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    Scarab Lord Nicola's Avatar
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    Season 13 discussion & Warlock PvP Guide.

    Season 13 Discussion

    Welcome to the Official Season 13 Discussion thread. Feel free to discuss about anything related to Warlock PvP.
    Below you can find a Warlock PvP Guide written by me, containing all the information you'll have to know to get started.

    If you are not interested in reading the guide and want to skip to the discussion, you can click HERE.



    A Warlock PvP Guide

    READ:Currently the guide is still 5.2 due pure lazyness on my part. Will be updated for 5.4

    I. Introduction

    Welcome to this warlock PvP guide for Mist of Pandaria patch 5.2. Here you'll be learn everything you'll need to know about being a warlock in a Player versus Player environment.
    While this guide will mainly be covering the basics to get started, even as a more experience player you might find some useful information here.
    Feel free to discuss below and contribute to improve this guide.

    II. Table of Content


    • I. Introduction
    • II. Table of Content
    • III. An overview of the 3 specializations
    • IV. Talents
    • V. Glyphs
    • VI. Stats
    • VII. Gems
    • VIII. Enchants
    • IX. Professions
    • X. Resources
    • XI. Spells
    • XII. Pets
    • XIII. Useful macros and addons



    III. An overview of the 3 specializations


    Affliction

    Affliction is the shadow based spec based around spreading damage over time effects, corrupting your enemies and having them suffer in agony. Haunting people to take them into your malefic grasp or swapping souls to make another suffer, it's what you enjoy. You don't blow up your enemies, you make them suffer, giving them a slow and painful death. By using the power of souls you can empowered your abilities to gain an advantage over your opponents.

    Demonology

    As the name says, this specialization is based around demons. You summon demons from the nether, enslaving them to your will and forcing them to do your filthy jobs. From controlling a fel- or wrathguard to even summoning an army of imps, you are a master of demons. And as being a master, by building up demonic fury, you gain the power to metamorph into a demon yourself, giving you several new demonic abilities as well as improving your damaging abilities.

    Destruction

    "Some people just want to see the world burn", that's destruction for you. You control the power of fire. From incinerating everything on your path to turning the rain into fire, wreaking havoc is your thing. During combat you collect Burning Embers bits which will eventually ignite you. With the Burning Embers you have collected, you can use some of your stronger abilities. From completely obliterating someone with a chaos bolt, tapping a Burning Ember to heal yourself or summoning the Flames of Xoroth to resurrect your demon. How you use them is up to you.


    IV. Talents

    What would a player be without his talents? Not much, so let's see what talents we got, the pros and cons, and which ones you'll likely be using.

    Tier 1



    Dark Regeneration
    Pro
    • Strong healing cooldown
    • Can be combined with healthstone.
    Con
    • No sustained healing due 2 minutes cooldown.

    Soul Leech
    Pro
    • Can absorb a lot of damage once built up
    • Passive
    Con
    • Hard to build shield up when being focused.
    • Useless against burst if not built up.

    Harvest Life
    Pro
    • Decent to good self healing.
    • Can be used on demand.
    Con
    • Healing depends on the amount of targets.
    • Requires you to channel the spell.
    • Little damage

    Conclusion
    You want to use Dark Regeneration because it functions as an extra defensive cooldown against burst damage. While sustained healing/shielding is nice as well, burst damage is a lot deadlier than sustained damage.

    Tier 2



    Howl of Terror
    Pro
    • Damaging attacks reduce cooldown by 1 second.
    • Has the longest duration out of the 3 choices.
    • Can hit up to 5 targets.
    Con
    • 10 yd range.
    • Damage can cancel the effect.
    • Shares diminishing return with Fear.

    Mortal Coil
    Pro
    • Heals for 15% of your maximum health.
    • 40 yd range.
    • Horror effect, doesn't break on damage and is unaffected by Fear-breaking abilities such as Berserker Rage.
    • Works with Havoc, allowing you to hit 2 targets, however, the healing is not doubled (Destruction only)
    Con
    • Limited to 1 target, 2 if Destruction.
    • Longest cooldown out of the 3 choices.
    • Shares diminishing return with Blood Horror

    Shadowfury
    Pro
    • Shortest cooldown out of the 3 choices.
    • Will stun anyone not immune within the Area of Effect.
    • 40 yd range.
    • Stun, doesn't break on damage.
    Con
    • Shares diminishing return with almost every stun in game.

    Conclusion
    All 3 choices are perfectly viable. Which one you use highly depends on your play style, your arena team composition and the opponents you are meeting. As for example, when playing with a rogue, you want to avoid using Shadowfury so you don't mess up with diminishing returns or when playing against a caster team you want to avoid using Howl of Terror due it's short range.

    Tier 3



    Soul Link
    Pro
    • You and your pet share health, as long as you live and have Soul Link up, your pet can't die.
    • You and your pet share healing taken, anything that heals both you and your pet results in extra healing taken should you not use Soul Link.
    • 20% additional health (only with Grimoire of Sacrifice active)
    Cons
    • You and your pet share health, if you have Soul Link up and your pet dies, you'll die as well.
    • You and your pet share damage taken, anything that deals damage to both you and your pet results in more damage taken should you not use Soul Link.

    Sacrificial Pact
    Pro
    • Very strong shield when used with full health.
    • Can be used while crowd controlled.
    • 1 minute cooldown, lasts for 20 seconds.
    Con
    • High health cost which scales with current health.
    • Strength of shield scales with amount of health sacrificed.

    Dark Bargain
    Pro
    • Grants 8 seconds of damage immunity.
    • Can be used while crowd controlled.
    Con
    • 3 minutes cooldown.
    • After the shield fades, 50% of the damage prevented is dealt over 8 seconds.

    Conclusion
    Unless playing with Grimoire of Sacrifice, you should avoid using Soul Link to avoid the risk of dying because of your pet. When using a pet, Sacrificial Pact will be the better choice and when not using a pet, the better choice will go to Dark Bargain. However, both are very viable so feel free to use the other one if you prefer that.

    Tier 4



    Blood Horror
    Pro
    • Low health cost
    • Horror
    • buff lasts for 60 seconds while only having a 30 second cooldown. Allows early activation
    Con
    • Only triggers on a melee hit, making it only useful against melee.
    • Can trigger on pets, wasting your charge.

    Burning Rush
    Pro
    • While active, increases your movement speed by 50%.
    • While active, you can not drop below 100% movement speed.
    Con
    • Costs 4% of your maximum health per second, making it very expensive to use.

    Unbound Will
    Pro
    • Functions as a PvP trinket and doesn't share cooldown with the PvP trinket
    • Removes all harmful magical effects on you
    • Low cooldown of 1 minute
    Con

    Conclusion
    Due the ridiculous health cost of Burning Rush, it's not a viable choice. For ranked PvP, Blood Horror is the superior choice against melee teams while Unbound Will is the way to go for everything else.
    For non-ranked PvP, both are good choices. If you prefer additional defense against melee, use Blood Horror. If you prefer a second PvP-trinket, go with Unbound Will.

    Tier 5



    Grimoire of Supremacy
    Pro
    • Your pet deals 20% more damage, increasing your sustained damage.
    • Your pets gain more health, making them harder to kill
    • Your pets gain superior abilities. The only change that really matters is Mortal Cleave , granting 25% healing reduction compared to Legion Strike granting 10%.
    • Sacrificial Pact can absorb more due more pet health. ( if talented in Sacrificial Pact)
    Con
    • You have to manage your pet.

    Grimoire of Service
    Pro
    • Additional burst damage due having a temporarily second pet.
    • Can be used as an interrupt, stun, defensive dispel or a seduce depending on which pet you summon.
    • Increased fury generation while second pet is up (Demonology only)
    Con
    • Can't control the second pet its abilities. Special move is always used when summoned.
    • You have to manage both your pet.

    Grimoire of Sacrifice
    Pro
    • You don't need to manage a pet, instead you gain a passive damage buff to your single target spells which also increases your cleave potential.
    • You gain 2% of your maximum health per 5 seconds.
    • The special move of your pet and the one you get after using Grimoire of Sacrifice don't share cooldowns. You can use the ability, sacrifice your pet and use it again.
    • You gain 20% extra health (only if talented into Soul Link).
    Con
    • Only access to 1 pet ability.
    • Unable to use pet abilities while crowd controlled nor being able to deal damage aside from damage over time effects.
    • The damage buff does not include Damage over Time effects.
    • Reduced demonic fury due the lack of a pet.(Demonology only)

    Conclusion
    While Grimoire of Service gives you a bit more burst, due the lack of control of the second pet people tend to stay away from it. Aside from a temporarily increase in demonic fury generation for Demonology, it brings very little to the table and therefore you should avoid using it.

    Grimoire of Sacrifice is the preferred choice for Destruction since it improves cleave potential, which is one of Destruction's strengths, and the passive healing adds nicely to the amount of selfhealing destruction already has. As for Affliction, the damage from your Damage over Time effects is not increased and therefore not worth it. Neither is it worth it for Demonology for the same reason as Affliction and the fact that you cripple your demonic fury generation.

    Grimoire of Supremacy is considered as the best choice for both Affliction as Demonology. The reason for this is simple, the other 2 choices have too many cons for these 2 specializations. And as Demonology you want to use the Wrathguard for Mortal Cleave anyway.

    Tier 6



    Archimondes Vengeance
    Pro
    • Reflects up to 5% of the damage you take back to the attacker.
    • With the active you can reflect up to 25% of the damage you take back to a target of your choice.
    Con
    • Damage is affected by PvP resilience and PvP power, resulting in roughly 50%~ less damage reflected (2.5% / 12.5%).
    • Passive disabled when active on cooldown.

    Kil'jaeden's Cunning
    Pro
    • You can cast and channel while moving.
    Con
    • Each cast you move in, reduced your movement speed by 15% for 6 seconds, stacks 2 times.
    • Moving won't interrupt your casts, thus you'll need to use a stopcasting macro / keybind.

    Mannoroth's Fury
    Pro
    • Increases the area of your damaging and curse applying Area of Effect spells by 500%. ( = +125% radius.)
    Con
    • You can break crowd control by accident.

    Conclusion
    Because of how little damage Archimondes Vengeance reflects and the passive being disabled while the active is on cooldown, it's rather useless for PvP and should therefore be avoided.
    The ability to cast while moving is extremely helpful for both Affliction and Destruction due how dependent they are on hard casting spells. Take this talent as Affliction and as Destruction.
    For Demonology, the obvious choice is Mannoroth's Fury because most of your spells are instant, and it allows you to hit multiple targets with your superior Area of Effect spells such as Chaos Wave. If you are Destruction and required to use a lot of Area of Effect spells, such as in Rated Battlegrounds, Mannoroth's Fury is also a valid choice.


    V. Glyphs

    By now you should have an idea of which talents to use, but being talented is not enough, you'll need some glyphs as well. Let's take a look at what glyphs you'll be using for each specialization.

    Affliction

    Recommended

    Optional

    Demonology

    Recommended

    Optional

    Destruction

    Recommended

    Optional



    VI. Stats

    So you got your talents and your glyphs. Now it's time to get some gear. In case you are wondering what stats you want on your gear, look below.

    Stat Priorities

    Affliction

    PvP Resilience > Spell Hit (6%) > PvP Power > Intellect > Mastery > Haste > Crit

    Demonology

    PvP Resilience > Spell Hit (6%) > PvP Power > Intellect > Mastery > Haste > Crit

    Destruction

    PvP Resilience > Spell Hit (6%) > PvP Power > Intellect > Mastery > Crit > Haste

    Stat Summaries

    PvP Resilience

    Provides damage reduction against all damage done by players, their pets, minions and guardians. PvP Resilience is your main source of damage mitigation and is therefore the most important stat. You start with base amount of 40% and additional PvP resilience will increase this amount, resulting in less damage taken from other players.
    For more information about PvP Resilience, click here.

    Spell Hit (6%)

    The Spell Hit cap of 6% will eliminate the chance for any special ability to miss against other players. To reach the Spell Hit cap, the sum of your Expertise rating and Hit rating has to be 2040. You should try to be as close to this number as possible without going under it as missing 1 single spell can change the whole game.

    PvP Power

    Increases all damage done to players and their pets or minions. Since it scales better than Intellect, this is your main offensive stat.
    For more information about PvP Power, click [URL="http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/984349-Mists-PVP-Power-and-Resilience-Guide"]here.

    Intellect

    Increases damage and healing dealt by all spells and slightly improves critical strike chance.

    Mastery

    Affliction: Mastery: Potent Afflictions increases the damage by your Agony, Corruption, and Unstable Affliction.

    Demonology: Mastery: Master Demonologist increases the damage dealt by your demons and your damage in both caster and Metamorphosis form.

    Destruction: Mastery: Emberstorm increases the damage of your Immolate, Incinerate, Fel Flame, Conflagrate, and any spell that consumes Burning Embers.

    Because Mastery grants a flat damage increase for all 3 specializations, it is considered as the best secondary stat for all 3 specializations.

    Haste

    Reduces cast time, which will make it easier to get spells off without getting interrupted, lowers the GCD, and can give extra ticks on Damage over Time effects. Also, thanks to Chaotic Energy, Haste increases Mana regeneration for Destruction Warlocks.

    Haste is considered to be the second best secondary stat for both Affliction and Demonology as it is more reliable than Crit. Also, for Demonology Haste will slightly increases your demonic fury generation due faster Corruption ticks.

    Crit

    Increases the chance for your attacks to critically hit for additional damage. Also, Chaos Bolt scales with your Critical Hit Chance.

    Crit is considered to be the second best secondary stat for Destruction since it will slightly increase the damage of Chaos Bolt and Burning Ember bit generating abilities will grant double the amount of Burning Ember bits on a Critical Hit.


    VII. Gems

    In that fancy PvP gear you got there will likely be several gem sockets. Putting the right gems into the right sockets is a key to success.

    Meta Socket

    You want to use Tyrannical Primal Diamond as this offers the best offensive and defensive bonus
    If you don't have it yet, you can use Burning Primal Diamond instead.

    Blue socket

    If the socket bonus is PvP Resilience or PvP power, use Vivid Wild Jade. If the socket bonus is something different, you should ignore it and use Mystic Sun's Radiance instead. Don't gem for Hit rating as you can get the cap by reforging your gear.

    Red Socket

    If the socket bonus is PvP Resilience, use Willful Vermilion Onyx. If the socket bonus is anything different, ignore it and use Mystic Sun's Radiance instead.

    Yellow Socket

    With PvP Resilience being your best stat, Mystic Sun's Radiance is the only way to go.

    Prismatic Socket

    In a Prismatic Socket you should always gem what gives you the best stats. With PvP Resilience being your best stat, Mystic Sun's Radiance is the only way to go.


    VIII. Enchants

    That first time you saw someone with a shiny weapon, you told yourself: " I want a shiny weapon as well". Lets take a look at which shiny enchants you want.

    Enchants by Slot

    IX. Professions

    Every warlock needs a profession, below a list of what perks each profession gives.

    Profession perks


    Now you have an idea what perks each profession gives, so lets take a look at which ones you actually want to use.

    Rated PvP

    Recommended
    • Blacksmithing: Offers the highest amount of PvP stats, namely 640 extra Resilience.
    • Jewelcrafting: Offers the second highest amount of PvP stats, namely 320 extra Resilience and 160 extra Intellect.

    Optional
    • Alchemy: Offers 320 extra Intellect.
    • Enchanting: Offers 320 extra Intellect.
    • Engineering: Offers a 1920 Intellect boost on-use for 10 seconds every 60 seconds.
    • Inscription: Offers 320 extra Intellect.
    • Leatherworking: Offers 320 extra Intellect.
    • Tailoring: Offers a 2000 Intellect proc for 15 seconds every 60 seconds.

    Unrated PvP

    Recommended
    • Blacksmithing: Offers the highest amount of PvP stats, namely 640 extra Resilience.
    • Engineering: Offers a 1920 Intellect boost on-use for 10 seconds every 60 seconds in addition to various tinkers such as Nitro Boosts and explosives such as Big Daddy.
    • Jewelcrafting: Offers the second highest amount of PvP stats, namely 320 extra Resilience and 160 extra Intellect.
    • Tailoring: Offers a 2000 Intellect proc for 15 seconds every 60 seconds and the use of Embersilk Nets.

    Optional
    • Alchemy: Offers 320 extra Intellect.
    • Enchanting: Offers 320 extra Intellect.
    • Inscription: Offers 320 extra Intellect.
    • Leatherworking: Offers 320 extra Intellect.



    X. Resources

    As we all know, using a spell ain't free, they cost resources. Knowing how to use those resources is a key to success.

    All 3 specializations: Mana

    This is the primary resource of all 3 specializations. Every single spell that doesn't have a secondary resource cost will cost Mana.

    Demonology and Affliction passively generate 3.2k Mana per second and can use Life Tap to transfer 15% of their maximum health into Mana.

    Destruction on the other hand has no access to Life Tap and is therefore fully dependent on its passive Mana regeneration. Because of this, Destruction is given Chaotic Energy which increased your Mana regeneration with 625% and makes your Spell Haste also increase your Mana regeneration. Fully geared, you'll have roughly 24k Mana regeneration per second.

    Affliction: Soul Shards

    This is Affliction's secondary resource and is used for the following spells:

    Out of combat Soul Shards regenerate at a rate of 1 Soul Shard per 20 seconds.
    In combat you can use Drain Soul to generate Soul Shards. Every 2 ticks of Drain Soul will generate 1 Soul Shard, while killing your enemy while channeling Drain Soul will instantly generate 4 shards (Unlike 3 as the tooltip says).
    In addition to that, Corruption has a 5% chance to proc Nightfall, granting you 1 Soul Shard.

    Demonology: Demonic Fury

    This is Demonology's secondary resource and is used to stay in Metamorphosis. While in Metamorphosis, all your spells that normally cost Mana will cost Demonic Fury.

    Out of combat, your Demonic Fury will regenerate/degenerate to 200 at a rate of 10 Demonic Fury per second.
    In combat, you can generate Demonic Fury with the following:
    • Basic pet abilities at a rate of 1 Demonic Fury per 5 Energy used.
    • Corruption at a rate of 4 Demonic Fury per tick, for a total of 36 Demonic fury per Corruption.
    • Landing a killing blow while in Metamorphosis generates 100 Demonic Fury.
    • Drain Life at a rate of 10 Demonic Fury per tick.
    • Fel Flame at a rate of 15 Demonic Fury per cast.
    • Hellfire at a rate of 10 Demonic Fury per tick + 3 Demonic Fury per target.
    • Shadow Bolt at a rate of 25 Demonic Fury per cast.
    • Shadowflame at a rate of 2 Demonic Fury per tick, for a total of 12 Demonic Fury per Shadowflame.
    • Soul Fire at a rate of 30 Demonic Fury per cast.
    • Wild imp's Firebolt at a rate of 5 Demonic Fury per cast, for a total of 50 Demonic Fury per Wild imp.

    Destruction: Burning Embers

    This is Destruction's Secondary resource. One Burning ember consists out of 10 Burning Ember bits and is required to cast one the following spells:

    Out of combat you will generate/degenerate Burning Embers till you have 1, at a rate of 1 Burning Ember per second.
    In combat, you can generate Burning Ember bits with the following:
    • Conflagrate at 1 Burning Ember bit pet Hit, 2 per Crit.
    • Fel Flame at 1 Burning Ember bit per Hit, 2 per Crit.
    • Immolate at 1 Burning Ember bit per Critical tick.
    • Incinerate at 1 Burning Ember bit per Hit, 2 per Crit.
    • Getting a kill within 5 seconds of using Shadowburn will generate 2 Burning Ember.
    • Rain of Fire has a chance to generate 1 Ember bit per Hit/Crit.



    XI. Spells

    Just like every class, warlocks are given a good amount of abilities. Lets find out what abilities you have and how to use them.

    Affliction

    Damage
    • Unstable Affliction: Your highest priority non-instant cast. Keep this up on everyone for damage and to deal a large amount of damage when it gets dispelled.
    • Corruption: Your highest priority instant cast. keep this up on everyone for damage and Nightfall procs.
    • Agony: Your second highest priority instant cast. Keep this up on everyone and for damage.
    • Fel Flame: Use this to deal damage and to keep Unstable Affliction and Corruption up when you are unable to cast anything else.
    • Haunt: Use on targets afflicted by Unstable Affliction, Corruption and Agony for a big damage boost when you have a sufficient amount of Soul Shards.
    • Malefic Grasp: Your main filler spell. Use on targets afflicted by Unstable Affliction, Corruption and Agony when you require a big boost in single target damage.
    • Drain Soul: Your finisher / Soul Shard generator. Use on targets afflicted by Unstable Affliction, Corruption and Agony ( Not necessary if target will die regardless of DoTs) that are at or below 20% health, or use to regenerate Soul Shards at a rate of 1 Soul Shards per 2 ticks.

    Soulburn

    Utility

    Dark Soul
    • Dark Soul: Misery: This is your main offensive cooldown. After activation, use Soulburn: Soul Swap to spread your Damage over Time effects with increased Haste to as many targets as possible. If you have sufficient Soul Shards after spreading your DoTs, apply Haunt on the target of your desire and start channeling Malefic Grasp or Drain Soul for a ton of damage.

    Demonology

    Damage - Caster Form
    • Corruption: Your highest priority cast, keep this up on everyone to build up Demonic Fury.
    • Fel Flame: Use this to deal damage, generate Demonic Fury and to keep Corruption up when you are unable to cast anything else.
    • Hand of Guldan: Use this spell to deal damage and apply Shadowflame. Try to hit as many targets as possible for maximum Demonic Fury generation and damage, and try to keep at least 1 charge of still spell ready in case you need to burst with Chaos Wave.
    • Hellfire: Use when you can hit a large amount of targets (5+) for massive Demonic Fury generation, or to reveal stealth/invisible targets.
    • Imp Swarm: Use when you need extra damage and more Demonic Fury generation.
    • Shadow Bolt: Your main filler spell, use when you are certain you won't get interrupted and don't have Molten Core up.
    • Soul Fire: Your secondary filler spell, use when you are certain you won't get interrupt and have Molten Core up.

    Damage - Metamorphosis
    • Chaos Wave: This is your main nuke, use this when you have both charges available. This ability is best used in combination with Dark Soul and/or offensive Trinkets. Try to hit as many targets as possible for maximum damage and more Demonic Fury generation from Shadowflame.
    • Carrion Swarm: This is one of the most interesting abilities you have. Use this for extra damage, to interrupt a spell, to knock someone off an edge or to bring someone out of position. Be warned that Carrion Swarm can hit multiple targets.
    • Doom: Spread this on as many targets as possible for extra damage and to spawn Wild imps on Critical Hits. Stop using Doom if it's being decursed before it can deal damage.
    • Touch of Chaos: Use this to deal quick single target damage when you have sufficient Demonic Fury. Best used in combination Dark Soul and/or offensive Trinkets.

    Utility
    • Metamorphosis: Cursed Auras: Use this to automatically apply the effect of Curse of the Elements or Curse of Enfeeblement within 20 yards range of you, depending on which curse you turned into an aura. Stop using this if it's constantly being dispelled.
    • Demonic Leap: You leap a small distance in the direction you are moving. Use this ability to create a gap or to properly position yourself. Note that you can also leap backwards.
    • Demonic Rebirth: If your current demon dies, you can instantly Summon a new Demon. Use this after your pet has been killed and you want a new one.
    • Metamorphosis: Summon Pet: While in Metamorphosis you can instantly Summon a Demon for 200 Demonic Fury, however, you'll be unable to Summon a new Demon for the next minute.
    • Nether Plating: While in Metamorphosis you have 2.5 times as much armor and the duration of stuns and snares on you is reduced by 35%. Activating Metamorphosis on a good time will result in avoiding a lot of physical damage and getting early out of stuns

    Dark Soul


    Destruction

    Damage
    • Chaos Bolt: This is your main nuke. Use when you have sufficient Burning Embers, best used when you have 3 Backdraft charges in combination with Dark Soul and/or offensive Trinkets.
    • Conflagrate: Use this to deal a decent amount of damage, to generate Burning Ember bits, to apply a 50% snare and to generate 3 Backdraft charges. Try to always have 1 charge available for when you need extra burst damage.
    • Fel Flame: Use this to deal damage, generate Burning Ember bits and to keep Immolate up when you are unable to cast anything else.
    • Immolate: Spread this to every target for extra damage and to generate Burning Ember bits.
    • Incinerate: This is your main filler spell, use this generate Burning Ember bits and to deal damage when you have a Backlash proc or Backdraft charges.
    • Rain of Fire: Use this to deal damage to multiple targets and to generate Burning Ember bits, or use to reveal stealth/invisible targets.
    • Shadowburn: This is your finisher, use this whenever a target is at 20% health or less to try finishing them off which will generate 2 Burning Embers.

    Utility
    • Ember Tap: Use this to heal yourself, amount of healing depends on how much Mastery you have.
    • Fire and Brimstone: Use this to apply Immolate to multiple targets for extra Burning Ember bits generation, or to snare multiple targets with Conflagrate.
    • Flames of Xoroth: Use this to instantly revive your last Demon.
    • Havoc: Casting Havoc on a target will grant you 3 charges of Havoc. At the cost of 3 charges, your next Chaos Bolt will hit the target with Havoc as well. At the cost of 1 charge, any single target abilitypell will hit the target with Havoc as well. This includes abilities such as Fear and Mortal Coil.

    Dark Soul

    Dark Soul: Instability: This is your main offensive cooldown. After activation try to cast as many Chaos Bolts as possible. Due the 30% extra Crit, you'll see a big boost in its damage. If you are unable to cast Chaos Bolt, cast as many other spells as possible for extra damage and Burning Ember bit generation.

    All 3 specializations

    Defensive Cooldowns
    • Unending Resolve: Activating this ability will reduce all damage you take by 40% and make you immune to silences and interrupts. Use this ability when under heavy fire, preferred when the enemy is using offensive cooldowns, and you can't escape with Demonic Circle: Teleport or Demonic Gateway. You can also use this ability offensive to have a better chance at landing an important spell, but it is suggested to use Unending Resolve as a defensive cooldown.
    • Twilight Ward: With the Warlock 4set PvP bonus, Twilight Ward absorbs damage from all magical schools. Try to use Twilight Ward just before a hard Hitting spell lands on you, or use it on cooldown when there is little burst.

    Control
    • Fear: This is your main Crowd Control spell. You can use Fear in many ways, namely: preventing an enemy from attacking you or your teammates, prevent an enemy from healing himself or his teammates, bring an enemy out of position, etc..
    • Banish: Use this to prevent Demon or Elemental pets from acting. Banished Demons and Elementals are invulnerable to both damage and healing and cannot take orders from their master.

    Curses
    • Curse of Enfeeblement: This is your main curse, just for the same reason PvP Resilience is better than PvP Power, is greater damage reduction better than a little damage buff. Not only that, it is also more beneficial for your team that your enemy will deal less damage and will cast/heal slower than having a little increase in magic damage done.
    • Curse of the Elements: This curse increases magical damage taken by 5%. Only use this if the effects from Curse of Enfeeblement are brought by someone else.

    Utility
    • Health Funnel: Channel this if you know it will prevent your pet of dying. It is often better to resummon a pet in most cases than spending to much time on healing it. However, if you have the glyphed version, use it whenever your pet requires healing.
    • Demonic Circle: Teleport1: Teleport to your Demonic Circle when you want to create a gap between you and your target, to go to a safer spot, to move out Line of Sight of someone, to break snares or roots, etc. Demonic Circle: Teleport can be used regardless of your Demonic Circle being in Line of Sight.
    • Demonic Gateway2: Places 2 Demonic Gateways, one at your current location and one at a chosen location. Anyone in your group can use the Demonic Gateways to teleport from one to another. The Demonic Gateways are best placed in such a way you can easily move to a safer location, for example, from one pillar to another.



    XII. Pets

    As a warlock, you are a Summoner of Demons. Knowing what each Demon is capable of is one of the things you have to learn.
    Note: The ability you get when using Grimoire of Sacrifice is underlined.

    Imp / Fel Imp

    Abilities
    • Singe Magic: Use to dispel 1 magic debuff on you or your teammates.
    • Cauterize Master: Deals very little damage to you to heal 12% health over 12sec ( Total healing is reduced by Battle Fatigue and Mortal Strike debuffs!). Use whenever you take damage.
    • Flee: Removes stuns and roots on your imp and makes him leap towards you. Use when your imp is out of position, stunned or rooted.
    • Firebolt: Your Imp's basic attack, just leave it on auto-cast.

    When to use
    Use the imp when you are in great need of an extra defensive dispel. Normally you don't need that extra dispel and you'll never use him due how fragile he is.

    Felhunter / Observer

    Abilities
    • Spell Lock: Silences your target for 3 seconds. If the target is casting a spell, it will interrupt them and lock the school of the spell he was casting for 6 seconds. Use this to either prevent an important spell, or to interrupt it.
    • Devour Magic: Dispels a beneficial buff on the target, giving 60 energy and healing for a little. You can either leave this on auto-cast for maximum damage and having an easier time, or control it manually to dispel buffs quicker at the loss of some damage.
    • Shadow Bite: Your Felhunter's basic attack, just leave it on auto-cast.

    When to use
    Use the Felhunter as Destruction and Affliction whenever you don't need to use the other Demons. The felhunter is in almost every case the best pet.

    Succubus / Shivarra

    Abilities
    • Whiplash: A ranged knockback that will knock anyone within 5 yards 5 yards back. Use to bring a target out of position or to knock someone off an edge.
    • Lesser Invisibility: Your Succubus is invisible out of combat. Just leave this on auto-cast.
    • Seduction: Your Succubus will seduce your enemy, preventing them from acting. You can either leave this on auto-cast to make your Succubus seduce enemies that stun, silence or feared you, or manually cast it on the target of your desire.
    • Lash of Pain: Your Succubus her basic attack, just leave on auto-cast.

    When to use
    Use the Succubus when you lack a partner that can help you with crowd control (random battlegrounds), or when you have little need for a silence and you abuse Whiplash.

    Voidwalker / Voidlord

    Abilities
    • Shadow Bulwark: Grants the Voidwalker 30% of it's maximum health for 20 seconds. Keep this on auto-cast, but activate it manually if your Voidwalker is being attacked.
    • Shadow Shield: Reduced the damage your Voidwalker takes from physical damage by 60%. Each time the Voidwalker is hit, the shield deals some Shadow damage and its power is reduced with 20%. Just leave this on auto-cast.
    • Torment: Your Voidwalker's basic attack, just leave this on auto-cast.
    • Suffering: The Voidwalker taunts your target. Useless for PvP so keep auto-cast disabled.
    • Disarm: Your Voidwalker disarms your target. Use this to prevent melee damage whenever needed.

    When to use
    Use the Voidwalker when you have no need for a silence and you mainly have physical damage enemies (warrior, rogue, hunter).

    Felguard / Wrathguard (Demonology only)

    Abilities
    • Pursuit: Your Felguard charges your target, increases its movement speed by 30% for 6 seconds and instantly deals 100% weapon damage. This allows your Felguard to easily swap targets and is best left on auto-cast.
    • Felstorm: Your Felguard will spin around, dealing 100% weapon damage to any target within 8 yards for 6 seconds. Use this whenever you need extra damage or whenever your enemies are close together.
    • Axe Toss: Your Felguard will stun the target for 4 seconds. Use this to prevent your target from healing, dealing damage and moving.
    • Legion Strike: Your Felguards basic attack and applies a 10% healing reduction debuff. Just leave this on auto-cast.

    When to use
    Always use the Felguard unless you have no need for the stun, the healing reduction debuff and cleave damage.

    Before you ask, the pet names have the same color as the old Demon Soul.

    XIII. Useful macros and addons

    Addons

    Macros

    General

    Pet control macro: By Dunedains
    Code:
    /petattack [@pettarget,noexists,nomod]
    /petfollow [@pettarget,exists][mod:alt]
    /petmoveto [mod:alt]
    Description: Commands pet to attack current target. If alt is held, commands the pet to follow if you have a target or to move to a specific location if you have no target.

    Fear macro: By Phoenexis
    Code:
    #showtooltip
    /cast [nomod] Fear
    /cast [mod:alt,target=focus] Fear
    /cast [mod:ctrl,target=mouseover] Fear
    Description: Fears target, fears focus when pressing ALT, fears mouseover when pressing CTRL.

    Enfeeblement macro:By Phoenexis
    Code:
    #showtooltip
    /cast [nomod] Curse of Enfeeblement
    /cast [mod:shift,target=focus] Curse of Enfeeblement
    Description: Enfeebles target, enfeebles focus when pressing SHIFT.

    Grimoire of Service focus silence macro:By Phoenexis
    Code:
    #showtooltip
    /tar focus
    /cast Grimoire: Felhunter
    /targetlasttarget
    Description: This macro will let you control your grimoire of service's felhunter silence. By using it, the additional felhunter that you summon will target your focus and spell lock him instead of your main target.

    Felflame macro:By Phoenexis
    Code:
    #showtooltip
    /cast [nomod] Fel flame
    /cast [mod:alt,target=mouseover] Fel Flame
    Description: Casts Fel Flame on target, casts Fel Flame on mouseover when pressing ALT (great for breaking totems/keeping targets in combat)

    Banish macro:By Phoenexis
    Code:
    #showtooltip
    /cast [target=mouseover, exists] Banish; Banish
    Description: What this macro will do is cast banish on your mouseover if you have one, otherwise it will banish your main target. Great in arenas seeing as you can banish elementals/demons without having to target them.

    Normal all in one Demon macro:By Phoenexis
    Code:
    #showtooltip
    /cast [mod:shift,@focus] Spell Lock; [mod:ctrl,@mouseover] Spell Lock; Spell Lock
    /cast [mod:shift,@focus] Seduction; [mod:ctrl,@mouseover] Seduction; Seduction
    /cast Disarm
    /cast [nomod,@player] Singe Magic; [mod:ctrl,@mouseover] Singe Magic
    Description: Macro for normal demons (without Grimoire of Supremacy). Casts Spell Lock/Seduction/Disarm on main target and Singe Magic (Imp dispel) on the warlock, casts Spell Lock/Seduction on focus when pressing SHIFT, casts Spell Lock/Seduction/Singe Magic on mouseover when pressing CTRL.

    Supremacy all in one Demon macro:By Phoenexis
    Code:
    #showtooltip
    /cast [mod:shift,@focus] Optical Blast; [mod:ctrl,@mouseover] Optical Blast; Optical Blast
    /cast [mod:shift,@focus] Mesmerize; [mod:ctrl,@mouseover] Mesmerize; Mesmerize
    /cast [mod:shift,@focus] Disarm; Disarm
    /cast Sear Magic
    Description: Macro for improved demons (with Grimoire of Supremacy). Casts Optical Blast/Mesmerize/Disarm on main target and Sear Magic (AoE dispel), casts Optical Blast/Mesmerize/Disarm on focus when pressing SHIFT, casts Optical Blast/Mesmerize of mouseover when pressing CTRL.

    Affliction

    Demonology

    Demonology supremacy all in one macro:By Phoenexis
    Code:
    #showtooltip
    /cast [mod:shift,@focus] Axe Toss; [mod:ctrl,@mouseover] Axe Toss; Axe Toss
    /cast [mod:shift,@focus] Optical Blast; [mod:ctrl,@mouseover] Optical Blast; Optical Blast
    /cast [mod:shift,@focus] Mesmerize; [mod:ctrl,@mouseover] Mesmerize; Mesmerize
    /cast [mod:shift,@focus] Disarm; Disarm
    /cast Sear Magic
    Description: Macro for improved demons (with Grimoire of Supremacy). Casts Optical Blast/Mesmerize/Disarm/Axe Toss on main target and Sear Magic (AoE dispel), casts Optical Blast/Mesmerize/Disarm/Axe Toss of focus when pressing SHIFT, casts Optical Blast/Mesmerize/Axe Toss on mouseover when pressing CTRL.

    Destruction

    Havoc macro:By Phoenexis
    Code:
    #showtooltip
    /cast [nomod] Havoc
    /cast [mod:shift,target=focus] Havoc
    /cast [mod:ctrl,target=mouseover] Havoc
    Description: Havocs normal target, Havocs focus when pressing SHIFT, Havocs mouseover when pressing CTRL.



    [1]If requested, a whole section on how to properly use this spell can be added.
    [2]If requested, a whole section on how to properly use this spell can be added.
    Last edited by Nicola; 2013-08-27 at 08:56 PM.

  2. #2
    When you talk about stat priority for Destro you´re already considering the "XI. Pets" topic or you´re gonna make some changes when you get there? Cause all I hear about is "go with pet + haste in 5.2" lol

  3. #3
    Scarab Lord Nicola's Avatar
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    You'll see how it turns out.
    There will be changes, but as for the pet topic, it will mainly go about what each pet has to offer, which pet you want to use in a situation and what to watch out for when using pets.

  4. #4
    Brewmaster Darkrulerxxx's Avatar
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    Great Guide Niberion, i've been looking for a warlock pvp guide and i appreciate your time making one for the lovely mmo-c community

  5. #5
    The Patient
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    Great guide mate, the forum was missing this badly, sticky please!!!!!!

  6. #6
    just tested the mortal coil + havoc combo. as far as I can tell, the horror is doubled but you only get one heal effect (15%)

  7. #7
    Scarab Lord Nicola's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kauterize View Post
    just tested the mortal coil + havoc combo. as far as I can tell, the horror is doubled but you only get one heal effect (15%)
    Yes, you are right, changed it now. Thank you for noticing this.

    EDIT:
    also, in your cons list for mortal coil, the stuff that it DRs with didnt seem to make it in thanks for compiling all this!
    And thank you again. Stupid mortal coil bugging me off
    Last edited by Nicola; 2013-03-10 at 10:14 PM.

  8. #8
    also, in your cons list for mortal coil, the stuff that it DRs with didnt seem to make it in thanks for compiling all this!

  9. #9
    Very very nice, I really appreciate your determination. To show that, I'll wait a bit before discussing some stuff in a friendly way, seeing as you must have worked hard and taken a good chunk of your time and real-life matters to tailor this guide. What I think makes it great though is its straight to the point synthetic statements, which makes it easy for any newcomer to just grab whatever information he'd like to know without missing any important stuff.

  10. #10
    Mind if I roll need? xskarma's Avatar
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    Good guide so far. If you can get it finished, and there's enough attention for the thread (mostly if it sparks discussion or not) then I'll sticky it in the near future

    Might as well use this thread instead of the S13 discussion thread I made a few days ago. I think a guide has more chance of keeping debate going over the course of a season.

  11. #11
    Scarab Lord Nicola's Avatar
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    Hehe, thanks. You have no idea how much time I've spend on getting all those tooltips working. As for now, like half the guide is BB code.

    Might as well use this thread instead of the S13 discussion thread I made a few days ago. I think a guide has more chance of keeping debate going over the course of a season.
    True, and it's no biggy to update it for 5.3 and 5.4 once it's completed so it can be used for the next seasons as well.

  12. #12
    Deleted
    Great guide. Thanks a lot.

  13. #13
    Brewmaster Darkrulerxxx's Avatar
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    I would definitely like an overview of casting priority when it comes to pvp. something i've personally struggled with (newbie warlock here). not sure if im supposed to just spam chaos bolt when i can or should be using more incinerates as i can.

  14. #14
    Great guide, love it. Thanks for putting in the time.

  15. #15
    Great guide.

    I have been playing destro and only destro PvP on my lock over the past 6 years and I can confirm that your analysis and recommendations are sensible. I don't do any PvE or any other PvP spec so I can't say anything about the other 2 specs. I like your description of the talents, it is exactly how I look at them and I was happy to get a confirmation by a fellow PvPer.

    Keep up the work mate!

  16. #16
    Deleted
    This is great! its becoming increasingly hard to find updated pvp information and this is ideal

  17. #17
    Deleted
    I know you will get to it in more detail but what is the best pet to use for Affliction?

  18. #18
    Nice guide, I'm sure this will be really helpful to many players.

    I would really suggest staying away from the word required, up to you though. An example is the healthstone glyph for affliction, while it's an awesome glyph I wouldn't say it's required. I think just having your personal suggestions after the explanations of pro/cons would be a better way to go.

    Quote Originally Posted by Niberion View Post

    Tier 4
    [U]Unbound Will/U]
    Pro
    • Functions as a PvP trinket and doesn't share cooldown with the PvP trinket
    • Removes all harmful magical effects on you
    • Low cooldown of 1 minute
    Con
    • Costs 20% of your maximum health.
    Add in: Use caution when using unbound will as it will trigger dispel protection. This is not like a normal trinket, it will also clear other magics, not only CC. Unstable Affliction, Vampiric Touch.. Using unbound will with a UA on you will most likely hurt you more than it helps - 20% spell cost, UA crit + silence.

    Quote Originally Posted by Niberion View Post


    Tier 5

    Grimoire of Sacrifice
    Pro
    • You don't need to manage a pet, instead you gain a passive damage buff to your single target spells which also increases your cleave potential.
    • You gain 2% of your maximum health per 5 seconds.
    • You gain 20% extra health (only if talented into Soul Link).
    CON
    • Only access to 1 pet ability.
    • Unable to use pet abilities while crowd controlled nor being able to deal damage aside from damage over time effects.
    • The damage buff does not include Damage over Time effects.
    • Reduced demonic fury due the lack of a pet.(Demonology only)
    One big suggestion for sac. Don't always sac your pet instantly.. Your pet's cc and your saced command demon spell do not share CD. This means you can spell lock, sac, and spell lock again immediately. This added utility is one of the reasons I love GoSac.


    I look forward to seeing the talk on the spells.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by davey767 View Post
    I know you will get to it in more detail but what is the best pet to use for Affliction?
    This will depend on a lot of different scenarios, it's really up to you to chose the best pet for the situation. In cata it was a little more clear, but changes have opened up more options.

    Your talents, opponents, map etc can all help in deciding.
    I personally play affliction with GoSac, My favorite pet to use it the fel hunter for the (2x) spell lock. Sometimes I will choose another pet if the enemy team or map calls for it. Whiplash can help out on z-axis arena maps, or somewhere like LM in AB. Maybe the other team has no casters so spell lock won't help out much and a disarm would be more helpful.

    Just learn what the pets can do and the different situations you can use them in, and use your best judgement.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by davey767 View Post
    I know you will get to it in more detail but what is the best pet to use for Affliction?
    Observer 99% of the time.

    ---------- Post added 2013-03-11 at 03:49 PM ----------

    Wasn't sure whether to put this here or the other Warlock Season 13 PvP thread, but I figured here since Karma pointed out that it would be best to have a mega-thread based off a guide in the OP.

    I just released a video with some discussion about Warlocks this season and the changes brought in 5.2
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1_4UMsxjJs

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