DPS Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Demonology Warlock abilities, along with key cooldowns at the bottom. It's based on a standard build and is here to help while we work on a smarter, build-aware system. If you are very new to the game or this class, we added info on the new assisted rotation features at the bottom of this guide. Updated for the latest patch in World of Warcraft: The War Within (11.1.7).

Single Target

Ensure Summon Demonic Tyrant is ready and active demons are summoned.

• Summon Demonic TyrantView detailsExtend major demons and 3+ sets of Wild Imps.
• Grimoire FelguardView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Summon VilefiendView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Demonic StrengthView detailsUse on cooldown.
• GuillotineView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Bilescourge BombersView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Call DreadstalkersView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Hand Of GuldanView detailsUse with 4-5 Soul Shards.
• Hand Of GuldanView detailsUse with 2+ Soul Shards and Infernal Bolt triggered.
• DemonboltView detailsUse with 2+ stacks of Demonic Core.
• Power SiphonView detailsUse with 2 or fewer Demonic Core stacks.
• Hand Of GuldanView detailsUse with 3 Soul Shards.
• Shadow BoltView detailsUse to generate Soul Shards.

Maximize demon uptime by using Summon Demonic Tyrant with active demons. Use Grimoire Felguard, Summon Vilefiend, and Demonic Strength on cooldown. Spend Soul Shards efficiently with Hand Of Guldan and generate them with Shadow Bolt or Demonbolt.

AoE

• Grimoire FelguardView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Summon VilefiendView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Call DreadstalkersView detailsUse on cooldown.
• GuillotineView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Demonic StrengthView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Bilescourge BombersView detailsUse on cooldown.
• Hand Of GuldanView detailsUse with 4-5 Soul Shards.
• Hand Of GuldanView detailsUse with 2+ Soul Shards and Infernal Bolt triggered.
• ImplosionView detailsDetonate Wild Imps on 2+ targets.
• DemonboltView detailsUse with 3+ stacks of Demonic Core.
• Power SiphonView detailsGenerate Demonic Core.
• Shadow BoltView detailsUse to generate Soul Shards.

For AoE, prioritize Grimoire Felguard, Guillotine, and Implosion to maximize damage. Use Hand Of Guldan with high Soul Shards and generate resources with Shadow Bolt or Demonbolt.

Cooldowns

• Summon Demonic TyrantView detailsExtend demon duration and boost their damage.
• GuillotineView detailsUse after Demonic Strength finishes.
• Demonic StrengthView detailsUse to empower Felguard's abilities.

Use Summon Demonic Tyrant to extend demon uptime and amplify their damage. Coordinate Guillotine and Demonic Strength for optimal Felguard usage.

New to Class? Try Assisted Rotation

Patch 11.1.7 introduced new features that make it eaiser to pick and play new characters. These new settings can be enabled from settings » gameplay enhancements:

• Single-Button Assistant
• Assisted Highlight
• Cooldown Manager

If you are new to World of Warcraft or a certain class, enabling Assisted Highlight and Cooldown Manager can help you learn which abilities to prioritize and use.

While the Single-Button Assistant can be a much easier and more accessible way to play the game, it does come with a slight performance hit due to a small GCD penalty, as you will have to wait 25% longer in between spells and abilities.

To see which specs are best with the Single-Button Assistant feature, you can check out our DPS Rankings which uses SimC to sim every class using this feature.