Warlock Specializations: Destruction

(Kitkouski, 2012) ©2014 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

We conclude our coverage of warlock specializations with the Destruction spec. Those who are interested in this fiery path will find themselves dealing the most potent single target attacks in this class. There is a reason why players say, "Don't stand in the fire."

What are Burning Embers?

Burning Embers are the appropriately named secondary resource utilized by Destruction warlocks. You initially hold up to thirty embers at a time, keeping ten embers in each of the three ember chambers available. The Destruction specialization differs from the other warlock specs because the use of embers are not available until level 42, whereas the Affliction and Demonology branches get their resources at much earlier levels. You also see various basic spells replaced within this spec.

The number of abilities that replenish your secondary resource is moderate in comparison to the other two specs.

• Fel Flame is the only basic warlock spell that helps regenerate your embers. The spell is instantly cast, helping you to keep attacking during dungeon instances with heavy movement.
• Conflagrate can also be cast while moving, but its ability to snare your target down to 50% of their movement speed comes in handy during PvP matches.
• Incinerate swaps out Shadow Bolt as your main attack while waiting for other potent spells to be available.
• Immolate also replaces one of your basic DoT spells, Corruption. Keeping this spell up on as many targets as possible will provide you a steady regeneration of Burning Embers.
• The Affliction spec shares the channeled spell Rain of Fire, but Destro warlocks deal bonus damage if using this spell on targets affected by Immolate; Aftermath makes Rain of Fire a common spell to use during any fight.

Order in Chaos

Although the Chaotic Energy buff does not use any Burning Embers, it assists Destruction warlocks by replacing the Life Tap spell. Chaotic Energy's passive mana return helps you focus on the balance of regenerating and expending your embers while fighting foes.

• Chaos Bolt is the often used heavy hitter of the Destruction spec. You will often see players combining this with Havoc for double the fun in battle.
• Ember Tap is a great emergency heal if you regenerate more Burning Embers than you can use, or while waiting for a healing CD to reset.
• Shadowburn has the highest potential for single target damage output plus resource regeneration when compared to other Destruction spells, but properly using it requires a keen eye on your opponent's health.
• Fire and Brimestone assists in simultaneously spreading a variety of spells to multiple enemies, so using it is paramount in crowded battle scenarios.
• Flames of Xoroth is helpful during solo questing if you accidentally attract more enemies than your minion can handle.

Other Destruction spells

Backlash adds a defensive utility to your Incinerate spell, helping you fight against physical damage dealers; still, it is better to stay out of melee range combat as often as possible.

Players can choose to use Havoc with any three single target spells instead of only one charge with Chaos Bolt; this is a decent alternative to Fire and Brimestone if you are low on embers, and can be a powerful finisher if used with Shadowburn when the opportunity arises.

Backdraft is essentially a temporary buff on Incinerate. Utilizing this spell properly can help speed up the overall flow of your spell casting, especially after gaining Pyroclasm at level 86.

Mastery: Emberstorm improves the damage and effectiveness of the majority of your Destruction spec abilities. Dark Soul: Instability's buffs your critical strike chance, which helps you gain twenty seconds of extra damage and ember regeneration.

References

Kitkouski, B. (2012). Invoke the Nether [Image]. Retrieved from http://us.battle.net/wow/en/media/artwork/trading-card-game/series4?view=tcg-series4-014

World of Warcraft. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://us.battle.net/wow/en/

Wowhead. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://wowhead.com/

Destruction Warlock DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities (WoW MoP 5.4). (2013, November 20). Icy Veins. Retrieved from http://www.icy-veins.com/destruction-warlock-wow-pve-dps-rotation-cooldowns-abilities

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