Demonology Warlock DPS Guide (Legion 7.3.5)

Table of Contents

• ×Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 7.3 Changes for Demonology Warlock
  • 3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes for Demonology Warlock
  • 4. Demonology Warlock Strengths
  • 5. Demonology Warlock Weaknesses
  • 6. Demonology Warlock Viability in the Current Patch
  • 7. Contents
  • 8. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics for Demonology Warlock
  • 2. Talent Choice for Demonology Warlock
  • 3. Stat Priority for Demonology Warlock
  • 4. Basic Rotation for Demonology Warlock
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Demonology Warlock Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resources for Demonology Warlock
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Demonology Warlock
    • 3.1. Spell Casts
    • 3.2. Your Personal Demon Horde
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheets for Demonology Warlock
    • 2.1. Raid Encounters
      • 2.1.1. Single Target
      • 2.1.2. 2 Targets/Light Cleave
      • 2.1.3. Heavy Cleave/AoE
    • 2.2. For General Use
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Demonology Warlock
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Demonology Warlock
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Demonology Warlock
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Demonology Warlock
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Demonology Warlock
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Demonology Warlock
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Demonology Warlock
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression for Demonology Warlock — First 35 Points
    • 1.1. Early Point Investment
    • 1.2. Second Golden Trait
    • 1.3. Final Point Investment
  • 2. Patch 7.2: 35+ Trait Path for Demonology Warlock
  • 3. Relic Priority for Demonology Warlock
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths
  • 1. General Optimization Advice for Demonology Warlock
  • 2. Tier 2 Upgrade Priority for Demonology Warlock
  • 3. Tier 3 Upgrade Priority for Demonology Warlock
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Ability Priority List for Demonology Warlock
  • 2. Important Notes for Demonology Warlock
    • 2.1. The Importance of AddOns
    • 2.2. Soul Shards
    • 2.3. Demonic Empowerment
      • 2.3.1. Empowerment Overlap
    • 2.4. An In-Depth Look at AoE
    • 2.5. Demon Choice
    • 2.6. Darkglare and Hand of Doom
    • 2.7. Tier 1 Talents
      • 2.7.1. Shadowflame Usage
    • 2.8. Tier 2 Talents
    • 2.9. Implosion Usage
    • 2.10. Defensive Utility
    • 2.11. Doomguard and Infernal
  • 3. Core Concepts for Demonology Warlock
    • 3.1. Cooldown Management
    • 3.2. Spooky Skull: Thal'kiel's Consumption
    • 3.3. Movement Management
      • 3.3.1. Quiet Movement
  • 4. Opening Sequence for Demonology Warlock
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Stat Priority for Demonology Warlock
  • 2. Stat Weights for Demonology Warlock
  • 3. Statistics Explanations for Demonology Warlock
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Demonology Warlock
  • 2. Enchants for Demonology Warlock
  • 3. Consumables for Demonology Warlock
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. Addons for Demonology 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 Demonology 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 Demonology Warlock
  • 2. Tier 20 Set Bonuses for Demonology Warlock
  • 3. Best in Slot List for Demonology Warlock
  • 4. Evaluating Upgrades Using Stat Weights for Demonology Warlock
  • 5. Legendary Items for Demonology Warlock
    • 5.1. Top Tier
    • 5.2. Mid Tier
    • 5.3. Bottom Tier
    • 5.4. Descriptions
  • 6. Loot Competition
  • 7. ChangeLog
• +Battle for Azeroth
  • 1. Foreword
  • 2. Basic Mechanics Changes for Demonology Warlock in BfA
  • 3. Baseline Abilities & Changes for Demonology Warlock in BfA
  • 4. Demonology 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 Demonology Warlock
  • 6. Demonology Warlock Rotational Priorities in BfA
  • 7. ChangeLog

General Information

Welcome to our Demonology Warlock DPS guide for World of Warcraft Legion 7.3.5. Here, you will learn everything you need to know about playing a Demonology Warlock in a raid environment and in Mythic+ dungeons.

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 Not, one of the best Demonology Warlocks and a respected theorycrafter. He raids in Strawberry Puppy Kisses. You can watch him on Twitch or YouTube and you can follow him on Twitter. He is also the owner and editor of Lock One Stop Shop, a website dedicated to Warlocks.

1. Class Overview

Demonology Warlocks have received a major overhaul in Legion. Instead of harnessing dark power and transforming into a demonic entity, we now command hordes of demons to unleash on anyone foolish enough to cross our path. Demonology is a very procedural specialization that focuses on sustained damage, though it can deal some impressive burst AoE through the use of certain talents. Demonology Warlocks have high personal survivability, which makes them ideal for progression encounters as it is rare that any damage will take you by surprise. Like all Warlocks, Demonology brings the Demonic Gateway, which can be an invaluable raid cooldown.

2. Patch 7.3 Changes for Demonology Warlock

• Healthstones now heal for 25% of the user's health at all levels.

3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes for Demonology Warlock

• New legendary items added.
• Hand of Gul'dan damage increased by 180%.
• Tier 19 4-set bonus now causes Call Dreadstalkers to last 2.5 seconds longer (down from 4 seconds).
• Soul Harvest duration is now 12 seconds + 4 seconds per target afflicted by Doom, with a maximum of 36 seconds (changed from 15 seconds + 2 seconds per target, maximum 35 seconds).
• Left Hand of Darkness now increases the damage of your pet by 2.5% per rank with Grimoire of Supremacy (down from 5%).
• Jaws of Shadow damage increase down to 10% per rank (from 20%).
• Infernal Furnace damage increase down to 8% per rank (from 10%).

4. Demonology Warlock Strengths

• Spooky
• Strong sustained single target damage
• Good burst AoE damage

5. Demonology Warlock Weaknesses

• Weak single target burst
• Weak sustained AoE
• Mediocre target switching
• Very inefficient at cleave and AoE (e.g. your single target damage suffers considerably)

6. Demonology Warlock Viability in the Current Patch

Demonology is currently an average specialization in terms of pure damage output. It is usable in Mythic+ with a proper build, however, its major significant niche is to tunnel a single target on low/no movement fights (e.g. Varimathras). That said, it can excel in lower levels of Mythic+ where very large pulls are a possibility, as long as there is time for your damage to properly ramp. Implosion and Summon Darkglare are capable of providing strong AoE though it does take a little while for you to build the damage.

7. Contents

To make it easy to navigate the guide, we have split it into 11 pages:

• Easy Mode: TL;DR to own without reading much;
• Spell Summary: see a summary of all your useful spells;
• Builds and Talents: learn how to choose your talents;
• Artifact Traits and Relics: discover how to level up your Artifact;
• Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths: choose the right paths on your Netherlight Crucible;
• Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities: master your rotation and your cooldowns;
• Stat Priority: read up on the respective values of your statistics;
• Gems, Enchants, and Consumables: choose the best gems, enchantments, etc.;
• Macros and Addons: step up your game with useful macros and addons;
• Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot: find the best gear you can wear;
• Battle for Azeroth: learn how to play your class in Battle for Azeroth.

8. ChangeLog

• 11 Jun. 2018 (Battle for Azeroth page): Added talents image.
• 11 Jun. 2018 (Battle for Azeroth page): Page added.
• 21 Feb. 2018 (easy mode page): Updated talent build to be more applicable to the majority of Antorus encounters.
• 28 Nov. 2017 (gear page): Updated best in slot and added T21 set bonuses.
• 13 Oct. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Added a note about Dark Sorrows on multi-target.
• 17 Sep. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Relic priority updated to match update to Artifact page.
• 17 Sep. 2017 (artifact page): Updated relic priority.
• 13 Sep. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Old priority rendered erroneous by recent balancing; updated Tier 2 priority based on SimCraft results.
• 11 Sep. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Added Netherlight Crucible page for Demonology Warlock.
• 03 Sep. 2017 (stats page): Bumped Intellect down below Crit/Mastery.
• 03 Sep. 2017 (artifact page): Slight update to 35+ trait path.
• 03 Sep. 2017 (easy mode page): Bumped Intellect below Crit/Mastery.
• 03 Sep. 2017 (enchants page): Re-added Azshari Salad as recommended food.
• 03 Sep. 2017 (gear page): Sectioned the Legendary list in separate tiers.
• 03 Sep. 2017 (rotation page): Added a line in the Ability Priority List noting increased priority on Call Dreadstalkers with Tier 20 4-piece bonus.
• 29 Aug. 2017 (easy mode page): Updated talents, rotation, and stats.
• 29 Aug. 2017 (gear page): Added a note about Arcanocrystal.
• 29 Aug. 2017 (rotation page): Updated opener for Patch 7.3.
• 29 Aug. 2017 (enchants page): Revised recommended gems, redesigned "Consumables" section, and added a note about Healthstones in Patch 7.3.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (talents page): Updated talents discussions.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (this page): Updated viability and removed 7.2 changes. Added Patch 7.3 changes.
• 28 Aug. 2017 (enchants page): Added Lightforged Augment Rune and new 7.3 epic gems.
• 20 Aug. 2017 (talents page): Removed mention of Havoc under Mortal Coil discussion.
• 17 Jun. 2017 (stats page): Added stat weights.
• 17 Jun. 2017 (gear page): Added legendary tier list, Tier 20 set bonus explanation, Tomb of Sargeras best in slot, and updated stat weight calculations.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (gear page): Added Soul of the Netherlord and the Master Harvester to the Legendary items section. More changes to follow later this week.
• 12 Jun. 2017 (this page): Added 7.2.5 changes.
• 22 Apr. 2017 (talents page): Added Soul Conduit (with Thalkiel's Ascendance) as single target build. Updated Power Trip discussion.
• 22 Apr. 2017 (rotation page): Updated Ability Priority List and Opener.
• 29 Mar. 2017 (enchants page): Added Lavish Suramar Feast.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (talents page): Updated Tier 2 talent discussion for Patch 7.2.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (this page): Added summary of Patch 7.2 changes.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (rotation page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (stats page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (easy mode page): Updated talent build.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (gear page): Updated legendaries; priority re-ordered, added Feretory.
• 27 Mar. 2017 (artifact page): Updated for Patch 7.2. with new traits and order.
• 19 Jan. 2017 (this page): Updated viability section.
• 18 Jan. 2017 (gear page): Added new legendary items and updated BiS list for Nighthold.
• 11 Jan. 2017 (rotation page): Updated opener.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (enchants page): Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (this page): Added Patch 7.1.5 changes section.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (rotation page): Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (stats page): Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (artifact page): Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (easy mode page): Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
• 09 Jan. 2017 (talents page): Updated for Patch 7.1.5.
• 21 Dec. 2016 (easy mode page): Added easy mode for Demonology Warlocks.
• 12 Nov. 2016 (rotation page): Added an AoE In-Depth section to further clarify how to play in Mythic+ and AoE scenarios.
• 12 Nov. 2016 (talents page): Updated Grimoire selection and removed Shadowflame as a potential candidate due to incorrect Simcraft data.
• 12 Nov. 2016 (this page): Updated viability section.
• 12 Nov. 2016 (artifact page): Updated Relic priority.
• 02 Nov. 2016 (gear page): Updated trinkets because Wriggling Sinew was still there for some reason.
• 30 Oct. 2016 (enchants page): Added a "Potion Choice" section to illuminate the pros and cons of pots, following the addition of Potion of Prolonged Power.
• 25 Oct. 2016 (talents page): Updated talents following the swap of Demon Skin and Demonic Circle in Patch 7.1.
• 14 Sep. 2016 (enchants page): Replaced Mark of the Claw with Mark of the Hidden Satyr for the Neck enchant.
• 14 Sep. 2016 (rotation page): Added Shadowflame section and cleaned up APL.
• 14 Sep. 2016 (gear page): Updated Legendary balance.
• 14 Sep. 2016 (talents page): Added some additional clarification on progression talent options.
• 14 Sep. 2016 (stats page): Updated stat weights.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (rotation page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (enchants page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (artifact page): Added.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (talents page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (spells page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (gear page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (this page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Aug. 2016 (stats page): Updated for Legion's launch.
• 24 Jul. 2016 (rotation page): Added section explaining the 4-piece + Fragment "cheese" playstyle and additional opening sequence.
• 24 Jul. 2016 (this page): Updated Strengths and Weaknesses.
• 24 Jul. 2016 (talents page): Updated talents for improved clarity.
• 20 Jul. 2016 (talents page): Added cheese build with T18 4-piece and Fragment of the Dark Star.
• 20 Jul. 2016 (gear page): Removed trinket sims and added proper recommendations.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (spells page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (rotation page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (addons page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (gear page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (this page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (stats page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (enchants page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
• 18 Jul. 2016 (talents page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.