Destruction Warlock DPS Gear and Best in Slot — The War Within (11.0.5)
On this page, you will find the best gear and best in slot items for your Destruction Warlock in World of Warcraft The War Within (11.0.5).
If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Destruction Warlock gear and best in slot.
Gearing a Destruction Warlock
Welcome to our Gearing Page for Destruction Warlock; this section will cover everything you need to know about equipping your character correctly.
If you have a new piece of gear for which you need gems and enchant advice, you can find everything on our dedicated page below.
Best in Slot Gear
BiS Gear for Destruction Warlock
The War Within Season 1 Overall BiS List for Destruction Warlock
The following list contains the Best in Slot Gear for Destruction Warlock in The War Within Season 1 from all sources, including Raiding, Mythic+, Delves, The Great Vault, and Crafted.
Note that there is no such thing as a singular, all-encompassing "BiS". The best items vary per character and situation, and many items are essentially equivalent in terms of DPS, namely when we are just shuffling secondary stats around. I will list one "BiS" item per slot, but ultimately, BiS lists are not very practically useful and you should be simming your character to find out what gear to equip next. Nonetheless, there is a huge demand for this list, and thus, you can use the list below as a guideline as to what an endgame set of gear looks like.
| Slot | Item | Source/Note |
|---|---|---|
| Helm |  Hexflame Coven's All-Seeing Eye (639) |
Silken Court/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Neck |  Sureki Zealot's Insignia (639) |
Sikran in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Shoulder |  Hexflame Coven's Altar (639) |
Rasha'nan/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Cloak |  Wings of Shattered Sorrow (639) |
Rasha'nan |
| Chest |  Hexflame Coven's Ritual Harness (639) |
Broodtwister Ovi'nax/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Bracers |  Consecrated Cuffs (636) with  Writhing Armor Banding and Critical Strike + Versatility |
Crafted — Tailoring |
| Gloves |  Hexflame Coven's Sleeves (639) |
Sikran/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Belt |  Burrower's Cinch (639) |
Ara-Kara, City of Echoes, or Great Vault |
| Legs |  E.D.N.A. Stabilizers (639) |
The Stonevault, or Great Vault |
| Boots |  Hexflame Coven's Treads (639) |
Matrix Catalyst |
| Ring #1 |  Seal of the Poisoned Pact (639) |
Queen Ansurek in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Ring #2 |  Band of the Ancient Dredger (639) |
Siege of Boralus, or Great Vault |
| Trinket #1 |  Ara-Kara Sacbrood (639) |
Ara-Kara, City of Echoes, or Great Vault |
| Trinket #2 |  Spymaster's Web (639) |
Silken Court in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Weapon |  Sovereign's Disdain (639) |
Queen Ansurek in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Off-Hand |  Vagabond's Torch (636) with  Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension and Critical Strike + Versatility |
Crafted — Inscription |
The War Within Season 1 Raid BiS List for Destruction Warlock
The following list contains the Best in Slot Gear for Destruction Warlock in The War Within Season 1 from Raiding, The Great Vault, and Crafted, and thus aimed at those who do not want to engage with Mythic+.
Note that there is no such thing as a singular, all-encompassing "BiS". The best items vary per character and situation, and many items are essentially equivalent in terms of DPS, namely when we are just shuffling secondary stats around. I will list one "BiS" item per slot, but ultimately, BiS lists are not very practically useful and you should be simming your character to find out what gear to equip next. Nonetheless, there is a huge demand for this list, and thus, you can use the list below as a guideline as to what an endgame set of gear looks like.
| Slot | Item | Source/Note |
|---|---|---|
| Helm | Devotee's Discarded Headdress (639) |
Rasha'nan in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Neck | Sureki Zealot's Insignia (639) |
Sikran in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Shoulder | Hexflame Coven's Altar (639) |
Rasha'nan/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Cloak | Wings of Shattered Sorrow (639) |
Rasha'nan in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Chest | Hexflame Coven's Ritual Harness (639) |
Broodtwister Ovi'nax/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Bracers | Consecrated Cuffs (636) with Writhing Armor Banding and Critical Strike + Versatility |
Crafted — Tailoring |
| Gloves | Hexflame Coven's Sleeves (639) |
Sikran/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Belt |  Shattered Eye Cincture (639) |
The Bloodbound Horror in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Legs |  Hexflame Coven's Leggings (639) |
Nexus Princess Ky'veza/Matrix Catalyst/Great Vault |
| Boots | Hexflame Coven's Treads (639) |
Matrix Catalyst |
| Ring #1 | Seal of the Poisoned Pact (639) |
Queen Ansurek in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Ring #2 |  Key to the Unseeming (639) |
The Bloodbound Horror in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Trinket #1 |  Mad Queen's Mandate (639) |
Queen Ansurek in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Trinket #2 | Spymaster's Web (639) |
Silken Court in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Weapon | Sovereign's Disdain (639) |
Queen Ansurek in Nerub-ar Palace |
| Off-Hand | Vagabond's Torch (636) with Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension and Critical Strike + Versatility |
Crafted — Inscription |
The War Within Season 1 Mythic+ BiS List for Destruction Warlock
The following list contains the Best in Slot Gear for Destruction Warlock in The War Within Season 1 from Mythic+, The Great Vault, Crafted and is aimed towards those who do not have access to Raid drops.
Note that there is no such thing as a singular, all-encompassing "BiS". The best items vary per character and situation, and many items are essentially equivalent in terms of DPS, namely when we are just shuffling secondary stats around. I will list one "BiS" item per slot, but ultimately, BiS lists are not very practically useful and you should be simming your character to find out what gear to equip next. Nonetheless, there is a huge demand for this list, and thus, you can use the list below as a guideline as to what an endgame set of gear looks like.
| Slot | Item | Source/Note |
|---|---|---|
| Helm | Hexflame Coven's All-Seeing Eye (639) |
Matrix Catalyst |
| Neck |  'Emergency Stop' Keychain (639) |
The Stonevault, or Great Vault |
| Shoulder | Hexflame Coven's Altar (639) |
Matrix Catalyst |
| Cloak |  Shroud of Dark Memories (639) |
Grim Batol, or Great Vault |
| Chest | Hexflame Coven's Ritual Harness (639) |
Matrix Catalyst |
| Bracers | Consecrated Cuffs (636) with Writhing Armor Banding and Critical Strike + Versatility |
Crafted — Tailoring |
| Gloves | Hexflame Coven's Sleeves (639) |
Matrix Catalyst |
| Belt | Burrower's Cinch (639) |
Ara-Kara, City of Echoes, or Great Vault |
| Legs | E.D.N.A. Stabilizers (639) |
The Stonevault |
| Boots | Hexflame Coven's Treads (639) |
Matrix Catalyst |
| Ring #1 |  Devout Zealot's Ring (639) |
The Dawnbreaker, or Great Vault |
| Ring #2 | Band of the Ancient Dredger (639) |
Siege of Boralus, or Great Vault |
| Trinket #1 | Ara-Kara Sacbrood (639) |
Ara-Kara, City of Echoes, or Great Vault |
| Trinket #2 |  Unbound Changeling (639) |
Mists of Tirna Scithe |
| Weapon |  Amarth's Spellblade (639) |
The Necrotic Wake, or Great Vault |
| Off-Hand | Vagabond's Torch (636) with Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension and Critical Strike + Versatility |
Crafted — Inscription |
Best Trinkets for Destruction Warlock in The War Within Season 1
Raiding Trinket Tier List for Destruction Warlock
This Trinket Tier List is biased towards single-target, as this tends to be the more relevant aspect of Raiding. In the case of Trinkets performing similarly in single-target, the option with AoE/Multitarget scaling will be ranked higher.
A "Tier" as defined by this list is around 0.5% DPS, meaning that S-Tier Trinkets are around 0.5% better than A-Tier Trinkets, and so on.
Any trinket not shown on this list is generally considered worse than all other trinkets available on this list.
S-Tier
Spymaster's Web — undisputed best Trinket for all
situations. Has the upside of scaling very well in non-linear
encounter that requires pooling resources for specific phases.
Ara-Kara Sacbrood — Very strong passive trinket.
A-Tier
Mad Queen's Mandate — strongest on use spell effect
trinket, which benefits from damage amplification effects such
as 
Eradication.
B-Tier
Unbound Changeling — A strong passive trinket, although
slightly worse than Ara-Kara Sacbrood.
Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj
Gale of Shadows — Passive stacking Intelligence trinket.
Quickwick Candlestick. 
Aberrant Spellforge
Satchel of Misbegotten Minions
Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg.
C-Tier
High Speaker's Accretion — Best used 6 seconds
before 
Summon Infernal.
Hadal's Nautilus
Mythic+ Trinket Tier List for Destruction Warlock
This Trinket Tier List is focused more on AoE damage, as a large portion of Mythic+ is AoE damage.
A "Tier" as defined by this list is around 0.5% DPS, meaning that S-Tier Trinkets are around 0.5% better than A-Tier Trinkets, and so on.
Any trinket not shown on this list is generally considered worse than all other trinkets available on this list.
S-Tier
- Spymaster's Web — undisputed best Trinket for all
situations. Has the upside of scaling very well in non-linear
encounter that requires pooling resources for specific phases.
A-Tier
- Ara-Kara Sacbrood — Very strong passive trinket.
- Gale of Shadows — Passive stacking Intelligence trinket.
- Unbound Changeling — A strong passive trinket, although
slightly worse than Ara-Kara Sacbrood.
- Empowering Crystal of Anub'ikkaj
- Mad Queen's Mandate — strongest on use spell effect
trinket, which benefits from damage amplification effects such
as Eradication
B-Tier
- Quickwick Candlestick.
- Satchel of Misbegotten Minions
- Ovi'nax's Mercurial Egg.
C-Tier
- Aberrant Spellforge
Forged Gladiator's Badge of Ferocity- High Speaker's Accretion — Best used 6 seconds
before Summon Infernal.
Crafted Gear & Embellishments
Spark of Omens will remain the main limiting factor when crafting
high-end gear, as it can be acquired once every two weeks by combining
two 
Fractured Spark of Omens and 250 
Valorstones.
At the start of a tier, it will be possible to craft two pieces (the first from the initial quest and the second from the initial bi-weekly reward).
It is essential to understand that your crafting strategy depends heavily on the kind of progress and therefore drops available, the speed at which you progress through the content and whatever drop you can obtain early. As a result, there will not be a single best path, instead listed below will be some guidelines:
Darkmoon Sigil: Ascension on the offhand weapon
and Writhing Armor Banding is the overall best combination as it does
scale into multitarget as opposed as 
Elemental Focusing Lens.
The long term solution is to directly craft both using sparks at the highest item level possible, but that does imply dropping a Mythic level Main hand through Mythic plus before entering in Mythic Raid the second week.
An alternative is to craft both main hand and offhand combo using sparks and leave wrists at 590 item level, which would offer a higher spike in power at the expense of requiring an additional spark on the long term, with the understanding that crafted main hand weapons will need to be replaced by Mythic drops counterpart due item level difference.
The War Within Season 1 Tier Set for Destruction Warlock
Wearing 2 and 4 pieces from the Rites of the Hexflame Coven set gives you the following bonuses:
Warlock Destruction Season 1 2pc: 
Incinerate
critical strike chance increased by 20%. 
Conflagrate critical
strike chance increased by 25%.- Warlock Destruction Season 1 4pc: When Conflagrate
critically strikes, your Fire damage is increased by 5% for 6 sec.
Both bonuses offer a passive damage increase and as such there is no alteration in terms of talent choices or playstyle.
It is important to note that achieving
the 
Warlock Destruction Season 1 4pc is a higher gain than having the
set on the sub-optimal slots.
That said, the ideal setup has the Legs as the offset piece due a suboptimal stat distribution.
Evaluating Upgrades
The easiest and more sensible way to compare multiple items is to use Raidbots' Top Gear. Here, you can input an export from the Simcraft AddOn, select the items to compare, and it will find out which of the items are best. See below for a guide on how to sim yourself.
Trinket Simulations for Destruction Warlock
DISCLAIMER: sims are currently being developed; therefore, take the following charts with a grain of salt.
Single Target
Cleave
Changelog
- 30 Oct. 2024: Updated BiS list after hotfixes.
- 21 Oct. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 09 Sep. 2024: Added BiS lists for Season 1, updated trinket section.
- 21 Aug. 2024: Added Pre-Season BiS list section.
- 23 Jul. 2024: Reviewed for The War Within pre-patch.
- 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 22 Apr. 2024: Updated for Season 4 launch.
- 19 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.6.
- 15 Jan. 2024: Updated trinket section for Patch 10.2.5.
- 07 Nov. 2023: Embellishment recommendations updated after Undulating Sporecloak has been annihilated.
- 06 Nov. 2023: Updated Gear recommendations for Patch 10.2 and Season 3.
- 04 Sep. 2023: Reformat of the page with BiS tables and section updates.
- 10 Jul. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.5.
- 01 May 2023: Updated for Patch 10.1.
- 24 Mar. 2023: Updated Onyx Annulet section to account for live hotfixes.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Added Patch 10.0.7 new ring section. .
- 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 13 Dec. 2022: Updated Embellishment recommendations.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Updated for Season 1 launch.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
More Warlock Guides
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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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