Demonology Warlock guide

Caster DPS. Demonology is a durable pet spec that either keeps a demon out with Soul Link, Demonic Knowledge and Master Demonologist, or sacrifices it with Demonic Sacrifice for a large personal damage buff. Demonic Pact, the tier 7 talent, lets the sacrifice buff survive summoning a different demon, so the endgame build can sacrifice the Imp for Shadow damage and still fight beside the Succubus or Incubus, spamming Shadow Bolt. Very strong for solo play thanks to Soul Link, which opens at 30.

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Stat priority

1. Hit (to cap)
2. Spell Power
3. Shadow Damage
4. Stamina
5. Critical Strike
6. Intellect

Opener

1. Demonic Sacrifice: Sacrifice the Imp for shadow or the Succubus/Incubus for fire before the pull
2. Curse of the Elements: Or assigned curse
3. Corruption: Apply first

Single target

1. Corruption: Keep up
2. Bane of Agony: Keep up alongside your curse
3. Immolate: Only if you sacrificed the Succubus or Incubus for fire
4. Shadow Bolt: Main filler
5. Life Tap: Mana management

Several targets

1. Rain of Fire: Main AoE
2. Hellfire: Close-range AoE, pair with the Voidwalker or Soul Link
3. Inferno: Summon an Infernal on big packs; outdoors only

Cooldowns

1. Fel Domination: Fast pet resummon after a sacrifice or death
2. Soul Link: Share damage with your demon when soloing
3. Inferno: Infernal for long outdoor fights; 1 hour cooldown

Key talents

• Demonic Sacrifice
• Demonic Pact
• Soul Link
• Master Demonologist
• Demonic Knowledge
• Demonic Energies
• Demonic Embrace
• Fel Vitality
• Unholy Power
• Fel Domination
• Improved Imp
• Improved Voidwalker

What Forever changed

Demonology benefits from the Curse and Bane split, letting you keep Curse of the Elements and Bane of Agony both up while spamming Shadow Bolt. The sacrifice buffs are swapped from Classic: the Imp now gives Shadow damage and the Succubus or Incubus Fire damage, and Demonic Pact keeps the buff when you summon a different demon. New talents include Demonic Energies (pet healing and Life Tap Mana for your demon), Demonic Aegis, Demonic Brand and Improved Felhunter, and Soul Link moved up to tier 5.

Tips

• Demonic Sacrifice lasts 2 hours but breaks when a demon is summoned; with Demonic Pact only resummoning the sacrificed demon breaks it.
• Demonic Embrace gives 15% Stamina at 5/5, great for Life Tap sustain.
• For levelling, keep the Voidwalker with Soul Link instead of sacrificing.

Other Warlock specs: Affliction, Destruction

Data from the WoW Forever client, build 1.60.1.70938, extracted 2026-11-13.