Demonology (talent tree)

On Demonology

Demonology is the study and practice of using and amplifying demonic powers and the ability to summon items or Demons, mostly using Soul Shards. The tree starts with [Improved Healthstone], [Improved Imp], and [Demonic Embrace] and ends with [Soul Link] and [Improved Spellstone].

Demonology is the second of the Warlock's three talent trees. It is often referred to as the Warlock's "forgotten" talent tree or the "red headed step-child" of the talent trees, in that it is not often used or is looked down upon as not being useful. More recently though, there have been calls by some that Demonology Specialized Warlocks need to be nerfed due to their increased survivability due to the Soul Link talent.

Soul Link is considered to be the Holy Grail of the Demonology tree. Originally, its casting allowed 50% of all damage dealt to the Warlock to be transferred to the Warlock's minion and lasted for 30 seconds; Patch 1.8 reduced the damage shared with the minion to 30% but made the buff last so long as the minion is summoned or under the Warlock's control. Using this spell, the warlock can become a reasonably effective tank, especcially on spellcasting enemies and encounters such as the 'Twin Emperors' in AQ40, where traditional warrior tanks become useless.

Demonology is considered by some to be less useful in PvP situations due to its lack of burst damage. On the other hand, the talents [Demonic Embrace] and Soul Link both allow the Warlock to take more damage. [Fel Intellect], [Fel Stamina], and [Unholy Power] all make the minion more powerful. [Master Demonologist] empowers both the Warlock and his/her minion and [Fel Domination] and [Master Summoner] allows for drastically reduced summoning times and mana costs which can be crucial in a fast-paced PvP situation. One of the best tricks of the Demonology specialized Warlock is to use the Voidwalker's Sacrifice ability and then use Fel Domination combined with Master Summoner to summon a new minion in half of a second.