F2P Salfir's Warlock Guide

[rsq]

Possibly move nerfed Ivycloth beneath Crystalline (/cry). And maybe make a note that +1 Resist enchant is out of game.

<3

I'd still consider Ivycloth > Crystalline, but ease of access... good point though! Not really any point farming Ivycloth when MTB are now clearly BiS.

Just because I'm out of the loop... +1 Resist were not replaced with anything, correct? Do they even still have an effect, or should people be changing their cloak enchants to +10 Armor?

 

[Yde]

<3

I'd still consider Ivycloth > Crystalline, but ease of access... good point though! Not really any point farming Ivycloth when MTB are now clearly BiS.

Just because I'm out of the loop... +1 Resist were not replaced with anything, correct? Do they even still have an effect, or should people be changing their cloak enchants to +10 Armor?

Haha, brain glitch on my part on the Ivycloth then. And since I've never seen MTB and know Veinte lost them the one time in 81 SFK runs he had them drop I'd definitely consider Ivycloth a good alternative. ^^


There's no new recipe to replace the removed +1 Resist. Apparently existing enchants still offer resist and are now grandfathered BiS. Veinte tested this and told me.

Stupidly enough after the prepatch I just assumed there'd be a +1 Stats enchant recipe as a replacement, as we had been mailed scrolls for that on the PTR. Sadly this isn't so, which I only realised after I had enchanted two of my cloaks anew with +10 Armor and thus ruined said grandfathered BiS, lol.

 

[Fael]

Faelqt @ Aerie Peak - Community - World of Warcraft

Almost Bis, just missing Resil trinket, and Pvp Shoulders

 

[rsq]

Faelqt @ Aerie Peak - Community - World of Warcraft

Almost Bis, just missing Resil trinket, and Pvp Shoulders

Thanks!

You've done a great job gearing. Just my 2c... with your setup (using lavish over slippers), I might consider Dreadmist Mantle or MM as better than Sunderseer. I've been considering running around with the 5 int over the 5 stam lately. Grats on the AGM. And oh my damn, so much grats on the MTB!

 

[Fael]

Hehe, thanks, I got the MTB on my Birthday too. Lol.

 

[Bizarre]

Imo, Ivycloth of Stamina>MTB for BiS Warlock.
Perhaps if DPS wasn't so weak atm, then maybe it would be viable to stack more Int/SP.
However, in the current state of things, I believe Stamina is the go-to stat for this class.

Also, Hit is strange. With only GSoJ and hit boots, you're left with a .5% chance to miss on 20's. Out of all the games I played tonight, I only missed a few times, and it was only on lvl 24's. (which makes no difference even if you are hit-capped) Maybe I was just lucky, idk, but it could possibly open up the cloak slot for a better choice other than Lushwater.

A few personal notes:
Demonic Leap is amazing. It's like the Goblin racial on a 10 sec CD. This spell has sooo much potential.
As far as talents go, Dark Regeneration is a tough one to beat. Losing Soul Harvest was a huge blow to our survivability, and even though this new spell is on a 2 min. CD (which really isn't that long, considering how long fights are atm) this spell still gives you a good chance to live. Using it with HS for example, I've managed to get a 1k heal crit.

I'll post a fresh SS from tonight that I'm quite satisfied with. I managed to avoid death a number of times. We only had one dedicated shaman healer. In the end, Alliance took it 2/1.

 

[rsq]

Imo, Ivycloth of Stamina>MTB for BiS Warlock.
Perhaps if DPS wasn't so weak atm, then maybe it would be viable to stack more Int/SP.
However, in the current state of things, I believe Stamina is the go-to stat for this class.

Also, Hit is strange. With only GSoJ and hit boots, you're left with a .5% chance to miss on 20's. Out of all the games I played tonight, I only missed a few times, and it was only on lvl 24's. (which makes no difference even if you are hit-capped) Maybe I was just lucky, idk, but it could possibly open up the cloak slot for a better choice other than Lushwater.

A few personal notes:
Demonic Leap is amazing. It's like the Goblin racial on a 10 sec CD. This spell has sooo much potential.
As far as talents go, Dark Regeneration is a tough one to beat. Losing Soul Harvest was a huge blow to our survivability, and even though this new spell is on a 2 min. CD (which really isn't that long, considering how long fights are atm) this spell still gives you a good chance to live. Using it with HS for example, I've managed to get a 1k heal crit.

All great points. When I get a chance I'll add them to the guide. Minor correction - not using lushwater leaves you with a .04% chance to miss against 20s, not .5%. But more hit = hitting 24s more often, so it's definitely a situational choice. For instance, I'd definitely still use Lushwater in an arena.

Also, I've been playing with Dark Regeneration lately, and I think it might be my favorite/the best. Going to have the guide reflect those thoughts. Also, mind if I quote you on Demonic Leap? I really just want to emphasize how often everyone should be using it haha

 

[KainUFC]

Been toying with MoP, using Afflic and Harvest Life.

At first I liked UA a lot with all the dispels in the bracket now, but the last couple days of playing it feels like the healing can power through UA regardless. I really like the idea of protecting Curse of Enfeeblement with UA.

I took harvest life because I wanted an AOE move but most of the time it just gets absorbed by shields. It does pretty decent dmg though. Sounds like Dark Regeneration is probably the better choice for PVP, going to respec and try it soon. I do find myself missing Soul Harvest if theres no healers around and Ive just survived a fight at like 20% hp. I dont even carry any food :C

Not sure if rogues have just been terrible but it feels like Harvest Life cant get kicked, which doesnt make sense, but I swear I've been HLing into rogues faces for long periods of time, multiple times, and never gotten interrupted or locked out of my spells.

One good thing about HL is it knocks druids and rogues out of stealth.

Also, my Imp is my hardest hitting ability by far.

 

[rsq]

Harvest Life does pretty decent dmg though. Sounds like Dark Regeneration is probably the better choice for PVP, going to respec and try it soon. I do find myself missing Soul Harvest if theres no healers around and Ive just survived a fight at like 20% hp. I dont even carry any food :C

Agreed on all points. I miss Soul Harvest so much.

Not sure if rogues have just been terrible but it feels like Harvest Life cant get kicked, which doesnt make sense, but I swear I've been HLing into rogues faces for long periods of time, multiple times, and never gotten interrupted or locked out of my spells.

One good thing about HL is it knocks druids and rogues out of stealth.

That is awesome, I will absolutely have to test both of these.

Also, my Imp is my hardest hitting ability by far.

For sure - they do so much more damage than in cata, I will definitely edit this in.

 

[KainUFC]

Harvest Life can be kicked like anything else I didnt realize kick had such a long cooldown, and in the current meta I guess smart rogues will be using their kicks on something else.

Been trying out Demonology with dark regeneration talent. Its a very different feel. What do you guys do while Meta'd? Apply Aura, but then what, spam Shadow Bolt? When I meta now I dont really know where to go from there.

After only a few games I feel like Demonology probably has the most damage potential (not including Destro which is probably the most dps if you're allowed to sit there and cast, but I really dont like the spec as its super vulnerable to Rogues as far as I can tell).

I still like my old Aff build too, and I also think that Soulburn - VW - Disarm makes it even more attractive. I missed UA when I tried the other specs, because my dots get dispelled right away.

Right now in BGs Im finding myself in a lot of big group fights in a flag room or somesuch place, so Im going to keep looking for the best setup for those types of situations.

 

[rsq]

Been trying out Demonology with dark regeneration talent.

This has definitely grown on me. It's hard to play other builds now that I've learned this one well

What do you guys do while Meta'd? Apply Aura, but then what, spam Shadow Bolt? When I meta now I dont really know where to go from there.

Spells cast while in meta do 24% more damage, so spamming shadow bolt isn't necessarily a bad idea. Pets also become instant summon when in meta for 200 fury. Also in group battles I've found aura to be so powerful.

I still like my old Aff build too, and I also think that Soulburn - VW - Disarm makes it even more attractive. I missed UA when I tried the other specs, because my dots get dispelled right away.

I've found a good pally to be nearly impossible to face as Demo, which has been really frustrating. I really wish aff had the damage to back up the dispel block.

 

[KainUFC]

I've found a good pally to be nearly impossible to face as Demo, which has been really frustrating. I really wish aff had the damage to back up the dispel block.

I felt like I was still doing decent damage as Aff. It looks like in MoP us Locks are basically going to have to expect really weak damage from our dots. (At least at 20 f2p we are).

But take that small constant amount of damage from targets with UA and corruption, and add Harvest life, hardcasted shadow bolts, imp damage, dispelled UA's, and drain soul sometimes and you can put out OK dmg. Nothing spectacular though and not a lot of KBs at least for me so far.

Going to try out Aff with DRegen today! This is fun, I like MoP.

Edit: Also a note in the current meta we are rogue bait! So you need to be thinking about what you're going to do when 1 or more rogue open on you. With Demo HoG or morph > void disarm. Aff void disarm. Destro attempt to immolate +conflag and if you get kicked or cant juke, use Fear? I think rogues feast on us though. (need to play more games)

 

[Bizarre]

Spells cast while in meta do 24% more damage, so spamming shadow bolt isn't necessarily a bad idea. Pets also become instant summon when in meta for 200 fury. Also in group battles I've found aura to be so powerful.

Very interesting, I didn't realize you could insta-summon your pets in Meta.
I'll go ahead and mention what you shared with me in Ally chat.

If you have your attack on, while in Meta, you can do some decent white damage, shooting mini Shadow Bolts at the target. You can move while shooting, or you can mix this effect with Soul Fire. I think Sal had mentioned that this combo puts out more dps than spamming Shadow Bolt, but the cost of Demonic Fury for Soul Fire is just too high. You would need at least 600+ Demonic Fury to get a couple of these casts off. It seems to be very situational, when really, you're more useful casting other spells, like Fear, than your hard 4 sec. Soul Fire. Definitely something to experiment with.
Also, I discovered that if you kill your target, while in Meta, using Drain Life, it gives you a boost in Demonic Fury. Almost like how Drain Soul used to work with restoring Soul Shards. However, I didn't do the math to see how much it actually gives you.

 

[rsq]

Also a note in the current meta we are rogue bait! So you need to be thinking about what you're going to do when 1 or more rogue open on you. With Demo HoG or morph > void disarm. Aff void disarm. Destro attempt to immolate +conflag and if you get kicked or cant juke, use Fear? I think rogues feast on us though. (need to play more games)

As demo, rogues are pretty easy. I usually leap > corruption > fear and kite until they are dead. If the rogue is able to get back on me it has generally been at least 10 seconds and I have either brought out my VW or will be able to leap and fear once more.

Basically, Demonic Leap renders bad rogues useless. Earlier, I managed to kill 2 rogues that opened on me simultaneously by leaping and HoG'ing them together then keeping corruption up and leaping whenever off CD. Mind you, stronger players would have likely gotten the better of me, but the point stands: Demonic Leap is an unbelievable rogue counter.

As for the other specs I completely agree - soulburn > void > disarm and immo > confl or fear (depending on the situation) is the way to go.

Also, I discovered that if you kill your target, while in Meta, using Drain Life, it gives you a boost in Demonic Fury. Almost like how Drain Soul used to work with restoring Soul Shards. However, I didn't do the math to see how much it actually gives you.

That is awesome. Meta seems to have so many secret abilities!

Is this only with drain life? Have you seen it work with just a killing blow? (Definitely going to play around with this )

 

[Bizarre]

Is this only with drain life? Have you seen it work with just a killing blow? (Definitely going to play around with this )

Yes, I do believe this only works with Drain Life. I would imagine it works with Harvest Life, but I haven't tested it. Who knows, maybe Harvest Life will give you a bigger boost?
Mind you, I discovered this is PvE. In PvP situations, I'm not sure if you actually need to land the killing blow on the target, or if they just need to die within the channeling, much like Drain Soul. This will definitely take some practice, same with the Auto Attack/Soul Fire trick. Back when I played 19s, I used to always say that Warlocks were based on timing. Timing, timing, timing! I couldn't say it enough.. Now, it seems like that describes this class more than ever.

Edit: Playing around with my spells a bit more, I realized it has nothing to do with Drain Life/Harvest Life. Whenever you land a killing blow, with any spell, you will receive a boost in Demonic Fury.

 

[Hue]

<3

so apparently demo can act like a free action potion, since a paladin i was dueling in elwynn said that he had Hoj'd me as i went into meta for my demonic leap and i was running around with the stun still on me ;s.

this is most likely to be a bug however i figured i'd share it with ya

 

[Holypowah]

Can a lock beat a rogue?

 

[Mephisto]

Can a lock beat a rogue?

Right now? mmmh... a GOOD lock can probably beat a rogue. For me, I believe that when a caster class other than a mage faces a rogue at this level they panic. Keep calm and you should be able to win. I believe
Demo has a better chance of beating a Rogue than Destro currently does because of Demonic Leap for a gap opener, and a snare they can chain to keep them off until crippling poison wears off.

 

[Bizarre]

Demonic Leap: Jumping Up and Over - YouTube

 

[KainUFC]

Haha thats awesome, it looks like the kind of thing they'd fix if they actually ever found out about it or had the competence to be on top of shit.