WoW SoD Warlock DPS: Phase 4 BiS, Talents & Runes (2024)

WoW SoD Destruction Warlock Talents & Runes

Choose the following talents and runes as a Destruction Warlock for Phase 4 at level 60:

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Use an extra pair of gloves with the rune Shadow Bolt Volley for trash mobs between the bosses to speed up your runs. If you’re never using Shadow Bolt Volley for fights with multiple targets, you can go 5/5 Cataclysm instead of Improved Shadow Bolt. But overall, boss fights are too short and the impact of Cataclysm is too low to make it a DPS increase. Since Life Tap now also returns mana to your pet, Improved Shadow Bolt with the extra pair of gloves is the recommended way.

Learn where to find each rune in our guide WoW SoD Warlock Runes.

WoW SoD Affliction Warlock Talents & Runes

Choose the following talents and runes as an Affliction Warlock for Phase 4 at level 60:

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SoD Phase 4 DPS Warlock Pre-Raid BiS List

The following DPS Warlock pre-BiS list contains the best items you can get in Phase 4 of Season of Discovery before entering the endgame raids at level 60.

• Head (Arcanum of Focus)
  Deathmist Mask ( Saving the Best for Last in Ironforge) ¹
  Deathmist Mask ( Saving the Best for Last in Orgrimmar) ¹
  Visage of the Exiled (Sunken Temple)
  Spellweaver's Turban (Upper Blackrock Spire)
• Neck
  Orb of the Darkmoon (Darkmoon Faire)
  Nacreous Shell Necklace (Stratholme Live)
  Star of Mystaria (Stratholme Live)
• Shoulders (Atal'ai Signet of Mojo)
  Rugged Mantle of the Timbermaw (Timbermaw – Revered & Tailoring) ⁴
  Champion's Dreadweave Spaulders ( PvP Rank 10)
  Lieutenant Commander's Dreadweave Spaulders ( PvP Rank 10)
  Deathmist Mantle ( Anthion's Parting Words in Ironforge) ²
  Deathmist Mantle ( Anthion's Parting Words in Orgrimmar) ²
  Soulstealer Mantle ( Stratholme)
  Burial Shawl (Scholomance)
• Back (Enchant Cloak - Greater Resistance)
  Archivist Cape of Fiery Wrath ( Stratholme Live)
  Master's Cloak of Fiery Wrath ( or similar with up to +21 Fire Damage, World Drop)
  Archivist Cape of Shadow Wrath ( Stratholme Live)
  Master's Cloak of Shadow Wrath ( or similar with up to +21 Shadow Damage, World Drop)
  Brilliant Chromatic Cloak (Leatherworking)
  Amplifying Cloak (Dire Maul – West)
  Hukku's Hex Cape (Sunken Temple)
• Chest (Enchant Chest - Greater Stats)
  Deathmist Robe ( Saving the Best for Last in Ironforge) ¹
  Deathmist Robe ( Saving the Best for Last in Orgrimmar) ¹
  Garments of the Atal'ai Prophet (Sunken Temple)
  Robe of the Void (Tailoring)
• Wrist (Enchant Bracer - Greater Intellect)
  Dryad's Wrist Bindings (Warsong Gulch – Exalted)
  Cursed Slimescale Bracers (Sunken Temple)
  Flameweave Cuffs of Fiery Wrath ( Blackrock Depths)
  Flameweave Cuffs of Shadow Wrath ( Blackrock Depths)
• Hands
  Inferno Gloves ( Tailoring)
  Deathmist Wraps ( Just Compensation in Ironforge) ³
  Deathmist Wraps ( Just Compensation in Orgrimmar) ³
  Hands of Power (Lower Blackrock Spire)
• Waist
  Knowledge of the Timbermaw (Timbermaw – Honored & Tailoring) ⁴
  Deathmist Belt ( Just Compensation in Ironforge) ³
  Deathmist Belt ( Just Compensation in Orgrimmar) ³
  Master's Belt of Fiery Wrath ( or similar with up to +30 Fire Damage, World Drop)
  Goblin Clothesline (sold for 25 Tarnished Undermine Real by Pix Xizzix in Booty Bay, Stranglethorn Vale)
• Legs (Lesser Arcanum of Voracity)
  Master's Leggings of Fiery Wrath ( or similar with up to +41 Fire Damage, World Drop)
  Master's Leggings of Shadow Wrath ( or similar with up to +41 Shadow Damage, World Drop)
  Skyshroud Leggings (Lower Blackrock Spire)
  Deathmist Leggings ( Anthion's Parting Words in Ironforge) ²
  Deathmist Leggings ( Anthion's Parting Words in Orgrimmar) ²
• Feet (Enchant Boots - Minor Speed)
  Deathmist Sandals ( Anthion's Parting Words in Ironforge) ²
  Deathmist Sandals ( Anthion's Parting Words in Orgrimmar) ²
  Maleki's Footwraps ( Stratholme Undead)
  Omnicast Boots (Blackrock Depths)
  Fire Striders ( Stratholme Live)
• Rings
  Necromantic Band ( Scholomance)
  Burning Ring of Fire ( Demon Fall Canyon)
  Loop of the Magister (sold for 50 Tarnished Undermine Real by Pix Xizzix in Booty Bay, Stranglethorn Vale)
  Rune Band of Wizardry (Upper Blackrock Spire)
  Flaming Band ( Upper Blackrock Spire)
  Don Mauricio's Band of Domination (Scholomance)
• Trinkets
  Briarwood Reed (Upper Blackrock Spire)
  Breadth of the Beast (12 Wild Offering)
  Eye of the Beast ( General Drakkisath's Demise in Upper Blackrock Spire)
  Eye of the Beast ( For The Horde! in Upper Blackrock Spire)
  Draconic Infused Emblem (Upper Blackrock Spire)
• Weapon (Enchant Weapon - Spell Power)
  Sageclaw ( Arathi Basin – Exalted)
  Mindfang ( Arathi Basin – Exalted)
  Hubris, the Bandit Brander (Sunken Temple)
• Off-Hand
  Drakestone of the Nightmare Harbinger ( Sunken Temple)
  Tome of Shadow Force ( Alterac Valley – Exalted)
  Tome of Fiery Arcana ( Alterac Valley – Exalted)
  Scepter of Interminable Focus (Stratholme – Live)
  Drakestone of the Blood Prophet ( Sunken Temple)
• Wand
  Skul's Ghastly Touch ( Stratholme)
  Nightmare Trophy (Sunken Temple)

Legend: Items marked with are BiS for the Destro Locks. Items marked with are BiS for Affli Locks.

¹ This quest requires Dreadmist Mask from Scholomance and Dreadmist Robe from Blackrock Spire to complete.
² This quest requires Dreadmist Sandals from Stratholme, Dreadmist Leggings from Stratholme, and Dreadmist Mantle from Scholomance to complete.
³ This quest requires Dreadmist Belt from Stratholme and Dreadmist Wraps from Scholomance to complete.
⁴ You only need the reputation with Timbermaw Hold to craft the base item. If you buy the base item from another player, being Friendly with Timbermaw Hold is enough to upgrade the base item to the epic pre-BiS version.

While collecting your pre-BiS in Phase 4, you need to change the prioritization of the items to your current situation. Try to unlock the 4-set bonus of “Deathmist Rainment” and avoid over-capping your Spell Hit Chance. As a Destruction Warlock you don’t want more than 10% Spell Hit Chance from your gear. As an Affliction Warlock with 4 talent points in Suppression, you don’t want more than 2% Spell Hit Chance from your gear.

This P4 pre-BiS list is continuously being worked on. Please use the feedback button below to send us your thoughts and suggestions.

Best DPS Warlock Pet in SoD

The best Warlock pet for raid DPS is the Imp. The specs above are optimized to improve your Imp even more.

Warlock Rotation in Season of Discovery (Phase 3)

The rotation for a Warlock depends on whether you play as Destruction or Affliction Warlock.

Only one Curse of Recklessness and one Curse of the Elements need to be active on the boss. Each Warlock has one defined curse they are responsible for. If there are more than 2 Warlocks in your raid and you are not responsible for one of the curses, skip this step.

DPS Warlock Raid Consumables (Phase 3)

The following list of consumables can be used by DPS Warlocks in Sunken Temple:

• Lesser Wizard Oil
• Greater Arcane Elixir / Arcane Elixir
• Superior Mana Potion
• Elixir of Firepower ( spec)
• Elixir of Shadow Power ( spec)
• Nightfin Soup
• Atal'ai Mojo of Forbidden Magic

Major Mana Potion is the best mana potion available in Phase 3. Depending on your circ*mstances Superior Mana Potion or even Greater Mana Potion should be sufficient.

To get Atal'ai Mojo of Forbidden Magic you need to get one Flask of Atal'ai Mojo from Sunken Temple. Head over to Stranglethorn Vale at 15.2 15.6 to buy Atal'ai Mojo of Forbidden Magic.

SoD Phase 3 DPS Warlock Pre-Raid BiS List

The following DPS Warlock BiS list contains the best items you can get in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery before entering the raid Sunken Temple at level 50.

• Head (Lesser Arcanum of Voracity)
  Eye of Flame (, World Drop)
  Green Lens of Fiery Wrath (, Engineering)
  Arachnidian Circlet of Fiery Wrath (, or similar item with +36 Fire Damage, World Drop)
  Green Lens of Shadow Wrath (, Engineering)
  Arachnidian Circlet of Shadow Wrath (, or similar item with +36 Shadow Damage, World Drop)
  Gneuro-Linked Arcano-Filament Monocle (Tailoring)
  Spellpower Goggles Xtreme Plus (Engineering)
• Neck
  Piston Pendant (Gnomeregan)
  Jagged Bone Necklace (Blackfathom Deeps)
  Black Shroud Choker (, Blackfathom Deeps)
  Ghostshard Talisman (Scarlet Monastery)
• Shoulders
  Mystical Mantle of Shadow Wrath ( or similar item with +29 Shadow Damage, World Drop)
  Kentic Amice (Blackrock Depths)
  Rotgrip Mantle (Maraudon)
  Blood Guard's Dreadweave Mantle ( PvP Rank 7)
  Knight-Lieutenant's Dreadweave Mantle ( PvP Rank 7)
  Emerald Enchanted Shoulders (Nightmare Incursions – Friendly)
  Synthetic Mantle (Gnomeregan)
• Back
  Resplendent Cloak of Fiery Wrath ( with up to +20 Fire Damage, World Drop)
  Sunborne Cape ( Disharmony of Fire in Blackrock Depths)
  Sunborne Cape ( Incendius! in Blackrock Depths)
  Cindercloth Cloak (, Tailoring)
  Resplendent Cloak of Shadow Wrath ( or similar item with +20 Shadow Damage, World Drop)
  Spritecaster Cape (Blackrock Depths)
  Deep Woodlands Cloak ( Wanted: Vile Priestess Hexx and Her Minions in The Hinterlands)
  
• Chest (Enchant Chest - Stats)
  Duskwoven Robe of Fiery Wrath ( with up to +37 Fire Damage, World Drop)
  Duskwoven Robe of Shadow Wrath (, or similar item with +27 Shadow Damage, World Drop)
  Irradiated Robe (Gnomeregan)
  Emerald Enchanted Robes (Nightmare Incursions – Honored)
  Cindercloth Robe (, Tailoring)
  
• Wrist (Enchant Bracer - Greater Intellect)
  Dryad's Wrist Bindings (Warsong Gulch – Exalted)
  Celestial Bindings of Fiery Wrath ( with up to +20 Fire Damage, World Drop)
  Phoenix Bindings (, Tailoring)
  Celestial Bindings of Shadow Wrath ( or similar item with +20 Shadow Damage, World Drop)
• Hands
  Councillor's Gloves of Fiery Wrath ( with up to +26 Fire Damage, World Drop)
  Earth Warder's Gloves (Winterfall Activity at 27.8 34.6 in Winterspring)
  Dreamweave Gloves (Tailoring)
  Sergeant Major's Dreadweave Gloves (PvP Rank 5)
  Emerald Enchanted Gloves (Nightmare Incursions – Friendly)
  Jumanza Grips (Zul'Farrak)
• Waist
  Cord of the Untamed (15 Wild Offering)
  Ban'thok Sash (Blackrock Depths)
  Volatile Concoction Belt (Gnomeregan)
  Defiler's Cloth Girdle ( Arathi Basin – Honored)
  Highlander's Cloth Girdle ( Arathi Basin – Honored)
• Legs (Lesser Arcanum of Voracity)
  Arachnidian Legguards of Fiery Wrath ( with up to +36 Fire Damage, World Drop)
  Felcloth Pants (, Tailoring)
  Spellshock Leggings (Random Drop in Zul'Farrak)
  Irradiated Trousers (Gnomeregan)
• Feet (Enchant Boots - Minor Speed)
  Irradiated Boots (Gnomeregan)
  Sergeant Major's Dreadweave Boots ( PvP Rank 5)
  Stone Guard's Restored Leather Leggings ( PvP Rank 5)
  Emerald Enchanted Boots (Nightmare Incursions – Friendly)
  Cindercloth Boots (, Tailoring)
  Bonecaster's Boots of Shadow Wrath ( or similar item with +24 Shadow Damage, World Drop)
  Extraplanar Spidersilk Boots (Tailoring)
  Vinerot Sandals (Maraudon)
• Rings
  Roar of the Dream (Nightmare Incursions – Exalted)
  Cyclopean Band (Blackrock Depths)
  Hypercharged Gear of Conflagration (Gnomeregan)
  Advisor's Ring ( Warsong Gulch – Honored)
  Lorekeeper's Ring ( Warsong Gulch – Honored)
• Trinkets
  Infernal Pact Essence (Stranglethorn Vale PvP event)
  Breadth of the Beast (12 Wild Offering)
  Miniaturized Combustion Chamber (Gnomeregan)
  Invoker's Void Pearl (Blackfathom Deeps)
• Weapons
  Blade of Eternal Darkness (Maraudon)
  Glimmering Gizmoblade (Gnomeregan)
  Charstone Dirk (Maraudon)
  Dagger of Willing Sacrifice (Blackfathom Deeps)
  Hypnotic Blade (Scarlet Monastery)
• Off-Hand
  Enthralled Sphere (Blackrock Depths)
  Spirit of Aquementas (It's Dangerous to Go Alone, long quest chain starting with It's a Secret to Everybody at 63.1 68.5 in Un'Goro Crater)
  Shard of the Green Flame ( Kroshius' Infernal Core, starts with What Niby Commands at 41.6 44.8 in Felwood)
  The Necro-Gnomicon (Gnomeregan)
• Wand
  Pyric Caduceus ( Blackrock Depths)
  Ivory Wand of Shadow Wrath ( or similar item with +10 Shadow Damage, World Drop)
  Mechanostrider Gear Shifter (Gnomeregan)

Legend: Items marked with are BiS for the fire spec. Items marked with are BiS for the shadow spec.

SoD Phase 3 BiS List for DPS Warlocks

The following DPS Warlock best-in-slot list contains the best items you can get in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery. You need to get loot from the 20-man raid Sunken Temple and do PvP to get the best items in the game.

• Head (Lesser Arcanum of Voracity)
  Visage of the Exiled (Sunken Temple)
• Neck
  Jin'do's Lost Locket (Sunken Temple)
• Shoulders (Atal'ai Signet of Mojo)
  Fractured Mind Pauldrons (Tailoring)
• Back
  Hukku's Hex Cape (Sunken Temple)
• Chest (Enchant Chest - Stats)
  Garments of the Atal'ai Prophet (Sunken Temple)
• Wrist (Enchant Bracer - Intellect)
  Cursed Slimescale Bracers ( Sunken Temple)
  Void-Powered Invoker's Vambraces (Engineering)
  Dryad's Wrist Bindings (Warsong Gulch – Exalted)
• Hands
  Atal'ai Hexxer's Gloves (Sunken Temple)
• Waist
  Cord of the Untamed (15 Wild Offering)
• Legs (Lesser Arcanum of Voracity)
  Malevolent Prophet's Leggings (Sunken Temple)
• Feet (Enchant Boots - Minor Speed)
  Malevolent Prophet's Sandals (Sunken Temple)
• Rings
  Drakeclaw Band of the Harbinger (Sunken Temple)
  Roar of the Dream (Nightmare Incursions – Exalted)
  Cyclopean Band (Blackrock Depths)
• Trinkets
  Infernal Pact Essence (Stranglethorn Vale PvP event)
  Breadth of the Beast ( 12 Wild Offering)
  Atal'ai Blood Ritual Charm (Sunken Temple)
• Weapon
  Hubris, the Bandit Brander (Sunken Temple)
• Off-Hand
  Drakestone of the Blood Prophet ( Sunken Temple)
  Drakestone of the Nightmare Harbinger ( Sunken Temple)
• Wand
  Nightmare Trophy (Sunken Temple)

Legend: Items marked with are BiS for the fire spec. Items marked with are BiS for the shadow spec.

Use our Epic Crafting Guide for Phase 3 to learn how to craft Fractured Mind Pauldrons.

DPS Warlock Stat Priority

As a DPS Warlock you want to prioritize gear with the following stats:

1. Up to 16% Spell Hit Chance against level 60 raid bosses.
2. Spell Critical Hit
3. Spell Damage = Fire Damage (or Shadow Damage depending on your build)
4. Intellect

After reaching the hit cap, more Hit Chance has no additional value. Due to the Spell Hit Chance from your finger runes and talents, you need less Spell Hit Chance from your gear.

Warlock Macros in WoW Classic

You can write very useful macros for a Warlock in WoW Classic to improve your gameplay. Find the most important macros in our guide “WoW Classic Warlock Macros“. You’ll learn how to write macros yourself by reading through the examples, too.

Tank Build for Warlock in Season of Discovery

To tank in dungeons and raids, use the WoW SoD Warlock Tank Spec. The Tank Warlock spec is optimized to maintain your opponents’ threat and reduce incoming damage.