Demonology By their very nature, demons are leeches on the living universe—but the demonologist has mastered harnessing the power of these malefic beings on the field of battle. Warlocks harvest the souls of their defeated enemies; those specialized in the ways of demonology use this life essence to tap into the Void, pulling all manner of abomination from the chaos of the Twisting Nether. While such a practice is often considered by outsiders to be wicked and reckless, the demonologist maintains absolute control over the summoned creatures. These malignant entities are fully beholden to—and empowered by—the will of the warlock, until banished to the realm from whence they came.
"The demonologist has mastered harnessing the power of malefic beings on the field of battle"
Gameplay
While all Warlocks maintain the power to summon demons, Demonology is distinguished by the ability to call forth waves of demons to overwhelm the opposition, and also to further empower the demons they summon. Over the years we strayed too far from this design, to the extent that Demonology gameplay was defined more by the Warlock becoming a demon. Legion provides a fitting opportunity for us to realign the spec around its core function of mastering control of demons, not transforming into them.
We also recognize that Demonology had a large array of intertwined mechanics that weren’t intuitive, and they’ve undergone a greater degree of redesign as a result. For those who played Demonology during Warlords of Draenor, the gameplay will feel quite different in Legion. Beta test feedback will be essential in helping us to ensure that the new spec feels strong and enjoyable and that we’ve accomplished our goal of returning Demonology to its foundations.
To give you an idea of the Demonology Warlock in action, here’s a basic look at their core combat abilities:
- Shadow Bolt
- 6% Mana, 40 yd range, 2.5 sec cast
- Sends a shadowy bolt at the enemy, causing minor Shadow damage. Generates 1 Soul Shard.
- Call Dreadstalkers
- 2 Soul Shards, 40 yd range, 2 sec cast, 15 sec cooldown
- Summon 2 ferocious Dreadstalkers to attack the target for 12 sec.
- Hand of Gul’dan
- 1 to 5 Soul Shards, 40 yd range, 1.5 sec cast
- Calls down a demonic meteor full of Wild Imps which burst forth to attack the target for 12 sec.
- Deals up to a strong amount of Shadow damage to all enemies within 8 yds and summons up to 5 Wild Imps, based on Soul Shards consumed.
- Demonic Empowerment
- 6% Mana, 1.5 sec cast, 12 sec recharge, 3 charges
- Empowers up to 3 of your active demons with dark energies, increasing their Haste and health by 50% for 12 sec.
- Prefers stronger demons first.
- Mastery: Master Demonologist
- Demonic Empowerment also increases the damage of your demons by 50% (with Mastery from typical gear).
- Doom
- 2% Mana, 40 yd range, Instant
- Inflicts impending doom upon the target, causing absolutely massive Shadow damage after 20 seconds
- Generates a Soul Shard when it deals damage.
- Demonwrath
- 2.5% Mana per sec, Channeled
- Your demons crackle with demonic energy. Every 1 sec, all enemies within 10 yds of any of your demons take minor Shadow damage.
- Each time Demonwrath deals damage, it has a 15% chance to generate a Soul Shard.
- May be channeled while moving.
Additionally, to provide a glimpse at how some talents may build upon this, here’s one example of a Demonology-specific talent:
- Implosion
- 6% Mana, Instant
- Causes all of your Wild Imps to be violently yanked toward the target, and then explode, dealing moderate Shadow damage to all enemies near them.