Hey everyone!
I am pretty new to the lock scene, well at least in regards to actually considering maining one.
I am enjoying destro lock a lot, Normally I stick to PvP and dabble a little bit in PvE rarely.
Once I hit 60, I’ll likely switch to affliction until 9.1 hits. I enjoy doing RBGs, and I’ve already seen locks getting booted out of pugs if they join in and people find out their destro not affliction hahaha.
Anyway, my question is, does it matter if I use a staff or one-hander and off hand? I much prefer the Dagger/book look over the staff for cloth casters, but everyone in PvP seems to go staff… Is this just a thing most people do for the looks and everyone following a trend? Or does this actually boost your damage or something else important?
If so, by how much? Like, if I decide I’m going to take Dagger/book anyway, how big of a difference is it actually going to make? I’m not sure how to compare the two, because when I compare a staff to my other two equipped, it only compares it to the main hand.
I also don’t know if the actual damage of the weapon matters either…
Anyway, if anyone can clear this up for me I’d appreciate it! I’ve googled around a lot and I can’t seem to find a clear answer that is recent to shadowlands.
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There is little if any functional difference for casters. The stat allocation of the weapons themselves is what matters.
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Ok… That’s good to know.
However that still doesn’t really answer my question. If I pick Dagger/off-hand over staff with the shadowlands PvP gear, am I going to see a loss because of different stats?
And if so, how much?
Depends on the stats of the specific weapons and what your current gear and class/spec is.
If both the dagger or sword and off hand have the same type of stats, and are the same ilvl, and the staff is same stats and ilvl of say haste/mastery, will they add up exactly the same?
if everything was numerically the same they’d be the same.
look to raidbots for anything more than that
i may be being overly dismissive so let me not.
melee folks consider weapon dps as an important stat and this distinguishes between dw,1h, and 2h significantly. to casters all gear is just stat sticks and little else. (in the past there were exceptions like wands but wands no longer fill the design space they used to
I understand what you are saying, but the reason why I made this post was to get an actual answer regarding if a staff is better or not.
I understand that if the stats are the same, the value is the same.
However I am still leveling up this lock, I can’t access the PvP vendor, so I can’t see what I can purchase at level 60.
I can’t see if there is a Dagger or Sword with the same secondary stats as a staff, and an off-hand with the same a stats as well. Comparing them in game would be impossible for me, because I can’t even go to the shadowlands main city, if a mage tries to port me it tells me I’m too low level to take the portal lol.
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im giving you an actual answer lol
you just arent understanding
if the stats are the same they are the same. i even specifically pointed out why our loadout here doesn’t equate the same way melee does.
i cannot take 2 specific pieces of gear look at your gear and spec and math it in my head either. noone can. for specifics of that degree take it to raidbots, but that’s not even what you asked. you asked if in generalities a staff and a 1h/oh made a functional difference. i explained to you that all gear is stat sticks to casters and thus if the stats are the same the stats are the same and nothing else comes into the equation,
as far as what can purchased wowhead has a full list at all times, young lock.
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I think the main reason Warlock’s use staves in PvP is simplicity as it’s quicker and easier to get a better staff than an equally better weapon/off-hand combo.
A big part of what makes melee prefer dual wield over 2h is the second weapon enchant. We can’t enchant offhands so there is no difference between staff and mh/oh.
@op
A staff will have the same total stats as a mh+oh combo of the same ilvl, so it doesn’t matter. A 226 staff is the same as a 226 sword+226 offhand
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People play staff because it has more vers.
The only classes that go dual wield are the ones that only can dual wield.
Frost DKs go two handed in pvp.
In pve we go dw though due in part to what kwaii said. (Also the way it interacs with BoS but let’s not get off topic)
Well you’re supposed to. I still play 2h obliteration because dk smash.
I was talking melee in pvp. Should have clarified better lol
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I am fairly certain, the staff is used instead of the one-hand/off-hand, because the staff offers the Versatility/Haste combo which cannot be achieved with a one-hand/off-hand, and those are the most preferred stats.
It might othwerise (or additionally) be because it costs less conquest to buy the staff instead of an off-hand and one-hand.
I have not bothered to verify this, because I prefer the staff transmog anyway (at the cost of wand utility, however irrelevant that is these days; I onced preferred a wand for the occasional totem control).
However, if there was a reason, it’d be one of these.
TK
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Output / gameplay wise, there is currently no difference between using a staff or a main hand + off hand item.
What’s more important is the ilvl and the stats of the items.
As others have said, if the ilvl of the items are equal then the overall stat ‘budgets’ are the same. There is no mathematical gain whichever way you choose in the original scenario. Your focus is around getting the optimal stats given your spec etc.
Personally, I focus on staves because I like the ‘one and done’ aspect of getting the ilvl/stats I want. Once in a while, however, the loot gods are cruel, and you’ll be forced to make some tough calls. As Lostlegion said - sim and know the stat priorities you need.
A good place to start will be what’s BiS for mythic dungeon runs and normal Nathria. Icy Veins site will get you headed in the right direction, but does not address all the nuances of highly advanced play.
That’s ok, learn the basics and more will come as is needed.
The only reason why I make my warlock have MH/OH items instead of a 2h weapon like a staff…
… Is because it allows you to use Skull of the Man’ari as other specs.
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IIRC with the honor/conquest vendor gear specifically, the staff has haste and the mh/oh combo does not.
Edit: as Lostlegion mentions, you can look it up on Wowhead instead of trusting my rusty memory.