Elegantly sinister, wielding the powerful magic of shadow and hellfire, and summoning a range of perilous, demonic demons to obey their bidding, warlocks are a very distinctive class of the World of Warcraft game, centered on dealing damage. Warlocks are fairly vulnerable thanks to their cloth armor, but can improve their survivability by using fear spells to send their enemies running in a panic while damage over time (DoT) spells gnaw away their health. The WoW warlock guide you are reading gives some hints on how to use these dangerous spellcasters to best advantage.
Warlock spells may heal the character themselves, but they are neither a healer class nor a tanking class, and fall naturally in the role of damage. A WoW warlock guide usually recommends this class for both PvE and PvP, with different talent specs having a stronger or weaker effect in those roles. There is also some non combat utility that warlocks can offer to groups.
Consulting a WoW warlock guide will tell you that the main utility warlocks provide to their group or team outside combat consists of making healthstones and soulstones. Healthstones are conjured, consumable items which heal a specific amount of damage instantly when they are used, and can be handed out to everyone in your character’s group. Soulstones allow a character to active them and self-resurrect after they are killed. These can only be given to one group member at a time. It is usually the healer who is “soulstoned” during an instance, dungeon, or endgame raid.
Demonology is the first talent spec mentioned in this WoW warlock guide because it is the standard leveling spec for the class. The Felguard, a demon summoned using the spec’s signature move, is a powerful melee combatant with tanking abilities as well, much like a Beast Mastery hunter’s pet. Sending this demonic “pinhead” into combat will speed the leveling process both by killing mobs faster while questing, and by keeping the warlock from generating threat which their poor armor and low health make them ill suited to surviving.
The 31 point talent of demonology allows these warlocks to transform into a demon, with higher durability and several new abilities, for 30 seconds. This is used mostly in PvP, where the Felguard is also effective, though affliction warlocks, this WoW warlock guide notes, are better at PvP.
PvE damage reaches its peak with the Destruction spec, which can inflict a huge amount of damage in a brief period of time thanks to its powerful direct damage spells, Soul Fire, and Conflagration. In this case, the focus is on the warlock, not their pet. Destruction is moderately capable in leveling, somewhat lacking in PvP except in the hands of a highly skilled, experienced player, and is superb in PvE dungeons and raid instances, especially when using Empowered Imp.
Affliction warlocks are firmly centered on damage over time spells rather than the direct damage spells favored by destruction; they are the “DoT spec” of the class and are described as such in this WoW warlock guide. These DoTs are highly effective at burning away a foe’s health, and affliction is frequently used to good effect in PvP.
However, their endgame raiding damage is weaker because most monster die before the DoTs can have much effect on them, and most damage is done to “bosses” instead. Affliction warlocks gain several extra DoT spells, both as their signature move (Unstable Affliction) and from talents (Haunt).
You can get a warlock or any toon to the level cap in less than 5 days with a Cataclysm Quest Helper in game leveling guide like those reviewed at http://www.QuestHelperTips.com