What 2 specs can I get by with?

[Velky]

I always level a ton of characters up each expansion and am currently working on my warlock. I never have issues with rotations regardless of the class, and would like to know which two specs will get me by for a majority of content. I'll be looking to do anywheres from LFR up to maybe some Mythic bosses when the gear starts flowing in.

Suggestions?

[Baconeggcheese]

destro / demo.

Not a super pressing reason to play aff ever at the moment.

Gear translates better between them, and destro covers most fights. The fights it doesn't you can play demo for.

You could also be demo / aff as the gear would work out well between those two.

[Velky]

destro / demo.

Not a super pressing reason to play aff ever.

Gear translates better between them, and destro covers most fights. The fights it doesn't you can play demo for.

Thanks 1

[Skygoneblue]

Demonology will need to be one of the specs. The on-demand burst and reliable resource generation makes it great for encounters that have rapidly changing dps demands. The Demonic Leap is pretty much the best gtfo button we have, too.

As for the other, I'm inclined to say Destruction just because it's easier than Affliction, and although multi-dotting is often touted as a huge benefit of the spec, I haven't found it to be all that potent compared to just keeping Immolate up and cleaving with Havoc.

[striderZA]

destro / demo.

Not a super pressing reason to play aff ever at the moment.

I was thinking the same, Crit/Mastery works well between the two. The only encounter that I would prefer Aff is Butcher, but it'll be a while before we get there.

[PhilUK]

I'd like to ask 2 questions myself as I'm also a bit new. What generally are each specs good for at the moment? Also if I was to pick between demo or desto for ms which one should I take for the current tier?

[Tramzh]

I'd like to ask 2 questions myself as I'm also a bit new. What generally are each specs good for at the moment? Also if I was to pick between demo or desto for ms which one should I take for the current tier?

Aff: Single target damage and multi target dot dps on longer living targets. Good fights: Kargath, Butcher, Twins, Brackenspore (if your damage on spore shooters is sufficient), works fine on Ko'ragh.
Destro: Cleave, decent single target, ok aoe. Good fights: Kargath, Brackenspore, Ko'ragh, Imperator, works fine on Tectus.
Demo: AoE burst, physical dps niche, decent multi target damage. Good fights: Tectus, Ko'ragh, Twin Ogron.

If you have to stick to 1 spec I'd suggest going with destructrion.

[Skygoneblue]

I presume you mean Mythic Kargath and Butcher, Tramzh? On Amy difficulty before that, there's no compelling reason to go Affliction.

[Strifey]

I prefer Aff/Destro.

In terms of mythic mechanics, only fight demo excels at is Tectus, but destro still does relatively well.
Demo on Ko'ragh is really situational if you raid needs more physical damage through Chaos spells, but single target damage to Ko'ragh they are vastly inferior and are propped up by AoE damage on adds which isn't really an issue for most raids.

Aff is the best single target though and good for Twins as well.

Destro for kargath (would use aff if blizzard would fix dots not ticking on dazed tigers....)
Aff for Twins
Destro for Brackenspore
Destro for Tectus
Aff for Butcher
Aff for Ko'ragh (especially since I do shields)
Destro for Imperator progression currently.

[Gaidax]

Destruction/Whatever you like

[DeadmanWalking]

You know I hear a lot of talk about the burst and mobility of demonology but even though I have been pugging normal and heroics almost every week since release (and then re-running with a few puggers in my guilds runs on weekends) I have yet to see a single warlock playing demonology. Its always been destro warlocks and on one fight there was an affliction warlock in the group. Personally all my gear ended up luckily going crit-mastery-multi so I stayed destro, I would love to play demo but I lost my muscle memory for it and I only have 2 pieces of gear with haste on it.

[Jessicka]

You know I hear a lot of talk about the burst and mobility of demonology but even though I have been pugging normal and heroics almost every week since release (and then re-running with a few puggers in my guilds runs on weekends) I have yet to see a single warlock playing demonology. Its always been destro warlocks and on one fight there was an affliction warlock in the group. Personally all my gear ended up luckily going crit-mastery-multi so I stayed destro, I would love to play demo but I lost my muscle memory for it and I only have 2 pieces of gear with haste on it.

It's because the mobility of Demo only happens if you use Cataclysm to have the spare Fury, that in turn is a massive hit on ST damage. Means it's okay on Tectus and Twins, but elsewhere you're better off using something else.

[Leyl]

I'm playing all three specs this tier. I just kinda have to given things in my particular situation. I know it means more gear shopping, more enchants, but it is what it is. I'm also using Action Bar Saver. This add-on makes life better.

[Deleted]

You know I hear a lot of talk about the burst and mobility of demonology but even though I have been pugging normal and heroics almost every week since release (and then re-running with a few puggers in my guilds runs on weekends) I have yet to see a single warlock playing demonology. Its always been destro warlocks and on one fight there was an affliction warlock in the group. Personally all my gear ended up luckily going crit-mastery-multi so I stayed destro, I would love to play demo but I lost my muscle memory for it and I only have 2 pieces of gear with haste on it.

Demonology is only "mobile" when they're not specced into Demonbolt, like Jessicka said. But still, there is corruption, there is hand of gul'dan and doom, so i can't complain about not having anything to do when moving either way.
The actual reason why people main Demonology is, i think, its versatility. It quite literally is Destruction and Affliction combined into one (heavy nukes and strong DoTs) with a little unique spin.

[DeadmanWalking]

Demonology is only "mobile" when they're not specced into Demonbolt, like Jessicka said. But still, there is corruption, there is hand of gul'dan and doom, so i can't complain about not having anything to do when moving either way.
The actual reason why people main Demonology is, i think, its versatility. It quite literally is Destruction and Affliction combined into one (heavy nukes and strong DoTs) with a little unique spin.

I'm not questioning its mobility or burst, I'm noting that my reality is that in all the pugs I have been in (and I do a lot of pugging) I have yet to see a single warlock playing demonology. If they are supposed to be the better spec why am I not seeing more? I have seen probably 30 other warlocks in my groups (estimate) since wod started and I have seen 29 destro warlocks and 1 affliction warlock but 0 demonology. The vast majority of warlocks I have crossed paths with are staying destruction warlocks, why is this? Destro excells at 1 or 2 fights in all of highmaul and does good in the rest where the majority of fights tend to swing in demo's favor.

[Skygoneblue]

I think Destruction still appeals to people as the easiest spec to play, despite the intricacies it can require. Tard-mode Destruction (Immolate up, Conflag, and spam Incinerate) is still easier than tard-mode Hand of Gul'dan, Corruption, and Doom up with Shadow Bolts or Soul Fires depending on your stance, spec, etc.

[Deleted]

I'm not questioning its mobility or burst, I'm noting that my reality is that in all the pugs I have been in (and I do a lot of pugging) I have yet to see a single warlock playing demonology. If they are supposed to be the better spec why am I not seeing more? I have seen probably 30 other warlocks in my groups (estimate) since wod started and I have seen 29 destro warlocks and 1 affliction warlock but 0 demonology. The vast majority of warlocks I have crossed paths with are staying destruction warlocks, why is this? Destro excells at 1 or 2 fights in all of highmaul and does good in the rest where the majority of fights tend to swing in demo's favor.

Because Demo edges out Destro IF you can achieve near perfect play, and even then, some fights still favor Destro. But then Destro and Aff are significantly easier to play, and average pugs are far from perfect, in which case having a Destro + Aff combo edges out or comes equal to Demo on most fights.

I mean, from my understanding from reading this forum (disclaimer: I have not stepped into mythic yet), the only fight where Demo is far superior to Aff/Destro is Tectus, and you can do every other mythic fight as either Destro or Aff without being a burden for your raid.

Then add to that that average pugs aren't even close to the level of play required to make Demo work, which pushes it further down. Sure they'll suck ass on Tectus, but unless we're talking about Mythic Tectus they'll just get carried without much problem.

I'm actually in that situation right now. I never played warlock before WoD boosted one at launch and it's my main right now. I just haven't had the time to properly learn every spec, my guild isn't yet in front of Mythic Tectus, mainspec Aff + Offspec Destro gets me through normal/heroic really well (though my destro play still needs a bit of work) and I'm pretty sure my guild prefers carrying my shitty dps on Tectus than waiting for me to TP and respec for one boss that we'll kill anyway wether I respec or not.

[striderZA]

Demonology is only "mobile" when they're not specced into Demonbolt, like Jessicka said. But still, there is corruption, there is hand of gul'dan and doom, so i can't complain about not having anything to do when moving either way.

There aren't a whole lot of fights where you would want to play Demonbolt though. Kargath and Butcher come to mind, for anything else where you would want to play Demo, Cataclysm becomes exceptional, especially since you have all that fury to move around with.

The actual reason why people main Demonology is, i think, its versatility. It quite literally is Destruction and Affliction combined into one (heavy nukes and strong DoTs) with a little unique spin.

That's the reason I fell in love with the spec, so many variations in playstyle can yield similar results, and it's adaptable to nearly every situation you can throw at it.

[ThrashMetalFtw]

You know I hear a lot of talk about the burst and mobility of demonology but even though I have been pugging normal and heroics almost every week since release (and then re-running with a few puggers in my guilds runs on weekends) I have yet to see a single warlock playing demonology. Its always been destro warlocks and on one fight there was an affliction warlock in the group. Personally all my gear ended up luckily going crit-mastery-multi so I stayed destro, I would love to play demo but I lost my muscle memory for it and I only have 2 pieces of gear with haste on it.

Because pugs will always play Destro, no matter how OP the 2 other specs are. t14 Aff godmode? t15 Demo shining once you got UVLS? t16 Aff retardness on Protectors? Ppl still stuck to Destro, because the basic rotation is impossible to fail at (even if Aff without snapshotting is arguably easier...).

The only time I have seen ppl play anything else, is in pugs organized by Mythic raiders.

[Deleted]

there was always a strong destro bias in the warlock comunity and its not based on pure numbers its just easier to play for most people.
often times i read things like "destro is a must have spec". i for myself dont think so. or maybe its just my demo bias i dont know

demo for example does similiar things as destro, but often times your personal preference in playstyle is what makes the difference and how you would perform on different situations. almost truer than ever is pick two specs u like to play and you are set even in mythic progress.