Demonology Warlock Leveling Guide from 1 to 80 — The War Within (Season 1)
On this page, you will find our Level by Level Demonology Warlock leveling guide for The War Within. Make sure to use the slider to make the guide adapt to your level. For more general leveling information, please refer to our Warlock leveling guide.
Demonology Warlock Leveling Guide for The War Within
Demonology Warlock Leveling Playstyle
Demonology Warlock relies on Felguard to do the heavy lifting
during leveling, being equally durable and powerful on its own. While it does
not have many ways of tagging mobs, primarily using pets or Demonic
Core  Demonbolts, its strength lies in very high aoe burst potential
and a low threat generating player spells in comparison to other
specialisations.
 Demonbolts, its strength lies in very high aoe burst potential
and a low threat generating player spells in comparison to other
specialisations.
Curses, crowd controls, and pet off-tanking can substantially reduce the amount of incoming damage, promoting aggressive play, while all the personal defensive cooldowns offer a degree of safety even when overpulling.
For bigger enemies, such as Elites or Rares, Demonology's damage profile is centered around several separate demons and guardians that allow us to use all
cooldowns with the safety of a Felguard able to maintain aggro, although
some  Health Funnel may be required for the harder hitting
enemies.
 Health Funnel may be required for the harder hitting
enemies.
Gear Options
When leveling up, you should always choose the piece of loot with the highest item level. If the item levels are equal, you should choose the piece with stats that are most favorable to your specialization. If your current item is an Heirloom, it should not be replaced.
Level by Level Rotation and Talents
Move the slider below to make the guide update to your level!
Talents to Level Up as a Demonology Warlock
Below, you can see the suggested levelling talent build and the order in which to pick the talents while levelling.
Rotation to Level Up as an Demonology Warlock
Starting at Level 1, you only
have one main attack ability:  Shadow Bolt.
 Shadow Bolt.
- Level 2 — Cast
  Corruption to tag and soften up multiple enemies whenever spamming
 a few shadowbolts will not kill them quicker. Corruption to tag and soften up multiple enemies whenever spamming
 a few shadowbolts will not kill them quicker.
- Level 45 — Cast  Summon Demonic Tyrant
 with at least Summon Demonic Tyrant
 with at least Call Dreadstalkers and 2 sets of Wild Imps to get the
 most out of its extension. Call Dreadstalkers and 2 sets of Wild Imps to get the
 most out of its extension.
- Level 55 — Cast  Summon Vilefiend on
 cooldown, making sure to extend every other cast with Tyrant. Summon Vilefiend on
 cooldown, making sure to extend every other cast with Tyrant.
- Level 31 — Use  Power Siphon on
 cooldown when having at least 2 Wild Imps. Power Siphon on
 cooldown when having at least 2 Wild Imps.
- Level 27 — Use  Demonic Strength on
 cooldown. Demonic Strength on
 cooldown.
- Level 13 — cast  Call Dreadstalkers
 on cooldown, regardless of the number of targets. Call Dreadstalkers
 on cooldown, regardless of the number of targets.
-  Level 1 —  Hand of Gul'dan is the first
 shard spender, and the only one without cooldown. Cast it whenever you have
 no other spenders and you have 5 shards. Hand of Gul'dan is the first
 shard spender, and the only one without cooldown. Cast it whenever you have
 no other spenders and you have 5 shards.
- Level 11 —  Demonbolt is unlocked,
 use it whenever a Demonic Core proc happens. Demonbolt is unlocked,
 use it whenever a Demonic Core proc happens.
- Level 21 —  Implosion should be used
 whenever there are 3 or more targets stacked. Implosion should be used
 whenever there are 3 or more targets stacked.
Demonology Warlock PvP Talents for Leveling
 Call Fel Lord can be useful mostly when engaging with other players
 in PvP, as it offers a moment of respite from melee that is focusing
 you. Call Fel Lord can be useful mostly when engaging with other players
 in PvP, as it offers a moment of respite from melee that is focusing
 you.
 Call Felhunter offers an interrupt every 24 seconds, provided your
 active pet is not the Felhunter. Call Felhunter offers an interrupt every 24 seconds, provided your
 active pet is not the Felhunter.
 Call Observer summons a demon that will zap any enemy casting
 harmful spells within 20 yards for 5% of their maximum health. Call Observer summons a demon that will zap any enemy casting
 harmful spells within 20 yards for 5% of their maximum health.
 Master Summoner is passable at best, considering we
 take Master Summoner is passable at best, considering we
 take Demonic Calling. Demonic Calling.
 Gateway Mastery should always be considered
 to expedite your whereabouts in a closed space where mounts are not
 usable. Gateway Mastery should always be considered
 to expedite your whereabouts in a closed space where mounts are not
 usable.
 Bonds of Fel can offer further AoE burst when
 kiting targets around. Bonds of Fel can offer further AoE burst when
 kiting targets around.
Pet Choice for Demonology Warlock Leveling
 Summon Imp is your first available demon. This
pet is not particularly useful for leveling, but you have no choice for the
early levels.
 Summon Imp is your first available demon. This
pet is not particularly useful for leveling, but you have no choice for the
early levels.
If you are leveling alone,  Summon Voidwalker
can be a helpful choice while leveling up, as it takes a lot of the pressure
off you. Avoiding casting pushback can also increase leveling speed.
 Summon Voidwalker
can be a helpful choice while leveling up, as it takes a lot of the pressure
off you. Avoiding casting pushback can also increase leveling speed.
 Summon Felguard is the default choice for the
vast majority of content, leveling included, as demonology, due to a
combination of hard Crowd Control, Damage, Cleave, and tanking potential.
 Summon Felguard is the default choice for the
vast majority of content, leveling included, as demonology, due to a
combination of hard Crowd Control, Damage, Cleave, and tanking potential.
 Summon Felhunter can be a good choice if
you are leveling in a group or venturing into dungeons. The extra interrupt
is helpful for dealing with troublesome caster mobs.
 Summon Felhunter can be a good choice if
you are leveling in a group or venturing into dungeons. The extra interrupt
is helpful for dealing with troublesome caster mobs.
Congratulations!
Congratulations on reaching Level 80! Now that you have hit Level 80, we recommend looking at our Easy mode page and Talents section to learn how to play at max level.
Changelog
- 21 Oct. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 11.0.5.
- 09 Sep. 2024: Reviewed for The War Within Season 1.
- 21 Aug. 2024: Added a leveling playstyle section.
- 23 Jul. 2024: Updated for The War Within pre-patch.
- 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 22 Apr. 2024: Reviewed for Season 4.
- 19 Mar. 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.6.
- 15 Jan. 2024: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.5.
- 13 Nov. 2023: Updated talent tree.
- 06 Nov. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.2.
- 04 Sep. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.7
- 10 Jul. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.5.
- 01 May 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.1.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Updated talent tree for Patch 10.0.7.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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This guide has been written by Motoko, Warlock main since The Burning Crusade, co-admin in the Warlock Discord, and theorycrafter and contributor for LockOneStopShop.
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