Destruction Warlock Leveling in WoW Forever: Talents and Tips

Destruction Warlock leveling in WoW Forever gets a rebuilt tree: Conflagrate is now the 16-point milestone, Bane of Havoc sits at 21 points and Incinerate is the 31-point capstone. Blizzard says Destruction can "mix powerful Shadowburns and Conflagrates with the new Incinerate spell" (Rogue and Warlock deep dive), and its November 2 notes doubled the Shadow and Flame bonuses. Here's what Destruction looks like at launch, how it compares with Affliction, and how to level with it. The main class guide is our Warlock leveling guide.

Destruction vs Affliction for leveling

	Destruction	Affliction
Damage style	Burst: Immolate, Conflagrate, Shadow Bolt, Incinerate	Damage over time and drains
Self-healing	Little; Molten Skin cuts damage taken instead	Strong, through drains
Downtime	Higher: more mana and Soul Shard use	Lower
Our verdict	Situational: good in groups, fine solo with a Voidwalker	Best solo default (also in our Warlock guide)

Our Warlock guide rates Affliction best and Destruction situational, and that hasn't changed. Pick Destruction if you prefer burst casting or level in groups. You can run both after level 40 with Dual Specialization (talents and dual spec).

Destruction talents at launch

From the deep dive with later changes:

Talent	What it does in Forever	Change
Destructive Reach (row 1)	+10/20% range on Destruction spells	Changed to range on 15 Oct
Improved Shadow Bolt	Raises only your own Shadow damage; no charges to use up	Deep dive
Bane (row 1)	Classic's cast-time talent, now also applies to Incinerate	Deep dive
Cataclysm (row 2)	Up to 10% cheaper Destruction spells	Deep dive
Molten Skin (row 2, new)	Up to 10% less damage taken	Deep dive
Aftermath (redesigned)	Immolate's initial hit up to +50%; Conflagrate up to 100% chance to Daze (50% slow, 5 s)	Deep dive
Ruin (row 3)	Moved up and now 5 points, so Demonology and hybrid builds can reach it	Deep dive
Agonizing Flames (was Improved Searing Pain)	3 points; more damage on all Destruction spells plus Searing Pain crit	Deep dive
Conflagrate	16-point milestone (row 4)	Deep dive
Intensity	3 points; pushback resistance on all Destruction spells	Deep dive
Fire and Brimstone (row 5, new)	More crit on Conflagrate	Deep dive
Bane of Havoc (21 points, new)	15% of your damage to other targets also hits the cursed target, 5 minutes	Deep dive
Shadow and Flame (row 6, new)	Conflagrate: more Shadow damage for 20 s; Shadowburn: more Fire damage for 20 s; 4/8/12/16/20%	Doubled on 2 Nov
Incinerate (31 points, new)	2.5 s Fire nuke, 30 yards, +25% on targets with your Immolate; needs Bane of Havoc	Deep dive

Removed: Improved Firebolt, Improved Lash of Pain, Devastation, Improved Immolate and Emberstorm. Shadow and Flame also gives Conflagrate up to a 100% chance not to consume Immolate and Shadowburn up to a 100% chance to refund its Soul Shard.

Other Warlock changes that affect Destruction

• Pets scale with your stats in Forever, but since 2 November they get 2 health per point of your Stamina, down from 7.5 (November 2 notes).
• Drain Soul now has a much lower chance to give a Soul Shard on damage (not on kills), so farm shards from killing blows (2 November).
• Spellstones now raise only Shadow damage (2 November); Firestones are the Fire option.
• Banes are separate from utility curses (deep dive).
• Hellfire can crit (1 October), and Shadow Bolt's low ranks were smoothed so every new rank is an upgrade (8 October).

A Destruction leveling plan

Blizzard publishes no build, and the beta ended at 30, so this is a plan rather than a tested spec:

1. Levels 10–20: Destructive Reach, Improved Shadow Bolt and Bane. Send the Voidwalker in, then Immolate and Shadow Bolt.
2. Levels 20–30: Cataclysm for mana, Molten Skin for survival, Aftermath for the Conflagrate daze, then Ruin.
3. Levels 30–40: Conflagrate at 16 points, then Intensity and Fire and Brimstone. Rotation: Immolate, Conflagrate, Shadow Bolt to finish.
4. Levels 40–60: Shadow and Flame, Bane of Havoc for packs (curse the main target, kill the adds), then Incinerate at 31 points.

Pet: the Voidwalker is the tanking pet; Blizzard's Demonic Brand talent gives it extra threat but not the Imp (deep dive). Our best tank guide covers how pet tanking compares.

What isn't confirmed yet

• How Bane of Havoc and Incinerate play while leveling; both are past the level 30 beta cap.
• Exact damage numbers for Incinerate; Blizzard gave the design only.

Where RestedXP fits

Destruction's downtime comes from mana and Soul Shards, so you don't want to waste either on wrong turns. RestedXP's Forever routes cover levels 1–35 now, with 35–60 after launch. Read the RestedXP review and get 10% off through our discount code page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Destruction Warlock good for leveling in WoW Forever?

It's a situational pick. Destruction now has Conflagrate at 16 points, Incinerate at 31 and a damage-reduction talent, Molten Skin, but it burns mana and Soul Shards faster than Affliction. Affliction, which heals you through drains, stays the safer solo default.

Does Destruction Warlock get Incinerate in WoW Forever?

Yes, as the 31-point talent. It requires Bane of Havoc, casts in 2.5 seconds at 30 yards, and deals 25% extra damage to targets with your Immolate.

What is Bane of Havoc in WoW Forever?

Destruction's 21-point talent. It curses one target for 5 minutes, and 15% of all damage you deal to other targets is also dealt to it. Only one Bane per Warlock can be on a target.

What does Shadow and Flame do?

Conflagrate raises your Shadow damage for 20 seconds and Shadowburn raises your Fire damage for 20 seconds; since November 2 the bonus is 4/8/12/16/20%. It also gives Conflagrate up to a 100% chance not to consume Immolate and Shadowburn up to a 100% chance to refund its Soul Shard.

Which pet should a Destruction Warlock use while leveling?

The Voidwalker for solo questing, because Blizzard designed it as the tanking pet. Note that since November 2 pets get 2 health per point of your Stamina, down from 7.5, so they are less durable than in the beta.