I am an ilvl 382 Affliction Warlock spec'd 32/3/6. I almost feel guilty queueing as a DPS lately as I'm usually in third place of the DPS individuals in a 5-man heroic or non-heroic run. I have a haste of +15.47%, Hit chance +12.46, crit 8.42% and my gear is fairly decent. Even on bosses where I should be excelling (due to the damage over time spells I have that deal more damage as time progresses), I'm still having a very difficult time topping DPS charts. My spell rotation normally follows something such as the following:
Haunt -> Demon Soul -> Corruption -> Bane of Agony (I use bane of doom on fights that are longer than 15 seconds) -> Unstable affliction -> BOLT -> Shadowflame (rinse repeat). If Soulburn is available I mix that into the rotation with an insta cast Soul Fire. I'm using a felhound for my pet.
I seem to be doing the right things and I'm getting worried that this is just what I'm kind of stuck with. I've read Warlocks can deal massive DPS, but if that requires being an ilvl 403, I'm kind of screwed as I don't have the time to be able to dedicate to the game to be an ivl 403. At the same time, I feel I could be doing better with what I have now. I have the optimized gems/enchants that are provided by askmrrobot. I feel like I've done it all and my DPS is just not there.
Any suggestions on how I can get it up would be most welcome. I'm talking strictly PvE now obviously – I haven't even tried PvP yet (which I'm terrified will be even worse).
Best Answer
This is somewhat old and written for hunters, but really, the advice it gives is universal.
The short version is, push more buttons. If you're clicking spells, learn to bind them to keys, maximize your GCD's, and always be doing something. The single biggest difference between a bad player and a decent one, is not gear or addons or spell selection, but simple, raw, Global Cooldown usage.