WoW Forever Affliction Warlock — Specialization Changes

Ranged, spell damage. Affliction stacks periodic damage and empowers drains on a target that already carries your effects. In Forever, periodic damage learned to crit, while Drain Hope and Improved Drains turned priming the target into a dedicated phase of the rotation. The tree loves durable enemies and enough time to see a channel through to the end.

Pandemic boosts critical damage, not duration

Pandemic increases the critical damage bonus of Corruption, Curse of Agony, Curse of Doom, Drain Soul, Drain Life, Siphon Life and Drain Hope. At rank one that is 33% to the bonus itself — not to the total critical strike damage — and the talent grants no duration-preservation rule on refresh.

Once periodic damage can crit, crit works on almost all of Affliction's damage. Malediction increases the critical effect chance from the Shadow school, while Shadow Mastery boosts periodic damage. In a drain build, crit empowers both the channel ticks and the effects ticking behind it. Prime the target before a forced move and let the effects finish while you reposition: cut them short and you throw away both the damage and the crit chances. A direct-cast build spends a different share of the fight on those spells, so don't copy Affliction's item choices just because you share the Shadow school.

A short-lived enemy will only take the first ticks of a long effect. Finish such a target directly, unless the next priming cast pays back its global cooldown and mana, and save the full prime for those who will live to see it.

Prime the target before you go into drains

Improved Drains increases the damage and drained amount of Drain Life and Drain Soul for each of your other Affliction effects on the target — up to a stated cap. At rank one that is 2% per effect and no more than 6%, at rank three 6% per effect and no more than 18%. Drain Soul triples this bonus on targets below 20% health. The talent also adds range to Drain Life: 3 yards at rank one and 10 yards at rank three. The tripling applies specifically to the talent bonus, not to all of Drain Soul's damage.

Drain Hope deals Shadow damage every second for six seconds and increases all of your periodic Shadow damage on that target by 10%. It pays off when the target already carries useful effects. Applying effects that will barely tick just to prime a dying enemy is a waste of time.

Soul Siphon speeds up the damage of Drain Life and Drain Soul, but reduces the healing from Drain Life: at rank one, 17% to damage pace and 10% to the healing lost. That loss is noticeable when you drain life for survival. Fel Concentration protects Drain Life, Drain Mana and Drain Soul from being knocked back by damage — but not Drain Hope, and it does not protect against an enemy interrupt.

Nightfall and recovery without losing your target

Nightfall procs from the damage of Corruption, Drain Soul and Drain Life and grants an instant next Shadow Bolt. An instant bolt is a useful action while moving and a way to finish a target that is about to die. In classic the talent procs from Corruption and Drain Life; in Forever they added Drain Soul. A critical strike is not required to proc it anywhere.

Soul Harvest grants an effect when an enemy dies under Drain Soul. At rank one that is ten seconds during which mana regenerates even while casting — at 50% of the normal rate — and the regeneration itself grows by 50%. The talent ties a killing drain to the next pack, but it is not a permanent source of mana on a boss.

Improved Life Tap increases the mana from Life Tap. Recover while moving and in the gaps between targets, when your health is fine. Do not use Life Tap under incoming raid damage just because your effects are still ticking. Health is returned by Siphon Life and Drain Life — and the tap is better delayed if the damage can kill you.

Periodic Effects

Corruption is your main sustained damage, Curse of Agony and Curse of Doom became banes and no longer conflict with support curses, and Siphon Life returns health to you along with its damage.

Drains

Drain Life and Drain Soul are empowered by Improved Drains for each of your effects on the target, while Soul Siphon speeds up their pace. Drain Soul triples the bonus on targets below 20% health. Drain Mana returns mana.

Drain Hope

A short channel that increases all of your periodic Shadow damage on the target by 10%. Use it after the effects are already up, not instead of them.

Shadow Bolt

Shadow Bolt is a direct spell that in this tree is used mostly from Nightfall procs: instant, on the move and without losing pace.

Curses and Control

Curse of the Elements and Curse of Weakness remain support curses, Curse of Tongues slows enemy casts, Curse of Exhaustion reduces movement speed. Fear, Howl of Terror and Banish cover control, Death Coil knocks the enemy back and heals you.

Utility Spells

Life Tap trades health for mana, Create Healthstone and Soulstone Resurrection insure the group, Shadow Ward and Demon Armor help you survive, Summon Imp and Health Funnel sustain your demon.

The Affliction tree holds 49 points on a budget of 51. You take it in full, and the two free points go into the first tier of Destruction: Cataclysm adds range to your Shadow and Fire spells and lowers the threat from them.

This is not a finished leveling build. It is only a sample point distribution to get you acquainted.

A warlock's weapon is a set of stats, not a source of damage. A staff or a bundle of a one-hander with an off-hand are chosen by spell power, intellect and crit.

Spell power remains the main stat: it empowers both the periodic effects and the drain channels. In Forever, crit truly works for Affliction for the first time, because ticks can crit, and Pandemic and Malediction boost exactly that part of the damage. Previously crit was nearly dead for an effect build — now it is worth accounting for.

Intellect and the mana pool matter because of Life Tap: the larger your maximum mana, the greater the return from each tap, and Improved Life Tap raises that return further still. Some health is returned by Siphon Life and Drain Life, so stamina here also works for your resource.

Spell hit is covered by Suppression, but only for the Affliction school. If you top up damage with Shadow Bolt from Nightfall procs, a lack of hit will be felt right there — the talent does not cover direct spells.