TBC Classic Affliction Warlock Spec, Builds, and Talents

Warlocks are exceptionally strong in PvE, arguably the best damage in the game. A big change in TBC is the debuff slots have been raised to 40, leaving Warlocks able to use more of their toolkit to add to their already massive damage. Warlocks still have to keep 100% uptime on their Curses, however with Curse of Shadows being removed and baked into Curse of the Elements, another Warlock is now able to Curse of Doom or Curse of Agony depending on the situation. Warlocks throughout TBC will be dominant in the raiding scene and just get stronger as the expansion goes on, and not just because of the massive damage from these builds, but also the fact that we truly have multiple viable options for builds.

Affliction has much more of a place in TBC than it did in Classic, not just because of the debuff limit being raised, but because of new talents like Empowered Corruption and Contagion significantly increasing your DoT damage, as well as the new and powerful DoT Unstable Affliction.

Typically, just after hitting Level 70, Affliction is stronger than jumping straight into the other specs, due to Suppression making up for the severe lack of Spell Hit that we usually have at the start. You will see many Warlocks choosing to be Affliction at the start simply for that reason.

Another factor is that, due to Shadow Embrace and Malediction, most guilds bring at least one Affliction Warlock to the raid for the pure utility of those two talents and of course Blood Pact from your Summon Imp.

This is the first build that you will be as Affliction. This build is strong starting out because Suppression makes up for the lack of Spell Hit early on that we so desperately need, while Unstable Affliction gives you a good boost in damage with the low Spell Power gear, allowing you to fully DoT the boss (which also keeps up the Shadow Embrace debuff) and throw out Shadow Bolts. Malediction gives you 3% more to your Curse of the Elements, totaling at 13%, instead of 10%. Your job is to keep Curse of the Elements up at all times.

You have some flexible points early on with Improved Drain Soul, Soul Siphon, and Fel Concentration, however we always suggest taking Improved Drain Soul due to the threat reduction.

The second Affliction build is more or less the same build as the last one. You are just sacrificing Unstable Affliction and Dark Pact and dropping a little bit further into Destruction, picking up Ruin, which will provide you with a big power boost on your Shadow Bolt. You still bring the same important utility that you did in the previous build with Shadow Embrace and Malediction, so your job is to still keep Curse of the Elements up at all times.

Some Warlocks choose to do this build right away, rather than the previous build, and that is up to you. We suggest not swapping to this build until you get a little more Crit Rating on your character; typically, once you start getting your Tailoring gear in order, it is a good time to make the change.