Sustained pressure, drain windows and recovery
Improved Life Tap2/2
Improved Corruption5/5
Soul Harvest1/2
Improved Drains3/3
Improved Bane of Agony2/2
Fel Concentration3/3
Amplify Curse1/1
Nightfall2/2
Curse of Exhaustion1/1
Siphon Life1/1
Compare two routes
WoW Forever Affliction vs Demonology Warlock Leveling
Explore a Level 30 WoW Forever Affliction vs Demonology Warlock Leveling route with selected ranks, point-by-point progression and an editable calculator link.
Active Voidwalker control and pet recovery
Improved Health Funnel2/2
Demonic Embrace5/5
Unholy Power3/5
Improved Voidwalker3/3
Fel Vitality2/3
Demonic Energies2/2
Master Summoner2/2
Fel Domination1/1
Demonic Knowledge1/3
Talent differences
| Talent | Left route | Right route |
|---|---|---|
| Improved Life Tap | 2 | 0 |
| Improved Corruption | 5 | 0 |
| Soul Harvest | 1 | 0 |
| Improved Drains | 3 | 0 |
| Improved Bane of Agony | 2 | 0 |
| Fel Concentration | 3 | 0 |
| Amplify Curse | 1 | 0 |
| Nightfall | 2 | 0 |
| Curse of Exhaustion | 1 | 0 |
| Siphon Life | 1 | 0 |
| Improved Health Funnel | 0 | 2 |
| Demonic Embrace | 0 | 5 |
| Unholy Power | 0 | 3 |
| Improved Voidwalker | 0 | 3 |
| Fel Vitality | 0 | 2 |
| Demonic Energies | 0 | 2 |
| Master Summoner | 0 | 2 |
| Fel Domination | 0 | 1 |
| Demonic Knowledge | 0 | 1 |
Editable editorial routes · Source limits remain visible · No simulated performance scores
Role and playstyle comparison
| Planning consideration | Affliction | Demonology |
|---|---|---|
| Testing role | Sustained pressure, drain windows and recovery | Active Voidwalker control and pet recovery |
| Main trade-off | Soul Harvest is partial and requires a qualifying Drain Soul kill. Curse of Exhaustion follows the one-Curse-per-target rule in its text. Sustained effects and channels need useful uptime, while this route leaves Demonology pet support outside the budget. | Improved Voidwalker applies to named Voidwalker abilities, rather than every demon. Fel Vitality, Unholy Power and Demonic Knowledge remain partial. Health Funnel transfers the player’s health, and a safer pet-supported pull does not establish a damage ranking. |
| What to measure | Record periodic-effect uptime, completed drains, qualifying kills, safe Life Tap use, useful slows and recovery with the same demon active. | Record Voidwalker ability use, pet deaths, player health spent on recovery, summon time and downtime before the next comparable target. |
BLIZZARD OCTOBER 1 NOTESOfficial
October 1 Beta changes for Warlock
Official Beta announcement · Blizzard’s October 1 development notes
Affliction Soul Harvesting was renamed Soul Harvest and now correctly grants its 50/100% increase to Mana regeneration.
Hellfire can now critically strike; Drain Soul now stops when the Warlock begins casting another spell.
Aggressive Mode returned for Warlock pets under the pet tab in the spell book.
The live Beta level cap is 30. The talent structure was reconciled through 1.60.1.70291; 21-point Level 30 routes are editorial allocations. Rank descriptions retain their separate community transcription evidence, and point-order rules remain derived assumptions.
Sustained pressure or active demon support
Affliction reaches Siphon Life after drains, curse control and Nightfall. Demonology reaches a first Demonic Knowledge rank after a Voidwalker and recovery package. Count player and pet recovery, including health transferred through Health Funnel and safe Life Tap use.
Compare at the same level and budget
At eleven points, compare the full Corruption and drain cycle with safe Life Tap windows. Later record qualifying Soul Harvest kills, Curse of Exhaustion control and the conditions that produce Nightfall or Siphon Life value. Keep target lifetime comparable.
Keep the Voidwalker active and record pet control and recovery. Add the later summon-cost, health-transfer and active-demon damage effects to comparable pulls. Demonic Sacrifice and Soul Link are unselected; the route does not sacrifice the pet it is designed to test.
Affliction: selected talents and trade-offs
Improved Corruption 5/5, Improved Life Tap 2/2 and Improved Drains 3/3 lead to Amplify Curse at eleven. Fel Concentration 3/3 and Soul Harvest 1/2 reach fifteen. Curse of Exhaustion, Nightfall 2/2 and Improved Bane of Agony 2/2 precede Siphon Life at twenty-one. Soul Siphon is a deeper current talent and is unselected.
Soul Harvest is partial and requires a qualifying Drain Soul kill. Curse of Exhaustion follows the one-Curse-per-target rule in its text. Sustained effects and channels need useful uptime, while this route leaves Demonology pet support outside the budget.
Record periodic-effect uptime, completed drains, qualifying kills, safe Life Tap use, useful slows and recovery with the same demon active.
Executable point order
Use the progression to inspect each point from Level 10 to 30. The calculator opens the exact allocation and level. These routes are examples for comparing choices, not a measured damage ranking.
Reviewed Warlock snapshot: 52 visible nodes from Wago client build 1.60.1.70291, reconciled against Talents Forever. All 149 rank descriptions are adapted from Talents Forever (CC BY 4.0, https://talentsforever.com), with community verification. Two active Warlock positions use explicitly reviewed row/column mappings; the original raw coordinates are preserved and those mapped positions have community evidence. The export resolves tooltip values at Level 60; it does not rescale them to the selected level or simulate damage. Level 30 examples spend 21 points; the existing Level 20 page uses eleven-point stages of this reviewed tree. One point per level from 10, five points per tier, full-rank prerequisites and the editorial point order remain derived planning assumptions. Original 69913 saves remain historical records and are not partially migrated into a changed allocation.
Data sources, verification & planning limits
Reviewed Warlock snapshot: 52 visible nodes from Wago client build 1.60.1.70291, reconciled against Talents Forever. All 149 rank descriptions are adapted from Talents Forever (CC BY 4.0, https://talentsforever.com), with community verification. Two active Warlock positions use explicitly reviewed row/column mappings; the original raw coordinates are preserved and those mapped positions have community evidence. The export resolves tooltip values at Level 60; it does not rescale them to the selected level or simulate damage. Level 30 examples spend 21 points; the existing Level 20 page uses eleven-point stages of this reviewed tree. One point per level from 10, five points per tier, full-rank prerequisites and the editorial point order remain derived planning assumptions. Original 69913 saves remain historical records and are not partially migrated into a changed allocation.