Affliction Affliction warlocks are masters of shadow-touched powers, but unlike shadow priests—deadliest when pushed to the brink of insanity—these warlocks delight in using fel forces to cause intense pain and suffering in others. They revel in corrupting minds and agonizing souls, leaving enemies in a state of torment that would see them undone in due time. Even the most battle-hardened warriors can be deceived, landing blow after blow against the warlock, only to succumb to their suffering as their very vitality is siphoned away by the dark spellcaster.
"These warlocks delight in using fel forces to cause intense pain and suffering in others"
Gameplay
Affliction Warlocks’ gameplay has always aligned well with their character, but in terms of abilities, we want to avoid the feeling that DoTs are amplifiers for your channeled single-target damage. Applying spells that do damage over time is very core to Affliction, so we want to reinforce these spells as the primary source of damage, with other “filler” spells feeling more secondary. We’re adjusting the Affliction rotation so that DoTs are stronger, and your focus is more on figuring out how best to juggle those DoTs to maximize damage output.
Mechanically, we’re altering how Soul Shards are generated and spent, in part to better deliver on the more DoT-driven damage. Soul Shards are now generated by each Agony you have up on your targets, instead of only by your most recent Corruption cast, to favor placing DoTs on several targets rapidly (multi-dotting). You’ll then spend Soul Shards on an extremely strong DoT in Unstable Affliction, reinforcing the focus on DoTs.
Finally, in keeping with the Affliction theme, Drain Life serves as the main filler spell, instead of Malefic Grasp or Drain Soul. This better matches the Affliction identity because its damage stays secondary to the DoTs, which should be the primary focus of damage, instead of dwarfing them. It also adds significant self-healing, further playing to the Affliction motif.
To give you an idea of the Affliction Warlock in action, here’s a basic look at their core combat abilities:
- Corruption
- 3% Mana, 40 yd range, Instant
- Corrupts the target, causing moderate Shadow damage over 14 sec.
- Agony
- 3% Mana, 40 yd range, Instant
- Inflicts increasing agony on the target, causing up to a huge amount of Shadow damage over 18 sec. Damage starts low and increases over the duration. Refreshing Agony maintains its current damage level.
- When Agony deals damage, you have a chance to regain a Soul Shard.
- Unstable Affliction
- 1 Soul Shard, 40 yd range, 1.5 sec cast
- An especially insidious affliction that deals strong Shadow damage over 8 sec.
- If the target dies, the Soul Shard will be refunded.
- If Unstable Affliction is dispelled, the dispeller suffers strong Shadow damage and is silenced for 4 sec.
- Drain Life
- 3% Mana, plus 4,800 per sec, 40 yd range, Channeled
- Drains life from the target, causing moderate shadow damage and restoring 18% of the caster’s health over 6 sec.
- Drain Life’s damage is increased by 50% for each of your Corruption, Agony, and Unstable Affliction effects on the target.
- Mastery: Potent Afflictions
- Increases the damage of Agony, Corruption, and Unstable Affliction by 62.5% (with Mastery from typical gear).
Additionally, to provide a glimpse at how some talents may build upon this, here’s one example of an Affliction-specific talent:
- Contagion
- Passive
- After you cast Unstable Affliction, you can cast a second one for free, within 3 seconds.