GUIDE SCOPE
Built for repeatable Phase 3 raid execution
This searchable web edition is adapted from the original MCK Boost carrier handbook. It focuses on the included class, specialization and role only; it does not create placeholder coverage for missing specializations.
- Build
- 41 / 0 / 20
- Role
- DPS
- Raid tier
- Phase 3
- Source
- 26-page PDF
TALENT BUILD
41 / 0 / 20
Affliction earns its slot through raid debuffs and reliable DoT pressure. The 41/0/20 build cannot reach Ruin, so Destruction assumptions must not be imported.
The exact point allocation is documented in the chapters below. The linked calculator opens the correct TBC class tree for verification.
View chapter index
01 - Raid plan
Deliver damage and raid debuffs
One Warlock can change an entire caster stack. Every Warlock must manage curses, threat, shards and health as deliberately as damage.
0/21/40. Sacrifice Succubus for Shadow or Imp for Fire. Maintain the assigned curse, then cast the correct filler without interrupting movement or threat calls.
41/0/20. Bring Malediction and Shadow Embrace, maintain the full DoT package and accept lower personal throughput for raid value.
| Before pull | During combat | After every pack |
|---|---|---|
Soulwell, Soulstone, 25+ shards | Assigned curse; Soulshatter before cap | Drain Soul safe targets; restock |
Confirm Shadow or Fire support | Life Tap only inside healing plan | Resummon/sacrifice correct demon |
Equip boss-hit or trash set | Seed only where detonation is safe | Check Soulstone duration |
Non-negotiable carrier habits
02 - Raid plan
Gnome and Orc are the damage defaults
Racial value is smaller than execution, but the optimal choices are clear for a new raid character.
Alliance damage default; 5% Intellect.
Excellent mechanic recovery.
Horde spell-damage burst; align with trinkets.
Pet value for Affliction or any unsacrificed demon.
| Faction | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
Alliance | Gnome | Expansive Mind is the best sustained caster racial; Escape Artist has real progression value. |
Horde | Orc | Blood Fury is the strongest damage racial; Command supports utility-pet configurations. |
Alternatives | Human / Undead / Blood Elf | Playable, but their racials do not beat the above raid-DPS packages. |
| Pair | Use |
|---|---|
Tailoring + Engineering | Best carrier path: crafted cloth plus explosives for Hyjal waves. |
Tailoring + Enchanting | Two ring enchants when trash engineering is already covered. |
Tailoring + Leatherworking | Use only when the assigned party still needs Drums coverage. |
Profession route
03 - Talents
41/0/20 is a raid-utility assignment
Affliction earns its place through Malediction, Shadow Embrace and reliable multi-DoT pressure - not by pretending to beat
Signature DoT; never clip.
Amplifies Curse of the Elements for the raid.
Reduces boss physical damage dealt.
Core DoT multiplier.
Maintain for damage and sustain.
Maintain continuously.
Mana without healer health cost.
Shadow Bolt crits support the raid's Shadow damage.
| Tree | Allocation principle |
|---|---|
| Suppression as required, Improved Corruption, Amplify Curse, Nightfall, Siphon Life, Shadow Mastery, Contagion, Dark Pact, Malediction, Shadow Embrace, Unstable Affliction. | |
Destruction - 20 | Bane and Improved Shadow Bolt into Devastation; no Ruin at 20 points - use the exact linked build and do not invent a 41/0/20 Ruin hybrid. |
Destruction on clean single target.
04 - Abilities
Refresh after the final tick - never before Affliction is a timer discipline spec. A clipped DoT loses both damage and the global that could have cast Shadow Bolt.
Curse of the Elements
Usually your Malediction assignment.
Maintain; begin cast to land after expiry.
Maintain 100% without clipping.
Maintain on targets that live.
Only when raid curse assignment permits.
Filler and Improved Shadow Bolt support.
Preferred controlled mana conversion.
Use when pet mana is insufficient or movement permits.
| Priority | Action |
|---|---|
1 | Assigned amplified curse. |
2 | Unstable Affliction, Corruption and Siphon Life. |
3 | Immolate only when the actual gear/support makes it profitable. |
4 | Shadow Bolt filler; Shadowburn only during movement/execute. |
5 | Refresh each DoT after its final tick; remove dying targets from the plan. |
Usually your Malediction assignment.
05 - Gear & items
Gear Affliction for its real job
The same Phase 3 caster pieces remain powerful, but Affliction values hit differently because Suppression affects Affliction spells - not Shadow Bolt.
Raid caster multiplier.
Boss physical-damage reduction.
Coordinate the unique Shadow aura provider.
T6 remains strong, but the 4p bonus favors filler spells.
Still the longest-lived trinket priority.
Powerful endpoint; simulate against one-hand/off-hand.
| Question | Decision |
|---|---|
| If no other Affliction Warlock provides it, this is the reason for the slot. | |
| High-value on progression physical-damage encounters. | |
How much hit? | Cap Shadow Bolt separately from Affliction-school spells; Suppression does not help filler. |
Hyjal waves? | Seed remains the AoE answer; do not multi-DoT packs that die before value is returned. |
06 - Abilities
Make threat and control one keypress away
Macros should remove targeting delay, never automate encounter judgment.
PurposeMacroFocus Banish#showtooltip Banish
/stopcasting
/cast [@focus,harm,nodead] BanishMouseover curse#showtooltip Curse of the Elements
/cast [@mouseover,harm,nodead][] Curse of the ElementsEmergency Soulshatter#showtooltip Soulshatter
/stopcasting
/cast SoulshatterPet interrupt#showtooltip Spell Lock
/cast [@focus,harm,nodead][] Spell LockDrain Soul shard#showtooltip Drain Soul
/cast Drain Soul07 - Raid plan
Review uptime, support and wasted casts
A Warlock log is meaningful only when compared with the same spell school, curse assignment, party buffs and kill time.
| Metric | Target / diagnosis |
|---|---|
Active time | 95%+ meaningful activity on safe stationary encounters. |
Assigned curse uptime | Approach 100%; explain every gap. |
Filler casts per minute | Compare only against similar haste and movement. |
Life Tap globals | Move taps into movement, transitions and low-value windows. |
Threat downtime | Soulshatter timing, Subtlety enchant and tank threat support. |
Seed damage | Targets seeded, detonations, overkill and threat deaths. |
Affliction DoT clipping | Refresh timestamps must follow the final tick. |
Deaths | Health before raid damage, Seed aggro, missed control or late movement. |
| Track | Display |
|---|---|
Boss debuffs | Your curse, Malediction ownership, ISB charges, Scorch/Shadow Weaving. |
Resources | Mana, health, potion/rune timers, Soulshatter, shard count. |
Control | Focus frame with Banish/Fear duration and pet interrupt cooldown. |
UI checklist
08 - Encounter
Win eight waves without stealing the pack
Warlocks dominate Hyjal trash when they wait for the tank, choose healthy Seed targets and arrive at the boss with mana and shards.
Different healthy targets.
After the stack is stable.
Only marked escape target.
Hold assigned elemental/demon.
Between waves when safe.
Drain Soul dying safe targets.
| Wave phase | Carrier action |
|---|---|
Spawn / path | Stand at assigned lane; no early Seed. |
Tank gather | Apply assigned curse to priority target; wait for ownership. |
Burn | Spread Seed across durable mobs; direct-cast marked kill target if requested. |
Cleanup | Drain Soul safe target, refresh sacrifice, tap/drink and move. |
Before boss | Stop shard farming in time; arrive full health, mana and cooldown plan. |
09 - Encounter
Five bosses, five resource plans
The largest losses come from movement delay, unsafe Life Taps and missing curse coverage - not from choosing the wrong trinket by two DPS.
| Boss | Execution |
|---|---|
Rage Winterchill | Spread for Death and Decay; move immediately on Icebolt/ground effects; maintain curse through movement. |
Anetheron | Stay in healing range; assigned Warlock handles infernal control only by plan; avoid tapping before Carrion Swarm. |
Kaz'rogal | Mana is survival. Use potion/rune early, minimize unnecessary DoTs and stop tapping if Mark threatens health. |
Azgalor | Respect Rain of Fire and silence range; Soulstone recovery target; save health before dangerous windows. |
Archimonde | Tears equipped, fear break plan, immediate fire movement. Personal survival is the only parse that matters. |
10 - Encounter
Naj'entus through Teron
Front-load movement planning, curse ownership and threat resets before damage habits become automatic.
| Boss | Execution |
|---|---|
Naj'entus | Healthstone ready; stop tapping before shield break; burst after the shield collapses and healing stabilizes. |
Supremus | Maximum range; instant movement from volcanoes; use movement globals without delaying safe relocation. |
Shade of Akama | Seed stable add packs; preserve threat margin and arrive at Shade burn with damage cooldowns. |
Teron Gorefiend | Clean filler uptime; pre-plan Soulshatter. If ghosted, execute construct controls instead of staring at bars. |
11 - Abilities
Threat discipline beats automatic casting
These encounters punish a Warlock who continues the rotation after the fight changes state.
| Encounter | Execution |
|---|---|
Gurtogg Bloodboil | Stay with assigned Bloodboil group. Stop immediately on threat call and dangerous Fel Rage transitions; never tap before incoming group damage. |
Reliquary - Suffering | Mana regeneration is disabled. Follow the phase resource plan; Rank 1 utility and interrupts matter more than filler. |
Reliquary - Desire | Every damaging cast reflects damage. Cast only inside healer/raid plan; no automatic DoT refresh or Seed. |
Reliquary - Anger | Wait for tank threat, then controlled burst. Soulshatter is a planned threat tool, not a panic button. |
Phase-specific permission.
Planned threat point.
Emergency only.
Survive reflection windows.
12 - Encounter
Late Black Temple execution
Resistance compliance, target discipline and survival are the final carrier checks.
| Boss | Execution |
|---|---|
Mother Shahraz | Meet the raid Shadow-resistance threshold exactly. Greater Shadow Protection Potion and health consumables are part of the set; react instantly to Fatal Attraction. |
Illidari Council | Attack only the assigned target, respect immunities and interrupts, and stop casts on threat/reflect calls. Curse coverage follows the raid target plan. |
Illidan | Phase curses and threat separately; control assigned demons only by plan. Move from eye beams and parasites immediately; save health for unavoidable damage. |
Pre-pot per resistance plan.
Extra health before danger.
Assigned demon control.
Only if strategy calls for it.
Recovery target refreshed.
Phase threat plan.
13 - Raid plan
Turn preparation into a repeatable checklist
The character should enter every pull with the correct school, support, inventory, curse and threat plan already decided.
Correct demon sacrificed Shadow or Fire enchant/set equipped Boss hit target verified Assigned curse confirmed Soulshatter timing marked Potion and tap plan ready
Malediction assignment confirmed Shadow Embrace expected DoT bars visible Shadow Bolt hit checked separately Pet utility assignment confirmed Dark Pact pet mana visible
| Window | Work |
|---|---|
Days 14-10 | Finish attunement, resistance set, gems/enchants and 25+ shard bag state. |
Days 9-6 | Target dummy school rotation; Seed targeting; focus Banish/Fear; Life Tap timing. |
Days 5-3 | Save boss-hit, supported-hit, trash and resistance equipment sets. |
Days 2-1 | Buy full consumes, repair, verify Soulstone targets and review raid curse sheet. |
Raid day | Log review after each block: curse uptime, deaths, threat downtime and activity. |
14-day preparation sprint
14 - Raid plan
Current references and clickable data
Spell, talent and item names throughout the handbook link directly to their TBC Wowhead entries.
| Reference | Use |
|---|---|
| Wowhead TBC / guide/destruction-warlock-dps-bt-hyjal-phase-3-best-in-slot-gear-burning-crusade | |
| Wowhead TBC / guide/classes/warlock/dps-talent-builds-pve | |
| Wowhead TBC / guide/classes/warlock/dps-rotation-cooldowns-abilities-pve | |
| Wowhead TBC / guide/classes/warlock/dps-stat-priority-attributes-pve | |
| Wowhead TBC / guide/classes/warlock/dps-enchants-gems-pve | |
| Wowhead TBC / guide/classes/warlock/dps-consumables-raid-buffs-pve | |
| Wowhead TBC / guide/classes/warlock/dps-macros | |
| Wowhead TBC / guide/classes/warlock/dps-overview-pve | |
| Wowhead TBC / guide/tier-6-set-overview-burning-crusade-classic | |
| Wowhead TBC / guide/shadow-resistance-gear-mother-shazraz-black-temple-bt-burning-crusade-classic | |
| Wowhead TBC / guide/trash-mobs-hyjal-summit-strategy-burning-crusade-classic | |
| Wowhead TBC / news/best-changes-coming-to-tbc-anniversary-account-wide-attunements-guild-bank-379328 |
Network. This independent handbook is a performance reference.
Research checked July 22, 2026. Live raid mechanics, hotfixes and loot policy always supersede a static document.
ORIGINAL MCK BOOST HANDBOOK
Download the complete PDF edition
Keep the original designed handbook for offline reference. It includes the full layout, linked identification references and printable preparation cards.
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