[5.4] Demonology Warlock Guide

[Werst]

My gut is that now that crit is far less "interesting" for demo due to the 30% imp nerf that you could focus more on the spells which means going to the next breakpoint on shadowflame, doom ticks (from a pure damage standpoint), and the 4xT16. Meaning as imps weaken so to does crit's value to the spec...so you could use it as an offspec for aff even with higher haste values.

Does a gutted demo compare to a 3% buffed destro? If they are similar (which my napkin math suggests they would be) you could play demo at 13737 haste > mastery > crit aka an aff offspec without reforge/regemming. Destro stuggles with even the 9778 haste breakpoint making it less attractive as an offspec.

[Mazda]

Since today is Tuesday, why don't we all just have a moment of silence and remember what Demo used to be, and would it could be again one day with proper balance and mechanics...


*closes eyes and bows head*

[Fanatik]

before everyone starts to panic, has anyone here actually tested it in game? I'm reading people still have ~5% uptime with UVLS and are still putting up similar numbers prior to the patch.

[Hellfury]

before everyone starts to panic, has anyone here actually tested it in game? I'm reading people still have ~5% uptime with UVLS and are still putting up similar numbers prior to the patch.

Its not live on europe, and West USA is just waking up!

[xuros]

With the nerf to wild imps, i cant see their damage being similar to pre -30% nerf.

[Fanatik]

Yep just tested in game, definitely done with UVLS (543), getting about a 2.2% uptime for the last 10 minute test i did, ugh...

[Banawani]

before everyone starts to panic, has anyone here actually tested it in game? I'm reading people still have ~5% uptime with UVLS and are still putting up similar numbers prior to the patch.

It wasn't live until the recent patch.

[Deleted]

thing is they could just have made uvls less important by changing the way demo generates imps by making it a fixed chance on tick from doom instead of crit and then have it scale with mastery but then they just utterly gutted demo instead, makes me think they dont really know what to do with demo.

[Rgthreex]

Has anyone tried demo after nerf ? Is it still going to be viable for progression ?

[klogaroth]

Has anyone tried demo after nerf ? Is it still going to be viable for progression ?

Going to give it a bash tomorrow for the first 3-4 bosses to see how it compares to last week there, although there will be a number of other factors in play such as the gear obtained since last doing those bosses and the fact that 2nd kills are generally smoother than first kills. Also Norushen changes.

Not sure on whether I'll do a closer test and attempt them with UVLS (normal) equipped same as last week or if I should just give in straight away before even pulling and use something else.

[rijn dael]

Playing around on dummies last night, I can't seem to make things flow like they should - the fury income is just too low.

However, playing around with a modified simc profile, I had some success doing heavy haste > crit=mastery build (no imp glyph, wushoo/breath, simming within 95% or so of my pre-nerf mastery build's single target dps, once you subtract the imp nerf), I am just not sure if that will match reality - haste having been funny on simc. It would help a lot with the fury starvation that the lack of imps results in though. Might just bite the bullet, reforge/regem full haste for this reset, and see how it goes.

Anyone tried in raids?

[EpicJimmy]

Anybody know which trinket(leishen's, woo, or breath) to use w/ amp trinket after today's hotfixes?

[Hellfury]

Has anyone tried demo after nerf ? Is it still going to be viable for progression ?

I will try without UVLS and make sure to send logs to GC atlest on some of 8 HCs my raid have on farm unless it hinders the raid to much.

Anyone that enjoys demo should do the same, if everyone switches and dont send feedback about demo they wont do anything.

[Werst]

Rijn dael,
About how high on haste were you going? As I mentioned in my earlier post I could kind of see what you describe working as the new setup/playstyle for demo. At the very least I could see it being a natural offspec fit for affliction mainspec. At least moreso than destro who struggles with that kind of haste...especially as we gear into heroics. I still don't think anything is better for thok even post nerf.

[karzon]

Take this anecdote for what it is worth. I swapped from Demo to Destro for H Protectors while our other lock stayed Demo. He was fully 80k less than I was and about 100k less than last week. The nerfs hurt a lot. I have to say goodbye to my favorite spec as it has become the niche utility spec and I need to bring as much damage as possible.

[weakdots]

all the people going 'well have to jump ship to afflic' dont seem to realize uvls affected afflic just as much as demo. for me the 2 specs are performing about the same both pre and post nerf. last week on hprotectors i did 360k as demo, miles ahead of everyone else in my group, this week i was doing about 100k less which was middle of the pack. and for comparison my 10man is no slouch, our combat/assas rogue and frost/unholy dk put up top 5 ranks on like every fight. last night i was trying haste @ 13kish for some extra breakpoints given my herb/berserking buffs, but today im switching back down to haste 8100>mastery>crit. i actually have mastery @ max possible and all my excess haste and hit reforged to crit (still sitting almost 3% over hit which sucks). i also believe the imp nerf will be reverted soon enough.

[EvreliaGaming]

all the people going 'well have to jump ship to afflic' dont seem to realize uvls affected afflic just as much as demo

Really, really not. It hurts Demo a lot​ more.

[Hellfury]

Just from HC Iron Jugernaut, that is mostly a tank and spank patchwerk fight no gimmicks.

Demo is bad... its not even viable anymore, I played without UVLS probably would do even less with UVLS since even thou it procs at starts takes ages to proc again. Damage could be improved I guess with a crit centric build but since I need aff to progress I didnt regem anything to play this now pathetic spec.

UVLS and imps made it OP in multitarget fights(where adds had a long live time) I wont deny, but demo need them to compete with other DPSers in straight single target fight.

The dinosaur fight is different cause there demo skips the "anti-caster" mechanic of the boss by using Touch of chaos, this is made possible by the sheer fury regen of imp army.

[Crisius]

Really, really not. It hurts Demo a lot​ more.

This.

Also, I tested out demonology on a few fights today. Fury regen past 1,5 minutes into fights is total bollocks. Even for the first 1,5 minutes of a fight, with 100% crit up for the entire duration, damage was way lower due to imps being weaker. After crit-doom was over, I could be sitting for minutes before I saw another UVLS procc.
On aoe fights, the extremely lowered fury regen and soul fire proccs made timing T16 2P and high fury with waves of aoe extremely clunky.

Since I really, really can't stand affliction, I decided to step out of the progress raid in favor of other, more viable classes.

[Deleted]

Tried demo all-throughout the raid this evening and, whilst it's weaker, and whilst UVLS almost never procs, it's still usable. I dropped a bit in the DPS list but it's still enough to do the job, so I'm sticking with it. I see no reason to play a spec I hate unless we wipe at a couple of percent. Really do hope they realize the fact that they overdid the nerf and add some form of compensation, the reversal of the Imp nerf to start with.