Hey y’all,
How does Destro lock stack up vs Fire mage in terms of gameplay, class rotation, and playstyle?
I wanna level a Warlock and i’ve always thought Destro looked really cool but I main Fire and i don’t wanna play 2 similar specs. I could go Affiliction but idk…
I don’t know much about locks. Any advice is appreciated 
Level one, find out and report back here.
Outside of both of them being cloth-wearing casters and throwing fire at people, they still have relatively distinct playstyles. Fire Mage is about juggling crits to dump Pyroblasts on people, while Destro is a bit more methodical, stacking soul shards and then firing off a chain of Chaos Bolts. Destro gets some pretty tasty cleave with Havoc, but Fire has more consistent AoE through Flamestrike.
I play Frost on my mage, so I can’t speak for Fire rotation, but my Destro Warlock goes along the lines of: Immolate, Conflagrate to speed up Incinerate (your main soul shard generator) or Chaos Bolt (your hard-hitting single target spell). For aoe, you use Rain of Fire and Havoc. Lock’s main CC is fear, but they also have Shadowfury, an aoe stun.
One major difference I do know of is Destro is going to have an imp out, as well as being able to summon an Infernal, and (correct me if I’m wrong) Fire mage has no pets.
I feel like Fire is not at all like Destro. Fire is proc based and Destro isn’t. You build shards/embers as Destro and spend them on stronger spells like Chaos bolt and Rain of Fire. You have a pocket tank and you’re just overall a lot more awesome as a Warlock.
I main destro lock but have a fire mage, I don’t find them similar at all other than both being casters.
Fire Mage is a spam to proc class
Destro Lock is a build resource and spend class.
In terms of fun I enjoy the Warlock more, less praying for things to line up and more understood mechanics you can strategize around. Despite their lore the Destruction Warlock actually has less chaos in how they play than Fire Mage.
Unlike Fire Mages that have high mobility and low survival, the Warlock is a turret, you stand still and kill everything in sight. We have amazing absorb, self heals that deal damage, and a pocket tank to take any real threat off you and let you kill things unbothered by petty things like moving.
The downside is Warlocks are slow. If you really really enjoy the popping around, portals, and other mage QoL then its a hard time getting used to Warlocks.
Strangely fire mages are more chaotic thematically. They seem to have very little control over fire magic and fling it wildly hoping for good results until they get them. Meanwhile, destro locks biuild up strength and unleash attacks of massive Fel magic aimed at your face.
Fire mage also has incredibly annoying fire feet where they go speeding away from you like a cartoon villain with rocket boots.
As others have said, quite different. Get green fire and it looks different too. I have both and their playstyle is nothing alike.
I play both, and the answer is no. Fire is highly mobile, proc reliant. While Destro is like a Mortar unit, which builds up it power through carefully planned moves.
((Mortar units tend to be fixed to fire, but can move if needed.))
Warlock with engineering, I get around fairly well.
Fire Mage as many people have stated is more proc based but it feels more active than Destro currently does.
Outside of infernal destro feels lackluster. Build shards…spend shards… However, incinerate does little damage.
Same, that or I set myself on fire to move faster for some outdated reason.
Well Fire is arcane conjured fire and Destruction is arcane conjured fire, but it’s evil fire, sometimes even fel fire.
Well, since you already main a fire mage…
Destro lock is more chunky- on that mage, you’re getting your crits, then popping a pyro or flamestrike. Maybe you’re using scorch to kite things around a bit.
A Desto lock is going to be somewhat more of a deliberate playstyle. Rather than capitalizing on procs, you’re setting yourself up to deliver your big hits. The lock is more controlled, but it can happen faster and more frequently or streaky on your mage.
There’s a few similarities, but the feel is significantly different. Different enough for you? Well, level that lock. You can always respec.
Destro is more fun than Affliction. Affliction is the most tedious and boring spec I’ve played. Demonology is just too bizarre to even consider playing.
The huge benefits of warlock over mage are massive healing and tank pet, so you can solo elites that mages can’t even dream of fighting unless you have a really wide area to fight in, which is almost never, and the elite has no range attack.
Firemage is way more mobile. Destro is way more tanky.
Destro can face tank most melee for a little bit before having to use some aoe(as if fears even work). Mages are always having to run. When a paladin pops wings and I’m playing my warlock I just pop a defensive. Mage? Running like hell.
One plays with fire, the other plays with demon fire. Didn’t your momma tell you not to play with fire or it will make you pee the bed. So Either way you will pee the bed.