World of Warcraft - Warlock Guide

A unique feature of warlocks is the dependence on talent points. A warlock can vastly change their play style based upon which talent tree they specialize in. From powerful curses, to summoning the dreaded felguard, a warlock must learn all aspects of the talent tree to determine their casting powers. The next section of this guide will look in depth for all three talent trees, starting with the affliction tree.

The affliction tree concentrates on damage over time and curses. This build is well suited for those warlocks that like to watch their target die slowly from maximized curses. One of the first talents any warlock should maximize is Improved Corruption. This talent reduces the total casting time of the Corruption spell to a point where it becomes instant cast. No matter what build a warlock chooses, this talent is a must for all.

Further down the talent tree is Nightfall. This talent will sometimes allow a caster to instantaneously cast Shadowbolt. Although the percentage for a successful cast is low (4% if maxed out) it seems to proc quite often when you cast Corruption.

If enough talent points are spent in the affliction tree, the warlock can learn new curses. An important curse to learn is Curse of Exhaustion. This curse will reduce the target's speed by 30% and is very useful when kiting around a target. For those not familiar with warlock kiting it is very simple to do. Cast Curse of Exhaustion, Corruption, Immolate, and Siphon Life if you have it. The key thing is to keep a far enough distance away from your target so that it cannot hit you. If done correctly, even high level elites can be kited and killed with slow damage over time.