Affliction Warlock
vs
Demonology Warlock
What’s the best spec for Warlocks, Demonology or Affliction? Below breaks down their current DPS potential and compares the two.
This page analyzes multiple simulations for both Demonology Warlocks and Affliction Warlocks using profiles and settings intended to achieve their maximum DPS. Multiple sim environments are used to test how they perform in various conditions. Is one the AoE king? Does one scale better with gear upgrades? Is one more bursty, and more reliant on big cooldowns? Below analyzes the data to find the strengths of each.
Simulation results were created with SimulationCraft
Using game data from Patch 10.0.2 • WoW Dragonflight •
- Affliction Warlock
- Least affected by movement (single-target)Affliction Warlock’s single-target DPS was -65.82% less affected by increased movement compared to Demonology Warlocks.
- DPS less dependant on big cooldownsAffliction Warlock’s DPS is less bursty, meaning it had more consistent damage. With 61.13% less difference in lowest and peak DPS during a fight when compared to Demonology Warlocks.
Demonology Warlock- Best boss DPS (in perfect settings)Demonology Warlock achieved 14.05% more maximum boss DPS than Affliction Warlock when there was no movement or lag.
- Best boss DPS (in realistic settings)Demonology Warlock achieved 5.86% more maximum boss DPS than Affliction Warlock when dealing with occasional movement, lag and crowd-control.
- Best AoE DPS (in perfect settings)Demonology Warlock achieved 50.37% more AoE DPS than Affliction Warlock when there was no movement or lag.
- Best gear scalingDemonology Warlock scaled better with increased item-levels, single-target DPS benefited 9.8% more from 372 ilvl to 422 compared to Affliction Warlocks.
- Simplest GameplayDemonology Warlock has fewer damaging abilities which could indicate a simpler rotation.
While the above highlights the DPS advantages between Affliction and Demonology Warlocks, the DPS potential should not be the only factor in your decision. Ultimately, you should also consider the playstyle that you enjoy most while crushing it in Mythics+ and Raids!
Resources
- Affliction Warlock
- DPS Rankings
- Affliction Warlock Class Guide
- Affliction Warlock Sim Details
- Demonology Warlock
- DPS Rankings
- Demonology Warlock Class Guide
- Demonology Warlock Sim Details
More Spec Comparisons