Demon Summoner

The Demon Warlock uses his control of various Demons to slay his enemies. While he cannot Summon as big of an Army as the Necromancer or Druid, his Demons are more powerful and he has much greater control of them. From Death Mark to teleport and focus his demons on an enemy, the Demon Warlock packs quite a punch and is the most interactive Summoner yet.

• 20 points to Summon Goatman – One of the three Demon choices. A great tank and Melee fighter, the Goatman has high damage output and can keep enemies away from you.

• 20 points to Bind Demon – Bind any Demon in the game. This Summon persists between games so it can be really nice to get Lister the Tormentor or some other giant Demon.

• 20 points to Demonic Mastery – Increases Number of Demons, Damage, Attack Rating, Attack Speed, Run Walk Speed, and more. Definitely a Skill to max in any Summoner Build.

• 20 points to Blood Oath – Improve defenses of Summons and yourself.

• 1 point to Sigil: Lethargy – Slows enemies and increases their damage taken.

• 1 point to Sigil: Death – Explodes enemies when low on life.

• X points to Death Mark – Teleport Demons to fight a specific target. Increased points synergizes with your other summons. A great place to dump remaining points.

• X points to Blood Boil – Rupture your Demons, dealing damage to them and enemies around them. Not the focus on this specific build but still a little bit of added damage if desired.

• 1 point to Engorge – Heal your Demons and increase their Defenses.

The following section discusses how many attribute points should be allocated to each of the primary stats.

How much Strength Does a Demon Warlock Need?

Enough for gear — Strength should not be too high but if you are wanting to use Spirit you will need 156 Strength.

How much Dexterity Does a Demon Warlock Need?

Enough for Gear — Dexterity is great for increasing Block Chance, particularly with Stormshield, but if you are not planning on investing points to max that out, it is often not worth taking any additional Dexterity, as the return on Defense is very low.

How much Vitality Does a Demon Warlock Need?

Everything else into Vitality — 250+ points. Every excess attribute point should be allocated to Vitality, as long as you can meet the Strength and Dexterity requirements of your items by the time you wish to equip them. Not only does this increase your Life total, but this also increases the chance for Healing Potions to crit, doubling their healing output. Further, additional Life reduces the chance that you will be put into hit recovery.

How much Energy Does a Demon Warlock Need?

Nothing — Allocating attribute points to Energy in a final build is universally considered sub-par for almost every character due to the widespread availability of Mana Potions. While leveling, if you find yourself struggling with Mana you can allocate a few points to Energy that you can then remove with a respec later on.

An Offensive (Might) Desert Guard Mercenary in Act 2 will be the best for Goatman and certain bound Demons as it provides Might Aura to all of your Physical Summons. Otherwise, a Defensive (Holy Freeze) Mercenary could be useful to slow enemies for more survivability if using more caster Demons such as Tainteds.

• Weapon: Ethereal Insight or The Reaper's Toll

• Body Armor: Ethereal Fortitude

• Helm: Andariel's Visage socketed with a Ral Rune

For more comprehensive leveling advice, please refer to our Warlock Fastest Leveling Build.