Updated November 26, 2025. I play Cabalist Cleric a lot and I’ll tell you plainly: this build melts groups when you run it right. I’ve tightened the 51/10/5 setup into simple steps that work in dungeons, Warfronts, and raid-style fights. Honestly, you’ll need patience and positioning more than raw gear at first.
Core rotation — what to cast and why
Start fights by applying your longest DoT, then layer instant spells during movement. In my experience, casting Tyranny of Death early forces enemy health to tick down while you set up other effects. Keep those DoTs rolling; Cabalist is about sustained pressure, like a slow-burning wildfire across a mob.
Pro tip: pre-cast Tyranny of Death on big pulls. It gives an immediate damage tick. (Works best if you don’t clip spells.)
During heavy movement use Shadow’s Touch and Decay to keep damage steady. Bound Fate on priority targets. Curse of Anarchy as filler when everything is grouped. Why? Because DoTs scale with spell power and crit ticks multiply over time — so uptime beats flashy single-target bursts.
51/10/5 explained
| Soul | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cabalist | 51 | Tyranny of Death and core DoTs |
| Warden | 10 | Survival tools and passive mitigation |
| Sentinel | 5 | Small heals and utility |
The 51 core is non-negotiable for AoE. The Warden slice keeps you alive; we found those heals valuable during burst raid phases. Sentinel at 5 is optional — some people overrate it. Personally, I think Sentinel’s value is situational; there are exceptions depending on your group and encounter.
Gear and stat priorities
Spell Power first. Crit next. Then intelligence and spell crit power. Go for consistent roll quality; a well-rolled heroic set will outpace mismatched raid pieces more often than not. Surprising? Maybe. But consistent stats are like tuning a piano — everything sounds better together.
- Weapon: high Spell Power, crit where possible
- Trinkets: on-use SP trinkets for burst windows
- Don’t chase a single top-piece at cost of full set synergy
Counterintuitive insight: sometimes swapping one high-SP item for slightly more Wisdom raises your sustained DPS because you stop running out of mana mid-pull. It depends on your niche; test it.
Macros, binds, and a sample script
Macro smartly. Put DoT application and priority casts on easy keys. I bind instant casts to Q/E and defensive to R. Comfort beats tradition.
// Simple spam macro (adapt to your keybinds)
cast Tyranny of Death
cast Bound Fate
cast Curse of Anarchy
cast Dark Water
cast Decay
That’s not perfect code — tweak it. Watch this: if you rely on one macro for everything you’ll miss situational casts. Use separate keys for defensive and mobility spells.
Warden’s value — short and blunt
Warden’s 10 points add real mitigation (about 10% damage reduction from key talents) and passive durability. That often saves wipes. To be fair, some players ignore it and still perform, but I wouldn’t recommend skipping it for unpredictable content.
“Warden kept me alive during a bad pull that would’ve wiped us.” — from a raid night, true story!
Parse targets and benchmarks
| Content | Typical DPS | DoT uptime |
|---|---|---|
| Dungeon trash | 15–20k | 90%+ |
| Raid bosses | 8–12k | 95%+ |
For a five-minute fight, Tyranny casts should be close to the maximum allowed by its duration. If you’re missing casts, it’s usually positioning or movement. Parse tools will show gaps quickly — use them. I’ve noticed most players improve just by fixing a few missed casts each run.
Controversial bits (yes, debate me)
Sentinel is often oversold for pure-DPS runs; a lot of players prefer Inquisitor for raw damage. Also, chasing maximum crit isn’t always the fastest route to better parses — sometimes stability wins. Agree? Disagree? Tell me.
There are caveats: this doesn’t always work in every encounter, and it depends on your party comp. If your raid demands different support, adjust the secondary souls. You won’t always use the same setup.
Final notes — practical and messy
Practice DoT application until it’s reflex. Review parses weekly. I’ve made this build work on November 15, 2025 and again on November 24, 2025 — small changes matter. Honestly, consistency beats chasing perfect numbers. Keep it steady and your numbers will climb.
One last thing: Cabalist is like a melody you conduct — you set the rhythm and let the damage play out. Sometimes you’ll stumble. That’s fine. Keep going!
— A Cleric main (she/her). 👍
