How to Beat a Rogue as a Warlock in PvP

1. Know the Matchup

Rogues rely on stealth, burst, and control (stuns, blinds, vanishes).
Warlocks excel at damage-over-time (DoT), fear, and tankiness (especially with Demon Armor or Sacrifice).

Keep Detect Invisibility up (if available; helps slightly).
Use a Voidwalker (Sacrifice shield) or Felhunter (spell lock, devour).
Always have Healthstone and Soulstone ready.
If possible, apply DoTs or Corruption to anything nearby so the rogue gets revealed if he opens.

Most Rogues open with Cheap Shot (stun) → Kidney Shot (stun).
Use a trinket to break Kidney Shot if you’re about to die or if the rogue has used major cooldowns (like Shadow Dance, Cold Blood).
If you have the Voidwalker shield up, it will absorb a ton of initial burst.

After stuns: Quickly cast Fear if not kicked; otherwise, use Howl of Terror if available.
Death Coil is your instant “panic button”—use it if the rogue is on top of you and you need a breather.
If you’re low, use Healthstone and Drain Life.

Dot up the rogue (Corruption, Curse of Agony, Unstable Affliction if Affliction, or Immolate if Destro).
Spam Fear. Even if he trinkets or Vanishes, reapply DoTs fast so you can spot him if he reopens.
If Felhunter is out, Devour Magic removes blind and poisons.

Pre-shield with Sacrifice (Voidwalker) before duel starts, if allowed.
Save Death Coil for when you need instant CC or healing.
If rogue Vanishes, Howl of Terror if he reopens—he’ll often reappear right after.
Use Curse of Exhaustion (if talented) to kite and slow him down.
If the rogue Cloaks of Shadows, most of your magic DoTs will fall off—reapply fast.
Don’t be predictable—fake-cast Fear to bait his Kick, then immediately Fear for real.

He Blinds You: Felhunter’s Devour Magic removes Blind; if not, trinket if you’re low HP.
He Saps You: Nothing you can do but hope your pet is on Defensive and nearby.
He Vanishes: Reapply DoTs ASAP and keep moving—anticipate his next opener.

Affliction is king for this matchup (endless DoTs, self-healing, mobility).
Stack resilience in gear to reduce crits and stuns.
Spell Penetration helps get through rogue’s Cloak of Shadows and resistances.