1. Warlock 1v1 Difficulty Tier List

    This is a difficulty tier list for warlock 1v1s with every spec in game, including some hybrid specs (listed at the bottom). This is made with dueling knowledge of over 10 years playing WotLK from Retail WoW, Arena Tournament, and Warmane servers. This is made from dueling some of the best players from duelists, duel heros, gladiators, famous players, and random players with over 50,000+ duel wins recorded in my time playing. These duels are played in open field with no line of sight (difficulty of duels can change if line of sight is used).

    ***Remember difficulty is a matter of opinion not everyone will agree with what is typed here*** (NOTE: You wont see me use demonology spec very much in this list. I do not recommend demonology spec for most 1v1 situations because destruction and affliction are better in most situations, only versus beast mastery hunters do I find demonology the best spec).

    It is important to remember that difficulty can change depending on how good your opponent is at playing his class/spec in 1v1.


    Hardest Tier:
    Unholy Death Knight: As destruction spec
    Beast Mastery Hunter: As demonology or destruction spec
    Destruction Warlock: As destruction or affliction spec
    Shadow Priest: As affliction or destruction spec
    Frost Mage (Pet kill strategy): As destruction or affliction spec (Can be Intermediate Tier if they are not good at dueling warlocks)

    Hard Tier:
    Subtlety Rogue: As destruction spec
    Marksmanship Hunter: As destruction spec
    Enhancement Shaman: As destruction spec
    Feral Druid: As destruction or affliction spec (Can be Intermediate Tier if they are not good at dueling warlocks)

    Intermediate Tier:
    Frost Death Knight: As destruction spec
    Blood Death Knight: As destruction spec
    Combat Rogue: As destruction spec
    Fire Mage: As affliction or destruction spec (Can be Hard Tier if fire mage gets good RNG with crits and reflects)
    Arms Warrior: As destruction spec (Can be Easy Tier if they are not good at dueling warlocks)
    Protection Warrior: As destruction spec (Can be Easy Tier if they are not good at dueling warlocks)
    Retribution Paladin: As destruction or affliction spec
    Holy Paladin (They cant kill you if you know what your doing but killing them can be difficult sometimes): As destruction or affliction spec
    Affliction Warlock (Easier to beat if your destruction but can be Hardest Tier if your playing affliction mirror match): As destruction or affliction spec

    Easy Tier:
    Balance Druid: As destruction or affliction spec
    Discipline Priest: As affliction or destruction spec
    Survival Hunter: As destruction spec
    Arcane Mage: As destruction or affliction spec
    Protection Paladin: As destruction or affliction spec
    Assassination Rogue: As destruction spec
    Elemental Shaman: As destruction or affliction spec
    Demonology Warlock: As destruction or affliction spec
    Fury Warrior: As destruction spec

    Easiest Tier:
    Restoration Druid: As affliction or destruction spec
    Holy Priest: As affliction or destruction spec
    Restoration Shaman: As affliction or destruction spec

    Honorable Mention Hybrid Specs:
    Beast Mastery/Marksmanship, Readiness and The Beast Within, Hunter (Hardest Tier): As demonology or destruction spec
    Shadow/Discipline, Devouring Plague Spam Spec, Priest (Hardest Tier): As affliction spec
    Unholy/Blood, Mark of Blood and Scourge Strike, Death Knight (Hard Tier): As destruction spec
    Retribution/Protection, Reckoning and Sheath of Light, Paladin (Intermediate Tier): As destruction or affliction spec
    Frost/Fire, Elemental Spec, Mage (Intermediate Tier): As affliction or destruction spec
    Assassination/Subtlety, Mutilate and Preparation, Rogue (Easy Tier): As destruction spec


    -Duelist Ninothezerk/Redcocaine
    Edited: September 21, 2020

  2. some vids please, would appreciate

  3. This is not a how to guide or a dueling guide. It is only a difficulty tier list.
    Edited: February 11, 2020

  4. Demo Lock > all ez but unholy dk and maybe Spriest , still can beat any dk if they **** up defenses.

  5. Demo Lock > all ez but unholy dk and maybe Spriest , still can beat any dk if they **** up defenses.
    I would certainly say of all lock specs demon is the least likely to win in most situations.

    As i said I only find demon useful vs beast mastery hunters and its only to mitigate the damage when the hunter pops the beast within.

    Even with demon though I would not use felguard. Succubus, void, and felhunter is better in most duels.

    Versus the BM hunter I usually start with void, and after the beast within duration is finished I feldom succubus and seduce spam for easy burst.

  6. I would certainly say of all lock specs demon is the least likely to win in most situations.

    As i said I only find demon useful vs beast mastery hunters and its only to mitigate the damage when the hunter pops the beast within.

    Even with demon though I would not use felguard. Succubus, void, and felhunter is better in most duels.

    Versus the BM hunter I usually start with void, and after the beast within duration is finished I feldom succubus and seduce spam for easy burst.
    But you still lose vs bm hunter as demo and quite easy. Maybe you have a small chance in duel zone and with los, but in an open fight, faction vs faction, you get kited to dalaran and beyond and you won't do anything. You'll pop demon form and charge with aoe damage, get slowed and disengaged, rip your damage. As for void, your pet shield can get a juicy dispel ez since the dispel has a short cd. You don't have the means to get close with demon form to do damage vs a bm hunter so your demon form can be used at best to mitigate a little burst coming from the bm hunter's rambo mode form. But even with that, your hp will drop a lot and after your demon form is gone, you get soloed by the pet while the hunter goes to dalaran to have a drink.

  7. But you still lose vs bm hunter as demo and quite easy. Maybe you have a small chance in duel zone and with los, but in an open fight, faction vs faction, you get kited to dalaran and beyond and you won't do anything. You'll pop demon form and charge with aoe damage, get slowed and disengaged, rip your damage. As for void, your pet shield can get a juicy dispel ez since the dispel has a short cd. You don't have the means to get close with demon form to do damage vs a bm hunter so your demon form can be used at best to mitigate a little burst coming from the bm hunter's rambo mode form. But even with that, your hp will drop a lot and after your demon form is gone, you get soloed by the pet while the hunter goes to dalaran to have a drink.
    Demon has a very good shot at beating a beast mastery Hunter.

    Destruction spells have a 36 yard range if you spec for destructive reach. I personally spec for metamorphosis, intensity, and destructive reach. This allows for less pushback and long range casting while still allowing you to spec 51 points in demonology. Though this spec is a 1v1 spec it doesn't really do well in other areas.

    Therefore a BM Hunter kiting me must kite at 37 to 41 yard range only giving him only a 4 yard deadzone to kite with. And charge allows you to close distance so you can get back in close range to cast. So getting casts off is pretty easy for me with my destruction talents.

    Also diselling void shield will take some luck as warlocks have lesser invis and Shadow ward as well as molten core to help protect from Hunter dispel. Hunter dispel also has a cool down so you can't spam it. As I said you will need luck to get my shield and in most cases it's easier to just burst through it then waste time trying to dispel it.

    Demon also has the most haste of any warlock specs because of improved spellstone and that helps with getting casts off. After the beast within is finished feldom succubus, fear hunters pet, spam seduce and it's a win for the warlock. Corroded skeleton key, void shield, and armor buff from demon form means Hunter won't be bursting you down fast. To much damage mitigation.

    Overall demon vs bm Hunter is a fair, close fight. Both can win. If your steam rolling a demon lock I'd assume he's not very experienced vs bm hunters. A good BM Hunter or readiness BM Hunter is one of the hardest duels for a warlock but an experienced demon lock and sometimes destro lock can certainly beat a BM Hunter.
    Edited: September 22, 2020

  8. i delete any hunter with my demo lock , doest matter the gear they have, i can delete the pet before the hunter if i want, bm hunter are easy than mm lel, i can delete a bis pally with smourne+wings if they stay to fight, i can outburst him without using any fear, you guys never use a proper demo lock and dont understand that meta is god mode , you run or die. also im bm master.

  9. i delete any hunter with my demo lock , doest matter the gear they have, i can delete the pet before the hunter if i want, bm hunter are easy than mm lel, i can delete a bis pally with smourne+wings if they stay to fight, i can outburst him without using any fear, you guys never use a proper demo lock and dont understand that meta is god mode , you run or die. also im bm master.
    While I agree demon is good for fighting BM hunters, I do not agree that it is as good vs paladins as destro or afflic.

    Versus a paladin your burst wont be as consistent or reliable as demon spec. Paladins also have instant cast fear to peel the warlock when he becomes a demon. This will allow a paladin to outlive your Metamorphosis.

    A good paladin will most likely outlive Metamorphosis by fear spamming the warlock, spamming Flash of Light or Art of War procs, and playing defensively until he can wear down the demon warlock.

    I would say destro and afflic are much more reliable for killing paladins. Destro being more reliable since the burst can kill the paladin much faster, as opposed to afflic where he has time to spam Flash of Light or Art of War procs before the dots can wear him down.
    Edited: April 7, 2020

  10. While I agree demon is good for fighting BM hunters, I do not agree that it is as good vs paladins as destro or afflic.

    Versus a paladin your burst wont be as consistent or reliable as demon spec. Paladins also have instant cast fear to peel the warlock when he becomes a demon. This will allow a paladin to outlive your Metamorphosis.

    A good paladin will most likely outlive Metamorphosis by fear spamming the warlock, spamming Flash of Light or Art of War procs, and playing defensively until he can wear down the demon warlock.

    I would say destro and afflic are much more reliable for killing paladins. Destro being more reliable since the burst can kill the paladin much faster, as opposed to afflic where he has time to spam Flash of Light or Art of War procs before the dots can wear him down.
    You are not listening, when a pally instant fear me i just trinket it and i have 8 sec enough to delete the pally with wings or make him bubble like a B. you can have 75% stun reduction by being orc on demon form, and pally fear+repentance share dr, but i guess you didnt know that.

  11. You are not listening, when a pally instant fear me i just trinket it and i have 8 sec enough to delete the pally with wings or make him bubble like a B. you can have 75% stun reduction by being orc on demon form, and pally fear+repentance share dr, but i guess you didnt know that.
    turn evil and repentance do not share the same DR.

    no way your killing a paladin that fast if hes smart and plays defensively.

    preg spec also, making it even harder to kill him.

    ret with shadowmourne and s8 gear can be very good at 1v1, ive met some paladins on icecrown that were hard to beat even as destro.

  12. turn evil and repentance do not share the same DR.

    no way your killing a paladin that fast if hes smart and plays defensively.

    preg spec also, making it even harder to kill him.

    ret with shadowmourne and s8 gear can be very good at 1v1, ive met some paladins on icecrown that were hard to beat even as destro.
    yea turn evil and repentance dont share dr, i tested today , but im pretty sure they did before, but as i say before you run or die, if the pally is stupid enuff to use wings and try to nuke a real demo lock, he is in trouble, the point of the burst is to get -25% pally life and then finish him with drain soul. also already delete pallys bis from icecrown and warriors, even dk bis who never fought a real demo lock and **** up ,defensives they fall like flies.

  13. yea turn evil and repentance dont share dr, i tested today , but im pretty sure they did before, but as i say before you run or die, if the pally is stupid enuff to use wings and try to nuke a real demo lock, he is in trouble, the point of the burst is to get -25% pally life and then finish him with drain soul. also already delete pallys bis from icecrown and warriors, even dk bis who never fought a real demo lock and **** up ,defensives they fall like flies.

    As much as warlocks can counter a paladin, I believe demon is the least effective spec versus paladins.

    You have turn evil spam on the warlock, then turn evil the warlocks pet and full repentance on the warlock. This will allow the paladin to virtually neutralize metamorphosis.

    I just dont see a good paladin going balls to the walls offensive with an immolation aura metamorphosis warlock in his face. I imagine him playing defensively and CCing the warlock and the pet and avoiding the immolation aura.

    Also wings can also be just as effective defensively as it is offensively because it boosts the paladins heals as well. A s8 shadowmourne ret will be healing for insane amounts too. (I think ret paladin healing is OP and should have been nerfed in retail.)

    With all that said, Im not saying a demon lock cant beat a paladin, im just saying its the least effective spec to use against paladins as I think destro and afflic are just better in this situation.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •