World of Warcraft: Forever · class guide

Warlock guide

Levels above 30 are untested theorycraft.

Client build 1.60.1.70425 · updated 2026-10-16

At a glance

The Warlock is Forever's pure caster with demons, curses and the only summon in the game.

How this works

It is the best levelling and solo class in the beta: DoTs can crit, the Voidwalker tanks questing mobs from level 10, and Life Tap now runs on Spirit. All three specs deal damage; there is no tank spec. The price is soul shards, which still don't stack.

Ranged damage

Affliction

DoTs that crit, drains that heal, and a Voidwalker in front. The levelling pick by every source, and the spec the beta talks about most.

Affliction guide · Rotation · Leveling · Spells · Talents

Ranged damage

Demonology

The safest way to level: a tougher demon, Soul Link and Demonic Brand for pet threat. At 60, the sacrifice-and-swap spec Blizzard built Demonic Pact for.

Demonology guide · Rotation · Leveling · Spells · Talents

Ranged damage

Destruction

Fire and Shadow burst around Immolate, Conflagrate and, from 40, Incinerate. Weakest early, and Blizzard wants it to use both schools.

Destruction guide · Rotation · Leveling · Spells · Talents

What Forever changed

DoTs can crit and are worked out as they tick. Pandemic adds up to +100% crit damage to Affliction's DoTs and drains.
Bane of Agony and Bane of Doom are Banes, not curses: one Bane and one curse per Warlock per target, so you keep a utility curse up at no cost to your damage.
Curse of the Elements is learned at 20 (Classic 32) and covers all Magic schools. Curse of Shadow and Dark Pact are gone.
Life Tap converts a base amount plus your Spirit; spell damage no longer adds to it.
Drain Soul can give a soul shard from a damage tick, not only a kill. Soul bags are bigger and sit in the new reagent bag slot.
Demons scale with your gear and can't take player buffs, but heals and shields land on them. Demonic Energies heals your demon from your spell damage.
Firestone and Spellstone are now weapon enchants; the Spellstone gives spell haste. Healthstones keep their own cooldown, separate from potions, as in Classic.
New talents: Wrack (a 6-second channel), Demonic Pact, Incinerate, Bane of Havoc, Demonic Knowledge, Decimation, Molten Skin and more. Every tree has one-point milestone talents at 11, 16, 21 and 31 points.
New spells: Portal of Summoning at 60. Hellfire can crit.
Fear has a 20-yard range with no talent to extend it. Blizzard calls that an oversight; the fix is undecided.

Every spell, new and changed ones marked, by spec: Affliction, Demonology, Destruction.

Strengths

The best leveller and soloist in the beta: a Voidwalker tank, DoTs and drains, and Life Tap for mana.
A pure damage class, so no hybrid tax: Blizzard tunes hybrid damage specs about 5% lower.
The only summoner in the game, plus Healthstones for the group and a Soulstone rebirth.
Curse of the Elements raises every Magic damage dealer's output without costing you a damage curse.
Crowd control for most enemy types: Fear, Howl of Terror, Banish, Seduction and Death Coil.

Gaps you plan around

Soul shards still don't stack, and every demon but the Imp, every Healthstone, Soulstone and Ritual of Summoning costs one.
No curse removal and no tank spec. Your interrupt and dispel come from the Felhunter, at 30.
Levels 6–10, before the Voidwalker, are slow: wand, DoTs and drinking.
DoTs pull threat off pet tanks and weak real tanks. Suppression is the fix.
Destruction lacks early tools: Conflagrate comes at 25 and Incinerate at 40.

Races

Race	Faction	What it brings a Warlock
Human	Alliance	The Human Spirit (+5% Spirit) now feeds Life Tap. Ruthless gives +2% critical strike chance (it replaces Sword Specialization, which needed a sword), and Will to Survive breaks stuns. Human edges Gnome for Affliction.
Gnome	Alliance	Eureka!: a damage and cost boost (10% less mana, 10% more damage) that is an 8-second buff with no charges, still not DoTs (channels still count); it cannot be used from stealth or invisibility. Expansive Mind (+5% mana) and Escape Artist.
Orc	Horde	Blood Fury: +10% spell power for 15 s, on a 3-minute cooldown. Savage gives +1% critical strike chance (replaced Axe Specialization). Shatter Curse now dispels Curses and Banes and cuts magic damage taken by 5%. Orc is expected to be best late; Undead is preferred for PvE and Orc for PvP.
Undead	Horde	Will of the Forsaken breaks Fear, Charm and Sleep. Touch of the Grave drains health, with a 30% chance for casters and a 25-second internal cooldown, and no longer scales with Shadow bonuses or loses power on lower spell ranks. Cannibalize now restores mana too.
Troll	Horde	New to the class. Berserking: +10% casting speed for 10 s. Rapid Regeneration heals 50% over 6 s if you stand still. Regeneration (health regen bonus) is 20%.