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Affliction Warlock

Damage specialisation · Tier C in Mythic+, 2.4% of the sample

PvE GuideRaid logs, Mythic+ players and PvE buildsACTIVEPvP GuideRated ladder talents, gear stats and builds

Opener

The order abilities first landed across 4 top-parsing pulls, with the median time into the fight. The percentage is how many of those parses used the ability at all — a step at 100% is the opener, one at 60% is a choice some players make.

  1. 1Haunt+0.2s75%
  2. 2Corruption+1.3s100%
  3. 3Unstable Affliction+2.1s100%
  4. 4
Agony
+2.3s
100%
  • 5Liquid Luster+3.3s50%
  • 6Dark Harvest+4.9s50%
  • 7Summon Darkglare+5.8s100%
  • 8Light's Potential+6.6s50%
  • What follows what

    What was pressed next, counted over every observed pair. This is the closest a log gets to a priority list — but it describes behaviour, not a rule: a player casting Execute because it lit up looks the same here as one following a plan.

    • Unstable Affliction117 casts→Unstable Affliction72%Malefic Grasp10%Haunt6%
    • Shadow Bolt27 casts→Shadow Bolt77%Unstable Affliction15%Haunt8%
    • Malefic Grasp25 casts→Unstable Affliction40%Malefic Grasp32%Agony16%
    • Haunt22 casts→Haunt43%Agony14%Unstable Affliction14%
    • Agony19 casts→Unstable Affliction56%Corruption11%Agony11%
    • Drain Soul8 casts→Agony38%Drain Soul38%Unstable Affliction13%

    Ability usage

    Casts per minute across 12 top-parsing kills in The Venomous Abyss. Per minute rather than totals, so a long fight does not read as a heavily used ability.

    Single target

    5 fights where almost all damage went to the boss

    1. 1Unstable Affliction17.0per min
    2. 2Agony9.7per min
    3. 3Shadow Bolt5.5per min
    4. 4Drain Soul3.1per min
    5. 5Haunt2.9per min
    6. 6Malefic Grasp2.5per min

    Multi-target

    5 fights with substantial add damage

    1. 1Unstable Affliction15.5per min
    2. 2Agony10.0per min
    3. 3Shadow Bolt6.9per min
    4. 4Haunt

    Fights are sorted by how much damage landed on boss units rather than by a hand-kept list of which encounter is the AoE one, so the split stays right after a retune. Fights in between are left out of both columns.

    Updated 31/08/2026. These are observed casts, not a recommended priority — the order reflects how often an ability came up, which is not the same as when to press it.

    Secondary stats

    Secondary stat split across the 100 best-geared synced characters. Averaged per player, so one heavily geared character cannot define the answer for everyone.

    • Versatility51.9%1,127 avg
    • Haste43.5%948 avg
    • Mastery2.7%61 avg
    • Critical Strike2.0%48 avg

    What PvE players are playing

    Talent choices across 229 synced characters playing this specialisation. These are observed picks, not recommendations — they say what the ladder is doing, not what you should do.

    Where builds differ

    Taken by between 15% and 90% of players. This is where the real decisions are.

    • Death's Embrace89%

      193 players · Specialization

    • Sacrolash's Dark Strike89%

      193 players · Specialization

    • Shard Instability89%

      192 players · Specialization

    • Xavius' Gambit88%

      191 players · Specialization

    • Cascading Calamity87%

      187 players · Specialization

    • Fortified Soul86%

      186 players · Class

    • Impetuous Wrath86%

      186 players · Specialization

    • Cull the Weak85%

      184 players · Specialization

    • Potent Soul Shards85%

      183 players · Specialization

    • Withering Bolt84%

      182 players · Specialization

    • Demoniac's Fervor82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Demonic Soul82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Eternal Hunger82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Eternal Servitude82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Feast of Souls82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Friends In Dark Places82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Manifested Avarice82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Necrolyte Teachings82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Quietus82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Sataiel's Volition82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Shadow of Death82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Shared Vessel82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Soul Anathema82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Wicked Reaping82%

      178 players · Hero

    • Empowered Healthstone80%

      173 players · Class

    • Curse of Tongues76%

      165 players · Class

    • Teachings of the Black Harvest75%

      163 players · Class

    • Infernal Beneficiary70%

      151 players · Class

    • Fatal Echoes61%

      131 players · Specialization

    • Fel Synergy43%

      93 players · Class

    • Gorefiend's Avarice26%

      56 players · Class

    • Cunning Cruelty18%

      39 players · Specialization

    • Malediction17%

      36 players · Specialization

    • Burning Rush16%

      35 players · Class

    • Alzzin's Iniquity16%

      34 players · Hero

    • Aura of Enfeeblement16%

      34 players · Hero

    Near-universal picks (45)taken by 90%+ — effectively baseline
    • Dark Accord100%

      216 players · Class

    • Dark Pact100%

      216 players · Class

    • Demon Skin100%

      216 players · Class

    Rarely taken (96)under 15% — situational or out of favour
    • Fiendish Stride14%

      31 players · Class

    • Contagion13%

      27 players · Specialization

    • Fel Pact12%

      26 players · Class

    Import a real build

    Loadouts from the highest-rated synced players of this specialisation. Paste straight into the game.

    • Langgy

      ravencrest · EU2,755

    • Paqmayn

      ravencrest · EU2,743

    • Bigmancam

      illidan · US2,640

    • Aezevera

      antonidas · EU2,594

    • Langneur

      archimonde · EU2,517

    Learn the spec

    This page measures what players do. For rotation, stat priority and matchup play, these are the references.

    • WowheadpveRotation, stat priority, gear and consumables. The most complete free PvE reference.
    • Icy VeinspveRotation walkthroughs and talent reasoning, written for players learning a spec.
    • Raider.IOpveMythic+ routes, affix planning and dungeon-by-dungeon breakdowns.

    Other Warlock specs

    • Demonology
    • Destruction
    3.3per min
  • 5Drain Soul2.9per min
  • 6Malefic Grasp2.4per min
  • Demonic Circle100%

    216 players · Class

  • Demonic Embrace100%

    216 players · Class

  • Demonic Fortitude100%

    216 players · Class

  • Demonic Gateway100%

    216 players · Class

  • Fel Armor100%

    216 players · Class

  • Howl of Terror100%

    216 players · Class

  • Mortal Coil100%

    216 players · Class

  • Pact of the Annihilan100%

    216 players · Class

  • Pact of the Eredar100%

    216 players · Class

  • Pact of the Satyr100%

    216 players · Class

  • Soul Leech100%

    216 players · Class

  • Soulburn100%

    216 players · Class

  • Frequent Donor100%

    215 players · Class

  • Malefic Grasp9.7%

    21 players · Specialization

  • Empowered Drain Life5.6%

    12 players · Class

  • Call Dreadstalkers5.1%

    11 players · Specialization

  • Demoniac5.1%

    11 players · Specialization

  • Demonic Calling5.1%

    11 players · Specialization

  • Fel Intellect5.1%

    11 players · Specialization

  • Flametouched5.1%

    11 players · Specialization

  • Hand of Gul'dan5.1%

    11 players · Specialization

  • Hellbent Commander5.1%

    11 players · Specialization