Affliction Warlock Mythic+ Guide

• Your Corruption is turned into Wither.
• You have access to a 1-minute cooldown called Malevolence.
• Wither can stack up and has multiple neat interactions with different talents which can increase its stack count or have other benefits.
  • Spending Soul Shards on damaging spells increases the stacks of Wither by 1 and has a chance to gain an additional stack due to Blackened Soul.
  • Casting Malevolence increases all active Wither stacks by 6 while each Malefic Rapture adds 1 additional stack during its duration.
  • Mark of Peroth'arn gives Wither the chance to add a stack whenever it crits.
  • Whenever Blackened Soul deals damage you have a chance to gain Tormented Crescendo stack.
• Wither has a built-in mechanic which consumes its' accumulated stacks one after another for more damage. This mechanic is called Acute.
  • The Acute state of Wither is triggered by the following:
    • Chance whenever Wither gains a stack.
    • If Wither reaches 8 stacks.
    • If the target Wither is on reaches 20% hp or is below 20% already.
    • When Malevolence is up.

When to use this Spec

Use this if you want to do more AoE damage but less single target damage.

Talent Adjustments

Listing all the changes within the Class and Spec tree compared to the default build.

Spec Tree

• Added
  • *Improved Shadow Bolt
    • Reduces the cast time and increases the damage of Shadow Bolt.
  • Sacrolash's Dark Strike
    • Increases the damage of Wither and makes your curses last longer.

• Removed
  • Drain Soul
    • Changed to Improved Shadow Bolt.
  • Withering Bolt
    • Changed to Sacrolash's Dark Strike.

*Consider keeping Drain Soul instead of Improved Shadow Bolt if you feel like you are struggling with Soul Shards in your dungeons.

Hero Talents

Changed Soul Harvester to Hellcaller for more info visit the Hero Talent section above.

• Curse of the Satyr
  • Your default pick since both talent choices are very niche and this one has more use cases than the other one.
• Hatefury Rituals
  • Outperforms Bleakheart Tactics currently.
• Zevrim's Resilience
  • Helps you recover your lost health from using Dark Pact.

Opener

• Your goal in the opener is to apply and maintain all the DoTs and debuffs while also not overcapping on Soul Shards with Nightfall and Tormented Crescendo procs. Below, you can see an example of how your opener looks when using the recommended Hellcaller specю

• Always keep up Unstable Affliction, Agony, Wither, Haunt and Shadow Embrace on the target.
• Keep in mind that Haunt has travel time so you should precast it roughly ~2 seconds before the pull. Thus, half of your next cast, Unstable Affliction, is also casted before the fight even starts.
• All Soul Shards should be spent while Soul Rot and Vile Taint are active on the target.

Priority List

This is a general priority you aim to maintain throughout the fight.

1. Keep up Unstable Affliction, Agony and Wither.
2. Cast Haunt on cooldown.
3. Cast Summon Darkglare on cooldown whenever Vile Taint and Soul Rot are up.
4. Cast Malefic Rapture if you are otherwise capping on Soul Shards or have Tormented Crescendo stacks.
5. Cast Shadow Bolt to refresh Shadow Embrace stacks or have Nightfall stacks.
6. Cast Vile Taint on cooldown. Make sure to have every second cast line up with Soul Rot.
7. Cast Malevolence on cooldown. Sync it with Soul Rot every time.
8. Cast Soul Rot on cooldown.
9. Cast Malefic Rapture to spend all Soul Shards whenever Vile Taint and Soul Rot are up.
10. Cast Shadow Bolt as your filler spell.

Opener

• Your goal in the AoE opener is similar to single-target with the only difference of applying DoTs to more targets, mostly through Seed of Corruption and Vile Taint. Below, you can see an example of how your opener looks when using recommended Hellcaller spec.

• You can apply Agony while the pull is gathering. Initially, Agonys damage is very low and it's unlikely for you to overaggro threat because of it. Just make sure your tank tagged it first before DoTing it.
• All Soul Shards should be spent while Soul Rot and Vile Taint are up.

Priority List

1. Keep up Agony on up to 8 targets.
2. Keep up Unstable Affliction on the main target.
3. Cast Haunt on cooldown on the main target.
4. Cast Summon Darkglare on cooldown when Vile Taint and Soul Rot are up.
5. Cast Vile Taint on cooldown. Make sure to have every second cast line up with Soul Rot.
6. Cast Malevolence on cooldown. Sync it with Soul Rot every time.
7. Cast Soul Rot on cooldown.
8. Cast Malefic Rapture if you are about to cap on Soul Shards or have Tormented Crescendo proc.
9. Cast Shadow Bolt if you have Nightfall procs.
10. Cast Malefic Rapture whenever you have Soul Shards.
11. Cast Shadow Bolt as your filler spell.

While Haunt, Shadow Bolt and Unstable Affliction could lower your overall dps in big pulls, it's still a damage gain on a priority target. And the way modern WoW works is that every single pull has at least one or two important trash mobs that are beneficial to kill fast to make the pull easier. That is the reason why these spells are mentioned in the AoE rotation and are recommended to be used.

Boss Tips

Ol' Waxbeard

• Aim Reckless Charge to the nearby walls or pillars.
  • Place a Demonic Circle somewhere on the side to have an easier time dodging the charge if it's on you.
• Don't tank too many stacks of Crude Weapons from Menial Laborers, especially if you are debuffed by a Luring Candleflame. Kite them if needed.
• Always instantly swap to a dynamite laden cart whenever Underhanded Track-tics happens.

Blazikon

• Use a defensive every time Enkindling Inferno happens.
• Light as many candles as you can with Wicklighter Barrage debuff.
  • As a Warlock, you can light multiple of them by utilizing Demonic Circle and Demonic Gateway.

The Candle King

• Always be ready to kick Paranoid Mind as it is casted very often.
  • Keep a Curse of Tongues on the boss to help your team react to the cast better.
• Use a defensive whenever you are targeted by a Throw Darkflame.

The Darkness

• Help out with filling up a Candlelight if your healer is struggling with it.
  • Put a Demonic Gateway so everyone can help with it easier.
• Use a defensive for Eternal Darkness.
  • Good opportunity for a Dark Pact as it is ready for each Eternal Darkness cast.
• Use a defensive whenever you are targeted with a Shadowblast.

Trash Tips

• Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
  • Wicklighter Bolt from Royal Wicklighter.
  • Mole Frenzy from Lowly Moleherd.
  • Explosive Flame from Blazing Fiend.
  • Flaming Tether from Sootsnout.
  • Drain Light from Shuffling Horror.

• Pay extra attention to these casts:
  • Throw Rock from Lowly Moleherd.
    • Pay attention to your health whenever you are spam targeted by this spell, especially if Lowly Moleherd is Panicked!.

• Dangerous debuffs to be wary of:
  • Flashpoint from Royal Wicklighter.
    • Applies a Magic debuff to a random player, inflicting heavy fire damage. Be careful if you are not dispelled and use a defensive.
  • Explosive Flame from Blazing Fiend.
    • Be careful if you get too many stacks of this debuff and press a defensive if the cast goes through multiple times.

Pre Dungeon Start

• Always cast Soulstone on the tank or healer before the key starts as it stays active and might come in handy.
• Use Fel Domination shortly before starting the dungeon. Starting a dungeon despawns your pet, and this enables you to rapidly summon your pet without spending a Soul Shard while still having Fel Domination off cooldown in case your pet dies later.

Boss Tips

Tussle Tonks

• Don't be too far from the boss to have an easier time aiming Maximum Thrust to the close wall and not baiting Foe Flipper too far away from the other boss.
• B.4.T.T.L.3. Mine are baited by range players so be mindful of your positioning.
• Use defensives during Ground Pounds.

K.U.-J.0.

• Air Drops are baited on players, so be careful of not placing two of them too close to each other.
• Spread out with Explosive Leap and use a defensive each time it happens. Leap goes first on the furthest target.
  • Can be dodged with a Demonic Circle.
• Use a defensive whenever Blazing Chomp is being dispelled.

Machinist's Garden

• Swap to the Inconspicuous Plant whenever it spawns.

King Mechagon

• Use a defensive whenever you are targeted by a Mega-Zap.

Trash Tips

• Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
  • Detonate from Bomb Tonk.
  • Giga-Wallop from Mechagon Tinkerer.
  • Tune Up from Mechagon Mechanic.

• Pay extra attention to these casts:
  • Mega Drill from Waste Processing Unit.
    • Inflicts nature damage to all players. Stack up with the group and use defensives.
  • Short Out from Defense Bot Mk III.
    • Short channeled cast that inflicts nature damage to all players. Use a defensive whenever it happens.

• Dangerous debuffs to be wary of:
  • Fiery Jaws from Junkyard D.0.G.
    • Applies a Magic debuff to a random player, inflicting heavy fire damage. Be careful if you are not dispelled and use a defensive.
  • Arcing Zap from Defense Bot Mk I and Defense Bot Mk III.
    • Applies a Magic debuff to a random player, inflicting nature damage. Be careful if you are not dispelled and use a defensive.

Pre Dungeon Start

• Always cast Soulstone on the tank or healer before the key starts as it stays active and might come in handy.
• Use Fel Domination shortly before starting the dungeon. Starting a dungeon despawns your pet, and this enables you to rapidly summon your pet without spending a Soul Shard while still having Fel Domination off cooldown in case your pet dies later.

Boss Tips

Big M.O.M.M.A.

• Utilize Demonic Circle and a Demonic Gateway to have an easier time dodging the Sonic Boom.
• Always be ready to kick Maximum Distortion.
• Don't forget that increased damage phase comes right after you kill all the Darkfuse Mechadrones, so plan you offensive cooldowns accordingly.
  • Important to start ramping just by the end of Darkfuse Mechadrones dying so you can snipe them with Soul Rot and benefit from Dark Harvest.
• Use a big defensive during the Kill-o-Block Barrier if you are slow with killing all the Darkfuse Mechadrones.

Demolition Duo

• Use a defensive whenever you are targeted by a Kinetic Explosive Gel.
• Aim Barreling Charge to the far bombs first because last charge always happens on a tank, which he can use to clear all the melee bombs.

Swampface

• Use a defensive during the Awaken the Swamp casts.

Geezle Gigazap

• Try to stack up for healing during the Turbo Charge cast or use a defensive if you are far away.
• Try to "claim" far and awkward Dam Water pools as a Warlock, since it is easy for you to deal with the Leaping Sparks with a Demonic Circle.
• Use a defensive if you are targeted with a Gigazap.

Trash Tips

• Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
  • Trickshot from Mechadrone Sniper.
  • Surveying Beam from Venture Co. Surveyor.
  • Bloodthirsty Cackle from Darkfuse Hyena.
  • Blood Blast from Darkfuse Bloodwarper.
  • Restorative Algae from Disturbed Kelp.
    • Use Devour Magic if the cast goes through.
  • Harpoon from Venture Co. Diver.
  • Lightning Bolt from Venture Co. Electrician.

• Pay extra attention to these casts:
  • Wind Up from Loaderbot.
    • Fixates a random player, inflicting physical damage to players within 3.5 yards for 6 seconds. Don't be in melee or close to the mob whenever it happens.
  • Shreddation from Shreddinator 3000.
    • Summons several spinning sawblades at the location of every player, inflicting physical damage every 0.3 seconds to players within the effect. This damage increases with consecutive hits. Damage can be fully avoided by prerunning out of it before the cast finishes.

• Dangerous debuffs to be wary of:
  • Overcharge from Venture Co. Electrician.
    • Applies a Magic debuff to a random player, inflicting nature damage and stuns if the effect persists without being dispelled.

Pre Dungeon Start

• Always cast Soulstone on the tank or healer before the key starts as it stays active and might come in handy.
• Use Fel Domination shortly before starting the dungeon. Starting a dungeon despawns your pet, and this enables you to rapidly summon your pet without spending a Soul Shard while still having Fel Domination off cooldown in case your pet dies later.

Boss Tips

Captain Dailcry

• Always be ready to kick Battle Cry.

Baron Braunpyke

• Always be ready to kick Burning Light.
  • Apply a Curse of Tongues on the boss to have an easier time kicking it.
• Use a defensive during Sacrificial Pyre soaks.

Prioress Murrpray

• Use a defensive whenever Blinding Light happens.
• During phase 2, run all together on one side to stack incoming Arathi Neophytes. Remember that your goal is to just let them rot down from Overwhelming Power. Run away from them and help with crowd controls and slows if needed.
  • Look for a Shadowfury whenever they come close to you.

Trash Tips

• Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
  • Boiling Flames from Venture Co. Pyromaniac.
  • Holy Smite from High Priest Aemya.
  • Cinderblast from Taener Duelmal.
  • Fireball from Taener Duelmal.
  • Holy Smite from Devout Priest.
  • Greater Heal from Devout Priest.
  • Fireball from Fanatical Conjuror.
  • Flamestrike from Fanatical Conjuror.
  • Fireball Volley from Risen Mage.
  • Fireball from Risen Mage.

• Pay extra attention to these casts:
  • Defend from Arathi Footman.
    • A channeled cast that reduces damage taken by any ally around the caster by 50% for up to 5 seconds. Stop it with any crowd control immediately.
  • Pot Shot from Fervent Sharpshooter.
    • Inflicts physical damage to a random player. Use a defensive if you are targeted by multiple of those.
  • Disrupting Shout from Arathi Knight.
    • Inflicts physical damage to all players within 40 yards and interrupts spell casting for 4 seconds.
  • Holy Radiance from Elaena Emberlanz.
    • Inflicts holy damage to all players for 8 seconds.
  • Lunging Strike from Sergeant Shaynemail.
    • Leaps at a random player, inflicting physical damage and applying a Bleed.
      • Can be avoided with a Demonic Circle or just outrunning it when she leaps if you are far enough.
  • Purification from Lightspawn.
    • Channeled cast that fixates on a random player and inflicts holy damage every second for 6 seconds.

• Dangerous debuffs to be wary of:
  • Pounce from War Lynx.
    • A Bleed effect inflicting physical damage for 14 seconds or until fully healed.
      • Can be dodged with a Demonic Circle.
  • Impale from Arathi Knight.
    • A Bleed that is applied to a random player.
  • Heat Wave from Forge Master Damian.
    • A Magic slow debuff for 4 seconds. In combination with Molten Pools can be very deadly.
      • Can be removed with a Demonic Circle: Teleport or dispelled with a Singe Magic.
• Useful purges:
  • Templar's Wrath from Zealous Templar.
    • Magic buff increasing all damage done by 30%.
      • Can be purged with a Devour Magic.

Pre Dungeon Start

• Always cast Soulstone on the tank or healer before the key starts as it stays active and might come in handy.
• Use Fel Domination shortly before starting the dungeon. Starting a dungeon despawns your pet, and this enables you to rapidly summon your pet without spending a Soul Shard while still having Fel Domination off cooldown in case your pet dies later.

Boss Tips

Kyrioss

• Take an extra step to dodge the beams during the Lightning Torrent phase because their hitbox is bigger than their visuals.
• Use a defensive during Crashing Thunder.
• Be either very spread or stacked during the Wild Lightning to not bait them bad and put someone in an awkward situation.

Stormguard Gorren

• Use a defensive whenever you get Chaotic Corruption.

Voidstone Monstrosity

• Use a defensive if you get Unleash Corruption and not getting dispelled.
  • Summon an Imp for this fight and help your healer with dispelling with Singe Magic.
• Always remember that once you break the Void Shell absorb shield, the increased damage phase comes right after, so plan your offensive cooldowns accordingly.

Trash Tips

• Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
  • Lightning Bolt from Cursed Thunderer.
    • Very good target for a Curse of Tongues.
  • Lightning Surge from Cursed Rooktender.
  • Void Bolt from Corrupted Oracle.
  • Void Bolt from Void Ascendant.

• Pay extra attention to these casts:
  • Bounding Void from Quartermaster Koratite.
    • Targets a random player and launches void infused orbs towards him that travels out and returns back to the caster.
  • Attracting Shadows from Coalescing Void Diffuser.
    • Pulls in all players inflicting shadow damage every second and additionally inflicts even more damage to players within 7 yards of the center of the pull in effect at the end of the cast.

Pre Dungeon Start

• Always cast Soulstone on the tank or healer before the key starts as it stays active and might come in handy.
• Use Fel Domination shortly before starting the dungeon. Starting a dungeon despawns your pet, and this enables you to rapidly summon your pet without spending a Soul Shard while still having Fel Domination off cooldown in case your pet dies later.

Boss Tips

Coin-Operated Crowd Pummeler

• Use a defensive whenever Static Pulse happens.
• Be close to the boss to have an easier time dodging Shocking Claw frontal.

Azerokk

• Use a defensive whenever Resonant Quake happens.
• Swap to Earthragers whenever they are Azerite Infused.
• Be close to the boss if possible to have an easier time dodging Tectonic Smash frontal.

Rixxa Fluxflame

• Use a defensive if you are targeted with the ‍Propellant Blast.

Mogul Razdunk

• Be close to the boss whenever it's time for a Gatling Gun because it is almost impossible to outrun if you are far away from the boss.
• Be always ready to run away with a Homing Missile, if you are targeted, to not hit the rest of the group.

Trash Tips

• Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
  • Toxic Blades from Hired Assassin.
  • Iced Spritzer from Refreshment Vendor.
  • Rock Lance from Venture Co. Earthshaper.
    • Very good target for a Curse of Tongues.
  • Furious Quake from Stonefury.
    • Put a Curse of Tongues on them because missing a kick on this may easily lead to a full group wipe.
  • Tectonic Barrier from Stonefury.
  • Transmute: Enemy to Goo from Venture Co. Alchemist.

• Pay extra attention to these casts:
  • Uppercut from Addled Thug.
    • Charges to a random player, inflicting physical damage and knocking all players withing 4 yards of impact into the air.
  • Activate Mech from Mech Jockey.
    • Activates a nearby Mechanized Peacekeeper.
      • Stop it using any crowd control available. Worst case scenario you can always cast Fear to stop it.
  • Fan of Knives from Hired Assassin.
    • Channeled cast that inflicts physical damage to anyone within 45 yards. Extremely dangerous if Toxic Blades cast went through.
      • Stop it using any crowd control available. Worst case scenario you can always cast Fear to stop it.
  • Rapid Extraction from Azerite Extractor.
    • Inflicts physical damage to all players and spawns ground effects at nearby location.
  • Mind Lash from Venture Co. Mastermind.
    • Targets a random player and channels at him, inflicting arcane damage every second over 4 seconds.

• Dangerous debuffs to be wary of:
  • Seek and Destroy from Crawler Mine.
    • Crawler Mine crawls towards a player and detonates when nearby, inflicting fire damage on impact and every 2 seconds for 6 seconds.
  • Caustic Compound from Venture Co. Alchemist.
    • A Poison effect, inflicting nature damage for 6 seconds.

Pre Dungeon Start

• Always cast Soulstone on the tank or healer before the key starts as it stays active and might come in handy.
• Use Fel Domination shortly before starting the dungeon. Starting a dungeon despawns your pet, and this enables you to rapidly summon your pet without spending a Soul Shard while still having Fel Domination off cooldown in case your pet dies later.

Boss Tips

An Affront of Challengers

• Always be close to the boss to have an easier time dodging a Decaying Breath frontal.
• Use a defensive whenever Searing Death or Mighty Smash happens.
• Use a defensive if you are afflicted with a Withering Touch and not getting dispelled.
  • Can play this encounter with an Imp to help your healer with dispells with Singe Magic.

Xav the Unfallen

• Stacks from the Oppressive Banner slow can be refreshed with a Demonic Circle: Teleport.

Kul'tharok

• Use a defensive whenever you are afflicted with a Well of Darkness.
• Group up with your teammates for a Draw Soul and press a defensive for the initial hit.
• Always be ready to interrupt a Necrotic Bolt.

Gorechop

• Meat Hooks can be teleported through with a Demonic Circle.
• Be close to the boss to avoid being gripped by a Tenderizing Smash whenever it happens.

Mordretha, the Endless Empress

• Use a defensive whenever Manifest Death or Echoes of Carnage happens.
• Be close to the boss to have an easier time dodging Dark Devastation.
  • Dark Devastation is baited at players so if you feel like it, you can bait it away from the group to reduce the risk of someone dying to it. Can be very helpful during phase 2.

Trash Tips

• Important abilities to interrupt in this dungeon are:
  • Necrotic Bolt from Battlefield Ritualist.
  • Unholy Fervor from Battlefield Ritualist.
    • Can purge it with Devour Magic if it goes through.
  • Demoralizing Shout from Ancient Captain.
  • Necrotic Bolt Volley from Maniacal Soulbinder.
  • Necrotic Bolt from Maniacal Soulbinder.
  • Bone Spear from Bone Magus.
  • Bind Soul from Shackled Soul.
  • Withering Discharge from Blighted Sludge-Spewer.
  • Decaying Filth from Blighted Sludge-Spewer.

• Pay extra attention to these casts:
  • Raging Tantrum from Raging Bloodhorn.
    • Raging Bloodhorn goes into a Raging Tantrum inflicting physical damage to all enemies every 2 seconds.
  • Interrupting Roar from Nekthara the Mangler and Heavin the Breaker.
    • Interrupts spell casting and inflicts physical damage to all players.
  • Ricocheting Blade from Harugia the Bloodthirsty and Advent Nevermore.
    • Inflicts physical damage to a random target and applies a Bleed. Can be avoided by going line-of-sight.
  • Soulstorm from Portal Guardian.
    • Inflicts shadow damage to all players every 2 seconds for 8 seconds.
  • Death Winds from Nefarious Darkspeaker.
    • A frontal tornado that inflicts shadow damage and knocks any player caught in the path.

• Dangerous debuffs to be wary of:
  • Jagged Quarrel from Shambling Arbalest.
    • Inflicts physical damage to a random target and applies a Bleed.
  • Shadow Vulnerability from Portal Guardian.
    • A Curse inflicting shadow damage and increasing shadow damage taken by 30%.
  • Curse of Desolation from Nefarious Darkspeaker.
    • A Curse that spawns pools on the ground every 3 seconds under the afflicted player, inflicting damage to players within 3 yards of the impact and fearing them for a second.

Pre Dungeon Start

• Always cast Soulstone on the tank or healer before the key starts as it stays active and might come in handy.
• Use Fel Domination shortly before starting the dungeon. Starting a dungeon despawns your pet, and this enables you to rapidly summon your pet without spending a Soul Shard while still having Fel Domination off cooldown in case your pet dies later.

Below you are presented with a good list of farmable alternatives that are obtainable outside of WoW’s weekly lockout system. While replaced in time as you progress, these offer immediate character power.