Mkdelta
OG
I just wanted to make a short how-to guide in the hopes of inspiring people to roll a warlock in the 49 bracket. I wanted to do it here cause this is the place for more in-depth talk about twinking, gearing and playstyle. Warlocks are severely underrepresented now compared to a few years ago. I can count on one hand how many warlocks are in the bracket, and that's no good. Warlocks have been the only class I really got into, and I have been in the bracket with Juiced since 2006. After a long two year break from WoW, I decided to come back with my energy in the game devoted to my 49 twink. I'm still getting used to the new changes and all - so I'm far from experienced in this new day and age. Here it goes:
-Why don't people make warlocks anymore at 49?
Affliction's damage got reduced big time compared to before, Destruction doesn't have ruin and demonology's tree is completely different compared to before. Loss of silence and increased cd on felhunter devour also discouraged many. In addition, the bracket is far burstier than before, and this cuts into a warlock's survivability big time. Its hard to imagine the days without soul link now (soul link used to be a talent!).
-Why make a warlock?
A warlock is a great supplement to any team, provided the team is not inflated with them. A warlock brings much needed CC to protect healers and to keep high damage dealing enemies from dealing damage. We have a spammable CC in fear, which is still strong, aoe fear and, if you spec into demonology, a 4 sec stun on a 30s cooldown.
-Spec
From the beginning, I wanted my warlock to be destruction. I used to play as SL/Backlash before I quit, and it was really effective against any class. Now its a bit different. If you do decide to play destruction, it looks great on paper, and the abilities are pretty strong, but, the damage you deal will not hold a candle to the mages in the bracket at the moment, and it may discourage you a bit. If you're skilled, give it a shot. I, on the other hand, did not do so hot with destruction and decided to try the next spec, affliction. We don't have incinerate at this level, and shadow bolt hits like a noodle.
Affliction warlocks are one of the best control classes in the game. The damage is not bursty, and evenly spread. DoTs don't do as much damage as they used to, however, and with the increased burst damage across the board, you will be a major target for physical dps on the opposing side. . Unstable affliction is a very useful tool and gives your teammates (esp. your mages and shadowpriests) to deal damage more efficiently due to the dispel protection.
Now..demonology. My last spec I chose. Why? It looks awful on paper. Many of the talents seem incomplete or unusable at 49. And since all specs get soul link now, there was no rush for me to go into demo like the past (I had soul link when it was a 31 talent). Demonology warlocks still offer all the great CC you expect from affliction, w/o the instant howl of terror. In return, we get a powerful 4s stun from our felguard that has a range of 30yds, is off our GCD, and you can use the ability when you yourself are CC'd. You also get felstorm, which is a very high physical dps AoE that does tremendous damage at this level.
It was wierd for me to play with the guard because I always used a felhunter, but with proper macros, this felguard will become your new best friend. Demo offers a great mix of magic/physical dps in addition to great CC abilities. Most importantly, you get Hand of Guldan at this level. This spell is simply amazing because it scales very well with gear, snare the target for two seconds, and leaves the ground around it under a demonic state, meaning its a deadzone. After 4s, this deadzone stuns all the people in it for 3seconds, which is golden in tight situations (like a crowd hugging the efc, or the entrance to roof in wsg). From now on, I will talk only of demonology, because that is the spec I determined to be the most effective to my play style. Everyone is different.
-Gear
I will not make a whole list, there are plenty of armories to take a peak at, and almost everyone has the same gear. Browse the forums to get a better sense.
For me, I need atleast 4kHP. 3.7k minimum in this bracket, and that's pushing it. Stamina is your friend.
I also like a good deal of haste ~100. I got 96 on my warlock, and coupled with lifeblood, gives me some very efficient fears and hand of guldans to throw around.
-Playstyle
I will build upon this with a later post, but the general idea is this - you're there for more than just damage. Since the bracket is so bursty, its a make or break upon every skirmish. Sufficient CC (to the point of extreme annoyance) is essential to playing a warlock. Your 4sec stun on a 30s cooldown can be used to great effect to stun rogues and shamans that have delved a little too close to your healers, and your spam fears and howls can give your dps just enough time to burst down an efc. Warlocks are a different breed - we deal decent damage, yes, but you bring little annoyances and major CC to the opposing team to give your big dps guys the space to really put a dent into their armor. Aside from dots, curses, hand of guldan every 10s(on cd), and the occasional immolate, the time in between your hand of guldan cooldowns give you the chance to really CC the hell out of your opposition. You are a control bot.
-Macros
I will build on this later.
-Purpose and Conclusion
I'm in no way the 'spokesman' for this class, and I know I'm not the most skilled (Morg was, haha), but I've noticed a severe drop in people playing this class, despite their obvious usefulness to the team. The last couple of weeks I have seen more of the same: more mages, more paladin, more rogues, but I'm usually the one lone warlock in the bunch. I hope to inspire a few old school and new rerolls to give this class a shot at 49 and see where you go. I'm always there to give a helping hand ;]
-Mkdelta <Juiced> Bleeding Hollow
-Why don't people make warlocks anymore at 49?
Affliction's damage got reduced big time compared to before, Destruction doesn't have ruin and demonology's tree is completely different compared to before. Loss of silence and increased cd on felhunter devour also discouraged many. In addition, the bracket is far burstier than before, and this cuts into a warlock's survivability big time. Its hard to imagine the days without soul link now (soul link used to be a talent!).
-Why make a warlock?
A warlock is a great supplement to any team, provided the team is not inflated with them. A warlock brings much needed CC to protect healers and to keep high damage dealing enemies from dealing damage. We have a spammable CC in fear, which is still strong, aoe fear and, if you spec into demonology, a 4 sec stun on a 30s cooldown.
-Spec
From the beginning, I wanted my warlock to be destruction. I used to play as SL/Backlash before I quit, and it was really effective against any class. Now its a bit different. If you do decide to play destruction, it looks great on paper, and the abilities are pretty strong, but, the damage you deal will not hold a candle to the mages in the bracket at the moment, and it may discourage you a bit. If you're skilled, give it a shot. I, on the other hand, did not do so hot with destruction and decided to try the next spec, affliction. We don't have incinerate at this level, and shadow bolt hits like a noodle.
Affliction warlocks are one of the best control classes in the game. The damage is not bursty, and evenly spread. DoTs don't do as much damage as they used to, however, and with the increased burst damage across the board, you will be a major target for physical dps on the opposing side. . Unstable affliction is a very useful tool and gives your teammates (esp. your mages and shadowpriests) to deal damage more efficiently due to the dispel protection.
Now..demonology. My last spec I chose. Why? It looks awful on paper. Many of the talents seem incomplete or unusable at 49. And since all specs get soul link now, there was no rush for me to go into demo like the past (I had soul link when it was a 31 talent). Demonology warlocks still offer all the great CC you expect from affliction, w/o the instant howl of terror. In return, we get a powerful 4s stun from our felguard that has a range of 30yds, is off our GCD, and you can use the ability when you yourself are CC'd. You also get felstorm, which is a very high physical dps AoE that does tremendous damage at this level.
It was wierd for me to play with the guard because I always used a felhunter, but with proper macros, this felguard will become your new best friend. Demo offers a great mix of magic/physical dps in addition to great CC abilities. Most importantly, you get Hand of Guldan at this level. This spell is simply amazing because it scales very well with gear, snare the target for two seconds, and leaves the ground around it under a demonic state, meaning its a deadzone. After 4s, this deadzone stuns all the people in it for 3seconds, which is golden in tight situations (like a crowd hugging the efc, or the entrance to roof in wsg). From now on, I will talk only of demonology, because that is the spec I determined to be the most effective to my play style. Everyone is different.
-Gear
I will not make a whole list, there are plenty of armories to take a peak at, and almost everyone has the same gear. Browse the forums to get a better sense.
For me, I need atleast 4kHP. 3.7k minimum in this bracket, and that's pushing it. Stamina is your friend.
I also like a good deal of haste ~100. I got 96 on my warlock, and coupled with lifeblood, gives me some very efficient fears and hand of guldans to throw around.
-Playstyle
I will build upon this with a later post, but the general idea is this - you're there for more than just damage. Since the bracket is so bursty, its a make or break upon every skirmish. Sufficient CC (to the point of extreme annoyance) is essential to playing a warlock. Your 4sec stun on a 30s cooldown can be used to great effect to stun rogues and shamans that have delved a little too close to your healers, and your spam fears and howls can give your dps just enough time to burst down an efc. Warlocks are a different breed - we deal decent damage, yes, but you bring little annoyances and major CC to the opposing team to give your big dps guys the space to really put a dent into their armor. Aside from dots, curses, hand of guldan every 10s(on cd), and the occasional immolate, the time in between your hand of guldan cooldowns give you the chance to really CC the hell out of your opposition. You are a control bot.
-Macros
I will build on this later.
-Purpose and Conclusion
I'm in no way the 'spokesman' for this class, and I know I'm not the most skilled (Morg was, haha), but I've noticed a severe drop in people playing this class, despite their obvious usefulness to the team. The last couple of weeks I have seen more of the same: more mages, more paladin, more rogues, but I'm usually the one lone warlock in the bunch. I hope to inspire a few old school and new rerolls to give this class a shot at 49 and see where you go. I'm always there to give a helping hand ;]
-Mkdelta <Juiced> Bleeding Hollow
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