Check WoW
PlayersGroupsRankingsTier Lists
Reputation
Find playersSign in with Battle.net
PlayersGroupsRankingsTier ListsClass GuidesReputation
Check WoW

Look up any World of Warcraft character: gear, talents, achievements, Mythic+ and PvP rankings, live class guides and verified player reputation.

Terms of ServicePrivacy PolicyCommunity GuidelinesModeration Policy

World of Warcraft and Blizzard Entertainment are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Blizzard Entertainment.

← All class guides

Destruction Warlock

Damage specialisation · Tier C in Mythic+, 0.9% of the sample

PvE GuideRaid logs, Mythic+ players and PvE buildsACTIVEPvP GuideRated ladder talents, gear stats and builds

Opener

The order abilities first landed across 4 top-parsing pulls, with the median time into the fight. The percentage is how many of those parses used the ability at all — a step at 100% is the opener, one at 60% is a choice some players make.

  1. 1Soul Fire+0.3s100%
  2. 2Summon Infernal+0.5s100%
  3. 3Light's Potential+1.6s50%
  4. 4
Malevolence
+1.7s
100%
  • 5Conflagrate+2.6s100%
  • 6Chaos Bolt+3.5s100%
  • What follows what

    What was pressed next, counted over every observed pair. This is the closest a log gets to a priority list — but it describes behaviour, not a rule: a player casting Execute because it lit up looks the same here as one following a plan.

    • Incinerate113 casts→Incinerate77%Conflagrate12%Chaos Bolt6%
    • Chaos Bolt72 casts→Chaos Bolt57%Incinerate32%Conflagrate6%
    • Conflagrate25 casts→Chaos Bolt72%Incinerate16%Shadowburn4%
    • Shadowburn5 casts→Chaos Bolt60%Incinerate20%Conflagrate20%
    • Soul Fire4 casts→Summon Infernal75%

    Ability usage

    Casts per minute across 20 top-parsing kills in The Venomous Abyss. Per minute rather than totals, so a long fight does not read as a heavily used ability.

    Single target

    6 fights where almost all damage went to the boss

    1. 1Chaos Bolt12.4per min
    2. 2Shadowburn11.5per min
    3. 3Incinerate9.7per min
    4. 4Conflagrate8.7per min
    5. 5Wither5.2per min

    Multi-target

    10 fights with substantial add damage

    1. 1Incinerate13.5per min
    2. 2Chaos Bolt9.7per min
    3. 3Shadowburn9.6per min
    4. 4Conflagrate

    Fights are sorted by how much damage landed on boss units rather than by a hand-kept list of which encounter is the AoE one, so the split stays right after a retune. Fights in between are left out of both columns.

    Updated 31/08/2026. These are observed casts, not a recommended priority — the order reflects how often an ability came up, which is not the same as when to press it.

    Secondary stats

    Secondary stat split across the 100 best-geared synced characters. Averaged per player, so one heavily geared character cannot define the answer for everyone.

    • Versatility50.0%1,087 avg
    • Haste42.5%930 avg
    • Mastery5.9%132 avg
    • Critical Strike1.6%39 avg

    What PvE players are playing

    Talent choices across 148 synced characters playing this specialisation. These are observed picks, not recommendations — they say what the ladder is doing, not what you should do.

    Where builds differ

    Taken by between 15% and 90% of players. This is where the real decisions are.

    • Ashen Remains87%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Backdraft87%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Chaos Bolt87%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Conflagrate87%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Embers of Nihilam87%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Grimoire of Sacrifice87%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Havoc87%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Horrify87%

      126 players · Class

    • Improved Chaos Bolt87%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Internal Combustion87%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Rain of Fire87%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Ruin87%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Summon Infernal87%

      126 players · Specialization

    • Chaos Incarnate86%

      125 players · Specialization

    • Emberstorm86%

      125 players · Specialization

    • Empowered Healthstone86%

      124 players · Class

    • Inferno86%

      124 players · Specialization

    • Scalding Flames86%

      124 players · Specialization

    • Alzzin's Iniquity85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Aura of Enfeeblement85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Backlash85%

      123 players · Specialization

    • Blackened Soul85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Bleakheart Tactics85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Devil Fruit85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Malevolence85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Mark of Peroth'arn85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Mark of Xavius85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Seeds of Their Demise85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Through the Felvine85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Wither85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Xalan's Cruelty85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Xalan's Ferocity85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Zevrim's Resilience85%

      123 players · Hero

    • Chaotic Inferno83%

      121 players · Specialization

    • Teachings of the Black Harvest83%

      120 players · Class

    • Dimensional Rift80%

      116 players · Specialization

    Near-universal picks (26)taken by 90%+ — effectively baseline
    • Curse of Exhaustion100%

      145 players · Class

    • Dark Accord100%

      145 players · Class

    • Dark Pact100%

      145 players · Class

    Rarely taken (104)under 15% — situational or out of favour
    • Absolute Corruption12%

      17 players · Specialization

    • Agony12%

      17 players · Specialization

    • Cascading Calamity12%

      17 players · Specialization

    Import a real build

    Loadouts from the highest-rated synced players of this specialisation. Paste straight into the game.

    • Drexia

      tichondrius · US2,724

    • Skide

      sargeras · US2,676

    • Startk

      tichondrius · US2,669

    • Смерть

      howling-fjord · EU2,634

    • Stapes

      frostmourne · US2,577

    Learn the spec

    This page measures what players do. For rotation, stat priority and matchup play, these are the references.

    • WowheadpveRotation, stat priority, gear and consumables. The most complete free PvE reference.
    • Icy VeinspveRotation walkthroughs and talent reasoning, written for players learning a spec.
    • Raider.IOpveMythic+ routes, affix planning and dungeon-by-dungeon breakdowns.

    Other Warlock specs

    • Affliction
    • Demonology
    8.6per min
  • 5Wither2.9per min
  • 6Lake of Fire2.7per min
  • Demon Skin100%

    145 players · Class

  • Demonic Circle100%

    145 players · Class

  • Demonic Embrace100%

    145 players · Class

  • Demonic Fortitude100%

    145 players · Class

  • Demonic Gateway100%

    145 players · Class

  • Fel Armor100%

    145 players · Class

  • Mortal Coil100%

    145 players · Class

  • Pact of the Annihilan100%

    145 players · Class

  • Pact of the Eredar100%

    145 players · Class

  • Pact of the Satyr100%

    145 players · Class

  • Soul Leech100%

    145 players · Class

  • Frequent Donor99%

    144 players · Class

  • Howl of Terror99%

    144 players · Class

  • Creeping Death12%

    17 players · Specialization

  • Dark Harvest12%

    17 players · Specialization

  • Diabolic Embers12%

    17 players · Specialization

  • Drain Soul12%

    17 players · Specialization

  • Grimoire of Sacrifice12%

    17 players · Specialization

  • Haunt12%

    17 players · Specialization

  • Impetuous Wrath12%

    17 players · Specialization

  • Improved Haunt12%

    17 players · Specialization

  • Nightfall12%

    17 players · Specialization