When you use what curse

In other topics I see a lot of discussion about curses and what to do or how to use them in situations. So discuss this central this time ;)
I will make a little setup and place the curses in order of application priority or consideration in order of application. The aim with this post is to make one complete central post with all information there is about these spells.



Priority one:
Curse of Doom : Curses the target with impending doom, causing 4200 Shadow damage after 1 min. If the target dies from this damage, there is a chance that a Doomguard will be summoned. Cannot be cast on players.
note : +damage application is 300%, that means 1000 +damage will give you a total of 7200 damage from the curse, can be applied on all mobs and bosses

Situational usage : if you consider maximising your dps, this is the first you need to think of due too the 60 minute timer on the damage. I short fights this is not usefull, but in long fights or when fighting muliple mobs you realy need to learn this. This is the perfect "Offtank" spell and gets you major dps without much aggro problems if you make sure the mob is taunted when casting, after this switch to main target for other curses.

party : fights don't take that long, skip it
10 people raid : if fights get longer or you deal with multiple mobs, you like to cast this on the mob that is probably 3rd on the kill order
25 people raid : if fights get longer or you deal with multiple mobs, you like to cast this on the mob that is 2nd or 3rd on the kill order.

guidline : usefull when you are sure the curse will hit, so the fight takes longer then the cooldown of your spell and you are sure, you don't need to replace it soon



Priority two:
Curse of Elements : Reduces Fire and Frost resistances by 88. Increases Fire and Frost damage taken by 10%.
note : with malediction (needs 35 talents) you make 1% per talent extra damage (3 talents max)

Situational usage : The first thing you cast on the main target, mostly for all Elemental damage. So all frost and fire mages, elemental shamans and fire based (destro) warlocks have big benefit from it.

party : trash fights don't take that long, skip it Curse of Agony is more powerfull
10 people raid : depending on attending classes, always cast this
25 people raid : depending on attending classes, always cast this

guideline : cast the curse if more then 1 raidmember benefits from it and always consult the other warlocks to determine what curses need to be cast by who. Two classes benefiting from it outdamage your Curse of Agony



priority three:
Curse of Shadows : Curses the target for 5 min, reducing Shadow and Arcane resistances by 88 and increasing Shadow and Arcane damage taken by 10%. Only one Curse per Warlock can be active on any one target.
note : with malediction (needs 35 talents) you make 1% per talent extra damage (3 talents max)
Reason for this to be lower priority than CoE is because most warlocks will be casting support curses before dealing the first damage when other classes (mostly mages) will be casting their first damage spells that will hit sooner then our first damage.


Situational usage : The first thing you cast on the main target, mostly for all Shadow damage. So all shadowpriests, arcane mages and shadow based (affiction, demonlogist combinations and destruction builds up to ruin) warlocks have big benefit from it.

party : trash fights don't take that long, skip it Curse of Agony is more powerfull
10 people raid : depending on attending classes, always cast this
25 people raid : depending on attending classes, always cast this

guideline : cast the curse if more then 1 raidmember benefits from it and always consult the other warlocks to determine what curses need to be cast by who. Two classes benefiting from it outdamage your Curse of Agony



Priority four :
Curse of Recklessness : Curses the target with recklessness, increasing attack power by 135 but reducing armor by 800 for 2 min. Cursed enemies will not flee and will ignore fear effects. Only one Curse per Warlock can be active on any one target.
note : can be applied on all mobs and bosses

Situational usage : The first thing you cast on main targets if they are to be killed fast by melee and there are enough warlocks too cast the spell in priority.

party : not usefull since there are not enough people to benefit
10 people raid : not usefull since there are not enough people to benefit
25 people raid : only usefull if you have a lot of melee damage

guideline : only usefull if you have a lot of melee damage



Priority five :
Curse of Tongues : Forces the target to speak in Demonic, increasing the casting time of all spells by 60%. Only one Curse per Warlock can be active on any one target. Lasts 30 sec.
note : very usefull on any caster type of mob or boss, although a lot of bosses are immune to it.


Situational usage : The first thing you cast on off targets if they are mana using casters or healers if you think they might cause trouble, this curse mostly saves mana for the raid due to less damage output or healing from the mobs.

party : no additional information
10 people raid : no additional information
25 people raid : no additional information

guideline : Only usefull when the mob casters cause problems because of high dps or healing abilities, you use this spell as secondary spell (after you cursed the MT target) or when you got other assigned to cast this primarily by the party or raidleader.


Priority six :
Curse of Weakness : Target's attack power is reduced by 350 for 2 min. Only one Curse per Warlock can be active on any one target.
note : can be applied on all mobs and bosses

Situational usage : This curse is mostly not used much only when you meet mobs or bosses that can 2 or 3 shot a defense specced tank.

party : not usefull
10 people raid : only usefull on multiple high damage mobs
25 people raid : only usefull on multiple high damage mobs, or very hard hitting bosses

guideline : Only when this curse has special need





I like to edit this post with usefull information. So if you have information to add that makes the usage of the curses more clear just make a nice post.
I suggest if you want something edit in the startpost, you start with :
add to startpost : <message>

I think situational information is also important (when to use what and who it applies too) I tried to make a good effort for the first setup. Input and additional information or tips are wanted

I hope it helps in the future discussions

[Gritz]

Excellent guide, here's a few things to consider:

Curse of Shadows - add Moonkin, and Sheeped/Seduced/Feared mobs

Curse of Recklessness - Rank 1 to prevent mobs from attempting to flee

Trash mobs - CoS if Sheeped/Seduced/Feared; otherwise nothing. Curse of Agony is only worth it if trash mobs last for more than 16 seconds, which is very rare for non CC'd trash mobs.

Again, thanks for the excellent guide!

-Gritz

[knobshine]

yeah, Curse of Recklessness can be very usefull in instances for stopping mobs from fleeing and causing more aggro.

Also don't forget about Curse of Exhaustion which is handy if you don't have iHOT or it's cooling down and need to get some distance between youself and another player for a nice fearing

[Janick]

maybe add in special bosses (such as curator) where curses are called for in a special way?

[Duckie]

Hmm.. I was trying to edit the start post, but I have no edit button ;)

Originally Posted by Gritz

Excellent guide, here's a few things to consider:

Curse of Shadows - add Moonkin, and Sheeped/Seduced/Feared mobs

Curse of Recklessness - Rank 1 to prevent mobs from attempting to flee

Trash mobs - CoS if Sheeped/Seduced/Feared; otherwise nothing. Curse of Agony is only worth it if trash mobs last for more than 16 seconds, which is very rare for non CC'd trash mobs.

Again, thanks for the excellent guide!

-Gritz

It was made quite quickly actually ;)
I agree with the things you say to add, I will ask for support on editting the start post ;)

Originally Posted by knobshine

yeah, Curse of Recklessness can be very usefull in instances for stopping mobs from fleeing and causing more aggro.

Also don't forget about Curse of Exhaustion which is handy if you don't have iHOT or it's cooling down and need to get some distance between youself and another player for a nice fearing

Woops, I forgot Curse of Exhaustion, should be added ;)

Originally Posted by Janick

maybe add in special bosses (such as curator) where curses are called for in a special way?

good idea. Maybe per instance a line up of bosses and curse priorities with some general notes, skipping the 5 man bosses, since mostly you have only 1 per class it's pretty obvious

[Whymfrost]

in PvP i sometimes hit opposing hunters' pets with curse of weakness to minimize their dps. If I have time, of course.

edit >> and opposing Succubus as well

[Elbuats]

Also, Curse of Agony? I know it is mentioned in some of the other curse descriptions, but it should probably have its own priority listing, yes?

Excellent guide...I love seeing things like this!

[malaprop]

Ok this is confusing me.

I thought that I used to have curse of exhaustion but I cant find it. Is it an afflicition or Dest only talent?

[Mekanik]

Curse of Recklessness isnice for the shade of aran fight if you have a few melee there. he does no physical attacks so the attack power boost doesnt effect him.

[Elbuats]

Originally Posted by malaprop

Ok this is confusing me.

I thought that I used to have curse of exhaustion but I cant find it. Is it an afflicition or Dest only talent?

CoE is an Affliction talent.