I agree with you here. Especially that last bit.
So many warlocks would say “the spec was best when we spammed shadowbolt filler and had nightfall”. I can only assume they’re just nostalgic for times like Wrath when we definitely had a place on particular kinds of fights. But that was structural with the entire class design, not just ours.
a lot of qualifty of life feedback was ignored for Warlocks. Maybe those weren’t the most salient concerns but they were ignored.
Also saying we got “drain soul filler being viable” feels weird since it’s one choice. It’s the best choice but really I think the issue is we’re still paying for people demanding Shadow Bolt back in the first place. If Drain Soul was our filler baseline, like going into Legion, then our first row of talents would be less wasted. We’d have Malefic Grasp to buff the drain soul filler and probably something like Rampant Afflictions to multidot more powerfully. As it stands we’re pigeonholed in a half assed multidot but ST dominant spec with the ability meant to bridge the two playstyles now being nerfed.
This is cosiderably more complex than “Warlocks got what they wanted but didn’t ask for enough” if what we did ask for we weren’t granted or granted a bad compromise version of. This is why, frankly, game designers exist. To know when players don’t know what they want. It’s been a truism that “nobody” on the dev team plays Warlock for a long time now.
Nothing Xelnath gave us was asked for either. Yet somehow we loved it. And I think we would have loved it all even if Warlocks weren’t so powerful on top of it.
The problem is if they increase our dot damage which I agree needs to happen it will make our class to strong in arena/rbgs and the forums are flooded with QQ because warlocks are melting an entire team. When really its no different than a mage/rogue team opening on someone and killing them in the first 5 seconds. Its still bs but for some reason thats more acceptable. its a no win situation for us.
They should do an incremental increase. The class is already bad in arena. It was one of the less represented class in the last AWC. I think there was only one lock and he was trained all games and it was sad to watch honestly. Buff the dots by 5% it wont be game breaking and could make the class competitive again.
I see what your saying, but in no way is that a reality. Why should you be able to be killed in two global by a Rogue Fire mage comp. In theory a dot spec aff lock will still be slow, allowing teams to heal, blow cds, and adjust. Sadly, the way the game has evolved, with PVP and Myth Plus Affliction is swimming against the tide.
It always goes back and fourth though. People would rather not have a chance and face a rogue/mage team and die in the opener than face a warlock team that has a game go on for 5 min and their team all dyeing at the same time.
I am with you, I’m just saying that our class “well being” and play style shouldn’t be scrutinized more than other classes. Blizz making adjustments to affliction and buffing dots should not be disregarded because people will complain. that’s all the forums are is people complaining. And sadly they are so bad at class balance that every time they tune something they break a class for better or worse.
Don’t do that to me. I had a smile on my face thinking how much fun it was back then. Then I started to think about our current state and it went to a frown again.
It’s not the choice of lock though. I’d rather have the burst to global people in arenas like some other classes.
Yea if they could fix destro that could possibly happen.
In my experience this season, as a current gladiator, my warlock is tickling entire teams in PvP for pad damage that doesn’t mean anything until they go oom.
Make the PvP talent rapid contagion a base line ability. That will be our soul shard spender:)
Make DOTs ticks X% greater on target with UA, this will leave room for tuning in the future on ST.
You might try Shadow Priest. It is more affliction warlock than we are now days.
So I am leveling my lock now. Affliction is my fav spec but I had no idea how to actually use my shards. I was always stuck on 5 with nothing really to use them on. So I went back to Destro.
Not to mention ramp up time on normal dungeons made me look like I was doing less damage than the healer lol.
Yea. I feel the same. I got on my lock that was demo, and changed to affliction, after playing dot rot in classic. 5 mins into killing maw mobs I said “what tf is this.” I’m doing no dmg at all without that dumb active ability. It’s like the dots are almost pointless. This is just so sad to see considering classic dots would kill a healer spamming heals. I don’t want it that strong, but I atleast want it to feel good… I wanna dot someone in arena and run around a pillar and see them get punished for it. But blizz wants me to be the one getting los. Feels so bad… Doesn’t feel like add at all.
5 percent? Pfffff I need 40 percent at least. And take away the dumb spender.
Truth.
inb4 wah wah necro. Still an issue. Still going to be searched for. Still going to be bumped and responded to.
Remove darkglare/MR burst, buff dots by 200%, increase duration by 200%.
gg.
amen. trash the darkglare BS. rather melt face again and drain them into puddles.
It is pretty disheartening to see dots ticking for the same as a demon hunters burning wound…and i am posting this on a dh.
Because if dots were strong again like they were in legion and back then they will dominate anytime there is more than 2 targets to dot up in raids or mythics+. You had aff locks double or tripling other’s dps because of it.
So blizzard now in order to prevent that wants aff to be base around a lot of weak dots that you can “empower” with some dot related burst cds.