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. Keep your Imp out, and make sure he’s phased out and on passive. Regardless of how you’ve treated him up until now, your Imp’s sole job past level 40 is to buff you and be your mana battery. You should only ever have to Life Tap in really tough situations.

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. Taking on more than one mob? Fear them, hit them with Curse of Agony, Corruption, and Siphon Life. Fighting two mobs as a warlock isn’t particularly hard. Drain tank the first one and keep the other one away using fear. With Siphon Life up, the second mob will act as an unwitting healer as well. If you think you may be in over your head, there’s always Death Coil.

4. In terms of gear priority, spell power over pretty much everything else, followed by stamina. Reason being, you want to kill things as quickly as possible, and your Stamina is pretty much your mana reserve that you can easily refill in combat.

Affliction warlocks are one of the fastest leveling classes in the game. Their ability to juggle multiple mobs, ridiculous damage, and lack of downtime makes them an ideal class for grinding. If you implement these tips, you’ll be churning through mobs in no time.

Tags: World Of Warcraft