WoW TBC Arena
PvE · Raid · Ranged DPS

Demonology Warlock PvE Guide

Demonology in raids is mostly a leveling/utility spec — for pure raid DPS, Affliction and Destruction parse higher. Its niche is survivability and the Felguard's extra body, and some hybrid Demonology/Destruction (Demonic Sacrifice or Soul Link) builds see play, but a straight Demo raider is uncommon. Bring Affliction or Destruction for a raid DPS slot.

Overview

If you do raid Demo, you lean on a Shadow Bolt/Incinerate filler with your pet's damage and the spec's survivability talents.

Strengths

  • +Very survivable via Soul Link
  • +Felguard adds a durable damage pet
  • +Fine for leveling and off-spec utility

Weaknesses

  • Lower raid DPS than Affliction/Destruction
  • Rarely the optimal raid choice

Stat priority & caps (raid)

Stat caps (raid)

StatCap
Spell Hit202 rating
  • Spell Hit: 16% cap for a raid boss (+3 levels). Draenei Heroic Presence, Shadow Priest's Misery, and hit talents lower how much you need on gear.

Full gear with usage %, gems and enchants is on the Demonology Warlock PvE BiS list.

Recommended talent build

1/41/19 · Raid

The Demonologist build: Demonic Knowledge, Master Demonologist and felguard uptime as the scaling engine, with Destruction dipped for Shadowburn-line throughput. The flexible middle path between affliction's dots and destruction's bolts.

Affliction

1

Demonology

41

Destruction

19

Points are filled on each tree above — hover a talent for its tooltip; highlighted talents are the build's key picks.

Single-target rotation

  1. 1Keep your Curse (Elements as assigned) and Corruption up.
  2. 2Shadow Bolt as your main filler; maintain the Felguard on the boss.
  3. 3Reach the spell hit cap before stacking spell power/crit.
  4. 4Life Tap for mana; align trinkets with Bloodlust.
  5. 5Consider Affliction/Destruction for a real raid DPS slot.

Demo PvE is a survivability/off-spec choice rather than a parse spec. If you bring it, keep your Curse and Corruption up, filler with Shadow Bolt, and let the Felguard add damage. For maximum raid DPS, respec Affliction or Destruction — Demo's value is durability and leveling, not the meter.

Warlock macros

Focus macros

Focus Fear

Fear your focus to peel or control without swapping your DoT target.

#showtooltip Fear
/cast [target=focus] Fear

Focus Spell Lock (Felhunter)

Interrupt/silence a focus caster with your Felhunter's Spell Lock.

#showtooltip Spell Lock
/cast [target=focus] Spell Lock

Defensive

Focus Death Coil

Fear-horror + heal off a focus melee that's training you — your panic-reset button.

#showtooltip Death Coil
/cast [target=focus] Death Coil

PvE addons

Deadly Boss Mods (DBM)CurseForge →Raid boss timers, warnings and pull counters. Non-negotiable for raiding — it calls out every mechanic before it happens.
WeakAuras 2CurseForge →The most powerful custom-alert framework in WoW. Track buffs, procs, cooldowns and combo points with visual auras — import strings do the setup for you.
BagnonCurseForge →Merges every bag (and your bank) into one searchable window. A quality-of-life staple on every character.
Details! Damage MeterCurseForge →Detailed damage, healing and threat meters with deep breakdowns. Lighter and more informative than the classic Recount.
Bartender4CurseForge →Full action-bar replacement — reposition, resize and hide bars, and set up the layout you actually want for your rotation.
OmniCCCurseForge →Cooldown-count text on every ability and item. Essential for tracking your rotation and defensive timings at a glance.

Full list on the Warlock addons page.

Best race (PvE)

Orchorde

Blood Fury (spell power) and Command (+pet damage) give Orc the top Horde PvE warlock output.

Gnomealliance

Expansive Mind (+5% mana) and the Engineering synergy make Gnome the best Alliance PvE warlock.

More on the best race for Warlock page.

Best professions (PvE)

Common mistakes

  • Raiding Demo when Affliction/Destruction would parse much higher.
  • Ignoring the assigned Curse/Corruption uptime.
  • Not hit-capped.

FAQ

Should I raid as Demonology?

Usually no — Affliction and Destruction do more raid DPS. Demo is best for leveling and survivability off-spec; some hybrid builds exist but pure Demo raiding is rare.

What is Demo actually good at?

Survivability (Soul Link) and a tanky Felguard — great for solo/leveling and PvP durability more than raid parsing.