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Wrath Beta patch notes: Warlock part I

So, the world (and WoW Insider) is alive with the sound of the Wrath of the Lich King beta, and it's high time that we take a look at our favorite commander of evil... the Warlock. We'll want to be sure we understand what's coming for us, so as not to let anyone think those other evil guys are horning in on our territory. And, yeah, there's definitely some things changing.

A lot of the changes are a little hard to noggin out -- are they meant to be buffs? Nerfs? Inexplicably different, but not really better or worse? Demonology is certainly getting a thorough shuffle, but it's hard to say whether it's good or bad. We'll chat more about it after the cut. Let's start with what the first beta patch notes obviously say, and consider what each item means. Then, in Part II, we'll start looking at each tree individually, with each of its new spells.

Continue reading Wrath Beta patch notes: Warlock part I

Brutal Gladiator's Felshroud


The Brutal Gladiator's Felshroud is the armor set for crit-based or Destruction Warlocks. It is a felweave, or cloth armor usable only by Warlocks and is usually matched with Guardian's Silk armor pieces. The armor set can be purchased from Big Zokk Torquewrench in Netherstorm and Ontokk Shatterhorn in Shattrath City. The matching Guardian items may be purchased from Doris Volanthius in the Hall of Legends and Lieutenant Tristia in the Champion's Hall.

Brutal Gladiator's Felweave Handguards
The Brutal Gladiator armor piece for the hands are the cheapest and easiest Season 4 Arena gear to obtain. With no personal rating requirements, most players will be able to purchase this piece and is the Arena gear likely to be most widespread as soon as the season begins. The bonus is the same for both Warlock-specific sets, giving a bonus against spell interruption when casting Fear. The handguards have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
306 Armor (+13)
+56 Stamina (+6)
+23 Intellect (+5)
+26 Spell Critical (+4)
+23 Resilience (+0)
+44 Spell Damage / Healing (+4)
Gives 50% chance to avoid interruption caused by damage while casting Fear.
Classes: Warlock
WoW Insider says: These gloves are low-cost and have no rating requirements, making it a good purchase specially for starting Arena players. Although Destruction isn't as popular in Arenas because of comparatively lower survivability, these gloves give good burst potential to those specced for it. It is identical in all stats to the Mage's Silk Handguards.


Brutal Gladiator's Felweave Trousers
The leg armor possesses a personal rating requirement of 1550, which isn't too difficult to obtain, and Destruction Warlocks should find it an achievable target. While not as accessible as the gloves, the leg armor is highly visible on a character and is also likely to be a popular purchase, even at 1875 Arena points. The trousers have the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
442 Armor (+18)
+74 Stamina (+7)
+30 Intellect (+6)
+39 Spell Critical (+6)
+30 Resilience (+0)
+60 Spell Damage / Healing (+7)
Classes: Warlock
WoW Insider says: The lack of sockets mean that the only customization that can be done will be through Tailoring or Leatherworking enchants. Although it doesn't have as much +Stamina as the Dreadweave Leggings, Destruction Warlocks will find the +39 Spell Crit Rating (1.49% at Level 70) to more than make up for it.


Brutal Gladiator's Felweave Raiment

With three sockets, the chestpiece is the most customizable Arena armor piece, and is the next best purchase after the gloves. 1600 is a modest target considering the reward. In PvE, the chest armor is traditionally a drop from the final boss in a series (Magtheridon drops Tier 4 chest token, Kael'thas drops Tier 5 chest token, Illidan drops Tier 6 chest token, etc.). Arenas are different in this regard, but the item level of the chest is identical to PvE chest pieces. Sunwell Plateau breaks from tradition in that the final boss, Kil'jaeden, does not drop chest tokens or armor. However, the Brutal Gladiator chest armor is equivalent to the drops from Entropius and is the best combination of cost and restriction among all the armor pieces. The raiment has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
476 Armor (+22)
+68 Stamina (+7)
+21 Intellect (+6)
+39 Spell Critical (+6)
+26 Resilience (+0)
+46 Spell Damage / Healing (+7)

Socket Bonus: +4 Spell Critical
Classes: Warlock
WoW Insider says: Two Yellow Sockets mean more spell crit, including the offense-oriented socket bonus. The chest takes a -16 Stamina hit compared to the Dreadweave version, but this is the best burst Arena armor piece for Warlocks in Season 4. Because of its PvE equivalent, obtaining the Brutal Gladiator chest armor is almost like killing Entropius in Sunwell Plateau. Well, ok not really, but if you don't raid, that's about as close to a raid drop as you're going to get.


Brutal Gladiator's Felweave Cowl
The helm is very likely the last Brutal Gladiator armor piece that many players will obtain. With the shoulders at an extremely prohibitive 2200, most players will only manage 4/5 of Season 4. Destruction Warlocks should find a 1700 personal rating a manageable goal to get this cowl, which costs the same as the chest and leg armor pieces. With a personal rating attached to it, the Brutal Gladiator helm might be one helm graphic that players would like to leave on. It is also identical in model to the pieces that drop off Kil'jaeden in Sunwell Plateau. The cowl has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
426 Armor (+17)
+74 Stamina (+7)
+21 Intellect (+6)
+28 Spell Critical (+6)
+33 Resilience (+0)
+54 Spell Damage / Healing (+7)

Socket Bonus: +4 Resilience Rating
Classes: Warlock
WoW Insider says: One of the few pieces where Felweave has a little more raw +Spell Damage than its Dreadweave counterpart, the cowl is a perfect complement to a crit-happy Destro lock. It also has substantial upgrades from the previous season's fancily animated helm.


Brutal Gladiator's Felweave Amice

The 2200 personal ratings requirement for the shoulders are almost Gladiator-level for most Battlegroups, and will likely be a very rare sight in most realms. Although it is the cheapest item after the gloves, it is also the most difficult to get. Blizzard's reasoning for this is that the shoulders are the most "visually impacting" armor piece, confirming Blizzard's opinion that PvP achievements should be on display. The amice has the following stats (number in parentheses are the improvements over its Season 3 equivalent):
339 Armor (+16)
+56 Stamina (+6)
+18 Intellect (+5)
+21 Spell Critical (+4)
+23 Resilience (+0)
+44 Spell Damage / Healing (+4)

Socket Bonus: +3 Resilience Rating
Classes: Warlock
WoW Insider says: Brutal Gladiator Shoulders are peacock gear. The Felweave Amice has 1 point more Stamina than its Dreadweave counterpart, and has almost identical stats elsewhere except for +Spell Hit, which was forewent for +Spell Crit. Blue sockets are uncommon for PvP gear, and helps activate the Chaotic Skyfire Diamond.

Gallery: Season 4 Arms & Equipment

DruidHunter (Alliance)Hunter (Horde)Mage (Alliance)Mage (Horde)

Looking for more Season 4 info? We've rounded up everything you need to know about the Brutal Gladiator season right here.

Blood Pact: Destro the only way to go?

Raiding warlocks have a very specific role - dealing damage. As we progress further in the high end-raiding game, one thing becomes more and more apparent. Our much-envied range of playstyles diminishes and we seem to be shoehorned, like other classes, into pretty much a single cookie-cutter spec.

The spec in question is destruction or 0/21/40 specifically. This spec capitalizes on the wonderful scalability of shadow bolt and consistently outperforms affliction when good spell hit and crit gear becomes available. For a detailed look at the 0/21/40 build, check out my "A Warlock's descent into Destruction" article.

I've recently respecced back to an affliction spec (40/0/21) just to revisit the good ol' days of mobility (instant DoTs) and an "unending" mana pool (Dark Pact). I know we tend to look back on the past with rose-colored glasses, and true enough, my experience with affliction again was ... less than satisfying. Why the difference?

Continue reading Blood Pact: Destro the only way to go?

Blood Pact: A Warlock's descent into Destruction

Between Arenas, V'Ming spends his time as a lock laughing ominously in AV, tanking Olm with his own minions and pondering troll fashion from Zul'Aman. He's recently started to plumb the depths of SSC with his 0/21/40 build and bragging about 8k shadow bolts.

I have been an Affliction lock for much of my 70 career (45 days to be exact). I enjoyed wiping out fauna in Nagrand or Shadowmoon Valley by taking on multiple mobs with hardly any downtime. Between the Frozen Shadoweave set bonus, Essence Infused Mushroom, Siphon Life, Drain Life and the occasional skillcoil, my life hardly drops below the half-way point.

In raids, it was fun watching an amplified Curse of Doom pop for close to 9k damage and trying to keep a full set of DoTs on the boss between Ruin-powered shadow bolt carnage. I liked the instant fire-and-forget DoTs in PvP and Arenas, and Curse of Exhaustion and instant Howls of Terror gave me a chance against rogues and warriors. You could say that I'm a happy Warlock.

Until I got bored.

Continue reading Blood Pact: A Warlock's descent into Destruction

Build Shop: Warlock 43/0/18


Welcome back to another edition of Build Shop, talent fans! I've gotten a couple of emails about Warlock builds, so this week I'm going to take a look at one of the most infamous builds around -- Affliction. When people complain about Warlock DoTs, they've often just had a run in with an Affliction spec Warlock. Boasting up to 5 DoTs (Corruption / Seed of Corruption, Immolate, Curse of Agony, Siphon Life, Unstable Affliction) and a bevy of channeled drain spells, one of these warlocks can make quick work of your health bar. In addition, Affliction warlocks also sport talents that make their DoTs harder to dispel or make you think twice about trying to dispel them.

Amongst warlocks, it's a popular grinding build, able to handle multiple mobs at a time with very little downtime. Though it lacks the higher health pool and greater survivability associated with Demonology warlocks, or the pure nuking power of a Destruction warlock, Affliction is a build which performs well in many areas of the game. Let's take a look at an Affliction / Destruction build that incorporates threat reduction, DoT protection, and maximizes the damage done by DoTs.

Continue reading Build Shop: Warlock 43/0/18

More Legendary weapons from the Kael encounter

Our good friend Boubouille over at MMO-Champion has posted pictures and stats of all the Legendary weapons found in the Kael'thas fight. Last week, we posted about that crazy axe, but it seems there's more-- seven weapons in total, and they're all amazing.

There's a shield that gives +40 defense and can shield the user for 100,000 damage. There's an uber dagger for rogues, and an awesome bow for hunters. There's even a staff that not only increases both spell damage and healing by 325, but also adds over 1000 attack power to Cat, Bear, Dire Bear, and Moonkin forms.

Nihilum is so far the only group to take on Kael'thas (and let us know about it), but they haven't spilled too much information about exactly how and why these weapons are used. We do know they're meant only for the encounter, and that when you die, the weapons disappear. But how and why they're obtained isn't quite clear yet-- I've heard the weapons are given to the raid when Kael's advisors are killed, but does that mean these weapons replace the raid's weapons or do they have to be looted and equipped? And what exactly is Kael doing during all of this that requires so much crazy power?

As of this writing, Nihilum hasn't yet downed Kael, so they're probably more concerned with going after him then telling us about it. But once they down him (I predicted this past weekend, but we haven't seen anything yet), maybe we'll get some clearer answers about what the encounter is actually like.


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