PvE Destruction Warlock Best Races

Zephan • Published August 30, 2022

The overall performance difference between races is negligible and you will always be able to get a top parse independent of the race that you are.

Orc is the strongest warlock race for the Horde. This is due to the Command racial boosting Pet DPS, Blood Fury a Spell Power on use spell.

Human is the strongest warlock race for the Alliance. This is due to The Human Spirit which increases your spell power indirectly through Fel Armor.

Horde

One of the three available races for the Horde warlock class is Orcs. Orcs being one of the first races to have been taught the secrets of warlock magics, it should come as one surprise that they have some of the strongest racials fitting for the class.

Command increases your pet damage by 5%, this is of more use now than any of the previous expansions. The reason for this is that our demon pets will be able to survive more encounters due to changes made to AoE DPS in WoTLK. On top of that Affliction increase the DPS of their Felhunter due to Improved Felhunter.
Blood Fury is an on-use spell that increases your spell power and scales with your level. At level 80 it will provide +163 spell power for 15 seconds on a 2-minute cooldown. The fact that this is an on-use ability has big implications for burst phases / stacking your cooldowns.
Hardiness provides you with resistance to crowd control effects which is better suited for PvP scenarios but it can also help you during certain PvE encounters.

The final race of the Horde which can play as a Warlock is Blood Elves. They do not have game-changing racials.

Magic Resistance reduces the chance you will be hit by spells by 2%. This mostly is useful during Player versus Player content.
Arcane Torrent is a spell with both PvE and PvP applicability. It can help you interrupt certain mob or boss mechanics with its silencing effect while also regenerating a percentage of your mana pool.
Arcane Affinity increases your initial Enchanting skill by 10. This doesn’t have a gameplay impact besides minor convenience.
Blood Thistle should also be mentioned for the completionist’s sake. Blood Elfs can make use of this space weed for an extra whooping 10 spell power. The only real DPS increasing benefit they get although small.

Another viable choice when it comes to Warlocks is the Undead race. Although it is mostly known for its rock and roll dancing and for the powerful PvP racials.

Will of the Forsaken removes charm, fear, and sleep effects. This will be the biggest beneficial racial for PvE as it will help mitigate certain raid mechanics.
Cannibalize allows you to feast on the corpses of your slain enemies to restore your health. This does not have big implications for PvE content but does come in handy whilst doing solo content.
Shadow Resistance reduces the chance you will be hit by Shadow spells by 2%. This is mostly a neglectable racial when it comes to PvE.
Underwater Breathing helps you survive for a very long time underwater.

Another viable choice when it comes to Warlocks is the Undead race. Although it is mostly known for its rock and roll dancing and for the powerful PvP racials.

Will of the Forsaken removes charm, fear, and sleep effects. This will be the biggest beneficial racial for PvE as it will help mitigate certain raid mechanics.
Cannibalize allows you to feast on the corpses of your slain enemies to restore your health. This does not have big implications for PvE content but does come in handy whilst doing solo content.
Shadow Resistance reduces the chance you will be hit by Shadow spells by 2%. This is mostly a neglectable racial when it comes to PvE.
Underwater Breathing helps you survive for a very long time underwater.

Alliance

The Human race is one of the two possible choices for Alliance Warlocks. Whilst pretty dull roleplaying-wise, humans have some of the best racials come Wrath of the Lich King. It has powerful racials that can help you in PvE scenarios.

The Human Spirit is one of the most important racials. It increases your spirit by 3% since this will allow you to obtain more spell power through Fel Armor (and Glyph of Life Tap).
Diplomacy increases the rate at which you gain reputation by 10%, a major boost for your reputation grind. Whilst a beneficial quality of life racial, it doesn’t impact actual gameplay.
Every Man for Himself is a crowd-control removal ability just like the Undead race, but this one has universal applicability. It is useful in PvE scenarios but has much more use in a PvP encounter.

The second possible race for Warlocks on the Alliance side is the crafty little buggers known as gnomes.

Expansive Mind increases your overall intellect value by 5%, which in turn increases your overall damage slightly.
Engineering Specialization increases your starting Engineering profession points by 15 which in turn increases your engineering guardians max level by 3 levels.
Arcane Resistance which, just like the Blood Elf racial, it reduces the chance to be hit by Arcane spells by 2%.
Escape Artist is another anti-crowd control racial that will be useful in both PvE and PvP encounters.