MoP Warlock Discussion

[Viledead]

Thought I would start a warlock DPS discussion here. Of course I'm not raiding, but I have been doing quite well in LFR as demo - I think 105k on SG, 60k on Feng, etc. My gear sucks though - I still have 3 ilvl 450 pieces lol.

I haven't tried Aff, but don't believe the hype that Aff > all - while it is, that is simcraft + perfect skill land. Destro is fine too.

I'll probably start logging my LFR runs. I feel I'm making tons of mistakes - but there are some basics which hide them I guess.

Quick tips on Demo:

- Soulfire should always be saved for out of meta as it builds fury, EXCEPT for execute.

- CD Management is critical. Timing everything for a killer Meta is a huge dps difference.

- As always, time CDs/procs to line up with popping your doomguard.

- Doom - keep it up! I do see dot uptimes low in some cases. Corr and Doom on everything available.

- For Demo, Service > Supremacy by a small margin.

- Don't spam HoG twice - it's a nice fury generator, and having them slightly overlap is better. For instance, HoG, SB, HoG works fine.

There are arguments on forums/etc about proper openers. I use something like:

Pre-pot, pre-cast SB (if I can time it), CDs, Corr, HoG, Meta, Doom, Doomguard, (Procs should be up), CW, ToC spam til out of meta, etc etc.

If good crits I tend to spike up to 170k+ dps.

Later on, time your Doom refreshes to CDs/Procs, as well as Meta.

Also, try to time a close-to-full Meta to execute phase with soulfire.

Also Also, never EVER sit on full fury.

Note that I don't use Glyph of Wild Imps most of the time, but of course you would pop this same time as doomguard.

Now some people say that the right opener is quite different - but my experience is basically, doesn't matter. If you get a killer Doom going as well as Doomguard, it's kind of nuts. And we're talking getting into the top maybe 10% performers, not 1%.

[Viledead]

Oh Hai Viledead. That is an interesting Post but you're bad and it's wrong.

[Lyntha]

I don't think our locks play demo. I typically see them playing afflic. Held plays destro at times too.

[Mastric]

I'm Demo, others seem Afflic

[Viledead]

Warlocks rejoice: In patch 5.1, pandemic no longer smooths damage when you have different buffs for dots.

Basically, take corruption. If you have corruption rolling on a target, then pop your trinks and re-cast corruption, the "new extended corruption" actually won't get the full value of your buffs. It will smooth it. Doesn't matter if there is 1 second left or 15 seconds left on the original.

The funny thing is, if when fully buffed you could keep refreshing corr to ultimately get up to the fully buffed amount, but it could take 6 globals. That would be a bad idea.

Apparently Fel Flame refreshes ignore this and set the dot to it's fully buffed amount.

Haven't read enough about whether that means to let corr drop off, use fel flame, or simply not care. But it's likely situational.

[Viledead]

More information on demo locks and tips. And on DPS in general - people have asked because I am a casual sitting on LFR and VP gear, and hadn't seen any of the normal mode fights other than some quick research. Generally, if I mention it below it's because I've seen it in the logs that are available.

Demo Locks

Probably the single biggest tip I can give is dot uptime - doom, corruption. Corruption is a contributor to fury - less corruption uptime, less Demo form. Pandemic means you can refresh early and it extends, touch of chaos extends it, and even fel flame extends.

Basically, never enter demo form without corruption already up. In execute, in demon form, weave in touch of chaos to keep corr up when spamming soul fire. Don't cast soul fire in demo form before execute, save for out of demo form as it builds fury.

Hand of Guldan on cooldown. Speaks for itself.. Chaos Wave for AoE.

Don't get married to staying in Demo form until it runs out. Step in and out of demo form. Example: corr is running low and you have to move. Switch to Demo form and spam a few ToC's while moving. Then get out of demo form. You don't want fury at 100% or 0%. Manage it - it's a resource with a hell of a lot of flexibility.

A bit more on demo form - think about the fight, and when it's best to have Demo Form available with lots of fury. Obviously entering execute range is one. Having all trinkets and procs up is another.

Demonic Leap is amazing and should be keybound.

General DPS

Stack procs/trinkets then cast/refresh dots and big cooldowns. It's often ignored or overlooked because it can be slightly annoying, but it really is simple.

Below I mention how to track that stuff, but honestly it's overkill for how DPS can be improved. DPS Uptimes are often low and potions aren't used much. Remember the days when pots were used on progression bosses....... The logs are there for anyone to see, but certainly both top and bottom dps are guilty.. Some of the consistently top dps definitely use pots a lot which is great because they are maximizing their capability to perform with the toon they have.

Tracking ICDs:

I use weakauras to track iCDs of Embroidery, Jade Spirit, DMC, etc. Then I time doom refreshes and other dots to line up as close as possible.

Here is a video showing how to do it:

[Mastric]

Other then watching for procs i've got this all down. Being able to move while casting is great and shows up in last nights Blade fight

Forte atm doesn't have all the procs in it, didn't want to have to look into another addon :\

I also could use an Epic Weapon so I can get Jade

[Viledead]

Not sure man - a quick scan of the logs shows corr uptime issues, especially for corruption. Ie while there is movement, on blade lord last night you had 74% uptime on corr. Quickly checked serpent sting for zombiehunter and flameshock for hex (other dots) and they were at 82%/88% respectively. Older logs have corruption low too (ie last recorded stone guard fight, corr was 88%). Same night shows 62% on doom and 50% on corr.

As mentioned I could have commented more if I had logged tuesday, because it's sooo much easier to look at stuff side by side rather than digging.. And picking apart older logs is tough because there could have been DC issues, lag issues, special assignments, etc. Though I did make sure there weren't any deaths..

FYI on forte I think it was briefly discussed in mumble or something, but I gave it up because it's quite fat and when I'm playing I'm typically on a 2011 MBP. In the raid on tuesday I think I averaged 10-15 FPS lol....until I dropped view distance to lowest then it went up to 20. Hence why weakauras, though it was a pain to set up it's pretty neat.

[Mastric]

Blade lord's hidden attack removes dots, i wasn't the quickest at getting them back on

My Rig's from 09, 72 FPS, but it will drop to 1-5 during Elegon, time for a new one.

[Viledead]

FYI I finally remembered to log something yesterday in Raid Finder. Feng is probably the best fight to look at, as it is stand and burn.

http://www.worldoflogs.com/reports/r3wo77qz7x7b8p2u/sum/damageDone/

[Mastric]

Looking at your Feng vs one of the Fengs from early December, my uptime sucks on Doom & Corruption, 80% compaired to 95%. This may just b4 LFR but your Doom hits for 20k more then mine and crits for nearly double :\

All my other spells out damage you, probily due to gear.

[Viledead]

I stack my doom with procs/etc. Overall my gear is really bad - 4pc would be killer for demo especially.

As mentioned before, I only compete on dps because I mash buttons and stack procs... And tbh I'm not even close to perfect on stacking procs.

EDIT: also i'm not sure when 5.1 dropped, but doom was buffed to make up that wand bug.

Edited January 3, 2013 by Viledead