WotLK Classic Affliction Warlock Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities (2024)

Last updated on Sep 24, 2023 at 12:00by Crix11 comments

On this page, you will learn how to optimize the rotation of yourAffliction Warlock in both single-target and multiple-target PvEsituations in WotLK Classic. We also have advanced sections about cooldowns, procs, etc.in order to minmax your DPS.

If you have not already, please read the SpellSummary page. Knowing how each spell and ability works in detail willgreatly increase your understanding of the topics discussed on this page.

The Affliction Warlock rotation is one of the most fun and engaging rotations in thegame, having to keep up all your damage-over-time abilities on top of Hauntto buff them all up while filling with Shadow Bolt in the meantime. This pagewill go over the single-0target rotation, as well as the AoE and execute rotations

The biggest part of dealing damage as an Affliction Warlock is how youdeal with your Corruption and if you let it roll over. Simply put, thanks to the talentEverlasting Affliction, this spell causes your Corruption andUnstable Affliction to do more damage, but most importantly, allows yourDrain Life, Drain Soul, Shadow Bolt, and Haunt torefresh your Corruption. This means that once you manually apply thatfirst Corruption, as long as you are casting Drain Life, Drain Soul,Shadow Bolt, or Haunt, that Corruption will remain on thetarget without you needing to manually apply it.

Another amazing thing about Corruption is that it snapshots your currentcrit percentage along with any damage modifiers you have, and it will also remain on thatCorruption until you manually refresh it or it naturally falls off. This means thatyou can and should be putting as many crit and damage modifiers as you can on thatfirst Corruption so that it is buffed for the entirety of the encounter, or untilyou naturally refresh it. These modifiers include things like Potion of Wild Magic, Earth and Moon, Ebon Plaguebringer,Curse of the Elements, and Improved Shadow Bolt to name a few.

The only time you will manually refresh your Corruption is once the bossreaches 35%, thanks to the Death's Embrace talent. For this reason, it is veryimportant that you make sure the proper buffs are on you before applying that firstCorruption.

Your opener as Affliction matters a lot in terms of both damage. It is very important

1. Life Tap for your Glyph — This needs to be up the entire fight. Remember, if you havethe 4-piece Tier 7 set bonus, do not worry about life tapping to keep that 4pc buff. JustLife Tap throughout the fight as you normally would.
2. Pre-Pot a potion — Potion of Wild Magic. The crit rating on this willsnapshot into your Corruption
3. Precast your Shadow Bolt so that it hits the boss right as the pull timerhits 0.

After your opener, your rotation/priority is listed below.

1. After the opening Shadow Bolt, cast Haunt and keep this onthe target at all times, while trying not to clip it. Clipping means to reapplybefore the previous DoT ran out.
2. Cast Unstable Affliction and keep this on the target at all times.
3. Cast Corruption. This is cast after Haunt and Unstable Afflictionto ensure that you have Improved Shadow Bolt and Tricks of the Trade.
4. Cast Curse of Agony and keep this on the target at all times.
5. Fill with Shadow Bolt while keeping Haunt, Unstable Affliction andCurse of Agony on the target for the entire duration of the encounter withoutclipping them.

For AoE, you simply spam Seed of Corruption while watching your threat. Use Soulshatteras needed.

If you are an Engineer, make sure to utilize your Global Thermal Sapper Charge and Saronite Bombs as much as you possibly can.

Once the target hits 35%, you have entered Death's Embrace range, which means you manually applyCorruption.

Before hitting 25%, I like to make sure I have the Mana to Drain Soul, so I will Life Tapa time or two to ensure I have Mana. At this point you will be using Drain Soul to take advantageof the 4 times damage it receives on top of talents like Soul Siphon that buffs the drain damage.

1. Keep Unstable Affliction, Haunt, and Curse of Agony on the boss if they will last.
2. Use Drain Soul as often as you can while those DoTs are on the boss.

It is important to keep your DoTs up full time while draining as much as you can. If you need to refreshany of the DoTs, then do it in pairs. Meaning, if Unstable Affliction fell off the target, do notstop casting Drain Soul until the Haunt or the Curse of Agony fell off and thenreapply BOTH of them. This allows for maximum drain uptime.

A very important thing about Execute is that Drain Soul does not snapshot like normal DoTs do sinceit is a channel. This means that whenever you get a Spell Power Proc, Haste Proc, or Damage Proc you shouldresnap your Drain Soul in order for it to take into effect the buffs.