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If you’re seeking a class inWorld of Warcraftthat boasts massive damage numbers despite their simple rotation, look no further thanDestruction Warlock. These spellcasters are able to weave together stacking buffs to skyrocket their damage while keeping their abilities easy to understand.
Related:World Of Warcraft: Dragonflight - Destruction Warlock PvP Guide
With the introduction of more talents inDragonflight, this style is only encouraged, giving Destruction players ample opportunity to grant themselves huge damage boosts. Because of this, you’ll often see Destruction dominating Mythic+ dungeons and raids. Here’s everything you need to know if you want to rule the damage charts for yourself.
Class Overview
While the other Warlock specializations focus on creating demonic armies or whittling down their enemies' health through damage-over-time (DoT) effects, Destruction users masterFire, Shadowflame, and Fel magicsto incinerate their foes themselves withexponential damage.
As Destruction casts each spell in their rotation,they apply a variety of buffsto enhance their next ability, taking the form of apercentile increase in DPSto more efficient casting costs. While this can be slow in the beginning, it can quickly snowball intodamage that rivals the best classes.
Although they don’t boast the best health pools andtheir cloth armor does little to protect themfrom serious damage, Destruction holds some of thebest utility among any class, offering hasty getaways with myriad stuns if a fight turns for the worse.
Reduced damage with active ability and better Critical Strikes.
More mobility and better chance to Critical Strike.
Human
Higher secondary stats than other races and can free themselves from stuns.
Boosted damage with Enrage and resistant to stuns.
Troll
Boosted damaged with Berserk and resistant to slowing debuffs.
Choosing the right race to pair with Destruction Warlock can make all the difference in endgame content,offering further damage or reducing debilitating effects.
Stat Priority
Intellect will be your primary stat, much like any other cloth-armored spellcaster in the game. Luckily, you don’t have to search far and wide for Intellect, as you’ll find it plastered onmost of the gear you receive from leveling and dungeons.
For your secondary stats,focus on your Critical Strike first and foremost. Not only is this a great pick in general for the spikes in damage, but it directly enhances some of your abilities, likeChaos Bolt.
Lastly, watch out for any gear pieces thatgrant more Mastery. Destruction’s associated skill is namedChaotic Energies, which offers a scaling buff for your overall damage depending on your Mastery stat, giving you a huge power boost when compared toHaste or Versatility.
Destruction Warlock Rotation
Because of just how many passives Destruction has, your core rotation is a simple matter ofbuilding your class resource, namedSoul Shards, and thenspending them againwith your biggest spells.
If you find yourself in need of more defenses, you’re able to summon your Voidwalker totank your hits, but keep in mind that this willdrastically reduce your damage output.
WeaveConflagrateinto your casts of Incinerate to help build Shards whilereducing the cast timeof your upcoming Chaos Bolt.
As you level your Destruction Warlock, you’ll want to focus onmaximizing your damage as much as you canto blow through the mobs standing in your way, but be sure to grant yourself enough opportunities toself-heal or escapefrom a bad situation.
For your Destruction tree, take any talent thatdirectly boosts the damage of your abilities, either with a flat amount likeScalding Flamesor through buffs that you’ll have to proc likeRoaring Blaze.
For your Warlock tree, attempt to take talents that relate to your Grimoire of Sacrifice, such asWrathful Minion, while having self-sufficient talents likeDesperate Pact and Grim Feast.
Related:World Of Warcraft: Dragonflight - Fire Mage Complete Guide
Gearing Up
Once you get to max level, the grind for endgame content can begin. At this point you should be well-acquainted with how Destruction Warlock plays, but you’ll need toincrease your item level,in order to participate inhigh-tier dungeons and raids.
To begin, you’ll want tounlock World Quests around the Dragon Isles, as these can often provide you with quick and easy upgrades. You should also finish yourmain and optional storyline questsfor minor upgrades.
Alternatively, you may choose to pick up acrafting profession to make gear for yourselfand others. Although the recipes take time to unlock, you’ll be able to craft anywhere fromitem level 320 starting gear to item level 380and above.
Once you begin to dungeon and raid, these will be excellent sources of PvE gear for you. Normals are a good starting place to learn mechanics and earnitem level 340 to 350 gear, whereasHeroic and Mythic+ awards item level 370 and higher.
Once you jump into endgame content, don’t forget to check yourGreat Vaultevery week. If you’ve completed a certain number ofraids, Mythic+ dungeons, or rated PvP, you’ll be able to earn one piece of extremely powerful gear withevery weekly resetas a great bonus.
Gems And Enchants
Once you’ve found a decent set of gear that you won’t replace for a while, you’re able to add plenty of stats through gems and enchantments, boosting yourIntellect, Critical Strike, and Masteryfurther.
For your endgame talent build,you’ll want to steer clear of lesser AoE abilitiesand instead opt for an overpoweringsingle-target build, as you should have enough AoE damage fromHavoc and Rain of Fire alone.
In your Destruction tree, attempt to focus on gaining talents that relate to your Summon Infernal likeCrashing Chaos and Grand Warlock’s Designto grant you a great window ofburst damage.
In your Warlock tree, swap out your self-heals for a better party-oriented build, taking talents likeGorefiend’s Resolve and Sweet Soulsto give your teammates morehealing and resurrection options.
If you’d like to track how efficient your damage is in instanced content or if you’d like more help in understanding boss mechanics, try downloading addons likeDetails!, Damage Meter, or DeadlyBossMods.
Utility Tips
Although Destruction is often a squishy class with low health, you have a multitude ofutility toolsat your disposal toincrease your odds of survival, especially when you’re on your own in world content.
