So I started playing warlocks at the beginning of Legion. Me and my two warlock guildmates were the top 3 warlocks on our server(Sargeras) back then (during Argus progression). I’ve played warlocks ever since, including vanilla classic and TBCC classic. I’ve also played on WotLK Private server for half a year, as well as just starting to play on an old MoP server, just to see how the warlock has changed over the years. Playing on the MoP server specifically, has really opened my eyes to what made warlocks unique and strong. A lot has been lost over the years and expansions.
With Dragonflight coming around the corner, and a rework of the talent trees, I hope blizzard makes this class (and every spec) viable and fun to play. I only ask that they look at all the different aspects of what the warlock has been in the past. Don’t just make a few updates to the current playstyle. Actually look at all the abilities and glyphs and talents that we used to have. This is your opportunity to bring back so many options to the class.
I have so many suggestions that I can think of, just off the top of my head. But this post isn’t about suggestions. This post is just me hoping that Blizzard will take the time to make the warlock the best it’s ever been.
TLDR: Please don’t take the warlock in it’s current state and only update it a little. Please don’t make the warlock just an updated version of what we have now. Please actually rework the class from it’s core, with every expansion’s abilities, glyphs, and talents as a guide.
See, every spec is viable. The word viable is just “capable of working successfully; feasible.” Now, each person has their own vision of successfully, however, in blizzards eyes it is “can it complete the content” and the answer is astoundingly always “yes” – especially after they nerf the raid a thousand times as they do over the course of a raid tier.
In a lot of better or high end player’s eyes, it’s bad if it’s even 1% behind others, which is why blizzard says things like “community perception of it is bad” because even at 1% behind, it’s still good, it’s just not the best and if you’re not the best you’re still the worst.
Fun is subjective, too, and if you ask 10,000 players what their definition or version of fun is; you would get a few different answers pending on whatever group you ask.
High end players will say something among: “completing top end content. Doing big damage is fun” basically chasing numbers and goals is fun.
Lower end players mainly, for the most part, just want to play a version they deem fitting of the theme for the spec and not perform so horridly on it that they feel they’re being carried or gimping the guild/raid team.
You’ll have middleground answers, too.
As far as talent trees go, I am really hoping they make the theme very fitting for each spec and then the overall class tree very good and fitting for a class tree.
Going by the Druid and DK talent trees, what we will be facing is a situation where we have more total options and associated builds, but cumulotively fewer talents / powers at any given time than we currently have. There will likely be some pains before adjusting to this new normal.
I also would consider that the talent tree proposition as it shows on DK and Druid isn’t about a redesign of the classes, both are very much Its shadowlands counterparts but spread around a talent tree most effects are already exiting abilities and talents, others are legendaries, tier sets or borrowed powers now made permanent.
I am ok with it, but i have noticed many people have huge expectations over it, and that is setting themselves up for a let down.
Some classes might get a reworked [Unholy DK is in drastic need of one] but among Warlocks i would say Affliction is the more likely one to get it, followed by Destro [still find it unlikely for destro] with very much doubt Demo will get one [at least , i don’t think demo needs a rework]
Another observation from a cursory inspection of the spec trees is that its hard to get a sense of how they are organized. It did not seem like one side was suited for single target vs cleave vs multitarget or whatever encounter scenario there might be. I also wonder if they are too “wide” like they arborize into 4 terminal nodes, but maybe they need to be longer but more narrow and terminate in only 2 or 3 nodes so any given build needs to distribute less on the way to an end talent? Maybe i just havent analyzed them enough, but did anyone else feel that way as well?
So far the most neglected class spec in the game, Beastmaster Hunter, has been given life again from what I’ve seen of the previews they’ve released. They even went as far as making Dire Beast a passive spell that casts when we cast kill command like the imps in Demonology Warlocks. So I’m confident that they should be making Warlocks especially DemonLocks viable and fun again!
The spec I’m worried about the most as a Warlock Player is Affliction because Affliction rotation was broken in the game for many years now. It uses almost all Dots and therefore these DoT spells should be instant cast more often. Unstable should have been instant all the time because it as well as haunt are DoTs! Let’s hope someone has the good sense to make them instant each in order to make Affliction Locks fun again.
I also hope that some of the things they learned from giving extra powers to the classes in Shadowlands will be made class abilities or at the very least be placed on armor sets we use in Dragonflight. It will certainly make it easier for healers also because for example on my pally I rely on the 5-6 casts of my covenant spell, some class specs need that kind of boost to stay alive while fighting in the open world.
Yeah i agree, Demonology is a good spec. I would suggest changing some talents though like Demonic consumption. The demonic tyrant is cool. I want to see a version old metamorphosis come back and turn into the Tyrant.
Add demonwrath back with better visuals and remove doom, give us instant corruption again. Having just one instant cast spell would improve gameplay alot.
I actually think Demo’s instant cast should be Hand of Gul’dan and/or Shadow Bolt. Those fit, moreso HoG fits not having a cast time and just throwing down meteor things filled with imps.
With all due respect try and keep on topic to avoid unnecessary clutter for the developers to read through when trying to look for suggestions on our class.
Just PM each other in game if you want to talk or take your debate elsewhere on the forums in the relevant class sections.
A complete rework is not necessary IMHO. I f’ing hate when game companies completely rewrite a class and make it something it wasn’t. I’m not saying don’t fix it if it’s broke, just saying don’t fix what isn’t broke. I played L2 way back. When your character ascended or whatever it was called, you got almost entirely new skills that you had to learn to play. So, I’ve been playing a toon up to level 90 or 95 and I now lost most of the skills i knew and have to learn new ones. It’s like creating a new character but you are no longer in an easy starting zone, you are in the thick of it. Don’t do that here!
I expect tweaks, buffs, or nerfs, but a complete rework where the toon is no longer recognizable is just annoying to me. I was on a WoW hiatus until recently. After coming back, Lock and Hunter are still my favorite to play the way they are. Not geared the best possible but I get by. I manage to get through the content with those better than any of my other classes comparatively geared. I wouldn’t mind some tweaks, but I don’t see a rework neccessary.
This is exactly what is wrong with the game for me, the changes shouldn’t be so dramatic that we feel weaker than we did 7 years ago. I get balance changes etc, but purely from a warlock fantasy standpoint I felt a lot stronger when I could change into a demon and have a permanent infernal pet and spam rain of fires everywhere, now I feel like I hit like a wet noodle with all the random small demons I summon