Blood Pact: leveling a warlock, 10 to 40
Blood Pact is your weekly warlock digest brought to you by Dominic Hobbs. "Haha! You're doing very well for yourself, young warlock. Given time, infernals and dreadlords will bow before you! But until that time comes, you must still rely on weapons forged by the hands of the mortal races." ~ Kaal Soulreaper
So, you want to level a warlock, huh? Well, I'm not going to tell you how to do it. No sir! If you've come here thinking that Blood Pact is going to give you a step-by-step plan of what you should do to get your warlock from level 10 to 40 -- some kind of list of quests, zones, instances and mobs -- then you're deluded mister; we don't do that here. What you need is a generic leveling guide of the sort you can find all over the internet. Seriously, don't pay for one though; you can get plenty of decent guides for free. Personally I use Tour Guide and Carbonite. They work really well together and make the whole process much faster. There are other tools, but I know these are good.
What Blood Pact is going to do is talk about what warlocks going through these levels are all about. It's not going to be hugely detailed at any one level because, frankly, you won't be at any level for long. We'll look at the new spells you will gain and how you can apply them, we'll have a gander at these talent things you can now play with, and we'll talk about the gear you will be wearing and wielding on the way. So send the imp off to make a fresh brew and settle in for some lock leveling.
So, I'm assuming you have created your warlock and progressed through the starting zone. If not then you're reading the wrong guide, you want the birth of a warlock article we did last month. We ended that one with your shadow-caster bumbling about near their home city and probably getting told that it's about time they learned to summon a voidwalker. Again, I'm not going to talk too much about that as I have already covered it in articles for the control of minions and also voidwalkers and threat. If you didn't read these articles before then now is a good time to do so as you'll probably be using your blueberry for a while.
Talents
The stock answer for what talent tree to use when leveling a lock is "Affliction till 50 then demonology till 80". This is a fair guide and you'll not go far wrong with it. It's quite possibly the fastest and/or easiest way to go. The problem I have with it is that there is so much variety in the warlock talents that being this formulaic is missing out on a lot. Also, leveling through the early stages is so quick and easy these days that it's a perfect opportunity to experiment. So if you want to dump points into anything that takes your fancy then go for it, I say. You can always pay to change them later.
That said, some of you are sat there shouting "To hell with fun, I want my lock to be 80 NOW! Tell me the quick way." So I shall. Destruction can get some very quick kills but leaves you kinda drained after each one. Demonology gives some solid minions but doesn't pack that much of a punch. Affliction has decent damage output with excellent resource regeneration; this makes it highly efficient over the long haul.
You'll probably be using your voidwalker (certainly at the start) so while he tanks you want to DoT the mob up with CoA, Corruption and Immolate. Use CoA first as it lasts the longest and lets him build up some threat. The idea with the void is to let him take the pain, so slow and steady damage on the target keeps them on him. If you Life Tap before you engage (to full mana) and then place DoTs you can then recover the health with Drain Life. If you find that mobs are dying before all your DoTs have run their course, then consider not casting one of them or taking on two mobs at once. Mobs dying before DoTs run out is not the worst thing in the world but it is a waste of mana; this can slow you down.
Given that you'll be DoTting a load, Improved Corruption is a handy talent to pour points into and Improved Life Tap and Soul Siphon also works well with this strategy (Immolate is a destruction spell so doesn't count for Soul Siphon). Improved Drain Soul can help your voidwalker hold threat and also give you a nice mana boost if you time it right -- some people swear by this talent, but I'm less of a fan, it's not bad but if you don't need it then look elsewhere.
Suppression is great for attacking mobs of a higher level, but if you prefer to level through 'green' quests then you might not need this. I prefer to be killing stuff as hard as I can manage and so Suppression is great. You should be looking to get Siphon Life as soon as you can, this used to be just another DoT with some healing but it was re-worked a while back and is simply awesome now. After that you want to stack points into Shadow mastery, also a very powerful talent. How you fill in the gaps is up to you but by level 40 you will probably end up with something like this.
Once you get your succubus (you read about her last week, right?) you are in the realms of drain-tanking. Basically you are the one taking the damage so throw an Immolate at the target, then your instant DoTs and finally Drain Life till they die. It helps to run away from them while you cast those instant spells. The succubus can be either whipping them for extra damage or seducing their friend. This is a fun and fast way to play but not ideal for every situation, don't forget your voidwalker if this is proving tricky.
Spells
Gear
Historically any cloth gear with stamina and intellect was considered warlock loot. This is still true to some degree as we do get more out of stamina than other casters (bigger health pool means bigger mana pool). With the introduction of the Glyph of Life Tap and the changes to make Life Tap work off spirit, this is now also a stat worth having. More on warlock glyphs in this previous article.
Spell power is highly desirable as a green stat. Look out for those randomly enchanted items: ...of the Eagle, ...of Spell Power and even ...of Healing are all good (healing bonus was converted to spell power a while back). There are a few items that stand out during leveling but they are too many to mention here. I do remember the robe from the final boss in RFD being one I didn't replace for quite a while. It might be worth reading the comments for further suggestions.
Powerleveling
If you have a character at level 80 and want to shower your new lock with gifts, then the heirloom items are well worth going for. Primarily I would suggest the ones that give an experience boost (Tattered Dreadmist Mantle and Tattered Dreadmist Robe). After that the Dignified Headmaster's Charge is fabulous and very warlocky (I couldn't bring myself to ever throw away my original Headmaster's Charge). Finally the trinkets are fabulous, especially at low levels where you don't see them dropping from mobs. I would suggest the Discerning Eye of the Beast before the Swift Hand of Justice.
If you really want to get through the levels as fast as possible then you could try and persuade a level 80 character to boost you through Deadmines, Wailing Caverns or Shadowfang Keep till 20 then the various wings of Scarlet Monastery until 40. This is quick leveling but you'll learn nothing about playing a warlock that way. Warlocks are hugely fun to play at all levels with loads of options and variety, so get out there and bring terror to the populous.
Addendum
Somebody mentioned something about being able to gain experience in battlegrounds. I guess you could do that if you like that kind of thing.
Blood Pact is a weekly column detailing DoTs, demons, and all the dastardly deeds done by Warlocks. If you're curious about what's new with Locks since the last patch, check out the Patch 3.2 Warlock Guide or find out what's upcoming in Cataclysm from the BlizzCon 2009: Class Discussion Panel.
So, you want to level a warlock, huh? Well, I'm not going to tell you how to do it. No sir! If you've come here thinking that Blood Pact is going to give you a step-by-step plan of what you should do to get your warlock from level 10 to 40 -- some kind of list of quests, zones, instances and mobs -- then you're deluded mister; we don't do that here. What you need is a generic leveling guide of the sort you can find all over the internet. Seriously, don't pay for one though; you can get plenty of decent guides for free. Personally I use Tour Guide and Carbonite. They work really well together and make the whole process much faster. There are other tools, but I know these are good.
What Blood Pact is going to do is talk about what warlocks going through these levels are all about. It's not going to be hugely detailed at any one level because, frankly, you won't be at any level for long. We'll look at the new spells you will gain and how you can apply them, we'll have a gander at these talent things you can now play with, and we'll talk about the gear you will be wearing and wielding on the way. So send the imp off to make a fresh brew and settle in for some lock leveling.
So, I'm assuming you have created your warlock and progressed through the starting zone. If not then you're reading the wrong guide, you want the birth of a warlock article we did last month. We ended that one with your shadow-caster bumbling about near their home city and probably getting told that it's about time they learned to summon a voidwalker. Again, I'm not going to talk too much about that as I have already covered it in articles for the control of minions and also voidwalkers and threat. If you didn't read these articles before then now is a good time to do so as you'll probably be using your blueberry for a while.
Talents
The stock answer for what talent tree to use when leveling a lock is "Affliction till 50 then demonology till 80". This is a fair guide and you'll not go far wrong with it. It's quite possibly the fastest and/or easiest way to go. The problem I have with it is that there is so much variety in the warlock talents that being this formulaic is missing out on a lot. Also, leveling through the early stages is so quick and easy these days that it's a perfect opportunity to experiment. So if you want to dump points into anything that takes your fancy then go for it, I say. You can always pay to change them later.
That said, some of you are sat there shouting "To hell with fun, I want my lock to be 80 NOW! Tell me the quick way." So I shall. Destruction can get some very quick kills but leaves you kinda drained after each one. Demonology gives some solid minions but doesn't pack that much of a punch. Affliction has decent damage output with excellent resource regeneration; this makes it highly efficient over the long haul.
You'll probably be using your voidwalker (certainly at the start) so while he tanks you want to DoT the mob up with CoA, Corruption and Immolate. Use CoA first as it lasts the longest and lets him build up some threat. The idea with the void is to let him take the pain, so slow and steady damage on the target keeps them on him. If you Life Tap before you engage (to full mana) and then place DoTs you can then recover the health with Drain Life. If you find that mobs are dying before all your DoTs have run their course, then consider not casting one of them or taking on two mobs at once. Mobs dying before DoTs run out is not the worst thing in the world but it is a waste of mana; this can slow you down.
Given that you'll be DoTting a load, Improved Corruption is a handy talent to pour points into and Improved Life Tap and Soul Siphon also works well with this strategy (Immolate is a destruction spell so doesn't count for Soul Siphon). Improved Drain Soul can help your voidwalker hold threat and also give you a nice mana boost if you time it right -- some people swear by this talent, but I'm less of a fan, it's not bad but if you don't need it then look elsewhere.
Suppression is great for attacking mobs of a higher level, but if you prefer to level through 'green' quests then you might not need this. I prefer to be killing stuff as hard as I can manage and so Suppression is great. You should be looking to get Siphon Life as soon as you can, this used to be just another DoT with some healing but it was re-worked a while back and is simply awesome now. After that you want to stack points into Shadow mastery, also a very powerful talent. How you fill in the gaps is up to you but by level 40 you will probably end up with something like this.
You can play about with many of the filler talents as you like and feel your play style dictates. I prefer Grim Reach to Improved Fear as I like to keep plenty of distance and it's all very well slowing a previously feared mob but the friends he ran into are coming at you at full pelt. ICoW is ok if you want to drop CoA (only one curse per target) and it will mean your tank can take more of a beating.
Once you get your succubus (you read about her last week, right?) you are in the realms of drain-tanking. Basically you are the one taking the damage so throw an Immolate at the target, then your instant DoTs and finally Drain Life till they die. It helps to run away from them while you cast those instant spells. The succubus can be either whipping them for extra damage or seducing their friend. This is a fun and fast way to play but not ideal for every situation, don't forget your voidwalker if this is proving tricky.
Spells
- Level 12 - Health Funnel - keep your pet alive while your DoTs kill the mob.
- Level 14 - Drain Life - Great for resource (health/mana) regeneration and drain tanking.
- Level 16 - Unending Breath - Used to be useful before everyone got lungs like pearl divers. The speed boost is quite nice if you have the glyph.
- Level 18 - Create Soulstone - Fantastic spell that I typically forget to keep active on myself.
- Level 18 - Searing Pain - Not particularly great spell for most situations.
- Level 20 - Demon Armor - Replacement for Demon Skin, don't forget to update your action bars.
- Level 20 - Rain of Fire - AoE fireballs from the sky. Nice.
- Level 20 - Ritual of Summoning - Is that a summoning stone in your pocket?
- Level 20 - Summon Succubus - Read all about it!
- Level 20 - Felsteed - Wheee! Giddy Up!
- Level 22 - Eye of Kilrogg - I once killed Illidan with only Eye of Kilrogg and Ritual of Souls; true story.
- Level 24 - Drain Mana - I have used this is AQ once and to solo the Tiger boss in ZG, that's it.
- Level 24 - Sense Demons - If the smell isn't enough...
- Level 24 - Curse of Tongues - Great spell for reducing the damage output of casters, in the same way CoW is for meat-heads.
- Level 26 - Detect Invisibility - By the time you realize you need this buff it's probably too late. Remember, it does not detect stealth.
- Level 28 - Create Firestone - Very nice boost to damage, keep it active all the time.
- Level 28 - Banish - Crowd control for demons.
- Level 30 - Enslave demon - More CC for demons, though I forgot it last week. Handy if somewhat troublesome.
- Level 30 - Hellfire - More AoE, unfortunately not as good as rain of Fire. I like this spell and wish it were worth using more.
- Level 30 - Summon Felhunter - Our own puppy and subject of the next 'Meet the minions'.
- Level 32 - Curse of Elements - This can be very handy if you are with other casters, though oom-chickens and unholy death knights can apply it easier.
- Level 32 - Shadow Ward - Actually very handy if you remember to use it when about to take shadow damage.
- Level 36 - Create Spellstone - If you're not leveling as destruction then swap to using this weapon buff.
- Level 40 - Howl of Terror - AoE fear; fun and danger in one spell.
- Level 40 - Dreadsteed - Epic mount, oooh yes! Fast and Furious
Gear
Historically any cloth gear with stamina and intellect was considered warlock loot. This is still true to some degree as we do get more out of stamina than other casters (bigger health pool means bigger mana pool). With the introduction of the Glyph of Life Tap and the changes to make Life Tap work off spirit, this is now also a stat worth having. More on warlock glyphs in this previous article.
Spell power is highly desirable as a green stat. Look out for those randomly enchanted items: ...of the Eagle, ...of Spell Power and even ...of Healing are all good (healing bonus was converted to spell power a while back). There are a few items that stand out during leveling but they are too many to mention here. I do remember the robe from the final boss in RFD being one I didn't replace for quite a while. It might be worth reading the comments for further suggestions.
Powerleveling
If you have a character at level 80 and want to shower your new lock with gifts, then the heirloom items are well worth going for. Primarily I would suggest the ones that give an experience boost (Tattered Dreadmist Mantle and Tattered Dreadmist Robe). After that the Dignified Headmaster's Charge is fabulous and very warlocky (I couldn't bring myself to ever throw away my original Headmaster's Charge). Finally the trinkets are fabulous, especially at low levels where you don't see them dropping from mobs. I would suggest the Discerning Eye of the Beast before the Swift Hand of Justice.
If you really want to get through the levels as fast as possible then you could try and persuade a level 80 character to boost you through Deadmines, Wailing Caverns or Shadowfang Keep till 20 then the various wings of Scarlet Monastery until 40. This is quick leveling but you'll learn nothing about playing a warlock that way. Warlocks are hugely fun to play at all levels with loads of options and variety, so get out there and bring terror to the populous.
Addendum
Somebody mentioned something about being able to gain experience in battlegrounds. I guess you could do that if you like that kind of thing.
Blood Pact is a weekly column detailing DoTs, demons, and all the dastardly deeds done by Warlocks. If you're curious about what's new with Locks since the last patch, check out the Patch 3.2 Warlock Guide or find out what's upcoming in Cataclysm from the BlizzCon 2009: Class Discussion Panel.
Filed under: Warlock, Analysis / Opinion, Tips, How-tos, Quests, Guides, Alts, (Warlock) Blood Pact
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Nihilas Nov 30th 2009 10:05PM
Welcome to the site Mr. Hobbs
Informative article.
Crimson Dec 1st 2009 11:42AM
A bit surprised that Mister Hobbs didn't mention fel synergy
makes your life so much easier, also the time you spend health funneling
could be instead be the time spend wanding or life tapping or dotting other mobs
makes affliction a non stop leveling train
you dot the mobs, you send in your tank, you life tap for mana and then drain life for
ultimate health return while healing your tank and killing the mobs simultaneously
Brouck Nov 30th 2009 10:16PM
I have found, while recently leveling my Warlock (level 70) now, that many guides are missing a crucial piece of information and gear with the rotation for killing mobs. Wands. Go ahead and grab yourself a high quality wand whenever you can. DOT up your mobs, and if no need for drain life, wand the hell outta them. It's a great, and often overlooked tool.
Oznak Nov 30th 2009 11:19PM
I took a more brute-force approach to affliction leveling, and played as if i already had a felguard. Didn't work so well, I hated it, and I still don't know how I got through those last ten levels to 50. BG leveling sure helped.
Once you get the felguard, though, my wand made up most of my rotation. Send the felguard in, give him a few seconds on the target(s), dot it up, and start wanding. Incredibly nice for mana while leveling.
Tim Dec 1st 2009 11:00AM
I so agree. The only gear that I buy of the AH in the early levels are wands. I would love love love to have an heirloom wand. Dont priests rely on wands a lot?
Shadow bolt takes a while to cast and with it hitting so hard and critting many times you dont want to spend the mana for the Sbolt. Wands ftw
Poxus Nov 30th 2009 10:17PM
Skip the Void...use the Imp until you get the Succy and then do the same thing (void on the big pulls or tough fights only)
You DPs so fast and can still Drain Tank most mobs that it goes way faster than using the Void.
Eyhk Dec 1st 2009 1:17PM
My strategy leveling to 80 was similar, deep afflic including dark pact where my imp was only a mana battery. Shadowbolt, dotdotdot, fear/drain. Whenever I could, I would fear the mob before it got to me and just pulled another. By the time the feared mob would get to me, the dots would kill it and I would loot and move on. Tanking with your blueberry might be safe and all, but it was just too BORING. Using a spell almost every global cooldown, dotting and fearing as you go, constantly running around, never needing a mana break, reaping in the exp and kills? That's my definition of a warlock ;-)
Byron Dec 1st 2009 2:53PM
/second that, Eyhk. Leveling like that also makes you much more pro by the time you hit 80.
I'm also glad to see a warlock guide that explains Drain Tanking, the quintessential warlock strategy. Drain Tanking is especially useful while leveling on PvP realms. If a ganker shows up while you're killing a mob, you have multiple ways to control the situation: Seduction, Fear. You can even cast Seduction while stuneed, useful to control a rogue that Cheap Shots you out of stealth.
Just keep in mind that while leveling on a pvp realm, it's useful to get a few points in Suppression, so you can handle higher level gankers. DoTs, Drains, Fear, and Seduction are all more likely to miss if the ganker is higher level than you. I remember the goold old days back in my 30s in STV, I was able to take down gankers 3-4 levels higher than me Seduce Nuking & Fear Kiting w/ maxed Suppression.
uberminion Nov 30th 2009 10:40PM
Nice article. I just started a lock so this came at a perfect time.
CallMeIrd Nov 30th 2009 11:03PM
I finally got my warlock to 50 but it's been a rough ride. Somehow the class just doesn't dazzle me. She's demonology now so maybe having a big strong demon performing those 'welcome distractions' on her enemies will make her more enjoyable to play. Funnily enough I was affliction up 'til then. I used the cookie-cutter method without even realising it!
David Nov 30th 2009 11:15PM
I'm enjoying affliction and just got my Warlock to 40. Being able to tab dot tab dot, drain life, dark pact move on to the next group of targets. That being said it's not for everyone, and that's true with all classes.
Aedilhild Nov 30th 2009 11:27PM
My little fel-trafficker hit 30 yesterday. After a mismatch of player style and class mechanics that was my attempt to level a mage, the warlock has proven to be the caster I wanted. Crowd control is bar none; I have about as much confidence challenging higher-level mobs as I did with my protection warrior. And I knew from arena that these imp-kissers were tricky, but PVP looks to be even more fun than anticipated.
Nina Dec 1st 2009 12:51PM
Voted up because "Imp-Kisser" is now my new favorite warlock term. :)
Vogie Nov 30th 2009 11:35PM
Love the article, its a fantastic look at the class closest to my heart and, IMHO, the best class of all time, despite it's sadness at times.
When I started playing, everyone leveled as a affliction for the early levels because it was the only spec that made sense - 5 points in Improved Corruption made corruption instant cast, and therefore was the best place to start the spec.
I'll never forget players calling me a hacker in Nagrand. Taking 12 mobs on at a time, meleeing with my blade of wizardry, Nightfall proccing constantly... those were good times. The worst part about being affliction is having to stop to loot mobs.
@Brouk: Wands are only good for demo locks. A destro lock has to kill things fast, an affliction lock has infinite mana, so they're good as stat sticks and nothing else.
Kittens Dec 1st 2009 8:47AM
"The worst part about being affliction is having to stop to loot mobs."
Haha yes, this!! You also know you're an affliction lock when you try to start looting the mobs before they've actually hit the ground and die ^_^
I agree with you on the wand part.. I have leveled several affli locks so far (yeah I know it's sad but I LOVE the class/spec) and I have never ever in my life needed a wand for more than stats. When you level up a little and start drain tanking, you're hella life- and mana efficient and you really won't be short of any mana any time. It's probably faster to just continue dotting the next two mobs up instead of wanding the one, they will die anyway from the dots.
Kole Nov 30th 2009 11:47PM
I started a lock to join in on the It came from the Blog fun on Zang-US...so this (these) guides are coming in very handy considering I want to level her!
Yavis
Zang-US
Jeff (Not that one ^ ) Dec 1st 2009 12:02AM
While you /can/ gain experience in the battlegrounds, is it worth it? I've only seen the XP flash on the screen a few times and it wasn't any more than 1200 or 1300 at a time. You can get more than that in less time in some high-monster areas.
Do you gain more XP that I've not noticed?
Tribus Dec 1st 2009 2:07AM
Yes, in the Alterac Valley 50's bracket with heirlooms you can gain around 15%+ of a level per match. Couple that with questing while in the queue (along with some free time) and you're looking at a couple of levels per day. The other BG's are not as rewarding, but they break up the monotony of questing while waiting for your AV slot.
S?hrtogg Dec 1st 2009 6:42AM
BGs reward less xp than questing over time, except for the daily BG if you're in a city to pick it up anyway. No time is lost waiting for a queue, as long as you make sure your affli pulls are not so big you can't get out of combat in time ;)
Wisakedjak Dec 1st 2009 12:34AM
Destruction leveling isn't anywhere *near* the painful uphill slog it used to be, and in the post-3.0 world of heavy quest rewards, it is generally faster than the traditional afflic AoE grind.
1-16: Don't matter, they take next to no time anyway. However, from 10-16, dump all your points in afflc to get imp drain soul. Don't look at me like that, it's just to fund your nukes.
16-47: Nuke your way to glory, make sure to drain soul while the kill shot is in the air, and make certain to get a shard destroying mod or you'll wind up swimming in them.
48-59: You now have both conflag (including replenishment and a snare) and soul fire (ergo your big opener). Cackle with wild abandon and leave a wake of smoking craters.
60: Chaos Bolt! Yes, at this point, you can even respec out of IDS; between soul leech and replenishment, you should never have to stop, even without it. Open with soul fire, immo, conflag, chaos bolt, clean up, next.
61+: Very little changes. Blow stuff up.
Destro leveling has some pros and cons:
+ Far quicker single target killing
+ Succy at the ready for gank protection
+ BIG NUMBERS!
+ Far better instance performance
+ Arguably better BG performance
- Far squishier
- Less able to cope with adds
- Can't AoE farm / drain tank