Demonology Warlock combines strong personal damage with powerful raid support through Demonic Pact. Its gameplay changes throughout the fight: Shadow Bolt is the normal filler, Molten Core shifts the priority toward Incinerate, and Decimation turns Soul Fire into the main execute-phase spell. Metamorphosis adds another burst window with access to Immolation Aura and Shadow Cleave.
1. Talents
Warlock Talents (WotLK)Affliction0 points
Demonology55 points
Destruction16 points
2. Glyphs
Major Glyphs
Minor Glyphs
3. Stats
Hit: 14%, 368 (17%, 446 if no a spriest or moonkin)
Haste: 1377
Spellpower: as many as possible
4. Enchants
- Head: Arcanum of Burning Mysteries
- Shoulders: Greater Inscription of the Storm
- Back: Enchant Cloak - Greater Speed
- Chest: Enchant Chest - Powerful Stats
- Wrists: Enchant Bracers - Superior Spellpower
- Hands: Hyperspeed Accelerators
- Waist: Eternal Belt Buckle
- Legs: Brilliant Spellthread
- Feet: Nitro Boosts
- Main hand: Enchant Weapon - Mighty Spellpower
5. Gems
Meta gem: Chaotic Skyflare Diamond
Red gems: Runed Cardinal Ruby
Yellow gems: Veiled Ametrine / Runed Cardinal Ruby
Blue gems: Purified Dreadstone / Runed Cardinal Ruby
6. BIS
Demonology PVE
7. Macros
8. Food and flasks
Food: Fish Feast
Pet food: Spiced Mammoth Treats
Flask: Flask of the Frost Wyrm
Potion: Potion of Wild Magic / Potion of Speed (1–2 seconds before the pull, second potions use with a trinket proc)
9. Professions
Priority list:
10. Pet
Stats and gearing
Reach 14% Hit, or 368 Hit Rating, when Misery or Improved Faerie Fire provides the additional 3% spell Hit. Without either raid debuff, 17% Hit, or 446 Hit Rating, is required against a level-83 raid boss.
Spell Power is the most important throughput stat after Hit. It increases personal spell damage and also strengthens Demonic Pact, which converts 10% of the Warlock's current Spell Power into a raid-wide Spell Power buff when the pet critically strikes.
Haste improves Shadow Bolt, Incinerate and Soul Fire cast times. The 1377 Haste value provides the high-end target for the gear configuration here and also gives strong value to Glyph of Quick Decay.
Spirit contributes additional Spell Power through Fel Armor and gains further value from Glyph of Life Tap. It remains secondary to the required Hit, Spell Power and strong Haste itemization.
Life Tap
Glyph of Life Tap grants Spell Power equal to 20% of Spirit for 40 seconds after using Life Tap or Dark Pact.
Activate the buff before the pull and keep it from expiring during combat. Refreshing it during movement is especially efficient because the global cooldown would otherwise provide little or no direct damage.
Do not wait until Mana is nearly empty before using Life Tap. Small planned taps are easier to fit into the rotation than being forced to spend several globals restoring Mana during Metamorphosis or another important damage window.
Try to enter major cooldown periods with enough Mana to continue casting without interruption.
Single-target priority
Keep Corruption and Immolate active when they will remain on the target long enough to deal meaningful damage.
Corruption is particularly important because its periodic damage can trigger Molten Core.
Shadow Bolt is the normal filler while neither Molten Core nor Decimation changes the priority.
The normal flow is:
Corruption → Immolate → Curse → Shadow Bolt filler.
When Molten Core activates, use Incinerate instead of Shadow Bolt for the available charges.
When Decimation activates, Soul Fire becomes the main filler and takes priority over Molten Core Incinerates.
Continue maintaining Corruption and Immolate during execute range when they have enough time to provide their full value.
Molten Core
Each Corruption damage tick has a chance to trigger Molten Core.
Molten Core empowers the next three Incinerate or Soul Fire casts. Incinerate deals more damage and casts faster, while Soul Fire gains additional damage and Critical Strike chance.
Before Decimation becomes available, spend Molten Core charges with Incinerate.
Do not continue casting Incinerate simply to consume Molten Core once Decimation is active. Soul Fire becomes the stronger filler during the execute phase and also receives the damage and Critical Strike benefits from Molten Core.
Keeping Corruption active is therefore important even below 35% boss health because it continues generating Molten Core opportunities for Soul Fire.
Decimation and execute phase
Decimation activates when Shadow Bolt, Incinerate or Soul Fire hits a target at or below 35% health.
With two talent points, it reduces Soul Fire cast time by 40% for 10 seconds and removes the Soul Shard cost of Soul Fires cast while the effect is active.
Once Decimation is triggered, Soul Fire replaces Shadow Bolt and Incinerate as the primary filler.
Keep Corruption and Immolate active when they will last long enough, then spend the rest of the available casting time on Soul Fire.
Low-health adds can also be used to trigger Decimation before returning to the boss. This can create an earlier Soul Fire window even while the main target remains above 35%.
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis increases damage dealt by 20% and provides access to Demon Charge, Immolation Aura and Shadow Cleave.
Move close enough to the target before activating Metamorphosis when Immolation Aura can be used safely. Spending a large part of the cooldown running toward the boss wastes one of Demonology's strongest damage windows.
Immolation Aura deals heavy close-range damage and becomes particularly valuable when multiple enemies are stacked around the boss.
Shadow Cleave provides additional instant cleave while in demon form and can be used together with the normal casting priority when enemies are within range.
Try to use Metamorphosis during periods of uninterrupted uptime and combine it with temporary offensive effects when possible.
Glyph of Metamorphosis extends the transformation by 6 seconds, increasing the time available for the 20% damage bonus and demon-form abilities.
Demonic Pact
Demonic Pact activates when the pet scores a critical strike and grants raid members Spell Power equal to 10% of the Warlock's Spell Power at the moment of the proc.
The buff lasts 45 seconds and has a short internal cooldown.
Temporary Spell Power effects can therefore produce a stronger Demonic Pact. Trinket procs, Potion of Wild Magic, Lightweave Embroidery and other Spell Power bonuses can increase the value transferred to the raid when the pet crits.
A stronger Demonic Pact can replace a weaker active version. A weaker proc normally cannot replace a stronger one until the existing buff approaches expiration.
Pet uptime matters for more than personal DPS: a dead or inactive pet also stops new Demonic Pact procs.
Felguard and pet management
Felguard provides strong personal damage and works directly with Glyph of Felguard, which increases its total Attack Power by 20%.
Demonic Empowerment increases the Felguard's attack speed by 20% for 15 seconds and removes movement-impairing effects from it. Because Demonic Empowerment is off the global cooldown, it can be used frequently without disrupting the spell rotation.
Keep the Felguard attacking whenever encounter mechanics allow it. Pet downtime reduces both direct pet damage and opportunities to trigger Demonic Pact.
Use pet movement commands when a boss changes position or dangerous mechanics threaten the Felguard rather than leaving the pet uncontrolled.
An Imp can be used in a different pet configuration, but Glyph of Felguard only provides value while the Felguard is active.
Curses
Use Curse of Doom when the target will remain alive long enough for the 60-second effect to trigger.
When the remaining fight duration is too short for Curse of Doom, Curse of Agony can provide more reliable damage.
If the raid still requires Curse of the Elements for its magic-damage debuff, raid utility takes priority over the personal damage curse.
Avoid casting a new Curse of Doom when the target is expected to die before it can deal damage.
Glyph effects
Glyph of Life Tap converts 20% of Spirit into Spell Power for 40 seconds after Life Tap or Dark Pact, making regular buff maintenance part of the rotation.
Glyph of Felguard increases the Felguard's total Attack Power by 20%, strengthening a major source of Demonology damage.
Glyph of Quick Decay allows Haste to reduce the interval between Corruption ticks. Faster Corruption ticks provide more damage over time and more frequent opportunities for Molten Core to trigger.
Glyph of Metamorphosis is the alternative burst-oriented option, extending Metamorphosis by 6 seconds.
The choice between Quick Decay and Metamorphosis changes the emphasis between stronger continuous Corruption-based gameplay and a longer Metamorphosis burst window.
AoE and cleave
Seed of Corruption is the primary repeatable AoE spell against large groups of stacked enemies.
Allow Seed of Corruption to explode before placing another Seed on the same target. On large packs, switching targets between casts can prevent an existing Seed from being overwritten before it detonates.
Metamorphosis dramatically improves close-range AoE. Immolation Aura deals constant damage around the Warlock, while Shadow Cleave adds additional instant cleave.
Shadowflame is also valuable at close range, especially when moving into or out of melee range.
Felguard Cleave adds further multi-target damage without changing the normal spell priority.
Movement
Shadow Bolt, Incinerate and Soul Fire all require cast time, so unnecessary movement causes a noticeable damage loss.
Use Life Tap during movement when its glyph buff or Mana needs refreshing.
Corruption and curses can also be applied while moving when they need attention.
Demonic Circle is one of the best ways to reduce movement downtime on encounters with predictable repositioning. Place it before the mechanic begins so you can teleport directly back to a useful casting position.
Nitro Boosts provide another fast repositioning tool and are particularly useful for reaching melee range before Metamorphosis or returning to a safe casting position afterward.
Mana management
Life Tap converts health into Mana and prevents Demonology from being limited by a traditional Mana regeneration cycle.
Use Life Tap proactively rather than waiting until the Mana bar is empty.
Coordinate taps around incoming raid damage. Converting health immediately before a dangerous mechanic creates unnecessary pressure on healers.
Glyph of Life Tap makes planned Mana management more rewarding because every refresh also restores the 40-second Spell Power buff.
During execute range, avoid unnecessary Life Taps while Decimation is active if enough Mana remains to continue casting Soul Fire.
Cooldowns and consumables
Flask of the Frost Wyrm provides consistent Spell Power throughout the encounter and also contributes to stronger Demonic Pact procs.
Potion of Wild Magic provides temporary Spell Power and Critical Strike and is particularly useful when both personal burst and a strong Demonic Pact proc can benefit from it.
Potion of Speed provides a large temporary Haste increase and can be used for faster casting during Metamorphosis or Decimation.
Using a potion shortly before combat allows another potion later in the encounter.
Hyperspeed Accelerators add another controllable Haste window. Use major temporary effects when the boss can be attacked continuously rather than immediately before movement, immunity or a transition.
