Images courtesy of Peter Dorsi

The Warlocks came about when the Arcanists and Shamans abandoned their studies and connection with arcane magic and forces of nature and learned the arts of the darker, Shadow-based magic. The Warlock utilizes curses and plagues to their maximum potential, using distance as an ally. In addition, the Warlock can summon demons at will and resurrect fallen allies to aid him in destroying those who stand in his way.

Background
Gul’dan was the first Warlock to submit himself to the command of the Burning Legion, after betraying Ner’zhul, his former master. This infamous follower of the dark arts led the Old Horde through the Dark Portal and the Dimensional Plain.

What with the treachery-filled history of how they came to be, Warlocks are not to be trusted, despite the grudging tolerance shown to them by most races. Even with this distrust however, many see the potential of the Warlock’s abilities. As an offensive spellcaster, the Warlock is among the strongest. While physically weak, especially against efficient melee fighters, the Warlock makes up for this with their wide range of potent and destructive spells and their demonic allies. With mastery over the magic of fire and shadow, the Warlock is an opponent not to be trifled with.

Overview
Aside from dealing tons of damaging spells, the Warlock can also provide support for his party. The Warlock’s support skills include healing and even summoning allies from other dimensions through demonic portals. With the Warlock’s long list of curses, it is said the class is the best debuffer class in the game.

The Warlock can also sacrifice his health and convert it into mana, making the Warlock capable of dishing out magic attacks even with no mana left in his pool. Coupled with his healing abilities, there is little doubt as to the Warlock’s aggressiveness. When used in conjunction with minions and debuffs, the Warlock has the most powerful assortment of Damage over Time spells.

Like the Mage, the Warlock is effective as a crowd control unit, which can be useful against a more effective opposition and in preventing a wipeout. The Warlock’s Burst Damage, when properly developed, can equal that of a Mage’s.

Like the Paladin, the Death Knight, and the Druid, the Warlock can also ride a magical mount. The only difference is that the Warlock can readily summon his, in addition to the traditional means of acquiring a mount.

The Warlock is the only class that uses Soul Shards when attempting to cast certain spells. Soul Shards can be obtained by using the Drain Soul spell on a target from which the caster gets Experience or Honor by killing. If the target dies while under the effect of Drain Soul, the player is given a Soul Shard.

In PvP situations, the Warlock is a powerhouse because of his crowd control skills and naturally high stamina. But even with the benefits of this class, a player must also be adept and keep tabs on a few things to be an expert Warlock handler. Being a Warlock means getting engaged in a fight while keeping an eye on summoned minions. Also, managing soul shards can be tricky.

The Warlock’s main attribute is stamina. This is because the Warlock can convert life into mana should the situation call for it. Thus, a Warlock should prioritize stamina as more of this attribute means more mana reserves.

While the Warlock can engage in melee combat, the damage output is less compared to what its magic attacks and spells can inflict.

The Races

The Warlock is restricted to the following races:

Race	Faction
Gnomes	Alliance
Humans	Alliance
Orc	The Horde
Undead (Forsaken)	The Horde
Blood Elf	The Horde

Weapons and Armor

The Warlock is restricted to wearing cloth armor and initially starts with daggers and fists. They can use Wands for ranged attacks and equip the off-hands with enhancement items. The Warlock can only use one-handed swords and staves after he completes his training with a weapon master.

The Skill Trees

There are three skill trees for the Warlock, each with its own set of abilities that will later define a Warlock’s role later in the game:

Affliction Tree

This tree focuses on increasing the effectiveness and damage of a Warlock’s DoT spells, Drains, and Curses while reducing mana cost. The Affliction Tree also allows the Warlock to go mobile and heal himself.

Key skills in this tree include:

• Shadow Mastery – greatly enhances the damage of the Warlock’s offensive spells and drains.

• Siphon Life – a Shadow-based Damage over Time spell that heals for the damage done.

• Fel Concentration – grants the Warlock the ability to drain life from its enemies while being attacked. For great results, use Fel Concentration in conjunction with Soul Siphon and Improved Life Tap.

Demonology Tree
This tree leans towards improving the effectiveness of the Warlock’s minions, conjure spells, and bestowing other passive bonuses. Many prefer this tree at early levels because of the tree’s inclination for versatility and survivability.

Some of the important skills in this tree are:

• Demonic Empowerment – depending on the kind of the demon summoned, this skill grants the minion with a special buff and effects.

• Soul Link – this skill enables the Warlock to take the extra damage, as significant amounts of damage taken by the Warlock are redirected to the minion.

• Demonic Sacrifice – increases the stamina of the Warlock, but Spirit also decreases. Since Stamina is an important attribute for the Warlock, this exchange is not as crippling as one may think it is.

Destruction Tree
This tree, as the name obviously suggests, enhances the Warlock’s direct damage and burst damage output, as well as increases the chances to make critical strikes. Simply put, a Destruction-cored Warlock is a killing machine.

Some of the key talents in this tree consist of:

• Shadowburn – a Shadow-based instant cast direct damage spell.

• Shadow and Flame – a passive caster buff that enhances the bonus spell damage of the Warlock when using Shadow Bolt and Incinerate spells.

• Shadowfury – Shadow-based direct damage Ground Targeted Area of Effect (GTAoE) that stuns targets for a short duration. Useful against groups and enables the Warlock to unleash combinations or flee.

Limitations
The Warlock is limited to wearing cloth armor. Even with high stamina, a more durable armor type would be useful for the Warlock. The need for a higher type of armor is even more pronounced by the fact that the Warlock has limited melee capabilities.