The Imp

Imp Info:

(Level 70 Base stats - Unmodified)

Hitpoints: 1528

Mana pool: 2568

Armor: 2246 (17.5% DR)

Fire Bolt Damage: 88 - 123 (53 DPS)

Mana Regen: 202 / 5 seconds

The imp is the very first pet you acquire as a warlock. He is a high damage ranged attacker, he uses fire bolts over melee attacks to assault the enemy from afar. His initial function (until you get the void walker) is to help pull mobs and burn them down. While at the lower levels he can take a hit or two and do some decent damage, however, after you obtain your Voidwalker and other pets,  your use of the imp is very situational.

He's also extremely whiny and constantly tries to break up with you, but don't worry! He'll always come back when summoned.

The imp is mostly the preferred pet for affliction locks past level 40 because of Dark Pact, which allows you to tap your pet for mana. The imp has the best mana regen of any pet and his phase shift means you're never going to worry about him pulling unwanted agro or getting hit with AoE and dying. His hp buff is also a major boost for affliction locks.

Outside of affliction the imp has very little value. Other specs typically go for other pets for PvP/PvE. Demo typically uses the Felguard for grinding and Destruction isn't typically used for grinding at all, though the Succubus will probably be better used for her seduce. For instances the Succubus is almost always preferred over any other pet for her seduce ability. If CC isn't necessary then the imp might make an appearance from a Destruction lock and more likely from an affliction lock for his stamina buff. Demo will more likely fall back to the Succubus or Felguard for DPS.

Tips & Tricks

Tip - Get him Buffed: The ultimate tip when using your imp in party/raid situation is to make sure to always click off his phase shift so he can recieve party buffs. Important buffs for him include anything that improves mana and spirit. Sporeling snacks are also a nice little pet buff food that will increase spirit.

Trick  - The Imp Pull: If you want to pull a mob that's at the end of a hallway, but not fight all the mobs on the way, you can send you imp all the way to the end to attack it. Assuming your imp is phase-shifted on the way over he won't aggro the mobs on the way there. He will shoot the mob you are wanting, the mob will kill him, and then head for you. Now here's the situational part, assuming the mob that you are shooting is of a different faction than the mobs on the way up to it (for example: elemental/beast or humanoid/elemental) then you won't get the "social aggro" that is generated when one mob calls for the help of another mob.

Tip - Fire Shield: Manually put his fire shield on anything that might be tanking. This includes the main tank, but also any off tanks, including hunter pets. The extra damage also makes for a nice little agro generation for them. DON'T put it on any class that tries to avoid agro, including melee or ranged DPS  and especially healers. That includes yourself.

Trick - Ninja Cap: Park him phase shifted and aggressive near a flag in AB so he can pick off a rogue or druid who is trying ninja cap a node that he thinks no one is defending. If you are PvP spec you can have a new pet up in no time and still be at range to avoid getting owned. Nice thing about demons is using them as sentries since you can duck and cover at a large distance.

OR, while in WSG, if you are carrying the enemy flag, go to the roof and put the imp (though it works better with a Felhunter) in the narrow entrance in aggressive mode, that way rogues will have a hard time passing undetected.

Tip - Shard Farming: The Imp is the only pet that doesn't require a shard to summon. Although he can not tank for you, added damage is handy if you ever run out and need to farm some shards.

The Instance Imp

The primary use of the imp is as a mana battery for affliction warlocks. He has very good spirit for mana regeneration, so the combined use of dark pact and lifetap will keep a good affliction Warlock full of mana. It is also wonderful that he has phase shift so he will not accidentally pull agro. His party buff, blood pact, is also very helpful for tanks especially, giving a stamina buff to all party members.

Overall the value of your imp is largely dependant on your spec, with affliction being the main spec that gets the most use out of him with dark pact, and he's valid for just about anything, raiding, grinding, instances and even PvP depending on the tastes of the warlock, for that spec. The other specs typically go for another pet in almost all cases, though you will find the odd warlock that uses him. His DPS output is limited, not just in the fact that his fireballs are low, but he runs out of mana fast. His utility abilities are fire shield and his stamina buff, which is really the main reason he's used for anything outside of affliction.

As a malediction lock, you'll probably be in the tank group, so I'd say to leave him about 15 yards or so from the tank, so you can be at max range and get his buff, and steal his mana, while the tank gets blood pact. Placing him in the right position is a challenging but useful trick.

Note: When using the Imp in instances and raids, make sure he's phased once the battle starts

The PvP Imp

For PvP the imp is almost never used. The Felhunter for Affliction and Destruction is the pet of choice, though once again some prefer the succubus since these pets are much more utilitarian and provide better survivability to the warlock than the imp does. They also tend to be much tougher, since anyone that sees your imp launching fireballs is going to one shot it. Demo tends to use the succubus or Felhunter till the Felguard is acquired.

One way you can use the Imp in PvP is to park him in a bush or other hidden spot to attack when needed. He can be helpful to hinder (and annoy) spell casters as his fire bolts come quick and fast. Aim him against a healer for added frustration fun!

Talents that will affect / improve the Imp

• Improved Imp (Demonology) will increase the effects of your imp's Firebolt, Fire Shield, and Blood Pact by 10/20/30%.

• Dark Pact (Affliction) can be used to draw mana from the imp.

• Fel Intellect and Fel Stamina (Demonology) increases its maximum mana/health respectively by 5/10/15%.

• Fel Domination combined with Master Summoner (Demonology) can reduce summoning time to 2/4seconds and 20/40% reduced mana; another 5.5 seconds and 50% reduced mana when Fel Domination is active (0.5 second cast).

• Unholy Power (Demonology) increases damage done by your imp's Firebolt by 4/8/12/16/20%.

• Demonic Sacrifice (Demonology) will sacrifice your imp to give you an increase in Fire damage by 15% for 30min.

• Mana Feed (Demonology) allows your pet to regenerate 33/66/100% of the mana you gain from Drain Mana or Life Tap.

• Demonic Resilience (Demonology) reduces the damage your summoned demon takes by 5/10/15%.

• Soul Link (Demonology) your summoned demon absorbs 20% of the damage the caster takes and increases the damage done by both by 5%.

• Demonic Tactics (Demonology) increases spell critical strike chance for your imp by 1/2/3/4/5%.

• Improved Firebolt (Destruction) reduces the casting time of your imp's Firebolt by 0.25/0.50 seconds.
   

Troubleshooting

Sometimes your Imp does more than talk back - sometimes he just stands there and watches you die! If he is not attacking when told, there could be a few reasons:

1. He is out of mana. Remember he is a spell caster only and has no melee capabilities at all.
    

2. The mob you are attacking is immune to Fire. Some mobs are immune to fire - such as A'lar in Tempest Keep and every fire elemental in the game. Since Fire Bolt is a fire spell, the Imp won't waste his mana trying to attack what can't be hit.
    

3. Line of sight is another reason he might not attack.

Credits: Thankyou to Debuff, Carlinda, Anij, Zaculea, Devicus, i_am_hyleon35 and Coud

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