Can a Warlock use a Bane and a Curse together?
The October 7 deep dive places the former Curse of Agony and Curse of Doom in a separate Bane category. Their damage effect no longer competes with a utility Curse in the old way. Each Warlock can still keep only one Bane on a target, and effects that previously interacted with Curses also interact with Banes.
Curse of the Elements covers all magic damage, replacing the need for Curse of Shadows. Firestone and Spellstone become weapon imbues that coexist with temporary enchants such as Wizard Oil. The first supports Fire damage and critical chance; the second supports Shadow damage and spell haste.
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Warlock damage Curses become Banes, while demons scale from their master’s stats. Affliction adds Wrack, Demonology gains Demonic Pact combinations, and Destruction builds new connections through Incinerate and Bane of Havoc.
Which connections define the three Warlock specs?
| Preference | New tool | What to plan around |
|---|---|---|
| DoTs and drains | Affliction: Wrack | Your own Affliction effects improve drains and connect to your other Shadow DoTs. |
| Fighting alongside a demon | Demonology: Demonic Pact | Sacrifice one demon type and summon a different one. |
| Alternating Fire and Shadow tools | Destruction: Incinerate, Shadow and Flame | Maintain the relevant spell effects and cross-school bonuses. |
Life Tap scales with Spirit. Drain Soul gains a progressive chance to award a Soul Shard on each tick, rising after failures until a shard is guaranteed. These improve resource preparation without removing the costs of the spells you intend to cast.
Where does Wrack fit in Affliction?
Wrack is the 31-point talent, a channeled Shadow attack that also increases the damage from your other Shadow DoTs. Soul Siphon improves Drain Life, Drain Soul and Wrack according to your other Affliction spells on the target, up to a cap. Adding more effects does not provide unlimited scaling.
Nightfall can now trigger from Drain Soul and Wrack. Pandemic improves the critical damage bonus of the listed DoT and drain spells. Together, these changes create a choice of filler between refreshing ongoing effects, rather than treating Affliction as nothing but applying DoTs.
How do you combine Demonic Sacrifice with an active pet?
Demonic Sacrifice moves to 11 points and Soul Link to 21. Demonic Pact preserves Sacrifice when you summon a different demon. Resummoning the type you sacrificed cancels it. The following pairings connect the Sacrifice effect with Master Demonologist’s active-pet effect.
| Priority | Sacrificed demon | Different active demon and its bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow damage | Imp | Succubus or Incubus: Shadow damage |
| Fire damage | Succubus or Incubus | Imp: Fire damage |
| Mana plus physical durability | Voidwalker restores mana | Resummoning Voidwalker cancels Sacrifice; those two same-pet bonuses cannot coexist. |
| Health recovery plus physical defense | Felhunter restores health | Voidwalker: less physical damage taken |
These are combinations derived from the talent effects, not a damage ranking. An encounter can make recovery or defense more useful than a second offensive bonus. Demonic Energies also heals your demon from your spell damage and can share Life Tap’s mana gain with it.
How do Bane of Havoc and Incinerate affect target choice?
Bane of Havoc is limited to one target. It copies 15% of your damage to other enemies onto that target. Because it occupies the Bane slot, it should not be planned as an extra effect on top of your own Agony or Doom there. Incinerate gains 25% damage when its target has Immolate.
Shadow and Flame rewards linking spell schools: Conflagrate boosts Shadow damage and Shadowburn boosts Fire damage. Its ranks can also let Conflagrate preserve Immolate and let Shadowburn refund its shard. Those conditions matter more than simply replacing every cast with the newest spell.
What changes when you summon a demon in the October 8 beta?
Your existing pet is stunned while you summon its replacement. Demonic Brand only gives its bonus pet damage high threat when that damage is Shadow, so a Fire-damage pet does not gain the same tanking benefit. Lower Shadow Bolt ranks also received progression adjustments. Plan for the interruption if the current demon is holding an enemy or contributing damage during a summon.
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