Gear
Patch 10.2 Tier sets
- 2set: Consuming a Demon Core applies a doom brand that explodes after 20 seconds, dealing shadow damage to nearby enemies or 1.5x that amount to a single enemy. Hand of Gul’dan reduces the duration of your Doom Brands by 1 sec per Soul Shard spent
- 4set: When Doon Brand is Removed, you have a chance to summon a Doomfiend that casts 5 Doom Bolt volleys before departing. Each Doom Bolt volley deals damage to up to 4 enemies or 1.5x that amount to a single enemy.
In short, it's not a bad tier set and it scales well into AoE. It is a little underwhelming on pure single target, even with the 1.5x scaling if you are fighting only one enemy, but it is not completely dead in the water.
The set is designed in a way that you want to have as many doom brands up as possible, so you will be “multi-dotting” with your instant Demonbolts anytime you're fighting more than 1 target.
The proc rate of the Doomguard follows the same scaling as shard regen for agony as affliction, meaning that there are heavy diminishing returns on increasing the spawn rate with multiple doom brands out. Even so, you still want to spread as many Doom Brands as possible, as the damage the doom brand itself deals is pretty significant in AoE.
Advanced: You want to prioritize applying doom brands on targets that will die shortly after, as it will reduce the amount of total doom brands you have out at once, while not reducing the total amount of doom brands you are applying in a given time window. This means you will not dive as deep into Diminishing returns and it should yield more Doomfiend procs overall.
Demonology Warlock Best in Slot Gear
You should still prioritize the gear you use by running a sim for your character, but the lists below will give you a good idea of what items are considered good for Demonology Warlock, and help you target the right content for each piece of loot.
ITEM LEVEL IS KING!!
For Demonology, item level will almost always be better for any item that has main stat (intellect) on it. The exceptions are rings, neck and trinkets where secondary stats or trinket effects become more important.
Keep in mind that there are multiple items that can be good upgrades outside of this list, and it mostly comes down to what you currently have equipped. For example you don't want to go full haste, full Crit, or full versatility, but rather a mix of all. The only way to get an accurate answer is to use Raidbots to sim your own character, but if you're looking for a guideline, try to gear towards Crit/Vers when possible.The items that will have the biggest impact on your damage outside of just increasing item level are Weapons and Trinkets. If you are targeting any piece of gear it should be these.
Overall Best Gear
| Slot | Item | Source |
| Head | Devout Ashdevil's Grimhorns | Tindral Sageswift / Catalyst |
| Neck | Amulet of Eonars Chosen | Nymue |
| Shoulders | Devout Ashdevil's Hatespikes | Smolderon / Catalyst |
| Cloak | Vibrant Wildercloth Shawl | Tailoring |
| Chest | Devout Ashdevil's Razorhide | Nymue / Catalyst |
| Wrist | Anguished Restraints | Gnarlroot |
| Gloves | Devout Ashdevil's Claws | Igira the Cruel / Catalyst |
| Belt | Urctos's Hibernal Dial | Council of Dreams |
| Legs | Leggings of the New Dawn | Dawn of the Infinite: Morozond’s Rise |
| Boots | Vibrant Wildercloth Slippers | Tailoring |
| Ring | Band of Burning Thorns | Larodar |
| Ring | Signet of the Last Elder | Igira |
| Trinket | Nymue’s Unraveling Spindle | Nymue |
| Trinket | Belor’relos, the Suncaller | Tindral Sageswift / Catalyst |
| Main Hand | Iridal, the Earth's Master | Dawn of the Infinite: Galakron’s Fall |
Best Gear from the Raid
| Slot | Item | Source |
| Head | Devout Ashdevil's Grimhorns | Tindral Sageswift / Catalyst |
| Neck | Ouroboreal Necklet or Amulet of Eonars Chosen | Volocross / Nymue |
| Shoulders | Devout Ashdevil's Hatespikes | Smolderon / Catalyst |
| Cloak | Vibrant Wildercloth Shawl | Tailoring |
| Chest | Devout Ashdevil's Razorhide | Nymue / Catalyst |
| Wrist | Anguished Restraints | Gnarlroot |
| Gloves | Devout Ashdevil's Claws | Igira the Cruel / Catalyst |
| Belt | Urctos's Hibernal Dial | Council of Dreams |
| Legs | Devout Ashdevil’s Tights | Larodar / Catalyst |
| Boots | Vibrant Wildercloth Slippers | Tailoring |
| Ring | Band of Burning Thorns | Larodar |
| Ring | Signet of the Last Elder | Igira |
| Trinket | Nymue’s Unraveling Spindle | Nymue |
| Trinket | Belor’relos, the Suncaller | Tindral Sageswift |
| Staff | Dreambinder, Loom of the Great Cycle | Nymue |
Best Gear from Mythic+
| Slot | Item | Source |
| Head | Devout Ashdevil's Grimhorns | Great Vault / Catalyst |
| Neck | Ironshell Pendant | Throne of the Tides |
| Shoulders | Devout Ashdevil's Hatespikes | Great Vault / Catalyst |
| Cloak | Vibrant Wildercloth Shawl | Tailoring |
| Chest | Devout Ashdevil's Razorhide | Great Vault / Catalyst |
| Wrist | Devout Ashdevil’s Bracelets | Catalyst |
| Gloves | Devout Ashdevil's Claws | Great Vault / Catalyst |
| Belt | Belt of Undying Devotion | Waycrest Manor |
| Legs | Leggings of the New Dawn | Dawn of the Infinite: Morozond’s Rise |
| Boots | Imbued Frostweave Slippers | Dawn of the Infinite: Galakron’s Fall |
| Ring | Lord Waycrest’s Signet | Waycrest Manor |
| Ring | Signet of Titanic Insight | Jewelcrafting |
| Trinket | Balefire Branch | Waycrest Manor |
| Trinket | Sea Star | Throne of the Tides |
| Staff | Iridal, the Earth's Master | Dawn of the Infinite: Galakron’s Fall |
Trinkets
Always sim yourself to find optimal trinkets for your character, however here are some that will be interesting.
Passive
Active
Embellishments
Embellishments in 10.2 have been nerfed to the ground and the difference between different combinations are not as big as they used to be.
Single Target: Double Shadowflame should still be the winner.
Cleave/AoE: There are alot of different setups that can work. Lariat is good if you have full sockets, Allied Wristguards of Time-Dilation are great in the raid, Blue Silken Lining is great if the uptime is high and even Azureweave scales well with multiple targets. What embellishments you would want for a more balanced setup is completely depending on your current gear.
I think for raid Allied Wristguards + Lariat / Shadowflame / Blue Silken lining is a very safe choice. Azureweave if you want to focus more on AoE can also be justified.
Mythic+: Double Blue Silken lining is almost certainly the clear winner in M+.