Affliction Warlock WoW Forever Rotation

Ranged DPS · Multi-DoT upkeep with Drain Soul execute phase

Spec: Affliction Warlock · Class: Warlock. DoT-driven caster with three distinct specs — Affliction is the community favorite.

WoW Forever Affliction Warlock rotation — cast priority

Practice it first, read it second — the trainer below is pre-loaded to Affliction Warlock:

# Affliction Warlock — DoT priority (WoW Forever)
# Refresh each DoT in its last ~30% of duration; spam otherwise.
/castsequence reset=8 Haunt, Corruption, Unstable Affliction
/cast Curse of the Elements
/cast [harm] Drain Soul
/cast Shadow Bolt

The priority list behind the trainer, top-down every GCD:

1. Haunt — Shadow embrace debuff and DoT amplifier — press on cooldown
2. Curse of the Elements / Doom — Keep the raid-appropriate curse up (curse missing)
3. Corruption — Core DoT — refresh only when about to fall off
4. Unstable Affliction — Second DoT, dispel punishment baked in
5. Drain Soul — Execute phase channel below 25%; generates soul shards (target below 25% health)
6. Shadow Bolt — Filler between refresh windows

Rotation notes that actually move the meter

• Dot refresh discipline beats spam: refresh Corruption/UA in their final third, never early.
• Haunt travel time — cast it, then re-apply DoTs while it flies so Shadow Embrace catches ticks.
• Drain Soul below 25% is both execute damage and shard generation — never Shadow Bolt there.
• Life Tap between DoT windows; Improved Life Tap makes it net-positive with Siphon Life up.

Affliction talent points (level 60)

• Affliction (51): Improved Curse of Agony 2/2, Suppression 3/3, Improved Corruption 5/5, Improved Life Tap 2/2, Soul Siphon 2/2, Improved Curse of Weakness 2/2, Grim Reach 2/2, Nightfall 2/2, Empowered Corruption 3/3, Shadow Embrace 3/3, Siphon Life 1/1, Pandemic excluded per in-game tree, Eradication 3/3, Contagion 5/5, Dark Pact 1/1, Malediction 3/3, Haunt 1/1, remaining points into Affliction passives
• Demonology (10): Improved Healthstone 2/2, Fel Intellect 3/3, Fel Vitality 3/3, Demonic Embrace 2/2
• Key capstones: Haunt, Nightfall (instant Shadow Bolts), Malediction curse hit

Copyable macros

Priority macro — paste into a chat macro slot; it walks the priority top-down when spammed:

# Affliction Warlock — DoT priority (WoW Forever)
# Refresh each DoT in its last ~30% of duration; spam otherwise.
/castsequence reset=8 Haunt, Corruption, Unstable Affliction
/cast Curse of the Elements
/cast [harm] Drain Soul
/cast Shadow Bolt

In-game one-button variant (showtooltip + opener casts):

#showtooltip Haunt
/petattack
/cast Haunt
/cast Corruption

Try it in the simulator

Scroll back to the trainer at the top of the rotation section — or open the full rotation trainer to switch specs. Muscle memory from 3–4 clean trainer rounds (80%+ priority score) translates directly to boss DPS in WoW Forever.

Related rotations

• Retribution Paladin rotation
• Protection Warrior rotation
• Fury Warrior rotation
• Arcane Mage rotation
• Beast Mastery Hunter rotation