Warlock Leveling

Why Affliction. Instant Corruption, more mana from Life Tap, and drains that hit harder for every effect on the target. Together they mean you rarely stop, and you can keep fighting while you move.

Why Demonology right after Improved Corruption. I take Unholy Power next (15 to 19) so my demon hits harder, then Demonic Energies as early as it opens (20 and 21). Demonic Energies is what keeps the Voidwalker alive while it tanks: it heals your demon for 15% of your spell damage, and it gives it the mana you get from Life Tap. Everything after that goes into Affliction.

Want to be tankier? Take Demonic Embrace (15% more Stamina) instead of Unholy Power. It's in the same row, so it opens Demonic Energies just the same; you trade some demon damage for more health of your own.

Other options. Demonology all the way works too: it's slower until Demonic Brand at 25, then very safe. Destruction is the slowest tree alone; keep it for dungeons.

Open with Immolate, put Bane of Agony and Corruption on the enemy, then finish it with your wand. The wand costs no mana, so what you save goes into the next pull.

Drain Life is a good alternative to the wand: it does more damage, and once you have Demonic Energies its damage also heals your Voidwalker, which wanding doesn't.

The opening macro. Put this on your bars instead of Immolate: one button casts Immolate and sends your demon at the same enemy.

#showtooltip
/cast Immolate
/petattack

Core

• Improved Corruption (5): each point takes 0.4 seconds off Corruption's 2-second cast, so at 5/5 it's instant and deals 10% more damage. Take it first.
• Suppression (5): 5% more chance to hit, so fewer resisted spells, and 20% less threat. The threat reduction is the part I value most: it lets your demon keep the enemy on itself while you put out your damage, so the Voidwalker actually tanks. It comes right after the Demonology points.
• Improved Life Tap (2): 20% more mana from every Life Tap.
• Improved Drains (3): 20% more from Drain Life, Drain Soul and Drain Mana: more damage from Drain Life, and more healing for your Voidwalker through Demonic Energies.
• Soul Siphon (3): your drains hit harder for each of your other Affliction effects on the target, so get Corruption, Bane of Agony and Siphon Life on it before you drain.
• Pandemic (3), Malevolence (5) and Shadow Mastery (5): bigger and more frequent critical strikes, and 10% more Shadow damage. Most of your damage from the 40s on.

Flexible

• Fel Concentration (3): a 70% chance that taking damage doesn't slow your drains, for the times an enemy gets past your Voidwalker.
• Wrack: the 31-point talent. A channel that damages the enemy and makes your other Shadow damage over time effects hit it 10% harder. I take it at 54: it adds damage and makes everything else you have on the enemy hit harder.
• Nightfall, Amplify Curse, Grim Reach, Soul Harvest: nice to have, so they come last. On a PvP server, take Grim Reach (20% more range) and Curse of Exhaustion (slows by 30%) earlier.

The Voidwalker, from level 10 to 60. It tanks while you deal damage, so you rarely take a hit. Send it in first, give it a moment to take the enemy's attention, then start your damage.

• Suppression lowers your threat, so the enemy stays on the Voidwalker.
• Demonic Energies heals it for 15% of your spell damage and gives it the mana you get from Life Tap, so it holds up from pull to pull.

The class runs on one loop: Life Tap turns health into mana, and your Voidwalker takes the hits so you keep that health. Done well, you go from fight to fight without sitting down.

• Full health and low mana means Life Tap. Never sit down to drink in that state.
• Don't Life Tap low in a fight. Tap between pulls.
• Drain Life brings health back when you need it, and with Demonic Energies its damage heals your Voidwalker too.
• Carry food and bandages for the pull that goes wrong.

• Tailoring and Enchanting work well together on a Warlock: your own cloth gear and bags, and Enchanting for upgrades along the way.
• First Aid is worth it on any character. In Forever it also makes Healing Potions.
• Food with the Well Fed buff gives extra experience from kills, so keep some in your bags.
• Healthstones are free healing: make a new one after every death.
• A Soulstone on yourself before an elite quest saves the run back.