The following compares the current state of Affliction Warlocks to Frost Death Knights using the latest SimulationCraft data for end-game PvE in World of Warcraft The War Within patch 11.0.2.
Comparison
Category
Winner
Frost Death Knight
+8.97%
When simulating boss fight encounters, Frost Death Knights averaged 8.97% more DPS than Affliction Warlocks (+137K DPS).
Affliction Warlock
+5.79%
When simulating AoE DPS, Affliction Warlocks averaged 5.79% more DPS than Frost Death Knights (+50K DPS).
Affliction Warlock
+47.2%
Affliction Warlocks have higher spike damage potential, achieving +4.8M more DPS than Frost Death Knights.
Spike damage is the peak DPS achieved in any given moment and is not sustained DPS.
Affliction Warlock
+2.8%
When upgrading the gear for both specs by +44 ilvl, Affliction Warlock DPS improved the most, +2.8% more than Frost Death Knight. In total, Affliction Warlocks DPS increased by 67.88% and Frost Death Knights by 65.08%.
Frost Death Knight
+2.36%
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 11.71% for Frost Death Knights.
+ Movement and latency lowered the DPS by 14.08% for Affliction Warlocks.
When introducing occasional movement and real-world latency, Frost Death Knights performed better, as Affliction Warlocks suffered a +2.36% DPS loss.
Affliction Warlock
When evaluating abilities used during boss encounters, Affliction Warlocks had fewer damaging abilities in total, indicating a potentially less complex rotation.
The comparisons above highlight some of the key differences between Affliction Warlock and Frost Death Knight in the current meta, which can hopefully help you determine which spec to play or group up with.
Frost Death Knight
Affliction Warlock