Warlocks are one of the best picks in TBC Classic if you’re looking to focus purely on damage. The class has three unique specializations, but the most powerful is Destruction as the talents simply provide way more damage than Affliction and Demonology. 

Other than some useful curses and consumables like the Healthstone and Soulstone, your role will generally be to pump out a ton of damage and with Destruction, this comes down to just a couple of buttons. There is one unique element, however, as Destruction can be played as either Shadow or Fire — the only difference between the two is which type of spell you cast and generally, Fire is better early in the game and Shadow overtakes it later on. 

WOW TBC CLASSIC: CLASS GUIDES
Beast Mastery Hunter guide
Restoration Shaman guide
Enhancement + Elemental Shaman guide

Let’s take a look at everything you need to know to play Destruction Warlock in TBC Classic.

1. Destruction Warlock PvE talent build

The Destruction Warlock build is a simple one, you want to take all of the relevant damage increasing talents from Destruction, then move into the Demonology tree to grab a huge damage increase in Demonic Sacrifice. 

Here’s what the best build looks like:

2. Gameplay and rotation

The Destruction Warlock rotation is quite simple, you only have a couple of spells that you need to use and you’ll mostly be the same two buttons over and over. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Use Fel Armor
2. Use Demonic Sacrifice on your Succubus or Imp 
3. Cast your assigned curse (or Curse of Elements if you’re the only Warlock)
4. Maintain Immolate
5. Cast Shadow Bolt or Incinerate

WOW TBC CLASSIC: LEVELING GUIDES
Levels 60-65 guide
Levels 64-68 guide
Levels 67-70 guide

3. Stat Priority

1. Spell Hit (up to 16%)
2. Spell Haste 
3. Spell Damage
4. Spell Critical Strike
5. Intellect

This is the stat priority for Warlocks. Your first goal should be hitting the Hit cap of 16%, so your spells have the lowest chance of missing as possible. Then you want to focus on both Spell Haste and Spell Damage - both are very important, but Haste is quite rare, so you’ll want to get it where available, but otherwise keep Spell Damage as the second biggest priority. However, both Spell Critical Strike and Intellect are still very strong, so make sure to grab those where possible too! 

4. Gems, Enchants, and Consumables

Gemming as a Destruction Warlock is a bit different to other classes. There is a fair bit of nuance here, as Warlocks have a high Spell Hit requirement but, unlike most classes, don’t have talents to increase the stat. This means that unless you have a ton of Hit on your gear, you’ll need to focus on Hit gems and once you reach the Hit requirement, can move onto Spell Power gems.  

Best Destruction Warlock Gems:

• Chaotic Skyfire Diamond
• Great Dawnstone
• Veiled Noble Topaz
• Runed Living Ruby
• Glowing Nightseye

Enchantments:

Enchantments are a bit simpler than gems. They are a lot more limited, so the majority of the time you’ll just want to focus on pure damage and Spell Power. Here are the best enchants:

• Head - Glyph of Power

• Shoulder - Greater Inscription of Discipline

• Cloak - Enchant Cloak - Subtlety

• Chest - Enchant Chest - Exceptional Stats

• Bracers - Enchant Bracer - Spellpower

• Gloves - Enchant Gloves - Major Spellpower

• Legs - Runic Spellthread

• Boots - Enchant Boots - Boar's Speed

• Weapon - Enchant Weapon - Soulfrost / Enchant Weapon - Sunfire (Depending on if you prefer Shadow or Fire)

Consumables: 

Consumables provide a temporary stat boost to your character and are important for getting an extra boost during dungeons and raids. Here’s a list of key consumables needed for Destruction Warlocks: 

• Flask: Flask of Pure Power
• Potions: Destruction Potion or Super Mana Potion
• Mana Oil: Brilliant Wizard Oil
• Food: Poached Bluefish or Blackened Basilisk
• Other: Dark Rune or Demonic rune

5. Best Destruction Warlock Professions

There are two standout professions for Warlocks, Tailoring and Enchanting. Tailoring provides access to some of the best items in the early parts of the game: the Spellstrike set, as well as the Shadow’s Embrace and Spellfire sets. 

Meanwhile, Enchanting gives a solid stat boost, as it allows you to gain 24 extra Spell Power thanks to unique ring enchants. No other professions come close to these two, but overall Tailoring is vital, while Enchanting gives a small bonus, but is still better than the rest.