PvE Destruction Warlock

Destruction Warlocks are powerhouse damage dealers and a force to be reckoned with in Mists of Pandaria Classic. They’re likely to be the strongest of the three Warlock specializations in the early phases of the expansion and should remain strong into the final tier. The build is also more straightforward than its siblings, eschewing most of the class’s DoTs and demon abilities to focus on dealing big damage with its direct attacks. This guide will lay out how to build, gear, and play your Destruction Warlock to dominate MoP Classic’s PvE endgame. The menu below will lead you to other sections of this guide.

Changes in Mists of Pandaria

The Warlock in Mists of Pandaria is widely considered to be one of the best examples of class design in all of World of Warcraft. All three specializations receive an overhaul, highlighting their unique mechanics and class fantasy. For Destruction, that means emphasizing your direct damage through fire spells – lots of fire spells. Some Warlocks just want to watch the world burn.

Most of your spells will be familiar if you played a Destruction Warlock in Cataclysm, but there are some new mechanics to master. Many of your fire spells will generate Burning Embers, and these will be spent on Chaos Bolt and Shadowburn for bursts of damage whenever you have buffs available. The only DoT you’ll be managing now is Immolate (along with any Curse you are responsible for), and you will typically not need to micromanage a demon pet due to Grimoire of Sacrifice.

Your mobility will be stronger than ever with Burning Rush, a new talent that lets you sprint indefinitely – although it drains your health to do so. Thankfully you have traded in your Life Tap for Ember Tap, giving you an on-demand self-heal.

Keep in mind that we will see class tuning from Patch 5.4.8 right from the get-go in MoP Classic. This will make the early phases play out a little differently than they did in the original Mists of Pandaria. Many old guides and data sets from the original version of the expansion will no longer be accurate for this reason.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

• Exceptional All-Around Damage
  Burn, baby, burn! Destruction Warlocks will dominate the damage meters on most fights. They are capable of solid burst damage, but also have stronger sustained damage than their Demonology counterparts. They aren’t as gear-dependent as Affliction Warlocks either. The spec will do the most single-target damage of the three, and also does great on cleave and AoE encounters. All around, you can expect to do some consistently good DPS on your Destro Lock regardless of the fight or phase.

• Straightforward Rotation
  You won’t have to contend with most of the micromanagement that Warlocks typically require. You only have one DoT to keep track of, and you won’t be using a demon pet in most fights. While you do have to keep track of Burning Embers, the build is altogether simpler to manage than either Affliction or Demonology (or many other DPS specs).

• Good Mobility
  You won’t feel like the slowest member of your group anymore with the addition of Burning Rush (as long as you’re careful not to accidentally burn to death). Your Demonic Circle: Summon + Demonic Circle: Teleport combo give you the ability to instantly cross the battlefield, and Demonic Gateway does the same for up to 5 players at a time.

• Excellent Group Utility
  Warlocks have always been desirable in groups for their unique utility. You have a valuable raid debuff in Curse of the Elements as well as an equally valuable buff in Dark Intent. You have lots of tools for kiting and crowd control and you can battle rez with Soulstone. Your Ritual of Summoning can round up wayward teammates as easy as “123.” The Healthstones from your Create Soulwell can be invaluable for progression. Each of your demon pets also brings some utility of their own.

Weaknesses

• Cooldown/Proc Reliant
  You’ll be spending your time generating Burning Embers to burn when you have a cooldown or proc available, which results in stretches of lower damage punctuated by bursts when you can fire off buffed Chaos Bolts or Shadowburns. When you don’t have any good buffs available, or if you haven’t generated enough Burning Embers when they are available, the spec will feel significantly weaker.

• Less Utility Than Other Warlocks
  While you still have all of the class’s basic group utility, you won’t have quite as much flexibility as Affliction or Demonology since you won’t typically have a demon pet active. This reduces your access to their unique utility spells, although you can gain one from Grimoire of Sacrifice. You also won’t be able to tank in a pinch like Demonology.

Best Races

Alliance

The best Alliance race for Demonology Warlocks in Mists of Pandaria is Gnome due to their Expansive Mind and Shortblade Specialization racial abilities. Since Intellect no longer increases your mana pool, Expansive Mind is one of the few ways you can add to your mana pool in MoP Classic. Shortblade Specialization will help you reach the lofty 15% Hit cap as long as you are using a Dagger or Sword.

• Dwarf: Crack Shot, Explorer, Frost Resistance, Mace Specialization, Stoneform
• Gnome: Arcane Resistance, Engineering Specialization, Escape Artist, Expansive Mind, Shortblade Specialization
• Human: Diplomacy, Mace Specialization, Sword Specialization, The Human Spirit, Will to Survive
• Worgen: Aberration, Darkflight, Flayer, Running Wild, Viciousness

Horde

The best Horde race for Demonology Warlocks in Mists of Pandaria is Troll because of their Berserking racial ability, which acts as an extra Haste cooldown. Orc is not far behind with the extra pet damage from Command.

• Blood Elf: Arcane Affinity, Arcane Resistance, Arcane Torrent
• Goblin: Best Deals Anywhere, Better Living Through Chemistry, Pack Hobgoblin, Rocket Barrage, Rocket Jump, Time is Money
• Orc: Blood Fury, Axe Specialization, Hardiness, Command
• Troll: Beast Slaying, Berserking, Da Voodoo Shuffle, Dead Eye, Regeneration
• Undead: Cannibalize, Shadow Resistance, Touch of the Grave, Will of the Forsaken