World of Warcraft: Forever · class guide
Affliction Warlock: PvP
How Affliction Warlock fights other players in the open world: where it ranks on the PvP tier lists, and why.
Forecast. Rated from the client data and our research, before anyone has played it at this level on this build. Where the data stops, the write-up says what it assumed. Rated as of , build 1.60.1.70450.
Battlegrounds are not rated yet; builds, matchups and battleground roles are being written for this spec. Honor, ranks, gear and the battlegrounds themselves are on PvP in World of Warcraft: Forever.
Verdict
- At 60
- Ranked 6 of 28 on Open-World PvP
Damage over time,
Fear and Death Coil with strong self-healing, so it wins slowly and is hard to finish, but it rarely bursts. - While leveling
- Ranked 7 of 28 on Open-World PvP Leveling
Corruption at 4, 
Life Tap at 6 and Fear at 8 make a slow but steady road, with 
Drain Life and a Voidwalker for support. - Battlegrounds
- Not rated yet.
Profile
The rubric the lists score on, 1 to 5 on each line, with the weight each line carries. The class’s other specs are shown at 60 for comparison.
| Criterion | Weight | At 60 | While leveling | Demonology | Destruction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burst and kill pressure | 25 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Survival and escapes | 20 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Control | 15 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Fighting outnumbered | 15 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Choosing the fight | 10 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Sustain between fights | 10 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Group fights | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Weighted score | 3.60 | 3.10 | 3.40 | 3.30 |
Strengths and weaknesses
At 60
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Longest control chain of the three Warlocks | Low burst |
Drain Life,  Siphon Life and Death Coil heal | No speed or stealth |
| Best sustain of a mana user | Dies to burst |
| Instant Corruption at range | Fear is single target |
Soulstone, Curses and  Ritual of Summoning | Cloth armor |
Why it ranks where it does on Open-World PvP
Affliction stacks Corruption, 
Bane of Agony, Siphon Life, 
Immolate and Nightfall procs, with 
Shadow Mastery adding 10% Shadow damage, and ends a fight with a Death Coil and 
Shadow Bolt chain. Control is the strongest of the three Warlocks: Fear (1.5 s cast, 20 yd range), 
Howl of Terror on five targets, Death Coil's 3 s horror, a 
Curse of Exhaustion slow (it needs 
Amplify Curse) and 
Curse of Tongues.
Drain Life, Siphon Life and Death Coil all heal, 
Fel Concentration gives 70% pushback resistance, and 
Shadow Ward and Healthstone back them up, so it dies to burst but out-heals slow damage. Against two its DoTs spread, Fear holds one, Howl five and Death Coil one. It starts with an instant Corruption at range and keeps distance with Curse of Exhaustion, but it has no speed or stealth. Siphon Life, Drain Life and Life Tap give it the best sustain of a mana user, and Curses, a Soulstone on a healer and Ritual of Summoning help a group.
It is not A because burst, outnumbered and engage all score 3, since it has no burst button, no speed and no stealth. Its control and sustain are the best of the class, but they do not finish a fight quickly. 3.60 is 0.15 short of A.
While leveling
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Life Tap and Drain Life sustain | Slow damage ramp |
| Fear from 8 | Fear is the only hard control |
| Voidwalker tank from 10 | No speed or stealth |
| Instant Corruption at range | Soul Shards to carry |
| Healthstone and Soulstone |
Why it ranks where it does on Open-World PvP Leveling
Corruption arrives at 4, Life Tap at 6 and Bane of Agony at 8, with Drain Life at 14 and Siphon Life as a talent at 30, so the damage ramps slowly. Fear at 8 is the only hard crowd control until Death Coil at 42, and Curse of Exhaustion comes at 25 at the earliest, after Amplify Curse. Its damage is sustained pressure rather than a burst opener.
Healthstone and the Voidwalker arrive at 10, Soulstone at 18 and Shadow Ward at 32. Against two, Fear holds one and the pet tanks the other. Corruption is instant at range, so it can choose a fight. Life Tap and Drain Life let it recover without drinking, and Curses and Soulstone are its group tools.
It is not B because control is only 3 until Death Coil, with Fear as its single hard control, and nothing it has is fast. 3.10 is 0.15 short of B.
Leveling timeline
The level each of Affliction’s PvP tools arrives. A talent shows at the earliest level a point can reach it; the Talented Legacy perk brings talents 5 levels sooner.
- Level 8 Fear
- Level 14
Curse of Recklessness - Level 20 Amplify Curse (talent)
- Level 24
Drain Mana - Level 25 Curse of Exhaustion (talent)
- Level 26 Curse of Tongues
- Level 30 Siphon Life (talent)
- Level 32 Shadow Ward
- Level 40 Howl of Terror
- Level 42 Death Coil
Races
The Warlock’s races as Races PvP ranks them, best first.
Alliance
Human: 
Will to Survive is the only full stun break in the game, and 
Ruthless and 
Perception add steady crit and stealth detection.
Gnome: 
Escape Artist breaks roots and slows and its burst racial adds +10% damage, but Gnome lacks defense, mobility and class choice.
Horde
Undead: 
Will of the Forsaken breaks fear and charm and Touch of the Grave drains in combat, but it has the weakest burst and no mobility.
Orc: 
Blood Fury is the strongest burst cooldown of any race, and 
Hardiness and 
Shatter Curse give some breaks and defense, but no mobility.
Troll: 
Berserking is a burst for seven classes, but Troll has no control break or mobility and 
Rapid Regeneration works out of combat.
What we don’t know yet
At 60
Rated on assumptions:
- Everything at level 60 is projected from client data and the spec's own talent tree; nobody has played past the beta cap of 30.
- Curse of Exhaustion, Siphon Life and Death Coil at 42 are client data and the own tree, not played.
- Fear's 20 yd range is an acknowledged oversight and may change.
- Diminishing returns on stuns, fears and silences are not documented for Forever.
What would move it: Level-60 play showing DoT pressure killing before the target breaks Fear, or documentation of diminishing returns on Fear, Howl and Death Coil.
While leveling
Rated on assumptions:
- Levels past the beta cap of 30 are projected from client data and the spec's own talent tree; nobody has played past 30.
- Siphon Life at 30 and Curse of Exhaustion at 25 are client talent levels; the guide's talent order to 30 does not take Curse of Exhaustion.
- Death Coil at 42 and Shadow Ward at 32 are client data, not played.
What would move it: Beta play at 20 to 30 showing DoT pressure winning fights against other players, or Curse of Exhaustion at 25 proving worth its talent points.