Warlock Guide - Curses - i

WoW Classic WoW Classic General Discussion
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was little toxic about calling new warlocks trash. for that i apologize so instead being toxic i gonna help warlocks with knowledge use it as you please

Curse Guide - how to use it -

Curse of Tongues - Curse of tongues can be used on any caster mob in the game. and in doing so you make it easier for other classes interrupt and disturb lowering amount of damage everyone takes. should you use it - yes alot niche uses and instances that makes things lot easier.

Curse of Weakness - is misunderstood how you use it in a dungeon or general for that matter - must understand how threat works in classic wow. if you spread agony. corruption on all mobs this can cause problems (tanking isnt best in classic wow) but if you have weakness all mobs but the one the tank is targeting targeting then it actually adds up also use amplify curse + agony alot mobs do alot of physical damage so this can make some fights easier i guess

Agony - is good when you solo. or you want focus a target down. even if warlock has life-tap they dont have infinite life. trying agony corruption and life siphon everything is really hard and taxing when all need to do is cast shadowbolt. however doing one target at a time isn’t hard. you have aoe if you need too

Curse of Exhaustion - its mostly for pvp but has some niche uses in pvp. specially when it comes kiting one target. good for warsong gulch slowing down flag holder and adds in some raid fights even saves healers lifes if the tank dies or mage who pulls aggro slowing down a monster also helps tanks get aggro less chasing in those cases very rare and niche but they happen

  • now strong curses
    Curse of Recklessness - may look bad on paper but actually its pretty busted amount of armor reduction is huge raid wide damage is increased cause it effects the boss. everyone in a 40 man raid gains the damage increase - in normal dungeons you should use this on humoniod targets preventing from running however you dont have put it on
    a monster when a monster is at 100% health. the best time place a curse of recklessness on a target is around 40% its health if your only trying prevent them from running then rank 1 CoR is fine when leveling

Curse of Shadows - as a warlock this is huge dps bomb. if you have shadow priest and more warlocks in your raid someone is using this ability in raids higher dungeons you be using this corruption and shadowbolt thats main single target dps rotation curse of shadows also increase damage of drain life. and life siphon its more potent casting agony

Curse of Elements - Huge DPS Bomb For caster dps dont understatement this ability use it when have lot casters in your group but no it doesnt effect every type of damage still raid wide damage increase most of time this is reason why mages are blowing dps meter

-Mid- Curse of Doom this curse is weird ok honestly i never do it. on paper you think does lot of damage if does its full duration then maybe your right it does but very rarely it finishes it full duration and chances of it summoning doom gaurd with enslaved demon timer is gonna attack allies isnt worth it unless you banish it at that point worth it… however saying that war stomp and cripple is nasty debuff. its only reason why ever use it

Tab-Targetting - as warlock pressing tab is what you do. your curses do last long time. with right addons you can place what curse needed for every encounter. best make pet attack macro you should be spreading curses more then you spread your dots, keep in mind anytime you make another party member deal more dps thats “Your dps” not theres cause you are contributing to whole raid not just your own dps

Why Cursing is important? cause one of major reasons warlocks are picked no one else can do this for you with high damage and ability support your party you will always be added to raids warlocks are always welcome edition to any party or raid

cause you can summon and you offer support dont forget thats your purpose. nothing ive said here is wrong. and also warlock is not a easy noob friendly class when look down at it. it has you doing alot of things keeps players busy when playing you have keep track of lot of things

if want something dumb and easy play mage not trying be rude here telling facts this one those classes that is ok to learn hardiest to master (not saying aoe grinding is easy but mage is easy)

if your ego is hurt cause trying help new players on classic server thats on you not on me. please chill understand not everyone plays this game same calibar as you or me even (even if this game is 30 year old we have we have alot “stubborn old man/women used to there play styles any try help them looks like looks like insult”

Warlocks very good at bursting single targets down they do have some aoe. as well making everything else suffer debuffs that turn the tide of battle, they have fear but fear has alot draw backs good warlock know when to use fear when not too thats different topic

Warlock that refuses to curse proparly is equalivant to a paladin not giving blessings out

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You really should learn English before writing guides. I know you may have a good intention of sharing knowledge, but your post is almost physically painful to read.
You do not have the skill to write this, please stop.

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I did some spell checking

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the guy is just trying to be helpful - and a lot of new warlocks struggle with when and where to use curses. It gets a little confusing in raids as the mechanics of maximum allowable debuffs has increased - so you’ll always want corruption up, and then depending on the number of locks you will apply curse of elements, shadows and weakness rather than Agony. But classic lock is literally a glass cannon in a Raid, you have a 1 button rotation on most boss fights

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Yeah, he’s also in other threads calling people trash, dumb and idiots, so he gets exactly 0 benefit of the doubt from me.

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i apologized for that think of it from my prospective ever been in group where have 2 more warlocks instead being helpful asking hey m8 could please use recklessness on runners would really help

they go on edgelord toxic dont tell me what do ? end up causing a wipe cause didnt play class right when kindly giving suggesting they act like teenager with huge ego. but whole playstyle is effecting team. so yes i could kick them out . watch normally i do really dont like making enemies some people just dont get what there doing wrong even when tell them there doing it wrong

cant say thats not frustrating to play with

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Curse Guide - How to Use Each Curse

Curse of Tongues

  • Use it on any caster mob in the game to make their spellcasting slower, making it easier for other classes to interrupt or disturb them, reducing overall damage taken.
  • Should you use it? Yes! It has many niche applications in dungeons and instances that make fights significantly easier.

Curse of Weakness

  • Often misunderstood. To use it effectively, you need to understand threat mechanics in Classic WoW.
  • If you spread Agony or Corruption on all mobs, it can cause issues since tanking in Classic isn’t the best. Instead, apply Weakness to all mobs except the one the tank is focusing on.
  • Additionally, using Amplify Curse with Agony helps manage physical damage from mobs, making certain fights easier.

Curse of Agony

  • Best for soloing or focusing on a single target.
  • While Life Tap provides mana, warlocks don’t have infinite health. Overusing Agony, Corruption, and Life Siphon on multiple targets can be taxing. Instead, focus on one target at a time and use Shadowbolt as your main spell. You also have AoE if needed.

Curse of Exhaustion

  • Primarily for PvP but has niche uses in PvE.
  • Excellent for kiting targets in PvP (e.g., Warsong Gulch to slow flag carriers). In PvE, it can save healers by slowing mobs when tanks lose aggro or die. Rare, but valuable in those situations.

Strong Curses

Curse of Recklessness

  • Though it seems risky, it’s very powerful. The armor reduction significantly increases raid-wide damage, especially on bosses.
  • In dungeons, use it on humanoid targets to prevent them from fleeing. Apply it when the target is around 40% health if your goal is to stop them from running. When leveling, Rank 1 CoR is sufficient for this purpose.

Curse of Shadows

  • A massive DPS increase for shadow casters.
  • If your raid has shadow priests and warlocks, someone should always apply this curse. In high-level dungeons, it’s a key part of the single-target DPS rotation with Corruption and Shadowbolt. It also amplifies the damage of Drain Life and Life Siphon.

Curse of Elements

  • A huge DPS boost for caster-heavy groups.
  • While it doesn’t benefit all damage types, it often explains why mages dominate DPS meters in raids. Use it when there are many casters in your party.

Curse of Doom

  • A weird curse. While it can deal significant damage if its full duration is met, it rarely finishes in time, and the chance of summoning a Doomguard can be a liability unless you’re prepared to banish it. Use sparingly, but the Doomguard’s War Stomp and Cripple debuff can be useful.

Tab-Targeting as a Warlock

  • Warlocks should master tab-targeting to manage their curses.
  • With the right addons, you can efficiently apply the correct curse for every encounter. Spread curses strategically, as they last longer than dots.
  • Remember, every time you enable a party member to deal more damage, you contribute to the raid’s overall success.

Why Cursing Matters

Curses are one of the primary reasons warlocks are valued in raids. No other class can offer such strong support combined with high damage. Summoning allies and supporting the party are essential aspects of your role.

Warlocks are not an easy, noob-friendly class. They require multitasking and careful management of curses, dots, and pets. If you’re looking for something simple, play a mage. Warlocks demand effort to master but offer incredible rewards.

Final Thoughts

A warlock that refuses to use curses properly is like a paladin that doesn’t give blessings. Take pride in your role, and remember that helping new players is better than looking down on them. We all have different playstyles, so stay patient and enjoy the game.

Your post, touched a bit by ChatGPT .

You welcome!

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thank you so much for spell check english is not my first this huge help

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No worries!

Where you from?

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One of the problems with curses in instances is that people look blindly on the dps meter. And if they see the lock does little damage cause he/she is mostly cursing, then it’s no more lock in the group… will not be invited again.

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Individual Parse - The one Curse a lock has no control over - very few groups don’t take a lock though - we are the only class in Classic who can Summon

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Curses are not too good in instances anyways, mobs die so fast. We are playing on the latest vanilla patch where instances were nerfed.

Our class is made for harder content where mobs live longer.

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MVP good undead you are

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With so many curses, pet management and other DoTs, how do you keybind them all to make it memorable and not use the wrong ones?

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Warlocks need to remeber

Shadowbolt alone can easily push your dps to max. all it takes is few “ruin” crits. you put curses on then focus down one target. hit as harder if not harder then frost bolt mage under winter chill

best time to curse is start of a fight. cause in the end you be close to top of dps meters

Macros my friend -

I have pet attack + cast shadowbolt macro. so my imp always attacking

  • #showtooltip Corruption
  • /petattack
  • /cast Corruption

Pet Control Macro -

  • /petfollow
  • /petpassive

Amplify Curse Macro - this macro is only for coe, coa and cow. mostly used in pvp but can be useful as “last resort button”
#showtooltip
/cast [mod] Amplify Curse
/cast NameOfCurse

— Macro for leveling -
#showtooltip
/petattack
/castsequence reset=target NameOfCurse, Corruption, !Shoot

Rain of Fire aoe Macro
/cast [@cursor] Rain of Fire

Shadowbolt on easy keybind shadow bolt is your hardiest hitting spell. if it crits its gonna put you in lead. curses last longer then dots do better you be slow at first pull out lead in the end then to start off hard pull aggro off tank and wipe the raids

and warlocks are capable of doing that very easily warlocks can easily pop off during shadow bolt + shadowburn spam shadows bolt hit way harder then frost bolts can and ive a mage when see warlock not casting bolts they lose alot of dps

you can also make it to where cast of the curse changes if hold down alt that way you can change it between weakness and agony by holding down alt

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Which curses you use the most in dungeons? In raids every lock uses singed curse, but what about dungs? Do you use CoR if the group is melee and CoS/CoE if groups is caster? What if you have the mixed group? Also, is Amplify+ CoA the best to use on the boss fights?

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you asked serious question and took me some time think of anwser.

dungeons hard to awnser cause your so post to use all of them.

Lets use scarlet mon for instance

CoR stops them running when there hp drops below so yes COR is good here

but at start of the fight putting weakness on each melee mob and curse of tongue on caster mobs specially one that heal are very use

all depends what type party you have and group your in

If your group is melee then using curse of recklessness deals more damage then agony ever good.

agony has 2 second tic but shadowbolt has 2.5 second cast time its obvious watch deals more damage .

curse of recknesss lowers armor if have melee type party you deal more party wide dps withe curse of reckness then with agony

weakness if spread on monsters your not hitting helps the tank in helping tank you help the healer. making dungeon go faster. specially in caster group that at low levels. this changes however changes when get curse of shadows and elements

everything is judgement call on your part but curse of tongues on all healers and ranged casters bit good

curse of exhaustion is bit niche when use it dungeon group its when tank loses aggro and monsters to attack you or someone else. allowing to kite sometimes this happy tank dont need take it off you cause its gonna die when dps attack strays it keeps the strays off the healer

agony tics arent strong in classic but not unusable depends on the encounter. dps on agony so terrible low classic simply better to shadowbolt

I mean when you have nightfall it procs off corruption and drains times agony truely strong when under effects amplify curse

if agony is amplify and corruption its

what can do is amplify curse + agony the target the tank is focusing on and curse everything else then go back to target focus on

amplify curse + agony is somewhat strong thats only time it some is

some boss hit so hard that ampilified weakness is justified

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The actual easy answer is do your assigned curse in raids and don’t bother in dungeons. Stuff dies so fast it’s not worth the mana and gcd cost. Maybe do reck/ele/shadow on dungeon boss if there are at least 2 dps who will benefit.

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in that logic no point casting curse of agony in dungeons cause it does no dps stuff dies so fast it doesnt do it full duration hence dps lose

best just casting shadowbolt cause shadowbolt crit and dots cant welcome classic it sucks i know

by time agony tics you could of shadow a shadow bolt + shadow burn watch deals 10 times more damage then single tic of agony that isn’t amplified

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How about immolate+corruption? Immolate lasts shorter but does almost the same damage. I try to use both on bosses + curse.

Does this changes in TBC/WotLK? Do we get more/less curses there?