Destruction Warlock Midnight 12.0.1 Guide

Hi there! My name is Prebby, I joined Method prior to Midnight release as a ranged multi-classer, with Warlock being one of the classes I am taking a deep-dive into. This guide will cover all changes to Destruction in Midnight, what I have learnt playing the spec on beta and overall how to get the most out of Destruction Warlock in Patch 12.0.

Destruction Warlock Overview

Destruction is centered around Chaos Bolt, which contributes most of our damage directly and through interactions with the Destruction Hero Trees. Instant casts such as Conflagrate and Shadowburn allows Destruction to be fairly mobile, despite Chaos Bolt’s long cast time. Finally, Destruction's signature ability, Havoc, allows it to shine in 2-Target Cleave, which is a prevalent scenario in the three raids of 12.0.

Midnight Destruction Warlock Changes

As we enter Midnight, Destruction Warlocks gain access to their Apex Talents, Embers Of Nihilam, the remaining points in the Hero Talent Trees and the Season 1 Tier Set. Since all of these are passive, there will not be major gameplay changes from the Midnight pre-patch, but the spec will be complete and the Embers of Nihilam animations add a nice flare to the spec.

Midnight Pre-Patch Changes for Destruction Warlock

Even though the effective playstyle of Destruction has not changed a lot going into Midnight, here’s a summarized quick glance of what has changed for those interested:

Changes:

• Shadowburn can now only be cast on targets below 20% health and the cooldown has been removed.
• Roaring Blaze now makes Conflagrate spread Immolate (or Wither) to 3 additional nearby targets.
• Dimensional Rift is now fully passive and a choice node with Soul Fire which no longer has its fast cast proc Decimation.
• Avatar Of Destruction has been redesigned to summon an Overfiend when you cast Soul Fire or a chance to summon one when you proc a Dimensional Rift.

Added:

• Alythess's Ire
• Chaotic Inferno
• Destructive Rapidity
• Improved Havoc
• Lake Of Fire
• Practiced Chaos
• Xorothian Research

Removed:

• Burn To Ashes
• Decimation
• Devastation
• Dimension Ripper
• Eradication
• Indiscriminate Flames
• Master Ritualist
• Power Overwhelming
• Pyrogenics
• Ritual Of Ruin
• Rolling Havoc