Destruction Warlock Stat Priority in WoW Forever
Engine a667dce84 · Client 1.60.1.70425 · 10,000 iterations
Weights for the Shadow Bolt 11/11/29 reference build. Talent values are still being checked against the beta client.
The simmed WoW Forever Destruction Warlock stat priority is Spell hit > Spell haste ≈ Spell damage > Spell crit > Intellect ≈ Mana per 5, from the damage each stat adds per point on the Shadow Bolt 11/11/29 reference build over 10,000 iterations.
- Top stat
- Spell hit
- EP reference
- Spell damage
- Hit on reference
- Below cap
- Iterations
- 10,000
Destruction stat weights, damage
Destruction Warlock stat priority, single target
Spell hitthenSpell hasteabout equal toSpell damagethenSpell critthenIntellectabout equal toMana per 5Highest damage per point first. ≈ marks stats within 5% of each other or within the measurement's noise. Weapon damage, spell penetration, school spell damage and survival stats are left out of the line and listed under it in the table.
| # | Stat | EP | DPS / pt | ± |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spell hit | 1.20 | 0.764 | |
| 2 | Spell haste | 1.01 | 0.646 | |
| 3 | Spell damagereference | 1.00 | 0.637 | |
| 4 | Spell crit | 0.76 | 0.485 | |
| 5 | Intellect | 0.44 | 0.281 | |
| 6 | Mana per 5 | 0.32 | 0.202 | |
| Not in the line: rare on gear, a narrower copy of another stat, or a survival stat | ||||
| Spell penetration | 1.79 | 1.140 | ||
| Shadow spell damage | 0.80 | 0.509 | ||
| Fire spell damage | 0.20 | 0.128 | ||
No effect on this build (measured at exactly zero): Stamina.
Hit and expertise caps
Every Forever sim is a level 60 character against a level 63 raid boss. These caps are the engine's; whether the reference build has reached them is read from its own weights, since a stat past its cap measures exactly zero.
Spell hit: 16% (160 rating)
Spells miss the boss 17% of the time and never less than 1%, so the cap is the 16% spell hit cap. The reference build is below it, and spell hit is worth 1.20 EP to it. Hit from talents and racials counts toward the cap.
Ratings per 1%: hit 10, spell hit 10, crit 14, spell crit 14, haste 10, expertise 10. Forever unifies hit and crit rating, so melee and spell hit or crit on an item count for both.
Other playstyles
The same spec played another way, each simmed as its own reference build. The order above is the spec's best rotation.
Destruction Warlock (fire) (Fire 20/0/31 (Incinerate))
Spell hitthenSpell damagethenSpell hastethenSpell critthenIntellectthenMana per 5
Methodology
Reference build
The Shadow Bolt 11/11/29 build the Destruction Warlock trinket board and tier list row sim: fixed level 60 gear, talents, race and rotation, with the engine's standard raid buffs, debuffs and consumables.
How a weight is measured
The engine sims the build with a little less and a little more of each stat, 10,000 iterations split between the two from one seed, and reports the damage each point adds. EP divides that by Spell damage's. The ± column is each weight's standard error.
Fight
One raid boss for about two minutes, no movement and no adds, the same encounter as the trinket boards.
Your own weights
Weights move with gear: a stat near its cap, a set bonus or a proc changes them. A Forever Quick Sim with stat weights on measures them for your own character.
Engine build
MythicSim Forever fork a667dce8492b, Forever client 1.60.1.70425, pinned Oct 22, 2026. The weights are measured again at every engine update, and this page follows them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best stat for Destruction Warlock in WoW Forever?
Spell hit, per point, on the Shadow Bolt 11/11/29 reference build. The full simmed order is Spell hit > Spell haste ≈ Spell damage > Spell crit > Intellect ≈ Mana per 5.
What is the Destruction Warlock hit cap in WoW Forever?
16% spell hit (160 rating) against a level 63 raid boss, counting hit from talents and racials. The reference build is below the cap, where spell hit is worth 1.20 EP.
Where do these stat weights come from?
MythicSim's Forever engine sims the Shadow Bolt 11/11/29 reference build with less and more of each stat over 10,000 iterations, and the order is the damage each point adds. They are measured again at every engine update.
Should I use these weights or sim my own?
These fit a character close to the reference build. Gear near a cap, set bonuses and procs move weights, so a Forever Quick Sim with stat weights on gives you your own.