by Kevin Tran on Aug 30, 2007
This affliction talent guide will let you know which of the Affliction talents you should go for, and which you should pass up unless you're going full into this tree, which is never really recommended since having points into Destruction or Demonology really help you out in the long run. We will go over each talent, analyze what it does, and why you would or wouldn't want it.
Return to the new Warlock Talent Guide (Under Construction). The Warlock Talent Guide will link you to all 3 different Talent builds and explain how they work, and why you would ever need or use them, including important talents to pick up as well as often ignored ones.
Tier 1 is available at level ten, when your first talents open up.
Suppression - Max 5 Points, lowers enemy resistances to your Affliction spells by 2%, maxing out at 10% when you reach 5 points. This Talent is usually where Warlocks spend all their remaining points, since it's not really all that useful up front, but can work in the background if you add anywhere from 1 to 3 points into it. Very few warlocks max this talent since the percentage to hit with DoTs is fairly high in itself. Best used when in High-End raids often. Recommended if a raiderTier 2 talents are available as soon as you have 5 points in that talent tree.
Improved Curse of Weakness - Max 2 points, amplifies the effect on your curse of weakness spell by 10% and 20% respectively. All in all, while it could be seen as useful in select raiding environments, it's not really worthwhile to spend any points into this Talent.
Tier 3 talents are available as soon as you have 10 points in that talent tree.
Improved Curse of Agony - 2 point talent, increasing your damage with Curse of Agony by 5% and 10% - not a bad talent but hardly something to look for if you're looking for PvP talents, a 10% increase over the final damage is not very noticeable and you would be wanting to use other curses anyway. It is only noticeable if you're raiding and fighting long boss battles, and even then, it's situational. Nice, but not necessary.Tier 4 talents are available as soon as you have 15 points in that talent tree.
Grim Reach - Max 2 points, increases the range of your affliction spells by 10% and 20% respectively. A must have for obvious reasons for both PvP and PvE, greater reach, sooner the DoTs and Curses begin ticking on your enemies the better. Also worth mentioning that it will help you when bosses or monsters have AoE abilities, 20% more range is a big help. Always try to get this talent! Must HaveTier 5 talents are available as soon as you have 20 points in that talent tree.
Shadow Embrace - Max 5 points, Your corruption, Curse of Agony, siphon life and seed of corruption also cause the shadow embrace on the target, giving it 1% and up to 5% less physical damage dealt. This Talent is recommended only for those who like draintanking and farming by themselves. While 5% might look attractive, you're sacrificing a lot of Talent Points for it. The added debuff allows you to use it along with Soul Siphon, but that's about it. Situational.Tier 6 talents are available as soon as you have 25 points in that talent tree.
Shadow Mastery - 5 Point talent - Increases the damage dealt or drained by your shadow spells by 2% up to 10%. Not much to say about this Talent. Extra damage, get it as a stepping stone toward Tier 7! Must HaveTier 7 talents are available as soon as you have 30 points in that talent tree.
Contagion - 5 point talent, increases the damage done by your Affliction Spells by 1% up to 5% and reduces the chance your affliction spells will be dispelled by 6% for a total of 30% at max points. Great for a PvP player since it makes you have a 30% more chance of upkeeping DoTs on your targets as the others try to dispel you, though the damage increase will help both PvP and PvE. Get this one if you're this far in. Highly RecommendedTier 8 talents are available as soon as you have 35 points in that talent tree.
Malediction - 3 point talent, increases the damage bonus of your Curse of Shadows and Curse of Elements by 1% up to 3% - While not a very useful talent on its own, if you're needing to add extra points into this tree this might be a good choice. Nothing stellar, and will likely just help if you're in a big guild who's serious about damage meters. Situational Improved Howl of Terror- 2 point talent, Reduces the cast time of your Howl of Terror by .8 and 1.6 seconds respectively. At 2/2, this spell is instant, giving you an instant AoE fear, making you incredibly deadly to be around of in PvP and some PvE encounters. Must HaveTier 9 is the top tier talent and is available as soon as you have 40 points in that talent tree.
Unstable Affliction - 1 point skill. Finally, the last Talent is another DoT, this one will tick down for extra shadow damage, and should it be dispelled or cleansed the cleanser will receive up to 1575 damage and be silenced for 5 seconds. This is -the- PvP spell to cast. If you can get Unstable Afflictions out there, many will think twice before dispelling your DoTs, and while they do, your DoTs will be weakening them enough to finish them off! As for PvE usefulness, an extra DoT also rounds off your damage nicely. Must Have / Highly RecommendedComments or questions? Email us (DarkFact@TenTonHammer.Com) or post on our forums!