First, I'm not asking which is better, and I know I should try Warlock out for myself which I plan to do, I have one at lvl 8 now and I'll be playing him later. Just wondering for the long term, don't wanna waste mytime. I'll tell you guys why I like my Hunter and I'd appreciate any feeback on whether I'd like to play Warlock long term or not.
1. I Like soloing. No I'm not anti-social, I just find that it's oftentimes hard due to my time constraints and weird hours to find a group, and finding a stable group at all would be near impossible. I like having a character that can solo which is why I like the "easy mode" classes.
2. I don't like melee, I like ranged combat. I don't wanna be a mage though because as said I solo a lot and they seem like they'd always be walking on the edge. I don't want to roll an ice spec mage either so I don't think that's a good route for me since they're the best solo mages I think.
3. I like pets, one because of the solo ability of course. Two because I think it's fun to have someone else that you can direct and will listen to whatever you say lol.
So those are what I can think of now, any opinions, warnings, even flames appreciated lol.
- Forums
- World of Warcraft
- Class Discussion
- I Like my Hunter, would I like a Warlock ?
I Like my Hunter, would I like a Warlock ?Follow
Scholar
24 posts
It may be because Warlock was my first class...but I would say that it is the hardest, and most frustrating class to level to 70 with. If you're looking for "easy-mode" go with Rogue, Mage, Paladin, or another hunter.
Quote:
If you're looking for "easy-mode" go with Rogue, Mage, Paladin, or another hunter.
Now, that's a matter of perspective... I've found rogue and paladin to be more frustrating to level than other classes (just my experience, not making judgement calls on the classes).
Quote:
1. I Like soloing. No I'm not anti-social, I just find that it's oftentimes hard due to my time constraints and weird hours to find a group, and finding a stable group at all would be near impossible. I like having a character that can solo which is why I like the "easy mode" classes.
No class is "easy mode". Period. All classes are capable of soloing all the way to level 70. Blizzard made a point of making the majority of the game soloable for all classes.
On that note, warlocks are a bit easier to solo with due to the pet support (built-in tank, situational CC, etc.) and the self-sustaining nature of the warlock's health and mana (cast stuff, life tap the mana back, drain life the health back). And, of course, the three "oh s**t!" buttons never hurt (Fear, Howl of Terror, Death Coil).
Quote:
2. I don't like melee, I like ranged combat. I don't wanna be a mage though because as said I solo a lot and they seem like they'd always be walking on the edge. I don't want to roll an ice spec mage either so I don't think that's a good route for me since they're the best solo mages I think.
My mage is 35, so I don't claim to be an expert. However, I got to 35, mostly solo, specced Fire. As Fire, the goal is to kill the mob as fast as possible. Pyroblast, Fireball, Scorch, Frost Nova & get to range, Fireball, Fireblast, nice to know ya. With crits, it's often cut down to half of that routine (I've killed with Pyroblast, Fireball on occasion). So, yeah, mages take a bit of guts, but they're not that hard to solo with.
Something to bear in mind; if you like seeing big damage numbers, warlock is probably not for you. Excepting Destro spec (which has some mana-efficiency issues), warlocks deal damage in lots and lots of tiny little increments.
Quote:
3. I like pets, one because of the solo ability of course. Two because I think it's fun to have someone else that you can direct and will listen to whatever you say lol.
Well, for pet variety, warlocks are excellent. Four different pets (five if you spec Demonology). However, it could be a real shock going from hunter to warlock and expecting the same performance from your pets. Hunter pets are tough and can do almost anything; warlock pets are designed to do one thing and one thing only, and they're rather fragile. It takes real effort to pull aggro off a hunter pet; it takes effort to NOT pull aggro from the Voidwalker.
In closing, the best advice I can leave you with is "Try it out, see if you like it." If you don't like warlock, move on to something else. :)
Both Hunter and Warlock are some of the easiest classes to level with, actually. The pet classes get a ton of breaks while soloing that other classes don't see.
In my own experience (having played a hunter for a bit), they're similar, but a 'lock relies far less on his pet. You'll need to adjust to that.
For soloing, I found my 'lock perfect. Easyily levelled up to around 30, it dragged until 50 (though that may have been my state of mind) and, to be honest, I loved it between 50 and 70.
Whatsmore, it's f'kin fun as it's one of th emost versatile classes.
My experience of other classes is limited, but I found the Paladin to be a pain in the ***. Got him to 30 or 31 and I've abandoned him. Way too frustating.
A mate has rolled a rogue and for soloing purposes it seems ideal.
I began with a warrior and found that very tough going for soloing, which I thought was odd, but there you go. It was my first char, so I was maybe just doing it wrong.
Bottom line, if you like your hunter and want something familiar but NOT the same, the 'lock is for you. Give it to level 25. You'll know by then.
For soloing, I found my 'lock perfect. Easyily levelled up to around 30, it dragged until 50 (though that may have been my state of mind) and, to be honest, I loved it between 50 and 70.
Whatsmore, it's f'kin fun as it's one of th emost versatile classes.
My experience of other classes is limited, but I found the Paladin to be a pain in the ***. Got him to 30 or 31 and I've abandoned him. Way too frustating.
A mate has rolled a rogue and for soloing purposes it seems ideal.
I began with a warrior and found that very tough going for soloing, which I thought was odd, but there you go. It was my first char, so I was maybe just doing it wrong.
Bottom line, if you like your hunter and want something familiar but NOT the same, the 'lock is for you. Give it to level 25. You'll know by then.
nonwittyusername wrote:
It may be because Warlock was my first class...but I would say that it is the hardest, and most frustrating class to level to 70 with. If you're looking for "easy-mode" go with Rogue, Mage, Paladin, or another hunter.
Lock is my first toon too and I leveled her to 70 in no time.
I tried rogue - for me its horrible.
I would never roll mage due to leveling with one all the way.
Pally I have level 31 and she is total pita to level compared to my lock.
OP - I find warlock and hunter quite alike but in some things very different too. My hunter just dinged 58 and she is squishy compared to my lock. I find it hard to keep range sometimes too.
On the other hand I love trapping and FD and my pet is tough to kill and hits hard, almost like I have improved felguard by my side all the time.
I think you should try lock, they are fun and easy to level, and you might find it easier to join groups as warlock too.
Lock can be hard to play IF you don't get how they work. Once you "get" locks, they are fast levelers and strong at pvp - and very useful to groups in instances and raids.
If you like hunter, you will like the lvl 10 pet - the VW. (edit, he taunts like a hunter pet - only his taunt isn't quite as strong, especially from lvl 20 or so on - but this can easily be compensated for).
Once you get the spells (by lvl 20) you will use a technique called "drain hunting" (see compendium for full explanation). Basically you sic the VW while casting CoA and (improved) Corruption. Let VW taunt - you just wait a moment. At lower lvls you can blast away at this point, but as you get higher, you'll want to let the VW land his SECOND taunt before adding more damage.
If fighting low greens, the two dots and tap/drain (maybe wanding) is all that's needed. Higher mobs need, after second taunt, immolate.
Oh, the draining part - it's really tap and drain. You tap yourself once or twice to get mana back. Then drain to get health back. You end fight virtually full on health and mana - and move on to next fight w/ no downtime (and no money wasted on water).
You can level to 70 very well without EVER casting shadowbolt (after the teens).
The point to drain tanking is to set up a good, fast pace for killing/grinding, to get as much exp per hour as u can.
You may graduate to drain tanking (read compendium), which is somewhat to a lot better, depending on the player. But not everyone likes that. There is nothing wrong w/ drain hunting. And remember, a technique that is "stellar" for someone else is no good for you if you hate it (you won't be playing much if you hate a routine).
Oh, w/ the VW, you can get fast exp by killing multiple mobs. Depending on your gear and skill - well, here is the easy way to kill several at once:
Lets say you come upon three mobs close to each other. Sic VW on mob 1. WAIT. Yes, wait. Let the VW attack first. If you cast before the vw hits mob 1, he'll keep mob 1 on him, but 2 and 3 will attack you.
Okay, all three mobs are on vw. Do CoA, Cor and immo and mob 1. Now switch vw to mob 2 and dot it up. Mob 1 will now charge you, but he's badly hurt! Shadowbolt him, searing pain him - fear him and re-dot - he won't be hard to kill. Switch vw to mob 3 and dot. Heal vw if needed w/ health funnel.
Mob 2 charges you, but again he's hurt. Kill him. Now fight mob 3 however you need. Heal vw if needed. Fear mob if needed. Use searing pain to save pet if needed (if you are healthy and pet is not). Many options.
I'd start w/ three greens. Then try harder, if you want. THen try mixing tapping and draining to lower downtime.
Now, you can do the same drain tanking. It's harder and may require fears, but you can do it. And d'tankin may = much less downtime on multiples.
You may have to train your brain to play lock. If you come from mage to lock, it can be hard, hard to have faith in your dots. But that's the #1 mantra of the lock: trust your dots to do the work. Patience is required, not that we're slow - we are not slow killers. But pacing is required at times - we locks can set up an awesome killing pace. Requires discipline, though.
(edit, having dots burning on multiple targets is powerful! Between a taunting pet, fear and maybe using Curse of Exhaustion (so you can kite or run from a pursuing target while other dots eat it up) - we can do some cool stuff)
Mages, btw, aren't that hard. As a leveling Mage, I'd just go for easier kills. Low yellows are the ticket, imo, for fast and stress free mage leveling. Just use your cold spells to control the fight. Use sheep and nova for adds. Blink and run if adds are too much.
Locks can do amazing things. So can hunters. AoEing mages can rack up insane exp.
WoW is not hard to level - you can try all of them - once you get the hang of the game. Read our compendium (one of the top threads in this forum). Search around for other good threads adn guides. GL!
Edited, Sep 30th 2007 3:08pm by IponemaGirl
Edited, Sep 30th 2007 3:11pm by IponemaGirl
If you like hunter, you will like the lvl 10 pet - the VW. (edit, he taunts like a hunter pet - only his taunt isn't quite as strong, especially from lvl 20 or so on - but this can easily be compensated for).
Once you get the spells (by lvl 20) you will use a technique called "drain hunting" (see compendium for full explanation). Basically you sic the VW while casting CoA and (improved) Corruption. Let VW taunt - you just wait a moment. At lower lvls you can blast away at this point, but as you get higher, you'll want to let the VW land his SECOND taunt before adding more damage.
If fighting low greens, the two dots and tap/drain (maybe wanding) is all that's needed. Higher mobs need, after second taunt, immolate.
Oh, the draining part - it's really tap and drain. You tap yourself once or twice to get mana back. Then drain to get health back. You end fight virtually full on health and mana - and move on to next fight w/ no downtime (and no money wasted on water).
You can level to 70 very well without EVER casting shadowbolt (after the teens).
The point to drain tanking is to set up a good, fast pace for killing/grinding, to get as much exp per hour as u can.
You may graduate to drain tanking (read compendium), which is somewhat to a lot better, depending on the player. But not everyone likes that. There is nothing wrong w/ drain hunting. And remember, a technique that is "stellar" for someone else is no good for you if you hate it (you won't be playing much if you hate a routine).
Oh, w/ the VW, you can get fast exp by killing multiple mobs. Depending on your gear and skill - well, here is the easy way to kill several at once:
Lets say you come upon three mobs close to each other. Sic VW on mob 1. WAIT. Yes, wait. Let the VW attack first. If you cast before the vw hits mob 1, he'll keep mob 1 on him, but 2 and 3 will attack you.
Okay, all three mobs are on vw. Do CoA, Cor and immo and mob 1. Now switch vw to mob 2 and dot it up. Mob 1 will now charge you, but he's badly hurt! Shadowbolt him, searing pain him - fear him and re-dot - he won't be hard to kill. Switch vw to mob 3 and dot. Heal vw if needed w/ health funnel.
Mob 2 charges you, but again he's hurt. Kill him. Now fight mob 3 however you need. Heal vw if needed. Fear mob if needed. Use searing pain to save pet if needed (if you are healthy and pet is not). Many options.
I'd start w/ three greens. Then try harder, if you want. THen try mixing tapping and draining to lower downtime.
Now, you can do the same drain tanking. It's harder and may require fears, but you can do it. And d'tankin may = much less downtime on multiples.
You may have to train your brain to play lock. If you come from mage to lock, it can be hard, hard to have faith in your dots. But that's the #1 mantra of the lock: trust your dots to do the work. Patience is required, not that we're slow - we are not slow killers. But pacing is required at times - we locks can set up an awesome killing pace. Requires discipline, though.
(edit, having dots burning on multiple targets is powerful! Between a taunting pet, fear and maybe using Curse of Exhaustion (so you can kite or run from a pursuing target while other dots eat it up) - we can do some cool stuff)
Mages, btw, aren't that hard. As a leveling Mage, I'd just go for easier kills. Low yellows are the ticket, imo, for fast and stress free mage leveling. Just use your cold spells to control the fight. Use sheep and nova for adds. Blink and run if adds are too much.
Locks can do amazing things. So can hunters. AoEing mages can rack up insane exp.
WoW is not hard to level - you can try all of them - once you get the hang of the game. Read our compendium (one of the top threads in this forum). Search around for other good threads adn guides. GL!
Edited, Sep 30th 2007 3:08pm by IponemaGirl
Edited, Sep 30th 2007 3:11pm by IponemaGirl
I posted a response in the hunter forum for this post. You can read that.
regarding mages, if you fight mobs 1 level lower than you, as a fire mage I can kill things with pyro, fireball, and fire blast (if I get 1 crit). If not frost nova, move back (no need to even blink) a few yards, fireball= dead mob. I'm only level 36 with my mage, so take that with a grain of salt. But all level grinding was solo- only grouped for intances. edit: oh I forgot I did group for the later battle of hillsbrad quests (horde). Because when you go in the hillsbrad town hall you will have to deal with 3 mobs. Later on though you can use aoe attacks with a mage to deal with multiple mobs.
You are kind of walking on the edge when you deal with respawns of several mobs in one area. Only time I died as a mage was in that dwarven stronghold in the southern part of the barrens. Fighting my way back out, had to sheep one kill the other, but a respawned popped in the area I was fighting in. I just didn't know how to deal with 3 mobs. freezing and running wasn't an option because or respawns outside. I can't think of any other deaths I had with my mage (that weren't lag related). Fire mages rock!
I already made my arguement about locks in the hunter forums. Sure they both have pets, and operate at range (though drain tanking affliction locks don't operate at range), but they kill things very differently.
one more thing to note. if you like pretty pets, hunter is the way to go. demons aren't particularly pretty- not even succubus. While a pretty kitty cat is nice to look at. :)
edit: and I want to refute about rogues. They are super easy to level with. Some seem to think they are hard. After level 22 or so when you get poisons (rogues also get other good abilities around this level), things become easy. Most dps classes can level fast, so this should be no surprise. They might have a little more downtime than lock as they will have to eat occasionally to replenish health.
Edited, Sep 30th 2007 1:47pm by thrashering
regarding mages, if you fight mobs 1 level lower than you, as a fire mage I can kill things with pyro, fireball, and fire blast (if I get 1 crit). If not frost nova, move back (no need to even blink) a few yards, fireball= dead mob. I'm only level 36 with my mage, so take that with a grain of salt. But all level grinding was solo- only grouped for intances. edit: oh I forgot I did group for the later battle of hillsbrad quests (horde). Because when you go in the hillsbrad town hall you will have to deal with 3 mobs. Later on though you can use aoe attacks with a mage to deal with multiple mobs.
You are kind of walking on the edge when you deal with respawns of several mobs in one area. Only time I died as a mage was in that dwarven stronghold in the southern part of the barrens. Fighting my way back out, had to sheep one kill the other, but a respawned popped in the area I was fighting in. I just didn't know how to deal with 3 mobs. freezing and running wasn't an option because or respawns outside. I can't think of any other deaths I had with my mage (that weren't lag related). Fire mages rock!
I already made my arguement about locks in the hunter forums. Sure they both have pets, and operate at range (though drain tanking affliction locks don't operate at range), but they kill things very differently.
one more thing to note. if you like pretty pets, hunter is the way to go. demons aren't particularly pretty- not even succubus. While a pretty kitty cat is nice to look at. :)
edit: and I want to refute about rogues. They are super easy to level with. Some seem to think they are hard. After level 22 or so when you get poisons (rogues also get other good abilities around this level), things become easy. Most dps classes can level fast, so this should be no surprise. They might have a little more downtime than lock as they will have to eat occasionally to replenish health.
Edited, Sep 30th 2007 1:47pm by thrashering
Rogues are hard for me to level with. I just can't do it. No idea why. I'm a spell/range attack person.
Players should try a rogue and see how it goes. If you "get" the class and love it, all the best - you'll have fun. If not, don't torture yourself.
Mages, once you get a drill down that works, can be leveled easily - like hte above poser said.
Pick good areas to fight. Watch adds. Have a plan if you get adds. If you can't sheep, you need to run. Or ae blast, if they are low enough lvl. I've had best luck w/ mages hunting low yellows/high greens.
Players should try a rogue and see how it goes. If you "get" the class and love it, all the best - you'll have fun. If not, don't torture yourself.
Mages, once you get a drill down that works, can be leveled easily - like hte above poser said.
Pick good areas to fight. Watch adds. Have a plan if you get adds. If you can't sheep, you need to run. Or ae blast, if they are low enough lvl. I've had best luck w/ mages hunting low yellows/high greens.
icemandarekthanius wrote:
1. I Like soloing. No I'm not anti-social, I just find that it's oftentimes hard due to my time constraints and weird hours to find a group, and finding a stable group at all would be near impossible. I like having a character that can solo which is why I like the "easy mode" classes.
I have problems with "easy mode". The warlock is one of the more complex classes to play well, because of the many options and strategies available. However, the class has survivability that is the envy of other classes, hence the old "Warlocks can't die - it's against the rules!" saw.
Quote:
2. I don't like melee, I like ranged combat. I don't wanna be a mage though because as said I solo a lot and they seem like they'd always be walking on the edge. I don't want to roll an ice spec mage either so I don't think that's a good route for me since they're the best solo mages I think.
A lot depends on your strategy. Drain tanking lets you get up close and personal. Draim hunting keeps 'em at a distance. Read the Shadow Compendium sticky and check out the many ways we can do in our opposition.
Quote:
3. I like pets, one because of the solo ability of course. Two because I think it's fun to have someone else that you can direct and will listen to whatever you say lol.
They will do whatever you say, the trick is knowing what, where, and when. Warlock minions are more complex than hunter pets, because we alxo have to choose which one to use in a given situation.
My mage is currently at 60, leveled fire the whole way and had absolutely no issues. If I start the fight on my terms, they're often dead before they get to me..if not then, moments after. And this isn't green mobs...it's high yellow/orange mobs. Just because you're a fire mage doesn't mean you can't use frost/arcane spells as need be.
Don't be afraid to try it out...yes, we're squishy, but we're also good at keeping things from hitting us. Frost nova, sheep, blast wave, cone of cold, dragon's breath, mana shield, fire ward, frost ward...all help tremendously in different situations.
As for the locks, they're great for soloing, but also a lot of fun in instances. Especially if you have a hunter already and can avoid all the pet instance issues - aggressive instead of passive/defensive, dismissing pet before jumping, adjusting taunt to the needs of the instances, etc.
Above all, you'll just have to see if the playstyle works for you. I didn't enjoy playing my lock at all, but she's my Enchanter alt...got to 225 and had to get her up to 35 to keep going. But then I switched from Demonology to Affliction spec, and now I love it...just because that's how I play. *shrugs*
Good luck with whatever you do, and have fun with it :D
Don't be afraid to try it out...yes, we're squishy, but we're also good at keeping things from hitting us. Frost nova, sheep, blast wave, cone of cold, dragon's breath, mana shield, fire ward, frost ward...all help tremendously in different situations.
As for the locks, they're great for soloing, but also a lot of fun in instances. Especially if you have a hunter already and can avoid all the pet instance issues - aggressive instead of passive/defensive, dismissing pet before jumping, adjusting taunt to the needs of the instances, etc.
Above all, you'll just have to see if the playstyle works for you. I didn't enjoy playing my lock at all, but she's my Enchanter alt...got to 225 and had to get her up to 35 to keep going. But then I switched from Demonology to Affliction spec, and now I love it...just because that's how I play. *shrugs*
Good luck with whatever you do, and have fun with it :D
5 posts
I have a brand new warlock, and a level 70 hunter - would be very interested in reading the compendium you mention, how do I find it?
The compendium is here in this forum, stickied at the top. :)
What class feels "easiest" depends very much on what your natural playstyle is.
The Warlock is a wonderfully diverse class, capable of accomplishing a *lot*, in a much safer way than many other classes. Even though it is a "pet class", it's different from the hunter in the ways that people have described in this thread. Personally, I find the Warlock the "easiest" to play because I really like the funky ways that you can approach things with a Warlock, and the fact that you have a lot of utilities and get out of jail free cards. I would say, however, that the Warlock takes a bit to learn and is less "obvious" in some ways than some other classes are --- this turns some people off them. Once you master the ins and outs of how to use what when (and part of the problem with Warlocks is that they have so many abilities and different ways to skin the cat, learning them all and when to apply them all can be a challenge), you'll find that the Warlock is a fabulous performer.
Having said that, I still love playing my Mage. A mage can solo very effectively as well. I do agree that frost is probably the easier solo spec for mages, but if you don't mind drinking a lot, fire spec mages also do fine. Yes, you are walking closer to the edge when you are soloing with a mage than with a warlock or hunter or a healing class .. but that's why I don't only play the mage. :)
What class feels "easiest" depends very much on what your natural playstyle is.
The Warlock is a wonderfully diverse class, capable of accomplishing a *lot*, in a much safer way than many other classes. Even though it is a "pet class", it's different from the hunter in the ways that people have described in this thread. Personally, I find the Warlock the "easiest" to play because I really like the funky ways that you can approach things with a Warlock, and the fact that you have a lot of utilities and get out of jail free cards. I would say, however, that the Warlock takes a bit to learn and is less "obvious" in some ways than some other classes are --- this turns some people off them. Once you master the ins and outs of how to use what when (and part of the problem with Warlocks is that they have so many abilities and different ways to skin the cat, learning them all and when to apply them all can be a challenge), you'll find that the Warlock is a fabulous performer.
Having said that, I still love playing my Mage. A mage can solo very effectively as well. I do agree that frost is probably the easier solo spec for mages, but if you don't mind drinking a lot, fire spec mages also do fine. Yes, you are walking closer to the edge when you are soloing with a mage than with a warlock or hunter or a healing class .. but that's why I don't only play the mage. :)
Recent Visitors: 114
All times are in CST
Anonymous Guests (114)
- Forums
- World of Warcraft
- Class Discussion
- I Like my Hunter, would I like a Warlock ?
© 2024 Fanbyte LLC