5.4 Demonology Tips and Quirks

[Zagam 1,982]

Greetings, Warlocks! This guide will be a source of supplemental information that is intended to help you get a better grasp on how to better play your Demonology Warlock.

Table of Contents
1) Demons and Grimoires
2) Demonology’s Feel and Nature
3) Demonology Resources
4) Opener and Execution Phase
5) Metamorphosis and Caster Form
6) Corruption and Doom
7) Hand of Gul’dan and Chaos Wave
8) Mastery, Haste, & Crit
9) Unerring Vision of Lei Shen and Wild Imps
10) AoE
11) Pandemic, Fel Flame, and Doomguard
12) Talents and Glyphs

13) Tier 16 Set Bonuses
14) Trinkets

15) Theorycrafting and Math

 

 

1. Demons and Grimoires

Demonology is all about you, you as a demon, and your demons corrupting and punishing your opponents with the art of dark magic. As a Mastery: Master Demonologist, your pets gain significantly more power than Destruction and Affliction’s pets. That said, your companion will be a trusty Felguard if you choose Grimoire of Service, Wrathguard if you choose Grimoire of Supremacy, and any demon you’d like to sacrifice withGrimoire of Sacrifice. Typically, you’ll prefer to sacrifice your Voidwalker for his Voidwalker: Shadow Bulwark ability or your Felhunter for his Felhunter: Spell Lock ability. If you elect to employ your demon instead of sacrificing him or her, you’ll be using Felguard: Felstorm or Wrathstorm to blend many opponents into gory remains.


2. Demonology's Feel and Nature

Demonology has been declared to be the hardest of the three Warlock specializations. Demonology requires paying attention to your demon, your mana bar, your unique resource, Demonic Fury, as well as 2 DoTs, a charge system for Hand of Gul'dan, and Molten Core procs which alter your rotation. This guide will try to diffuse some of the difficulty and explain all of the complexities of the class in easy-to-understand terms.


3. Demonology Resources

Demonologists have the following resources:

Mana – consumed in caster form to generate Demonic Fury and generated via Life Tap
Demonic Fury – consumed in Metamorphosis form
Molten Core procs – consumed with the use of Soul Fire
Hand of Gul'dan charges – regenerates over time, 2 total charges

Managing these resources is the key to optimizing your Demonology rotation and damage.

Mana management is rather simple as a Demonology Warlock. You'll use Life Tap to regenerate mana, but there are things to remember.

1) You don't need mana in Metamorphosis. Use long periods of Metamorphosis to passively regenerate some mana. This method won't be enough to rely on this method alone, but every global you don't spend using Life Tap is a DPS gain.

2) You should end the fight with very little mana. Finishing a fight with more than 25% mana means you used Life Tap at least one too many times.

3) Do your best to not Life Tap during periods of heavy damage or a future spike in damage.

Demonic Fury management is moderately more complex than mana. You need Demonic Fury to do high damage, so maximizing your Demonic Fury generation is key. This can be done by executing your rotation properly. There are a few Demonic Fury rules you should follow.

1) Try to never get above 900 Demonic Fury. If you come close to 900, shift into Metamorphosis and spend some until you are around 650 or 700 depending on the length of time until your next Dark Soul: Knowledge or a trinket proc.

2) Try to end fights with 0 Demonic Fury left. Maximize your damage by depleting your entire Demonic Fury bar before a fight ends.

3) Try to have at least 800 Demonic Fury for Dark Soul: Knowledge burns. You will be spending Demonic Fury and you do not want to leave Metamorphosis during Dark Soul: Knowledge. If you have the 2pc T15 set bonus, you should only need about 650 Demonic Fury for the same effect.

4) Deciding between Metamorphosis: Touch of Chaos and Soul Fire as your Metamorphosis filler will depend on your Demonic Fury. Make sure not to use Soul Fire if you have less than 200 Demonic Fury while Dark Soul: Knowledge is up.

Molten Core charge management is rather simple. If you have a Molten Core charge, cast Soul Fire instead of Shadow Bolt in caster form. This will do more damage and generate higher Demonic Fury. Beware, however, that it will cost significantly more mana. You can have a maximum of 10 Molten Core charges. Try to follow these rules regarding Molten Core charges.

1) Never let yourself hit 10 Molten Core charges. Spend them either in Metamorphosis form or caster form.

2) Never ever cast Soul Fire without Molten Core charges.

Hand of Gul'dan management is discussed in section 7.


4. Opener and Execution

Demonology Opener involves some luck and finesse.  You'll be precasting Soul Fire to gain some extra Demonic Fury and give yourself a 20% chance to boost your opener by 20% with your 2pc bonus.

 

@ 4 seconds left, pre-pot

@ 3.5 seconds left, Soul Fire

Curse of the Elements
Grimoire: Felguard (if using GoServ)
Corruption + Felguard: Felstorm / Wrathstorm

Hand of Gul'dan
Dark Soul: Knowledge + Blood Fury / Berserking / Synapse Springs
Glyph of Imp Swarm (if using Glyph of Imp Swarm)
Shadow Bolt

[wowicon=spell_shadow_shadowbolt]Shadow Bolt

[wowicon=ability_warlock_handofguldan]Hand of Gul'dan

Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis: Doom
Metamorphosis: Touch of Chaos or Soul Fire if you have enough Demonic Fury to not drop out of Metamorphosis during Dark Soul: Knowledge.


Execution phase presents the situation where hitting an enemy below 25% with Shadow Bolt or Soul Fire will guarantee a Molten Core charge. This will slightly increase your DPS, but Soul Fire spam will either deplete your mana or your Demonic Fury rapidly, so use with caution.


5. Metamorphosis and Caster Form

Demonology Warlocks have two forms you will be performing your rotation from. One is caster form and the other is Metamorphosis form. Caster form has access to the core abilities Shadow Bolt, Corruption, Hellfire, Hand of Gul'dan, and Soul Fire. These abilities consume mana and generate Demonic Fury. Metamorphosis form turns Shadow Bolt into Metamorphosis: Touch of Chaos, Corruption into Metamorphosis: Doom, Hellfire into Metamorphosis: Immolation Aura, Hand of Gul'dan into Metamorphosis: Chaos Wave, and modifies Soul Fire to consume Demonic Fury instead of generating it. These abilities consume Demonic Fury and do considerably more damage due to Mastery: Master Demonologist. If your Demonic Fury ever goes below 40, you’ll automatically be returned to caster form from Metamorphosis form. Maximizing your time in Metamorphosis will prove to be a challenging, yet very rewarding endeavor in boosting your DPS.


6. Corruption, Doom, & Snapshotting

Metamorphosis: Doom and Corruption play a large part into Demonology’s DPS, but perhaps not where one might think. Metamorphosis: Doom’s damage is pretty important to the overall contribution a Demonology Warlock brings, but Corruption’s damage is pretty small. However, they both play a part in optimizing Demonology DPS and should be treated with utmost concern. Your absolute number 1 priority is to keep both of these DoTs running on your target as well as any extra targets. Details of each follow:

Corruption generates a small amount of Demonic Fury, is refreshed by Touch of Chaos and Void Ray, and does a small amount of damage. This ability, if played corrected, should only need to be placed on its target one time as Metamorphosis: Touch of Chaos is regularly used in your rotation and will extend the duration of Corruption 6 seconds. Metamorphosis: Void Ray will extend the duration of Corruption 4 seconds and will be refreshed this way during AoE situations.

Metamorphosis: Doom generates moderate to high damage in large intervals of time as well as providing an opportunity to generate a Wild Imp upon dealing critical damage. When Metamorphosis: Doom crits, it also generates 50 Demonic Fury. A special section is devoted further down in this guide regarding the trinket Unerring Vision of Lei Shen and what it means to Metamorphosis: Doom. Metamorphosis: Doom should always be cast on anything that will live for at least 1 tick of the DoT.

Snapshotting is an effect put into the combat mechanics of World of Warcraft that is used when any damage over time effect is placed on a target. Snapshotting means that when a DoT is applied, your stats are taken into account at that very moment and maintained for the duration of the DoT. When you have a proc of a trinket or Bloodlust, applying a DoT such as Metamorphosis: Doom will give that DoT a huge buff. The buff remains for the duration of the DoT, even past Bloodlust wearing off. This is a very important feature to remember as you try to maximize your DPS. This will be covered in the last section of this guide.

Metamorphosis: Doom and Corruption can be extended past their original durations of 18 and 60 seconds via Pandemic.


7. Hand of Gul'dan, Shadowflame, & Chaos Wave

Hand of Gul'dan uses a 2 point charge system. Hand of Gul'dan deals moderate damage to its target and splashes to targets nearby within 6 yards. When Hand of Gul'dan hits its target, it leaves a DoT called Shadowflame which has a slowing effect as well as generating Demonic Fury for the duration of Shadowflame. Hand of Gul'dan can stack twice due to the charge system. Both the damage and snaring component of Shadowflame are doubled upon the 2^nd application of Shadowflame.

The proper way to utilize your charges of Hand of Gul'dan are to maximize the duration of Shadowflame while obtaining your 2^nd stack. Since each Shadowflame duration lasts 6 seconds, you’ll want to apply the 2^ndHand of Gul'dan within 5 seconds of your first Hand of Gul'dan. Hand of Gul'dan has travel time, so you must consider this in wanting to properly utilize Hand of Gul'dan and Shadowflame. The way this can be accomplished varies by Haste levels but can always be done by this spell order:

1) Hand of Gul'dan
2) Shadow Bolt / Soul Fire
3) Shadow Bolt / Soul Fire
4) Hand of Gul'dan
5) Metamorphosis should be used directly after the 2nd Hand of Gul'dan in order to buff the damage of Hand of Gul'dan as well as the 2nd stack of Shadowflame.

With high levels of Haste, you can push a third spell in between the two Hand of Gul'dans to increase Demonic Fury and optimize Shadowflame damage.

Metamorphosis: Chaos Wave is the Metamorphosis form of Hand of Gul'dan. This does very high damage at the cost of a lot of Demonic Fury. This is great for burst AoE, but if the targets being hit would survive the duration of Shadowflame (6 seconds), then Hand of Gul'dan would be a better choice than Metamorphosis: Chaos Wave. Metamorphosis: Chaos Wave is very situational and is not commonly used.


8. Mastery, Haste, & Crit

There is an unwritten rule about Crit and Warlocks… “Crit is Shit.” You’ll typically want to avoid Crit the best you can because of how well Haste and Mastery act with Demonology. A great way to approach Haste and Mastery is not to think one is better than the other but to realize they work together with incredible synergy to maximize your DPS. Each fight is unique and may see Haste valued over Mastery or Mastery valued over Haste, but the best approach is to build for both.

When putting gems and enchants on your gear, prioritize gems based on your preference. If you are pushing higher Haste, then use the Haste version of gems. If you prefer Mastery, plug those in. For red sockets, you should always use the Intellect hybrid gems. For yellow sockets, you should use pure secondary stats, and for blue sockets, you should use either the Hit secondary hybrids or Stamina secondary hybrid gems. Stamina gems should only be used when you cannot possibly reforge out of any more Hit.

Red Sockets: Reckless Vermilion Onyx or Artful Vermilion Onyx
Yellow Sockets: Quick Sun's Radiance or Fractured Sun's Radiance
Blue Sockets: Lightning Wild Jade or Sensei's Wild Jade or Puissant Wild Jade or Forceful Wild Jade

There are many Haste thresholds which are not incredibly important to Demonology Warlocks thanks largely in part to Pandemic, but because it’s unreliable to find a solid breakpoint for Haste in terms of the spec overall, Haste breakpoints should be chosen based on how close you can get Haste and Mastery to each other. In terms of your important Haste breakpoints, these can be found at askmrrobot.com. For simplicity, I will include the various values here on this page I feel are relevant:

*Assume 5% Raid Haste*
Shadowflame
8064 Rating = 24.92% Haste = +2 ticks
14873 Rating = 41.75% Haste = +3 ticks - recommended

Metamorphosis: Doom

13153 Rating = +2 ticks - recommended

Glyph of Imp Swarm + Wild Imps
6074 Rating = 14.29% Haste = +2 Imps
14195 Rating = 33.40% Haste = +3 Imps - recommended
 

Therefore, recommended Haste threshold is:

 

14873 Rating - no Amplification trinket

14165 Rating - LFR Amplification (5%)

14032 Rating - Flex/Normal Amplification (6%)

13900 Rating - Warforged/Heroic Amplification (7%)

13772 Rating - Heroic WF Amplification (8%)

 

This threshold will cover the breakpoints of Shadowflame, Corruption, and Doom.

 

Corruption breakpoints are negligible due to the nature of it being constantly updated via Metamorphosis: Touch of Chaos and its relatively minor damage.

It's almost impossible to get to a 1.000 second Soul Fire or Shadow Bolt under normal situations. However, at 40.60% personal Haste + 5% raid Haste + Bloodlust + Tempus Repit, you can get to a 1.000 second Shadow Bolt. Under the same scenario, Soul Fire reaches 1.000 second cast with 15% personal Haste. Building for this scenario is foolish and would only be obtained under rare situations and a high personal Haste rating which I discourage.

In terms of Haste and Mastery, keep them close together in value. And remember, reforging won’t make your DPS skyrocket. Your secondary stat allotment is a small contribution to your DPS. Focus more on perfecting your rotation to see the largest increase in potential damage.


9. Unerring Vision of Lei Shen and your Imps

There is a game-breaking trinket for Demonology, and it’s called Unerring Vision of Lei Shen. It drops from Lei Shen in the Throne of Thunder raid and it is absolutely beautiful. What this trinket does is snapshots any DoTs you might cast under its proc called Perfect Aim, and makes it so they will always have a critical hit. While snapshotting Corruption is nice, it really doesn’t compare to what snapshotting Metamorphosis: Doom does.

Remember that when Metamorphosis: Doom does critical damage, you spawn a Wild Imp which will generate 50 Demonic Fury. When Perfect Aim procs, you should apply Metamorphosis: Doom. This will result in a plethora of Wild Imps and this effect is only increased with multiple targets. Your absolute number 1 priority in this specialization is to apply your 100% guaranteed crit Metamorphosis: Doom to anything without it.

Without this trinket, Demonology’s DPS suffers a bit. With it, Demonology becomes one of the top specs in the game. Acquire this trinket at any cost if you want to be a serious Demonology Warlock.

As of 5.4, Unerring Vision has been modified to the point where it is no longer the best possible trinket for Demonology.  It no longer procs at the beginning of fights with consistency and its proc rate no longer super inflated by Haste. 

 

10. AoE Damage

AoE is one of Demonology’s specialties. Whether it is burst AoE or sustained AoE, Demonology has one of the best toolkits in the game to deliver.

For 4 or fewer targets, you’ll want to apply Metamorphosis: Doom and Corruption to everything, maximize Shadowflame and Hand of Gul'dan damage, and perform your single target rotation in a rotating manner so that you don’t let Corruption fall off. It will get refreshed as you bounce from target to target and apply Metamorphosis: Touch of Chaos. The rule of thumb for Metamorphosis: Doom is apply it if it will tick at least one time. Remember to use Felguard: Felstorm or Wrathstorm on cooldown.

For 5 or more targets, assess how long they will live. If it is more than 20-30 seconds, apply Corruption and Metamorphosis: Doom to all of them. Maximize Hand of Gul'dan and Shadowflame damage, apply Metamorphosis: Immolation Aura, use Carrion Swarm on cooldown (make sure it’s glyphed), and spam Metamorphosis: Void Ray. As always, Felguard: Felstorm and Wrathstorm should be used on cooldown. When you run out of Demonic Fury, use Hellfire to quickly generate it then pop back into Metamorphosis and continue your onslaught.


11. Pandemic, Fel Flame, and Doomguard

Pandemic is a passive ability acquired by Warlocks at level 90 that give them the ability to extend DoTs past their original duration, up to 50% of the original duration. Pandemic can be used to extend DoTs when you get a great proc and utilize your ability to snapshot your stats. Pandemic increases the effect of your DoTs as seen here:

Corruption: 18 seconds -> 27 seconds
Corruption + Glyph of Everlasting Affliction: 27 seconds -> 41 seconds
Metamorphosis: Doom: 60 seconds -> 90 seconds
Metamorphosis: Doom + Glyph of Everlasting Affliction: 90 seconds -> 135 seconds

Fel Flame is an ability that was utilized lots in the previous expansion to be able to cast and move at the same time. It was even built into a set bonus to make Warlocks want to use it. Casting Fel Flame was mana inefficient in 5.3, but in 5.4, it had its damage buffed and mana cost removed making it a very solid spell to cast while moving.  If you avoid the KJC talent in favor of AD or MF, then Fel Flame will be a staple part of your rotation while moving in caster form. 

Doomguard and Terrorguard are 10 minute cooldowns that, when utilized, will contribute a small portion of your damage. Doomguard and Terrorguard do 20% more damage when a target is below 20%, but they also scale with your stats. It’s almost always more beneficial to cast your Doomguard or Terrorguard at the beginning of combat when all of your trinkets, potions, and other buffs are live. Doomguard and Terrorguard DO NOT benefit from Haste. They will cast 17 Doom Bolts and no more. Casting them at the beginning of fights also ensures you get the full utilization out of them. If you wait until execution phase, they may not get in all 17 of their Doom Bolts.


12. Talents and Glyphs

Icy-Veins does a great job covering the Talents and Glyphs. Mandatory Glyphs are Glyph of Imp Swarm, Glyph of Shadow Bolt and Glyph of Everlasting Affliction (with Unerring Vision of Lei Shen.)

 

As of 5.4, these glyphs are no longer necessary.  Imp Swarm has been reduced to 4 Imps bringing it in line with not using the glyph at all and Everlasting Affliction has been removed and replaced with Glyph of Unending Resolve.

 

Talents and Glyphs are often situational. Please refer to the T15 Warlock-centered guide for more information on a fight by fight basis.
 

13. Tier 16 Set Bonuses

 

Demonology's T16 2pc Set - Soul Fire has a 20% chance to increase you and your pet's damage by 20% for 10 seconds.  This 2pc bonus will put a higher prioritization on Soul Fire when you don't have the buff up and a lower prioritization on Soul Fire when you do.  You don't want to clip the proc of this, nor do you want to waste your Molten Core charges while you have your buff up.  You'd be better off spending your Molten Core charges to maximize uptime of this buff.  This will also make it so you do NOT desire the Imp Swarm glyph.  You'll want a constant flow of Wild Imps in order to get a more steady flow of Molten Core charges. 

 

Demonology's T16 4pc Set - Shadow Bolt, and Metamorphosis: Touch of Chaos have an 8% chance to proc a Hand of Gul'dan on your target.  This bonus Hand of Gul'dan cannot stack beyond 2 stacks as it does without the set bonus.  If you're in Metamorphosis, you'll cast Metamorphosis: Chaos Wave as a bonus spell. 

 

The synergy between these two effects is quite high.  It will be highly recommended that you spend your time casting Soul Fire as long as you have Molten Core charges to get your 2pc to proc and then switch to Shadow Bolt, or Metamorphosis: Touch of Chaos to proc your 4pc bonus as often as possible.  There's no real change to your rotation from normal except that you'd want to cast Soul Fire any time you got a Molten Core proc and didn't have the 2pc buff.

 

The 2pc bonus value is dependent on the RNG of your uptime.  Since it's a 20% damage buff, the uptime of the buff coorelates directly into a damage increase.  If it's up 10% of the time, it'll be a 2% DPS gain.  20% = 4% DPS gain, etc.  Modifying our rotation to pool Molten Core charges should make it so that prioritizing this set bonus is achievable.  Since the proc rate is 20%, or 1 in 5 casts, I would estimate this set bonus's uptime to be somewhere between 20% and 40% giving it a worth of approximately 4% to 8% of your DPS.

 

The 4pc bonus value is, again, dependent on RNG.  With an 8% proc rate, it would also depend on whether or not you cast a Hand of Gul'dan or a Chaos Wave.  Regardless, extra free damage is always nice.  This set bonus explodes in effectiveness if more than 1 target is available.  While the value of this 4pc is dependent on the number of enemies, it should be deemed necessary, contrary to T15.  Prioritize at least 4 of the T16 Tier pieces.
 

 

14. Trinkets

 

Trinkets
1. Purified Bindings of Immerseus

2. Kardris' Toxic Totem

3. Black Blood of Y'Shaarj

 

 

15. Theorycrafting and Math


Imp Swarm Math
Imp Swarm is an interesting Glyph in that it alters the CD based on Haste Rating. Here, we can see some various CDs along with how long the base CD on Demonic Calling is.

Wild Imps should be summoned when all of your Haste procs are live in the opener. These procs will be +5% Haste + Bloodlust + Tempus Repit. If you are a Troll, using Berserking will have an even greater effect. Note the following Imp Swarm CDs with these procs live:

+5% Raid Haste + Bloodlust + Tempus Repit = 77.5% Haste
0% Haste = 67.6 sec
10% Haste = 61.5 sec
20% Haste = 56.3 sec
30% Haste = 52.0 sec
40% Haste = 48.3 sec
50% Haste = 45.1 sec

(Troll) +5% Raid Haste + Bloodlust + Tempus Repit + Berserking = 112.9% Haste
0% Haste = 56.4 sec
10% Haste = 51.2 sec
20% Haste = 47.0 sec
30% Haste = 43.4 sec
40% Haste = 40.3 sec
50% Haste = 37.6 sec

Remember, Demonic Calling's base CD is 20 seconds. This value can be reduced by Haste as well. The synergy of these two effects has some importance tied into Haste. Demonic Calling remains on CD while Imp Swarm is on CD and using the Glyph of Imp Swarm adds a 4 sec CD to Demonic Calling, so we're looking at 24 sec baseline if using the Glyph. Here are the two scenarios, glyph and no glyph:

NO GLYPH OF IMP SWARM (assuming only 5% Raid Haste for Imp proc rate)
0% Haste = 19.1 sec
10% Haste = 17.3 sec
20% Haste = 15.9 sec
30% Haste = 14.6 sec
40% Haste = 13.6 sec
50% Haste = 12.7 sec

Looking at 30% Haste, we see a 14.6 sec CD on Demonic Calling which translates ROUGHLY to 4 Imps per minute. If we look at it on a 2 minute baseline, we'd see roughly 8 Imps proc in 2 minutes. This number would vary as Tempus Repit and Bloodlust were applied, but to keep things simple, let's just assume none of that applies. If not using the glyph, there is no Haste threshold for Imps. More Haste = more Imps, plain and simple.

WITH GLYPH OF IMP SWARM (assuming only 5% Raid Haste for Imp proc rate)
0% Haste = 22.8 sec
10% Haste = 20.8 sec
20% Haste = 19.0 sec
30% Haste = 17.6 sec
40% Haste = 16.3 sec
50% Haste = 15.2 sec

These values tie into the CD of Imp Swarm when used. The opening Imp Swarm will have a greatly decreased CD because you'll have all of your procs running live. The following values assume that you are popping Imp Swarm with Dark Soul and letting Imp Swarm be available but not used until Dark Soul comes off CD (120 sec).

0% Haste: Imp Swarm CD = 114 sec, Demonic Calling CD = 22.8 sec = 6 Imps per 2 minutes
*This would mean Imp Swarm would come off CD 114 sec in and Demonic Calling would proc an additional Imp. 6 seconds later, Dark Soul would be available, so you'd apply Dark Soul and pop Imp Swarm imposing an additional 114 sec CD on Imp Swarm. What we try to find here is the thresholds of maximum Imps proc'd between Imp Swarm uses.*

10% Haste: Imp Swarm CD = 103.9 sec, Demonic Calling CD = 20.8 sec = 6 Imps per 2 minutes (next Imp would be at 125.7 sec meaning you'd have to delay DS/Imp Swarm for 5.7 sec)
20% Haste: Imp Swarm CD = 95.2 sec, Demonic Calling CD = 20.8 sec = 7 Imps per 2 minutes (next Imp would be at 136.8 sec meaning you'd have to delay DS/Imp Swarm for 16.8 sec)
30% Haste: Imp Swarm CD = 87.9 sec, Demonic Calling CD = 17.6 sec = 7 Imps per 2 minutes (next Imp would be at 123.1 sec meaning you'd have to delay DS/Imp Swarm for 3.1 sec)
40% Haste: Imp Swarm CD = 81.6 sec, Demonic Calling CD = 16.3 sec = 8 Imps per 2 minutes (next Imp would be at 130.5 sec meaning you'd have to delay DS/Imp Swarm for 10.5 sec)
50% Haste: Imp Swarm CD = 76.2 sec, Demonic Calling CD = 15.2 sec = 8 Imps per 2 minutes (next Imp would be at 121.8 sec meaning you'd have to delay DS/Imp Swarm for 1.8 sec)

Remember, this is worst case scenario (no Bloodlust used, no Tempus Repit procs) so you'll likely see higher Imp rates than what is listed here. However, the value we want to see is at what Haste % you JUST get another Demonic Calling proc and Dark Soul and Imp Swarm come off CD. You can see that value lies somewhere between 10% and 20% and another between 30% and 40%. Those values are:

14.29% Haste: Imp Swarm CD = 100.0 sec, Demonic Calling CD = 20.0 sec = 7 Imps per 2 minutes
33.40% Haste: Imp Swarm CD = 85.7 sec, Demonic Calling CD = 17.1 sec = 8 Imps per 2 minutes

14.29% Haste = 6,074 Haste Rating
33.40% Haste = 14,195 Haste Rating

These thresholds are not meant to be aimed for when reforging and gemming. This is just a value that shows how many additional Imps you would get if you didn't use Bloodlust or have 0 Tempus Repit procs. The actual required Haste Rating will be much lower because of temporary procs.

 

As of 5.4, Glyph of Imp Swarm is no longer necessary, and in my opinion, no longer desired, especially when the T16 2pc bonus is acquired.  All text with a line through it is old math derived from 5 Imps.  New math coming soon.

Spell Cast Times

Read Chart with Character Haste at the top.

[Seldric 0]

Awesome guide!

I have been trying to practice demo more often to use in 5.2. One thing I was not sure about was the priority during Bloodlust/Heroism. On some bosses in T14, my guild will use Heroism at the start of the fight. I also use Dark Soul at the start. I read that Touch of Chaos does not benefit from haste. Does this mean ToC spam during hero/lust does not really benefit from the buff at all? Should I change my casting priority in these cases where I have both Dark Soul and hero/lust running?

[Zagam 1,982]

Haste decreases the global cooldown, so you'll be using ToC faster...just has no direct benefit on the spell itself. Consider it the similar affect that melee classes gain from Bloodlust with their increased auto attack speed.

[JvChequer 43]

I gave that Zagam a like. Zagams love likes.

[Cruzan 71]

Hey Zagam,

I've got a question about HoG/CW usage. I know that during the fight you want to use HoG for its DF generation and considerable damage. I was wondering if Chaos Wave should be considered at all during an execute? Some execute phases can last awhile to where you'd get a chance to pop out of meta to use up a HoG charge or two, but would it worth it to use CW to use up a charge if the boss is going to die relatively soon? I realize that 120 DF is a big chunk to be dropping on a CW, but it hits like a truck for an instant cast.

Thanks

[Nemo 27]

This maybe somewhat of an unorthodox question, but since you all seem like a bunch of nice people I figured I'd ask it anyhow:

Is it fun, demo?

How does it compare to destro and affli, not damagewise, but regarding player-enjoyment.

I realize that this is a subjective question, but your suggestive oppinions are exactly what I'm asking to hear.

I only ever played a warlock till lvl 60 or so, and not at all since MoP, but the class seem really interesting with three very diverse and enjoyable specs.

So please; let me hear your thoughts :)

p.s. Also, Zagam: Wow! The effort you have put into these forums is awe-inspiring! You truely are a man of the people around here!

[Zagam 1,982]

I gave that Zagam a like. Zagams love likes.

Always.

Hey Zagam,

I've got a question about HoG/CW usage. I know that during the fight you want to use HoG for its DF generation and considerable damage. I was wondering if Chaos Wave should be considered at all during an execute? Some execute phases can last awhile to where you'd get a chance to pop out of meta to use up a HoG charge or two, but would it worth it to use CW to use up a charge if the boss is going to die relatively soon? I realize that 120 DF is a big chunk to be dropping on a CW, but it hits like a truck for an instant cast.

Thanks

Don't use Chaos Wave unless you need burst on something about to die and the fight is almost over. It's too much of a waste of Demonic Fury. If you're in an execute phase, swap out of Meta, drop two Hand of Guldans to generate extra fury (plus the Shadowflame effect) and pop back into Meta and continue your execute. Chaos Wave is as bad for Demo as Fel Flame is for Affliction. If you read my Aff guides, you know how much I loathe Fel Flame. Same principle here.

This maybe somewhat of an unorthodox question, but since you all seem like a bunch of nice people I figured I'd ask it anyhow:

Is it fun, demo?

How does it compare to destro and affli, not damagewise, but regarding player-enjoyment.

I realize that this is a subjective question, but your suggestive oppinions are exactly what I'm asking to hear.

I only ever played a warlock till lvl 60 or so, and not at all since MoP, but the class seem really interesting with three very diverse and enjoyable specs.

So please; let me hear your thoughts

p.s. Also, Zagam: Wow! The effort you have put into these forums is awe-inspiring! You truely are a man of the people around here!

Demo is a blast! At least for me. Some other Warlocks complain about all the things you have to manage, but that's what I find fun about it. Destruction is fun when you get to cleave things and send two Chaos Bolts out at the same time. It's also fun to completely obliterate the meters on numerous add type like fights like Elegon, Heroic Tsulong, etc. Affliction is really boring to me. It was fun to learn, but once you master it, it's just refresh DoTs, use Haunt opportunistically, and use MG or DS depending on target health. Demo is so much more intricate. I know simulations give Demo and Destro a bad touch, but I've been able to perform very similarly on fights as different specs. I did 195k to H Elegon last night as Destruction. I did 175k to Heroic Protectors as Demonology. It's all about just knowing the insides and outsides of your spec and how you can master each fight. If you've never had a Warlock over 60, I recommend you level Demo. If you love it, you'll likely like raiding as Demonology. If you don't and you want a Spriest feel, Affliction has it. If you want a nuke type class, Destruction is what's up. Different strokes for different folks.

Anything I can do to help is worth it in the long run. Glad to be of assistance.

[Bozzley 4]

I came from playing a hunter since TBC (MM) as i hated BM to now im rolling a Demo lock and i love him.I would totally recommend leveling Demo doing 5mans in which case Demo owns with its burst dmg and aoe capabliities ,and with 5.2 coming out raiding with him.I also love to go and do some extreme soloing in older content from cata down to vanilla where getting my 2pc t5 which allows me to keep my demon healed for 15% of the dmg i do makes Demo a great soloing spec moe so than either Aff or Destro imo that is.Like Zagam said though different stroke for different folks ,but try all 3 specs see what you like and feel comfortable playing as that will lend itself to a more enjoyable playing experience .

[Sifon 25]

I came from playing a hunter since TBC (MM) as i hated BM to now im rolling a Demo lock and i love him.I would totally recommend leveling Demo doing 5mans in which case Demo owns with its burst dmg and aoe capabliities ,and with 5.2 coming out raiding with him.I also love to go and do some extreme soloing in older content from cata down to vanilla where getting my 2pc t5 which allows me to keep my demon healed for 15% of the dmg i do makes Demo a great soloing spec moe so than either Aff or Destro imo that is.Like Zagam said though different stroke for different folks ,but try all 3 specs see what you like and feel comfortable playing as that will lend itself to a more enjoyable playing experience .

Actually demo is almost the worst spec for soloing right now.

[Zagam 1,982]

Actually demo is almost the worst spec for soloing right now.

Um, no it is not. Not sure what you're doing, but you're not doing it right. Glyph of Health Funnel, Grim of Service: Felguard, and an instant res for your Felguard if he dies every 2 minutes...you can solo anything as Demo easier than Destruction and Affliction. Metamorphosis also gives you a crap ton of survival. Please try not to diss something you haven't tried or gotten good at.

[Bozzley 4]

thank you Zagam i couldnt have said it better myself

[Mummer 1]

How often should one pop Imp Swarm after the initial pull?

Edit:: And GoService

Edited March 3, 2013 by Mummer

[JvChequer 43]

Zagam, i read on MMO Champion if u press HOG and go on META when lands your HOG will be buffed like a chaos wave and will not spend fury and The thread guy said it's important do it every 2nd HOG and shit, what u think about it?

[Zagam 1,982]

JV, I posted that in my guide that it was important to pop into Meta on the 2nd HoG.

[znsig 0]

Just registered to say thanks for all the info, I haven't played demonology since early Cata, so this helped ALOT, especially since i'll have to learn how to properly play demo by tuesday.

[Chobani 6]

Should I be saving Grimoire: Felguard for when Dark Soul is ready or using it off CD? The CD doesn't align with anything. Also, if corruption is about to fall off should I pop into Meta just to refresh it (even if I don't have any procs and Doom doesn't need to be refreshed?).

edit: im retarded.

Edited March 3, 2013 by Chobani

[Azazoth 1]

I dont know why ppl asking questions that are clearly answered in his Post. Imp swarm is an dps loss so dont use it @Mummer, and the thing with GoS is that with tier 15 the cd with GoS and DS is the Same @chobani .read the full thing.

The only thing i would ask for is geming. i know that the stat weights are almost the same but with bis gear etc there sure is some stat that is slightly better that others?

Edited March 3, 2013 by Azazoth

[Zagam 1,982]

I haven't calculated stat weights yet. That will be my Sunday gig...I'm quite drunk at the moment and did BGs all night...more to come soon. Also, yes...please read the entire guide and don't just ask questions without reading. I've answered nearly every one of those questions in my guide.

[Barbalel 0]

This guide has some wrong information to say the least...

Imp swarm a dps loss?? it's definately not a dps loss and you should be using it with DS, even if you have 4pc.

Demo's secondary stats are definately not close. You pretty much said it yourself, haste is useless because ToC not affected by haste. You mentioned HoG weaving and that alone pushes mastery ahead of crit by quiet a bit because of the extra damage from shadowflame. Simcraft numbers/weights are way off because of HoG weaving.

[Sifon 25]

Um, no it is not. Not sure what you're doing, but you're not doing it right. Glyph of Health Funnel, Grim of Service: Felguard, and an instant res for your Felguard if he dies every 2 minutes...you can solo anything as Demo easier than Destruction and Affliction. Metamorphosis also gives you a crap ton of survival. Please try not to diss something you haven't tried or gotten good at.

Demo's personal survival is the worst, destro can amber tap, affliction does more damage than demo while using drain life.Also destro can soul link-amber tap and affliction can sb:hf to heal pet. Glyph of health funnel isn't enough to keep pet alive on hard hitting bosses and if pet dies you can res him instantly as demo but others specs can do that too.

[Mummer 1]

Another question regarding the openers...

Researching them, I feel as if a lot of people have different openers.

Is it essentially pop Imp Swarm, Corr, HoG, ShadowBolt/SoulFire, then pop Dark soul? I dunno... Lmao.

[Zagam 1,982]

This guide has some wrong information to say the least...

Imp swarm a dps loss?? it's definately not a dps loss and you should be using it with DS, even if you have 4pc.

Demo's secondary stats are definately not close. You pretty much said it yourself, haste is useless because ToC not affected by haste. You mentioned HoG weaving and that alone pushes mastery ahead of crit by quiet a bit because of the extra damage from shadowflame. Simcraft numbers/weights are way off because of HoG weaving.

Rather than saying 'everything is wrong,' why don't you provide some information to back your claim? I use simulation programs and personal testing to prove that Imp Swarm is a sustained DPS loss. You're making a claim that you should delay Dark Soul with its 4pc bonus until Imp Swarm is up? I'd love to see your logs and how well you rank on fights.

Also, your focus on secondary stats is worthless. They never have any meaningful production because swinging one stat for another can maybe change your DPS by 1,000. I would guess that you are not in one of the top 10 guilds in the world, so finding that extra 1k DPS isn't going to bring you anything useful.

Haste is not entirely useful or wasteful because your Metamorphosis uptime will be about 35-40%. The other 60% of the time, Haste will shorten the cast time of Shadowbolt and Soulfire increasing your DF generation. An understanding of how everything works together (the big picture) rather than small, individual pieces doesn't really offer anything.

[Zagam 1,982]

Another question regarding the openers...

Researching them, I feel as if a lot of people have different openers.

Is it essentially pop Imp Swarm, Corr, HoG, ShadowBolt/SoulFire, then pop Dark soul? I dunno... Lmao.

Should not be using a Shadowbolt/Soulfire before Dark Soul and Meta. Imp Swarm is a personal choice.

[Zagam 1,982]

Demo's personal survival is the worst, destro can amber tap, affliction does more damage than demo while using drain life.Also destro can soul link-amber tap and affliction can sb:hf to heal pet. Glyph of health funnel isn't enough to keep pet alive on hard hitting bosses and if pet dies you can res him instantly as demo but others specs can do that too.

It really sounds like you haven't played Demo to a high level when trying to solo. I find it far easier and I highly doubt I'm terrible at Destruction or Affliction. If you want to test your theory, go try the Brawlers Guild as Destro or Aff then try it as Demo using a Voidlord to tank for you. It will be so different that you'll change the whistle of your tune.

[Pattymayo 16]

Demo's personal survival is the worst, destro can amber tap, affliction does more damage than demo while using drain life.Also destro can soul link-amber tap and affliction can sb:hf to heal pet. Glyph of health funnel isn't enough to keep pet alive on hard hitting bosses and if pet dies you can res him instantly as demo but others specs can do that too.

I'm not sure if you're playing demo right, but in my experience (2 warlocks, 1 at 90), demo has the best personal survival out of all of the specs, especially for multiple targets. Demo form alone makes you pretty unstoppable, not to mention you have health funnel/pet tanking everything. You really can't compete with that.

Edited March 3, 2013 by Pattymayo