Affliction Warlock

Talents by level

The Icy Veins order comes from its levelling calculator. It finishes at 40 Affliction and 11 Demonology, and recommends sacrificing a Felhunter at 41 for steady healing. ForeverDB's build was published before the 16 October build. Wowhead's levelling guide, updated 26 October, takes Improved Corruption first, then Suppression, borrows Unholy Power and Demonic Energies from Demonology before 20, and adds the drain talents in your late 20s for drain-tanking at 30. It takes Siphon Life late on purpose, because rank 1 is weak.

Icy Veins' dungeon build at 30 takes Suppression 4, Improved Corruption 5, Grim Reach 2, Improved Bane of Agony 2, Improved Life Tap 2, Nightfall 2, Pandemic 3 and Siphon Life, then Malevolence with Legacy bonus points.

Level 60 builds (projections)

Wowhead's talent builds page, updated 26 October, previously rated SM Ruin strongest; that build page could not be rechecked in this review. Shadow Bolt is the filler, and the core is Bane 5, Improved Shadow Bolt 5, Shadow Mastery 5, Agonizing Flames 3, Ruin 5, Malevolence 5, Pandemic 3 and Improved Corruption 5. Suppression stays until your gear reaches the 17% hit cap against bosses. The Wrack build was another listed option for players who prefer channelling; a current numerical difference is not established here. For dungeons, it moves the third rank of Cataclysm into Shadowburn for an instant on the move.

WoWSims carries the same two: "SM/Ruin" at 31 Affliction and 20 Destruction, and "Aff (Wrack)" at 33 and 18 (builds). Both keep a Succubus out and use Curse of the Elements.

Rotation

Levelling and dungeons at 30 (Icy Veins):

1. Send your demon in first.
2. Curse the target: Curse of the Elements or Curse of Recklessness on bosses, depending on your group.
3. Pre-cast Immolate if you aren't fighting for tags.
4. Bane of Agony if the mob will live long enough for its slow build-up.
5. Siphon Life if it will live 20 seconds or more.
6. Instant Corruption.
7. Drain Life when you need health; Shadow Bolt on Shadow Trance procs; wand low mobs.
8. Drain Soul to finish when you need shards.
9. Stop spending once your DoTs will finish the job, and Life Tap when it's safe.

Don't refresh a DoT before it runs out. Wowhead adds that Soul Siphon boosts your drains for each Affliction effect, so keep three on the target before draining: Corruption, Siphon Life and a Bane or Curse. Use Amplify Curse on Bane of Agony in short fights.

Simulators: ForeverDB's own simulator at 30 keeps Curse of the Elements, Bane of Agony, Corruption and Siphon Life up, fills with Shadow Bolt and Life Taps below 35% mana. It found a small gain from dropping Immolate and a 10% loss without the Imp (ForeverDB PvE). WoWSims at 60:

1. SM/Ruin: keep your Curse up; Bane of Doom on fights longer than a minute, otherwise Amplify Curse into Bane of Agony; Shadow Bolt on Shadow Trance. Spread Agony, Corruption, Siphon Life and Immolate when each is worth more than a Shadow Bolt; Life Tap under 30% mana; Shadow Bolt filler.
2. Aff (Wrack): apply Amplify Curse with Bane of Agony, then Corruption, Siphon Life, your Curse and Immolate. Shadow Bolt to keep Improved Shadow Bolt's debuff up and on Shadow Trance. Channel Wrack when every DoT has at least 4 seconds left; otherwise Shadow Bolt.

These are different contexts: the level-30 drain-tanking guide uses Drain Life for sustain, SM/Ruin uses Shadow Bolt, and Wrack is a separate channelled build. The presence of Bane of Doom in a level-60 list does not make that list applicable while levelling to 30.

Gear and consumables

• Key items at 30 (Icy Veins): Shadow Circlet (Tailoring), Scorn's Icy Choker, Fairywing Mantle, Necrology Robes or Tree Bark Jacket, Belt of Arugal, Gaze Dreamer Pants, Dark Horde Band, Hydrocane, and Staff of Soran'ruk from the level 20 Warlock quest. ForeverDB's lists put Staff of the Shade from Razorfen Kraul at the top for Affliction at 30.
• Weapon stones: Firestone from 28 adds spell crit, which helps your DoTs. Icy Veins' levelling page switches to Spellstone at 36 for its Shadow damage and haste.
• Consumables (Icy Veins): Lesser Arcane Elixir (15 spell power), Elixir of Lesser Spirit, Lesser Mageblood Elixir, Lesser Troll's Blood Elixir and Lesser Spellblasting Potion. ForeverDB's simulator rates Lesser Arcane Elixir best at 30 (+5.2%) and Blessing of Wisdom as the best party buff.
• Campfires (Icy Veins): Skinning's Camp Chair gives 2% crit, Tailoring's banner Spirit, Herbalism Intellect, Alchemy mana regeneration, Fishing 8% stats and Leatherworking rested experience.

Where the guides disagree or aren't sure

• Which demon: Icy Veins and WoWSims keep a Succubus out for damage; ForeverDB's simulator keeps the Imp.
• Immolate: Icy Veins pre-casts it; ForeverDB's simulator did slightly better without it at 30.
• Malediction: Icy Veins' introduction and ForeverDB's group build still describe Malediction's periodic damage bonus. The 16 October client renamed it Grim Reach and made it a range talent (ForeverDB).
• Suppression: choose ranks for the target level and the hit already on your gear. Wowhead's level-30 guide and Icy Veins' main build both show four ranks, while older group lists show five. The Icy Veins stat paragraph also says three, conflicting with its own four-rank build; use the actual selected talents rather than that paragraph.