Warlock Hero Talents — The War Within (11.2.7)

This page is specifically about Hero Talents in The War Within. If you want to learn more about the best regular talents for Demonology Warlock, check out our Talents page:

The current recommendation for Hero Talents is Diabolist.

Diabolist provides stronger burst opportunities during Tyrant windows and Ruination. Otherwise, it is punished by downtime due to how the cycling of Demons works.

Soul Harvester's is marginally behind its alternative, with additional value coming from dying targets triggering Shared Fate.

All being said, the difference between the two is small enough to warrant a personal preference when choosing what to play.

The current recommendation for Hero Talents is Diabolist.

Diabolist offers stronger spikes in damage, corresponding to Overlord and Pit Lord summonings, while also bolstering Tyrant output. But these cycles, again, suffer from downtime and the inability to bank Ruination for specific situations. This makes the spell not consistently impactful.

Soul Harvester offers a non-trivial amount of extra splash damage alongside Sataiel's Volition, which helps accelerate Implosions.

All being said, the difference between the two is small enough to warrant a personal preference when choosing what to play.

3.

Best Hero Talent Builds for Demonology Warlock

Diabolist Universal Build Soul Harvester Universal Build

4.

Diabolist Universal Build for Demonology Warlock

The choice between Infernal Vitality and Infernal Bulwark is dictated by how Unending Resolve is being used: a reactive way favours the former, especially in the context of a spec having lower sustain. Whereas proactive cooldown uses, or when healing is not a concern, makes the latter a stronger overall option.

In contrast, Soul-Etched Circles generally provides a wider functionality, as Howl of Terror is seldom picked in PvE activities. Last but not least, Cruelty of Kerxan is worse than Infernal Machine.

4.

Soul Harvester Universal Build for Demonology Warlock

Shared Fate is universally better than Feast of Souls. However, in raiding, Gorefiend's Resolve is the more appealing option. The choice between Gorebound Fortitude and Friends In Dark Places is not universal, with the former offering improved Healthstones without the Shard tax, while the latter gives extra active mitigation with a bigger Dark Pact shield.

The Diabolist gameplay is centered around the fast cycling of demons, through Diabolic Ritual, with hard-hitting spells as the payoff. As a consequence, downtime can be punishing, especially if it results in missed activation of empowered spells. Otherwise, the Hero tree does not alter the base gameplay of Demonology.

Soul Harvester brings an emphasis on Hand of Gul'dan targeting to scale damage through Demonic Soul and Soul Anathema, while Demonic Core procs trigger additional passive damage through Wicked Reaping and Quietus. It is worth mentioning Sataiel's Ambition, which does increase the chance of Demonic Cores through Implosion and helps cycle shards faster.