Is Warlock for you in WoW Forever? A self-sufficient class with one catch

A Warlock's good day and bad day

Our episode opens in our own beta footage from the Deadmines: the tank left during VanCleef, so our level 18 Warlock tanked Cookie, sacrificed the Voidwalker for a shield and kept casting until the Shaman's heal landed. Three players finished the fight. That is the class in one scene: unusually self-sufficient.

The other half is the bad day, our version of a widely upvoted Reddit joke about rolling a Warlock. A Feared murloc runs back to its village, the Voidwalker loses most of the pack, the run ends at the graveyard, and the Warlock returns with no shards, an Imp and a lot of Life Tap and eating. Our take: the Warlock is one of the most versatile classes in Forever, great solo and useful in a group. Its catch is dying, and running into more than it can handle, whether murlocs or a group of players.

Sources: Player post: Reality of rolling a Warlock (satire, not a test)

Banes, curses and demons

Forever split Bane of Agony and Bane of Doom off from curses, so one Bane and one Curse from the same Warlock can sit on a target together. Curse of Tongues, from 26, makes a caster's spells take 50% longer, rising to 60% at rank 2. Curse of Exhaustion, an Affliction talent at 16 points that requires Amplify Curse, slows by 30% for 12 seconds. Curse of Weakness reduces the target's physical damage by a fixed amount, and Curse of Recklessness lowers a target's armor and stops it fleeing; the trade-off is that it also ignores your Fear.

Fear arrives at 8, Banish at 28 for demons and elementals, and Drain Mana at 24, channelling a caster's mana into yours. Demons add more: the Succubus or Incubus can Seduce a humanoid, and the Felhunter removes one magic effect with Devour Magic from 30 and gains Spell Lock at 36. Demon abilities are still learned from grimoires bought at the demon trainer. Fear can send a mob back to its camp, so it is safer when there is room to run; next to a pack, let the demon hold the target.

Sources: Blizzard class deep dive: Rogue and Warlock, October 7 · Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: Warlock export of client build 70425, checked October 21

Affliction, Demonology and Destruction

Affliction stacks effects on a target and lets them work, with Drain Life keeping you healthy. Blizzard's deep dive confirms that Affliction's damage over time can now crit, and Pandemic raises the critical damage bonus of its damage over time and drain spells. It suits players who want a calm, steady fight. The tree ends in Wrack, a 6 second channel at 31 points.

Demonology is the demon spec. Demonic Sacrifice, at 11 points, trades the demon for a 2 hour buff. Soul Link, at 21 points, redirects 30% of the damage you take to your active demon and adds 3% damage for both. Demonic Pact, at 31 points, keeps the Sacrifice buff while you summon a different kind of demon, so you get both.

Destruction is for players who want to feel each hit. Conflagrate, at 16 points, is an instant hit on a 10 second cooldown that consumes your Immolate. Shadow and Flame later links Fire and Shadow damage, and Incinerate, at 31 points, hits harder against a target with Immolate. Normal talent progression reaches 21 points at 30 and 31 at 40.

Sources: Blizzard class deep dive: Rogue and Warlock, October 7 · Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: Warlock export of client build 70425, checked October 21

Leveling without breaks, and a lot of buttons

A big part of the appeal is how rarely a Warlock stops. The demon holds a mob much like a Hunter's pet, and in the client data damage to you interrupts Mining, Herbalism and Skinning, so you can gather while the demon keeps the aggro. From 24 the Voidwalker learns Suffering, which generates threat on enemies within 10 yards, on a 2 minute cooldown. On a normal day the demon takes the hits, Drain Life restores health and Life Tap turns it into mana, so you rarely sit down.

The toolkit is one of the largest in the game. A calm fight uses a handful of buttons; the rest is for when three enemies arrive at once and each needs a different answer. If that sounds like fun, the class rewards it. If you want four buttons and a simple plan, it can feel like homework.

Sources: Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: Warlock export of client build 70425, checked October 21

The catch: no way out, and the rebuild

There is no blink or sprint, and longer casts keep you standing still. Fear and, for Affliction, Curse of Exhaustion can hold a chaser off. Howl of Terror at 40 makes up to 5 nearby enemies flee after a 2 second cast, and Death Coil at 42 horrifies one target for 3 seconds and heals you. They can create an opening, but no burst of speed. Our take: one on one, a Warlock usually holds its own; a group of players is a different story.

Dying is where the bill arrives. The demon does not come back with you, and the Demonic Sacrifice buffs end on death in the client data. Then come a fresh Soulstone, a new Healthstone if you used yours, your armor and your mana. The Imp is free, but the Voidwalker, Succubus, Incubus and Felhunter each cost a Soul Shard to summon, and so do Healthstones, Soulstones, Ritual of Summoning, Firestones and Spellstones. Forever helps refill: Drain Soul can grant a shard while it ticks on a target worth experience, and killing such a target with Drain Soul always grants one.

Shards still need room in your bags; the base item does not stack in the client data, and a Soul Pouch exists for them. As one player put it, people don't say Warlocks are bad, they say they're inconvenient. Firestone and Spellstone are now weapon imbues, and in the game data the Felsteed mount comes from a level 40 class quest.

Sources: Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: Warlock export of client build 70425, checked October 21 · · ForeverDB: Soul Pouch item record · Player comment quoted as an opinion

Two tricks, groups and PvP

Eye of Kilrogg, from 22, summons a fast, fragile eye you steer to scout a zone or dungeon for rares and patrols. Soulstone, from 18, can be placed on yourself or an ally and lets them rise where they died. The episode suggests putting one on the healer before a likely wipe, and describes a trash-skipping trick: Soulstone yourself, die past a pack, wait for it to reset, then rise. We have not tested that skip ourselves.

In a group you are damage; no tree makes a Warlock a tank or healer. Curse of the Elements now boosts every school of magic, so it can sit on a boss beside your own Bane. Rain of Fire arrives at 20 and Hellfire at 30, which also burns you. Ritual of Summoning needs a shard and two helpers out of combat, and the Imp's Blood Pact raises party Stamina. In PvP your damage over time and Fear keep pressure on, but Spell Lock, Howl of Terror and Death Coil only arrive in your late 30s and early 40s. An Orc can strip your curses and Banes with Shatter Curse, and Undead can break Fear.

Sources: Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: Warlock export of client build 70425, checked October 21 · Blizzard class deep dive: Rogue and Warlock, October 7 · Development notes for the October 15 update (post 6)

Races and who should play it

Five races can be Warlocks: Human and Gnome for the Alliance, Orc, Undead and Troll for the Horde. Humans get 5% more Spirit, which feeds Life Tap, plus 2% crit and a stun break. Gnomes get 5% more mana, Escape Artist and Eureka, which makes direct damage spells cheaper and stronger for 8 seconds. Orcs have Blood Fury and shorter stuns, Undead break Fear, Charm and Sleep, and Trolls have Berserking and Rapid Regeneration.

The episode's verdict: yes for solo questers who enjoy managing a demon and two resource bars, for returning Classic Warlocks, and for players who like learning a system. A maybe for players whose sessions are often cut short, because the rebuild after death costs them most; the Normal ruleset, where PvP is optional, may suit them. No for anyone who wants to tank or heal.

Sources: Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0: Warlock export of client build 70425, checked October 21 · Blizzard: Choose Your Ruleset