How can anyone prefer shadow bolt over drain soul?

[Wvvtayy]

The only thing fun about SB was nightfall procs, but even without drain soul healing, a channel is still always better than a hardcast because if you have to move say 75% of the way in to a channel, at least it still does SOME damage, whereas if you have to move 75% of the way in to a shadow bolt cast you don't do any damage at all.

[Shadowspawn115]

The only thing fun about SB was nightfall procs, but even without drain soul healing, a channel is still always better than a hardcast because if you have to move say 75% of the way in to a channel, at least it still does SOME damage, whereas if you have to move 75% of the way in to a shadow bolt cast you don't do any damage at all.

I still prefer Shadow Bolt. I feel like with DS you're spending half your time just standing there. At least with SB you get to push buttons. If DS was a shorter channel, like Mind Flay, I'd probably be more on board with it.

[camicio]

I actually liked the idea of chucking on heaps of dots popping reap and then draining a monsters life away. Also felt sick in PVP when they realised your HP wasn't going down so they run and you just keep draining away.

Never played a lock with SB but I don't think it will feel as satisfying.

[acer1234]

I mained a Warlock in bc. And all we casted was shadowbolt. So I want more shadowbolts.

[Wondercrab]

Shadow Bolt has its own distinct audiovisual flair and a more noticeable sense of impact than a channelled drain does. On a raw mechanical level its functionality is less efficient than Drain Soul, but most people are going to care more about how the spell "feels" than how it plays. Since SB and DS have very distinct feels to them, I think it's pretty understandable why someone would prefer one over the other. I'll probably be switching between both of them in BfA depending on my mood.

[7empest]

Here's the thing, its quite simple.

Some people enjoy the intuitive feeling of hard casts, how they chain so naturally into each other with ability queuing, the visuals of the new shadow bolt being oh-so good.

But the argument I can make for drain soul is there as well. Whenever I cast the new drain life (relatively short cast, beautiful visuals) it also feels grandiose.

Conclusion? Lower Drain Souls channel time, up it's graphical fidelity and the shadow bolt crowd might be won over. As it stands now, the lackluster sounds and effects are just pispoor and I expect an update, but casting drain life does feel dope. It just needs a bit of flavor.

TL;DR: both have their merits

[Zalkiden]

Something about the singular impact of a cast as a large number among the spam of smaller dot ticks feels a lot better. It makes me feel like something is actually happening. I realize that draining might be better in actual dps numbers. It's however incredibly lackluster in the FEEL department imo. That, and nightfall procs are dope.

[Kithelle]

Here's the thing, its quite simple.

Some people enjoy the intuitive feeling of hard casts, how they chain so naturally into each other with ability queuing, the visuals of the new shadow bolt being oh-so good.

But the argument I can make for drain soul is there as well. Whenever I cast the new drain life (relatively short cast, beautiful visuals) it also feels grandiose.

Conclusion? Lower Drain Souls channel time, up it's graphical fidelity and the shadow bolt crowd might be won over. As it stands now, the lackluster sounds and effects are just pispoor and I expect an update, but casting drain life does feel dope. It just needs a bit of flavor.

TL;DR: both have their merits

Trouble is typical Blizzard is always telling you how you should play your class, they want you to be a shadowbolt spammer just like in vanilla...in bc (Because they're trying to bring back a.k.a. force nostalgia this expansion)...so they making drain soul a worthless talent that is a dps loss if you don't want to be a spambolt turret.

[Feril]

I'm partial to Drain Soul, to be honest. It just feels more, let's say... "afflictiony", or in line with the class fantasy, as if you're actively decomposing your enemies instead of chucking globs of stuff on their faces. You take from them, not give to them. Anyway, the best solution always is giving players the option to play how they like, so everything should check out as long as Blizzard gives us that option.

Moreover, I'd like a similar option for shamans and their lightning bolt/chain lightning. I don't know, but channeled lightning would feel more impactful than a mere *BZAP!*.

Maybe they could add a channeled filler option to certain specs, if it looks appropriate. I love how Ray of Frost looks and feels, for example, and a filler version (without increased damage over time) would be really nice. Something like Diablo 3's Disintegrate for Arcane mages would look really cool, maybe this one increasing in damage, mana cost (keeping with the spec's characteristics) and graphic intensity with time channeled (Arcane Blast is really boring).

Options, options everywhere!

[Kanariya]

Shadow Bolt has been the Warlock's most iconic spell since World of Warcraft was conceptualized, and it used to hit very hard. I genuinely enjoy it over a channeled filler, as much as I like the wotlk-cata era Drain Soul (massive nuke execute). I'd prefer to have both as they once were.

[kencloudli]

I'm partial to Drain Soul, to be honest. It just feels more, let's say... "afflictiony", or in line with the class fantasy, as if you're actively decomposing your enemies instead of chucking globs of stuff on their faces. You take from them, not give to them. Anyway, the best solution always is giving players the option to play how they like, so everything should check out as long as Blizzard gives us that option.

Moreover, I'd like a similar option for shamans and their lightning bolt/chain lightning. I don't know, but channeled lightning would feel more impactful than a mere *BZAP!*.

Maybe they could add a channeled filler option to certain specs, if it looks appropriate. I love how Ray of Frost looks and feels, for example, and a filler version (without increased damage over time) would be really nice. Something like Diablo 3's Disintegrate for Arcane mages would look really cool, maybe this one increasing in damage, mana cost (keeping with the spec's characteristics) and graphic intensity with time channeled (Arcane Blast is really boring).

Options, options everywhere!

^This. Drain Soul (or Drain Life) feels more affliction to me

[vian]

I enjoyed Shadowbolt back in TBC when it actually packed a punch. Nowdays it's the most generic filler, nothing "fun" about it.

[muto]

Shadow Bolt will only see play on single target with Haunt and later in the expansion if gear equates to more Nightfall procs. Drain Soul will be king in Mythic Plus unless again gear equates to more Nightfall procs later on down the road. They just really seem bent on keeping Haunt around.

[mhdoe]

I actually preferred the old shadow bolt affliction play style and am glad it is back.

[Deleted]

Shadowbolt feels more tactile-y satisfying to me.
SB was less punished by movement provided you could maintain SE on the target, intermittent movement was pretty unimpactful then, unlike MG.

The biggest issue is that channeled filler kills channeled execute. Spamming drain soul from 100->0 is boring as sin. Arbitrarily dealing more damage sub-35/25% is godawful.
Having a mechanical, rotational (and at points, resource generation) change in the execute window was interesting, and affliction has the most interesting design of any(?) execute class, certainly more interesting than the "iconic" execute spam warriors have.

Drain Soul should exist as a baseline execute spell imo, the second we started getting channeled filler that design space became wholly unsustainable. I love Drain Soul, but it can only be what it was and what it should be if Shadowbolt exists in tandem as the baseline filler.
Unfortunately Blizzard seem to keep pruning one or the other.

[iru]

Drain Soul should exist as a baseline execute spell imo, the second we started getting channeled filler that design space became wholly unsustainable. I love Drain Soul, but it can only be what it was and what it should be if Shadowbolt exists in tandem as the baseline filler.
Unfortunately Blizzard seem to keep pruning one or the other.

I totally agree, I long for the cata days when we had both and drain soul felt imo really satisfying back then as an execute. I imagine that drain soul executes baseline combined with the new UA + drain sniping for shards would be super cool while having shadowbolt for the normal rotation.

Having it as a talent that replaces shadowbolt is nice because it atleast gives you the option to pick which spell you like best (depending on the numbers i suppose) but i'd like to see it baseline for sure - as I have ever since they removed it (as in made it the 100% -> 0% filler).

[Kuja]

Channeled spells are so annoying. Bolts ftw!

[Lucrece]

I totally agree, I long for the cata days when we had both and drain soul felt imo really satisfying back then as an execute. I imagine that drain soul executes baseline combined with the new UA + drain sniping for shards would be super cool while having shadowbolt for the normal rotation.

Having it as a talent that replaces shadowbolt is nice because it atleast gives you the option to pick which spell you like best (depending on the numbers i suppose) but i'd like to see it baseline for sure - as I have ever since they removed it (as in made it the 100% -> 0% filler).

Would rather our damage didn't get balanced around an execute. That would make us utter dogshit for m+ and fights with priority adds would become even worse.

[iru]

Would rather our damage didn't get balanced around an execute. That would make us utter dogshit for m+ and fights with priority adds would become even worse.

It's the same thing with the execute-shadowburn which doesn't really exist right now as it doesnt do high damage.

I agree that you shouldn't be balanced only around executes and I'm not sure if they could balance it so that you're superpowerful when you can do it but still be good when you can't.

[muto]

Channeled spells are so annoying. Bolts ftw!

How is a channeled spell annoying? It's more damage if you have to move. Having to move 80% into a Shadow Bolt cast will feel super bad. Also having to clip Shadow Bolt to refresh dots will feel bad too.