49
   

   Nightfall 1 S

   Affliction. S tier: one of this build's best points for leveling.
8. 50
   

   Improved Bane of Agony 2 A

   Affliction. A tier: a strong point for leveling.

1. 
   Shadow Bolt + wand

   filler, wand when low on mana
2. 
   Bane of Agony

   once per mob
3. 
   Corruption

   once per mob
4. 
   Haunt

   on cooldown

Share of your ability damage

• Shadow Bolt + wand47%
• Bane of Agony19%
• Corruption19%
• Haunt15%

What our sim found levels best at this level with this build: DoTs once per mob, cooldowns on cooldown, and the rest on your best filler. Auto attacks are always on, so they are not listed.

Spell power > Stamina > Intellect > Spirit

• Spell power1.00
• Stamina0.70
• Intellect0.42
• Spirit0.06

Stat values like Pawn: point for point, your best stat is 1.00 and the rest are worth that share of it. MP5 is mana regen per 5 seconds, as item tooltips show it. Your own gear shifts these: the Character page works them out for you.

• Put Bane of Agony on each mob once: most mobs die before it needs refreshing.
• Wand mobs down when you run low on mana: it beats drinking more often.
• At level 40, for the same item budget, spell power helps most, then Stamina. Look for gear with those first.
• Some points (Improved Life Tap, Soul Harvesting and Nightfall) are filler to reach the next tier; they do little for leveling on their own.

How this is made: a typical character at each level (Classic-like stats, quest greens for gear) pulling same-level mobs one at a time, with downtime counted. It is an early version, refined as players’ combat logs measure what each talent really does.