MoP Classic Warlock Guide: Best Specs, Talents & DPS Tips

💡 Pro tip: Use Archimonde’s Vengeance in PvP for meme-tier reflect damage.

Glyphs You Shouldn’t Skip

Glyphs matter in MoP. Here are a few standouts:

Major Glyphs

• Glyph of Dark Soul – Gives you more control over burst timing.

• Glyph of Life Tap – Free movement while tapping? Yes, please.

• Glyph of Unstable Affliction – For Affliction, this helps spread pressure.

Minor Glyphs (For Fun)

• Glyph of Verdant Spheres – Makes you look like a proper fel god.

• Glyph of Gateway Attunement – QoL if you’re a Gateway enjoyer.

Spec Breakdown: When to Play Each Warlock Spec

Affliction Warlock (Best for Raiding Early On)

Affliction is all about spreading DoTs like candy and draining your target’s soul into the void. It’s smooth, mobile, and has insane uptime on bosses that don’t move around too much.

Core Abilities:

• Agony, Corruption, Unstable Affliction, Haunt, Malefic Grasp

Why play it?

• Simple to pick up but deep to master.

• Excels in Patchwerk-style fights.

• Top-tier on target-swap encounters with Soulburn: Seed of Corruption.

DPS Tip:
Snapshotting your DoTs with procs from trinkets and Dark Soul: Misery will skyrocket your damage. Keep track of buffs!

Demonology Warlock (Best AoE and Coolest Visuals)

Demonology is about embracing your inner demon—literally. You generate Demonic Fury, transform into a demon, and go ham with meta abilities.

Core Abilities:

• Hand of Gul’dan, Hellfire, Touch of Chaos, Doom, Wild Imps

Why play it?

• Unrivaled AoE burst.

• Amazing visual flair (meta form is just badass).

• Scales really well with gear.

DPS Tip:
Always line up Doom with procs, and pool Demonic Fury before popping Metamorphosis for maximum burst.

Destruction Warlock (Best Burst and PvP King)

If you want instant gratification and big crits, Destruction is your jam. You build Burning Embers and unleash huge Chaos Bolts and Shadowburns.

Core Abilities:

• Incinerate, Immolate, Conflagrate, Chaos Bolt, Shadowburn

Why play it?

• Huge burst windows.

• Satisfying rotation that rewards timing.

• Surprisingly strong cleave with Fire and Brimstone.

DPS Tip:
Always have Conflagrate on cooldown for charge gen, and never overcap Embers—every Chaos Bolt is a potential delete button.

Warlock Rotation Basics (PvE)

Let’s not overcomplicate it. Here’s the basic gameplan:

Affliction:

1. Apply Agony, Corruption, UA

2. Use Haunt on cooldown

3. Channel Malefic Grasp for filler

4. Reapply DoTs when procs are active

Demonology:

1. Maintain Corruption, Doom

2. Use Hand of Gul’dan on cooldown

3. Enter Meta form and spam Touch of Chaos during procs

4. Use Wild Imps and Dark Soul together

Destruction:

1. Keep up Immolate

2. Use Conflagrate on cooldown

3. Spam Incinerate to build Embers

4. Spend Embers on Chaos Bolt or Shadowburn during execute

Leveling Tips (If You’re Starting Fresh)

• Go Affliction or Demonology – they both offer strong sustain and less downtime.

• Use your Voidwalker for tanking and AoE pulls.

• Get Glyph of Drain Life for healing on the go.

• Dark Apotheosis is gone, sadly. RIP the tanklock dreams.

Bonus: Don’t Waste Time Farming

If you’re prepping for endgame or rushing to 90, don’t stress over gold. You can always buy Mists of Pandaria gold to grab enchants, gems, or crafted gear fast and jump straight into raids.

Final Thoughts

MoP Classic Warlocks are in a fantastic spot. Whether you’re in it for the DoTs, the demons, or the big Chaos Bolts, each spec offers something different and viable. The real win? You don’t need to reroll. Just respec, re-glyph, and go again.

Now go forth, embrace the fel, and show Pandaria who the real threat is.