Just wanted some insights:
Which one is easier:
Rotation
Gearing
Grouping
Which one is better for the random W/PvP encounters
Which one is more fun?
I’m not expecting a perfect pick this class, or the other. I know it’s subjective. I’m just having trouble deciding. Thank you!
Warlock on all counts.
Easier rotation: priest
Easier gearing: Warlock
Easier Grouping: warlock but toss up if you have dual spec as this means priest players just play healer perma in dungeons/raids and such.
Warlock has the disadvantage of being super good at 1v1’s but without pet and shards you will still get rolled if caught off guard. Priest doesn’t have that issue but has massive mana problems although almost anyone you fight will most assuredly die assuming they don’t have backup.
Opinion: shadow priest, mindcontrol shenanigans are great and your toolkit is relatively simple yet powerful.
Been a warlock main and a priest main in Vanilla. Personally, I much preferred priest (undead specifically due to Devouring Plague). The instant AoE fear is huge, and the damage starts to get nuts when you have shadow form + shadow weaving. Plenty of survivability too between bubble and flash heals, can end up being hard to kill. Dispel is crazy beneficial too on top of everything else.
I’d say Warlock is probably strictly better in terms of PvP but I like spriest more.
Maybe im just crazy but in terms of PvP capabilities ive always felt like warlock is a massive trap. Yes, warlock is the king of 1v1’s but that is very niche in an MMORPG id rather have a shadow priest that can swap out of shadow form at any time and start off healing than a warlock as a team mate in pvp.
The main issue you have to face when playing as a warlock for pvp, is when you die you have to take so much mana to rebuff and resummon your pet. If you die it’s hard to recover unless you are allowed to cast/eat for a minute after rez. Dying in battlegrounds is also annoying because you never have full mana when rezzing. Priests don’t have to suffer the same amount of punishment for dying as warlocks.
Oh and I forgot the biggest issue, is farming soul shards for pvp as well.
exactly what my thoughts has always been on it. warlock is theoretical best in pvp but how much are you really going to have that 100% uptime? in wpvp its just as likely 3 people gang up on you and now ur rezzing with disadvantage and in group pvp the use of a warlock greatly diminishes although there is still merit there.
As a lock vet who also plays spriest:
Warlock is only stronger in duels as soul link but that spec isn’t the one you use for bgs, raids or farming.
So in reality, most of the time spriest is superior to lock in wpvp.
Now on the opposite side of that coin though, priest has mana issues and warlocks who aren’t soul link are squishy but they have a lot more burst than a spriest ( if allowed to cast).
Overall spriest is a more rounded pvp spec due to having the same playstyle and survivability in all forms of pvp. The only issue remains , mana.
As a warlock, if you have a healer, you never run out of mana. So I feel like warlock can do a lot more in team fights, especially when you fear the healers at the right time. Shadow priest absolutely is probably better small scale or short fights.
That’s a given. I already mentioned mana for priests twice.
Not really a thing in PVP, priority on what gets the job done can be very different in every situation.
Caster cleaves are BiS
Both.
Warlock
Shadow Priest is second easiest PVP spec in game next to Ele shaman being far and away the most basic.
Fun is subjective, this is the only question OP has to answer themselves.
Very true, but I cant get enough of spamming fear; it simply does not get old. Nor does Curse of Toungs when its not on me.
I use to agree with this the first time I played shadow but its not really true if you’re wise about using the correct rank of spells. Max rank is not always BiS; this is why I have 3 ranks of Mind flay on my bars, (dont use mind blast almost ever), and R1 and max Rank pain.
If you use your ranks wisely you will almost never oom.
Undead SPriest in PvP is one of the most powerful specs in the game. Has only one legitimatley bad matchup (Hunter), is extremly powerful against Warriors, Rogues and Mages, strong against Warlocks and can decimate Paladins. Druids, RSham and Healing Priests are forced to break contact or eventually get Mana Burned into outer space.
Warlocks also get cracked scaling and end up one shooting players with 30% crit chance Sbs from the back line.
Priest 100% for pve groups. Will have Dual Spec so you will be able to heal in groups and be THE most desirable class for pve grouping.
In pvp shadow priest are facemelters and wanted as well.
Grouping goes to priest 10 fold.
As someone who has played both shadow priest and lock extensively, I would say that they are both fun and strong in different ways.
I mostly play destruction lock because It’s more fun than the soul link affliction build imo. Destruction lock has a more aggressive playstyle, with weaker defenses than shadow priest. Shadow is much more balanced, excels in smaller fights, but suffers from mana issues. Destro requires slightly more ‘mental bandwidth’ to play, because you need to be controlling your pet at all times.
Gearing is basically even, lock will get a nice +sp trinket early on from the dire maul library quest, priests only get a +healing trinket, so it’s not really of any use for shadow.
They are both really fun, I think priest is slightly more self sufficient (power word shield + insta aoe fear can help a lot in smaller pvp situations), but they really suffer from mana issues, and aren’t that viable in pve. Destro is more of an ‘all gas, no brake’ playstyle, that is extremely fun when you have some reliable back up (heals or peels). I can’t really speak about aff pvp.
Hope that helps a little bit~
yea only reason I said maybe warlock is because OP said shadow priest which is notoriously pretty bad for pve. but yes as long as OP is willing to heal priest by a mile.
Very true. More effective if you have an inner focus build as well since that’s when you can send mind blast.