Destruction Warlock talents guide

Recommended Raiding Build

Single Target:

• Flashover
• Reverse Entropy
• Dark Pact
• Cataclysm
• Mortal Coil
• Roaring Blaze 
• Dark Soul: Instability

AoE:

• Flashover
• Reverse Entropy or Shadowburn
• Dark Pact
• Cataclysm
• Mortal Coil
• Rain of Chaos or Roaring Blaze
• Dark Soul: Instability

Recommended Mythic+ Build

• Flashover
• Reverse Entropy or Shadowburn
• Dark Pact
• Cataclysm or Inferno
• Mortal Coil or Inferno
• Rain of Chaos or Roaring Blaze
• Dark Soul: Instability or Soul Conduit

Reverse Entropy + Cataclysm + Roaring Blaze + Dark Soul: Instability is more ST focused build. Shadowburn + Inferno + Rain of Chaos + Soul Conduit is a heavy AoE build which can be very good if played with proper team and proper pulls. If playing with pugs then I’d recommend more ST build with adding some of AoE talents like Rain of Chaos and maybe Shadowburn with Inferno.

FlashoverPassive

EradicationPassive

Soul Fire4 sec cast

The very first talent row for destruction already throws up many questions to the player about just how you want to do damage. Flashover and Eradication can both have their moments to shine and will be your main choices.

Flashover - This talent is generally always the best option when playing a destruction warlock. It makes the spec much smoother to play giving you that extra backdraft charge on top of giving you synergy with Cinders.

Eradication - Now, this talent is very strong but only under the right circumstances. It can sim higher on single target and 2 targets, but the reason you might not want to pick this talent is because it’s very heavily punished by moment/low haste, and it does not scale anywhere near as good as flashover past 2 targets.

This talent is very strong for short burst windows where you might want to pop 3 chaos bolts as fast as possible. So if you think you can effectively “get away” with picking this talent, then on paper it should be better for most single target and 2 target encounters, just know Flashover is the safer and easier pick.

Reverse EntropyPassive

Internal CombustionPassive

ShadowburnInstant

Reverse Entropy - Yet again this talent is pretty much the always go-to talent no matter what type of gameplay you’re doing. The proc rate is quite good and it’s a solid choice for most situations.

Internal Combustion - Very single target focused talent, and you would need lots of haste to make this work. It does sim slightly higher than RE.

Shadowburn - With recent buffs from 9.1 now it’s a viable option if fight consist of many add waves or it’s a m+.

Demon SkinPassive

Burning RushInstant

Dark PactInstant

You can use either Demon Skin, Burning Rush or Dark Pact. All 3 are viable for different situations.

Demon Skin is great if you’re stacking up a lot and taking constant damage with not much movement in the fight.

Burning Rush is great when there is a lot of movement and you need to help with mechanics or dodging certain mechanics. 

Dark Pact is a great option when you need to soak heavy damage, however you need to make sure you use this ability when you’re full health to get the full effects as the damage absorbed is based on current health.

InfernoPassive

Fire and BrimstonePassive

Cataclysm2 sec cast

Cataclysm - Cataclysm sims the highest with anything from around 1-4 targets. This option just helps with spreading Immolate on all targets and deals a large burst of AoE on impact. Best choice for ST and if you need short burst AoE damage.

Fire and Brimstone - Currently doesn’t do enough damage to compete with other talents.

Inferno - might be a good choice for m+ with consistent heavy pulls with a lot of adds. Especially if combined with RoC talent and Wilfred’s legendary.

DarkfuryPassive

Mortal CoilInstant

Howl of TerrorInstant

Mortal Coil - Pretty much the only viable talent in this row for m+ and raiding or PvP. Don’t forget that you can use it during havoc window to CC two targets and not one.

Howl of Terror - May come in handy for PvP in certain situations.

Roaring BlazePassive

Rain of ChaosPassive

Grimoire of SacrificeInstant

Roaring Blaze - This talent has become very strong and is pretty much the “go to” single target talent and you will most certainly want to be playing Cinders with this.

Rain of Chaos - Very strong talent for AoE situations and greatly combines with Wilfred’s legendary.

Soul ConduitPassive

Channel DemonfireChanneled

Dark Soul: InstabilityInstant

Channel Demonfire - Decent option if you need sustain Single Target and cleave damage.

Dark Soul: Instability - Most of the time this is your go-to talent for any encounters. For progression raiding, having a powerful cooldown is always really good if you need to nuke an important add down or to do big damage during a burst window.

Soul Conduit - Can be a good option for full AoE build for m+ combined with other talents and Wilfred’s legendary.