Buzzkill's PvE Warlock guide Part 2

Buzzkill from Nihilum wrote:

Since I'm far from good at making guides like these, this final category will just be a random mix of whatever I didn't have the inventive brain to find a good category for and write stuff about.

Addons:
Dotimer: tracks dots and cooldowns
Recount: damage meter that very usefull to break down a fight using graphs.
SWStats: most common damage meter addon, no need to have both with Recount.
Necronomicon, Necrosis and similar addons are usually used by warlocks to save screen space
Instabolt: notifies backlash/nightfall procs
BigWigs bossmods: very usefull mod for a beginner raider
NaturEnemy castbar: misc castbars, cds and timers of most abilities in game
KTM or Omen: addons used for monitoring threat
Quartz: extremely adaptable castbar with good stop casting macro support

Most of these addons can be obtained on WoWAce.com and other mod sites. Details about addons and more can be read in our UI section of the forums.

Macros

The only macros useful in 25 man raids are focus banish/cot macros and stone management macros, not much science here.

CoT focused

Code:

/cast [target=focus] Curse of Tongues(Rank 2)

Banish focused

Code:

/cast [target=focus] Banish(Rank 2)

Use all ranks of healthstone, this one is science

Code:

/Use Master Healthstone

Stopcasting macro

Code:

/stopcasting
/cast Shadow Bolt

Threat management

Affliction spec has it relatively easy when it comes to threat. You can easily just use a lighter rotation while still doing dps. Just follow your TPS output on KTM and drop dots from the sequence as needed. Destro is more difficult, since you have to almost completely stop DPSing while very high on threat. That's why smart utilization of Soulshatter is crucial. Start off easier. Watch for crits. At 70-80% shatter and go all out on dps. I personally use Fetish of the Sand Reaver on some fights where it proves to be of much worth. If you are constantly high on threat with destro because your tanks aren't the best around, you can always sacrifice felhunter or voidwalker for additional mana/hp management while doing less threat.

Additional tasks warlocks sometimes do in raids (never me!)

Sometimes we will be required to do some things apart from the obvious dps and soulwell duty. I will list those tasks and a description on how to handle them.

- Banishing: On some trash fights and on Hydross the Unstable, warlocks are needed to banish the adds. To do this with the least pain, always mark yours with a raid mark. Focus the target and banish it using focus banish macro. Switching targets is not recommended, since you might lose it in potential chaos and lose valuable dps time or even worse, cause a death.

- Tanking: Warlock tanking is a concept usually used on three fights in TBC; Leotharas, Kael'thas and Illidan. It's simply done by positioning yourself correctly, then spamming Searing Pain and surviving. For Leotharas, one needs near to 300 fire resistance gear. This is easily obtained through badge reward system. For Kael'thas, you don't need any resistance in theory. Although using 100ish won't make you sacrifice much damage and will help healers. Illidan tanking requires 365+ shadow resistance and healthy 14k+ hp to be on the safe side. Since that fight can turn hectic , it's good to be fast on healthstones and healing potions. A warlock tank dying will certainly cause a wipe. Help your healers as much as possible with draining when low and smart timer use. Also. while tanking any of the above don't forget removing Blessing of Salvation and in any case don't have Nether Protection talent.

- CoEX kiting: This is usually used on Lady Vashj for controlling and disposal of Striders. At all time have CoEX on the mob, chain Shadow Ward when ready and kite it around on the edges of inner circle. Be wary of not pulling it through cloth camps or near any tanks, because their pulsing fear can cause problems. Best method for keeping aggro on them is getting ahead of them. SP, dot , and run while staying alive.

Multi vs. single target dps on trash

As destruction the only thing you have to worry about is threat. Spread fire accordingly and if possible on targets debuffed with damage modifiers. Affliction locks should always use one or two instant dots on all trash tanked(and as many sheeps as possible naturally) while fully doting dps focused target and nuking it silly with SB's.

Aggro reset fights

Clearly a downer for all of us who are used to spamming buttons senselessly. Destruction warlocks have it easy, since they can stop damage immediately, but be wary of those loose SB's criting seconds before or after reset. Stop 2 seconds before rather than risk a death. Affliction warlocks should time their dots carefully so the mob doesn't reset while getting 1k dps from dots before tanks get to hit it. It's an overall loss of dps, but better to lose some dps than all of it when dying. It's not such a problem if you have a dot or two up when reset hits, but certainly pay attention to it.

Fighting a boss

In current end game content, there is a lot of factors and events in a fight that one must be cautious about. In theory, our job is dealing good damage, but most important thing is staying alive. That's why you should always know whats happening around you. A lot of people are clueless about the fight apart from their job and thats what separates a good player from bad. When things turn chaotic, we all have to improvise sometimes. Always be ready to do something outside of your frame of usual duties on a fight. Above all, do everything to stay alive. Don't save a pot/HS cooldown for the next time. Use it as soon as possible and help healers a bit. When you see healing is scarce and other raiders need it more, drain life and screw dps rotation. If another warlock dies and his curse is higher on the priority list than yours switch and improvise.

All these things might seem like lesser things "everyone knows", but every bit counts. Sometimes the difference between a wipe and a kill is so small. Always know what the boss is doing and what environmental damage you might be expecting. Always be ready for the worst. Nothing says noob more than you dying without everything on cooldown. It will be those with better observational skills and ability to improvise that will do best in the fight, so try foreseeing stuff before it happens. Boss mods help a bit when a fight is overwhelming. If you the fight without those, you will find yourself much more aware of stuff and will be able to improvise much more than when everything is on a bar ticking for you.



Consumables warlocks usually use are flasks, adepts elixirs, elixirs of shadow power, damage food, and damage oils. As for guardian elixirs, none are game breaking for us. The ones usually used are fortitude ones or mana regen ones. None of those are crucial, but that doesn't mean you should be cheap on the offensive ones. Be it a new fight or an easily farmed boss, it's always easier when potted up. Since 2.1, consumables are extraordinary cheap compared to before so there is no reason not to use them. When fighting a new boss though, keep in mind that a flask is usually much cheaper than using a whole set of elixirs on every wipe.