World of Warcraft 12.1: succubus and felhunter get 350% damage for Demonology warlocks
World of Warcraft patch 12.1 shifts Demonology Warlock pet choices toward Succubus and Felhunter, with around 350% more damage reported.
- Succubus is presented as the best option for pure damage, while Felhunter is highlighted for interrupts and utility.
- The same reporting says Succubus and Felhunter receive around 350% more damage; Felguard is said to get a smaller buff, but the excerpt is cut off.
What happened
In an article about World of Warcraft and the Curse of Ula'tek patch, the balance for Demonology Warlock pets is described as having been adjusted in patch 12.1. As a result, players would no longer automatically pick Felguard, and would more often end up choosing Succubus or Felhunter.
The source frames Succubus as the choice for pure damage and Felhunter as the option for interrupts and broader utility. It also says the damage of both pets has been increased by roughly 350%. The provided excerpt does not include the full official Blizzard text, so the exact wording of that change cannot be fully confirmed from the material alone.
For Felguard, the excerpt only says the damage increase was much smaller, around 20%, but the sentence is cut off before the comparison is fully visible. What is clear is that the text no longer presents Felguard as the default standard choice, but as a pet that is being positioned less strongly than the other two demon options in this balance context.
The same news cluster also points to patch 12.1.5 as the next content update. Blizzard News describes 12.1.5 as a content update with a new one-boss raid, Labyrinths, and Aqir Invasions; Blizzard Watch cites October 6, 2026 as the likely release date based on an eight-week cadence.
Timeline
2026-09-18: Related Blizzard and BlizzCon 2026 news appears in the news cluster around World of Warcraft.
2026-09-19: An earlier GAME-scanner article about World of Warcraft: Forever and controller support in alpha is published.
2026-09-20: In the supplied reporting on patch 12.1, Demonology Warlock pet balance is described as shifting toward Succubus and Felhunter.
Patch 12.1: According to the source, Succubus and Felhunter receive about 350% more damage, while Felguard gets only a limited increase.
Patch 12.1.5: Blizzard News names this update as the next content update; Blizzard Watch places the likely release on October 6, 2026.
Background
Demonology Warlocks in World of Warcraft use demonic pets as part of their rotation and utility. In the supplied reporting, the balance shift mainly revolves around which pet is most efficient in which situation: Felguard as the traditional choice, or Succubus and Felhunter as alternatives with more damage or more utility.
The context around WoW: Forever, Skyborne elves, and the two-name system is not fully developed in the supplied material. As a result, only the fact that these topics are mentioned in the same news cluster can be confirmed, not how Blizzard communicated them exactly. The fact report notes also indicate that the status of WoW: Forever cannot be treated as an official Blizzard project without direct confirmation.
The additional external context about patch 12.1.5 shows Blizzard was already looking ahead to a later content update. Blizzard News explicitly mentions the 12.1.5 content update and the addition of a new one-boss raid, Labyrinths, and Aqir Invasions. Blizzard Watch places that update in a typical eight-week cadence and names October 6, 2026 as the likely release date.