Leveling a Warlock to 20

How to level a Warlock from 1 to the level 20 beta cap in WoW Forever: which race, every spell and when you get it, which demon to use when, the published Affliction, Demonology and Destruction leveling builds, what to press, Life Tap and soul shards, class quests and what Forever changed.

Written for the WoW Forever beta, where the level cap is 20 (30 is expected in mid-October 2026). Spells, ranks, tooltips and talents come from the Forever beta client. Class quests come from Classic's data and are labelled as such.

The Warlock in a nutshell

A Warlock is a spellcaster who fights from range with Shadow and Fire magic and brings a demon along to help. Your role is damage (DPS, damage per second). Much of it comes from damage over time spells, called DoTs: you put a curse or a burn on a mob, and it keeps taking damage every few seconds while you do something else.

Your resource is mana, but you have a special trick: Life Tap turns your own health into mana. You wear cloth, and the client lets Warlocks use staves, daggers, one-handed swords and wands.

Good at while leveling

• Little downtime: Life Tap for mana and Drain Life for health mean you can often go from one mob to the next without sitting down.
• A demon that fights with you. From level 10 the Voidwalker holds mobs off you like a small tank (a player or pet who takes the hits).
• Fighting on the move: once your DoTs are on a mob, they keep working while you walk.
• Control: Fear sends a mob running away for a while.

Weak at while leveling

• Taking hits yourself. Cloth armor and low health make melee (close combat) dangerous.
• The first levels. Before the Voidwalker at 10 you only have the Imp, which adds damage but doesn't protect you.
• Keeping your demon alive. Summoning a new one is a long cast, so losing it mid-fight hurts.
• Careless Fear. A feared mob runs where it likes and can come back with friends.

Choosing a race

Five races can be Warlocks in Forever: Human and Gnome for the Alliance, and Orc, Undead and Troll for the Horde. Troll Warlocks are new in Forever. No race is the best: racials (race abilities) are small next to your spells and talents, so pick the faction your friends play and the look you like.

Racials from the Forever client. Starting zones are Classic data.

More on every race is in races, classes and racials.

Your spells, level by level

You learn spells, and stronger ranks of spells you already have, from a Warlock trainer in your starting area and in the capital cities. The client has something new for Warlocks at level 1 and at every even level from 4 to 20, so visit a trainer each time you reach an even level. Here's everything the trainer teaches up to 20:

Everything a Warlock learns from the class trainer up to level 20, from the Forever client.

The spells that matter, in the order you get them

• Level 1. Shadow Bolt is your main attack. Immolate hits with Fire and then burns the target for 15 sec. Demon Skin adds armor and health regeneration for 30 min; keep it on. Summon Imp brings your first demon. Bane of Havoc is new in Forever: while it's on a mob, 15% of the damage you deal to other targets also hits that mob.
• Level 4. Corruption deals Shadow damage over 12 sec. It becomes instant with one talent point, and it's the spell you'll cast most. Curse of Weakness makes a mob deal less physical damage for 2 min.
• Level 6. Life Tap converts health into mana. It's the heart of the Warlock's low-downtime play.
• Level 8. Bane of Agony deals Shadow damage over 24 sec, slowly at first and faster at the end, so put it on mobs that will live a while. Fear makes a mob run in fear for up to 10 sec; damage may break it, and only one mob can be feared at a time.
• Level 10. Summon Voidwalker is the demon most Warlocks level with. Drain Soul drains a mob's soul over 15 sec and can give you a Soul Shard. Create Healthstone makes a stone you can use to restore health instantly. Your first talent point also arrives at level 10.
• Level 12. Health Funnel heals your demon for 10 sec while you channel, paid for with your own health.
• Level 14. Drain Life takes health from the target and gives it to you every 1 second for 5 sec. Curse of Recklessness lowers a mob's armor and stops it from running away when it's nearly dead.
• Level 16. Unending Breath lets a friend breathe underwater for 10 min.
• Level 18. Create Soulstone stores a soul: if that player dies, they can come back to life with 400 health and 700 mana. Searing Pain is a quick Fire spell that causes a lot of threat, so keep it for solo play.
• Level 20 is the big one: see the next section.

Level 20: the big level

• Summon Succubus and Summon Incubus: your third demon, a damage-dealer that fights in melee.
• Curse of the Elements is new in the Forever client at 20. It makes the target take 4% more magic damage for 5 min, from you and from every other caster in your group.
• Demon Armor replaces Demon Skin with more armor, some Shadow resistance and more health regeneration.
• Rain of Fire rains fire on an area for 8 sec: your first real pack spell, and an expensive one.
• Ritual of Summoning summons a group member to you. It needs you and 2 more party members at the portal, all out of combat.
• New ranks too: Shadow Bolt, Immolate and Health Funnel.

Coming by level 30

These arrive when the cap rises to 30, expected in mid-October. They're in the client now, but you can't train them in the beta yet.

• Eye of Kilrogg at level 22: a flying eye you can scout with.
• Drain Mana at level 24: steals mana from the target.
• Curse of Tongues at level 26: a curse that makes the target's spells take 50% longer to cast.
• Banish at level 28: locks a Demon or Elemental out of the fight for up to 20 sec.
• Summon Felhunter at level 30: the Felhunter, a demon built to fight casters.
• Hellfire at level 30: burns everything around you, and you too.

Your demons: which one when

Your demon is your pet. It has its own small action bar where you tell it to attack, follow or stay, and you can set it to passive so it doesn't start fights on its own. Summoning takes 10 sec in the client, so always summon between fights, never during one.

Demon spells from the Forever client.

For leveling, keep the Voidwalker out from 10 to 20. All three published leveling builds are played with it: send it in first, let it hold the mob, and cast from behind it. Use the Imp in dungeons, where a real tank holds the mobs and your party wants Blood Pact.

• If the Voidwalker gets low, channel Health Funnel before it dies. It costs your health, but re-summoning costs much more time.
• Consume Shadows (from level 18 in the client) heals the Voidwalker out of combat, so you don't have to spend your own health between fights.
• Keep the demon on the mob you're hitting. If a second mob attacks you, send the demon at it, or Fear it.
• If the demon dies anyway, finish the fight and re-summon afterwards. Blizzard's September 24 notes also fixed Voidwalker Sacrifice so it scales with 10% of your spell healing.

Talents: which spec to level

Your first talent point arrives at level 10 and you get one more every level, so you have 11 points at 20. Warlock talents sit in three trees, Affliction (DoTs and drains), Demonology (you and your demon) and Destruction (direct damage), and your spec (specialization) is the tree you put most points in. The first row of a tree is open from level 10, the second from 15 and the third from 20.

ForeverDB publishes a leveling build for each tree at 20, and the same build carried on to 30, on the Warlock builds page. You can try them in the talent calculator. Here's what the level 20 leveling builds take:

The published level 20 leveling builds. The builds page explains every point and has the level 30 versions.

Our pick for a first Warlock is Affliction, which the builds page calls the easiest way to level to 20. Pick Demonology if you die a lot and want a tougher Voidwalker, or Destruction if you like big direct hits. Whatever you choose, notice that every build spends a point on Improved Corruption: the builds page calls an instant Corruption the best single leveling point a Warlock can buy.

Many Warlock talents only describe rank 1 in the client, and a few talent slots have no description at all because their effect is set on the server. The builds don't use those slots, and where they put extra points into a talent, that's the likeliest choice rather than a confirmed one.

Tip: Changing your mind is cheap in the beta. Blizzard's September 24 notes set a talent reset to 1 silver if you haven't reset recently; after a reset the next one costs much more, and the price drops back to 1 silver after an hour. Blizzard says this is for the beta only.

What to press

Your rotation is the order you use your spells in. This is the level 20 leveling rotation from the builds page, in plain words. A pull is how you start a fight, and a mob that's attacking you is said to have aggro on you.

One enemy (Affliction or Demonology)

1. Send your Voidwalker at the mob and let it get the mob's attention for a moment.
2. Cast Corruption (instant with Improved Corruption), then Bane of Agony and a curse. Solo against a melee mob, Curse of Weakness is the curse to use.
3. Fill with Shadow Bolt. Immolate is worth a cast on mobs that will live through its whole burn.
4. Mana low? Life Tap. Health low? Drain Life.
5. Finish a dying mob with Drain Soul whenever you want a Soul Shard.
6. Because Corruption is instant, you can put it on the next mob while the first one is still dying.

Before level 10 you don't have the Voidwalker. Let the Imp shoot, open with Immolate or Corruption, and Shadow Bolt from range; finish with your wand to save mana.

Destruction

Open with Immolate, add instant Corruption and Bane of Agony, then Shadow Bolt, which Bane makes faster to cast. Searing Pain finishes a nearly dead mob quickly. Keep the Voidwalker out: the builds page calls it the safest demon while you level.

Several enemies

• Press Tab to switch targets and put instant Corruption on each mob.
• Put Bane of Agony on the mobs that will live longest.
• Fear one extra mob to take it out of the fight for a while. Don't put DoTs on it, or the damage may break the fear.
• Rain of Fire (level 20) hits a whole pack, but rank 1 costs 295 mana in the client, so save it for packs of three or more.
• Destruction: put Bane of Havoc on a second mob that will live a while, so part of the damage you deal to the first also hits it.

Curses and Banes

In Forever, Banes are a separate kind of spell from Curses. The client allows one Bane and one Curse from you on the same target, so Bane of Agony and Curse of Weakness (or Curse of the Elements) can both be on a mob at once. Bane of Havoc and Bane of Agony are both Banes, so they share one slot per target.

• Curse of Weakness: solo against mobs that hit in melee, and it also lowers the damage your Voidwalker takes.
• Curse of Recklessness: lowers armor, and cursed mobs won't flee, so it stops a nearly dead mob from running off to fetch its friends.
• Curse of the Elements (20): in groups and on long fights, where every caster gains from it.

Life Tap, health and soul shards

The Warlock loop is simple: when you're low on mana, Life Tap; when you're low on health, Drain Life. Demon Skin or Demon Armor adds health regeneration, and the Healthstone is your emergency heal. That's why Warlocks usually eat more than they drink.

• Life Tap's tooltip in the client doesn't show fixed numbers; Blizzard's September 24 notes say it now shows the right amount and that Spirit increases it.
• Tap between fights or while the Voidwalker holds the mob, not when a mob is hitting you and your health is low.
• Create Healthstone makes a Healthstone that instantly restores 120 health. Keep one in your bags and make a new one as soon as you use it.
• Create Soulstone stores one player's soul so they can come back after dying. In Classic, solo Warlocks kept one on themselves before risky pulls to skip the run back after a death.
• Forever adds campfires: sit by one for a few moments to get rested and pick up one-hour buffs. The Deep Dive recap explains how they work.

Soul Shards

A Soul Shard is a reagent (an item a spell uses up). The client's Drain Soul tooltip says a mob that isn't trivial for you has a chance to give you a Soul Shard just by being hit by Drain Soul, and always gives one if it dies while you drain it. Grey mobs, far below your level, are the usual trivial ones and give nothing. The same tooltip says Soul Shards are required for other spells.

Speculation: In Classic, summoning the Voidwalker and the Succubus and making Healthstones and Soulstones each used up a Soul Shard, and the Imp didn't need one. The Forever client's tooltips don't list reagents, so check the spell in game before you count on your shards. Keeping a few spare is cheap insurance: finish a dying mob with Drain Soul now and then.

Class quests up to 20

In Classic, Warlocks earned their demons through class quests. The Forever client lists Summon Imp at level 1, Summon Voidwalker at 10 and the Succubus and Incubus at 20 as abilities, so it isn't confirmed whether you still need the quests. The Forever game cache that ForeverDB has seen does include the Durotar imp quest, Vile Familiars, where Ruzan still asks for six Vile Familiar Heads before he teaches you the art of summoning. The table is Classic's data.

Classic data (CMaNGOS classic-db) for class quests the Forever client has. Map pins use Classic positions placed on Forever's maps.

Speculation: The Orb of Soran'ruk is a level 25 quest in Classic's data that you can pick up from level 20, so it's a stretch at the current cap. Its staff, Staff of Soran'ruk, tops the level 20 gear list for all three Warlock specs, so it's worth knowing about once the cap rises. The Small Soul Pouch is a Warlock-only bag in the Forever client, most likely for your shards.

Gear, weapons and professions

You wear cloth. Look for spell power and Shadow damage (they make your DoTs and Shadow Bolts hit harder), Intellect (more mana), Stamina (more health, and more room to Life Tap) and Spirit, which Life Tap's tooltip says increases what it converts. Blizzard's Deep Dive says caster weapons now give spell damage, so staves and daggers with spell power are real upgrades while you level.

The gear planner scores every item for your spec and level, and the gear lists on the Warlock PvE page show the best items for each slot at 20 and where they come from. Some highlights from those lists:

• Tailoring makes a matching Shadow set: Shadow Circlet (level 20), Filigreed Shadow Gown (level 15), Filigreed Shadow Leggings (level 20), Shadow Gloves (level 15), Shadow Sash (level 17) and Shadow Boots (level 12). Spidersilk Boots (level 20) is on the lists too.
• Dungeons: Classic's loot tables put Witching Stave and Necrology Robes in Shadowfang Keep.
• Wands: Enchanters make Novice's Practice Wand (level 1), Lesser Magic Wand (level 5) and Greater Magic Wand (level 13). Blizzard's September 24 notes say wands no longer gain damage from your spell damage.

Professions that suit a Warlock: Tailoring, because you loot plenty of cloth from humanoid mobs and it makes your gear and bags, and Enchanting, which makes wands and breaks down green items you don't need. If you'd rather make money, pick two gathering professions (Herbalism, Mining or Skinning) instead. The professions guide explains how each one works in Forever.

Grouping and your first dungeon

In a group your job is damage. The tank (a sturdy player who holds the mobs' attention) starts each fight, the healer keeps everyone alive, and you damage what the tank is holding. Every hit and every DoT tick builds threat (how much a mob wants to attack you), so give the tank a few seconds before you start.

• Bring the Imp, not the Voidwalker: Blood Pact raises the party's Stamina, and Fire Shield on the tank burns everything that hits it. Set the Imp so it doesn't attack before the tank does.
• Put Curse of the Elements on the kill target: every caster in the group deals more magic damage to it.
• Before each boss, put a Soulstone on the healer. If they die while it's stored, they can come back and save the run.
• Ritual of Summoning (level 20) brings a missing group member to the dungeon, with two more players helping at the portal.
• Don't DoT a mob that's crowd-controlled (CC'd): a Mage's Polymorph and a Rogue's Sap both break on damage.
• Fear is risky in dungeons, since a feared mob can run into another pack. You have no interrupt at 20.
• Skip Searing Pain in groups. Its tooltip warns it causes a lot of threat.

The first dungeon guide walks you through your first run. The dungeon list has every instance with its bosses and quests, and the Warlock PvE page has a dungeon build for each spec.

Common beginner mistakes

• Skipping the trainer. New ranks are big upgrades; check in at every even level.
• Summoning in combat. It's a long cast; summon between fights.
• Letting the Voidwalker die. Watch its health and Health Funnel it in time.
• Fearing a mob into other mobs. Look where it can run before you Fear it.
• Putting DoTs on a feared or crowd-controlled mob. Damage may break the effect.
• Life Tapping at low health in a fight. Tap when you're safe, then Drain Life the health back.
• Wasting DoTs on mobs that are about to die. A DoT only pays off if the mob lives long enough; finish low mobs with Shadow Bolt or your wand.
• Running out of Soul Shards. Finish a mob with Drain Soul now and then.
• Forgetting your armor. Keep Demon Skin, and later Demon Armor, up at all times.

What Forever changed for Warlocks

• Banes: Curse of Agony is now Bane of Agony, and Banes are a separate kind of spell from Curses, so you can keep one of each on a target.
• Two new spells early: Bane of Havoc at level 1 and Curse of the Elements at level 20 are new in the Forever client.
• Soul Shards are easier to get: Drain Soul can now give a shard just by damaging a mob, not only when the mob dies.
• Much stronger first talent ranks: going by the client's old and new tooltips, Improved Corruption rank 1 now takes 2 sec off Corruption's cast (0.4 sec in Classic), Cataclysm saves 10% mana (1%), and Demonic Embrace gives 15% Stamina with no Spirit penalty.
• Spells scale better with gear: the client gives Shadow Bolt rank 1 0.486 of your spell power, up from 0.14 in Classic, and Corruption and Immolate get similar boosts.
• September 24 notes: Life Tap's tooltip now shows the right amount and says Spirit increases it, and Voidwalker Sacrifice scales with 10% of your spell healing.
• New race option: Troll Warlocks.
• The Incubus sits next to the Succubus at level 20, and talents like Improved Sayaad and Fel Vitality cover both.
• Cooldown Manager: Warlocks can test Blizzard's new Cooldown Manager (Options, Gameplay Enhancement). The known issues say it can lose track of your Banes and Curses when you change targets, and it can't track the Healthstone cooldown yet.
• Known issue: the character sheet doesn't show your demon's stats correctly yet (work in progress).

Every change we've found is on the Warlock changes page, and our Warlock outlook covers what's coming after 20.

Checked against WoW Forever beta build 1.60.1.70009.