Pets... Felhunter? Succubus?Follow

I have been leaning heavily on my VoidWalker since level 10. I just can't seem to let the blue blob of derision go. I have recently been playing around with the idea of using the Felhunter or Succubus. I see many people using these two pets in their rampages across the Azerothian landscapes.

Ok so my question is, what the heck to you guys do with these pets? How do you use them? Since they don't have Torment they don't hold hate for anything.

I am affliction specced, character is Moontouched on Sisters of Elune.

Just looking for some hints. If you think I should use some other pet feel free to post that too.

For Drain Tanking, both provide more damage than Big Blue. With Drain Tanking the idea is to let the mob hit you and Drain Life more than they can hit you for. Therefore, Big Blue is kinda useless since his damage is crap.

I'd actually prefer the Imp to the Succubus/Felhunter after you get to Dark Pact though. The other reason is they are somewhat useful in world PvP encounters. With the Felhunter, mages don't stand a chance, and you actually have a chance to see that rogue sneaking up on you. With the Succubus you can Seduce people, which can be useful at times.



Saw this idiot got in right before me. If you are Drain Hunting(letting VW hold aggro while you DPS and stay below him on threat), then yes this is correct. If you are a drain tanker though, no, he is the worst soloing pet. Personally, I have done both, and while Drain Hunting may be "safer", it seemed to me Drain Tanking was faster. Both styles can have no downtime if done properly, I still prefered Drain Tanking myself.

Edited, Aug 11th 2008 11:30am by Lathais

Well, maybe that style works for you, but as MANY MANY other locks will tell you, both here and at other warlock specific forums, Drain Tanking with Succy out Pre-Dark Pact and Imp Post Dark Pact is THE BEST way of levelling.

Also, if your gonna tell others to research, maybe you should first. Ask any other experienced warlock what the best way to level is. Try asking over at the warlock specific forums The Warlock's Den, or even in the thread a little ways down, how do/did you level your lock. See, I have done all that. You apparently haven't.

What it really comes down to in the end though, is playstyle. There is no one best soloing pet, as the pets are nearly as versatile as we are. Situationally, one may be better than another. The Felhunter can actually take a little damage fairly well, and using the mixed style you do, letting him take a few hits before you get aggro actually works very well, and puts out more damage and utility than a VW.

Edited, Aug 11th 2008 2:36pm by Lathais

Edited, Aug 11th 2008 2:37pm by Lathais

Well, if your drain tanking, and you send pet in, DoT the mob, throw a SB to get aggro then start draining life, you drain more than the mob can hit you for and still end at full life. Dark Pact on the way to the next mob. Imp also hits harder than VW, so I fail to see how this slows down killing speed. Also, adds are not that dangerous, HoT and run away, lol. Sure, pet may die, but it's just an imp, who doesn't need a shard to re-summon.

Pretty much that simple.
I am not saying that your way is wrong, just that it is idiotic to say that it is the only way.


Edited, Aug 11th 2008 4:08pm by Lathais

I'm not getting in the middle of the above, but to the OP:

You're basically doing what's commonly called Drain-Hunting: Sending in the blueberry and DOTing from a safe distance. It's a solid soloing style and can be used all the way to 70 if you are very careful and aware of threat levels and have some patience (get a threat meter like Omen). I found it a very fast method when I chain pulled. Just doing one at a time was slower than other methods in my experience. But if I could continually pull serveral mobs in a row, it was great. Later on you can access the Felguard which gives this play-style new life (and ups the kill speed). But, there will be a time before the Felguard where you will slow down due to aggro gains over your Voidy's ability to hold mobs to him. I found that I had to wait more and more for the blueberry to gain enough aggro that my DOTs wouldn't pull the mobs right away. At least for a while there.

Many warlocks give up on drain-hunting and switch over to drain-tanking; where you are basically pulling the mobs to you and using the pet for additional damage or for their spells. This style really starts when you have access to Fel Concentration, Siphon Life and better +Stam gear. This is where the Felhunter (for spell interrupts) or the Succubus (for CC) come in handy. The Voidwalker does practically nothing for this play-style other than offer you an oh-sh*t button (the bubble), and I found that the Imp was ok for Blood Pact (extra stam) but didn't do anything else. Pretty straight forward play-style, just SL/CoA/Corr a target and start Drain Life until dead. Rinse, repeat. With some practice you can chain pull this way as well, but that's better when you have serious +stam gear.

For myself... Somewhere in the 40s I started playing around with drain-tanking and really liked it. I've tried many, many specs and right now (as Sl/Sl) I find that Drain Tanking is very efficient for grinding dailies. I primarily use the Felhunter for the spell interrupt and a little additional damage. Even when I'm raid spec'd (40/4/17) it works a bit better (i.e. is faster) for me than drain-hunting. But if you're going heavy Demonology at any point, Drain-Hunting is viable and pretty solid. Many warlocks go this way to grind XP when they hit Outland.

In the end, play-style is up to you and what you find most fun. I suggest trying all the different styles (hunting, tanking, nuking, even the strange tri-spec). After all, respecs aren't really that expensive.

Good luck!