Retiring Mage - Considering warlock.

[munchkin]

Sick of nerf/buff cycles.
Regarded as too easy to play
I want more of a challenge and to be rewarded for skillful play


Should I do it

[nightfalls]

Sick of nerf/buff cycles.
Regarded as too easy to play
I want more of a challenge and to be rewarded for skillful play

Personally when it comes to casters I really prefer warlock to mage myself (having played both, for that matter, at max level).

But warlocks have as much nerf/buff cycles as mages think they do, and mages are not easy to play even if "bads" regard it that way. Just play what you like.

[Sealbinder]

I have to agree with Voidspark. I have raided with both this xpac and have played both since I started the game (first 2 characters). All classes have constant nerf/buff cycles. Mages are also not much easier to play then warlocks. The most important thing is to play what you enjoy most. If you enjoy one class more then the other you will tend to do better with it.

[Greywardenn]

^^ Basically play w/e you have fun with because there is not going to be a time where you play something that doesn't go through the nerf/buff cycle.

[xskarma]

Sick of nerf/buff cycles.
Regarded as too easy to play
I want more of a challenge and to be rewarded for skillful play


Should I do it

Yeah I'm going to pile on and say that if you seek to escape buff/nerf rollercoasters then you'll find no reprieve as a Warlock (or any class probably).

If you're looking for a spec that rewards skillful play then I guess all 3 specs work to an extent. Affliction rewards you for superior dot management and making the most of tiny windows where you have buffs up to Haunt + Malefic Grasp. Demo rewards planning out Fury usage and making use of tiny windows to turn fury into damage while you have buffs up. Destro's skill is in using Havoc to cleave mobs, and using tiny windows where you have buffs up to use Chaos Bolts and Shadowburns.

From my completely personal stand point I'd say Demo > Affli > Destro in difficulty. But I'm biased cause I have trouble with playing Demo efficiently so I tend to regard it as harder, whereas Affliction seems to come natural to me.

[AlexJordanMK]

As a longtime melee dpser with all kind of classes, i recently changed to lock, and if u want as u said being rewarded for skillful play, lock is the wright class.

[Xandy]

I would absolutely recommend playing a Warlock, and I would consider it more challenging than a Mage but I have not played a Mage since Cata so they may have changed quite a bit from what I recall.

If you're looking to start off I would recommend trying out Destro and Affly first, I'm on the same page as xskarma, I find Demo to be particularly difficult compared to the other two specs. But then again, if you're looking for a challenge who's to say you wouldn't be a great Demo lock.

[Zinnin]

As other people said, if you are re-rolling because you think that is going to get you away from being buffed \ nerfed you are mistaken.

That said Warlock is a very fluid class to play now and has done away with most of our clunky mechanics that made people hate the class in cataclysm. All three of our specs are pretty fun to play and have a pretty diverse playstyle for being in one class.

Mages may have some QoL issues right now, but they are still very solid damage so I wouldn't drop the class so quickly if you are just looking for FotM dps....

[munchkin]

Has nothing to do with DPS; been bored of mage since Cata. I dont have any alts @ all, and lock was my next option.

[nightfalls]

Has nothing to do with DPS; been bored of mage since Cata. I dont have any alts @ all, and lock was my next option.

I definitely found warlock a lot more fun than mage, mage is literally one of those classes I cannot play due to how boring I find it (and I tried, twice). Only spec I could possibly enjoy was arcane.

[Itisamuh]

As others have said, you aren't going to get away from the buff and nerf cycle. Every class goes through that, and if anything mages have been one of the more consistently good over time. Having said that, if the main reason is that you're simply bored and want a change, I don't think going from one caster to another is going to offer that much relief. Perhaps you should try a melee.

[nightfalls]

Having said that, if the main reason is that you're simply bored and want a change, I don't think going from one caster to another is going to offer that much relief. Perhaps you should try a melee.

I went to a healer. But either way, even compared to warlocks, IMO, mages are just boring.

[Mormolyce]

Sick of nerf/buff cycles.
Regarded as too easy to play
I want more of a challenge and to be rewarded for skillful play


Should I do it

1) Happens to every class. Except Rogues, which never change ever! :P
2) Mages are not particularly easy or hard as rotations go. This is a big stupid stigma in the game, in reality nothing is "hard" in terms of WoW PVE rotations. Except a few classes where the abilities are just really old fashioned, clunky or inconvenient - eg Feral druids who are basically a Sub rogue but without the years of QoL improvements Blizzard gave them. Most of those "hard" specs (read: crappy) have been fixed in MoP anyway.
3) If you're a skilled player your class is mostly irrelevant.

Change classes if you like Warlocks and think it will be fun. That's a good reason to swap mains, the ones you mentioned seem like bad reasons to swap to me.

[Prag]

The only additional challenge in Warlocks is the micromanagement. Soulstone is a cool thing to have too.

Rewarding play is found in more difficult content, not in classes. I suspect taking on a new class will be a fun challenge though!

[Last Starfighter]

Sick of nerf/buff cycles.
Regarded as too easy to play
I want more of a challenge and to be rewarded for skillful play


Should I do it

Warlocks got alot of new changes, and ppl are excited about it. This will wear off. If you're bored of a mage, you'll be bored of a warlock eventually. Because the two are pretty close in gameplay styles. Try another role. Or melee dps. People flock to classes that seem overpowered or that get cool changes. But once that wears off you'll be asking yourself the same question.

[rezoacken]

Every class I played in an extension (Priest, Warrior, Paladin, Warlock) feels:
-It is the most hated class by Blizzard
-Never get an answer by devs
-Always nerfed quickly while others stay OP

So yeah I'm rather terribly unlucky or its just bias from the forums.

[Micke]

I played a mage from vanilla - start of cata, rerolled warlock, and never been happier.

While being a fire mage in ICC was some of the most fun I've ever had, it made it apparent that mages funlevel is far too reliant on good gear (which blizzard since cata has been nerfing down, thereby nerfing fun too, without addressing it through new mechanics/rotations). What is truly sad however is that I for a long time thought it was just an oversight/priority question by blizzard, but since then they have made it clear they actually like all the mage spec rotations and flavor and that their state is fully intentional.

Relating to fun, but not necessarily dependent on is depth and complexity, which in my opinion mages is one the classes with the least of this. Coming from someone who did heroic lich king and gotten high rankings throughout his raiding, and have kept up and played mages during cata and mop betas, I am comfortable in saying mages are ridiculously easy to play and master in comparison to warlocks.

Playing a warlock is like being a mage with more tools and more options and fun that is not reliant on your gear with 3 diversive specs to choose from. Oh and no shitty 90 talents that limits your freedom.

That said, I find mages still to be more enjoyable than say balance druids or elemental shamans so it's not all bad, mages have a lot of potential and I am still waiting on the expansion blizzard is finally going to get their head out of their ass and give them some much deserved attention.

[sugarfree]

Huh? If you are sick with the nerf/buff cycles, why switch to lock? Mages get nerfed, but not the same with locks who they manage to gut every patch with senseless nerfs, just for the sake of it (looking at you Glyph of Nightmares).

Mages, especially frost, are more ridiculous now, their burst is even stronger with that damn Frostbolt buff. It's amazing that they are so keen and giddy in giving them more burst while they hesitate giving the same treatment to warlocks. Hello, they have a Water Elemental, why not give out some of that 32% BUFF to Frostbolt there, HUH? I remembered we had to give up burst in Catacylsm because all our damage is either in a stacking debuff, a pet or a dot that ticks for forever.

[Seezer]

Sick of nerf/buff cycles.
Regarded as too easy to play
I want more of a challenge and to be rewarded for skillful play


Should I do it

Mage. And why do you really need confirmation on the warlock forums to switch to a lock? Everyone is rerolling locks now for shiny changes. Next expac it'll be another class. Mages are pretty much locks. They aren't that different. So why if you're bored of a caster would you change to another caster?

[Aianos]

I have to add to this aswell.
I've played mage on a raiding standpoint since 2006 and loved it all the way up until MoP. The lvl 90 talents just ruined the whole thing for me. I've never cared about the nerfs or buffs and i've done quite well as a mage. Which also rewards you if played well.
I have had the warlock as an alt since wotlk and not really gotten the hang of it, but in MoP and the revamp was just too awesome to ignore, and now im top 10 on the server with it. (Not the best server but i'll take it )
Warlock is also SO much easier to do other things with. Questing is easy and you can solo a lot of old stuff. If you wanna stay a dps class then yeah, warlock is definitely a good choice.