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The Warlock in WoW Forever is a pure damage class. Level and run dungeons as Affliction, fight in PvP as Demonology. Humans and Gnomes play it for the Alliance, Orcs, Undead and Trolls for the Horde. You wear Cloth and use daggers, one-handed swords, staves and wands. 17 of the 52 talents are new.
You wear enemies down with spells that deal damage over time, drain their life to heal yourself and turn your own Health into Mana with Life Tap. A demon fights at your side, from a Voidwalker that keeps enemies off you to a Succubus or Incubus that adds damage. Groups want you for Healthstones, Soulstones, summons and your Curses.
Best to level: AfflictionYour Voidwalker holds the enemy while Corruption and Bane of Agony tick, and your drains refill your Health, so you rarely stop to rest. Also good: Demonology.
Damage
You stack Corruption, Bane of Agony and other spells that deal damage over time, then drain Health back with Drain Life or finish with Drain Soul. It is the smoothest way to level, and later Siphon Life and the new Wrack capstone make it strong against several targets.
Damage
Your demon becomes a large part of your damage and survival, and early talents add Stamina, pet damage and pet healing. Later Soul Link moves part of the damage you take onto your demon, and Demonic Pact lets you keep a Demonic Sacrifice buff while another demon fights.
Damage
You hit hard with Shadow Bolt, Immolate and instant Shadowburn, and later Conflagrate, Shadow and Flame and Incinerate tie your Fire and Shadow spells together. It shines in short fights and in area damage with Rain of Fire and Hellfire.
Drag to your level: the talent to take now, your newest abilities and the dungeons that fit.
Take now
New abilities
Dungeons for you
Class quests10Gakin's Summons → Summon Voidwalker20Devourer of Souls → Summon Succubus and Small Soul Pouch30Seeking Strahad → Summon Felhunter and Box of Souls
These races can play a Warlock. Hover a racial icon for the details.
HumanTop PvP pick
Alliance
The PvP pick. Will to Survive breaks any stun so you can start casting again right away, Ruthless adds 1% crit to your spells, and The Human Spirit adds 10% Spirit, which feeds into how much Mana Life Tap gives back.
GnomeTop Alliance pick
Alliance
The best Alliance pick. Expansive Mind adds Intellect for a bigger Mana pool, Escape Artist frees you from roots and slows so your demon can catch back up, and for 8 sec Eureka! makes your direct spells and channels like Drain Life stronger and cheaper, though not your effects over time like Corruption.
OrcTop Horde pick
Horde
The best Horde pick. Command makes your demon deal 5% more damage, Blood Fury adds Attack Power and Spell Power together for 15 sec every 2 min, a big burst for your Shadow Bolts, and Hardiness cuts stun duration by 20% so your casts survive longer in a fight.
Undead
Horde
A tough, self-sufficient pick. Will of the Forsaken breaks fear and charm, which pairs oddly well with a class that casts Fear itself, and Touch of the Grave has a 30% chance to drain a little health with your spells, at most once every 15 sec.
Troll
Horde
New for Warlocks in Forever. Berserking speeds up your casts and pet commands alike when you need it most, and Regeneration now raises your health regeneration by 20%, which keeps you topped up between pulls so you Life Tap less often.
The Warlock can use daggers, one-handed swords, staves and wands. Weapon skills you do not have yet you buy from a Weapon Master in a capital, and the skill goes up as you fight with the weapon. Your class trainer teaches new abilities and ranks and resets your talents, and a second talent set opens at level 40.
Troll warlocks, new in Forever, use the Classic trainers in Durotar and Orgrimmar. Thunder Bluff and Darnassus have no warlock trainer.
Class trainersBeta
Weapon MastersBeta
All Warlock trainers on the World Map
As of Oct 10, 2026. NPCs and places from the beta database, we check them again in the live game.
Your trainer teaches 147 abilities and ranks from level 1 to 60. In the beta that came to 134g 43s, at launch the whole training from 1 to 60 costs about 206–207 gold for every class, and Warlocks pay a little less at the trainer because they buy their Grimoires on top. New ranks come on every even level, so drop by every two levels. Of these, 4 are new in Forever and 3 come earlier than in Classic.
| Level | What you learn | Cost | Total so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
| 10c | 10c |
| 4 |
| 2s | 2s 10c |
| 6 |
| 2s | 4s 10c |
| 8 |
| 4s | 8s 10c |
| 10 |
| 12s | 20s 10c |
| 12 |
| 18s | 38s 10c |
| 14 |
| 27s | 65s 10c |
| 16 |
| 24s | 89s 10c |
| 18 |
| 45s | 1g 34s |
| 20 |
| 1g 41s | 2g 75s |
Beta dataFrom the trainer lists of the Forever beta, as of Oct 24, 2026. The prices per rank are still the beta ones, the launch evened them out.
Every class quest that brings you an ability, a form or a class item, quest by quest: who gives it and where, what you need and what you get.
Alliance
Gakin's SummonsLevel 10
Surena CaledonLevel 10
The BindingLevel 10
Horde
Gan'rul's SummonsLevel 10
Creature of the VoidLevel 11
The BindingLevel 11
Alliance
Devourer of SoulsLevel 20
HeartswoodLevel 20
The BindingLevel 20
Horde
Devourer of SoulsLevel 20
Blind CazulLevel 20
News of DogranLevel 20
News of DogranLevel 20
Ken'zigla's DraughtLevel 20
Dogran's CaptivityLevel 20
Love's GiftLevel 20
The BindingLevel 20
Alliance
What Is Love?Level 20
The BindingLevel 20
Horde
Love HurtsLevel 20
Wish You Were HereLevel 27
The BindingLevel 20
The Orb of Soran'rukLevel 25
Alliance
Seeking StrahadLevel 30
Tome of the CabalLevel 30
Tome of the CabalLevel 30
Tome of the CabalLevel 30
The BindingLevel 30
Horde
Tome of the CabalLevel 30
Tome of the CabalLevel 30
Tome of the CabalLevel 30
The BindingLevel 30
Beta dataQuest steps from the Forever beta database, as of Oct 21, 2026. The quest texts you read in the game.
Rotation Trainer
See every button with the reason behind it, your Mana live and all presses on a timeline. Play it on your own keys and compare your damage, or watch it with Autoplay.
The builds players plan for level 60, under the names you hear in chat. One click opens the full build in the talent calculator.
Damage·Raid and dungeon single-target damage
Ruin doubles your crit damage, Improved Shadow Bolt and Bane push Shadow and direct damage higher, and Shadow and Flame turns Conflagrate into a repeatable button that keeps your Immolate alive.
Damage·Raid damage with a tanky, hard-hitting demon
You sacrifice the Imp for its bonus, summon the Succubus and keep both benefits at once thanks to Demonic Pact, while Master Demonologist and Soul Link make the whole setup much sturdier.
Damage·Raid damage over time on a single target
Suppression and Improved Corruption land your DoTs reliably, Malevolence and Shadow Mastery push their damage higher, and Wrack, the new capstone, buffs every Shadow DoT ticking on the target while it channels.
Damage·Battlegrounds, quick kills on a single target
Pyroclasm gives Soul Fire, Rain of Fire and Hellfire a stun chance, Aftermath slows anyone you hit with Conflagrate, Molten Skin cuts the damage you take, and Ruin makes your Destruction crits hit harder.
Damage·Battlegrounds and world PvP, pressure on several targets
Curse of Exhaustion slows anyone chasing you, Shadow Mastery and Malevolence keep your DoTs pressuring the whole team, and Soul Link shares away part of the damage you take.
The beta stopped at level 30, so these level 60 builds are plans from the Forever talent data. Since launch we check them in the live game. Builds as published on wowforeverbuilds.com.
Our pick for every slot at level 60 from the gear the Forever data holds: dungeon drops, dungeon quests, Dungeon Set 2 and crafted items. The raids open on December 9, until then this is the gear to farm.
EditorialThe item stats come from the Forever client. The order is our call by the stats each spec wants, because the beta stopped at level 30 and nobody has tested level 60. Set bonuses are not counted. Stats and hit cap.
What countsSpell power and Shadow damage first, then hit, crit, Stamina and Intellect.
| Slot | Our pick | Where it comes from | Also good |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head |  |   | |
| Shoulder |  | Tailoring 300, pattern from a vendor |   |
| Back |  | Tailoring 275, pattern from Overmaster Pyron | |
| Chest |  | Tailoring 300, pattern from Darkmaster Gandling (Scholomance) |  |
| Wrist |  |   | |
| Hands |  |   | |
| Waist |  |   | |
| Legs |  |  | |
| Feet |  |  | |
| Ranged | | Enchanting 320, formula from a vendor |
The Forever data has no item from level 50 for neck, finger, trinket, main hand and held in off-hand yet. We add them once the dungeons are run at level 60 in the live game.
Raid gear, PvP rank gear and battleground rewards are not in this list, PvP has its own page: PvP gear.
Rare and epic armor (Cloth) and weapons you can use, dungeon by dungeon by level. Armor and weapon types as in Classic. Getting to 60 takes many evenings of quests and dungeons. If you would rather spend yours elsewhere, a WoW Forever leveling boost for your Warlock takes over those levels.
Seen in the beta, unless it says otherwise.
Curse of Agony and Curse of Doom are now Bane of Agony and Bane of Doom. Banes and Curses are separate, so you keep one of each on a target, for example Bane of Agony plus Curse of the Elements.
Your spells that deal damage over time can now land critical hits, and Wrack, the new level 40 Affliction capstone, is a filler spell that makes your other Shadow effects hit harder.
Demons now scale with your stats and gear, the Voidwalker holds threat far better and a new Move To command lets you place your pet where you want. While you summon a new demon, the one you have out is stunned.
The Incubus, which Classic Era added in 2022, stands next to the Succubus as its own demon at level 20, and Succubus talents like Improved Sayaad work for both.
Soul Shards now go into a reagent bag slot, Drain Soul gives a shard from its damage ticks far less often since launch, so finish a target with it when you need one, and Life Tap gives more Mana the more Spirit you have.
Felsteed and Dreadsteed are gone. Like every class, you get a mount when you learn riding.
Not tested in the betaHellfire can now land critical hits. The Affliction talent Soul Harvest (formerly Soul Harvesting) now works and gives 50% or 100% more Mana regeneration after a target dies under your Drain Soul, and your demon has Aggressive mode again in the pet tab of your spellbook.
Firestone and Spellstone are weapon imbues now and work together with Wizard Oil or another temporary enchant on the same weapon. Firestone adds Fire damage and crit chance, Spellstone adds Shadow damage and spell haste.
Not tested in the betaOn October 8 the low ranks of Shadow Bolt were evened out, so every new rank you train is an upgrade over the last.
On October 16 Grim Reach replaced Malediction and adds 10 or 20% range to your Affliction spells, Destructive Reach now does the same for Destruction spells, Shadow Mastery adds 2 to 10% Shadow damage (was 1 to 5%) and Soul Link can be cast on your demon again.
Amplify Curse now raises the effect of your next Curse of Exhaustion by 20%, the Classic value, while Curse of Weakness and Bane of Agony still get 50%.
At launch Wrack hits far harder, about 86 damage per second at level 60 with twice the share of your spell power, and Improved Drains boosts Drain Mana instead of Wrack. Shadow and Flame gives 4 to 20% (was 2 to 10%), Spellstones only raise Shadow damage, and your demons get 2 health per point of your Stamina instead of 7.5.
17 of 52 talents are new
Every change from Classic Era, for each class and beyond the talents, is in WoW Forever vs Classic, and what Blizzard's patches changed for the Warlock in the patch notes.
For your class
Sets13
Affliction. Your Voidwalker holds the enemy while Corruption and Bane of Agony tick, and your drains refill your Health, so you rarely stop to rest. Also good: Demonology.
Affliction. Affliction spreads damage over time across a pack, and the new Wrack capstone makes it strong against several targets. Your demon tanks a stray mob and Fear peels one off the healer.
Demonology. Soul Link sends 30% of the damage you take to your demon and adds 3% damage. It sits on the 20 point row, so a Demonology Warlock has it at level 30. With Fear, Death Coil, a Felhunter's Spell Lock or a Succubus' Seduction you control most fights and take far less damage while you do it.
Until the raids open on December 9, your best gear comes from the level 60 dungeons, their quests, Dungeon Set 2 and crafting. For Affliction, Demonology and Destruction: Deathmist Mask (Dungeon Set 2) and Robe of the Void (Tailoring). Every pick is our call until level 60 is tested.
Gnome for the Alliance, Orc for the Horde, Human for PvP. Gnome: The best Alliance pick. Expansive Mind adds Intellect for a bigger Mana pool, Escape Artist frees you from roots and slows so your demon can catch back up, and for 8 sec Eureka! makes your direct spells and channels like Drain Life stronger and cheaper, though not your effects over time like Corruption. Races that can play it: Human, Gnome, Orc, Undead and Troll.
Daggers, One-Handed Swords, Staves, Wands. You buy the weapon skills you do not have yet from a Weapon Master in the capitals. In the beta they stood in Stormwind, Ironforge and Darnassus for the Alliance and Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff and Undercity for the Horde. Your skill with a weapon goes up as you fight with it.
Troll warlocks, new in Forever, use the Classic trainers in Durotar and Orgrimmar. Thunder Bluff and Darnassus have no warlock trainer.
About 206 to 207 gold at launch: that is what the full training from 1 to 60 costs for every class, and Warlocks pay less by what the Grimoires for their demons cost. The trainer lists of the Forever beta added up to 134g 43s for the 147 abilities and ranks every Warlock learns there, with the priciest visit at level 60 (18g 44s).
The Imp at level 1, the Voidwalker at 10 and the Succubus or Incubus at 20, each through a class quest, the Felhunter at 30, the Infernal at 50 and the Doomguard through Ritual of Doom at 60. The beta client has the same levels as Classic.
For example Affliction at level 60: open with Bane of Agony, Corruption, Siphon Life, Wrack, Shadow Bolt. Then your main buttons are Shadow Bolt, Corruption, Bane of Agony and Siphon Life. The Rotation Trainer shows every button with the reason behind it and lets you play it yourself.
The Warlock is medium to start with. You juggle spells that tick over time, a demon, Soul Shards and Life Tap, but your Voidwalker takes the hits while you learn.
17 of 52 talents are new and 33 changed. Curse of Agony and Curse of Doom are now Bane of Agony and Bane of Doom. Banes and Curses are separate, so you keep one of each on a target, for example Bane of Agony plus Curse of the Elements.
As of Nov 6, 2026. Values from the beta and the launch client, hotfixes can still change them. Talent tree data: talentsforever.com (CC BY 4.0)
Every guide here shows how to do it yourself. If your evenings are short, our boosters take the grind off your hands. Options and current prices are on each service page.
Page history
Updated
Demonology keeps its top spot through the PvP list, the raid list has it at A now.
Training from 1 to 60 costs about 206–207 gold at launch, and the launch class changes are in.
Race notes with the launch racials: Ruthless 1% crit, Dwarves 1% hit, Blood Fury 2 min, Berserking 15 sec.
First published Every change on the guides
