I was reading a lot on demonology warlocks for TBC, some of them say it’s only a levelling spec, others claim to have raided kara through sunwell as demo warlock, some say only it’s decent in t4/t5 and gets outscaled fast.
So what is the general opinion on demonlogy warlock in BC? Are they viable in raids and if so how viable? PvP?
demo is pretty good for leveling and 5mans
but sunwell? they have nothing on 14k crits shadowbolts from destro so i doubt it
A few reasons why Demo is lackluster in PvE
PvP is a similar issue but instead the competitor is Affliction.
I’ve seen all specs of warlocks in raids back in the day. The number fetishists might say you won’t have a choice, but in reality, you do. Play what’s fun.
It’s fine but you’ll need a few items to make it work well just like all specs require a few to reach their potential.
Destro will be king but you’re not a peasant as Demo, don’t let the min/maxer crowd ruin your fun. Yet if you’re not wanting to hunt for certain items, Destro can use an imp, so can affliction so you still can have a pet.
It’s fine but you won’t top any meters with it.
King of lvling with the felguard, alrightish in 5 mans and sl/sl is great for pvp.
40/21 Demo (no Felguard, use soul linked succubus instead) is actually very strong and competitive on a lot of fights. It has 2% more crit than destro from talents, still gives 15% damage to you (not just shadow damage–all damage) from master demonologist and soul link, and then you get the succubus damage on top of that (currently running 12-15% of my damage, and that’s at 1000 dps). Both specs also have spell power boosts, destro from Shadow and Flame, and Demo from Demonic Knowledge. Both add similar spell power in pre-raid gear, actually, so Demo straight up does more theoretical damage.
Shadow and Flame, however, quickly outscales Demonic Knowledge, and it gets tougher and tougher to keep the succubus alive as the fights get harder. Destro is just going to win at the end. That said, I won’t be surprised when the succubus demo spec wins early.
Yeah that spec is strong, can use demo Imp too. My guild is already talking about healing pets as we have hunters going BM. I wish succy had better HP and they had moved Warlock pets in line more with hunters. Not sure why they didn’t add more beefiness.
I think you could get away with playing it, but their damage isn’t as nice as destruction and they lack the utility of affliction. So they’re in this kind of no man’s land where other specs of their class do their job better and have an easier time doing it since they don’t have to worry about their pet getting blown up and losing a good portion of their damage.
Just don’t forget to take LW.
In pvp you are going to be SL/SL. So no real choice there.
For raids you * can* do demo but only if you have a guild that lets you “play what you want.”. If you want to actually get a raid spot you will be destruction.
To be fair, 40/21 demo is really more of a destruction spec. The only thing you really give up is Shadow and Flame, in exchange for Master Demonologist, Demonic Knowledge, Soul Link, 2% more crit, and the pet’s damage where applicable (well, also fire damage but most raids will have enough locks using imp SB to make fire moot). The trade offs are fair and give a slight advantage to destro. Of course felguard spec will fall far behind as shadow bolts will only have 150% damage instead of 200% on crits.
The spot where 40/21 demo shines is warlock tanking. Guilds might strongly consider having a 40/21 demo for progression on both Leotheras and Illidan, where warlocks tank for extended periods and soul link will straight up save wipes. One lock can run this spec to handle the tanking job and still deal very competitive top end damage.
Definitely agree with everything you posted. I just feel like the OP, not being familiar with the nuances of 40/21, will probably be better off going destruction for raiding until getting good gear or more experience with the class.
The spec works for sure though.
Only time it’s good is leveling. Maybe the first few lockouts of t4 since at the beginning pet + black book is ok but they fall off hard early
SL/SL is insanely strong in PvP.
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.