I'm currently leveling my 'lock and find that I am relying almost solely on the drain hunting method. This style of play is most comfortable to me as my main is a hunter. I would appreciate your input on the following:
1) Is this a viable style of play to level 70 or will I reach a point where this is really not a useful strategy anymore?
2) Is there another complementary style of play that I should practice in addition to drain hunting?
3) I'm going for a 7/43/11 build that I read about on the WoWHead warlock forums. I have tweaked it a little to put points in improved VW, since I rely heavily on my VW to tank for me. In general is a demonology build a good choice for someone who mostly solos using drain hunting as the preferred play style? Why or why not? If not, would you please recommend an alternate build. (I realize an affliction build may make it easier to level, but I really enjoy throwing my demons into the fray and I want a felguard.)
Thank you in advance for your help.
Edited, Jul 15th 2008 4:48pm by katluvr
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Felguard builds work quite well, even in Instancing in Raiding. I would not suggest grabbing the Felguard right away at 50 though. Around 56, then respec to get points out of Imp VW and pick him up then. He will pretty much entirely replace your VW.
If you plan on raiding, you may get some flak for choosing to raid with the felguard, however, if you do it right, you can still put out great DPS and make those people eat their words. I did.
If you plan on raiding, you may get some flak for choosing to raid with the felguard, however, if you do it right, you can still put out great DPS and make those people eat their words. I did.
Drain-hunting with a heavy Demo build is perfectly viable up to 70 and I see a lot of Locks go this route. Usually the pattern is to level Affliction to Outland and respect there to Demo. But there are plenty of people who go demo all the way. You won't need to worry too much about Imp. Voidy once you can get the Felguard, so respec those points out when you get there.
Doesn't sound like you're really interested in any other builds but it doesn't hurt to try them out from time to time. Check the Alla forums and Warlock's Den for build examples.
Happy hunting!
Doesn't sound like you're really interested in any other builds but it doesn't hurt to try them out from time to time. Check the Alla forums and Warlock's Den for build examples.
Happy hunting!
Drain hunting is not really about your minion doing damage. It's about your minion tanking for you and keeping the badnasties away from your clothie ***. You are the one that does the damage and regains that mana back so that you can go on to the next critter. If your minion does more damage (either because your VW is buffed, or because you now have a felguard), you might need to cut back on your dots in order to start draining life sooner. Ideally, you want your drain and the mob's life to end simultaneoudly.
I levelled entirely as a drain hunter.
Got the Felguard at 50+ and used him instead of the VW, so take your points out of that as soon as you can get the FG.
It becomes slightly different then in that with your VW you were making sure he kept aggro while you did as much damage as possible.
With the FG, he will do so much damage that you will end up complimenting and supporting it, while also keeping him alive.
Enjoy it, it's fun.
When it comes to instancing and raiding you can still use your FG...but it becomes very hard work keeping him alive, doing his job, getting enough damage etc!!
Got the Felguard at 50+ and used him instead of the VW, so take your points out of that as soon as you can get the FG.
It becomes slightly different then in that with your VW you were making sure he kept aggro while you did as much damage as possible.
With the FG, he will do so much damage that you will end up complimenting and supporting it, while also keeping him alive.
Enjoy it, it's fun.
When it comes to instancing and raiding you can still use your FG...but it becomes very hard work keeping him alive, doing his job, getting enough damage etc!!
Thank you all for your advice, it gave me a lot to think about and another great resource to learn about how to play my 'lock (ty Therion)!
After more research this made sense to me. I tend to mostly play solo - pugging scares the crap out of me because I'm deathly afraid of ******** up and causing a wipe. When I do run instances it's usually with my guildies who are more understanding and very willing to help me improve my game. I think if I decide to take this toon into raiding, even with my guildies, I'll probably respec and leave the felguard at home. For solo play I like the idea that the felguard is pretty resilient, can hold aggro, and can deal damage.
Right now I find my VW is almost like another weak DoT, inflicting small amounts of damage that, while helpful, are not critical to the outcome of the fight. I spent talent points on imp. VW primarily to maximize its ability to hold aggro. I was finding that with my imp. shadow bolt I could pull aggro with 1 shot after loading DoTs, putting me into more of a drain tanking mode.
It will be interesting to see how having a heavy-hitting felguard for a pet will change my shot rotation (currently using corruption, CoA (or CoT if going against a caster), 1 or 2 shadow bolts, life tap, drain life, rinse, repeat). Fortunately my VW can take quite a beating and I don't usually need to heal during fights, which is not the case with the felguard from what I have read.
You're absolutely right about keeping an open mind about other builds. I tend to get tunnel-vision and think that once I choose a build I need to stick with it. Must remember that respeccing is our friend. I think what draws me to a deep demo build is that I'm placing as much emphasis on the 'lock's pet as the hunter places on its pet, therefore demonology is the logical choice. Have to say, though, some of those affl and destro talents are pretty hawt!
Edited, Jul 16th 2008 10:38am by katluvr
Quote:
If you plan on raiding, you may get some flak for choosing to raid with the felguard, however, if you do it right, you can still put out great DPS and make those people eat their words. I did.
After more research this made sense to me. I tend to mostly play solo - pugging scares the crap out of me because I'm deathly afraid of ******** up and causing a wipe. When I do run instances it's usually with my guildies who are more understanding and very willing to help me improve my game. I think if I decide to take this toon into raiding, even with my guildies, I'll probably respec and leave the felguard at home. For solo play I like the idea that the felguard is pretty resilient, can hold aggro, and can deal damage.
Quote:
Drain hunting is not really about your minion doing damage. It's about your minion tanking for you and keeping the badnasties away from your clothie ***.
Right now I find my VW is almost like another weak DoT, inflicting small amounts of damage that, while helpful, are not critical to the outcome of the fight. I spent talent points on imp. VW primarily to maximize its ability to hold aggro. I was finding that with my imp. shadow bolt I could pull aggro with 1 shot after loading DoTs, putting me into more of a drain tanking mode.
It will be interesting to see how having a heavy-hitting felguard for a pet will change my shot rotation (currently using corruption, CoA (or CoT if going against a caster), 1 or 2 shadow bolts, life tap, drain life, rinse, repeat). Fortunately my VW can take quite a beating and I don't usually need to heal during fights, which is not the case with the felguard from what I have read.
Quote:
Doesn't sound like you're really interested in any other builds but it doesn't hurt to try them out from time to time.
You're absolutely right about keeping an open mind about other builds. I tend to get tunnel-vision and think that once I choose a build I need to stick with it. Must remember that respeccing is our friend. I think what draws me to a deep demo build is that I'm placing as much emphasis on the 'lock's pet as the hunter places on its pet, therefore demonology is the logical choice. Have to say, though, some of those affl and destro talents are pretty hawt!
Edited, Jul 16th 2008 10:38am by katluvr
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