Affliction Warlock DPS Easy Mode

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 7.3 Changes for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes for Affliction Warlock
  • 4. Affliction Warlock Strengths
  • 5. Affliction Warlock Weaknesses
  • 6. Affliction Warlock Viability in the Current Patch
  • 7. Contents
  • 8. ChangeLog
• ×Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics for Affliction Warlock
  • 2. Talent Choice for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Stat Priority for Affliction Warlock
  • 4. Basic Rotation for Affliction Warlock
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Affliction Warlock Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resources for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Affliction Warlock
    • 3.1. Damage Over Time Spells (DoTs)
    • 3.2. Direct Damage Spells
    • 3.3. Demonic Summons
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheets for Affliction Warlock
    • 2.1. Raid Encounters
      • 2.1.1. Single Target
      • 2.1.2. 2 Targets
      • 2.1.3. 3 Targets
    • 2.2. Mythic+
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Affliction Warlock
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression for Affliction Warlock — First 35 Points
    • 1.1. Early Point Investment
    • 1.2. Second Golden Trait
    • 1.3. Third Golden Trait
    • 1.4. Final Point Investment
  • 2. Patch 7.2: 35+ Trait Path for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Relic Priority for Affliction Warlock
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths
  • 1. General Optimization Advice for Affliction Warlock
  • 2. Tier 2 Upgrade Priority for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Tier 3 Upgrade Priority for Affliction Warlock
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Playstyle for Affliction Warlock
    • 1.1. Single Target Rotation
    • 1.2. 2-Target Priority List
      • 1.2.1. 3-Target Priority List
    • 1.3. Mythic+
  • 2. Important Notes for Affliction Warlock
    • 2.1. DoT Usage (7.2.5)
    • 2.2. Reap Usage
    • 2.3. Unstable Affliction Usage
      • 2.3.1. 2-3 Targets
    • 2.4. Soul Shard Sniping
    • 2.5. Pet Choice
    • 2.6. Agony
    • 2.7. "Nightfall" — Shard Generation Explained
    • 2.8. "Pandemic" — Learning to Efficiently Refresh DoTs
    • 2.9. Defensive Utility
    • 2.10. Doomguard and Infernal
  • 3. Core Concepts for Affliction Warlock
    • 3.1. DoT Uptimes & Shard Expenditure
    • 3.2. Movement Management
      • 3.2.1. Quiet Movement
  • 4. Opening Sequence for Affliction Warlock
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Mythic+ Tips
  • 1. Mythic+ Introduction for Affliction Warlock
  • 2. Affix List
  • 3. Mythic+ Talents for Affliction Warlock
    • 3.1. Standard Build — Low Level Keystones
    • 3.2. Standard Build — High Level Keystones
    • 3.3. Tyrannical Build — High Level Keystones
    • 3.4. Talent Explanations
      • 3.4.1. Tier 1/Level 15
      • 3.4.2. Tier 2/Level 30
      • 3.4.3. Tier 3/Level 45
      • 3.4.4. Tier 4/Level 60
      • 3.4.5. Tier 5/Level 75
      • 3.4.6. Tier 6/Level 90
      • 3.4.7. Tier 7/Level 100
  • 4. Stat Priority for Affliction Warlock
  • 5. Legendary Items for Affliction Warlock
    • 5.1. Mandatory Tier
    • 5.2. Top Tier
    • 5.3. Situational/Niche Choices
  • 6. Mythic+ Relics, Set Bonuses, and Trinkets for Affliction Warlock
  • 7. Pet Choice for Affliction Warlock
  • 8. Mythic+ Rotation for Affliction Warlock
    • 8.1. Trash Packs
      • 8.1.1. Sow the Seeds
      • 8.1.2. Phantom Singularity/Soul Harvest
    • 8.2. Single Target/Bosses
  • 9. Instance Advice for Affliction Warlock
    • 9.1. Black Rook Hold
    • 9.2. Cathedral of Eternal Night
    • 9.3. Court of Stars
    • 9.4. Darkheart Thicket
    • 9.5. Eye of Azshara
    • 9.6. Halls of Valor
    • 9.7. Maw of Souls
    • 9.8. Neltharion's Lair
    • 9.9. Return to Karazhan
      • 9.9.1. Lower Return to Karazhan
      • 9.9.2. Upper Return to Karazhan
    • 9.10. Seat of the Triumvirate
    • 9.11. The Arcway
    • 9.12. Vault of the Wardens
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Affliction Warlock Boss Advice: Antorus, the Burning Throne
    • 1.1. Garothi Worldbreaker
      • 1.1.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.2. Felhounds of Sargeras
      • 1.2.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.3. Antoran High Command
      • 1.3.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.4. Eonar the Life-Binder
      • 1.4.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.5. Portal Keeper Hasabel
      • 1.5.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.6. Imonar the Soulhunter
      • 1.6.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.7. Kin'garoth
      • 1.7.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.8. Varimathras
      • 1.8.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.9. The Coven of Shivarra
      • 1.9.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.10. Aggramar
      • 1.10.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.11. Argus the Unmaker
  • 2. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Stat Priority for Affliction Warlock
  • 2. Stat Weights for Affliction Warlock
    • 2.1. Why is Mastery Good?
  • 3. Statistics Explanations for Affliction Warlock
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Affliction Warlock
  • 2. Enchants for Affliction Warlock
  • 3. Consumables for Affliction Warlock
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Addons for Affliction Warlock
    • 1.1. Generic Addons for Warlocks
    • 1.2. ElvUI
    • 1.3. Weak Auras
    • 1.4. Boss Mods
      • 1.4.1. BigWigs Bossmods
      • 1.4.2. Deadly Boss Mods
    • 1.5. Name Plates
      • 1.5.1. KUI Nameplates
      • 1.5.2. TidyPlates
    • 1.6. Damage Meters
      • 1.6.1. Skada
      • 1.6.2. Details
    • 1.7. Extra AddOns
      • 1.7.1. Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 1.7.2. DeathNote
      • 1.7.3. Doom CooldownPulse
      • 1.7.4. Angry Assignments
  • 2. Macros for Affliction Warlock
    • 2.1. Pet Macros
      • 2.1.1. Soulstone Mouseover
      • 2.1.2. Demonic Circle
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot
  • 1. Tier 21 Set Bonuses for Affliction Warlock
  • 2. Legendary Recommendations for Affliction Warlocks in Antorus Gear
  • 3. Tier 20 Set Bonuses for Affliction Warlock
  • 4. Trinket Priority for Affliction Warlock
  • 5. Best in Slot List for Affliction Warlock
  • 6. Evaluating Upgrades Using Stat Weights for Affliction Warlock
  • 7. Legendary Items for Affliction Warlock
    • 7.1. Legendary Quick Reference
  • 8. Loot Competition
  • 9. ChangeLog
• +Battle for Azeroth
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. Basic Mechanics Changes for Affliction Warlock in BfA
  • 3. Baseline Abilities & Changes for Affliction Warlock in BfA
  • 4. Affliction Warlock Talents in BfA
    • 4.1. Level 15
    • 4.2. Level 30
    • 4.3. Level 45
    • 4.4. Level 60
    • 4.5. Level 75
    • 4.6. Level 90
    • 4.7. Level 100
  • 5. Azerite Traits for Affliction Warlock
  • 6. Affliction Warlock Rotational Priorities in BfA
  • 7. ChangeLog

This section is intended for players who are new to the game or class, have no intentions of raiding Mythic difficulty, or simply want a more straightforward way to play their specialization without being overwhelmed by the numerous priorities and active abilities that need to be taken into consideration for optimal play.

1. The Basics for Affliction Warlock

Affliction is a straightforward specialization that revolves around maintaining damage over time effects on your active targets. As such, being able to effectively track the time remaining on your "DoT" effects is of paramount important to achieve success. In this section we will be focusing on a setup that minimizes the amount of buttons and reactivity necessary without unduly compromising overall damage output.

2. Talent Choice for Affliction Warlock

These choices are optimized for ease of use. Although some talents might offer marginally higher gains when played perfectly, these same talents often result in damage losses when utilized by many players. These talents aim to present the best setup that has very little punishment for unfamiliarity or mistakes.

• Level 15: Malefic Grasp (1 target) OR Writhe in Agony (2+ targets)
• Level 30: Absolute Corruption
• Level 45: Demonic Circle
• Level 60: Soul Harvest
• Level 75: Demon Skin
• Level 90: Grimoire of Supremacy
• Level 100: Soul Conduit

3. Stat Priority for Affliction Warlock

Currently, you will want to prioritize secondary stats as follows:

1. Mastery;
2. Critical Strike >= Haste;
3. Intellect;
4. Versatility.

4. Basic Rotation for Affliction Warlock

1. Keep Agony applied to up to 5 targets.
2. Apply Corruption to up to 5 targets.
3. Cast Soul Harvest when available.
4. Cast Unstable Affliction when you have 4+ Soul Shards.
5. Cast Drain Soul as a filler.
6. Cast Seed of Corruption as a filler on 3+ stacked targets.
7. Cast Reap Souls at 2-4 stacks. Save 3+ Soul Shards for your Reap Souls for maximum damage.
8. Cast Life Tap to restore Mana.

About Our Author and Reviewer

This guide has been written by Furty, who has an illustrious history in the World of Warcraft raiding scene and race for World First. He has been a member of guilds such as Serenity, Midwinter, and many more, and is currently raiding in Future. He plays most classes at the highest level. You can follow him on Twitter and watch him play on Twitch.

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Deepshades, a top raider who plays in Method; you can watch his stream on Twitch and follow him on Twitter.

5. ChangeLog

• 28 Aug. 2017: Updated talents and rotation.
• 13 Jun. 2017: Updated rotation and talents.
• 09 Jan. 2017: Small update to easy mode talents for 7.1.5.
• 12 Dec. 2016: Added easy mode for Affliction Warlocks.