World of Warcaft: Affliction Warlock PvP / Warlock Builds

World of Warcraft Warlock PvP and Warlock Builds are elusive to a lot of Warcraft players. Now you'll just have to decide how to spec. Destruction and Affliction are both great, but Affliction offers a bit more stability that Destruction due to the spells being mostly DoT (damage over time). That being said, if you want to be a great Affliction Warlock, you're going to have to do some research. I'm going to lay out some PvP tactics that'll get you more honor than a knight of the round table. After that, we can take a look at some Affliction Warlock builds! Let's get to it!

When PvPing a Warlock, always use your environment. Your spells function over time. Nobody said you have to be there during that time. That's not Affliction. If you're going head to head with somebody for the entire battle, you're playing your Affliction Warlock wrong. In World of Warcraft, it's important to notice that the Warlock is among the sweeter classes to play during WoW PvP. You can take the "set it and forget it" attitude with your spells. This wins battles. Let's look at an example.

You run across a warrior. He runs after you. You run away casting instant DoT spells at him. He keeps running after you. He takes damage trying to catch you. He dies. You get glory and brag to your friends. End.

This might sound funny or even outlandish, but it's no joke! You can literally win battles with affliction by just running away from your opponent while casting DoT spells. With Affliction, you don't have to stand there hoping your fireball or shadow bolts don't get interrupted. You have the ability to cast spells on the run, and running will win you battles. (even if they do catch you, you just fear them. ha ha)

When fighting casters or any other ranged opponents in World of Warcraft, you're always going to want to look around at your environment. I've detailed this strategy in my other guides as well because it's just so damn important. Use what is around you! Another point of beauty when playing Affliction Warlock PvP is your sheer utility. While a Mage or Hunter might try and use the environment against you and try to draw you in by ducking behind a wall or something, you just have to hit them with a few spells. Remember, if somebody runs behind a way, you don't have to sit there and try to get them in line of sight for 3 seconds to try and shoot off a Shadow bolt. All you need is that brief moment of opportunity to set your DoT spells and let them fly. Let them hide behind the wall and take damage, who cares? =)

Let's go over a few Affliction Warlock Builds. Though by it's very nature, World of Warcraft let's you spec how you want, there is one build that stands out the most. This is the classic cookie cutter Affliction Warlock build. It's stood the test of time, and it'll work for you if you learn the ins and outs of it.

56/0/15

I'm going to break this down tier by tier for you so that you'll be able to understand each and every talent and why it's good. This way, you'll have a firm understanding of the build, focus spells, and how to use it.

Tier 1 - We're actually going to be taking all three of the top tiered talents. That's how Warlocks roll! (with awesome talent trees). Each of these talents will have a dramatic effect on your core affliction spells and shouldn't be put aside. Pump 5 points into Improved Corruption. With this, you'll get 10% more damage from Corruption, and it'll give Seed of Corruption another 5% chance to critically strike. Pretty nice huh? Moving along, you're going to want to take Suppression too. Not only does it decrease your chance to be hit with spells by 3%, but it also makes your affliction spells all take 6% less damage. Pretty sweet for 3 points. Finally, take Improved Curse of Agony. 10% more damage from the spell. After these talents are included in your arsenal, you're going to be doing 20% more damage if you have Curse of Agony and Corruption on a target...and that's just awesome.

Tier 2 - Improved Drain Soul is paramount in Mana conservation. If you defeat an opponent while draining their soul, you're going to see a return of 15% of your base Mana. Mana conservation and longevity is very important in PvP, especially while in battlegrounds. You never know when you're going to meet your next challenger. You better have the Mana to beat them. Soul Siphon makes your Drain spells more powerful. Seeing as how you're going to be using them anyway, might as well make them do more damage!

Tier 3 - Fel Concentration gives you a 70% chance to not be interrupted when channeling your Soul Drain line of spells. How many times have you been putting the finishing touched on a flawless victory just to be interrupted by some pesky melee class while you're channeling? With Fel Concentration that won't happen. Amplify Curse reduces your global cool down on your affliction spells. Faster = Stronger.

Tier 4 - Nightfall gives you a 4% chance for an instant cast Shadow bolt. Nothing makes your opponent madder than an unexpected instant Shadow bolt to the face! Empowered Corruption makes corruption more powerful. Since Corruption is going to be a staple of yours, it's a very powerful choice for you.

Tier 5 - Siphon Life is another DoT for just 1 point. Bam! Let's take that one. Shadow Embrace allows Shadow bolt and haunt to power up your affliction periodic damage to the target, AND reduces their periodic healing. facing a priest casing renew? no problem. Druids and life bloom? Whatever.

Tier 6 - Shadow Mastery! +15% Damage! Moving on!

Tier 7 - Eradication gives you a 6% chance upon dealing damage with corruption to increase your spell casting haste by 20%. Again, Faster = Stronger. Contagion increased your damage dealt with affliction spells by a marginal 5%...however...it also makes them 305 more resistant to dispel effects. Yeah Shaman! Try and Purge it now! You there! Priest! Dispel Magic! Fail.

Tier 8 - Malediction increases your period damage (Dot) critical damage chance. Since that's all you're going to be using (except instant shadow bolts!), this talent is going to affect your damage a lot.

Tier 9 - Death's Embrace makes you a lot more powerful when you're on the brink of death. It's no secret that in World of Warcraft PvP, battles are won and lost in nuance. You're going to be on the losing side of a battle at one time or another, why not use it to your advantage? Unstable Affliction is a mainstay in the arsenal of the progressive Affliction Warlock. This is unquestioned in it's importance to your life. It's going to be one of (if not) your most powerful spell(s).

Tier 10 - Everlasting Affliction once again gives us a marginal damage boost, but it also makes it so your Drain spells reset Corruption on the target. This is like getting two spells for the price and cast time of one. Everlasting Affliction is one terrific talent!

Tier 11 - Haunt should be pretty self explanatory. It does an incredible amount of damage to the target and heals you for 100% of that damage. This is the "best" spell in World of Warcraft. That's why it's good to be an Affliction Warlock!

Now that we're done with the Affliction Warlock PvP tree, we're going to have a few extra talents. Since Demonology doesn't get good until further down the tree, those will go into Destruction.

Remaining talent points!

Improved Shadow Bolt is going to give you a debuff that you can slap on the target that makes them take more shadow damage. This is a pretty good talent, but it's not the best. Keep in mind those instant shadow bolts will also be slapping that debuff on them! Bane decreases your casting time on some spells, but only one that really matters - Immolate. It's one of your core spells you'll be using while playing Affliction Warlock PvP in WoW. Finally...take Ruin because it makes your crits do 100% more damage.

There you go! I hope you've enjoyed my ramblings on World of Warcraft Warlock PvP. Check out my other articles for more articles on World of Warcraft!

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