Demonology thoughts 5.0 and Q&A

[LTCrystallite]

Much was recently mentioned about demonology during Blizzcon and even recently in a much loved Dev Class Q&A.

Here are few thoughts on the design for Demonology, Warlocks Pets and possible worries for the upcoming expansion.

1. Demon Soul, pet twisting and the Felguard.

Blizzard has mentioned that they don't like pet twisting for Demo and that Demons shouldn't be spec specific, rather they should be because they're the best pet for the job, or your favorite pet.

The Worry: They also mentioned that they want the Felguard to be the "AoE" pet, which means he will be less than on par with other pets' single target damage. I find it counter-intuitive to force a pet to be situational or idea for AoE and not intended for single target.

While I understand that the Felguard shouldn't be the "best choice always", what about the Felguard lovers? This also means that players who choose to use another pet (like the Succy or Felhunter) feel obligated to swap to the Felguard because AoE is needed.

Suggestions?: I feel that it might be better if ALL Demo pets gained similar AoE to the Felguard and his single target damage was on par with the rest, so they can all be treated equally and you can use your favorite pet when you want, or the one best for the job without feeling hindered or forced to switch.

OR if they like the Felguard designed for AoE, pet swapping still may occur. Since Demo will be losing Soul Burn:Summon (instant cast), it will need a way to effectively and quickly swap pets. My suggestion is that they either drastically reduce cast times on pets for Demo (to 1.5 or 2 sec casts), or give them a short cooldown that allows them to instant cast summon a demon.

2. Metamorphosis, Immolation Aura and Demonic Slash: The melee caster??

Immolation Aura, Hellfire while moving and Shadowflame all make it most effective to be in melee range during Metamorphosis. With the announcement of Demonic Slash (Meta's Shadowbolt) players are wondering if it's a different ranged spell, or if it's a melee attack to harden the melee vibe whilst in Meta.

The Worry: Locks would definitely have to tools to effectively get in and out of melee combat when needed for Meta if Demonic Slash ends up being a melee attack. You can set a Demonic Portal, Metamorph and Demonic Leap in, and start your Immo Aura, Shadowflame and then Demonic Slash away your Demonic Fury. Once Meta ends, alls you need to do is teleport out and continue your caster rotation.

But what about Hand of Gul'dan? It has a cast time. It would be slightly difficult to cast it if targets were moving, as you'd need to try to make up for the distance lost while you were standing still.

Suggestions: If Demonic Slash ends up being a melee attack, they may need to make some cast time spells either instant cast in Meta or castable on the move to be smooth and effective. (Either that, or Demonic Slash would be such a strong hit that casting Hand of Gul'dan would result in a DPS loss.)

Corruption, Bane, Wild Imps(most likely), Immo Aura, Shadowflame and Shadowbolt (Demonic Slash) are all usable while moving, and Hand of Gul'dan is the only hindrance I see.

All in all, all warlocks are definitely headed in an incredible direction for Mists, and I'm absolutely looking forward to playing my Lock for it. The answers to the issues above may rear their heads sooner or later before the expansion, but it's best to address them now.

What do you guys think about the overall warlock changes? What do you think about the possible direction of Demonology?

---------- Post added 2011-11-12 at 07:36 PM ----------

I also thought I'd mention some other extras or changes:

1. Demonology won't be using Incinerate due to Shadowbolt turning into Incinerate for Destruction. This probably means that Molten Core and possibly the Cremation talent refreshing Immolate is going away.

2. Soul Fire or Decimation was never said to be going away, and if Decimation is still intended for 5.0, will it turn into a melee attack/Demonic Slash like ability as well? (Decimation is an execute phase talent that switches Shadowbolt for Soul Fire)

3. What's Demonic Fury going to be like, how fast will it build, which spells would build the most, and how much more often will we be in Meta? Is it like Rogue Energy or Warrior Rage, where we have a bar filled often and Metamorph frequently? Will it still have a cooldown?

Thanks for reading, and happy destroying, decimating and horribly draining your enemies!

[SmittyCity]

well as for the Q&A im glad they cleared up some things that i know every warlock was wondering what is malefic grasp and who is going to use it. and it sounds absolutely dirty.

as for demons i think for them to make every demon optional in any spec except felguard being solely for Demonology they would really have to re-work they way the pets work fel-hunter is best for affliction because it does more damage the more dots are on the target and afflition has the most dots succubus was an option when felhunter was doing much dps for both Demonology and affliction because its buff to shadow bolt and the imp is optimal for Destruction because of the burning embers talent to allow it to start burning embers on targets. so a massive over haul to the pets would be needed to make each an option for any spec and i dont think anyone uses void walker in raids as he is primarily a tanking pet that doesnt offer much