Demonology Warlock

Demonology Warlock puts 31 points into Demonology, 19 points into Destruction and 1 points into Affliction by level 60, with no respec on the way.

No talent ability is worth building around here: the points go to passive bonuses.

By our sim, this build gets you from 10 to 60 in about 22% less time than playing with no talents.

At level 40 most of your ability damage comes from Shadow Bolt + wand (51%), Immolate (33%) and Corruption (15%).

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 B

   Affliction. B tier: a solid point for leveling.
2. 11
   

   Bane 1 A

   Destruction. A tier: a strong point for leveling.
3. 12-20
   First, filler points:

   • Bane 2-5A

   

   Aftermath 1-5 S

   Destruction, at level 16. S tier: one of this build's best points for leveling.
4. 21
   

   Demonic Embrace 1 C

   Demonology. C tier: a small gain for leveling.
5. 22
   

   Cataclysm 1 B

   Destruction. B tier: a solid point for leveling.
6. 23-29
   First, filler points:

   • Molten Skin 1-4C

   

   Agonizing Flames 1-3 A

   Destruction, at level 27. A tier: a strong point for leveling.
7. 30-33
   

   Demonic Embrace 2-5 C

   Demonology. C tier: a small gain for leveling.
8. 34
   

   Cataclysm 2 B

   Destruction. B tier: a solid point for leveling.

1. 
   Shadow Bolt + wand

   filler, wand when low on mana
2. 
   Immolate

   once per mob
3. 
   Corruption

   once per mob

Share of your ability damage

• Shadow Bolt + wand51%
• Immolate33%
• Corruption15%

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 > Intellect > Stamina > MP5 > Spirit

• Spell power1.00
• Intellect0.61
• Stamina0.50
• MP50.46
• Spirit0.08

1% hit is worth about 2 Spell power. 1% crit is worth about 1 Spell power.

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 Immolate 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 Intellect. Look for gear with those first.
• Some points (Unholy Power, Demonic Aegis and Fel Vitality and others) 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.