Demonology Warlock DPS Spec, Builds, and Talents — The War Within (11.0.7)
On this page, you will find out the best talents for each tier for your Demonology Warlock in World of Warcraft — The War Within (11.0.7). We also have default talent lists for various types of content, such as raiding or Mythic+. If you play with Warmode on, we have your PvP talents covered as well.
If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Demonology Warlock talents.
Talent Cheat Sheets for Demonology Warlock
With the introduction of the new talents system and the ability to freely change points and share/import builds free of consumables costs while out of combat, it is highly advised to adapt the build based on the type of situation at hand.
Best Talents for Demonology Warlock
Single-Target Talents for Demonology Warlock
Pure single target setup, Diabolist is marginally ahead, opting again for Demonic Strength (which is dps neutral in single target) and Wicked Maw alongside Shadowtouched.
To import the build directly ingame, click on the export button at the bottom of the calculator
Best AoE Diabolist Talents for Demonology Warlock
Setup oriented towards scenarios that include multi-target but also require a certain degree of priority/single-target damage, such as dungeon runs.
Pathing towards Antoran Armaments offer overall better output at a marginal single target cost compared to Pact of the Imp Mother.
Diabolist offers better single target and cleave damage with the ability to frontload high burst from Overlord and Pit Lord.
To import the build directly ingame, click on the export button at the bottom of the calculator
Best AoE Soul Harvester Talents for Demonology Warlock
Soul Harvester offers better scaling at higher target count at the expense of weaker burst and slightly less single target.
Pathing towards Antoran Armaments offer overall better output at a marginal single target cost compared to Pact of the Imp Mother.
To import the build directly ingame, click on the export button at the bottom of the calculator
Best Delves Talents for Demonology Warlock
Despite Soul Harvester offering better defensives overall, Diabolist has stronger burst and can trivialise some otherwise difficult situations. Demonic Circle and Shadowfury are flexible points that can be reallocated on Amplify Curse nodes if needed.
Raiding
Do note that the builds suggested above do not account for specific fights in the current raid tier; that said, we have a dedicated page that covers boss-by-boss talent recommendations, which you can find linked below.
Mythic+
For specific Mythic+ advice, which typically involves having a setup that can perform both in single-target and AoE situations, and this set-up can also be influenced by affixes and other things like party composition and pull layout. Check out our dedicated M+ page below.
How To Use Demonology Warlock Talents
Since several talent choices affect your gameplay, we recommend reading our rotation page linked below to find out how to adapt your playstyle and priority based on your selected talents.
Picking Warlock Class Talents
Other than a handful of DPS increase nodes, the path progression is generally flexible and allows one to opt in or out of specific utilities that may not be relevant in a specific situation. The following sections will highlight the key talents while also making suggestions for what to pick to progress down the tree.
For detailed information about each individual talent, follow the link to the Spell Summary page:
PvP Talents (War Mode)
Under our Talents section, there is the option to enter "War Mode." Enabling War Mode provides the following benefits:
- PvP talents enabled in the outdoor world;
- 10% increase in World Quest rewards at maximum level;
- 10% more experience gained while leveling;
- Earn Conquest Points, which can reward gear every week.
With the benefits of enabling War Mode for leveling and PvE content, it is recommended you enable the feature. In most situations, this will allow for the maximum returns despite the risks. You will make yourself available for open-world PvP and the possibility to be "ganked" while leveling or doing World Quests exists.
Demonology Warlock War Mode Talents
In this section, we will rank the PvP talents best for leveling and doing solo / small group PvE content. Below is a ranking of both General PvP Talents and Demonology Warlock-specific PvE talents.
Warlock generic PvP Talents
- Bonds of Fel allows to burst targets by dragging them away from the marked location.
- Gateway Mastery increases your gateway's range by 20 yards and reduces the duration of the debuff placed on players using it by 15 seconds, making it a good choice when increased mobility is needed.
- Nether Ward summons a shield lasting 3 seconds and reflecting back all harmful spells targeted at you.
- Call Observer is only relevant when dealing with a lot of casting mobs.
Demonology Warlock PvP Talents
- Call Fel Lord guards a location for 15 seconds; any enemies that come within range take up to 5% of maximum Health as damage. This can be used very strategically in certain situations and is capable of dealing some nice burst damage.
- Call Observer guards a location for 20 seconds; any enemies that cast spells in the radius will take up to 5% of maximum Health as damage. This has a lot more limited use but can have absurd value in specific situations.
- Master Summoner makes Call Dreadstalkers an instant cast. Since we are often using Demonic Calling, the quality of life of this talent is diminished. It can be used if you prefer the consistency, but there are generally better choices.
Changelog
- 15 Dec. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.7.
- 29 Nov. 2024: Updated talents following simc implementation update.
- 21 Oct. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 25 Sep. 2024: Updated single target recommendation back to Diabolist after latest hotfixes.
- 09 Sep. 2024: Updated talents recommendation for Season 1.
- 29 Aug. 2024: Updated single target talent recommendation.
- 26 Aug. 2024: Updated all talent trees and added a Delve talents reccomendation.
- 21 Aug. 2024: Updated recommendations to feature Hero Trees.
- 23 Jul. 2024: Updated for The War Within pre-patch.
- 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 22 Apr. 2024: Reviewed for Season 4.
- 19 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.6.
- 15 Jan. 2024: Updated AoE talents for Patch 10.2.5.
- 28 Nov. 2023: Updated Single Target setup.
- 06 Nov. 2023: Talents updated for Patch 10.2.
- 04 Sep. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.7
- 10 Jul. 2023: Updated talents for Patch 10.1.5.
- 01 May 2023: Reviewed talents for Patch 10.1.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Updated talents for Patch 10.0.7.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
More Warlock Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by Motoko, Warlock main since The Burning Crusade, co-admin in the Warlock Discord, and theorycrafter and contributor for LockOneStopShop.
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