Warlocks in PvP

My first piece of advice is, if you want to be a god in PvP, do not, I repeat, do not be a warlock. While warlocks can make entirely plausible characters for PvP play in World of Warcraft, they will never be the supreme masters of the sport. So, if you’re reading this guide in order to pick a character class purely for PvP, I suggest you explore other options. Shamans and rogues, in my experience, are far better suited for PvP, so you might want to start there.

That being said, here are my tips on making the best warlock possible for battlegrounds, dueling, skirmishing, and the like.

Warlock Tactics in PvP

Fear kills in PvP. A well-timed Fear or Howl of Terror can easily break the opposing force. These are the primary staples of the PvP warlock, and should be used frequently.

Spells with a casting times can, and often will, be interrupted. Instant casting time spells, on the other hand, cannot be interrupted and can even be cast on the run. Since all Curses have an instant casting time, they are your best friends. If you’re specced for Affliction, Curse of Exhaustion can work wonders, especially in Warsong Gulch. Barring that, Curse of Agony is good for fleeing opponents and is a great way to keep a rogue from stealthing. Curse of Weakness can be useful against rogues, cats, and other opponents with fast attack speeds. Naturally, Curse of Tongues is your best bet to trip up troublesome casters. Don’t bother with Curse of Recklessness, Curse of Shadow, or Curse of Elements, and of course Curse of Doom doesn’t work on players anyway.

It’s worth noting that Improved Corruption and Siphon Life, both in the Affliction tree, have instant casting times as well, and are thus decent choices for PvP. Many fleeing or otherwise non-combative opponents fail to notice multiple DOTs until it’s too late.

Though it fits into the category of instant-cast spells, Death Coil deserves special attention. If you’re high enough level to have it available, hotkey it at all times. Instant Fear plus life drain will easily get you out of many hazardous situations, and should be your first reaction if you ever get jumped by an opponent with lots of melee DPS.

Remember, though, that warlocks have glass jaws. While certain talents can make them more durable (e.g. Demonic Embrace, Soul Link, etc.), they are generally unable to withstand the kind of punishment that other players can dish out. Your best bet for PvP effectiveness is to run interference for the heavy damage-dealers and stay out of the fray as much as possible. Naturally, this is impossible in a one-on-one or dueling situation, in which case your best bet is to Fear and DOT your opponent to death.

Warlock Pets in PvP

Though an excellent choice for PvE, a voidwalker is practically useless in PvP because it’s taunting abilities are ineffective against players. The only exception, of course, is for a warlock with a deep demonology build that includes Master Demonologist and, preferably, Soul Link. Otherwise, the voidwalker is only useful for it’s Sacrifice shield, which, while very handy in a pinch, isn’t worth having available in lieu of a genuinely useful summon.

A succubus, on the other hand, does a decent amount of damage in combat. And, unlike the voidwalker’s taunts, the succubus’ Seduce ability does work on other players. Even her Lesser Invisibility is somewhat useful, since an opponent can easily be caught off-guard trying to ambush what seems to be a lone, defenseless warlock. When in doubt or against a variety of opponents, a succubus makes a great first choice.

Despite the succubus’ usefulness, however, my personal preference has to go with the felhunter. Its damage, though less than the succubus’, is still noticeable, and its fast attack speed tears up other casters. Combine that with Devour Magic and Spell Lock and you have a pet that is the bane of every caster’s existence. Even the passive Pa

I would like to add note to your argument that Voidwalkers are useless. If you want to tear up hunters or other warlocks, they are indeed a very great asset. Most people in the middle of a fray don’t have the mental capacity to micromanage pet, and just send it in then focus on their attacks. Voidwalker’s taunt comes in VERY handy here. If you can get their pet off of you - (succu can no longer seduce, fel can no longer spell lock, pets can no longer interrupt spells) - you then can focus ur attack on the caster. A well placed Deathcoil following a pet taunt can and will turn the battle in your favor. Prepare yourself with a first aid while deathcoil runs its course, place a follow up fear and stack on dots, follow up with a few nukes (if vs lock) or a more dots and more fear (if vs hunter), and you’ve just wont the fight.

:)

“or a few more dots”
wont = won

Blah blah blah