Season of Discovery promised to deliver a World of Warcraft Classic experience that feels both familiar and fresh at the same time. For the most part, this version of WoW Classic lived up to that promise by including a number of new features that change the way we play the venerable MMORPG. Some of the biggest changes introduced relate to classes with SoD including four new class/role combos.
Warlocks received some of the biggest changes as Lock players can now finally become tanks, and pretty good ones at that. But while plenty of players have been enjoying testing thenew tank builds, others still prefer to stick to the traditional Warlock DPS role. If you’re one of those players, you’re in luck because DPS Warlocks have a lot to offer as well in WoW Classic: Season of Discovery.
RacesRunesRotationStat PriorityProfessionsTalentsBIS GearConsumables
Best Races For Warlock DPS In Season Of Discovery
Just like with theMage DPS, the best Alliance race for a Warlock DPS is the Gnome, and for similar reasons. Gnomes have the Expansive Mind Racial, which increases their Intelligence by 5%. In turn, this also increases their overall mana pool and improves their chance to score a Critical Strike with spells by a small amount. These are minor advantages in the grand scheme of things, but they’re still better than what the other Alliance race offers. Gnomes also get access to the Escape Artist Racial, though that’s more of a PvP ability than a PvE one.
Human is the only other race you can pick if you’re thinking about rolling an Alliance Warlock. The race doesn’t bring much to the table for a Warlock DPS besides The Human Spirit, a passive Racial that increases Spirit by 5%. Not a terrible Racial to have, but not a particularly useful one either. Diplomacy is worth mentioning as well since it helps Warlocks access reputation rewards faster, but this isn’t exactly a game-changing Racial either.
Horde players also get two races to choose from and, once again, one is better than the other if you’re playing as a Warlock DPS. Orcs are the race in question thanks largely to Command, a passive Racial that increases the damage of Warlock pets by 5%. While helpful if you’re playing as a tank, Blood Fury doesn’t do anything special for DPS Warlocks. Meanwhile, Hardiness can come in handy for PvP, but its usefulness in PvE is somewhat limited.
Undead is a great race to pick if you love utilitarian Racials like Cannibalize, Underwater Breathing, and Will of the Forsaken. Unfortunately, these Racials won’t make much of a difference while you’re engaging in endgame PvE, with the only exception perhaps being Will of the Forsaken. The Undead’s fourth Racial, Shadow Resistance, does have some value when running Blackfathom Deeps, but you can achieve similar results (better, actually) by simply using Shadow Protection Potions inside the raid.
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Best Runes For Warlock DPS In Season Of Discovery
Rune Engravingis a new system introduced in Season of Discovery that allows players to unlock passive and active abilities they didn’t have access to before in World of Warcraft Classic. Each Rune unlocks one ability, and there are a total of 12 Runes to choose from if you’re playing a Warlock. The caveat is that you only have three Rune slots to work with, meaning you’ll need to think carefully about the ones you’ll want to run with. Here are the Runes we recommend picking in Phase 1 of Season of Discovery
Fire damage is the name of the game for DPS Warlocks in Season of Discovery, making Lake of Fire a must-have Rune. Thanks to this Rune, Rain of Fire becomes a much more powerful spell that increases Fire damage across the board. Demon Tactics is your second-best option for this slot with a build that revolves heavily around Fire. If you’re going for a hybrid build that also incorporates a lot of Shadow damage, however, Demon Tactics becomes the best Rune.
Incinerate is another mandatory Rune that unlocks access to the spell bearing the same name. Incinerate is a strong spell on its own, but becomes even more powerful when combined with others. Similar to Lake of Fire, Incinerate boosts the damage you inflict with all Fire spells. If you’re going for a hybrid build, you may want to consider going with Everlasting Affliction instead. The remaining two Runes for this slot aren’t particularly valuable for a Warlock DPS.
Last but not least, Chaos Bolt is the natural choice for the Hands slot with a build that focuses on Fire. Chaos Bolt is one of those rare spells that cannot miss regardless of your Hit Chance and, as an added bonus, causes all Fire spells to pierce through absorption effects. Fans of Shadow damage may want to consider choosing Shadow Bolt Volley instead, a Rune that has very good synergy with Everlasting Affliction.
All Warlock Runes and Locations | WoW Classic: SOD
Find all the Warlock runes in WoW Classic: Season of Discovery
Warlock DPS Rotation In Season Of Discovery
The days of endlessly spamming Shadow Bolt as a Warlock DPS are long gone. Thanks to the changes introduced in Season of Discovery, Warlocks have more tools at their disposal to work with. As a result, their rotation is now a lot more interesting, though still fairly simple in the grand scheme of things. The goal, at least with this particular build, is to maximize Fire damage via DoT effects while also making sure to maintain curses and debuffs at all times. Every fight is different but, generally speaking, your rotation as a Fire Lock will look something like this:
You’ll want to start off by casting Rain of Fire regardless of whether you’re fighting a boss or a group of mobs so you can take advantage of the buff granted by Lake of Fire. The interesting thing about the Rune is that it doesn’t require you to finish channeling the spell, which would take a whopping 8 seconds. You can simply start channeling it and then cancel it to benefit from the effect. Once Lake of Fire is up, you’ll want to cast Curse of Agony followed by Incinerate.
The buffs you get from Lake of Fire and Incinerate stack, so you’re looking at a total of 65% extra Fire damage between both of them. Curse of Agony will contribute a bit of Shadow damage on top of that. Once those are up, you’ll want to cast Immolate and Corruption to complete your DoTs. Make sure to keep an eye on the timers so you can refresh your DoTs whenever they’re about to fall off.
Incinerate acts as a filler spell as well, and you should also use Chaos Bolt whenever it’s off cooldown. Keep in mind that Chaos Bolt pierces through absorption effects, so if you run into enemies that have those, you’ll want to prioritize it over most of the other spells, especially Corruption. Corruption doesn’t bring a huge amount of value to this build, but having an extra DoT never hurts.
The final spell you’ll need in Phase 1 is Life Tap, and this one is very situational. The Fire-focused build is very mana-intensive, so make sure to use Life Tap whenever you start running out of juice. That said, keep in mind that the spell drains some of your health in return. Try not to abuse it too much to avoid invoking the ire of your healers.
Stat Priority For Warlock DPS In Season Of Discovery
The stat priority for DPS Warlocks is pretty straightforward, at least at this stage. Since your job involves topping those DPS meters, you’ll want to focus on increasing any stat that helps you pump out big damage, such as Hit Chance, Crit Chance, and Spell Power. And since you’re a caster, you’ll also want a fair amount of Intellect along with a bit of Stamina.
Spell Hit Chance
Importance:Above anything else, when playing as a DPS you’ll need to make sure that your spells connect to the target, otherwise they don’t do any damage. There’s always a chance your spells will miss, especially when fighting higher-level enemies, but you can lower that chance by increasing this stat.
Notes:A5% Spell Hit Chance is enough to ensure that your spells will always hit the mark when fighting enemies of a similar level. you may still miss on occasion when fighting raid bosses, but there’s not much you can do against that I’m afraid since there’s a cap on how much you can increase your Spell Hit Chance.
Spell Power
Importance:Spell Power increases the damage of your spells and is another very important stat when playing as a Warlock DPS. There are other ways of increasing your damage, but investing in this stat is the most reliable one.
Notes:Certain items increase your Spell Power across the board while others increase your damage when using specific types of spells. For instance, if you’re playing a Fire Warlock you’ll want to focus on items that give you extra Fire damage, as opposed to Shadow or Frost damage.
Spell Critical Strike Chance
Importance:This is another stat that can contribute greatly to your overall DPS, though it’s less reliable than Spell Power. Increasing this stat enables you to score Critical Strikes with spells more often, but there’s no way of guaranteeing your spells will crit. Still, the stat is definitely worth investing in even if it’s a bit less important than Spell Hit Chance and Spell Power.
Notes:A Critical Strike deals 150% of a spell’s normal damage. In addition to boosting your DPS, scoring Critical Strikes has the added benefit of ensuring that you won’t run out of mana as often. Needless to say, that’s quite important for a mana-intensive build like this one.
Importance:Intellect is a caster’s best friend. This primary stat increases a Warlock’s maximum mana pool while also granting them a small boost to their Spell Critical Strike Chance. Increasing your Intellect automatically increases the Intellect of your pets as well.
Notes:Warlocks gain 15 points of mana for every point of Intellect they have. In addition, the class also gets 1% Spell Critical Strike Chance for every 60 points of Intellect.
Importance:Stamina works like just Intellect, only instead of increasing your mana pool, this primary stat increases your health pool. Generally speaking, you don’t have to worry too much about your health when running PvE content with a good group. However, the stat does start to become more important if you find yourself using Life Tap a lot.
Notes:Every class gains 10 points of health per point of Stamina, and Warlocks are no exception. Increasing your Stamina automatically increases the Stamina of your pets as well.
Best Professions For Warlock DPS In Season Of Discovery
Choosing the best professions for a Warlock DPS is a bit difficult at this stage. Traditionally, Engineering has been the go-to profession, but it doesn’t have that much to offer in Phase 1. Instead, we recommend going with Tailoring and Alchemy for the time being. Here are some of the benefits you can expect from these two professions:
Tailoring is pretty much mandatory for cloth users in Phase 1 thanks to the Extraplanar Spidersilk Boots, a new item introduced in Season of Discovery. But even if you ignore the boots, the profession gives you access to plenty of other useful items, including some that directly improve your Fire spells. A few notable examples include the Phoenix Gloves, Phoenix Pants, and Phoenix Bindings.
Alchemy is a bit less important than Tailoring since you can simply buy all the potions and elixirs you need from the auction house. That said, you can save a lot of gold by simply crafting them yourself. The biggest highlight here is the Potion of Firepower, but you’ll find a few other useful ones like the Elixir of Fortitude or the Shadow Protection Potion.
Waylaid Supplies By Profession Guide | WoW Classic: Season Of DIscovery
Why buy items and consumables to fill Waylaid Supplies shipments when you can simply craft them yourself?
Best Talent Spec For Warlock DPS In Season Of Discovery
Destruction is currently the go-to talent tree for Warlock DPS players. You only have 16 talent points to work with during Phase 1, and you may either dump all of them into Destruction or save a few for the other two talent trees. Hybrid builds can be effective, but we recommend going full Destruction in order to keep things nice and simple. Here’s the build we recommend:
5/5Cataclysm: At max level, Cataclysm reduces the mana cost of all Destruction spells by 5%. That’s not a huge amount, but it’s still better than the alternative for advancing down the tech tree.
5/5Bane: This is another so-so talent that only affects Immolate for the time being since we don’t have access to Soul Fire just yet. The talent also reduces the cast time of Shadow Bolt, but you won’t really need to use that spell with this build.
5/5Devastation: When maxed out, Devastation increases the Critical Strike Chance of all Destruction spells by a flat 5%. Not too shabby all things considered.
1/1Shadowburn:Shadowburn is mostly a throwaway talent with this build, but we only have one point left and have to spend it somewhere. Improved Firebolt 1/2 is a good alternative, but we recommend sticking with Shadowburn since it’s an instant spell that can be used as a finisher.
BIS Gear For Warlock DPS In Season Of Discovery
For a full breakdown of the Best In Slot items for Warlock DPS in WoW Classic: Season of Discovery check out the link below.
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Best Raid Consumables For Warlock DPS In Season Of Discovery
The only raid available in Phase 1 of World of Warcraft Classic: Season of Discovery is the reworked version of Blackfathom Deeps. This 10-man instance has a few interesting surprises in store for players, so it pays to go in well-prepared even if you’re a veteran raider. Make sure to stock up on some of the consumables below before heading in.
Offensive Consumables
Defensive Consumables
Blackfathom Deeps Raid Loot | WoW Classic: SOD
Every piece of loot in the 25-man BFD for WoW Season of Discovery
