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Destruction Warlock Talents

engine 53f4a3c10,000 iterations12 Octbenchmark on 1 boss · 1 minbeta data: unverified until level 60 opensupdated 12 Oct 2026How this is measured

· 1 boss · 1 min · Pre-raid

The build on a one-minute single-boss fight spends its points 21/11/19. Every fight's build takes 11 Demonology points for Demonic Sacrifice and at least four for Ruin. What goes around them depends on the fight.

On a one-minute fight it stops at 19 Destruction points and puts 21 into Affliction for its crit talents.

Tuned 21/11/19 · 1 min bOpen in the sim
Troll on 1 boss · 1 min · 05410020135-0025003001-0550005103

Each fight and faction has its own searched build. The two factions take the same points on almost every fight, so the reasons below hold for both.

Why these talents

Demonic Sacrifice is the reason to go into Demonology at all, worth 11.6 % of your damage. Forever swapped Classic's pairs: the Imp now leaves you 15 % more Shadow damage, the Succubus Fire. Summon the Imp, sacrifice it before the pull, and the buff lasts two hours unless you summon another demon. Your demon never fights, so none of a pet's damage or Blood Pact comes with this build.

Pandemic and Malevolence replace the Conflagrate talents on one minute. Pandemic makes Corruption and Bane of Agony crit for double, and Malevolence adds 5 % crit to every Shadow spell, Shadow Bolt included. They are worth 2.9 % and 4.9 %.

Bane takes half a second off Shadow Bolt and Immolate, so the bolt casts in 2.5 seconds. It is worth 11.6 %, and more on one minute (11.6 %), where Shadow Bolt does 49.1 % of the damage.

Agonizing Flames and Ruin belong together. Agonizing Flames, Classic's Improved Searing Pain, now adds 10 % damage to every Destruction spell, Shadow Bolt and Shadowburn included. Ruin is five points instead of one for the same effect: at 5/5, Destruction crits deal 200 % instead of 150 %. They are worth 6.3 % and 6.1 %.

Suppression is now 5 % hit to every spell you cast instead of fewer resists on Affliction spells. Each 1 % of hit is worth 12.4 spell damage on this fight, and the talent is worth 5.5 %.

Improved Shadow Bolt leaves Shadow Vulnerability on the boss after a bolt crits: 20 % more Shadow damage from you for 12 seconds, with no charges to use up. It reaches your dots and Shadowburn too, and is worth 7.1 %.

Flexible points

Several points in each build are there to reach a row and do little in a boss fight. These are the ones to move.

  • The Demonology filler. Ten points have to go somewhere before Demonic Sacrifice. Fel Vitality raises your own mana by 15 % and is worth 1.6 %. Demonic Embrace only adds damage through the Undead's Touch of the Grave, Demonic Aegis only adds armor, and Unholy Power does nothing with the demon gone. Put those wherever you like.

What each talent is worth

To value a talent we take its points out and run the same fights again. Talents lean on each other, so the column doesn't sum to your damage. "Last point" is the loss from removing just one point: read that one when you are moving a spare point.

TalentPointsWorthIts last point
Bane5+87 DPS · 11.6 %+31 DPS · 4.1 %
Demonic Sacrifice1+87 DPS · 11.6 %–
Improved Shadow Bolt5+53 DPS · 7.1 %+11 DPS · 1.4 %
Agonizing Flames3+47 DPS · 6.3 %+14 DPS · 1.9 %
Ruin5+46 DPS · 6.1 %+9.1 DPS · 1.2 %
Suppression5+41 DPS · 5.5 %+8.1 DPS · 1.1 %
Improved Corruption4+39 DPS · 5.2 %+2.2 DPS · 0.3 %
Malevolence5+36 DPS · 4.9 %+7.3 DPS · 1.0 %
Shadowburn1+22 DPS · 3.0 %–
Pandemic3+22 DPS · 2.9 %+7.2 DPS · 1.0 %
Fel Vitality3+12 DPS · 1.6 %–
Improved Bane of Agony2+11 DPS · 1.5 %+5.6 DPS · 0.8 %
each talent’s worth: the build without it, on the same simulated fights · Troll

On every fight

The 2- and 3-minute builds are the same 9/11/31 for the Horde. The Alliance's 2-minute build moves one Affliction point. The 1-minute and three-boss builds pull Destruction back to 18 or 19 points and fill Affliction instead. The three-boss builds drop Improved Shadow Bolt. Shadow Bolt is only 12.3 % of the damage there on three minutes. The table lists each fight's build against the one on this fight.

FightPointsFrom this fight’s build
21 / 11 / 19this fight
9 / 11 / 31+2 Improved Life Tap, +3 Demonic Embrace, +2 Demonic Aegis, +3 Cataclysm, +1 Conflagrate, +3 Fire and Brimstone, +5 Shadow and Flame, −2 Improved Corruption, −1 Malediction, −2 Improved Bane of Agony, −1 Amplify Curse, −3 Pandemic, −5 Malevolence, −5 Unholy Power
9 / 11 / 31+2 Improved Life Tap, +3 Demonic Embrace, +2 Demonic Aegis, +3 Cataclysm, +1 Conflagrate, +3 Fire and Brimstone, +5 Shadow and Flame, −2 Improved Corruption, −1 Malediction, −2 Improved Bane of Agony, −1 Amplify Curse, −3 Pandemic, −5 Malevolence, −5 Unholy Power
21 / 11 / 19+2 Malediction, +5 Aftermath, −1 Amplify Curse, −1 Malevolence, −5 Improved Shadow Bolt
22 / 11 / 18+1 Improved Corruption, +4 Malediction, +5 Aftermath, −1 Amplify Curse, −3 Malevolence, −5 Improved Shadow Bolt, −1 Ruin
22 / 11 / 18+1 Improved Life Tap, +3 Malediction, +5 Aftermath, −1 Amplify Curse, −2 Malevolence, −5 Improved Shadow Bolt, −1 Shadowburn
each fight’s talents are searched for it
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Destruction Warlock Talents

engine 53f4a3c10,000 iterations12 Octbenchmark on 1 boss · 1 minbeta data: unverified until level 60 opensupdated 12 Oct 2026How this is measured

· 1 boss · 1 min · Pre-raid

The build on a one-minute single-boss fight spends its points 21/11/19. Every fight's build takes 11 Demonology points for Demonic Sacrifice and at least four for Ruin. What goes around them depends on the fight.

On a one-minute fight it stops at 19 Destruction points and puts 21 into Affliction for its crit talents.

Tuned 21/11/19 · 1 min bOpen in the sim
Troll on 1 boss · 1 min · 05410020135-0025003001-0550005103

Each fight and faction has its own searched build. The two factions take the same points on almost every fight, so the reasons below hold for both.

Why these talents

Demonic Sacrifice is the reason to go into Demonology at all, worth 11.6 % of your damage. Forever swapped Classic's pairs: the Imp now leaves you 15 % more Shadow damage, the Succubus Fire. Summon the Imp, sacrifice it before the pull, and the buff lasts two hours unless you summon another demon. Your demon never fights, so none of a pet's damage or Blood Pact comes with this build.

Pandemic and Malevolence replace the Conflagrate talents on one minute. Pandemic makes Corruption and Bane of Agony crit for double, and Malevolence adds 5 % crit to every Shadow spell, Shadow Bolt included. They are worth 2.9 % and 4.9 %.

Bane takes half a second off Shadow Bolt and Immolate, so the bolt casts in 2.5 seconds. It is worth 11.6 %, and more on one minute (11.6 %), where Shadow Bolt does 49.1 % of the damage.

Agonizing Flames and Ruin belong together. Agonizing Flames, Classic's Improved Searing Pain, now adds 10 % damage to every Destruction spell, Shadow Bolt and Shadowburn included. Ruin is five points instead of one for the same effect: at 5/5, Destruction crits deal 200 % instead of 150 %. They are worth 6.3 % and 6.1 %.

Suppression is now 5 % hit to every spell you cast instead of fewer resists on Affliction spells. Each 1 % of hit is worth 12.4 spell damage on this fight, and the talent is worth 5.5 %.

Improved Shadow Bolt leaves Shadow Vulnerability on the boss after a bolt crits: 20 % more Shadow damage from you for 12 seconds, with no charges to use up. It reaches your dots and Shadowburn too, and is worth 7.1 %.

Flexible points

Several points in each build are there to reach a row and do little in a boss fight. These are the ones to move.

  • The Demonology filler. Ten points have to go somewhere before Demonic Sacrifice. Fel Vitality raises your own mana by 15 % and is worth 1.6 %. Demonic Embrace only adds damage through the Undead's Touch of the Grave, Demonic Aegis only adds armor, and Unholy Power does nothing with the demon gone. Put those wherever you like.

What each talent is worth

To value a talent we take its points out and run the same fights again. Talents lean on each other, so the column doesn't sum to your damage. "Last point" is the loss from removing just one point: read that one when you are moving a spare point.

TalentPointsWorth
Bane5+87 DPS · 11.6 %
Demonic Sacrifice1+87 DPS · 11.6 %
Improved Shadow Bolt5+53 DPS · 7.1 %
Agonizing Flames3+47 DPS · 6.3 %
Ruin5+46 DPS · 6.1 %
Suppression5+41 DPS · 5.5 %
Improved Corruption4+39 DPS · 5.2 %
Malevolence5+36 DPS · 4.9 %
Shadowburn1+22 DPS · 3.0 %
Pandemic3+22 DPS · 2.9 %
Fel Vitality3+12 DPS · 1.6 %
Improved Bane of Agony2+11 DPS · 1.5 %
each talent’s worth: the build without it, on the same simulated fights · Troll

On every fight

The 2- and 3-minute builds are the same 9/11/31 for the Horde. The Alliance's 2-minute build moves one Affliction point. The 1-minute and three-boss builds pull Destruction back to 18 or 19 points and fill Affliction instead. The three-boss builds drop Improved Shadow Bolt. Shadow Bolt is only 12.3 % of the damage there on three minutes. The table lists each fight's build against the one on this fight.

FightPointsFrom this fight’s build
21 / 11 / 19this fight
9 / 11 / 31+2 Improved Life Tap, +3 Demonic Embrace, +2 Demonic Aegis, +3 Cataclysm, +1 Conflagrate, +3 Fire and Brimstone, +5 Shadow and Flame, −2 Improved Corruption, −1 Malediction, −2 Improved Bane of Agony, −1 Amplify Curse, −3 Pandemic, −5 Malevolence, −5 Unholy Power
9 / 11 / 31+2 Improved Life Tap, +3 Demonic Embrace, +2 Demonic Aegis, +3 Cataclysm, +1 Conflagrate, +3 Fire and Brimstone, +5 Shadow and Flame, −2 Improved Corruption, −1 Malediction, −2 Improved Bane of Agony, −1 Amplify Curse, −3 Pandemic, −5 Malevolence, −5 Unholy Power
21 / 11 / 19+2 Malediction, +5 Aftermath, −1 Amplify Curse, −1 Malevolence, −5 Improved Shadow Bolt
22 / 11 / 18+1 Improved Corruption, +4 Malediction, +5 Aftermath, −1 Amplify Curse, −3 Malevolence, −5 Improved Shadow Bolt, −1 Ruin
22 / 11 / 18+1 Improved Life Tap, +3 Malediction, +5 Aftermath, −1 Amplify Curse, −2 Malevolence, −5 Improved Shadow Bolt, −1 Shadowburn
each fight’s talents are searched for it