WoW Forever Warlock guide: leveling 1-60, talents and level 60

WOW FOREVER · CLASS GUIDE

Updated November 3, 2026

Overview Leveling 1-60 How to play Level 60 PvP Professions Still to come Macros Calculator

Overview

The Warlock is a caster who fights with a demon at their side and spends their own health as a resource. Forever reworks it a lot: Curse of Agony and Curse of Doom are now «Banes» (you can keep one Bane and one Curse on the same target), demons scale with your gear, and every tree has a new capstone (Wrack, Demonic Pact and Incinerate). Pick it if you like leveling solo, rarely stopping to rest, and bringing summons and stones to your group.

Strengths

One of the best solo levelers: your demon takes the hits while your damage over time does the killing.
Almost never stops to drink: Life Tap turns health into mana and Drain Life gives the health back.
Plenty of crowd control: Fear, Howl of Terror, Death Coil, Banish and the Succubus or Incubus Seduction.
Utility everyone wants: Healthstones, Soulstones and Ritual of Summoning (in Forever the group finder does not teleport you).
Demons scale with your stats, so your pet stays useful all the way to 60 (though since November 2 they get far less health from your Stamina).
A free mount at level 40 from a class quest, which saves you the mount gold.

Weaknesses

Wears cloth: if your demon dies or several enemies reach you, you go down fast.
Relies on Soul Shards for almost everything: demons, stones and summons.
Many channeled spells: interrupts or moving out of range cut them short (drains break as soon as you leave range).
Fear has a 20-yard range in Forever, and a feared enemy can come back with friends if you are careless.
You juggle a lot at once: demon, damage over time effects, health, mana and shards.

The specs

Affliction	Ranged DPS (damage over time) · Solo leveling and raids You stack Corruption, Bane of Agony and Siphon Life and let them work while you drain. In Forever damage over time can crit (Malevolence and Pandemic build on that), and the capstone, Wrack, is a channel that boosts your other Shadow damage over time. It is the most recommended leveling tree.
Demonology	Pet DPS with high survivability · Safe play, PvP and anyone who wants a strong demon Empowers your demon (Unholy Power, Demonic Knowledge, Demonic Brand) and you (Demonic Embrace, Soul Link). With the capstone, Demonic Pact, you can sacrifice one demon and summon another without losing the buff. It comes online later than Affliction, but it is very solid once the key talents are in.
Destruction	Ranged DPS (direct damage) · Dungeons, burst damage and PvP Fire and Shadow up front: Immolate, Conflagrate (now from level 25), Shadowburn and the new Incinerate as its capstone. Shadow and Flame stops Conflagrate from eating Immolate and refunds Shadowburn's shard, and since November 2 it raises your Shadow or Fire damage by up to 20% (it was 10%). It is the hardest tree to level solo, but it shines in groups.

Recommended races

Human (Alliance)	Ruthless gives 1% crit and The Human Spirit 10% more Spirit, which in Forever raises what Life Tap returns. Will to Survive breaks stuns in PvP.
Gnome (Alliance)	Expansive Mind gives 5% more mana and Escape Artist frees you from slows. Eureka! only affects non-periodic damage, so it suits Destruction better than Affliction.
Orc (Horde)	Blood Fury raises spell power by 10% and Command (back in Blizzard's last racial pass) gives your demon 5% more damage. Hardiness shortens stuns. Great for Demonology.
Undead (Horde)	Will of the Forsaken breaks Fear, Charm and Sleep, which is gold in PvP. Touch of the Grave heals you as you deal damage and Cannibalize restores health and mana.
Troll (Horde)	New as a Warlock in Forever. Berserking speeds up casts (not periodic damage) and Rapid Regeneration heals half your health, which you can then Life Tap into mana.

Leveling 1-60

Leveling spec: Affliction

Affliction is the safest pick and the one nearly every guide recommends. Your demon (the Voidwalker from level 10) takes the hits, you apply damage over time and finish with a wand until 30. From there you switch to «drain tanking»: Drain Life heals you while it deals damage and you barely stop between fights. Life Tap when you have more health than mana, Drain Life when you have more mana than health. Careful: since November 2 demons only gain 2 health per point of your Stamina (it was 7.5), so the Voidwalker holds up a lot less as you level: be careful sending it into several enemies at once and watch its health (Health Funnel, Consume Shadows). If you would rather have a very strong demon and lean less on gear, Demonology also levels very well from around 25-30.

Talents, point by point

10-14	5/5 Improved Corruption Corruption becomes instant, so you can cast it on the move. The biggest comfort talent of the whole climb.
15-18	4/5 Suppression With 4 points you stop missing spells on same-level enemies and generate less threat.
19-21	3/3 Improved Drains 20% more from Drain Life and Drain Soul (and Drain Mana; since November 2 it no longer boosts Wrack). Sets up the drain style.
22-24	3/3 Fel Concentration Hits barely push back your drains, so you can drain with an enemy on you.
25-26	2/2 Improved Bane of Agony More damage from your main Bane.
27-28	2/2 Nightfall Corruption and your drains can make your next Shadow Bolt instant. Spend it when it procs.
29	1/1 Amplify Curse A 3-minute button that empowers your next Bane of Agony, Curse of Weakness or Curse of Exhaustion (since November 2 it works properly with Bane of Agony and Curse of Exhaustion). It also unlocks Curse of Exhaustion if you want it for PvP.
30	1/1 Siphon Life Another healing effect that also counts for Soul Siphon. Only put it on enemies that will live a while.
31-33	3/3 Soul Siphon Your drains and Wrack hit up to 36% harder depending on how many of your Affliction effects the target has.
34	1/2 Improved Life Tap More mana per Life Tap, and it opens the Shadow Mastery row.
35-39	5/5 Shadow Mastery 10% more Shadow damage and draining, which is nearly all of your damage.
40	1/1 Wrack New capstone. A 6-second channel that deals damage and raises your other Shadow damage over time by 10%. Since November 2 it hits much harder: at level 60 its base damage goes from 36 to 86 per second, and it gets twice as much from your spell power.
41-49	2/2 Improved Life Tap, 5/5 Malevolence, 3/3 Pandemic Now crit is worth it: Malevolence adds 5% Shadow crit and Pandemic doubles the crit bonus of your damage over time and drains.
50-60	1/5 Suppression (5/5), 2/2 Grim Reach, 5/5 Demonic Embrace, 2/2 Demonic Aegis, 1/3 Fel Vitality More hit, more range for Fear and your effects, and survivability from Demonology (15% more Stamina and stronger demon armors). Total: 43/8/0.

Leveling as Pet damage (Demonology) · Demonology (5/36/10)

For players who want the demon to do the heavy lifting: the Voidwalker tanks and hits harder, and you depend little on gear. Very safe for solo play; it kills a bit slower than Affliction early on.

10-14	5/5 Unholy Power Your demon deals 10% more damage. The Voidwalker starts pulling real weight.
15-19	3/3 Fel Vitality, 2/2 Demonic Energies More health and mana for your demon (and mana for you). Your damage heals it over time. Since November 2 your Stamina gives it far less health, so these points matter more than before.
20-24	2/2 Master Summoner, 1/1 Demonic Sacrifice, 2/2 Demonic Aegis You summon much faster and cheaper. Demonic Sacrifice opens the tree; Demonic Aegis improves your demon armor.
25-29	3/3 Demonic Brand, 1/1 Fel Domination, 1/3 Improved Voidwalker Searing Pain brands the target and your demon's next hits deal extra damage. Fel Domination: a new demon almost instantly.
30	1/1 Soul Link Your demon takes part of the damage aimed at you and you both deal 3% more.
31-34	3/3 Demonic Knowledge, Improved Voidwalker a 2/3 (+1) You and your demon gain spell power based on your level. A stronger Voidwalker.
35-39	5/5 Master Demonologist A bonus that depends on your demon: with the Voidwalker you take less physical damage; with the Imp, more Fire damage.
40	1/1 Demonic Pact Your Demonic Sacrifice effect is no longer lost when you summon a different demon.
41-45	5/5 Improved Corruption (Affliction) Move into Affliction: instant Corruption, so you can cast it on the move.
46-50	5/5 Demonic Embrace 15% more Stamina: more health for Life Tap and for staying alive.
51-55	5/5 Bane (Destruction) Move into Destruction: Shadow Bolt and Immolate cast half a second faster.
56-60	5/5 Molten Skin (Destruction) 10% less damage taken. A very comfortable finish for solo play and PvP.

Leveling as Damage (Destruction) · Destruction (5/11/35)

For players who prefer to kill fast with big hits instead of waiting on damage over time. It has the most burst, but it uses more mana and is less forgiving when things go wrong.

10-14	5/5 Bane Shadow Bolt and Immolate cast half a second faster: more damage per second from the start.
15-19	3/3 Cataclysm, 2/5 Aftermath Your Destruction spells cost 10% less. Immolate opens with more damage.
20	1/1 Shadowburn An instant hit to finish enemies; if the target dies shortly after, you get a Soul Shard back.
21-25	5/5 Ruin Your Destruction crits deal double the bonus damage. This is the talent the tree is built around.
26-29	1/1 Conflagrate, Aftermath a 5/5 (+3) Conflagrate consumes Immolate for a strong instant hit; with full Aftermath it also slows by 50%.
30-35	3/3 Agonizing Flames, 3/3 Fire and Brimstone 10% more damage on all Destruction spells and much more crit on Conflagrate.
36-39	1/1 Bane of Havoc, 3/5 Shadow and Flame Bane of Havoc copies part of your damage to a second target. Shadow and Flame: Conflagrate sometimes doesn't use up Immolate and boosts your Shadow damage (since November 2, 4% per point).
40	1/1 Incinerate A new Fire spell that hits harder on targets with Immolate. It becomes your filler against burning enemies.
41-44	Shadow and Flame a 5/5 (+2), 2/2 Destructive Reach Finish Shadow and Flame (up to 20% more Shadow or Fire damage since November 2) and gain range: you attack from further away.
45-49	5/5 Suppression (Affliction) Move into Affliction: +5% hit and less threat. At 60, against bosses, you need it.
50-54	5/5 Demonic Embrace (Demonology) 15% more Stamina: more health for Life Tap.
55-60	2/2 Demonic Aegis (Demonology), 3/3 Fel Vitality (Demonology), 1/1 Demonic Sacrifice (Demonology) Better armor, more mana and Demonic Sacrifice: sacrifice the Imp for 15% more Shadow damage or the Succubus for 15% more Fire.

Key abilities by level

1	Shadow Bolt Your main Shadow nuke. Train every new rank.
1	Immolate A fire hit plus a burn. Helps your demon keep the enemy's attention.
1	Summon Imp Your first demon: it throws Firebolts and gives the group Blood Pact (Stamina).
1	Demon Skin Armor and health regeneration. Keep it up until you get Demon Armor.
4	Corruption A Shadow damage over time effect. Talents make it instant.
6	Life Tap Trades health for mana. In Forever Spirit improves it, not spell power.
8	Bane of Agony New The old Curse of Agony, now a «Bane»: it is separate from Curses, so you can keep it alongside a Curse. Instant, great for tagging enemies.
8	Fear Sends one enemy running for up to 10 seconds. Damage can break it. 20-yard range.
10	Summon Voidwalker From a class quest. The tank, and your best leveling partner. Since November 2 it only gets 2 health per point of your Stamina (it was 7.5), so at higher levels it holds up less than in the beta.
10	Drain Soul Always gives a Soul Shard if the enemy dies while drained. It can also give one on a tick without a kill, but since November 2 that chance is much lower: to fill your bag, finish enemies with Drain Soul.
10	Create Healthstone Creates a stone that heals instantly. Make one for yourself and your group.
14	Drain Life Steals health from the enemy and gives it to you. From 30 it is your leveling filler.
14	Curse of Recklessness Removes armor and stops the enemy from fleeing (it also breaks your Fear if it runs toward another pack).
18	Create Soulstone Stores a soul: if that player dies, they can resurrect. Put it on the healer in dungeons.
18	Searing Pain A quick fire hit with high threat. For Demonology it applies Demonic Brand.
20	Summon Succubus From a class quest. High damage and Seduction to control humanoids.
20	Summon Incubus New From its own class quest. Does the same as the Succubus (same spells), so pick the look you like.
20	Demon Armor Replaces Demon Skin: more armor and regeneration.
20	Ritual of Summoning Brings a party member to you with help from two others. Pre-launch data (mid-October change, to be confirmed on 4 Nov): it costs 5 shards and all of your base mana, with a 1-hour cooldown. In the beta it took 1 shard and little mana.
20	Curse of the Elements New A new low rank in Forever (Classic started it at 32). Raises the damage the target takes from every magic school, not just Fire and Frost as in Classic.
25	Conflagrate New Destruction talent with a new rank at 25 (it used to be 40). An instant hit on a target with Immolate.
30	Summon Felhunter From a class quest. The magic hunter: Devour Magic removes effects and, from 36, Spell Lock silences.
30	Bane of Havoc New New Destruction talent. 15% of the damage you deal to other enemies is also dealt to the target with this Bane.
36	Create Spellstone In Forever it is also a weapon enchant: more Shadow damage (Shadow only: since November 2 it no longer boosts Fire) and a bit of haste.
40	Wrack New Affliction capstone. A channel that deals damage and raises your other Shadow damage over time by 10%. Since November 2 its own damage is much higher (at level 60, from 36 to 86 base per second).
40	Incinerate New Destruction capstone. A 2.5-second fire nuke that hits 25% harder if the target has Immolate.
40	Howl of Terror Sends several nearby enemies running. Your emergency exit.
42	Death Coil Instant: horrifies the target for 3 seconds, damages it and heals you for that amount.
50	Inferno Summons an Infernal that stuns on impact. Needs an Infernal Stone and only works outdoors.
60	Bane of Doom New The old Curse of Doom, now a Bane: one big Shadow hit after 1 minute. Cannot be cast on players.

How to kill while leveling

Send your demon in first and let the enemy lock onto it.
Bane of Agony (instant, good for tagging) and Corruption.
Immolate and Siphon Life only on enemies that will live long enough to take the full damage.
Up to 30: finish with your wand. From 30: Drain Life until it dies; switch to the wand if you are at full health or the enemy is nearly dead.
If Nightfall makes Shadow Bolt instant, cast it right away.
From 40: Wrack when the target will last, to boost all your damage over time.
Life Tap whenever your health is higher than your mana. Finish with Drain Soul when you need shards.
Two enemies: put your effects on one and Fear it; fight the other with your demon and Fear the first again when it comes back.

Demons, Soul Shards, stones and summoning

Imp (level 1, learned at the start): ranged fire damage, Blood Pact (more Stamina for the group), Fire Shield and Phase Shift. Weak for leveling after 10, but useful in groups for Blood Pact. Costs no shard.
Voidwalker (level 10, class quest): the tank. Torment and Suffering pull enemies onto it, Consume Shadows heals it out of combat and Sacrifice gives you an emergency shield. Since November 2 your Stamina gives it far less health, so as you level it takes fewer hits than in the beta. Starting quests: Gakin's Summons (Human, Goldshire), The Slaughtered Lamb (Gnome, Ironforge), Gan'rul's Summons (Orc and Troll, Razor Hill), Halgar's Summons (Undead, Brill).
Succubus / Incubus (level 20, a class quest for each): the highest-damage demon. Lash of Pain, Soothing Kiss, Lesser Invisibility and Seduction (controls a humanoid for up to 15 s; damage breaks it). The Incubus is new in Forever and shares the Succubus spells. The Horde Succubus chain is long: get the Barrens and Stonetalon flight paths first.
Felhunter (level 30, class quest): Devour Magic (removes a harmful magic effect from an ally or a helpful one from an enemy), Tainted Blood, Paranoia and Spell Lock from 36 (silence and interrupt). The best for PvP and against casters.
Infernal (level 50, Inferno): lands like a meteor and stuns enemies in the area for 2 s. It obeys you for 5 minutes; after that you must Subjugate Demon it or it turns on you. Needs an Infernal Stone, has a 1-hour cooldown and only works outdoors.
Doomguard (level 60): through Ritual of Doom (you plus 4 party members and a Demonic Figurine; it sacrifices a random participant and must be subjugated at once) or, with luck, when an enemy dies to Bane of Doom.
Subjugate Demon (level 30): takes control of a wild demon (rank 1 works up to level 45 demons) for up to 5 minutes. Costs a shard.
Demons in Forever: they scale with your stats (since November 2, 2 health per point of your Stamina instead of 7.5), Aggressive mode is back (pet tab of the spellbook) and your current demon is stunned while you summon a new one. Bind Attack and Follow to easy keys.
Soul Shards: Drain Soul gives them (a sure one if the enemy dies while drained; ticks without a kill have a chance, much lower since November 2; it must be an enemy that gives experience). Shadowburn also does if the enemy dies within 8 s. They are spent on: Voidwalker, Succubus, Incubus, Felhunter, Healthstone, Soulstone, Firestone, Spellstone, Ritual of Summoning, Subjugate Demon, Shadowburn and Soul Fire. The soul bag goes in the reagent bag slot.
Stones: Healthstone (level 10) heals instantly; Soulstone (level 18) lets whoever holds it resurrect; Firestone (28) and Spellstone (36) are now temporary weapon enchants: Firestone gives 1-2% spell crit and more Fire damage; Spellstone, 1-2% spell haste and more Shadow damage (Shadow only since November 2). Conjured items vanish if you stay logged out for more than 15 minutes.
Summoning: Ritual of Summoning (level 20) brings a party member to you. You need two others to click the portal, stay still and be out of combat. In the beta it cost 1 shard; the pre-launch change makes it 5 shards, all of your base mana and a 1-hour cooldown (to be confirmed at launch). Since the Forever group finder does not teleport you, keep spare shards and don't waste it on trips people can walk.

Tips

A wand from level 1 (about 15 minutes): sell what you start with until you have about 2 silver, learn Enchanting from your city trainer and buy a Copper Rod, two Mote of Magic and a Simple Wood. Craft the Runed Copper Rod (Copper Rod + Mote of Magic) and then the Novice's Practice Wand (Simple Wood + Mote of Magic), usable from level 1. Finishing with a wand saves mana from the very first minute. If you don't want Enchanting later, you can unlearn it.
Get a wand as early as possible: it saves mana until 30. Enchanting makes the first ones, and Gravestone Scepter (Blackfathom Deeps) is one of the best before 30.
Keep Demon Skin or Demon Armor up at all times.
Training: since November 2, learning every class ability from 1 to 60 costs 206 to 207 gold for every class. The Warlock trainer was discounted by the expected cost of your demons' grimoires, so keep that gold to buy them.
Health is a resource: Life Tap, then eat, or use First Aid bandages while an enemy runs from Fear.
Do not put damage over time on an enemy that is about to die: it only pays off if it has time to tick.
One Bane and one Curse can sit on the same target: Bane of Agony for damage and whatever Curse the fight calls for.
Use a focus target on a modifier key to DoT or Fear the second enemy without switching targets.
Do your demon quests as soon as you hit the level: the Voidwalker at 10 changes leveling completely.
If you have the «Talented» Legacy perk, your first talent comes at level 5: start with Improved Corruption all the same.
Pull ranged enemies around a corner so they walk to you and away from their pack.
Weapons you can learn: daggers, one-handed swords and staves; wands are built in and need no training. Your race already knows one; the rest come from a weapon master. Each skill costs 10 silver from a capital-city weapon master and can be learned from level 1; polearms cost 1 gold and need level 20. Learn all three early so you can equip any Intellect, Stamina or spell power weapon that drops: the weapon gives stats and the wand finishes enemies while your damage over time does the rest.

Your class mount, step by step: Class mounts.

Level faster with the 5 experience boosts (food, sleeping bag, tent, inn and Legacy).

Key levels

10	Voidwalker from a quest, Drain Soul and Healthstone. First talent point: leveling gets much easier.
14	Drain Life and Curse of Recklessness.
20	Succubus or Incubus, Demon Armor, Ritual of Summoning, Rain of Fire and Curse of the Elements.
30	Felhunter from a quest, Siphon Life and Hellfire. You switch from wand finishing to draining.
40	Wrack, Howl of Terror and a free Warlock mount from a class quest.
42	Death Coil: your best escape tool.
48	Soul Fire, a big fire nuke that costs a shard.
50	Inferno: summon the Infernal.
60	Bane of Doom and Ritual of Doom, plus the last ranks of Shadow Bolt, Immolate and Corruption.

How to play

In PvP

DoT and run

DoT kiting (DoT and run)

The warlock's take on strafing away (some streams call it «the L»): apply your instant damage-over-time effects and back off while they tick. As Affliction: Bane of Agony, Corruption (instant with Improved Corruption 5/5; 2 sec cast without it), Siphon Life and Curse of Exhaustion (30% slow; more with Amplify Curse first). Move away sideways with the strafe keys, turning the camera with the mouse to keep them in front, and refresh whatever expires. In Forever a Bane and a Curse are separate, so you can have both.

Make Fear count

Fear (CC) + diminishing returns

Fear (1.5 sec cast, 20 yards) sends the enemy running; damage can break it, and with lots of effects on them it breaks sooner. Use it to gain distance or to cast something long in peace, and rely on effects you already applied instead of stacking more. Reapplied quickly on the same target, it lasts less each time (diminishing returns). Watch out for Undead (Will of the Forsaken) and warriors in Berserker Stance, who can break it.

Hide between DoTs

Line of sight (LoS)

Against hunters and casters, line of sight is your shield. Step out from behind a pillar, a house or a tree, apply an instant effect and duck back: your damage keeps ticking and they can't cast at you. They'll have to come closer, right where your Fear and your demon are waiting.

Death Coil at the right moment

Death Coil

Death Coil is instant: the enemy runs in horror for 3 sec, takes damage and you heal for that much. Use it when Fear breaks and they're back on you, to stop a cast you can't stop otherwise, or to survive one more hit. In Classic it doesn't share diminishing returns with Fear, so they chain well; that is not confirmed yet in Forever. It still works on a warrior in Berserker Stance.

Soul Link: your demon as a shield

Soul Link

With Soul Link (Demonology), your demon takes 30% of the damage aimed at you and you both deal 3% more. It only works while the demon lives: watch its health and use Health Funnel (Improved Health Funnel lets you use it at any health with no threat). Priests and shamans can dispel it off the demon. If it dies, Fel Domination and resummon it almost instantly.

Control your demon by hand

Pet control (Spell Lock / Seduction)

In PvP, don't leave your demon on autopilot. With the Felhunter, save Spell Lock for the enemy's key spell (a heal or a crowd control): landed mid-cast it also locks that school for 6 sec. Devour Magic strips a magic effect off you or a buff off the enemy. With the succubus or incubus, Seduction (humanoids only) locks the enemy down: don't put damage effects on them first or they'll break it.

Casting through pushback

Spell pushback

Every hit you take delays your cast-time spells. Forever's answers: the Voidwalker's Sacrifice gives you a shield, and while it holds you aren't pushed back; Fel Concentration (Affliction) gives Drain Life, Drain Soul and Wrack a 70% chance to ignore pushback. If a melee is on top of you, don't fight through a Fear cast: Death Coil or Howl of Terror (2 sec, up to 5 enemies within 10 yards) first.

In dungeons and raids

Let the Voidwalker tank

Pet tanking (threat)

Send the demon in first and wait until the mob locks onto it. With the Voidwalker, Torment pulls it back if it turns on you. Don't open with Searing Pain (high threat) unless you are Demonology and need it for Demonic Brand. Since November 2 your Stamina gives your demon 2 health per point (it was 7.5): from mid levels on the Voidwalker holds up less, so don't send it into big packs, watch its health and keep Health Funnel handy.

DoT and drain

While leveling: Bane of Agony and Corruption, then Drain Life to heal while they tick (Soul Siphon drains more for each Affliction effect on the target). Bane of Agony hits hardest at the end: don't refresh it early. If the mob is almost dead, wand it instead of adding another effect.

Life as a resource

Life Tap cycle

Life Tap turns health into mana, and in Forever Spirit boosts it. Use it on the move or between effects, whenever you have more health than mana; then refill health with Drain Life. You'll barely need to stop and eat or drink.

Crowd control in groups

Crowd control (Fear / Banish)

In dungeons, Banish takes a demon or elemental out of the fight for up to 20 sec (it can't be damaged). Only Fear where there is room: a fleeing mob can run into another pack and bring it back. Curse of Recklessness stops it from fleeing, but also breaks your own Fear.

Multi-DoTting

Multi-DoT (DoT tab)

On packs or bosses with adds, Tab between them and put Corruption and Bane of Agony on each; only on mobs that will live long enough for the full tick. The more Corruption effects you have running, the more often Nightfall procs (instant Shadow Bolt).

Keybinds and macros

Move with W and S, strafe on A and D and turn with the right mouse button: it lets you apply effects while backing off.
Focus Fear macro: /cast [@focus] Fear. Set the second enemy as focus and fear it without losing your target.
Put your demon's skills on your own keys: a macro with /cast Spell Lock or /cast Seduction next to your spells, so you never click the pet bar.
Instants (Corruption, Bane of Agony, Curse of Exhaustion, Death Coil) on keys near WASD; Life Tap and Health Funnel further away.

Every technique, explained for any class: Gameplay techniques

Level 60

The beta only went up to level 30, so everything at 60 is theory built on the client's talents; nobody has tested it in raids. The most-planned level 60 build on the community calculator is Affliction with some Demonology for survivability. Raids open on 9 December; until then it is level 60 dungeons. Since November 2 every class deals more damage and high-level enemies have more health to make up for it; Blizzard doesn't plan big tuning changes until the December raids. The Warlock got stronger Wrack and Shadow and Flame, and its demons get less health from your Stamina. We will update this part as soon as there is real data.

Affliction · Ranged DPS

Stats	Spell power (Shadow damage) first. Spell hit up to the cap (Forever's cap is not confirmed yet). Crit: in Forever damage over time can crit, and Malevolence and Pandemic multiply that. Then Intellect, Stamina and Spirit (Spirit improves Life Tap). Haste does little for Affliction.
Rotation	Apply the Curse your group assigns you (Elements, Recklessness, Weakness or Tongues) and your Bane (Agony, or Doom if the fight is long: test it). Keep Corruption and Siphon Life up at all times. Wrack to keep its 10% boost on your Shadow damage over time; since November 2 its own damage matters a lot too. Instant Shadow Bolt on Nightfall procs; in between, filler (Shadow Bolt or Drain Life). Life Tap when mana runs low; Drain Soul at the end to restock shards.
Consumables	Spellstone on your weapon (a temporary enchant in Forever). Spell power and Shadow damage elixirs, if they work as in Classic (to be confirmed). Your own Healthstone and mana potions for long fights.

Destruction · Ranged DPS

Stats	Spell power (Fire and Shadow). Crit: Ruin doubles the crit bonus of Destruction spells. Hit up to the cap, then Intellect.
Rotation	Your assigned Curse and Immolate always up. Conflagrate on cooldown: with Shadow and Flame 5/5 it does not eat Immolate and raises your Shadow damage by 20% (since November 2; it was 10%). Shadowburn when ready: with Shadow and Flame it refunds the shard and raises your Fire damage by 20%. Incinerate as filler on a target with Immolate (25% more damage). On packs of 4 or more: Bane of Havoc on one of the last enemies you will kill, then Hellfire or Rain of Fire.
Consumables	Firestone on your weapon if you mostly cast Fire; Spellstone if your filler is Shadow Bolt (since November 2 the Spellstone only boosts Shadow damage). Spell power elixirs (still to confirm what exists in Forever).

Demonology · Pet DPS

Stats	Spell power: your demon scales with your stats and Demonic Knowledge adds up to 60 spell damage to both of you. Stamina more than in other trees (Demonic Embrace multiplies it and it feeds Life Tap). Hit and crit after that.
Rotation	With Demonic Pact: sacrifice the Imp (15% more Shadow damage), then summon the Succubus or Incubus (Master Demonologist adds another 10% Shadow). Searing Pain to keep Demonic Brand up: your demon's next attacks deal bonus damage. Corruption and Bane of Agony, with Shadow Bolt as filler. With Decimation: below 35% health, Soul Fire is faster and costs no shard.
Consumables	Spellstone on your weapon. Keep your demon alive: Health Funnel, or Fel Domination to summon another quickly.

Gear

There are no Forever gear lists for 60 yet: dungeon loot has been redone and raids open on 9 December. Meanwhile, look for cloth with spell power (or Shadow damage for Affliction and Fire for Destruction), then hit and crit, then Intellect and Stamina. Tailoring makes soulbound Shadow and Fire pieces that help a lot while leveling.

Recommended level 60 builds

Affliction 36% · Demonology 41% · Destruction 23%

Warlock · level 60

40/11/0 Affliction View build
5/11/35 Destruction View build
5/33/13 Demonology View build

New in Forever: Bane of Havoc (30, Destruction), Incinerate (40, Destruction), Wrack (40, Affliction).

These are the level 60 builds the community plans most with beta data (the percentage is how many players pick each tree); nobody has reached 60 in Forever yet and talents may change before launch.

Plan your own in the calculator

PvP at level 60

The Felhunter is the PvP demon: Spell Lock stops casts and Devour Magic cleanses you or strips enemy buffs.
Fear only reaches 20 yards in Forever: get just close enough and keep Howl of Terror or Death Coil ready if they reach you.
Use the split between Banes and Curses: Bane of Agony for damage plus Curse of Tongues on casters or Curse of Exhaustion on melee.
Demonology with Soul Link is the toughest option: your demon soaks part of the damage you take.
Against Orcs, watch out: Shatter Curse strips all your Curses and Banes at once. Against Undead, Will of the Forsaken breaks your Fear.
Succubus or Incubus Seduction sets up a damage window, but your damage over time breaks it, so do not apply it first.
In battlegrounds, a Soulstone on a healer and Healthstones for the whole group are worth as much as your damage.

Professions for this class

Tailoring	Makes soulbound Shadow and Fire pieces that are great for leveling, and its camp item gives Spirit, which improves Life Tap.
Enchanting	Pairs with Tailoring: disenchant what you make and craft wands, caster staves, off-hands and oils.
Engineering	For PvP: gadgets and explosives that add control and extra escapes. It has new schematics in Forever.
First Aid	Bandages to recover health between fights (and then Life Tap it into mana).

What we don't know yet

Level 60 builds and rotations are untested: the beta stopped at level 30.
What does more at 60: Bane of Agony or Bane of Doom, and whether Affliction's best filler is Shadow Bolt, Drain Life or Wrack.
Forever's spell hit cap and the exact stat order.
The epic mount quest (Dreadsteed) in Forever and the details of the Incubus and Felhunter quests.
Warlock raid gear and which Classic consumables stay the same (raids open on 9 Dec 2026).
The final cost of Ritual of Summoning at launch (5 shards and a 1-hour cooldown per the pre-launch data).
How well the Voidwalker really holds up at higher levels after the November 2 change (2 health per point of Stamina), and how many shards Drain Soul now gives without a kill: the notes only say it is «significantly» lower.

This guide is updated every time Blizzard publishes changes. Whatever is still missing goes in as soon as it is known, and the date at the top tells you when we last touched it.

Sources: Talentos y libro de hechizos del cliente de la beta (talentsforever.com, CC BY 4.0) · Notas de la beta de WoW Forever (Blizzard) · Notas de desarrollo de Blizzard (2 de noviembre) · Notas de desarrollo de las razas, 26-10 (foros de Blizzard) · Warcraft Tavern: guía de subida del brujo · Warcraft Tavern: guía general del brujo · Warcraft Tavern: Affliction · Warcraft Tavern: Destruction · Method: guía de subida y talentos del brujo · Kami Labs: resumen de la subida Demonology 1-60 · Overgear: Affliction en Forever · Foros de Blizzard: análisis de clase de pícaro y brujo · Warcraft Wiki: misiones de brujo · Warcraft Tavern: guía de JcJ del brujo (WoW Classic Era) · Icy Veins: guías de JcJ del brujo (TBC Classic) · Icy Veins: subida de Affliction en Forever · Warcraft Wiki: línea de visión (todas las ediciones) · Skill Capped: glosario de JcJ (WoW Retail).