The Warlocks Den - WoW Warlock Discussions

Briefing:
Warlocks are alot of fun to PVP with if played correctly, though an unskilled warlock can result in quite a number of broken keyboards. A wise warlock once said, "The warlock's greatest asset is it's resourcefulness, therefore success in PVP is not the result of talents, but the knowledge of how to use them."

Notes on PVP Builds:
First and foremost, I should make a point to say that playstyles always differ person to person, particularly with warlocks. The most important thing is that you are completely comfortable with your build. There is no definitive build for pvp, and most any build you come up with will suffice. Choose your build according to your playstyle, otherwise you won't be effective, and lets face it - won't have any fun. I personally prefer a heavy desctruction build, with the rest put into demonology and affliction, and thus this is the type of build I will be working with.

Affliction: Affliction 'locks are people who like to be on the move. Drop your DoTs and run! Warlocks who are specced into the affliction tree do more damage with their dots, but the damage is over a period of time - and continue even if you die. Affliction 'locks lack a significant form of burst damage.

Demonology: Demo' warlocks are much so the middle ground between both affliction and destruction. In combination with soul link, Demo'' warlocks are often times the last ones standing. Demonology warlocks rely mainly on their pets, and only have access to a few DoTs and DD spells. As a demo' lock moves down the tree talents increase the damage of the caster's spells and pet's melee. They also are the only build to have access to the felguard.

Destruction: Life in the fast lane - drink, damage, and rock and roll. Destro' 'locks provide for a high amount of burst damage, relying on the talent, ruin. High damage comes at a price, and often times Destro' 'locks find themselves scrambling for a place to sit and drink. If you like having a single target, burning them down, and then finding a new victim, this build is for you.

Choosing a Pet:
Everyone has a favorite pet, whether it be the ugly felhunter, sexy succubus, or lowely imp. When chosing a pet it is best to consider what you are most comfortable with, and will fit your playstyle. Often times, many people will switch pets according to the situation. Below is a list of each pet, along with abilities. Try them all and see what you like, ultimately the choice is yours.

Imp: The imp is a great companion to any warlock, but still only a companion. The imp does not have alot of hit points and will not last in heavy combat, though he does contribute alot of DPS. Blood Pact is often a must when playing such a glass-cannon class such as the warlock. Often times, you will see warlocks specced heavily into affliction using the imp.

Voidwalker: I would personally advise against using the voidwalker in PVP. More times than not he gets in the way, and can be replaced with a much more effective pet. On the other hand, the voidwalker does have the most amount of hitpoints of any of our pets, and is often used in combination with soul link. With the release of The Burning Crusade, most people have replaced the good ol' voidwalker with the felguard. The voidwalker has very low damage, and too boot his taunt does not work on players, leave this guy in the PVE field.

Succubus: The succubus is a great anytime pet. With the seduction ability it is a great addition to our crowd control arsenal. With a little more hit points than the imp, and less than the voidwalker or felhunter, the succubus does not do well in heavy combat, but can hold its own if kept an eye on. Due to seduction, the succubus is my pet preference.

Felhunter: The felhunter has more useful abilities than any of our other pets. Though not entirely useful when it comes to melee, the felhunter houses a huge arsenal of abilities to enemy rogues and spell casters. Between spell lock, devour magic, and paranoia, the felhunter can turn the most persistant rogue or mage into cannibalize fodder.

Felguard: Newly introduced with The Burning Crusade, the felguard is an excellent pet that encompasses most everything from all the other pets. It has high damage output, a decent chunk of hit points, and crowd control with the intercept ability. The only downfall of the felguard is that you must be specced very heavily into demonology.

A note on pet abilities:
It is always a good idea to keep your pet abilities on manual, or make them into a macro for your spell bar. The more control you have over the situation, the less likely you are to be face down with a clenched gauntlet over your head.

Foregoing Battle:
I cannot stress enough how comfortable you must be with your build. Take the time to fiddle with all your spells, do your research! Know your timers, and know what spells are most appropriate for what times. The best way to do this is to duel, and duel alot. Remember that the warlock's greatest asset is it's ability to crowd control - so fear will be your best friend. If you have to think twice about an action out of a major PVP setting, the harder you will choke when there are ten members of the opposing faction running at you.

You can run, but you can also hide!:
Don't be afraid to use your environment. World of Warcraft has provided us with three dimensions, the third being invaluable to tactical pvp. Whether you are in a battleground or Stranglethorn Vale, WoW has an extensive amount of terrain. Look around and plan your ambush, hide behind bushes or trees or hang out on the edge of a rock or cliff. The longer your opponent has to spend finding you, or getting to your location, the liklier you are to drop them before they reach you! But remember, great minds think alike! Be weary of the opposing faction using their environment to get the advantage - adjust to using your mouse to scroll around you while you are in combat. You don't always have to be facing forward, sometimes you have to watch your back. Most importantly, jump around and keep moving! If you can manuever yourself behind an angry warrior, or keep your back away from a rogue, you keep the advantage.

On the Eve of Battle:
It is always a good idea to have a good supply of bandages and potions on you. If you haven't taken up first aid, I recommend you do so now. A good fighter knows 230% of the fight is strategy and skill, the other 70% is preperation. Being a casting class, we don't always have time to sit and drink in the midst of battle, but if you can lifetap your mana back and follow up by bandaging yourself, you are again on the move. The more time you have to spend drinking, the more likely you are to be a target. It is also a good idea to keep a healthstone handy, healthstones and health potions are on different timers. Soulstones have a long cooldown and don't serve much of a purpose in a battleground, but for field battle they can be very handy. Remember, your place as a warlock is in the background, not the forefront of battle. You should make a quick appearance to burn down your opponent, then dissapear back into the crowd.

Keep Your Allies Close, and Your Enemies Closer: Know your opponents! It is one thing to know how to play your build, but if you know your opponents you are at an advantage. Fear is the absence of knowledge, knowing everything there is to know about your opponent will keep you facing the right direction, - fearing is our job not theirs! Particularly with the release of The Burning Crusade, it is essential to know all of what your opponent has to offer, as well as what they may have up their sleave. Research each class, particularly the ones you have trouble with. An uneducated warlock is a dead warlock. Below is a tactical list of how to deal with each class. Remember these are situational, every opponent is different!

Rogue: There are two different situations in which you will encounter rogues. The first, is if you manage to catch them before they sneak up on you. If you suspect a rogue is stalking you, don't be afraid to jump around in circles to throw him off. If you catch a glimpse of him seduce immediatley, followed by a fear. When he is feared, instant DoT, immolate, incerinerate, conflagrate, but if he manages to get close burn him down with a few searing pains. The rogue's greatest asset is his close proximity fighting - namely stunlocking. On the other hand, if he manages to get the jump on you don't fret! Remember only you are incapacitated for the meantime, seduce until you have the freedom of movement again, and then fear. After this you can treat the rogue to a tastey combination, just as you would have before.

Hunter: Hunters are more often than not the most difficult class for a warlock to fight. The hunter's greatest advtantage is their ability to hit you from a distance. They will most likely send their pet on you and then start firing. Control the situation by seducing the hunter, and fearing the pet. Immediatley close the gap by getting inside their firing range, or even better, behind them. Follow up by fearing the hunter (and the pet if it comes back.) Put your instant cast DoTs on him, followed by your succubus and immolate. Even if fear breaks, you still have a good advantage on him, while hes running towards you, or around the field if he is still feared, cast incinerate as needed, followed by a conflagrate and/or shadowburn. Warlocks are not made to outlast, but to outdamage - even the strongest of hunters will not be able to stand up to a well played combination.

Warrior: Warriors are a rather straight forward class. The only thing to worry about is their immunity to fear, and their charge. If a warrior charges you incapacitate him with a seduce, followed by a fear. DoT him, and follow up with your regular combination. If a warrior becomes immune to your fear you have two options: Number one, if you already have distance on the warrior run in the opposite direction, after a good amount of time, turn and fear him and continue on as you normally would. Your other option is a bit more risky, but can pay off if you are confidant. If the warrior is low on health and you are sure he isn't likely to chug a potion, outdamage him. This may seem a little far fetched, but you are very capable of doing a large amount of damage in a very short period of time. Beat him to the punch! Lay down your searing pains one after the other.

Mage: Mages are a rather straight forward class. Don't bother trying to burn them down, go straight for a fear. If they sheep you, seduce them and wait until you are mobile. Fear, and bandage as needed. Instant DoT, set your succubus to attack, immolate, and walk away, you won't be seeing them anytime soon. More often you see mages using ice block, wait until they come out fear and DoT them again, they don't have very many hitpoints.

Shaman: Shamans can pose many problems for cloth wearing classes, but dont fear! (We'll get to that in a second. *snickers*) A shaman's best allies are his totems, which are essentially AOE spells. Instant DoT him, followed by an immolate to put some pressure on him, and then get him out of his comfort zone by walking away. When he leaves the AOE area of his totems, toss a fear on him and re-DoT. Do not lose control of him until you are certain you can kill him with a quick combination or he will heal and leave you back at square one. If the shaman relocates and starts dropping totems again, you can send your succubus to attack them.

Warlocks: If you come across another warlock on the field, be ready to fight it down to the bone if you don't get the upper hand. Immediatly banish their pet, particularly if they are toting a succubus or felhunter, this will effectively neutralize them for the rest of the fight. If the warlock is demonology specced, this will cancel out their soul link making it much easier to kill him. DoTs are the worst enemy to casting classes like warlocks seeing as though we don't have alot of hit points. Seduce if you have the time while banishing, or deathcoil and fear immediately after. Drop your instant DoTs, immolate, and the highest direct damage combination (most likely incinerates and conflagrate and/or shadowburn.) On the other hand, if you cannot manage to get a banish or fear off, be ready. If they have a succubus they will seduce and fear you, use a trinket if you have one, or use will of the forsaken. Deathcoil and fear the warlock, and then banish their pet. They will more likely than not already have their DoTs on you, and this is where potions and healthstones come in handy. Chug a potion as your life dwindles, and keep an eye on your health, as your life starts to fall again from the DoTs, use your healthstone. This should be done as you continue your combination on the warlock. If the warlock is using a felhunter, your main focus after trinketing/WoFing is banishing the felhunter, and then fearing the warlock. It is now the time to use your potions, healthstones, and if the DoTs wear off - bandages to keep yourself alive while they run around the field. You can deal with felguards and voidwalkers just the way you would with a succubus. Most of the time you can just avoid the imp, or banish it after you fear the warlock, unless you are already afflicted rather heavily with DoTs and your life is already low. The basic strategy against other warlocks is to take their advantages away, their pet and DoTs, and outdamage them.

Priest: Priests are a very irritating class, and can be quite a challenge if you come across a well played shadow priest. Talents like Nether Protection will help you out in this field. Immediatley fear, or seduce if you don't have enough time to get a fear off. Instant DoT, immolate, and start hacking away at them. Priests have instant cast shields in which they absorb damage, and more likely than not your DoTs will be working away at it, so make sure to reDoT whenever they wear off. The most important thing while dealing with a healing class such as a priest is not to give them time to get a heal off. Pop your deathcoil if you see them start casting a heal and fear again. Remember, fear and horror effects are on different timers, and you may have to pull out all the tricks. If a priest manages to break your fear a little earlier than expected and gets the jump on you, fear or horror them, and get to bandaging. There is no easy way to take a priest, you just have to trudge through their seemingly endless hit points and keep them under your control. These are often long drawn out fights, so conserve your mana. Stay away from spells like conflagrate, searing pain, and shadowburn unless you are absolutely certain they will be the killing blow.

Paladin: For this class I'm going to suggest an addon, Carnival-Divine Shield Timer. Paladins are rather straight forward, little offensive damage, can heal themselves, and have an immunity "bubble." Carnival's addon will tell you whenever a nearby paladin "pops their bubble" and how long it will last. It really saves you alot of headaches. The trick to paladins is to get them to pop their immunity bubble as soon as possible, because when they do, they will heal themselves completely. You need to sort of "con" them into doing so, start by fearing and instant DoTing him, but stay very close - uncomfortably close. With the anxiety of having a cloth wearing class so close, it should hopefully provoke him to use his divine shield. -- When this happens, you will receive an addon message and what looks like a casting bar to tell you how long it will last, turn and run in the opposite direction and get as much distance as possible. Keep running until you see that his divine shield has dropped. Turn, fear (or seduce if need be), instant DoT, immolate, incinerate, conflagrate, shadowburn. Now, on the other hand not all paladins can be "conned" into using their bubble. If this is the case, keep him feared and DoTed until he does decide to use his divine shield, the rest is history.

Druid: Druids are a multifaceted class, but rather simple when you break them down to their different forms. Their main two forms are bear (warrior) and cat forms (rogue.) Refer back to my sections and deal with them accordingly. The only thing you have to be mindful of is them going back to their normal state, in which they can heal. If this happens, it is best to use your deathcoil to buy you a few seconds and pop a fear, the last thing you need is them healing - and they have alot of mana to do so. Make sure they stay feared, reDoT if need be, then burn them down.

Ganking and Being Ganked:
If you want to build an honorable name for youself try to avoid ganking players without reason, unless you are in a battleground. Nothing tarnishes a good PVPer like skilless fighting - remember you are out to prove yourself with a good fight, not farm as much honor as possible. Needless to say, you will be ganked, and fortunately warlocks are equipped very well to deal with it. We have three crowd control options available to us, all on different timers. The first is our fear, the second is our horror effects - Howl of Terror and Deathcoil, and the third is our seduce. With alot of practice you can effectively come out of a four to five man gank alive and well. Train yourself to scroll your camera around to see what is coming at you from all angles and sort of "triage" your oncoming enemies. Rogues, hunters, and druids are among the top three you have to be mindeful of in a gank, all three of which have immobilizing effects and deal high amounts of damage. Immediately start running in an open direction where they cannot flank you. As they catch up, start by seducing the most dangerous enemy (seduce is alot less likely to break than fear,) while your succubus is casting seduce fear the next, if you have enough room fear the next, and as they close in deathcoil and fear the next. Switch your seduce to people running back from a broken fear, fear the target that was initially seduced, and continue on as they keep coming back from broken fears. The entire time you should still be running in that open direction, whether its to guards, allies, or just to get away. Your potions, healthstones, and bandages should all be somewhere on your bar and should prolong your run. If you can learn the timing on howl of terror, or if you went down the affliction tree and it is instant, you can open up your defensive with howl of terror to buy you a good amount of running time. If you have enough mana and have your timing done well enough you can DoT each one that you send feared, and after about three fears (right before they become immune through diminishing returns) they should all be near dead and require only a few swift searing pains to drop.

World PVP:
The thrill of the hunt! Truely non-consentual pvp, that is if you are on a pvp server. Always having to watch your back, and keep an eye out for the opposing faction. If you like the thrill of hunting your unsuspecting prey down, or even just smaller skirmishes, world PVP is for you. Take your new found knowledge and put it to the test in contested territories, or even venture into an opposing major city.

Battlegrounds:
More likely than not this is where you will be spending most of your days PVPing. Large scale, fast passed battles lie ahead. You can enter any of the four battlegrounds through their respective battlemasters. It does not take alot of skill to participate in a battleground, unless you want to work your way toward the top of the scoreboard, so this is a good place for new bloodthirsty recruits to begin. Fights are quick, and resurrections take no more than thirty seconds.

Warsong Gulch: Found between The Barrens and Ashenvale in Kalimdor, Warsong Gulch provides each side with a maximum of 10 players. Either side must capture the enemy flag up to three times to be declared the winner. Warlocks play an essential role in Warsong Gulch, (WSG.) Though we are not made to be flag runners, we can be absolutely invaluable to capturing the flag. Being "armor challenged" we cannot take alot of oncoming damage, but we can assist the flag runners with our utility. Follow closely behind the flag runner, and use your mouse to scroll around, looking for oncoming faction. Fear each one as the get close, they won't be targeting you unless you really get on their nerves. If the flag runner gets swamped howl of terror is a great asset to get the ball rolling again. Deathcoil if the flag runner gets stunlocked or goes immobile, and start fearing again. On the other hand, warlocks also play well on the defensive. Again our fear is our most valuable asset, find a nice corner to hide in and keep an eye out for enemies. As they run in, fear the flag runner and his healer, and then continue to DPS their backup. Keep the flag runner and his healer feared during this process, and then take down the healer first and then the flag runner. Warlock's utility is much more useful in WSG, don't expect to be top placing if you want to do your job. I'm not saying you won't be doing your share of killing, but unless you are sitting between the bases farming kills and not doing your job, you have better things to do.

Tips: If you are guarding the flag room, plant your felguard around the corner behind the flag, his three second intercept can be a game saver. The succubus' seduce is a great way to stop a flag carrier in his tracks until your team mates can catch up with you! The balcony in the flag room while playing defensive can be a great spot to hide. It is high enough to keep you out of the fray, but close enough to continue casting.

Arathi Basin: 15 players from each side can compete over five "nodes" in order to collect 2000 resources and become the victors. Warlock's roles in Arathi Basin, (AB,) are rather simple, DoT and DD everything that comes your way. This is the battleground where warlocks really shine, but don't get too aggressive, remember to stay with the pack and keep your ears open to commands from your raid leader. The last place you need to be is left behind at a node flag while the enemy charges up the hill toward you. If you find yourself in a situation where it seems like you are going to lose the node, fear, deathcoil, and seduce anyone trying to convert the flag, this will hopefully buy your allies enough time to make it back.

Tips: Just like in WSG, keep your felguard close to the node flags with his intercept ability turned on, that will keep em busy!

Alterac Valley: Brawn over brains, at least on the smallscale level. 40 players from each faction compete to kill the opposing side's general. This is done by advancing into enemy territory by taking over graveyards and enemy bunkers. At first Alterac Valley, (AV,) can be quite chaotic, don't expect to hit the top of the scoreboard without quite a few deaths. A competant raid leader results in a competant game, therefore listening to your raid leader is essential. Following orders is key, and the rest is just what you do best, DoT and DD anything that comes your way. Make sure to keep towards the back of the pack in order to avoid confrontation, but close enough so you are part of the action.

Tips: There is alot of terrain in alterac valley, explore around and use it to your advantage, remember to use high points whenever you can. Defending from the top of a tower can prolong your life, but keep an eye out for hunters, warlocks, and mages.

Eye of the Storm: A mixture of WSG, AB, and AV, Eye of the Storm provides the top bracket of players, 61-70, with a well organized strategic playing field. 15 players from each faction face off to capture and defend four towers, in addition players must fight to capture a flag placed in the middle of the field, accruing 2000 victory points will win you the match. You can play this battleground like a combination of all the others. Listen closely to your raid leader, be ready to fear if your flag carrier gets in trouble, and burn down anyone you can point your boney fingers at.

Arenas:
Fast passed and highly competitive, the arenas are only for the most battle hardened heroes. Compete for a team ranking and arena points to buy new items. As opposed to the battlegrounds, arenas are geared toward skill and not time invested. If you don't have time to spend countless hours in the battlegrounds but love your PVP, pick up a team charter. Teams are broken down into three different arena categories: 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5.

In Conclusion:
I hope this guide gave you a step in the right direction, but it is only that - a guide, no one is born a natural PVPer, it is inside each one of us waiting to be released. PVPing is one of the more difficult aspects of online gaming, and only with a trained calm mind, and lots of practice can someone become a renowned pvper.

Theheretic (WoW - Cho'gall)
Saucyjack (DAOC - Mordred)
Hooligan (UO - Sonoma)
Disturbed (UO - IPY/Catskills/Lake Superior)
Saucyjack (UO - Redemption)