Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Guide

Welcome to our Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock guide. Here we’ll tackle all the paramount elements of a Demonology Warlock gameplay and observe talent builds, rotations, best-in-slot gear, and handy macros. And certainly visit our Cataclysm Classic Leveling Guide to be fully prepared to explore Demo Warlock spec.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Overview

In World of Warcraft, Demonology Warlocks are often included in top-tier lists, and Cataclysm Classic became no exception. They shine in both single-target and AoE encounters and are always welcomed in any raid setup due to their utility CDs. Powerful summoned demons and a wide array of damaging spells make Demonology Warlocks dynamic and engaging in their playstyle, therefore it’s a good choice to make in this expansion.

With the help of our pro players, you can start enjoying the Cataclysm Classic content right away. Just ask for Ready Raider service and get a fully prepared level 85 Demonology Warlock geared head to toe, waiting for you to start Raiding and exploring the Phase 1 end-game content.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Class Mechanics

In Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock there are two main resources at our disposal. One is a commonly used mana spent on most of our abilities. The other one, however, is a unique Warlock’s feature — Soul Shards. This resource is used to fuel Demonology Warlock’s potent spells.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Changes

Cataclysm introduced several significant changes for Demonology Warlock. Firstly, Impending Doom: This talent allows some of our spells to reduce the cooldown of Metamorphosis, and that’s very convenient as we can buff ourselves with transformation more often. Secondly, Master Demonologist saw the revision and now the mastery rating boosts damage from demons and Metamorphosis.

Also, Pet Twisting became a part of our rotation. Switching companion pets during fights to leverage Felguard’s cooldowns (Demon Soul: Felguard and Felstorm) and then summoning the Felhunter for single-target DPS with Soulburn provides extra functionality to Demonology Warlock and maximizes DPS increase.

Stat and Attribute Changes

Demonology Warlock Cataclysm Classic Stats and Attributes were positively affected by the changes. Here are the most valuable shifts:

Changes to Existing Abilities & Talents

• Summon Doomguard and Summon Infernal — These now focus on targets affected by Banes.
• Bane of Doom and Bane of Agony — Converted from curses to banes, allowing simultaneous use with utility curses.
• Soul Shards — Reworked to be a class resource for powerful spells. Soulstone, for example, no longer requires a Soul Shard.
• Succubus and Voidwalker — Succubus gains Whiplash (replacing Soothing Kiss) with a knockback effect, and Voidwalker’s Torment and Suffering abilities are enhanced.
• Soulstone — Usable on dead targets for battle resurrection.
• Demonic Pact — Recipients now receive a flat 10% spell power increase, independent of the Warlock’s spell power.
• Fel Domination — Integrated into Soulburn, making the latter more versatile.
• Metamorphosis — Immune to demon crowd control effects like Turn Evil and Banish, with an increased focus on caster abilities.

New Demonology Warlock Abilities

The list of abilities that Cataclysm Classic brought to the Demonology Warlock spell book:

• Demon Soul — A new cooldown spell provides a bonus based on the active summoned demon. It has a relatively short 2-minute cooldown, allowing for multiple uses in most encounters, significantly affecting your rotation.
• Dark Intent — This spell buffs allies by increasing their haste by 3%. Each critical tick of periodic damage or healing boosts periodic effects for both you and the target, stacking up to three times, making it crucial to choose the right target.
• Fel Flame — An instant spell that deals damage and extends the duration of Immolate and Unstable Affliction.
• Soulburn — A cooldown that grants secondary effects to spells, such as making Summon Felhunter an instant cast.
• Soul Harvest — A utility spell to regenerate health and Soul Shards out of combat.

New Demonology Warlock Talents

Examine the New Talents in the toolkit of Cata Classic Demonology Warlock:

• Impending Doom — Bane of Doom can summon a demon upon dealing damage, and direct damage spells like Shadow Bolt and Incinerate can reduce the Metamorphosis cooldown.
• Dark Arts — Replaces Demonic Power, boosting the damage of other demons’ special abilities, not just the imp.
• Demonic Rebirth — Combines Fel Domination and Master Summoner, allowing easy resummoning of your demon upon its death.
• Hand of Gul’dan — A new powerful damage spell also boosts the crit chance of your demons in a radius around the target.
• Aura of Foreboding — Enhances the Hand of Gul’dan, allowing it to root and potentially stun targets within its radius.
• Ancient Grimoire — Increases the duration of guardian summons, Summon Doomguard, and Inferno.
• Inferno — Allows Hellfire to be cast while moving and increases the duration of Immolate.
• Cremation — Increases Hellfire damage and gives Hand of Gul’dan a chance to refresh Immolate on the target.

Demonology Warlock Best Gear in Cataclysm Classic

Gearing is one of the content-intensive parts of the gameplay, as it is easy to see the progression through all the powerful pieces with increased stats. As usual, we have two gear options: Pre-Raid BiS and Overall BiS sets. In this decent guide, you will find the Phase 1 Best in Slot Gear list for Demonology Warlock in Cataclysm Classic, consisting of absolutely worthwhile options.

Also, think about acquiring Valor Points in advance, as you definitely would like to obtain some of the Demonology Warlock BiS items from merchants. Farm Valor Points with our experienced team and obtain the desired gear even faster.

Pre-Raid BiS Gear

Overall BiS Gear

Demonology Warlock Phase 3 Gear Set

The Tier 12 Raid Set for Cata Classic Demonology Warlock grants us truly nice bonuses. Balespider’s Burning Vestments is a part of the BiS gear list, therefore you would probably be interested in combining all of the parts to obtain its bonuses.

• 2 pieces: Your periodic damage has a chance to summon a Fiery Imp to assist you in battle for 15 sec.
• 4 pieces: Casting your Shadow Bolt, Incinerate, Soul Fire, and Drain Soul spells has a 5% chance to increase all Shadow and Fire damage you deal by 20% for 8 sec.

Tier 12 Gear Sets are usually obtained by experienced raiders with buffed-up allies, who hone their strategies and practice day and night.

Demonology Warlock Weapons

WoW Classic Cataclysm Demonology Warlock Weapons are the source of deadly damage and dominion. In addition, the options are numerous. In our Cata Demonology Warlock PvE guide, we summarized all the possible weapon choices: from two-hand staves to powerful wands. Choose what suits you best, but remember to always compare the stats and decide what is more useful for you if you have multiple options available simultaneously.

In Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock can equip Staffs, which makes it possible to give a shot at getting a legendary item. The matchless Dragonwrath awaits you on your way to fear the enemies and dominate the battlefield, and our best players will help you to achieve this.

Demonology Warlock Jewelry

In WoW Cataclysm Classic Jewelry is a relatable source of damage increase, that’s why choosing the best option for a neck or trinket slot is such a big deal. In any case, the best variants are presented below.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Leveling

Leveling a Demonology Warlock in Cataclysm Classic is a fun and relatively straightforward process. As a Demo Lock, you’ll benefit from strong pets that can tank for you, allowing you to focus on dealing damage from a distance.

Start by using your Imp for early levels, then switch to the Voidwalker for better survivability as you progress. This pet consumes 1 Soul Shard.  Around level 40, you can use the Felguard, which boosts your damage output and makes leveling smoother. The mana cost of summoning the Felguard is huge though, but it’s completely worth it.

How about freeing up some time for the most exciting content in Cataclysm Classic? We offer you our Power Leveling service, handled by our specialists, so you can plan how you’ll enjoy your raids and dungeons.

Demonology Warlock Best Leveling Build

WoW Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock talents that enhance your pet’s damage and survivability are crucial. Early on, from level 10, invest in talents like Demonic Embrace and Fel Synergy to keep your pet healthy. Dark Arts will also do good. As you progress, talents like Master Summoner and Demonic Empowerment will further boost your leveling efficiency. The latest one is an optional choice, but it’s pretty valuable in the leveling phase.

Demonology Warlock Leveling Build 7/33/0: this layout is optimal for an effective Cataclysm Demo Warlock level-up process.

Demonology Warlock Leveling Glyphs

Tips for Leveling Up

• Managing your health and mana efficiently is key. Always carry a bunch of health and mana potions to avoid sudden death and mana issues, and use Life Tap and Drain Life to maintain your resources. Besides, keep Fel Healthstone at hand.
• Constantly upgrade your gear. Look for better, if not BiS options to obtain. Gearing up is not only useful for survival but also fun as it allows you to explore the content.
• Questing is generally faster than grinding, so follow quest hubs and complete them in batches to maximize your experience gain. Use your Hearthstone and mounts to minimize travel time.

Demonology Warlock Best Leveling Rotation

Thanks to Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock talents, this class is strong enough to perform solo combat while utilizing a pet as a tanking and DPSing tool.

What you have to do is simply let the pet out before the combat and complete the macro-preparations on it. Cata Demonology Warlock rotation starts with making sure that Shadow Bite, Legion Strike, or Felstorm, depending on the summoned creature, are turned on on the bars.

And check your pockets for the Healthstones. If you are out of these valuable pebbles, cast Create Healthstone.

The spell sequence described below is suitable both as a single target rotation and for encounters with 3 – 5 targets. Anyway, pulling a pack is faster, and Demo Locks are excellent for AoE. Theoretically, Felguard can help you withstand combats with even more mobs involved, but it’s up to you: DoTs damage will do the job.

Demonology Warlock Best Leveling Gear

A bit of general advice on gearing during the Leveling phase is to prioritize items with higher ilvl and better stats. To become most effective in your Demonology gear, focus on getting the best possible weapon.

Whether it’s a Quest reward or Dungeon drop, check the stats and go for bigger numbers. Also, as a caster with a tanking pet, you will most likely equip a staff to avoid running from a distance into melee range combat. Make sure that your items provide an Intellect bonus, crucial for Warlocks’ Demo Spec, and Hit and Haste Ratings buffs.

Heirlooms can simplify the task of leveling and gearing your character. Moreover, they are the best investment for the future if you decide to level up new characters.

Demonology Warlock Best Leveling Professions

Some say, that there’s no need to focus on professions during leveling, but in fact, starting training the prof from the start is beneficial for the endgame. Thus, we suggest that the best options would be Tailoring, Engineering, and Gathering.

These professions are easy to train and also provide premium features for enchanting or improving your gear, as well as obtaining some money from selling the gathered resources. It means that you can have your items enchanted all the way through the game, which brings you ahead of the other players of the same level.

Demonology Warlock Best Leveling Consumables

The best consumables for Cata Demonology Warlock are healing potions and spell power boosters. You can benefit from carrying Runic Healing Potion or Heavy Embersilk Bandage. This is the best way to upkeep the HP level if there’s no healer nearby.

The bandages require you to study First Aid beforehand.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Talent Builds

Demonology Warlocks are always looking to achieve extra damage from their talents. The WoW Classic Cataclysm Demonology Warlock build that we offer in this guide is generally the only one that you need.

Demonology Warlock DPS Build 3/31/7: great PvE talent build for Demonology Warlock.

You have the alternative to pick the most powerful variants from all three trees, or, if you are not a fan of Improved Corruption damage, you can switch to 0/31/10 Build, and invest the saved points to Bane in the Destruction tree to shorten the spell cast.

Demonology Warlock Glyphs

Glyphs are used to enhance our abilities and ensure better performance in any situation. However, our Glyph of Metamorphosis might be replaced with the Corruption Glyph, as the Shadow Trance state proc is sometimes more useful than Metamorphosis’s increased duration.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Stats

As a caster class, Demonology Warlock enjoys the perks of high Intellect. Considering this, the stat priority is the following:

1. Intellect
2. Spell Power
3. Hit Rating (until cap)
4. Haste Rating
5. Mastery Rating
6. Critical Strike Rating

In this precise way, we are going to prioritize stats that can be found on the items during the gearing process. Intellect boost is our priority, then Spell Power to buff the abilities, Hit Rating will only be a priority till the cap, after that, its value will decrease.

Attributes for Demonology Warlock

• Intellect — boosts spell power, crit chance, and mana pool, making it a top stat. It also increases your demon’s intellect by 30%.
  1 Intellect = 1 Spell Power (before buffs)
  650 Intellect = 1% Crit Chance
  1 Intellect = 17.5 Mana
• Stamina — enhances survivability by increasing health, crucial for enduring raid damage. Demons inherit 75% of your stamina.
  1 Stamina = 10 Health

Secondary Stats for Demonology Warlock

• Hit Rating — ensures your spells land on enemies. Aim for a 17% hit chance (1742 Hit Rating) to avoid missing boss-level targets. When the extra hit rating is above 6% — reforge.
  102.45 Hit Rating = 1% increased chance to hit
  1742 Hit Rating = 17% hit chance
  615 Hit Rating = 6% hit chance

• Haste Rating — Base Haste increases casting speed and periodic damage frequency.
  28.05 Haste Rating = 1% spell haste

• Mastery Rating — For Demonology Warlocks, Mastery increases the damage dealt by you and your demons in Metamorphosis.
  77.92 Mastery Rating = 1% increased Mastery damage
• Critical Strike Rating — increases the chance for spells to deal double damage; if possible, reforge crit rating. DoTs can also critically strike.
  179.28 Critical Strike Rating = 1% increased chance to crit
• Spell Power — derived from Intellect, increases spell and ability damage.

Gearing Advice for Demonology Warlock

First and foremost, when we talk about gearing A Demonology Warlock, you should take your time to study BiS lists and estimate your ability to acquire these items ASAP. It can take time, but it’s worth going for. Then, on your way to BiS, you’ll meet plenty of options and you should know how to pick the treasure among all these variants:

• Focus on Intellect as your primary stat on items, as it increases your spell power, mana pool, and crit chance. Follow up with Haste to reach key DoT thresholds, then Mastery for boosting demon and Metamorphosis damage.
• Enchant gear to prioritize Intellect. Use flasks, potions, and food for a significant Intellect boost.
• Reforge secondary stats to reach important Haste thresholds for additional DoT ticks. Once you hit your desired Haste cap, reforge excess Haste into Mastery to maximize your damage output during Metamorphosis and from your demons. Reforge Critical Strike only if you’ve already optimized Haste and Mastery.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Best Race

WoW Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock is relatively limited in the race options with 4 possible choices for each faction. The racials that they possess are really useful for most combat situations.

Alliance

• Humans — are a top choice due to their racial ability, Will to Survive, which removes all stun effects and has a 3-minute cooldown, giving you an edge in PvP and situational PvE encounters.
• Gnomes — excel with their racial, Escape Artist, which removes movement speed impairing effects and has a 1-minute cooldown, making them highly mobile and able to avoid dangerous mechanics.
• Worgens — offer the Darkflight ability, which increases movement speed by 40% for 10 seconds, helping with positioning and dodging mechanics in raids, and Viciousness Increases critical strike chance by 1%.

Horde

• Orcs — are highly effective due to Blood Fury, which increases your spell power for 15 seconds, and increases your summoned demons damage. Their Command racial also increases the damage done by your summoned demons, making them perfect for the Demonology specialization. Moreover, Hardiness significantly reduces the duration of stun effects.
• Trolls — benefit from Berserking, which increases casting speed by 20% for 10 seconds, providing a substantial DPS boost during burst phases.
• Goblins — have Rocket Jump, providing additional mobility by allowing you to leap forward, useful for repositioning quickly. Their Time is Money racial gives a 1% increase in haste, which improves casting speed and overall DPS.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Gems & Enchants

Enchants and gems serve as vital additions for boosting key stats, and it is especially seen through dungeons and raid DPS gain. Properly enhancing Demonology Warlocks in Cataclysm Classic for tackling tough encounters effectively.

Best Gems for Demonology Warlock

The Gem choice can severely increase your gear characteristics. Prioritize socket bonus only when it’s decent (>20), otherwise, use Red gems.

• Meta Gem: Burning Shadowspirit Diamond
• Red: Brilliant Chimera’s Eye > Brilliant Queen’s Garnet > Brilliant Inferno Ruby
• Yellow: Artful Lava Coral > Artful Ember Topaz
• Blue: Veiled Shadow Spinel > Veiled Demonseye

Best Enchants for Demonology Warlock

The best enchants for Cata Classic Demonology Warlock come from professions, so make sure to choose a suitable one to supply yourself with the best options.

Enchanting has always been a profitable profession. You can also join this guild of craftsmen by studying Enchanting Profession and be ready to enhance your gear.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Consumables & Buffs

The Cata Demonology Warlock consumables vary significantly from Intellect-boosters to mana-buffers. With this pack, you will be prepared for any raid situation and every boss encounter. By the way, do not forget about the unique Warlock’s feature — Healthstones, which are not only used by you personally but also by the whole Raid or Dungeon. Place them before the encounter starts to supply the whole group.

Best Consumables for Demonology Warlock

The listed consumables are good both for normal end-game content and raid situations. You can study Alchemy to prepare your own potions or buy them in the Auction House. In any case, just have them in your inventory.

Flasks and Elixirs

• Flask of the Draconic Mind — +300 Intellect
• Cauldron of Battle — Provides a flask that grants +300 to a primary stat
• Elixir of Mighty Speed — +225 Haste Rating
• Elixir of Mighty Thoughts — +450 Max mana

Food

• Severed Sagefish Head — +90 Intellect and +90 Stamina
• Seafood Magnifique Feast — +90 to a primary stat and +90 Stamina

Potions

• Volcanic Potion — +1200 Spell Power for 25 sec

Spec Option

• Healthstone — 45% Health restoration

General Consumables

• Drums of Forgotten Kings — +4% Stats and Magic Resist
• Runescroll of Fortitude II — +468 Stamina
• Greater Rune of Warding — +25% chance to gain 400 Physical Damage Absorption

Raid Buffs

Looking for a good raid buffing party is quite influential if you want to save time and enjoy the process. Whether it’s a spell power buff or resource management enhancement, all will come in handy.

Enemy Debuffs

Similarly, as the raid buffs, we have options coming from raid members and pets.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Best Professions

And here we go with the list of the best professions for Cata Classic Demonolody Warlock in the end-game content. As we already mentioned, professions grant truly good benefits, if you succeed in training them.

So, the best options are:

• Engineering — the Cataclysm beloved profession, which provides exclusive consumables and enhancements, not to mention Synapse Springs for your gloves.
• Warlocks can also benefit from mobility boost via Nitro Boosts.
  Tailoring — allows you to enchant the cloak with Lightweave Embroidery, granting you an Intellect increase on proc. With the lack of a worthwhile cloak enchanting option, it can become your prioritized prof.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Rotation

Demonology Warlocks received a new spell called the Hand of Gul’dan. This spell in tandem with Cremation talent will automatically refresh Immolate. Additionally, there are two new abilities: a cooldown called Demon Soul and a buff called Dark Intent. Summon Felguard grants the most powerful Demon Soul bonus, while Summon Felhunter offers higher single-target DPS.

To achieve optimal DPS, you will use a strategy known as Pet Twisting, which we have already mentioned previously. It involves switching your summoned pet during the encounter for strategic optimization, and more detailed info can be found further in our guide.

Single Target and AoE Rotation

Pet Twisting

This strategy involves switching your summoned demons in Cataclysm Classic during a fight to maximize your damage output and adapt the pets to the situation. In our WoW Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock guide, we aimed to break down in detail how the strategy works:

• Starting the Fight — Summon Felguard: Begin the fight with your Felguard. This provides the best Demon Soul buff, which increases your haste by 15% and your damage by 10% for 20 seconds. The Felguard can also use the Felstorm ability, which is beneficial for area-of-effect (AOE) damage.

• Switching for Single-Target DPS — After Felstorm ends, use Soulburn to quickly summon a Felhunter. The Felhunter excels at single-target damage, making it more effective for single-target phases of the encounter.

• Repeating the Process — When Demon Soul: Felguard is almost ready to be used again, and the fight will last at least as long as the buff duration, resummon your Felguard. This ensures you can take advantage of the powerful Demon Soul buff. Use Soulburn to facilitate this quick switch.

• Resource Management — The ability to perform Pet Twisting depends on the number of soul shards you have. You will need to manage these resources to ensure you can summon your Felguard and Felhunter as needed throughout the fight.

• Timing with Other Cooldowns — Consider delaying the switch back to your Felguard if it allows you to align Demon Soul: Felguard with other significant cooldowns.

• Long Encounters — In longer fights, you may need to hard-cast demon summons during combat. This means manually casting the summoning spells without the aid of Soulburn to conserve your soul shards for critical moments.

Demonology Warlock Cooldowns

In Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock is one of the most wanted classes in any activity due to the variability of supportive abilities. Also, the offensive cooldowns that they use are powerful and damaging, which is proved by their DPS rates.

Abilities for Demonology Warlock in Cataclysm

Here we provide the list of the most prevalent Demonology Warlock’s abilities.

DoTs

• Bane of Doom — A long-lasting damage-over-time spell that periodically deals heavy damage to the target.
• Corruption — A damage-over-time spell that deals moderate shadow damage over a short duration.
• Bane of Agony — A damage-over-time spell that increases in damage over its duration.
• Immolate — A periodic damage spell that deals initial fire damage and additional fire damage over time.

Fillers

• Shadow Bolt — A basic spell that deals shadow damage to a single target.
• Incinerate —  A fire spell that deals direct damage, typically used in conjunction with Immolate.
• Soul Fire — A powerful fire spell that deals significant damage, with a longer cast time.
• Hellfire — An area-of-effect spell that deals continuous fire damage to nearby enemies, also damaging the caster.
• Shadowflame — An area-of-effect spell that deals shadow and fire damage to enemies in a cone in front of the caster.

Procs

• Molten Core — A proc that increases the damage and reduces the cast time of certain fire spells.
• Decimation — A proc that significantly reduces the cast time and increases the damage of Soul Fire when the target is below a certain health threshold.
• Demonform:
• Demon Leap — A spell that allows the Warlock to leap to a targeted area, dealing damage to enemies upon landing.
• Immolation Aura — An ability that surrounds the Warlock in flames, dealing continuous fire damage to nearby enemies.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock PvP

Is Demonoly Warlock viable in Cataclysm Classic PvP? Pretty much yes. Being vulnerable to interruptions, they still can enjoy the battle with the help of careful pet management and a melee range partner. Generally, you can outplay the enemy by casting silencing or interrupting abilities first. For this purpose, use Felhunter for Spell Lock or Incubus for Seduction.

Cataclysm Classic Demonology Warlock Macros

In Cataclysm Classic Macros can simplify the rotation of a Demonology Warlock by combining spells and abilities, allowing multiple actions with a single button press. In our guide, we gathered the proven variants to help you navigate and improve the quality of gaming.

We hope that with the help of our Demonology Warlock guide Cataclysm Classic will become one of your favorite expansions to play and train your Demonology abilities. The information about Demonology Warlock leveling, gearing, build preparation, and choosing consumables will be of use in your adventures. Practice more, hone your skills, and enjoy the game as the famous caster spec.