Affliction Warlock
vs
Balance Druid
Debating whether to play a Balance Druid or Affliction Warlock? Knowing which currently performs better DPS in PvE might help make a decision.
This page analyzes multiple simulations for both Balance Druids and Affliction Warlocks using profiles and settings intended to achieve their maximum DPS. Multiple sim environments are used to test how they perform in various conditions. Is one the AoE king? Does one scale better with gear upgrades? Is one more bursty, and more reliant on big cooldowns? Below analyzes the data to find the strengths of each.
Simulation results were created with SimulationCraft
Using game data from Patch 10.0.5 • WoW Dragonflight •
- Affliction Warlock
- Best boss DPS (in perfect settings)Affliction Warlock achieved 12.78% more maximum boss DPS than Balance Druid when there was no movement or lag.
- Best boss DPS (in realistic settings)Affliction Warlock achieved 10.95% more maximum boss DPS than Balance Druid when dealing with occasional movement, lag and crowd-control.
- Best gear scalingAffliction Warlock scaled better with increased item-levels, single-target DPS benefited 13.73% more from 372 ilvl to 422 compared to Balance Druids.
- DPS less dependant on big cooldownsAffliction Warlock’s DPS is less bursty, meaning it had more consistent damage. With 26.23% less difference in lowest and peak DPS during a fight when compared to Balance Druids.
Balance Druid- Best AoE DPS (in perfect settings)Balance Druid achieved 67.04% more AoE DPS than Affliction Warlock when there was no movement or lag.
- Least affected by movement (single-target)Balance Druid’s single-target DPS was -38.79% less affected by increased movement compared to Affliction Warlocks.
- Simplest GameplayBalance Druid has fewer damaging abilities which could indicate a simpler rotation.
While the above highlights the DPS advantages between Affliction Warlock and Balance Druids, the DPS potential should not be the only factor in your decision. Ultimately, you should also consider the playstyle that you enjoy most while crushing it in Mythics+ and Raids!
Resources
- Affliction Warlock
- DPS Rankings
- Affliction Warlock Class Guide
- Affliction Warlock Sim Details
More Spec Comparisons