Destruction is the Fire warlock with burst: Immolate stays up, Conflagrate and Shadowburn are instant, and the new Incinerate capstone deals 25% extra damage to targets with Immolate. With Shadow and Flame, Conflagrate no longer consumes your Immolate. Destruction has dropped to B for raids, and it takes a long time to get going while leveling.
Talents and builds
The links open the talent calculator with the finished build, including why the points go where they go.
- Leveling: Destruction leveling (solo) (points 23/5/23). The calculator shows the point-by-point order below the tree.
- Raid: Destruction raid (Sayaad) (points 14/4/33). The 'Sayaad' build, strongest if your demon survives: the Sayaad fights in melee and the leftover points go into Affliction for hit and stronger DoTs.
- PvP: Destruction PvP (Soul Link/Conflagrate) (points 0/21/30). The Soul Link/Conflagrate spec from Vanilla: Soul Link, Demonic Embrace, Fel Vitality and Molten Skin keep you alive, while Ruin, Agonizing Flames and Conflagrate give strong burst and Shadowburn finishes kills.
Where it ranks
| Category | Tier | Range |
|---|---|---|
| PvE DPS (raid) | B | D–S |
| PvE dungeon DPS (level 30) | B | C–S |
| PvP (battleground/open world) | B | B–A |
| Leveling | B | B |
- PvE DPS (raid): Drops from A to B: the newest simulation says B, several new lists agree, one even says D. Only lists that weigh cleave and AoE heavily still say S.
- PvP (battleground/open world): Shadowburn is instant, but most of the damage comes from long casts that can be interrupted. The lists say B or A.
- Leveling: Both lists say B: more damage per cast than Affliction, but less healing and more downtime.
The tiers combine several tier lists and level-60 simulations. Raid logs only exist from 9 December, so treat this as a snapshot. Every spec side by side: rankings.
Shadow and Flame
At 5/5, Shadow and Flame changes both of your instants:
- Conflagrate no longer consumes Immolate and gives 20% more Shadow damage for 20 seconds.
- Shadowburn refunds its Soul Shard and raises your Fire damage by 20% for 20 seconds.
Soul ShardThe old Classic habit of saving Conflagrate for the end of Immolate no longer applies.
Single-target rotation
- Bane and Curse.
- Keep Immolate up. If it drops, you lose the 25% on Incinerate and your Conflagrate.
- Corruption.
- Conflagrate on cooldown (10 seconds).
- Shadowburn (15 seconds). It needs a Soul Shard in your bags.
- Life Tap in gaps.
- Incinerate as filler.
You can pre-cast Soul Fire so it lands as the tank arrives; then you need two shards, one for Soul Fire and one for Shadowburn. The raid build keeps the Sayaad out and is strongest while she lives.
On two targets, put Bane of Havoc on the second: it takes 15% of the damage you deal to others. Since 10 November it triggers the global cooldown. Bane of Agony or Doom on it would replace it. From three mobs up, Hellfire or Rain of Fire.
Stats
Hit rating to 17% against raid bosses; with 5/5 Suppression from Affliction you need 12%, about 120 rating. After that, spell power and Fire damage. Ruin adds 100% to your crit bonus and Fire and Brimstone gives Conflagrate 25% crit, which makes crit strong. Guides disagree on haste versus crit.
Common mistakes
- Letting Immolate fall off.
- Holding Conflagrate for buffs or for the end of Immolate.
- Bane of Agony or Doom on the target with Bane of Havoc.
- Life Tap instead of Incinerate when you have enough mana.
- No Soul Shard for Shadowburn.
Leveling
Destruction is weak early. Shadowburn comes at 20, Conflagrate at 25, Shadow and Flame at 35 and Incinerate only at 40. Level as Affliction or Demonology and switch around level 40. Compared with Affliction you need more mana breaks and heal yourself less.
In groups
You bring Healthstones, Soulstone, Ritual of Summoning and your curse. In dungeons, Destruction is strong against packs with Hellfire and Rain of Fire. Improved Shadow Bolt now only raises your own Shadow damage.
Further reading
- Warlock class guide: races, new abilities and every build of the class
- The other specs: Affliction Warlock, Demonology Warlock
- Raid comp planner: put your raid together and see which buffs are still missing
- Warlock talent calculator: plan your own build and share it as a link
