Level 60 Demonology Warlock raid DPS build
“Sacrifice Ruin” — Damage in dungeons and raids.
A capped-hit DS/Ruin shadow nuke build that sacrifices pet uptime for stronger Shadow Bolt scaling, Ruin crits, and reliable raid-boss spell hit.
Solid. A few specific changes below would lift it further.
Talents
9 Affliction / 21 Demonology / 21 Destruction · 51 points at level 60
Affliction · 9
Suppression2/5
Improved Corruption5/5
Improved Life Tap2/2
Demonology · 21
Improved Healthstone2/2
Demonic Embrace5/5
Fel Intellect5/5
Fel Domination1/1
Fel Stamina5/5
Master Summoner2/2
Demonic Sacrifice1/1
Destruction · 21
Improved Shadow Bolt5/5
Cataclysm2/5
Bane5/5
Devastation5/5
Shadowburn1/1
Destructive Reach2/2
Ruin1/1
Gear
| Slot | Item | Stats | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head | 108 armor · +28 Stamina · +25 Intellect · +33 Spell Damage · +33 Healing · +2% Spell critical chance · +1% Spell hit chance | Plagueheart Raiment | |
| Neck | +8 Intellect · +9 Stamina · +28 Spell Damage · +28 Healing | Naxxramas · Grand Widow Faerlina | |
| Shoulders | 97 armor · +22 Stamina · +12 Intellect · +1% Spell hit chance · +36 Spell Damage · +36 Healing | Plagueheart Raiment | |
| Back | 68 armor · +11 Intellect · +12 Stamina · +26 Spell Damage · +26 Healing · +1% Spell critical chance · +1% Spell hit chance | Naxxramas · Sapphiron | |
| Chest | 138 armor · +27 Stamina · +22 Intellect · +1% Spell hit chance · +51 Spell Damage · +51 Healing · +1% Spell critical chance | Plagueheart Raiment | |
| Wrists | 42 armor · +7 Stamina · +27 Spell Damage · +27 Healing · +1% Spell hit chance | — | |
| Hands | 83 armor · +15 Intellect · +19 Stamina · +37 Spell Damage · +37 Healing · +1% Spell hit chance | Temple of Ahn'Qiraj · C'Thun | |
| Waist | 66 armor · +20 Intellect · +13 Spirit · +17 Stamina · +2% Spell hit chance | Blackwing Lair · Chromaggus | |
| Legs | 95 armor · +21 Stamina · +64 Shadow Spell Damage | World Bosses · Lord Kazzak | |
| Feet | 89 armor · +20 Stamina · +16 Intellect · +32 Spell Damage · +32 Healing · +1% Spell critical chance | Plagueheart Raiment | |
| Ring 1 | +6 Intellect · +5 Stamina · +37 Spell Damage · +37 Healing · +1% Spell hit chance | — | |
| Ring 2 | +36 Spell Damage · +36 Healing · +1% Spell hit chance | Naxxramas · Noth the Plaguebringer | |
| Trinket 1 | +44 Spell Damage · +44 Healing · +2% Spell hit chance | Blackwing Lair · Nefarian | |
| Trinket 2 | +40 Spell Damage · +40 Healing | Naxxramas · Sapphiron | |
| Main Hand | 82–153 · 1.8s · 65.4 dps · +10 Stamina · +8 Intellect · +95 Spell Damage · +95 Healing · +1% Spell hit chance · +1% Spell critical chance | Naxxramas · Maexxna | |
| Off Hand | +12 Stamina · +8 Intellect · +26 Spell Damage · +26 Healing · +1% Spell critical chance · +1% Spell hit chance | Naxxramas · Sapphiron | |
| Ranged / Relic | 119–222 · 1.5s · 114.1 dps · +7 Intellect · +7 Stamina · +12 Spell Damage · +12 Healing · +1% Spell hit chance | Naxxramas · Patchwerk |
- Plagueheart Raiment (4/9) — (2) Your Shadow Bolts now have a chance to heal you for 330.; (4) Increases damage caused by your Corruption by 12%.
Rotation
- 1
Curse of Shadowdebuff missing on target - 2
Corruptiondebuff missing on target - 3
Shadowburntarget below 20% health - 4
Rain of Fire3+ enemies - 5
Hellfire3+ enemies - 6
Shadow Boltwhen ready - 7
Drain Soultarget below 20% health
Read top to bottom: use the first ability that is ready and whose condition holds.
Why it works
This is a DS/Ruin raid build: 21 Demonology reaches Demonic Sacrifice, 21 Destruction gets Improved Shadow Bolt, Bane, Devastation and Ruin, and the 9 Affliction points make Corruption instant while improving Life Tap efficiency. The intended damage pattern is simple and very strong in Classic: maintain the assigned shadow curse, keep Corruption up only when debuff space allows, then cast Shadow Bolt as the main filler so Ruin and Improved Shadow Bolt multiply your crit value.
The gear is selected to reach the 16% spell-hit cap exactly against bosses: Plagueheart head/shoulders/chest, Cloak of the Necropolis, Rockfury Bracers, Dark Storm Gauntlets, Angelista’s Grasp, Ring of the Fallen God, Band of the Inevitable, Neltharion’s Tear, Wraith Blade, Sapphiron’s Left Eye, and Wand of Fates provide the hit. Fel Infused Leggings are chosen because the build is overwhelmingly shadow-based, while The Restrained Essence of Sapphiron is the best second damage trinket. Malice Stone Pendant is preferred for boss damage because its resistance reduction supports all your magical damage after hit is solved.
Before a boss pull, use Demonic Sacrifice with the shadow-damage demon choice and do not resummon during the fight. In raids, cast Curse of Shadow only if you are assigned to it; otherwise use the raid’s assigned curse plan and spend your globals on damage. In dungeons, Rain of Fire is the safe 3+ target option, while Hellfire is stronger only when the tank has firm control and healers are ready. Shadowburn is reserved for execute windows or movement because it costs a shard.
More Warlock builds
- Leveling · 40Affliction Warlock leveling build (level 40)Dark Pact Drainer
- PvP · 19Level 19 Affliction Warlock twink buildFearweave twink
- PvP · 29Level 29 Destruction Warlock twink buildShadowburn Control
- PvP · 39Level 39 Affliction Warlock twink buildShadow Mastery drain-twi
- PvP · 49Level 49 Demonology Warlock twink buildSoul Link shadow twink
- PvP · 60Level 60 Demonology Warlock PvP buildSoul Link shadowburn
Generated by the optimizer from Classic Era client build 1.15.9.69722 and checked against the builder's rules (row gates, prerequisites, what the class can wear). The rating above is recomputed from today's data. Race not set — pick yours in the builder for racial bonuses.