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Legion Class Preview: Warlock

by - 8 years ago

The Warlock Legion class preview blog post went up today detailing mostly quality of life changes, as well as some cool new active talents. Below, we’ve summarized the changes to each of the class’s specs, including ability, talent, and rotation changes.

Key Notes

  • Warlocks will only focus on mana and Soul Shards for resource systems
  • Demonology will be revamped to be about controlling demons again, not becoming one
  • Affliction will focus more damage and mechanics on DoTs and DoT management and less on channeled spells
  • Destruction will return to Soul Shards as a resource

Affliction

Affliction will remain fundamentally unchanged, but with heavier focus on damage-over-time (DOTs) spells and less on Drain Soul and (possibly) Haunt. Their DOTs are being buffed to encourage their use, and warlocks will spend Soul Shards on Unstable Affliction as a more power DOT rather than Haunt, it seems. Instead of Drain Soul, Drain Life will be a more secondary filler/channeled spell, which they believe lets the focus remain on the DOTs for damage and plays a strong role as a self heal.

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment (Official Post)

Core Combat Abilities

  • Corruption
    • 3% Mana, 40 yd range, Instant
    • Corrupts the target, causing moderate Shadow damage over 14 sec.
  • Agony
    • 3% Mana, 40 yd range, Instant
    • Inflicts increasing agony on the target, causing up to a huge amount of Shadow damage over 18 sec. Damage starts low and increases over the duration. Refreshing Agony maintains its current damage level.
    • When Agony deals damage, you have a chance to regain a Soul Shard.
  • Unstable Affliction
    • 1 Soul Shard, 40 yd range, 1.5 sec cast
    • An especially insidious affliction that deals strong Shadow damage over 8 sec.
    • If the target dies, the Soul Shard will be refunded.
    • If Unstable Affliction is dispelled, the dispeller suffers strong Shadow damage and is silenced for 4 sec.
  • Drain Life
    • 3% Mana, plus 4,800 per sec, 40 yd range, Channeled
    • Drains life from the target, causing moderate shadow damage and restoring 18% of the caster’s health over 6 sec.
    • Drain Life’s damage is increased by 50% for each of your Corruption, Agony, and Unstable Affliction effects on the target.
  • Mastery: Potent Afflictions
    • Increases the damage of Agony, Corruption, and Unstable Affliction by 62.5% (with Mastery from typical gear).

Select Talent Changes

  • Contagion
    • Passive
    • After you cast Unstable Affliction, you can cast a second one for free, within 3 seconds.

 

Demonology

As iterated at Gamescom and BlizzCon, Demonology will be moving back to the fantasy of summoning and controlling many demons rather than transforming into one. They didn’t write much about the specifics, but some of the skills speak for themselves–such as Hand of Gul’dan, which summons a meteor of Imps for crying out loud, or Demonwrath, which temporarily buffs your minions.

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment (Official Post)

Core Combat Abilities

  • Shadow Bolt
    • 6% Mana, 40 yd range, 2.5 sec cast
    • Sends a shadowy bolt at the enemy, causing minor Shadow damage. Generates 1 Soul Shard.
  • Call Dreadstalkers
    • 2 Soul Shards, 40 yd range, 2 sec cast, 15 sec cooldown
    • Summon 2 ferocious Dreadstalkers to attack the target for 12 sec.
  • Hand of Gul’dan
    • 1 to 5 Soul Shards, 40 yd range, 1.5 sec cast
    • Calls down a demonic meteor full of Wild Imps which burst forth to attack the target for 12 sec.
    • Deals up to a strong amount of Shadow damage to all enemies within 8 yds and summons up to 5 Wild Imps, based on Soul Shards consumed.
  • Demonic Empowerment
    • 6% Mana, 1.5 sec cast, 12 sec recharge, 3 charges
    • Empowers up to 3 of your active demons with dark energies, increasing their Haste and health by 50% for 12 sec.
    • Prefers stronger demons first.
  • Mastery: Master Demonologist
    • Demonic Empowerment also increases the damage of your demons by 50% (with Mastery from typical gear).
  • Doom
    • 2% Mana, 40 yd range, Instant
    • Inflicts impending doom upon the target, causing absolutely massive Shadow damage after 20 seconds
    • Generates a Soul Shard when it deals damage.
  • Demonwrath
    • 2.5% Mana per sec, Channeled
    • Your demons crackle with demonic energy. Every 1 sec, all enemies within 10 yds of any of your demons take minor Shadow damage.
    • Each time Demonwrath deals damage, it has a 15% chance to generate a Soul Shard.
    • May be channeled while moving.

 

Selected Talent Changes

  • Implosion
    • 6% Mana, Instant
    • Causes all of your Wild Imps to be violently yanked toward the target, and then explode, dealing moderate Shadow damage to all enemies near them.

Destruction

Destruction Warlocks are not being changed drastically, but their resource system is changing back to Soul Shards to retain consistency and reduce confusion across the class. Some other skill changes are being made to tune the gameplay experience, which isn’t bad to begin with.

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment (Official Post)

Core Combat Abilities

  • Incinerate
    • 6% Mana, 40 yd range, 2 sec cast
    • Draws fire toward the enemy, dealing moderate Fire damage.
  • Immolate
    • 6% Mana, 40 yd range, 1.5 sec cast
    • Burns the enemy with fire, causing minor Fire damage and an additional strong Fire damage over 15 sec.
    • Immolate critical strikes have a 30% chance to generate a Soul Shard.
  • Conflagrate
    • 2% Mana, 40 yd range, Instant, 8 sec recharge, 2 charges
    • Triggers an explosion of fire on the target, dealing moderate Fire damage and generating a Soul Shard.
    • Also causes Backdraft, reducing the cast times of Incinerate and Chaos Bolt by 30% for 5 sec.
  • Chaos Bolt
    • 2 Soul Shards, 40 yd range, 2.5 sec cast
    • Unleashes a devastating blast of chaos, causing huge Shadow damage. Chaos Bolt always critically strikes and your critical strike chance increases its damage.
  • Havoc
    • 8% Mana, 40 yd range, Instant, 20 sec cooldown
    • Mark a target with Havoc for 8 sec, causing your single target spells to also strike them. Limit 1.
  • Mastery: Chaotic Energies
    • Your Destruction spells deal up to 40% (with Mastery from typical gear) additional damage, randomly.

 

Selected Talent Changes

  • Channel Demonfire
    • 4.8% Mana, Channeled, 12 se cooldown
    • Launches 15 bolts of felfire at Immolated enemies within 40 yds, over 3 sec. Each bolt deals moderate Fire damage.

Class Changes Overview Blog Schedule

Later today, Death Knights and Shamans will be in the spotlight.

  1. Sunday (11/8): Hunter
  2. Monday (11/9): Priest, Mage, Paladin
  3. Tuesday (11/10): Warlock, Death Knight, Shaman
  4. Wednesday (11/11): Warrior, Monk, Druid
  5. Thursday (11/12): Rogue

Seth Harkins

PC gamer and lover of (most) things Blizzard. In his off time, he writes bad fan fiction, tends to his growing number of house plants, and enjoys a love-hate relationship with two cats.


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