VW Cant seem to keep agro

WickedPincha · April 04, 2006, 09:50 AM

When grinding with my VW, he cant seem to keep agro...

My opening Pull usually looks like this: PetAttack, Immo, SiphonLife, Curse of Agony, Corruption, LifeTap x2, DrainLife, Wand

My specs: http://wow.allakhazam.com/profile.html?1094446

I've gotten so frustrated that I've nearly given up using my VW and am now primarily using my Imp and draintanking.. which has its merrits; but my downtime is often horrible. If I cant find a way to have my VW hold agro more often; then i'm probably going to respec with 4pts in ImprvdDrainLife instead of CoX.

Any suggestions for how to kill fast yet still have my VW keep agro?

And yea, my char's pretty twink; but I like to have the best and only update gear every 10 levels anway; so why not do it right :-)

Haps · April 04, 2006, 10:12 AM

Don't open with immolate. Open with Corr and Curse of Agony. Then wait for the VW to taunt again(and be successful) before laying immolate on.

mwilding · April 04, 2006, 10:16 AM

A couple of things. Ã‚

1. Improved VW makes a big difference. Ã‚ Just 1 point in this talent greatly improves his ability to hold aggro. Ã‚ 3 makes him really good at it but that is a lot of points to spend there.
2. Don't cast immolate first - cast the other dots first as they don't have an immediate damage component. Ã‚ By the time immolate hits, he should have 2 or 3 torments in
3. Let a couple of ticks go by before draining life or have him target the next mob and load it up on dots before finishing off the 1st one.

Patience is the key to having the VW hold aggro.

cryptana · April 04, 2006, 11:13 AM

FWIW, I'm 3/3 Improved VW, and the big fella holds aggro through almost anything short of spamming shadowbolts.

Open with Immolate, he holds aggro. Throw more dots on there, he holds aggro. Start draining life or wanding...well, he might lose it, especially once the larger Curse of Agony ticks start hitting.

At 58, I'm mostly using him when I farm (DS:VW, rez him, use him to off-tank one MOB while I drain tank another). He's the only pet that can reliably heal himself, and as such that makes him a great farming partner.

I love the big blue galoot.

Samata · April 04, 2006, 11:34 AM

Make sure your Voidwalker hits the mob first before you lay down your DOTs. To make sure, wait until you see him/her give the mob a slap before you start in. It makes a world of difference.

Lay your DOTS, Curse of Agony, Corruption, Immolate... then wand or drain life. But the more damage you do the more likely you will attract the aggro away, sometimes you have to let the DOTS do the work while you sit back and have a sip of coffee.

Hope it works out!

WickedPincha · April 04, 2006, 12:21 PM

I hear what you're all saying about patience..... Its just not really me.
I like to grind like my Hunter does.. fast, fast, fast.. and if that means the mob has to be beating on me to do it.. then thats what iIm gunna do.

Something I forgot to mention earlier: I've got some +shadow and +damage gear on and I end up pulling agro even when I let my void get a good 2 seconds of solo-time on the mob and Immo last and dont DrainLife later on (just wand).. it appears that the 4 DoT's + Wand are enough to pull agro.... and I'm not really patient enough to "get a cup of coffee" while the mob dies.. (props to those who are).

Also, when I start at full life/mana and drain-tank I usually end the fight with 85-100% life and 60-70% mana, LifeTap 2x and move on to the next fight...I can usually get 4 pulls in before I (or my ImprovedImp) run out of mana and/or health and have to Drink/Eat... but ... 4 mobs?? comon.. thats nuts... that means I'm sitting for 20-30seconds out of every 2minutes... thats 20+% downtime.. I can bairly break 20kxp/hr at that rate.... so i'm going for faster kills via talent respec...

I also find that i use the same amount of mana and walk away with about the same amount of health whether i'm grinding 1level lower or 3level's higher.. so i usually go for the 3 levels higher... does anyone else see that the mana usage is about the same?

I'm going to respec to this at my current lvl39:
Looks like I'm going: Imp DrainLife 3/5, and ImpCoA 3/3
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/...00000000000000

and moving to SM/DS as my final build:
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/...00000000000000

I'll probably be posting another thread about reccomendations on where to put talents at each level.... see you there

Angelina · April 04, 2006, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WickedPincha

I hear what you're all saying about patience..... Its just not really me.

That's your answer right there, the Voidwalker may not be for you (unless you spec Demonology etc). Try the Succubus...

Krabat · April 05, 2006, 01:34 AM

Indeed, the voidy might be not yer right pet. I myself am probably the same as you: I want to kill quick and with no downtime. Think mana miser too..

I've tried different builds but when it comes to levelling Affliction is the way to go. And I never use bluebell - in the end I want that aggro on me and it just doesn't hit very hard at all - quite pathetic even. Key to quick killing seems to me being to pull from distance, lay on the dots and wand to death, next. Dark pacting or Life Draining inbetween. I've made a simple macro that pull with siphon and sends the succubus in. Follow up with Curse of Agony and Corruption and that's it. Normally the first hit of the succubus will pull aggro to her but when I start wanding I get aggro soon enough. I am mostly killing things slightly above or my level.

I also like to to make tougher, pulling 3 mobs at the same time on me with aformentioned Siphon, lay on CoW and Immolate and concentrate on the one that the succubus hits too. Funny stuff...

psilocybe · April 05, 2006, 05:01 AM

Just sac him, use the health regen to replenish mana, then go all out with nukes. Starting with dots and waiting for aggro equals weak xp/hr.

I'm grinding my last five blobs in Darkwhisper gorge later today, I might just make a small video with just how effective DS is.

Haps · April 05, 2006, 05:50 AM

If you have Demonic Sacrifice Sac the VW and open mobs with a shadow bolt, Immolate while they are running to you. Curse of Agony, Corruption and then wand. Tap tap and move on to the next.

If you don't have Demonic Sac then send Succubus in and right around the time she is getting to mob Curse of Agony, Corruption. Wait for the mob to get down to 80%(only a couple seconds usually). Immolate and then wand. Agro should come to you around 25% but not a big deal.

April 04, 2006, 09:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
WickedPincha Lurker Character Info WickedPincha 60 Undead Warlock MALORNE US PvP Guild: TELAL Profile: Allakhazams	VW Cant seem to keep agro When grinding with my VW, he cant seem to keep agro... My opening Pull usually looks like this: PetAttack, Immo, SiphonLife, Curse of Agony, Corruption, LifeTap x2, DrainLife, Wand My specs: http://wow.allakhazam.com/profile.html?1094446 I've gotten so frustrated that I've nearly given up using my VW and am now primarily using my Imp and draintanking.. which has its merrits; but my downtime is often horrible. If I cant find a way to have my VW hold agro more often; then i'm probably going to respec with 4pts in ImprvdDrainLife instead of CoX. Any suggestions for how to kill fast yet still have my VW keep agro? And yea, my char's pretty twink; but I like to have the best and only update gear every 10 levels anway; so why not do it right :-)

April 04, 2006, 10:12 AM	#2 (permalink)
Haps Member	Re: VW Cant seem to keep agro Don't open with immolate. Open with Corr and Curse of Agony. Then wait for the VW to taunt again(and be successful) before laying immolate on.

April 04, 2006, 10:16 AM	#3 (permalink)
mwilding Member Character Info Jevonkearse 60 Human Warlock Bronzebeard US Guild: Reckoning Profile: Allakhazams	Re: VW Cant seem to keep agro A couple of things. Ã‚ 1. Improved VW makes a big difference. Ã‚ Just 1 point in this talent greatly improves his ability to hold aggro. Ã‚ 3 makes him really good at it but that is a lot of points to spend there. 2. Don't cast immolate first - cast the other dots first as they don't have an immediate damage component. Ã‚ By the time immolate hits, he should have 2 or 3 torments in 3. Let a couple of ticks go by before draining life or have him target the next mob and load it up on dots before finishing off the 1st one. Patience is the key to having the VW hold aggro.

April 04, 2006, 11:13 AM	#4 (permalink)
cryptana Member Character Info Cryptana 60 Undead Warlock Kilrogg US PvE Guild: Forever Kings Profile: CTProfile	Re: VW Cant seem to keep agro FWIW, I'm 3/3 Improved VW, and the big fella holds aggro through almost anything short of spamming shadowbolts. Open with Immolate, he holds aggro. Throw more dots on there, he holds aggro. Start draining life or wanding...well, he might lose it, especially once the larger Curse of Agony ticks start hitting. At 58, I'm mostly using him when I farm (DS:VW, rez him, use him to off-tank one MOB while I drain tank another). He's the only pet that can reliably heal himself, and as such that makes him a great farming partner. I love the big blue galoot.

April 04, 2006, 11:34 AM	#5 (permalink)
Samata Member	Re: VW Cant seem to keep agro Make sure your Voidwalker hits the mob first before you lay down your DOTs. To make sure, wait until you see him/her give the mob a slap before you start in. It makes a world of difference. Lay your DOTS, Curse of Agony, Corruption, Immolate... then wand or drain life. But the more damage you do the more likely you will attract the aggro away, sometimes you have to let the DOTS do the work while you sit back and have a sip of coffee. Hope it works out!

April 04, 2006, 12:21 PM	#6 (permalink)
WickedPincha Lurker Character Info WickedPincha 60 Undead Warlock MALORNE US PvP Guild: TELAL Profile: Allakhazams	Re: VW Cant seem to keep agro I hear what you're all saying about patience..... Its just not really me. I like to grind like my Hunter does.. fast, fast, fast.. and if that means the mob has to be beating on me to do it.. then thats what iIm gunna do. Something I forgot to mention earlier: I've got some +shadow and +damage gear on and I end up pulling agro even when I let my void get a good 2 seconds of solo-time on the mob and Immo last and dont DrainLife later on (just wand).. it appears that the 4 DoT's + Wand are enough to pull agro.... and I'm not really patient enough to "get a cup of coffee" while the mob dies.. (props to those who are). Also, when I start at full life/mana and drain-tank I usually end the fight with 85-100% life and 60-70% mana, LifeTap 2x and move on to the next fight...I can usually get 4 pulls in before I (or my ImprovedImp) run out of mana and/or health and have to Drink/Eat... but ... 4 mobs?? comon.. thats nuts... that means I'm sitting for 20-30seconds out of every 2minutes... thats 20+% downtime.. I can bairly break 20kxp/hr at that rate.... so i'm going for faster kills via talent respec... I also find that i use the same amount of mana and walk away with about the same amount of health whether i'm grinding 1level lower or 3level's higher.. so i usually go for the 3 levels higher... does anyone else see that the mana usage is about the same? I'm going to respec to this at my current lvl39: Looks like I'm going: Imp DrainLife 3/5, and ImpCoA 3/3 http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/...00000000000000 and moving to SM/DS as my final build: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/...00000000000000 I'll probably be posting another thread about reccomendations on where to put talents at each level.... see you there

April 05, 2006, 01:34 AM	#8 (permalink)
Krabat Lurker Character Info Krabat 60 Undead Warlock Steamwheedle Cartel Euro RP Guild: The Dead Dragons Society	Re: VW Cant seem to keep agro Indeed, the voidy might be not yer right pet. I myself am probably the same as you: I want to kill quick and with no downtime. Think mana miser too.. I've tried different builds but when it comes to levelling Affliction is the way to go. And I never use bluebell - in the end I want that aggro on me and it just doesn't hit very hard at all - quite pathetic even. Key to quick killing seems to me being to pull from distance, lay on the dots and wand to death, next. Dark pacting or Life Draining inbetween. I've made a simple macro that pull with siphon and sends the succubus in. Follow up with Curse of Agony and Corruption and that's it. Normally the first hit of the succubus will pull aggro to her but when I start wanding I get aggro soon enough. I am mostly killing things slightly above or my level. I also like to to make tougher, pulling 3 mobs at the same time on me with aformentioned Siphon, lay on CoW and Immolate and concentrate on the one that the succubus hits too. Funny stuff...

April 05, 2006, 05:01 AM	#9 (permalink)
psilocybe Member Character Info Suture 70 Undead Warlock Sylvanas Euro PvP Guild: Midvinter Profile: Allakhazams Talent Spec: 46/14/0	Re: VW Cant seem to keep agro Just sac him, use the health regen to replenish mana, then go all out with nukes. Starting with dots and waiting for aggro equals weak xp/hr. I'm grinding my last five blobs in Darkwhisper gorge later today, I might just make a small video with just how effective DS is.

April 05, 2006, 05:50 AM	#10 (permalink)
Haps Member	Re: VW Cant seem to keep agro If you have Demonic Sacrifice Sac the VW and open mobs with a shadow bolt, Immolate while they are running to you. Curse of Agony, Corruption and then wand. Tap tap and move on to the next. If you don't have Demonic Sac then send Succubus in and right around the time she is getting to mob Curse of Agony, Corruption. Wait for the mob to get down to 80%(only a couple seconds usually). Immolate and then wand. Agro should come to you around 25% but not a big deal.