[5.4] Affliction Warlock and Encounter Specific Guides

[Deleted]

Hey Evrelia, thanks for all the effort you put into this!! I just found something though that doesnt make sense to me. In yout guide, your dps rotation for 3+ mobs is to use improved SoC and then apply agony to all targets. On your Windlord Video you are not using agony at all but you just spam SoC. So is the informaton in the guide wrong or do you play the boss badly?

regards

It's to do with how many mobs are present. Once you get to like 6+ targets its better to just keep Corruption running on all mobs and spam SoC, whilst maintaining dots on the boss, as shown in his video. The damage from maintaining agony on all targets is lower I believe, plus it's a lot easier to just spam SoC whilst focusing on fight mechanics.

[Bonkura]

It's to do with how many mobs are present. Once you get to like 6+ targets its better to just keep Corruption running on all mobs and spam SoC, whilst maintaining dots on the boss, as shown in his video. The damage from maintaining agony on all targets is lower I believe, plus it's a lot easier to just spam SoC whilst focusing on fight mechanics.

I'm not sure about this. I've had some great results keeping Agony up. Especially on heroic you rarely want to SoC spam since you're focusing down specific set of adds.

[EvreliaGaming]

Hey Evrelia, thanks for all the effort you put into this!! I just found something though that doesnt make sense to me. In yout guide, your dps rotation for 3+ mobs is to use improved SoC and then apply agony to all targets. On your Windlord Video you are not using agony at all but you just spam SoC. So is the informaton in the guide wrong or do you play the boss badly?

regards

Wind Lord is quite a lot more than 3 mobs, and since every time I've done that boss I've taken rank 1, I doubt I'm doing it wrong.

What Bonkura says has some weight though, but it's all effective damage since we kill every set anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

---------- Post added 2013-01-08 at 11:27 AM ----------

Just because i didn't find a quick explanation to this anywhere. Why should we use int/* gems when we could use exp/* gems for red sockets? i mean wont that free mastery and haste from items where you reforge crit into hit. So you you would sacrifice 80int to get (possibly) 160 haste or mastery > the int.

You're quite right about that, the guide just isn't updated with that respect.

[Deleted]

Wind Lord is quite a lot more than 3 mobs, and since every time I've done that boss I've taken rank 1, I doubt I'm doing it wrong

So if you are sure you do it right, the information in your guide should be updated. Because it still says that we should apply agony when there are 3+ mobs. You are not saying anything about SoC with only corruption up. At what amount should we switch from applying agony to spamming seeds?

[Bonkura]

Most top logs seem to have Agony at top actually.

[EvreliaGaming]

Most top logs seem to have Agony at top actually.

The vast majority of damage on heroic is single target. Check the analyse - damage done, section.

[Bonkura]

Yeah, well, most of them still have a high damage % from Agony on the adds. It might be mostly SB:SS fillers though, since UA is there too. When I think about it that's probably what you'll be focusing on doing whenever you have shards available. Using globals to keep Agony up is probably not worth it until some of the adds are gone.

[Deleted]

What I WOULD be doing is spamming SoC and using extra shards (which you regen very very fast due to mass corruption) to SB+SS adds. The problem with this is that detonating SoC's consume your SB and thus you sometimes want to SS and instead of applying dots, you take them off the mob.

[Bonkura]

Then put SoC on a target which you're not planning to use SB:SS on. I don't really see the problem.

[Deleted]

Then put SoC on a target which you're not planning to use SB:SS on. I don't really see the problem.

It doesnt matter on which mob SoC detonates. If any SoC on any mob detonates while you try to SB+SS, the SB is consumed. Its a bug.

[Bonkura]

I don't understand. If you have a SB:SS macro you will apply it instantly on the target so at which point would it get "consumed"? I thought this only happens when you SB:SS a target while the seed you've cast (on same target) is still in the air.

[Viggers]

Heya, as you can see by my profile (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte...Neltarr/simple), I have lately dinged level 90 on my warlock. It was my main for several years between TBC and Cata, however I have only recently decided I will play it in MoP. As there has been quite a lot of changes to the class and I have not been able to find proper answers on other websites, I have a few questions.

1) My opener currently goes as follows:

Pre-pot -> Darksoul + Synapse Springs -> SB:SS -> Haunt -> Fel Flame (on intellect proc) -> Malefic Grasp as filler and keep haunt up during Dark Soul.

Now, my question here is: When I renew my DoTs with Fel Flame to apply the intellect buff to them, I believe this does not have any effect on my Agony as Fel Flame only renews UA and Corruption. Am I missing something here or do I also need to renew Agony manually? I was previously using SB:SS but most other warlocks suggested using Fel Flame.

Furthermore, do I need to renew again once my proccs are about to expire?

2) When it comes to renewing DoTs (over 20%) should I apply them manually rather than with SB:SS? I'm aware they shouldn't be overwritten when they are buffed by my proccs , but is the reason you shouldn't do it with SB:SS because one of the DoTs may be over 50% of its original duration and it would therefore be a DPS loss?

3) Below 20%, I am struggling slightly with the rotation. I have Quartz to monitor when Drain Soul ticks and I can interrupt it after a tick has gone off, but I am having problems maintaining my DoTs as well as haunt. Guides seem to suggest you have unlimited soul shards during this execute phase but I am finding myself starved of them unless I have bloodlust.

As far as I know you should renew DoTs via SB:SS and keep haunt up at all times during the execute phase. Is it simply a matter of my gear/haste being too low and not having all of the haste buffs in 5 mans?

Hope I didn't make this sound too confusing, if anybody could provide some insight, I would be most grateful. Thanks in advance.

regarding running out of shards during execute, be aware that you only get a shard every 2nd tick of drain soul, and that drain soul ticks half as often as malefic grasp. as such, you need to make sure that you will be casting DS for more than ~4 seconds without interrupting to gain a soulshard. cast haunt whenever there is about ~3 seconds left on the haunt debuff to ensure 100% uptime. you WILL cap shards during execute in my experience. thats ok

[n0n3]

What I WOULD be doing is spamming SoC and using extra shards (which you regen very very fast due to mass corruption) to SB+SS adds. The problem with this is that detonating SoC's consume your SB and thus you sometimes want to SS and instead of applying dots, you take them off the mob.

This shit happened to me so many times, i wish they would fix it already...
And to answer ye u're supossed to SB:SS as well on some targets while u spam soc since u'll get alot of shards from sb:soc, imo the most important thing is to get prepared for when boss gets recklessness, dont go in that phase without all cds, 4 shards or mana.

[Deleted]

I don't understand. If you have a SB:SS macro you will apply it instantly on the target so at which point would it get "consumed"? I thought this only happens when you SB:SS a target while the seed you've cast (on same target) is still in the air.

Might have to try actually creating a macro for this then. I've been pretty comfortable hitting individual keybinds all expansion, but windlord time and again causes me problems when I start trying to SB:SS and results in inhaled dots more times than not.

[EvreliaGaming]

Might have to try actually creating a macro for this then. I've been pretty comfortable hitting individual keybinds all expansion, but windlord time and again causes me problems when I start trying to SB:SS and results in inhaled dots more times than not.

I don't ever have this problem on Wind Lord. Amber Shaper though, I get it all the time. It's annoying, but it's not that hard to avoid since you're spamming SoC all on one target anyway (if your dots are strong enough).

Also, remember that you want to use shards to SB: SoC to keep corruption up on every target, and you also want to keep your dots ticking on Wind Lord with SB:SS AND you want to ensure you have 4 shards when you go into the burn phase. Once you factor all that in, you don't get THAT many extra shards to SB:SS the adds with (certainly nowhere near enough to dot them all).

[JV Chequer]

In my first kill on Wind Lord Heroic i did 320k with ilvl 492 thanks to u Evralia, very thanks.

[Deleted]

Is anyone aware of why the soulburn 'bug' even occurs? I only get it when spamming SoC, primarily on the windlord fight, and another one of the effects seems to be that the SB: SoC will get fired off instantly from time to time.

I've even tried waiting and doing nothing for a few seconds when needing to refresh dots on the boss, but still end up inhaling anyway. Really struggling to pinpoint the cause.

[Darkith]

I don't ever have this problem on Wind Lord. Amber Shaper though, I get it all the time. It's annoying, but it's not that hard to avoid since you're spamming SoC all on one target anyway (if your dots are strong enough).

Also, remember that you want to use shards to SB: SoC to keep corruption up on every target, and you also want to keep your dots ticking on Wind Lord with SB:SS AND you want to ensure you have 4 shards when you go into the burn phase. Once you factor all that in, you don't get THAT many extra shards to SB:SS the adds with (certainly nowhere near enough to dot them all).

Seems like every top lock on WoL multi dots with SB:SS. They keep UA and Agony on all the adds the whole fight. I have done your method and have done well on Wind Lord with around 440k dps but I feel that I could easily do more dps by multi dotting rather than ignoring Nightfall procs and just seeding.

[Deleted]

I have one question Evrelia. Something that was always in my mind. When you reach 20% and below on a boss encounter and we have an abundance of shards. Is it worth casting back to back haunts? Lest say you got 4 shards. You renew your dots with SB:SS and then you will cast your Haunt. Is it worth casting Haunt twice since Haunt hits pretty hard.
Scenario 1: SB:SS, Haunt, Haunt, Drain Soul (This can also be Haunt, SB:SS, Haunt, Drain Soul)
Scenario 2: SB:SS, Haunt, Drain Soul

Which of the 2 scenarios will provide the most dps? Thanks

[Bonkura]

One tick of Drain Soul on a target with full dots does more than one Haunt.