The Fix-My-DPS thread (Warlords Edition) [READ FIRST POST]

[Astynax]

Hello all!

We have a Warlock in our guild who has really been struggling with her DPS. She's read over Warlock guides, gotten tips and help with the rotation from other very good Warlocks but her DPS continues to be a major issue and I'm hoping one of you fine folks might be able to point out from the logs why this is so.

Here is her log from the Kormrok (N) fight this week, I figure it would be a good place to start since there are ST and AoE mechanics in the fight.

warcraftlogs.com/reports/zHhbnNtrC6vjmQP1#fight=21&source=7&type=damage-done

us.battle.net/wow/en/character/the-scryers/Viermicar/simple

We would really appreciate any input.
Thank you!

I'll give this a shot.

First he/she is stacking crit over mastery. Mastery needs to be a much heavier focus than getting crit on everything and ignoring Mastery from what the gear looks like right now. As a result all generators and spender damage is quite low being about 40% less than what it could be.

Logs:
AoE fights they arent using Fire & Brimstone to hit multiple targets, just continues to normal cast on a single unit where they could literally be doing more than double damage per cast. Cleave fights like Kilrogg & Gorefiend, Havoc isnt being used which would clone a spell, again literally do double damage with the same cast. Shadowburn execute is rarely being used which would refund embers and hit very hard - 4 casts on Kilrogg encounter in total when it could be used on every single add on top of doing double to quad damage when combined with havoc.
Casts also seem quite low. Looking @ Kormrok they cast about the same in a 5 min encounter as me in our 3 min, and I'm not even that good yet :/

Lastly they are running Grimoire Supremacy, which in this case could be a DPS increase as theyre casting so little and pets are always active, but Grim Sac should be used for the most damage if theyre casting properly.

So 1 - Shadowburn everything much much more, 2 - Use havoc, 3 - Fire & Brimstone to AoE

[Shadowya]

Hey my warlock friend Arkandria is a bit low on dps would anyone who understand logs better than me (and knows warlocks better than me) able to see whats goin on

warcraftlogs.com/reports/ZVqXnRfrxW32hmbP#fight=21&type=damage-done

unable to link sorry

[Fatsuno]

Hello there,

I've been having a lot of trouble keeping up with the rest of my guild. A lot of my guildies have been heads and tails above me in both overall and effective damage. Beaten on damage on the adds for fights like Kilrogg and Gorefiend. It's gotten me benched for almost all progression at this point and I want to turn that around. I know I have trouble on some things like proper havoc and shadowburn, as well as some low uptimes on immolate but I haven't had a second opinion on some logs to help me get passed this.

Here's a recent heroic log (I was not brought in for the mythic kills):
https://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports...wvxWmV#fight=1

Here's a heroic log from last week with more bosses:
https://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports/1FDRqXa69NjnMkB7

Here's a link to my armory:
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/characte...ummoner/simple

I know this is pretty vague and I can't really expect miracles, but my low damage has been a consistent problems and the recent buffs to warlock haven't put me ahead like they should, just bringing me back to an average level. I appreciate any help I can get on this.

[Tarov]

Hi guys!

I've switched to destruction since the beggining of HFC and so far I feel I'm well below average. In most fights, I can't keep my dps up and the other warlock in our group does an average of 10-15k+ more damage than me, sometimes even more. If I take a look at brackets and rankings, mine are often grey, sometimes green, but very rarely higher than that.

So I ask you, what can I do to improve my dps and overall damage?

Here are some logs and my armory (unable to link ). Tell me if you need anything else.

us.battle.net/wow/en/character/azralon/Tarov/simple

warcraftlogs.com/reports/1qfBGH3tP6cmDYRb#translate=true&type=damage-done&fight=5

warcraftlogs.com/reports/gtyx7W4wYCmNqnGa#fight=14&type=damage-done&translate=true

warcraftlogs.com/reports/rALKDdJCgY2PtQZa#translate=true&fight=12&type=damage-done

Thanks!
Tarov

[ThePhantombox]

Malvinick here again, finally got my hfc log. I got there a bit late though, we only got a kill on Zakuun (for which I was affliction) and a few attempts on Xul. I guess I'm just looking for general advice to improve, mostly for destro, and I want to know whether or not I'm under-performing for my ilvl range. Keep in mind for Xul I was trying to clear fire with unending resolve when I could.

armory: us.battle.net/wow/en/character/kelthuzad/Malvinick/simple

log: warcraftlogs.com/reports/M142mp9jLJCPF8RX/#type=damage-done&boss=1800&wipes=1

[Deleted]

Hello all,

I'm having the same problem as some others.
I played demo (demonbolt) in BRF and was always in top5 dps or so.
Since HFC i started playing destro, read a lot about it, invested a lot of time in it and its just not paying off.
I'm allways at the bottom of the dps meters, sometimes i'm even lower than the the tanks.
Our guild have now reached archimond on HC and will start mythic soon and i just need to improve if i want to keep playing.

Here is a link to the armory and the logs of my guild.
I think i have my 2set T18 bonus this thursday (just to give an idea)

Hope you guys can help me to improve

eu.battle.net/wow/en/character/tarren-mill/jacquart/simple

warcraftlogs.com/guilds/11008

[SpikeySquad]

For anyone else who is waiting read this. Destro issues are 95% the same.

For Arkandria,

Not sure if that was a pug or guild but 4 Destro locks, 4 hunters and a SP in a group, I feel sorry for you! Much harder to snipe SBs.

Generally to work on:

Opener so it is perfect each time for a lot more burst. Check out the guide in these forums.

DS: Make sure you have enough uses each fight. For something like Iskar for overall and priority damage then use it on the add phases. For Gorefiend use on feasts, that is where you will get more damage than any other place. More CBs in DS and other buffs. When you do BL on Gore then you want Doomy and potion all together.

Resources: You cap too much and stay capped too long so it tends to say your UI needs a look at.

Havoc: Use more especially on something like Gorefiend. Try and snipe more SB with it but like I said lots of competition. Do you have obvious nameplates and a mouse over macro? On Gorefiend you used havoc 6 times but only managed to copy 2CBs and 1 SB so watch your stacks.

F&B: Ratio of CBs to Incinerates is off. Should pretty much be Incinerate/Conflag-CB-Incinerate/Conflag-CB until you start executing. As in you did way too many fillers and not enough spending. Again you are too high on embers.

Immolate Uptime: Watch a little closer on some fights.

Cast Amounts: A few gaps here and there. Are you always casting? Are you using your tools for moving?

Doomguard: If you do not need it for a nuke phase (and you shouldn't in that group) do in the opener (or on a increased damage phase). Or otherwise just watch that you do it at least 1 minute to boss death.

SBs: Snipe more kills! Do you have the T18 2 set? If so then CB>SB in execute if you cannot havoc or snipe kills for embers.

Disclaimer: Always may be errors.

[Skila]

Helo this is my first time posting and i hope i do this correctly.

Our group finally able to kill heroic Fel lord Zakun for progression but i'm so curious with our logs:

warcraftlogs.com/reports/wGNpPBAr37VHdcqD#fight=11&type=damage-done&source=3 <--- mine

warcraftlogs.com/reports/wGNpPBAr37VHdcqD#fight=11&type=damage-done&source=17 <--- the other lock

As you can see my terrorguard did 121 hit for a total damage 2.89M to boss with average damage 23.850 while the other lock did 114 hit for a total damage 3.78M to boss with average damage 33.181 . Both of us use the same talent GrimSup + Dserv , buff and my gear ilvl are above his ( his mastery a bit higher than me though ), etc yet there is a quite gap between our pet damage. The other lock also don't know why my pet damage are worse than his when i ask him about this. I think i did my rotation quite normal ( not perfect ofc) but this thing keep bothering me and i need to know if there is something wrong with my perfomance.

[SpikeySquad]

Not really sure Skila and to be honest I do not know what stats in Affliction effect pet damage. Are you sure that you were specced into GoSup? It really doesn't seem that way and you can check by the pet name. Otherwise though have you tried SB: Haunt instead DemServ on that fight? Try posting in the Affliction thread.

[Deleted]

Hi guys,

I played a Destruction Warlock throughout MoP and I felt like I was pretty proficient, but after maining a healer the majority of this expansion, my raid team has asked me if I'd switch back to my lock.

I can't for the life of me seem to get decent DPS going. I don't know if I'm stressing myself out or what..

I have a couple logs of my horrendous DPS and considering I'm ilevel 691 I feel like I should be pulling MUCH more DPS than I seem to be doing at the minute..

This is from a Killrogg wipe last night: warcraftlogs [dot] com/reports/ByVWpM4nTYwk1FNj#fight=4&type=damage-done&source=7

And I've just run Skyreach HC to see if I could grab any more details which the Dka

i.imgur [dot] com/MOI04OL [dot] png

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Sorry I've had to break up the links because apparently I'm not allowed to post them..

- Rich

[SpikeySquad]

For Fatsummoner,

Iskar Kill Issues (it's safely farm right?):

Check out the opener video again
Low Immolate uptime (and therefore lacking in embers)
Low Havoc usage
Low SBs with Havoc
Doomguard missing in opener (assuming last add is all fine and you want highest DPS)
Low on both CBs and F&B CB casts
Want more CBs in buffs
Not using DS on all add packs
You appear to be capped on embers too much
With T18 2 set should be using CB>SB unless you Havoc SB over or get the embers back
No teleport usage for Chakram/getting back to the group but perhaps you did not have far to go

Gorefiend (in addition to some of the above again):

Only 4 SBs Havocced
Low number of Havocs
Embers too high/capped. I really think you are losing a lot of possible CBs remember to keep an eye on embers when dumping especially due to the 4 set bonus
Low Immolate uptime
Some gaps in casting. Are you banking a Conflags and using your tools?
Potion used at some weird time rather than with Hero and Doomy (which I assume was the feast phase). You didn't save 2 DS for here though it does depend on fight timings

So there are no real secrets. Sounds like you know your issues and now just need to improve on them. Have you had a good look at your Ui to see if it is fit for purpose?

On something like Kilrogg I am lucky to get one CB on adds (with Havoc) and usually no executes! It is tough when you overgear stuff so much

[Fatsuno]

Thank you so much for the input spikey. For Iskar, where is there a good time to havoc. I try to get one on a high-ish health add when the rest get into shadowburn range, but the boss is usually still flying far away when the adds get to that point. Immolate uptime as well suffers from the flying phase, though I will definitely work on being more consistent with it.

For Gorefiend, it seems like a lot of time is spent shadowburning so embers might be higher because of that. I'll have to keep a better eye on embers so I can dump between executes more consistently. Also, by banking conflag, do you mean saving 1 charge for cases of movement?

And yeah, my potion and dark soul usage is definitely a little too random.

My UI is fairly straight forward, but I can make adjustments according to the issues you pointed out.

Thank you for taking the time for the input!

[SpikeySquad]

You're welcome Fatsuno,

I do not feel knowledgeable enough to talk about the best use of Havoc directly for each fight so I would suggest making a thread or posting in the Destro one and hopefully getting some conversation going.

Banking Conflag means not using it until the second charge is almost renewed. So you don't want to cap but say if you do it at 2-5 seconds to the new charge then if you do have to move for a bit then you will have 2 Conflags instead of just the one. Ultimately, I don't think it is a huge difference considering Conflag doesn't hurt much anyhow but hey saves us running with absolutely nothing to do.

Hope what I said helps and perhaps try the following as it seems you have been trying to improve for a while now. So when I have play issues I find it helps me personally to have a list. So it will say the general stuff like don't cap! Or maybe have the timings for DS set out for each fight or what my specific issues are on each fight. I just found that my gameplay changed much faster that way than with abstract ideas in my head. Oh and secondly consciously make yourself look at your information more with quick glances (which in your case should be embers and DoT uptimes). It becomes much more natural. Good luck.

- - - Updated - - -

For Tarov,

Do you talk to the other lock? Here are some issues that I found.

Shadow Lord Iskar:

Not using DS on adds
Lack of CBs in DS (and therefore probably other buffs too)
Only 2 SBs copied with Havoc. Too few SB on birds (mouseover macro with obvious nameplates is a must to really win)
Lack of F&B CBs (you should be able to ignore priority damage if it is on farm). Lack of F&B casts in general really. Do you keep locking yourself out or?
The opening casts are reverting back to the original language but it does seem wrong so check out the video in the guide again please to see if can get some more damage out. Do you pre-cast? As you still have BRF trinkys
Possible that you could have gotten another DS out in the fight time
Doomguard missing in opener (assuming last add is all fine and you want highest DPS)
No second potion use
With T18 2 set should be using CB>SB unless you Havoc SB over or get the embers back on sniping kills
DoT uptime great but you actually waste a lot of GCDs by refreshing it too early multiple times. Also make use of F&B ones more on adds
Resources decent on the whole but when going into DS go with high embers

Gorefiend:

No second potion again for the feast, you know to pre-cast it right so you can use a second?
No SBs copied! Only 4 CBs. So keep an eye on the Havoc buff better
Very low SB sniping
For both feasts you went in low on embers (assuming that your DS means a feast, it should do)

Hope this helps

Disclaimer: Always may be errors

- - - Updated - - -

For Malvinick,

Did you see the post I wrote to you about your last LFR log? If so then a thank you would have been very nice. If not then go check it out.

As to how you are doing in your item level you can see in the rankings page. Your Zakuun kill results though are going to skewed due to all the deaths and the long fight time as we are such a front loaded class. Best person to compare yourself with is yourself and keep aiming for better ranks each week.

Wipes are pretty tough to read and the fact that it is Xhul then highest damage is rarely what kills the boss during progress. If your Raid Leader has said hit Imps do that, if they say hit Voidfiends do that, clear the fire well, use Shadowfury and you will be far better than aiming for highest damage. Snipe what SBs you can. Havoc a lot and use all stacks each time. If you are on Imp duty play around and see what works best for killing them. Go in with high embers and be ready to stun. If you are running a lot doing fire an argument could be made for switching to Affliction however, if adds are killing your group then that would probably only make the issue worse.

For your Affliction parse:

Opener is messy
Ideally you want at least 1 and often 2 DS during BL/Hero
Ideally you want normal Haunt coverage for these times as well. If you SB: Haunt just prior to DS then you have one lot of Haunt and then want a second before that wears off (be aware it has a travel time). If you do not SB: Haunt then do Haunt manually (shard permitting...)
Your second potion was at some random time and not synced

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[ThePhantombox]

Did you see the post I wrote to you about your last LFR log? If so then a thank you would have been very nice. If not then go check it out.

I did see your posting and my reply to you was more of an apology for the armory mishap which I edited into my original post. I'm quite grateful for the help.

[Deleted]

Hiya all - our guild is currently going through the analysis mincer - and unfortunately I don't know anything about warlock's (or quite a few dps classes as you might find!) at all! (Hence why I've made a separate post instead of the "help me" section because I'm asking on behalf, apologies). It's clear our raid overall is somewhat under performing, especially in regards to group execution. However, we are going over all raiders for fairness to see what could be wrong or improved, whether it be rotation, talents, uptimes etc etc. Your valuable input will be put to good use as both our lock's will be following this thread for discussion.

Ssun: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte.../Ssun/advanced
Boldman: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte...3%A1n/advanced

LOGS: (both lock's are present)

Soc: https://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports/hRdC7Vfav4gzNTFM
Iskar: https://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports...zNTFM#fight=17
Council: https://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports...gzNTFM#fight=3
Kormrok: https://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports...gzNTFM#fight=5

We struggled quite a bit on Xhul'horac (no rogue bear in mind) last week: https://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports/X9jYNdRpc1nDaWMH#

MANY THANKS <3

[Tarov]

- - - Updated - - -

For Tarov,

Do you talk to the other lock? Here are some issues that I found.

Thanks! I see now that I made many mistakes. I'll try to correct them. And yes, I use a mouseover macro for havoc, but I was not using it as often as I should have.

I didn't talk to the other warlock yet, but i'll do that.

As for the Gorefiend fight, I find it a little difficult to SB the adds, mostly because they get sniped by other people.

[tonberi]

Anyone else feeling soul shard starved when you don't have enough haste? Especially on single target? I always have like 20 seconds of downtime without SB:H on ZAKUUN. How much haste do I need to have 100% on SBH

[Thoragar]

Anyone else feeling soul shard starved when you don't have enough haste? Especially on single target? I always have like 20 seconds of downtime without SB:H on ZAKUUN. How much haste do I need to have 100% on SBH

Honestly its all RNG. Been playing Aff a lot lately on Zakuun/Tyrant progression and with 1400 haste there were times I was completely flooded in shards and dumping normal haunts left and right, but then the next pull I'd have 0 for over 30 seconds and SB:H would fall off before I even get one. Randomness is incredibly annoying.

tl;dr the more the better!

[thenightowl]

Not real sure where to ask this...

How much crit do destro locks need? Somewhere I had read someone saying that in order to maintain FnB on 3 targets it was % crit and so on. I cant find that now but I know its somewhere in this lock forums.

Found the post I read for reference.

The other thing is that my toon is siming crit to be higher than mastery. So I want to make sure Im making the right choices here. Has anyone else seen or had this happen for them?

My toon http://us.battle.net/wow/en/characte...ntine/advanced

[SpikeySquad]

Hi Richmothy,

Rather than learn 2 playstyles I'd personally suggest jumping straight in with Charred Remains now. Perhaps you do not have the stats to really support it yet but you are probably not going to lose much and your time will be better invested for your future. Otherwise then stay with DemServ for now.

Issues with your logs:

Horrendous Immolate uptime (bit strong but yours is 12% on the kill when it should be 95%+)
Not a single Havoc
Not a single SB snipe for more embers (these 3 are part of the staple of Destro)
Awful Opener and if talented that way you want your demon summon then for highest DPS unless you are struggling on a phase
Using KJC
Usually you want to sync potion and DS (and BL/Hero)
Generally too big gaps in casting though you do not use your teleport. What about your gate?
Need more CBs during buffs
Mostly you're fine but occasionally you have been capped too long on resources
Talent confusion? Were you using Cata at one point (you had an imp out anyhow or perhaps you just forgot your Doomy)? Not worth it anyhow especially as you didn't cast Cata!
Capping on Conflags

Things done better so keep it up:

Going into DS with high embers and dumping multiple CBs (but then try and rebuild and do more before DS wears off)

So to be honest you have a lot of reading to do and practising to understand Destro again and get to a decent level. Once you are more comfortable and have worked on all of the above get some more logs done. A variety of fights please even if LFR and I will try to have another look. Is your UI fit for purpose?

Good luck