#0 - May 28, 2007, 11:18 p.m.
Note: Please do not post talent specs for me to "review" or "critique." If you have a question about a build, ask about the specific talents you are choosing between. You are better off creating a new topic if you really need help for your overall build.
I'm reformatting the guide to be a little more clear in its descriptions and to fix up the wordiness a little.
I want to stress that this guide is meant to be a community effort. The notes and ratings in the guide are based on the opinions of the community, not my own. If you feel that a certain part of the guide could be debated, please say so in this post. I am open to constructive comments, suggestions, and questions.
Be sure also to visit Shadowbolt's guide for further analysis on raiding builds. Sert's talent guide is also nice as a quick reference to talent builds.
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[b]Warlock Talent Guide (4/21/07)
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Talent guide contents
A. Affliction Tree [dx-a]
B. Demonology Tree [dx-b]
C. Destruction Tree [dx-c]
Use Ctrl+F (the "Find") function on your browser to jump to a specific part of the guide.
I will use this format to describe each talent in the Warlock tree:
Talent rank 5/5
Effect of talent when maxed out
Comment: General description of the talent and its implications.
Solo: ***** - How well this talent functions for grinding/farming solo.
Raid: **** - How well this talent functions for instances in the end game, 5-man and raid.
PvP: *** - How well this talent functions for PvP.
Notes:Final notes about the talent, including build-specific points and sometimes a little history
Star rating system:
Each category receives 0-5 stars (*), 5 stars for good talents, 0 for bad ones.
(0) 0 stars indicates that the talent is near worthless for the scenario in question.
(*) 1 star indicates that the talent is poor in that scenario for most builds, but can be slightly helpful in certain situations.
(**) 2 stars indicates that the talent isn't very important, but is still helpful. This is usually the rating for most "buffer" talents that are surrounded by better ones.
(***) 3 stars indicates that the talent is useful, but not crucial.
(****) 4 stars indicates that the talent is a staple among Warlocks who choose that build.
(*****) 5 stars indicates that the talent is spec or class defining talent.
In many cases a certain talent is worthless for some builds but useful in other builds. These talents are usually within 21 points from Tier 1 of the tree. These talents may receive spec specific ratings. I will note this by writing something like this
PvP: *** (***** For Affliction builds)
For example, this means that the talent isn't very important unless you are an Affliction Warlock.
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A. Affliction Tree [dx-a]
The Affliction tree improves the strength of your DoT and drain spells. It is widely considered to be the best grinding spec thanks to the near complete lack of downtime and the ability to take on multiple mobs at the same time.
Tier 1
Suppression rank 5/5
Reduces the chance for enemies to resist your Affliction spells by 10%.
Comment: Suppression acts as +hit gear, meaning that each rank of Suppression gives you +2% hit for your Affliction spells. This will cause your DoT's (excluding Immolate), Drain's, Fear's, and Curse's to will suffer fewer level-based resists. This helps save on mana lost from resists and time used to cast the spells. It helps Death Coil hit and Fear to stick longer, and makes your DoT's suffer fewer partial resists.
Solo: *** - Saves mana and improves DPS, especially against higher level targets.
Raid: ***1/2 - Makes gearing up easier for the Affliction DPS Warlock, but it's hard to fit into most builds.
PvP: *** - Helps prevent Fears and Death Coils from being resisted - very nice. See note.
Notes: You only need 2 points in Suppression for its maximum effect for PvP.
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Improved Corruption rank 5/5
Reduces the casting time of your Corruption spell by 2.0 sec.
Comment:Makes Corruption instant. Crucial to Affliction Warlocks, popular among other types. Corruption is near worthless with a cast time. WIth this talent, it becomes a nice instant DoT option.
Solo: ***** - Reduces amount of time it takes to put out a Corruption, helps kiting, lets you ignore pushback by damage.
Raid: **** (***** For Affliction) - A significant increase in DPS, but there's little room for it in heavy Destruction builds. Not always useful against trash.
PvP: **** (***** For Affliction) - Still easily countered without deep Affliction talents. For non-Affliction Warlocks, it doesn't do too much damage. Otherwise it would be 5 stars.
Notes: Essentially a requirement for Affliction builds. A useful instant option for other builds, but not completely necessary.
Tier 2
Improved Curse of Weakness rank 2/2
Increases effect of Curse of Weakness by 20%
Comment: A slight increase to the AP reduction on Curse of Weakness. Since CoW is rarely used, this talent is almost always skipped. Curse of Agony will reduce more damage than Curse of Weakness in most fights since the mob/player died earlier.
Solo: * - You're better of using Curse of Agony in almost every solo scenario.
Raid: * - Once in a long while, it might help to CoW an add. Example: Golemagg's dogs. The benefit is very slight however.
PvP: * - Some people like to CoW Hunter pets. That doesn't mean this talent is any good, though.
Notes: Curse of Weakness is WEAKER than it was prior to 2.01. It no longer stacks with Demoralizing Shout, and the attack power reduction is laughable compared to the benefits you'd gain from other curses. Skip.
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Improved Drain Soul rank 2/2
Returns 15% of your mana if your target is killed by you while you drain its soul. In addition, your Affliction spells generate 10% less threat.
Comment: When YOU (not your pet, not a party member, etc) land a killing blow while channeling Drain Soul on a mob, you regain 15% of your total mana. This means you'll probably need a DoT on your target or a Shadow Bolt/Incinerate traveling to it while you're channeling Drain Soul on it to get this talent's bonus. Also, your DoT's and drains cause 10% less threat.
Solo: *** - Very nice for minimalizing downtime. Also, if you use a Voidwalker/Felguard to grind, your DoT's will pull that much less agro. However, Affliction has a lot of mana management options and Demo or Dest builds won't always be able to fit it.
Raid: **** (Or less) - Don't expect to get the mana to proc in raids. The threat reduction's usefulness varies depending on how much you DoT/Drain, obviously. Overall DoT's don't have as much DPS as nukes, and thus less threat production.
PvP: * - Don't bother.
Notes: Destruction builds generally only gain this benefit if they use a Voidwalker to tank while using it - throw a Shadow Bolt from distance and Drain Soul as it travels towards your target.
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Improved Life Tap rank 2/2
Increases mana awarded from your Life Tap spell by 20%
Comment: Increases rate of mana received from Life Tapping, reduces the number of times you have to Life Tap overall, and improves health:mana ratio when using Life Tap. Very good talent.
Solo: **** (*** For Affliction) - Helps you grind efficiently as possible. Fewer points for Affliction builds as they have Dark Pact. Still very useful though.
Raid: **** - Fewer, faster, health efficient Life Taps = more DPS and better healer efficiency.
PvP: (** in Arena)/(*** in BG's) - It's worth more in BG's, as those battles tend to take longer, and if you survive a fight, you'll probably be Life Tapping for the next one. Not necessary for arenas.
Notes: Always get this talent if you're going to have more than five points in Affliction.
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Soul Siphon 2/2
Increases the amount drained by your Drain Life and Drain Mana spells by an additional 5% for each Affliction effect on the target, to a maximum of 60%.
Comment: Every Affliction DoT, Curse, and Drain (?) effect on the mob improves the amount of damage Drain Life/Mana do. Turns Drain Life into a monster of a spell, especially in PvE.
Solo: ***** (*** Demo/* Dest) - An extremely powerful talent for drain tanking or just draining life if you're using a pet to tank the mob. Mileage with Demonology and Destruction may vary depending on playstyle.
Raid: **** (* Demo/Dest) - Helps to "reload" as an Affliction spec, but Shadow Bolt has higher DPS. Relieves the healers a little.
PvP: *** (* Demo/Dest) - Drain Life can be risky in certain situations because it is channeled. However, there are situations where Soul Siphon is very useful.
Notes: Incredible for Affliction builds. Probably not necessary for nuking builds.
