1. #1

    Switching to Warlock, which spec would you recommend?

    Hey there Warlocks, for some background information, I'm in a casual guild (6/7 heroic EN right now, likely not pushing mythics anytime soon) but at the same time, I come from a hardcore raiding background and really like to be at the top of the charts or at least feel like I'm really contributing. I currently main a Hunter (MM, currently pulling about 290-300k dps ST) , who really enjoyed the feel of Beast Mastery and the Class Fantasy as a whole, but as we all know BM numerically is quite lower than MM, forcing me into a spec I didn't really enjoy. Warlock was my original main and a class I feel like I can enjoy a lot more as a whole. If I'm gonna be forced into cast times and lesser mobility, might as well be an actual caster!

    I just recently hit 110 on my warlock this past weekend, so I don't have much artifact power really invested (up to my first golden dragon in Destro), but I really prefer the demo playstyle. My main question is this, while I know that there are fights that destro shines in, for heroic level raiding, is demo going to be competitive, or maybe even affliction? Destro is not a "bad playstyle" for me, but the other two specs just appeal to me more.

    What spec would you recommend overall that could compete with my Hunter's dps, but not really fall flat on it's face for any major encounters?

  2. #2
    Blademaster
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    Switch to Mage. Definitely shouldve done further research if thats what you wanted from a class before picking Warlock.

    You may be able to compete with your hunter on ST with demonology, and may be able to complete with it on cleave/aoe with Destro. Too early to say with affliction just getting buffed today but I dont think anyone knows for certain yet if that will bring it up at all

  3. #3
    I currently play a Demo warlock and while Destro can do better on some fights, i still hold my own and pull decent DPS. I'd say go Demonology because its completely different then it used to be.

  4. #4
    The Patient Catalystics's Avatar
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    Demo m8, i forget how fun it could be playing a really fun, yet competative dps!
    Also go demo, u can sacrifice ur demons (funz)
    Did i say demo? U get ur own tank pet, u can tag like 20 mobs kill em and dont die
    Just Demo, Wait till u get 16 imps out and implode them:3
    The Monk Phenomenon

  5. #5
    Although I play destro, a well played demo can be much more versatile. Consistency will pay off.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by adamswagem View Post
    Switch to Mage. Definitely shouldve done further research if thats what you wanted from a class before picking Warlock.

    You may be able to compete with your hunter on ST with demonology, and may be able to complete with it on cleave/aoe with Destro. Too early to say with affliction just getting buffed today but I dont think anyone knows for certain yet if that will bring it up at all
    Our guild was currently full on mages, and needs a warlock. I'm also not a fan of playing a mage in general, I've never been a fan the class, as much as I've tried to be. I've done my research and know that Warlocks are far more viable than people give them credit for. I'm not looking to be a flavor of the month fire mage, I'm looking to play a class I really enjoy and just wanting opinions from people that have played the class during this expansion and their experiences with the specs. Also, my warlock is my first main from vanilla and it's time he comes out of retirement!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Catalystics View Post
    Demo m8, i forget how fun it could be playing a really fun, yet competative dps!
    Also go demo, u can sacrifice ur demons (funz)
    Did i say demo? U get ur own tank pet, u can tag like 20 mobs kill em and dont die
    Just Demo, Wait till u get 16 imps out and implode them:3
    Lol, I like the argument you've made for Demo! Implosion does sound very fun! Thanks for reaffirming the fun aspect of demo for me!

  7. #7
    Affliction is the best spec

  8. #8
    Deleted
    I have a blast playing demo and destro. As a former hunter I did not regret my switch to warlock this xpac, even tho a lot of negative people says they're bad. But if you want to get the feel of a warlords marksman, go play frost/fire mage.

  9. #9
    If you enjoy pet classes, then obviously Demo. It can perform just as well as Destro, but both specs rely on crutches to do well on certain encounters.

    If pets are irrelevant and you want a caster with top tier dps, then fire mage or shadow priest is where it's at.

  10. #10
    Deleted
    If at the top of the charts is all you care about then you are in the wrong class forum.

    There is not a single fight where warlock is on top in either normal, heroic or mythic raiding Emerald Nightmare. (This is a fact and not my opinion).

    However if your guildmates are bad it doesn't matter. I constantly top out #1 too on my mediocre guild, except for single target fights where Rets and Rogues faceroll their keyboards. (My demo weapon is rather low and the relics pretty bad)

    If you want to be always #1 and have a shot at high global rankings you should pick Fire Mage, Shadow Priest or Arms Warrior.

    The safest bet is always to play a mage or for this addon it might be highly rewarding to go warrior. It seems like Blizzard is constantly buffing Fury. I expect Fury to top out meters pretty soon with better gear.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Kubrick View Post
    I have a blast playing demo and destro. As a former hunter I did not regret my switch to warlock this xpac, even tho a lot of negative people says they're bad. But if you want to get the feel of a warlords marksman, go play frost/fire mage.
    To be honest, the class/ spec feel that I want the most is the Cata SV hunter, a couple dots, a few procs, and decent mobility. But I've looked at all classes, and I don't see anything too similar. I raided through HM as a warlock in Warlords, and loved both the Destro and Demo specs, and so far love the new demo as well. I'm sadly limited in my class choices right now of either Boomkin (which I love boomkins, so that's not out of the question), Warlock, or stick with the hunter. This is due to the guild's current roster.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Therolyk View Post
    a couple dots, a few procs, and decent mobility. But I've looked at all classes, and I don't see anything too similar.
    Sounds a bit like Balance if you go for proc talents.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Conflux View Post
    If at the top of the charts is all you care about then you are in the wrong class forum.

    There is not a single fight where warlock is on top in either normal, heroic or mythic raiding Emerald Nightmare. (This is a fact and not my opinion).

    However if your guildmates are bad it doesn't matter. I constantly top out #1 too on my mediocre guild, except for single target fights where Rets and Rogues faceroll their keyboards. (My demo weapon is rather low and the relics pretty bad)

    If you want to be always #1 and have a shot at high global rankings you should pick Fire Mage, Shadow Priest or Arms Warrior.

    The safest bet is always to play a mage or for this addon it might be highly rewarding to go warrior. It seems like Blizzard is constantly buffing Fury. I expect Fury to top out meters pretty soon with better gear.
    Yeah, you make a great point. My guildmates are not that great when it comes to the damage their class can do, a couple aren't bad (assassination rogue and ret pally, funny enough), but we currently have 2 mages and 2 shadow priests in a 13-15 man raiding team, so there's sadly no room for another and my raid leader would not allow it. I also REALLY wanted to play arms warrior this expansion, it was in my top 3 spec choices pre-expansion (Arms, Enhance, and Outlaw), but the melee spots were all taken by veterans of the guild, so I'm stuck as only ranged. What are your thoughts on Boomkin vs Warlock? We have no boomkins or ele shammies, but I'm not a big fan of elemental at the moment, boomkin I could get on board with.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rorixis View Post
    Sounds a bit like Balance if you go for proc talents.
    I'll look into it again, I only played it on beta to about 105 and it didn't feel bad, but I was concerned that Fury of Elune would be the dominant talent overall, and I'm not a huge fan of the "fight the decay" playstyle overall. It's not a dealbreaker, but not my favorite type of playstyle.

  14. #14
    Deleted
    Personally I think warlocks are a lot of fun this expansion. We've got 3 specs with very different playstyles which is really cool. If you want to excel at all types of fights you're out of luck if you pick one spec only, I personally play destruction as main but keep demonology up to a decent level alongside it since destruction isn't great at single target. I'd love there to come a point where it's worth using affliction on some fights as well but currently I don't see it yet.

    If you had to pick one spec I'd go with destruction since it excels at the fights which are currently harder from a progression stand point like Cenarius and Il'gyanoth, and to a certain extent Xavius but I would argue it's no better than demonology there.

  15. #15
    I love destro! Great fun to stand in place and blast them with gigantic chaos bolts, nothing bigger than an auto-crit spell! Havoc also is tons of fun, casting big damage single-target spells on two enemies at once!
    Volte 80 Frost DK--Cycloneduke 80 Holy Pally--Moardotz 80 Desto Warlock-- Dexterworgan 80 Assassination Rogue----Liadon 80 Feral Druid--Mumbles 70 Frost Mage--Bibleblack 70 Disc Priest--Dylli 70 DM Hunter--Krosa 70 Fury Warrior -- Slapntickle 70 Prot Warrior -- Okoi 80 Enha Shaman + 4 slave shamans multiboxed to 70 - Darksorrow EU PvP

  16. #16
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Therolyk View Post
    Yeah, you make a great point. My guildmates are not that great when it comes to the damage their class can do, a couple aren't bad (assassination rogue and ret pally, funny enough), but we currently have 2 mages and 2 shadow priests in a 13-15 man raiding team, so there's sadly no room for another and my raid leader would not allow it. I also REALLY wanted to play arms warrior this expansion, it was in my top 3 spec choices pre-expansion (Arms, Enhance, and Outlaw), but the melee spots were all taken by veterans of the guild, so I'm stuck as only ranged. What are your thoughts on Boomkin vs Warlock? We have no boomkins or ele shammies, but I'm not a big fan of elemental at the moment, boomkin I could get on board with.

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    I'll look into it again, I only played it on beta to about 105 and it didn't feel bad, but I was concerned that Fury of Elune would be the dominant talent overall, and I'm not a huge fan of the "fight the decay" playstyle overall. It's not a dealbreaker, but not my favorite type of playstyle.
    I feel like it is hard to make a judgement on elemental and boomkin because very few people are playing it and even fewer are good at it. I'd say they are about as good as destruction/affliction is. Maybe slightly better.

    If I could go back 3 months and creating my char I'd probably pick mage tbh.

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