Warlock guide: curses, afflictions and life drain — talents, build, PvE and PvP

The Warlock is the master of the long game. They don’t try to kill in one turn: they stack afflictions and curses that burn the enemy every turn, weaken them, drain their life — and by the middle of the fight the Warlock’s damage overtakes almost anyone’s. If you like planning a fight several turns ahead and watching your opponent melt away, this is your class. Here’s how to play a Warlock: cards and Class Power, talent trees early on and at level 60, gear, and how to play in dungeons, raids and the arena.

The Warlock at a glance

• Group role: damage dealer only.
• Armour: cloth.
• Resource: Mana. It’s the same Crystals everyone has: 1 on your first turn, one more each turn up to 10, and whatever you don’t spend is lost.
• Health at level 60 without gear: 370 — not much, like every cloth class.
• Cards: 24 of their own and 6 from talents — more than any other class. The Warlock’s deck is the most varied.
• Difficulty: medium. Damage builds up over time: you need to track which afflictions are on the enemy and how many turns they have left.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths:

• damage over time: afflictions and curses hit at the end of each of the enemy’s turns while you play other cards;
• damage grows with the number of afflictions: one card boosts your damage for every affliction on the enemy;
• survivability for a cloth class: life-draining strikes, a thread that heals you for 3 turns, two shields and a self-heal;
• control: two cards make the enemy lose a turn, and a curse of weakness cuts their damage by 25% for 3 turns;
• the Class Power doesn’t just hit — it also draws a card, so the Warlock’s hand rarely runs dry.

Weaknesses:

• the damage takes time to build: in a short fight the Warlock trails burst specialists;
• low Health and light armour;
• one role only — damage; the Warlock can’t heal a group or tank.

The Warlock’s deck: key cards

All 24 class cards and the cards of your learned talents go into battle. Every card with its description is in the Warlock’s Spellbook. Here’s what the class is built on.

Afflictions and curses

The heart of the deck is effects that deal damage at the end of each of the enemy’s turns, usually for 3 turns in a row:

• three curses and afflictions for 2–3 Crystals on a single target;
• a 3-Crystal burn: a strike plus burning;
• a damage-and-heal link for 2 Crystals: damage to the enemy every turn and healing for you every turn, both for 3 turns;
• two 5-Crystal cards that put damage over time on all enemies at once.

Buffs and debuffs

• a curse of the elements: the target takes 40% more damage from all sources for 3 turns;
• a curse of weakness: the target deals 25% less damage for 3 turns;
• a buff that adds 22% to your damage for every affliction of yours on the enemy, for 3 turns;
• regular buffs: +30% for 3 turns and +50% for 2 turns.

Direct damage and life drain

A cheap shadow bolt for 2 Crystals, a heavy strike for 4, a strike on all enemies for 5 and the class’s big 8-Crystal finisher. Two strikes drain life: they deal damage and heal you, and one of them also returns 2 Mana.

Control, defence and tempo

• a control card — the enemy loses their turn;
• another control card — damage, a little healing for you and a lost turn for the enemy;
• two shields (18 and 14 base, the first only 2 Crystals) and a self-heal;
• a 1-Crystal card that draws 2 cards and returns 2 Mana.

Base card numbers grow with Power: the more a card costs, the bigger the share of Power it gets. Damage and healing over time grow with Power too.

The Warlock’s Class Power

Your Class Power is the round button that costs 1 Crystal, once per turn. The Warlock has the same power in all three trees: a strike on the target, after which you draw 1 card. Your choice of tree changes talents and cards, not the button. The numbers are in the Class Power reference.

Warlock talents: three trees

Talents unlock at level 10 and you get a point for every level — 51 by level 60. Each row of a tree opens for every 5 points in it, and the top talent needs 20 points in its own tree; a hero has only one top talent per loadout. The Warlock’s trees hold 30, 31 and 30 ranks — 91 in total.

What sets the Warlock apart: all six talent cards sit in the fifth row, so they arrive no earlier than level 30.

1. The first tree — the patient killer. Talent card: an affliction detonation for 4 Crystals — the more of your afflictions are on the target, the more damage it deals, and it heals you.
2. The second tree — the resilient warlock. Two talent cards. The first summons a guardian for 4 turns: at the start of each of your turns it hits the first living enemy, and it can’t be attacked. The second is a 3-turn buff: +25% damage plus a shield.
3. The third tree — direct damage. Two talent cards: a cheap, strong 3-Crystal strike and a 6-Crystal strike after which the target takes 25% more damage for 2 turns.

Every class’s trees are in the Talent trees reference.

What to take early on

The Class Power is the same in every tree, so while levelling pick a tree by style: the first plays through afflictions, the third through direct damage, the second adds survivability. Put your points into one tree in a row — by level 30 you’ll have its talent card.

A level 60 build

From level 20 a hero has two specialisations, each with its own deck. A Warlock might keep, for example:

• Spec A — the affliction tree for long fights where damage over time has time to pay off;
• Spec B — the direct-damage tree or the resilient tree with the guardian, for the arena and fights that need more damage up front or more toughness.

Put 21 points into your main tree (20 to reach the top talent plus the top talent itself) and the other 30 into bonuses from the neighbouring trees. Switching, loadouts and talent resets are free; how to build is covered in “Talents in a card RPG”. The training dummy is a handy way to compare specialisations — the damage meter counts damage over time too.

Warlock gear and weapons

• Armour: cloth.
• Weapons: staff, sword, dagger or wand.
• Off hand: tome or orb.
• Two-handed: staff. The Warlock doesn’t wield two weapons — but hands are equal for every class: a one-hander plus an off-hand item carry as many stats as a staff.

At level 60 the Warlock’s goal is the Tier 1 set Garb of the Sworn Pact: eight pieces of item level 232 from heroic raids and world bosses. The 2-, 4-, 6- and 8-piece bonuses depend on your active tree and don’t work in PvP. Details are in “Tier sets in an MMORPG”, and every class’s armour and weapons are in the Armour and weapons reference.

Which race to choose for a Warlock

Any race can be a Warlock. The race’s permanent bonus:

• more damage — Power: the Kogran, Nakar and Shaydar +6% each, the Velion +5%, the Selenar +3% Power and 3% less incoming damage;
• more toughness — Health: the Gartan +10%, the Durgar +8%, the Grumak and the Vaerin +5% each;
• for the arena — the Morven: no crowd control makes them lose a turn; while stunned they simply have 1 Crystal.

Race is an extra, not a life sentence. Every bonus is in the All races reference.

The Warlock in PvE: dungeons and raids

A dungeon takes a tank, a healer and a damage dealer; a raid or a world boss takes a tank, a healer and three damage dealers. The Warlock fills a damage slot — and shines in a long boss fight.

• Afflictions first, strikes later. An affliction applied early works for the whole fight; the “per affliction” buff and the affliction detonation get stronger with every effect on the target.
• Afflictions on everyone. Against several enemies, the two cards that put damage over time on all enemies beat single-target strikes.
• Don’t pull the boss. A boss attacks whoever has dealt it the most damage; the tank’s Taunt holds it for 2 turns and the tank’s damage makes triple threat. Watch the enemy target markers on the board.
• Spare your healer. The thread and life-draining strikes heal you yourself — less work for the healer. Hits on “everyone” strike the whole group: keep a shield ready.
• Boss enrage. A long fight is dangerous: every stage of enrage adds 18% to the boss’s damage, so get your damage going from the first turns.

Raid prep is in “Your first MMORPG raid”, roles in the knowledge base article Group roles.

The Warlock in PvP: arena and duels

In the arena (1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 5v5), on the battleground and in duels the Warlock grinds opponents down with afflictions and control. Remember the PvP rules:

• Damage over time works here too. Afflictions, the thread and the guardian hit just as they do against creatures; talents work the same in PvP.
• Against healers. From your 10th turn, healing and shields in PvP weaken by 10% a turn, and the third and later heals in a turn are halved. The longer the fight, the better the Warlock’s afflictions do against healing.
• The round cap. Nobody can lose more than 60% of their Health in a round — damage over time counts too.
• Fatigue. The deck isn’t reshuffled in PvP: once it runs out, fatigue damage begins. The Class Power and draw cards pull cards — in a very long fight, keep an eye on how many are left.
• Control. After a stun your opponent has 2 turns of their own when they can’t be stunned again; a Morven never loses a turn.
• Defence in PvP is Resilience from PvP gear; Hardiness doesn’t work in the arena.

All the rules are in the knowledge base article Special PvP combat rules, modes in “PvP in a card game”.

Common beginner mistakes as a Warlock

1. Opening with direct strikes. Afflictions applied first have time to deal more damage.
2. Using the “per affliction” buff on a clean target. Afflictions first, then the buff.
3. Pulling the boss off the tank in the first turns of a group fight.
4. Forgetting defence. The Warlock has shields, a self-heal and life drain — cloth means little Health, so use them.
5. Wearing Hardiness gear in the arena. In PvP only Resilience protects you.

Warlock FAQ

Does the Warlock have summoned creatures?

Not in the base deck. A talent card from the second tree summons a guardian: it lasts 4 turns, hits the first living enemy at the start of each of your turns, and can’t be attacked.

Why does the Warlock have the same Class Power in every tree?

That’s how the class works: in any tree the Warlock’s power hits the target and draws a card. The tree changes talents and talent cards, not the button.

How many cards does the Warlock have?

The most of any class: 24 class cards and 6 talent cards — one in the first tree and two each in the second and third. Talent cards go into battle only for talents learned in your active specialisation. You can see them all in the Spellbook.

From what level does the Warlock get talent cards?

They all sit in the fifth row of their trees, so they arrive no earlier than level 30 — once 20 points are in that tree.

Can a Warlock heal the group?

No. The Warlock only heals themselves — with life drain, the thread and a healing card. Their group role is damage only.

The bottom line

The Warlock is a class for the patient: every affliction makes the next turn stronger, and by the middle of the fight the opponent is already melting. Start with the tree that suits your style, get your talent cards by level 30 and keep a second specialisation for the arena from level 20. Create a Warlock and see how many afflictions your first boss can take. And if you’re still choosing a class, see “Which class to choose”.