Destruction Warlock

Destruction Warlock puts 36 points into Destruction, 10 points into Affliction and 5 points into Demonology by level 60, with no respec on the way.

Key talents: Shadowburn at 20 and Conflagrate at 25.

Incinerate 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 38% less time than playing with no talents.

At level 40 most of your ability damage comes from Immolate (31%), Wand (29%) and Conflagrate (25%).

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. 10-11
   

   Bane 1-2 A

   Destruction. A tier: a strong point for leveling.
2. 12-15
   First, filler points:

   • Bane 3-5A

   

   Aftermath 1 A

   Destruction, at level 15. A tier: a strong point for leveling.
3. 16-20
   First, filler points:

   • Aftermath 2-5A

   

   Shadowburn 1 S

   Destruction, at level 20. S tier: one of this build's best points for leveling.
4. 21-25
   First, filler points:

   • Molten Skin 1-4B

   

   Conflagrate 1 S

   Destruction, at level 25. S tier: one of this build's best points for leveling.
5. 26-28
   

   Agonizing Flames 1-3 A

   Destruction. A tier: a strong point for leveling.
6. 29-31
   

   Cataclysm 1-3 B

   Destruction. B tier: a solid point for leveling.
7. 32-34
   

   Fire and Brimstone 1-3 B

   Destruction. B tier: a solid point for leveling.
8. 35-37
   

   Demonic Embrace 1-3 B

   Demonology. B tier: a solid point for leveling.

1. 
   Immolate

   once per mob
2. 
   Wand

   filler
3. 
   Conflagrate

   on cooldown
4. 
   Shadowburn

   on cooldown

Share of your ability damage

• Immolate31%
• Wand29%
• Conflagrate25%
• Shadowburn15%

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.

Stamina > Spell power > Spirit > Intellect

• Stamina1.00
• Spell power0.86
• Spirit0.14
• Intellect0.09

1% hit is worth about 3 Stamina. 1% crit is worth about 1 Stamina.

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, Stamina helps most, then spell power. Look for gear with those first.
• Some points (Destructive Reach and Improved Shadow Bolt) 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.