Do you have what it takes to be an Affliction warlock? People make it out to be a lot easier than it is. Sure, you just send the pet in, load up the DOTs, watch the mob die, and collect your loot, right? Wrong. The only thing that gets you is a quick trip to a shallow grave. What about fear kiting? It’s great, if your goal is to run out of mana as quick as possible and spend more time casting Life Tap than any other spell in your arsenal. Oh, and you’ll probably burn through more bandages than you have, too.

So how do you do it, then? I wish there was some magic solution I could hand you for how to level an affliction warlock, but that’s simply not the case. You get new spells and talents constantly, and you’re playing one of the most complex classes in the game. What I can do is give you a few handy suggestions that will let you stay in control when things get hairy and will help you make the most of your time grinding and questing. I’m gearing this guide for players who are level 40 or higher, as that is when you will have most of the affliction warlock toolbox at your disposal.

1. Your pet choice should be the imp, and he should be kept on passive and phased out. Forget the DPS he adds, right now you just want him to buff you and let you steal his mana with Dark Pact. If you do this, life tapping becomes a distant memory.

2. Curse of Agony and Corruption are your “priority” spells. Get Curse of Agony up first since it’s your longest running DoT and gets more powerful the closer it is to finishing, and Corruption is your best scaling DoT, so it should always be up. Anything else is cake, as between those and Drain Life you should be fine for damage and healing.

3. Got an add? Fear, Curse of Agony, Corruption, and Siphon Life. As a Warlock, juggling 2 mobs is not particularly difficult. Drain tank one, and fear the other. If it starts getting a little mana intensive, Dark Pact. Between Fear and your life drains, you shouldn’t have any issues with health. If you feel genuinely concerned about your well being, fire off a Death Coil.

4. Stat prioritization is pretty simple as an affliction lock. You want spell power, in large quantities. If you’re settling for second best, go with Stamina. It effectively adds to your mana pool, not to mention it’s life extending properties.

You made a good choice with an Affliction warlock. They are one of the fastest classes to level in World of Warcraft. They do killer damage, have no problem taking on multiple mobs, and downtime isn’t even in their vocabulary. If you follow my strategies, you’ll be 80 before you know it.