WoW Forever Warlock Leveling Guide 1-60: Spec & Talents
How to level a Warlock 1-60 in WoW Forever: Affliction spec, the reworked talents up to Wrack, Banes, easier Soul Shards and the demons you get along the way.
For WoW Forever Warlock leveling, play Affliction with your Voidwalker in front: your damage-over-time spells do the killing while the demon takes the hits, and Life Tap with Drain Life keeps you questing instead of drinking. Forever turns two curses into Banes, makes Drain Soul a steadier Soul Shard source and opens the class to Trolls.
Best Warlock leveling spec: Affliction
Warlock sits in A tier on our best class to level list. The plan is the same as in Classic: the Voidwalker holds the monster, Corruption and Bane of Agony tick, and you drain whatever is left. Forever does not change that loop; it smooths it.
Affliction is the tree built for that loop. It adds range, hit and threat reduction early, then stacks bonuses on drains and DoTs. Demonology's gold talents (Demonic Sacrifice at 11, Fel Domination at 16, Soul Link at 21, Demonic Pact at 31) revolve around sacrificing or protecting the pet, and Destruction's (Conflagrate at 16, Bane of Havoc at 21, Incinerate at 31) want you standing still and casting.
When to switch: at level 40 dual spec lets you keep Affliction for questing and add a dungeon spec. Soul Link moved down to 21 points, so a tougher-pet Demonology build is possible from level 30, but we would not respec out of Affliction for it while questing.
Affliction talent path for leveling
Talents open at level 10. If Classic's one point per level carries over, your 11th point lands at level 20, the 16th at 25, the 21st at 30 and the 31st at 40. On later characters the Legacy perk Talented unlocks points up to five levels sooner. Blizzard has named most of the new Affliction talents, but not every milestone, so we leave the unnamed ones as they are.
- Points 1-10: Improved Corruption, which keeps its cast-time role and now adds up to 10% Corruption damage, and Improved Life Tap, moved up to row 1. Then the row 2 picks: Improved Drains (up to 20% more from Drain Life, Drain Soul and Wrack) and Grim Reach (10/20% more Affliction range, the October 16 replacement for Malediction).
- Point 11 (level 20): the 11-point gold talent, which Blizzard has not named. Suppression is worth points around here: it now gives up to 5% hit and up to 20% less threat. Improved Bane of Agony now costs 2 points instead of 3.
- Points 12-15: Pandemic, a new row 3 talent that raises the crit damage bonus of Corruption, your Banes, drains, Siphon Life and Wrack by up to 100%. Fel Concentration now costs 3 points and also applies to Wrack.
- Point 16 (level 25): Curse of Exhaustion. Moved up to row 4 as the 16-point gold talent, a 30% movement slow. Nightfall in the same row now also triggers from Drain Soul and Wrack, and Malevolence adds up to 5% Shadow crit.
- Points 17-20: Soul Siphon (row 5): your drains hit harder for every other Affliction spell on the target, up to 36%. Shadow Mastery now gives 2/4/6/8/10% Shadow damage after the October 16 notes.
- Point 21 (level 30): the second unnamed milestone. Check the trainer when you get there.
- Point 31 (level 40): Wrack. Shadow damage every second, and the target takes 10% more damage from your other Shadow DoTs for 6 seconds.
Dark Pact, Improved Drain Life, Improved Drain Mana and Improved Curse of Weakness are gone in Forever, so an imported Classic build will not line up.
Key spells, demons and class quests
Forever sources do not list Warlock spell levels, so this table uses the Classic levels. The demon quests are Classic class quests that Blizzard has not announced as changed.
Warlock spells and demons that matter for leveling
| Level | Spell or demon | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shadow Bolt, Immolate, Imp | Starting kit and ranged pet | Classic |
| 4 | Corruption | Main DoT, instant with talents | Classic |
| 6 | Life Tap | Health into mana, now scales with Spirit | Classic and Forever |
| 8 | Bane of Agony, Fear | Second DoT and your escape | Classic and Forever |
| 10 | Voidwalker (class quest), Drain Soul | Your leveling tank and shard source | Classic |
| 14 | Drain Life | Heals you while it damages | Classic |
| 20 | Succubus (class quest), Demon Armor, Ritual of Summoning | Better armor and group summons | Classic |
| 30 | Felhunter (class quest), Hellfire | Anti-caster demon; Hellfire can now crit | Classic and Forever |
| 40 | Felsteed (class quest), dual spec | Your mount and a second spec | Classic and Forever |
The Incubus appears next to the Succubus in Forever's demon list. Blizzard has not said how you get it, but the October 16 notes fixed a bug that let the Reagent Economy perk summon it without a Soul Shard, so it costs a shard like the others.
Warlock leveling by bracket
WoW Forever Warlock leveling plan
| Levels | Focus | Key spells | Pull style |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-10 | Imp and DoTs | Shadow Bolt, Immolate, Corruption | DoT up, Shadow Bolt, wand to finish |
| 10-20 | Voidwalker tank | Drain Life, Drain Soul, Life Tap | Voidwalker in, DoTs, drain |
| 20-30 | Two-monster pulls | Fear, Demon Armor, Curse of Exhaustion | DoT both, Fear the second |
| 30-40 | Mount gold | Felhunter, Hellfire | Pick the demon for the enemy type |
| 40-50 | Wrack and dual spec | Wrack, Felsteed | DoTs on several monsters, Wrack the main one |
| 50-60 | Gear and shards | Top ranks, Healthstones | Same, plus dungeon runs |
1-10. Keep the Imp out and put Corruption and Bane of Agony on everything from level 8. A wand saves mana on the last few percent, but in Forever wands do not scale with spell power and need you to stand still for 0.5 seconds before shooting.
10-20. Do the Voidwalker quest the day you reach 10. The loop: send the Voidwalker, apply your DoTs, then Drain Life or Shadow Bolt, and Life Tap whenever your health is high. Drain Soul now has a chance to give a Soul Shard on each tick, and that chance grows every time it fails until a shard is certain. Starting another cast interrupts it.
20-30. The Succubus is a damage pet, but the Voidwalker stays the safer leveling choice. Fear the second monster while you finish the first, and once Curse of Exhaustion arrives at 25 you can slow a runner or kite. Your current pet is stunned while you summon a new one, so swap demons out of combat.
30-40. The Felhunter helps against casters. Hellfire can now crit, but it still burns your own health, so keep it for dungeons. Save gold, because the level 40 mount quest and training land together. The Drowned City dungeon sits at 35-40 in the beta notes.
40-50. Wrack comes online if you followed the path, and Pandemic makes your DoT crits hurt. Set up dual spec now if you want a dungeon build. Krol'dok Stronghold (40-45) is the new dungeon in this range.
50-60. Keep spell ranks current. Forever gives low-rank spells less spell damage and fewer procs, so downranking costs more than it did in Classic. Blackmaw Hold and Shaper's Terrace are the new dungeons for the last levels.
Forever changes that affect Warlocks
- Troll Warlocks: a new race and class combination for the Horde.
- Banes: Curse of Agony and Curse of Doom are now Banes, and only one of your Banes can be on a target. Effects that worked with curses also work with Banes.
- Curses: Curse of the Elements now covers all magic damage, and Curse of Shadows is removed.
- Firestone and Spellstone: now weapon imbues that stack with Wizard Oil. Firestone adds Fire damage and crit, Spellstone adds Shadow damage and spell haste.
- Pets scale from your stats, and Voidwalker Sacrifice scales with 10% of your spell healing.
- Life Tap scales with Spirit and Drain Soul gives shards more reliably.
- Wands and hit: wands lose spell power scaling, and one hit chance now covers spells and melee.
- Reagent Economy: the Legacy perk removes purchasable reagents from class abilities, but Soul Shards still apply.
Professions, gear and dungeons
Tailoring and Enchanting fit a Warlock the same way they fit any cloth caster, and both earn Legacy Points at 150, 225 and 300 skill. Warlocks spend more gold than most classes, so one gathering profession until your mount is a sensible start. Our professions guide has the details.
Stamina and Spirit matter more for a Forever Warlock than they did in Classic: Stamina feeds Life Tap and survival, Spirit now raises what Life Tap returns, and your demons scale from your stats. Add Intellect and spell damage as your gear improves, and value hit since it now covers everything.
In dungeons you bring DoT damage, Healthstones, a Soulstone and Ritual of Summoning to gather the group. Curse of the Elements now boosts all magic damage on the target, which helps every caster in your party. See our dungeons guide for the new dungeons and their level ranges.
WoW Forever leveling services
WoW Forever Powerleveling
- Any Range 1-60
- Launch-Day Start
- Riding & Gear Add-ons
WoW Forever Leveling Bundles
- 4 Bundle Tiers
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WoW Forever Hourly Driving
- Pay Per Hour
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WoW Forever Dungeon Bundle
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WoW Forever Warlock Leveling FAQ
What is the best Warlock spec for leveling in WoW Forever?
Affliction. Your Voidwalker tanks while Corruption, Bane of Agony and your drains do the damage, and the tree adds range, hit, threat reduction and Curse of Exhaustion at 16 points.
Can Trolls be Warlocks in WoW Forever?
Yes. Troll Warlock is one of the new race and class combinations. Humans, Gnomes, Orcs and Undead can also play Warlock.
When do Warlocks get the Voidwalker in WoW Forever?
At level 10 from a class quest, as in Classic. Blizzard has not announced changes to the demon quests, so we expect the Succubus at 20, Felhunter at 30 and Felsteed at 40 as well.
Do Warlocks still need Soul Shards in WoW Forever?
Yes. Drain Soul now has a chance to give a shard on each tick, and that chance rises after every miss until a shard is guaranteed, so farming them is less work.
What are Banes in WoW Forever?
Curse of Agony and Curse of Doom became Bane of Agony and Bane of Doom. Each Warlock can have only one Bane on a target, and Destruction adds Bane of Havoc at 21 points.
Is Warlock a good class to level in WoW Forever?
Yes. We rank it in A tier: the Voidwalker tanks, you rarely drink, and Fear gets you out of bad pulls. The main cost is gold for training, shards and the level 40 mount quest.
Related guides
Plan your route with the WoW Forever leveling guide, see where Warlock ranks on our best class to level list and estimate your time to 60 with the leveling calculator. Comparing casters? Read the Mage leveling guide or the Hunter leveling guide for the other pet class. Budget your level 40 mount with the riding and mounts guide and earn account bonuses through Legacy challenges. Short on time? See WoW Forever Powerleveling.