Is Warlock decent enough this season?

[Locknrollen]

You thinking so, and you saying so, still does not make it so.

Your saying is correct. However this time it is so. Denying that only makes you look like a fool.

[Uzkin]

Your saying is correct. However this time it is so. Denying that only makes you look like a fool.

Nah, looking like a fool is your thing, at least within this thread.

On topic, here's a destruction warlock m+ guide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED3d1EMdLsw

[Lucrece]

Nah, looking like a fool is your thing, at least within this thread.

On topic, here's a destruction warlock m+ guide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED3d1EMdLsw

That video was a thing of beauty. Would have been even better with background Russian grumbling and cursing.

[gaaara]

Nah, looking like a fool is your thing, at least within this thread.

On topic, here's a destruction warlock m+ guide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED3d1EMdLsw

Odd i have no issues getting into keys O.o...infact i got into some 20's this week, all randoms. Was your io pretty low or something O.o...

Anyway Aff might get some decent uptime now with both Monks WW and MM nerfs.

[Charnas]

My group got KSM with Brew, RSham, Outlaw, Destro, (Rando War, WW, UDK, FDK) so Warlock is fine for getting KSM if that's your goal.

[OokOok]

My group got KSM with Brew, RSham, Outlaw, Destro, (Rando War, WW, UDK, FDK) so Warlock is fine for getting KSM if that's your goal.

Most people don't say it's impossible, it's just more work. A balance druid who signs up for 10 keys will most likely get all or most invites. A warlock will get 2 if they're lucky.
Most people who cry about key invites are people who later on in the discussion will say laughable shit like "I signed up for 50 keys and got declined for all, after 20min I gave up" 20min lul

[Lycras]

To be honest, all warlock specs are so bad in M+... We simply dont have AOE burst... i mean zero... 210 ilvl hunter, mage or ele shammy easily doubles the damage of 220+ warlock in AOE fights...

[phaphot]

it is better than decent. love the affliction

[Albert the fish]

To be honest, all warlock specs are so bad in M+... We simply dont have AOE burst... i mean zero... 210 ilvl hunter, mage or ele shammy easily doubles the damage of 220+ warlock in AOE fights...

Almost all warlock dps atm is burst, it's not on-demand burst. So you have to be smarter than the fights.

[Aggressive]

Affliction is a damn nightmare to play. After 18 years I have finally shelved by warlock. I thought I was good with affliction but I guess that has changed this expansion. Dot's are short as hell to maintain and Shadow's Embrace is just more of a headache to maintain as well. Yep to hell with warlocks and to hell with Blizzard for just making the spec a shit nightmare. But this is just my opinion

[Xanatas]

tastes are tastes and fun and entertainment is surely subjective.

But I would be curious to know how can you currently love the warlock design.

Without having to go back too far and bother MOP, the Legion affliction was extremely better than this current version. The playstyle fit perfectly with the description of the class and the lore.
Now all the design of affliction, for example, is around the concept of continually running like a rat away and putting very bland dots on your target to spam a spell like malefic rapture to do some damage and turn into a bluish vulpin to avoid damage. Do you really enjoy it? To me it's humiliating as a warlock

How can anyone who has played destruction in MOP feel this iteration at least decent?

Mine is not a controversy, it's just to understand.

- - - Updated - - -

it is better than decent. love the affliction

if you play warrior or another melees, i believe you love affliction

[Korbynn]

Without the Priest's 5% Stam buff, the Mage's Int buff, and the DH's %5 Magic buff baked in, Demo Locks will never be a choice pick. Most pug M+'s are configured to melee orientation with the Monk's 5% physical damage buff; that just gimps Demo's output when it's surrounded by melee orientation, and I don't think that coded arrangement was an afterthought.

Demo Warlocks are so underrepresented, and they're never catered to when it comes to party buffs on the open circuit. It just serves to quantify the communities belief that they're an underperforming spec by virtue of how they see them perform in a 5man with only one to none party buffs. It's no wonder Demo isn't a choice pick on the M+ circuit!

Like everything concerning this Class spec, so much is just deliberately stacked against it from several avenues and directions. It's that one class/spec that has been relegated to be reliant on whether other players want them to perform a spell or gain access to their optimal performance level. Other class/specs have more autonomy and individualism and a better QoL in terms of how their class/specs interface and engage the game.

The 3% buff should have been 5%, is what I really want to say.

[iosdeveloper]

pretty much no

affliction doesn't feel pleasant to play
demo doesn't feel at all, it's like you are standing casting long casts that do nothing
destruction is ok, since it was always boring, but effective and flashy

[Korbynn]

This warlock was my original selection dating back to the very beginnings of the game, and I've fleshed it out several times over through the years and have a certain sense of loyalty to it. That's where I'm coming from and why it matters to me.

[tehealadin]

I won't lie, I have yet to pug with a decent lock this expansion, and it has put me off leveling mine up to 60. I know I know, pugging, however the sheer lack of quality in locks I have grouped with has led me to not invite them to my keys, regardless of ilvl etc. I have wanted to ask in chats before if there is something wrong with the class, but I didn't want to upset anyone. Even people in my guild who were competing last expansion as locks have binned theirs.

[Fuiking]

I won't lie, I have yet to pug with a decent lock this expansion, and it has put me off leveling mine up to 60. I know I know, pugging, however the sheer lack of quality in locks I have grouped with has led me to not invite them to my keys, regardless of ilvl etc. I have wanted to ask in chats before if there is something wrong with the class, but I didn't want to upset anyone. Even people in my guild who were competing last expansion as locks have binned theirs.

Theres so much wrong with locks atm.

[Albert the fish]

I won't lie, I have yet to pug with a decent lock this expansion, and it has put me off leveling mine up to 60. I know I know, pugging, however the sheer lack of quality in locks I have grouped with has led me to not invite them to my keys, regardless of ilvl etc. I have wanted to ask in chats before if there is something wrong with the class, but I didn't want to upset anyone. Even people in my guild who were competing last expansion as locks have binned theirs.

Not so much that there is anything wrong per se with warlock.
Aff has a comparatively high skill ceiling so "hard" to max out and easy to be middling. But tuned really high so people play it and eke out an umimpressive living.
Demo holds damage but is pretty sensitive to errors so a comparatively high skill floor and ceiling. Most people don't even bother. It also has no true niche to excel it.
Destro is the most manageable spec but is the most undertuned numbers wise.

So warlocks had better be good or the aren't going to leave an impression on others.

[tehealadin]

Not so much that there is anything wrong per se with warlock.
Aff has a comparatively high skill ceiling so "hard" to max out and easy to be middling. But tuned really high so people play it and eke out an umimpressive living.
Demo holds damage but is pretty sensitive to errors so a comparatively high skill floor and ceiling. Most people don't even bother. It also has no true niche to excel it.
Destro is the most manageable spec but is the most undertuned numbers wise.

So warlocks had better be good or the aren't going to leave an impression on others.

I getcha. Basically if you aren't really good with the class don't bother, it is a bit unforgiving. I remember affli in Legion, it was so fucking good. I won't lie, I do prefer a class with a fairly low ceiling, and found myself moving away from affli.

[Danvash]

Affliction is very good in high keys where things start to live for a long time. It's weakness is in huge aoe pulls as it does the same damage to 10 targets as it does to 20. But it's very strong in high Theatre and Spires keys especially. I believe the highest timed keys in both of those have a warlock.

If you can't put out enough damage as Affliction to time +15 keys, it's a LTP issue. Even if other classes are higher on the metres from aoe padding, you can still be putting up full dots and bursting down priority targets, prideful adds, and the bosses. Look up Sjeletyven on Youtube if you're struggling. He has guides and full walkthroughs of his gameplay in high keys as Affliction.

Destruction is good at AOE burst when running Night Fae and Korayn with her first strike ability. It seems OP at +15 compared to other classes that have to ramp up to do damage, as you just obliterate some packs. Unfortunately, Destro has the opposite problem as Affliction when running that build. Where Affliction damage is low when things don't live very long, Destro's damage is low when things DO live too long under 70% health. Destro has another build you can play for massive AOE, basically replacing a fire mage in a comp, but this is obviously not pug friendly and not necessary to time anything under a +20. It is however doable if you want to do very high keys as a destruction warlock.

Demonology is confusing to warlocks that haven't picked it up. I see a lot of comments in this thread about how it does no damage and such, which is completely untrue. Demo's niches are single target damage and stacked cleave, and it does both exceptionally well. With Dreadlash + From the Shadows + the Implosion legendary, you compete with all the other big aoe classes like mages and boomkins. And you don't even need cooldowns to do it. It's constant aoe pressure if the targets are stacked. The Necrotic Wake, De Other Side, and Sanguine Depths are Demo's dungeons, hands down. I will grant to you that Demo is poop in Spires and Theatre though. You don't have the utility that Aff/Destro have in those dungeons with dispels and purges without sacrificing a lot of damage by using another pet. There are a lot of 1-2 mob pulls, which is terrible for Demo. Flying enemies are out of range of Demo's dreadstalkers due to bugs that Blizzard doesn't care about. And the angel rides and RP in Spires mean that you lose all your imps and procs and have to rebuild everything from scratch on the next pack.