Just like the Destruction guide, this guide will focus only on deep Demonology raiding (more specifically the Metamorphosis/Ruin raiding spec). I will not be covering any form of Felguard/Emberstorm, etc., hybrid specs at this time. A majority of my information comes from personal raiding experience, Warlock’s Den & Elitist Jerks threads as well as other raiding Warlock players who have experience with the Meta/Ruin spec.
As always, I like to make things as complete and accurate as possible. If you’d like to contribute information, please leave it in the comments and I’ll do my best to include it in this post (with credit of course). Questions and discussion is always welcome as long as it’s not an obvious troll comment.
Raiding as a Demonology Warlock is both a lot of fun and very rewarding but like most raiding specs, it doesn’t come without its flaws. Demonology requires a lot of pet management with the loss of your pet resulting in a significant decrease in your DPS output, but the end results are quite good if everything goes in your favor.
Outside of your Felguard, a lot of your damage output will come in one of two ways – Metamorphosis & the “Decimation Execute Phase”.
Metamorphosis (also known as “Meta”) is the 51-point Demonology talent put in place with patch 3.0. This talent will transform the Warlock in to a demon, increasing damage output by 20% and giving them access to new spells and abilities for the duration. Think of it as a 51-point “trinket with benefits”. The idea is to be in demon form as often as possible with the help of the new Nemesis talent which will reduce the cooldown to 2.1 minutes.
Decimation is a new Demonology talent added in patch 3.1. Any time your Shadowbolt or Incinerate spell damages a target at or below 35% health, the casting time of your next Soul Fire spell is reduced by 60% and the Soul Shard cost is removed. When your current raid boss is at or below 35%, this is what we refer to as the “Decimation Execute Phase”.
With the reduced cooldown of Metamorphosis, you should be able to use it once in the beginning of a fight, once in the middle and again in the end during the execute phase. If you notice you’re close to the execute phase, save your Meta cooldown until then.
Pros
-Great damage output with Metamorphosis.
-Simple & forgiving spell rotation.
-Increase DPS under 35% boss health from Decimation.
-Felguard provides stellar damage for a pet.
-Pet crits increase your raids spellpower by 10% of your spellpower.
Cons
-Pet death results in much lower DPS.
-Mistimed use of Metamorphosis tanks DPS.
-DPS outside of Metamorphosis uses or Decimation phases isn’t as competitive as other specs.
-Demonic Pact will not overwrite Totem of Wrath until you have 2800 spellpower (doable, but good luck!).
The Specs
As long as you only spend 15 points in Destruction to pick up Ruin, you’ll have plenty of points to throw around in the Demonology tree to pick up Metamorphosis and a f ew gravy talents.
0-56-15 is the “hit capped” version of Meta/Ruin, opting not to take 3/3 Suppression in the Affliction tree for 3% hit. This version takes 5/5 Demonic Pact, maxes Molten Core for only 1/3 Improved Demonic Tactics. Demonic Pact is of no use to any Warlock that raids with an Elemental Shaman on their team (unless you have a stable 2800+ spellpower) but if you’d rather take some other talents, feel free to move them around. If you don’t have an Elemental Shaman on your team, it’s worth the 5 points IMO. This variation is the “max DPS” build, dropping Mana Feed (which isn’t really necessary for the most part), going 2/3 Molten Core which still gives plenty of proc chance and maxing out Improved Demonic Tactics.
3-53-15 is an alternate version, still giving you the 2 namesake talents but spending 3 points in the Affliction tree for Suppression to get a 3% hit increase. This variation takes the Demonic Pact talent which is good if you don’t raid with an Elemental Shaman, but if you do, here is an alternate version dropping Demonic Pact to max out Improved Demonic Tactics.
Glyphs
Regardless of spec, when it comes to raiding, minor glyphs are pretty terrible for us. Glyph of Drain Soul is really the only minor glyph that I’d say is mandatory. Personally, I use Glyph of Souls and Glyph of Unending Breath but really get little to no use out of either. Glyph of Souls is normally cast before boss pulls and it’s just as easy to Life Tap back up and get tossed a heal.
The 3 major slots will be filled depending on your gear leveling. The max DPS glyphs will be Immolate, Felguard and Life Tap if you have 4T7 for the set bonus. If not, I’d personally drop Life Tap for Glyph of Metamorphosis for extended time in demon form unless you can at least pick up 100 spellpower (500+ spirit) from the Life Tap proc.
Why Glyph of Immolate?
Immolate is a staple spell in your rotation and will also receive a boost in damage from steady Molten Core procs. Consistant damage is a great thing to have. (see comments for link to source information)
Why Glyph of Felguard?
As a Demonology Warlock, your Felguard is your pet of choice (for most encounters anyway) and provides you with a pretty significant chunk of damage. Increasing it’s AP by 20% is nothing to scoff at.
When should I switch to Glyph of Life Tap?
Without the 4-pc T7 bonus, you won’t be getting a lot of spellpower from this glyph. The average spirit count for a raiding Warlock is around 400-ish in Naxx gear, granting you about 80-ish spellpower. I’d wait until you can pick up at least 500 spirit or 4-pc T7.
Spell Rotation
Spell rotations for Meta/Ruin can come in a few different flavors depending on a few different things. It is also important to use Demonic Empowerment every cooldown but I will not be listing it in the rotation.
Normal spell rotation
Curse, Corruption, Immolate, Shadowbolt
Metamorphosis spell rotation
CoE*, Meta, (CoD/CoA), Immolation Aura**, Corruption, Immolate, Shadowbolt.
*If no one else in your raid is providing the +13% spell damage debuff, CoE is your primary curse. If you will be using CoE, use it before casting Meta as it will get no additional benefit from being in demon form and will waste a GCD worth of additional DPS. If someone else is keeping the debuff up, Curse of Doom should be next in line and should be used while in demon form for the boosted DPS. Finally, if you’re fishing for Molten Core procs or the target will die in less than 60 seconds, CoA should be the last choice and should also be used while in demon form for the additional damage boost.
**Immolation Aura is a significant source of damage and should be used if the encounter allows close quarter combat. Get used to casting at melee range if you don’t have to run in and out for Whirlwind phases, etc., and use this spell every single time you use Meta. If the encounter isn’t Immo-friendly (i.e. Heigan, Kel’Thuzad), leave it out but if the opportunity arises and you can fight in melee range, do it.
Decimation Execute Phase (35% health or less)
Curse, Corruption*, Shadowbolt x2**, Soul Fire, Shadowbolt x2, Soul Fire.
*I personally leave Immolate out of my rotation to get as many Soul Fire nukes in as possible. I leave Corruption in to fish for Molten Core procs unless I’m using CoA as my primary curse. In that case, I leave Corruption out altogether. This may change after more extensive testing to see if it’s worth keeping Immolate up or if it’s OK to drop it in favor of nuke spams.
**With Decimation not proccing until a spell hits the target, it is impossible to keep a steady 1 SB -> 1 SF rotation without standing in melee range and waiting half a second or so between casts. To play it safe and to avoid clipping your DPS, I recommend a 2 SB -> 1 SF rotation (aka a 2:1 rotation) but once you get more comfortable with your procs, you can start using a 1:1 in melee range.
Gear/Stats
Hit Rating is your #1 priority, hands down. You need to aim for 17% (446 hit rating) but that includes talents or buffs given by other players.
Suppression – +3%
Misery (Shadow Priest) – 3%
Improved Faerie Fire (Moonkin) – 3%
Heroic Presence (Draenei Racial Aura) – 1%
Misery & Improved Faerie Fire do not stack with each other. The Heroic Presence is not raid-wide so you will only get the benefit if you are in the same party.
If your raid constantly brings these classes, feel free to gear for as much hit as you need to reach 17% and then concentrate on other stats.
In order of importance – Hit Rating, Spellpower, Haste, Crit, Spirit, Intellect
Gems
Meta – Chaotic Skyflare Diamond (requires at least two blue gems)
Use 2 Purified Twilight Opal to make it work.
Are you a Jewelcrafter?
Jewelcrafters can use up to 3 “prismatic gems” in their equipped gear. These gems act as every color and allow your meta to work without having to use blue gems. Having 3 Runed Dragons Eye is pretty sweet.
Need to gem for hit still?
Veiled Monarch Topaz if you just need a little, Rigid Dawnstone if you need a lot.
Hit capped?
Runed Scarlet Ruby. Thats it. Pack ‘em in!
Enchants/Threads/Etc.
Head – Arcanum of Burning Mysteries (Revered Kirin Tor)
Shoulder – Master’s Inscription of the Storm (Inscribers only), Greater Inscription of the Storm (exalted Sons of Hodir), Lesser Inscription of the Storm (honored Sons of Hodir)
Chest – +10 stats, +8 stats, +15 spirit
Wrist – +30 spellpower, +23 spellpower
Hands – +28 spellpower
Belt – Eternal Belt Buckle
Legs – Brilliant Spellthread (or Tailoring-only equivalent), Shining Spellthread
Feet – Icewalker (hit/crit)
Rings – +19 spellpower (Enchanter-only)
Cape – Lightweave Embroider (Tailor-only), +23 haste
Weapon – +63 spellpower, +50 spellpower, +81 spellpower (to staff weapons only)
Consumables
Flask – Flask of the Frost Wyrm
Weapon – Spellstone
Food buff – Fish Feast, Firecracker Salmon
This guide will be under construction for a few days while I add links and edit/add information. Thanks in advance for being patient!
I finallly cooked the books to give me cash for dual speccing last night, and this is where I’m going first. In fact, the first thing I did was turn into a demon and run around SW joyously for a bit. Then I summoned a felguard and marvelled at how fast the cast time was. I wish you could have a DG out while you’re in Demon form… it’d be like the bash brothers.
In any case, I need to set up my bars and such before I can give this a real try, but it’s fun so far. I went with the included Suppression and Demonic Pact spec version for the obvious reasons. (need the hit and don’t have an ele shaman always).
Was dual speccing as a ‘lock a complete waste of 1k gold? Probably, but hot damn is it fun
.
I’m currently assuming that at some point during Ulduar I’ll (a) get hitcapped without Suppression (b) get enough spellpower that Demonic Pact will be better than Totem of Wrath, at which point the Demonic Pact build looks a lot more tempting…
As to the problem I’m currently using:
Shadowbolt*2 Soul Fire*2 which requires some quick reactions if the second doesn’t appear on schedule but produces better dps for me. How this works is something like (assuming 2s Shadow Bolt and Decimated-Soul Fire for simplicity, a pair of numbers you can’t actually get with haste but it makes the timings look simple, and 100ms round-trip server latency. I’m also guessing the GCDs down to about 1.3s at this level of haste but I’ve not actually measured it):
0.00s Cast Shadowbolt, GCD starts
0.05s Server picks up start of Shadowbolt cast
1.30s Client stops GCDing
1.60s Try to cast next Shadowbolt, client sends it to server for the command-queue
1.65s Server receives queued Shadowbolt command
2.05s Server finishes casting Shadowbolt.
2.05s Server performs Shadowbolt.
2.05s Server starts casting second Shadowbolt.
2.10s Shadowbolt hits.
2.10s Server sends Decimate buff to client.
2.10s Client receives notification that the queued command has been executed. GCD starts.
2.15s Client receives Decimate buff
3.40s Client stops GCDing
3.60s Try and cast Soul Fire-with-Decimate, client sends it to server for the command-queue
3.65s Server receives queued Soul Fire-with-Decimate command.
4.05s Server finishes casting Shadowbolt.
4.05s Server performs Shadowbolt.
4.05s Server starts casting Soul Fire-with-Decimate, sends to client to remove the Decimate buff
4.10s Shadowbolt hits.
4.10s Server sends Decimate buff to client.
4.10s Client receives notification that the queued command has been executed. GCD starts.
4.10s Client receives Decimate buff removal
4.15s Client receives Decimate buff…
(at which point you can cast another Soul Fire after)
Obviously this is highly dependent on server lag and network latency, but it seems to work out for me over 75% of the time.
@ Fulg – It was totally worth 1k gold, IMO, as long as you have fun with it. Right now I’m enjoying Destruction for raiding but it’s a bit too threat heavy for heroics so I swap over to Meta/Ruin but I’m going to try raiding with Meta/Ruin to get a little more used to it. It’s a really fun spec once you get used to the rotation.
@ Luiniel – With Master Conjurer I’m around 540 haste (or around 15% cast time reduction) and I try to fight in melee range as often as I can (knowing that I won’t get cleave gibbed or have to move back in and out frequently), and it seems like enough haste to get a 1:1 rotation going as long as I give the server client enough time to register the buff (around .3-.5 of a second really). I have 14% hit rating in my Meta/Ruin spec since we use a Moonkin with IFF so thankfully I got to leave out Suppression although I may be dropping Demonic Pact until I can hit the 2800 spellpower mark. We don’t always use an Ele shaman but every so often we do and I feel like I wasted 5 points.
Also worth pointing out, Elitist Jerks Simcraft post shows that you’ll get the most DPS from Life Tap, Immolate and Felguard glyphs (replacing Meta with Life Tap w/ 4T7) but Meta should be a good glyph until you reach the 4T7 bonus. IMO, without the 4T7 bonus, the Life Tap glyph doesn’t really warrant a loot of spellpower boost and I find staying in Meta longer during a Decimate phase a bit more enjoyable. Still though, EJ goes for max DPS, not more enjoyability =)
http://wowmb.net/forums/f162/33692-help_demonology_dps_rotation_post_3_1_a/p4/
for all around enjoyability, fg/ember still wins. still. 0/41/30, doesn’t always allow you to survive things, but sometimes, you can solo group quests in icecrown, and it’s not too bad in a raid.
more warlock pets should be like the felguard, i.e. able to pull threat off you in the middle of a fight, able to survive being hit by a rogue in pvp, etc. able to “actually” kill other players in PVP in a semi-direct fight, etc. and actually seem about the right size for a demon.
so, one pet, three/four dot timers for procs, and you can still get around with 400-800ms latency. though none of this incin/sfire rotation dilemma, perhaps one day ill be more attuned to the need, but i’m not yet hit capped, so switching from incin-a-palooza to the weaving motion of incin/sfire/sfire/incin, etc. makes me feel dizzy at the thought alone. or spending/gathering another 100EoV for hit gear, blegh.
i have tried the dual-spec and i went with affliction, but it’s quite hard to get a feel for it.
i tried emmalon on 53/0/18 to iron out how the spec was going, and unfortunately, everyone else seemed to be ironing out their specs too, so i can’t really say if i like afflic. the change in stats is also dismal from afflic to hybrid demo, 15k health vs 17k health, and the loss of the haste/crit bonus… its really hard to see why people like afflic from the 2-3 hours i spent recovering my corpse in wintergrasp or VoA.
it’s also a complete mess on heigan or grobbulus due to the constant moving about and not being able to stand for 3+ seconds to cast a series of long-draw spells, that then throws out the rotation. or perhaps i just suck as affliction.
at least i’m not a destro lock. that’s just 1) too much like a mage 2) bound to be nerfed for the sheer delight of it in any future hotfix/patch/any time a GM sneezes.
it is really a much maligned spec.
Affliction has always been about consistant damage, IMO, so it favors tank and spank boss fights over fights with mobility. This is the main reason I picked up dual speccing so I could have a more mobile spec with a forgiving spell rotation and another that provided higher DPS on tank and spank fights. I’m not really a fan of Affliction either, TBH, because I feel that Shadow Priests are a better designed DoT class and I have a lot more fun with them. Thats just a matter of opinion though.
As for pets, the only one that needs work really is the Succubus. Each pet should have it’s own niche rather than being the same as the other and I think Blizz is doing a pretty good job improving them as time goes on.
Destruction is really a lot of fun if you haven’t tried the changes from 3.1 yet. It’s a nuke spec so yeah you could say it’s like a Mage but you could also say the same thing about Elemental Shaman and Moonkin. In the end we’re all DoT and Nuke casters.
Great comment, though. Thanks for stopping by!
Your tips are very useful. Now,i know about demon talent clearly. Thanks alot