Level obtained = 15
Armor = cloth only
Weapon of choice = dagger/offhand, Wand (at levels 15-20 you will find items that you may hold in your off hand that have stat adds like "branches" and "orbs" and other items. So it may be advisable to go dagger at level 10 to get that weapon skill raised. Wands, I believe are broke as of the Open Beta, but I still equipped one for the stat adds
Leveling Difficulty = Medium - Hard
NOTE: the cost to buy each skill is listed next to its name.
The Warlock Leveling 1-15
Forget everything you were ever told about the warlock class... This is not a warlock... It is a Vampire with a pet, life leech, mana drain, drain soul... I would describe the Warlock as a glass cannon but that simply would not fit as the glass part is correct but the cannon part is not. The Warlock class has the lowest amount of hitpoints I have seen out of all 8 classes, and the damage that the Warlock deals is mainly through numerous massive DOT's, this is not an easy class to play and will it shine at higher levels? I have no Idea, as it is just my job to get you to 15.
The first thing you want to do is open your inventory and right click on the scroll, or other object that will open the quest window on the left side of the screen and give you your first quest, accept the quest and if you look on your minimap you should see a little yellow dot this dot represents the NPC that you talk too to complete your first quest.(You may have to walk a little ways, but just starting off the quest NPC is usually very close to your starting location) For future reference anytime you see a little yellow dot on your minimap this is the location of an NPC that you have completed a quest for. When you get to level 5 you may take a trade skill, which may also show you little yellow dots on the minimap, these will either represent a "mine node" (if you have the skill "mining")that can be mined or a "herb plant"(if you have the skill "herbalism") that can be harvested.
Leveling 1-4
At level 1-4 you already have(or may acquire) the following skills:
Shadow Bolt Level 1(free)
Cost = 25 Mana ----- Casting time = 1.7 secs. ----- Range = 30 yards.
Shoots a Shadow Bolt at the targeted enemy, hitting for 13-18 damage.
Demon Skin Level 1(free)
Cost = 50 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant
Increases armor by 20 and health regeneration.
Spell lasts 30 minutes.
Immolate Level 1(10 copper)
Cost = 25 Mana ----- Casting time = 2 secs. ----- Range = 30 yards
Torches the target for 13 to 14 damage and then DOT's for 14 damage over 21 seconds.
Summon Imp(quest)
Cost = 189 Mana ----- Casting time = 10 secs
Summons an Imp.
Firebolt - Pet spell(free)
Tools need = skill summon Imp
O.K. first things first, you should have demon skin casted on you 100% of the time you are online, until you quest for your first pet, the Imp, use this combo to pull: Immolate, Shadowbolt, Shadowbolt.(Just pray you do not have to melee too long) After you get the quest for you Imp and complete it, things get a little easier. The Imp should be viewed for what he is an "ugly Mage" he is a caster with very low hit points and refuses to enter melee. The easiest way to manage this at low levels is to tell the Imp to attack a target, WAIT until you here the "whoosh" of his fireball then start casting any DOT you have followed by constant chain casting of Shadowbolt, yes you will get agro a few times when this happens either melee the mob or run around in circles letting your pet nuke it to death.(daunt run straight away from your pet though) A little trick on casting spells... some spells when you get higher level have a "cooldown" time so you cannot keep casting over and over again, however at the lower levels wait until you see the green bar hit the end of the line and click again, do not wait for the bar to fill and disappear, click it as soon as the bar is filled this gives you about a .1 - .2 seconds of advantage over other players that simply wait until the bar disappears. By now you should be getting to level 4. Also remember that you can tell exactly when you are barely in range to cast a spell... Look at your hotbar at the spell you want to cast, gradually get closer to your target, When you are close enough the little number in the hotbar slot that your spell is in will turn white, this lets you know you can start casting, because you are now in range.
Leveling 4-6
At level 4 you may buy the following spells:
Curse of Weakness Level 1(80 copper)
Cost = 30 Mana ----- Range = 30 yards
This spell gimps the target lowering the damage caused by the target by 3. You may only have 1 curse per target active.
Spell lasts 2 min.
Corruption Level 1(copper)
Cost = 35 Mana ----- Casting time = 2 secs. ----- Range = 30 yards
DOT's the target for 45 damage over 36 secs.
Blood pact - Pet Spell(1 silver 30 copper)
Tolls required = Summon Imp
This is a pet spell here, buy it when you can(you need to be lvl 5) and when your pet uses it your stamina will increase by 3 as long as he is alive.(Your pet auto casts this spell)
At this point a typical combat will go: pet attack, as soon as pet casts, do immolate, corruption, shadow bolt, shadow bolt. You do have your demon skin buff active right? You will find that until you get your tank pet at lvl 10 "voidwalker," that it is all a game of agro management, the perfect way is to bounce the mob between you and your pet until it dies. Continue on to level 6, at level 6 you will most likely leave the "noob" town and make your way to another town to get new quests and higher level mobs. Up to now when you see a mob it was most likely yellow which means that these will not attack you if you get too close, however if see a mob that is red then this mob will attack you if you get to close, this is commonly called "agro". At this point as far as food and water is concerned, you have so few hit points so food is not really needed just keep a steady supply of drinks available for when you mana burn, this will decrease down time.
Leveling 6-8
At level 6 you may buy the following spells:
Life Tap Level 1(2 silver)
Cost = 27 health ----- Casting time Instant
Takes away 27 life and gives you 27 Mana
Shadowbolt Level 2(2 silver)
Cost = 40 Mana ----- Casting time = 2.2 secs ----- Range = 30 yards
Fires a Shadow Bolt at the enemy, hitting for 26-33 damage.
You should be a little more used to your pet by now, so you should understand what he can do(cast spells and die) and what he cannot do.(Tank) The Life Tap spell wont help you much now as you really should not be using this as you still do not have enough health. If you absolutely feel you must use this skill to level faster then cast it, BUT ONLY when you have 100% hit points, hit points at these lobie levels generate pretty fast even when walking around. I am sure you know that the shadow bolt spell you get here is an upgrade for shadow bolt level 1. By now you should be pretty familiar with the quest system as well as knowing what level mobs you can handle. It has been my playing experience that you should only kill mobs your level or 1-2 levels higher as anything else is going to cause a "mana dump" and a possible death, and you will find that the exp is not worth it at all, after you figure in the risk and the downtime needed to recover from the mana dumping. Also if you are going to take any trade skills get them now, even if you have to take some time to walk to your nearest capitol,(which is pretty close to you now, regardless which race you have chosen) You can get your 2 main tradeskills at lvl 5.
Leveling 8-10
At level 8 you may buy the following skills:
Curse of Agony Level 1(3 silver 50 copper)
Cost = 25 Mana ----- Casting time = 1.5 secs. ----- Range = 30 yards
DOT that hits for 60 damage over 60 seconds. You may only have 1 curse on any 1 target at any 1 time.
Fear Level 1(3 silver 50 copper)
Cost = 35 Mana ----- Casting time = 1.5 secs. ----- Range = 20 yards.
Causes the target to be afraid forcing it to run away for up to 10 sec. You may only fear 1 Target at a time.
Firebolt Pet Spell(3 silver 50 copper)
Cost = Pet Mana 20 Mana ----- Casting time = 2 secs. ----- Range = 30 yards.
Hits target for 14-17 damage.(This is a pet spell that your pet auto casts all you have to do is buy it and give it to your pet)
Curse of Agony should replace the curse of weakness as you main curse spell, fear is an emergency spell in case the situation turns bad.(If the situation does turn bad and you fear a target make sure your pet is not still casting on it!) By now you should have visited your capitol or have a quest that leads you to your capitol for your race. As a side note you cannot sell conjured food or water, yes I already tried... At level 10-11 you will most likely leave the level 5-10 "area" and be sent on a quest to visit a new location, this is also the level at which you may be introduced to your first "elite" quest. Elite quests are not meant to be done solo and no you cannot solo an "elite" mob that is your same level in most cases. I believe Bliz did this to encourage "grouping" after level 10 if you so desire. You can easily tell an "elite" mob from a normal mob by the word "elite" in the mobs name or the wreath around the mobs pic when you left click it. You can safely left click a mob to get info however if you right click it then you enter combat mode with that mob.
Leveling 10-12
At level 10 you may buy the following skills:
Demon Skin Level 2(7 silver 50 copper)
Cost = 120 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant
Increases the casters armor by 40 and health regeneration.
Spell lasts 30 minutes.
Immolate Level 2(7 silver 50 copper)
Cost = 50 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Range = 30 yards
Torches the enemy target for 25 damage and then DOT's for an 42 damage over 21 seconds.
Create Minor Healthstone(7 silver 50 copper)
Cost = 95 Mana ----- Casting time = 3 secs. ----- Items required = Soul Shard
Creates a Healthstone that can be used to restore 100 health. These items will disappear if logged out more the 15 minutes.
Drain Soul Level 1(7 silver 50 copper)
Cost = 55 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- range = 30 yards
Drains the soul of the target, dealing 50 damage over 15 seconds. If the target dies while this spell is active then the caster will gain a Soul Shard.
Summon Voidwalker(quest)
Cost = 252 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Item required = Soul Shard
Summons a void walker to be a pet to the warlock.
Torment - Pet Spell(free)
Taunts the creature into attacking the void walker.
O.K. Allot of new spells here at 10.(As with most classes) Demon skin and immolate are both upgrades to previous spells. The health stone is kind of like an extra health potion, as a test I drank a health potion while wounded and then within 2 seconds used a health stone and everything worked just fine. The drain soul spell, the damage is not great but you need to be channeling this spell on a mob when it dies to get a Soul Shard. The Soul Shards can be used for a variety of things, for example to create(summon) a void walker you need a soul shard in your inventory, to create a health stone you need a soul shard in your inventory. The bad news is that Soul Shards DO NOT stack that's right better have a lot of big bags, or do what I do and only carry 3, if I get more then 3 I just destroy them. The pet spell torment is a pet auto cast spell, if this is working you should see a little box on your pet hotbar kind of glowing white if you see this then all is well, if you do not see this then you need to click on the spell in your pets hotbar to get it to turn on. By now you should understand the basics of playing a Warlock, and at the capitol city you should also find your "bank" as this has numerous "slots" to store your items, before storing items see if you can "stack" them by dragging one item over the top of another items of the same type. Stackable items include: potions, food, water, crafting materials, and crafting supplies. Also depending on which type of server you are playing on PvP or PvE you may start to see enemies from the other "realm." From level 10-20 the basics of the game and the mobs start to take you out of the "noobness" and into the full game, expect to fight "caster" mobs, "bow and arrow" mobs and mobs that will give you poison, stuns, or other negative status effects. You may also want to open your "social" window and flag yourself as "looking for a group" if that is a style of play that you desire.(You also may choose to pick a talent here, see the bottom of this post for a link to a list of the talents available.)
Leveling 12-14
At level 12 you may buy the following spells:
Health Funnel Level 1(10 silver)
Cost = 9 health and 5 health per second ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Range = 20 yards.
Channels 13 health to the casters pet every second for 10 seconds as long as the spell is channeled.
Shadow Bolt Level 3(10 silver)
Cost = 65 Mana ----- Casting time = 2.8 secs. ----- Range = 30 yards
Fires a Shadow bolt at the targeted enemy, causing 48-56 damage.
Here you get your first Health funnel, never use this on an imp as by now you should have a voidwalker. As far as using health funnel to heal your pet in mid combat just remember this: The action that you are doing is seen by the server as a "heal spell" and yes do it a little too much and you just got the agro, and you are low on health... As I have said before the key to the Warlock is managing the agro between you and your pet, however a voidwalker is a "tank" class, so let him have the agro he can deal with it allot better then you. The ShadowBolt 3 here is an upgrade on a previous spell, and it should take its place. So you are here now, if you are on the horde side and you are an Orc you should be at the crossroads(that's a town), if you are Undead then you should be at the sepulcher. Here you will start to find that you are not in the lobie noob zones anymore. The majority of the mobs are aggressive(red con) and if you pull them and they have buddies nearby they will come also. You will also find mobs that "call" other mobs if they get hurt and are close to death, so if there are other mobs close by that are of the same type do not be surprised if they agro you when you have the mob you are working on almost dead. The best way to see this is to mouse over your chat window, go to the tab that says "combat" left click and hold and drag it to the right side of your screen to separate it from the chat window, now you can review all the damage and other combat related actions taken by you and the mob you were in combat with, as well as seeing any new chat messages in the chat window. At this level you really need to be paying full attention to your surroundings. If you are Undead and hanging around the sepulcher. Doing quests you may run into a unique mob named "son of aragul" this mob will agro you from far away, and will kill you in one to 2 hits, if you see him run, do not investigate unless you need a free trip to the graveyard... If you are an Orc, stay away from the "dinosaur looking" lizards south of the crossroads as they are melee and casters, and will zap you with lightning damage. Needless to say, now is a good time to get in a group. Also at the crossroads I am 99.9% sure you will experience your first PvP encounter... If you are Undead and want to go to the crossroads simply go to the "airport" a little north of the Undercity, look up and you might see one of the airships flying in to dock. Climb the stairs to the tower and take the "west" airship this will take you right outside of Orgrimar the Orc main city, after you get off the city id to the west about a 1 minute run. The trip in Open Beta was free, as you just walk onto the airship. Do not take the "east" airship as this takes you down close to Booty Bay and trust me you are not ready for that yet...
Leveling 14-15
At level 14 you may buy the following spells:
Curse of Recklessness Level 1(10 silver)
Cost = 40 Mana ----- Casting time = 1 sec. -----range = 30 yards.
Curses the target, increasing attack power by 20 and reducing armor by 45. While cursed the enemy cannot be feared and will not flee. You may only have 1 curse active on a target at a time.
Spell lasts 2 min.
Curse of Weakness Level 2(10 silver)
Damage caused by the target is reduced by 7 for 2 minutes. Only one curse per Warlock can be active on any one target.
Drain Life Level 1(9 silver)
Cost = 55 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Range = 20 yards.
Transfers 10 health every second from the target to the caster. Lasts 5 seconds.
Corruption Level 2(9 silver)
Cost = 65 Mana ----- Casting time = 2 secs ----- Range = 30 yards.
DOT's the target, causing 100 damage over 40 seconds.
Fire Shield - Pet spell(15 silver)
Cost = Imp 60 Mana ----- Casting time = Instant ----- Range = 30 yards.
This is a pet auto cast spell and only need s to be bought for the imp.(If you want it)
Gives the target a shield of fire. Every melee damaging hit against the target causes 5 fire damage to the attacker.
Blood Pact Pet Spell Level 2(30 silver)
Cost = 0 ----- Casting speed = Instant - Range = 20 yards.
Raises party members' Stamina by 7.
Here again is another ton of new skills for you and you pet. The 2 Curses, one of weakness and one of Recklessness I would not use as you have that good ole Curse of Agony. Corruption is an upgrade and here you get you first Drain, Drain Life, yeah its Kind of weak but you still have to love it.(You will get much better drains later on) Fire shield and Blood Pact are both Imp Pet spells, and if you afford them I would buy them both from the pet trainer, I know you wont be running around allot with your imp, but what happens when that void walker dies and you have no Soul Shards stored up? opps.... Fire Shield, is very useful as well. Pretty soon you will be heading to your second set of "elite quests", so hopefully by now you have met quite a few players and already have some friends you can do the quests with. As you do your quests remember that the top most quest in your quest list under an area is the easiest one to complete, so in most cases you should do these quests first.