Warlockery

Hail All,

So another week has come and gone, and once again I missed my weekly self-imposed blog deadline. I was off by an entire week and so I apologize. Once again I can only report that LFR runs and raiding has rewarded me with only a few coins of gold and not one drop for better gear. RNG is as RNG does, right? I can’t complain too much because I did get lucky when I got a drop from a heroic scenario, but sadly it wasn’t that big of an up. The good news is that my Horde resto shaman still gets gear thrown at her like she’s a rock star. Go figure.

 

So if you haven’t heard, Blizzard did two things that have made me furious and by furious I really mean cash poor. First, they put the new “batmount” (the Armored Bloodwing) up for sale. Blizzard just take my money, okay? Yes, the batmount special ability is broken and glitchy, and it sometimes looks like it barrel rolls into the surface you’re standing on, and no, it doesn’t have any ground mount animations other than just flying, and no, it doesn’t carry any passengers, but I still want that dang thing! You just have to blame those greedy conniving designers because how can I resist? And the game developers write storylines that say warlocks are evil? Sheesh! Luckily for me, it’s close to Father’s day and so I put it on my wish list ;)

The second thing thing Blizzard did was offer their 50% discount special for all character transfers. OMG! If I didn’t know better, it’s like Blizzard knew I had some old toons on other servers that needed moving. It’s a conspiracy I say! To make matters worse, my oldest Hordeling (my daughter) saw what I was doing as I was transferring a few older toons and wanted me to move her Hunter and Warlock too. Her excuse? She needed my help and it would be easier on the same server. Bah! Who she kidding? I know she’s going to rob me of borrow gold so who is she fooling? Gah! Kids! I think I’m going to cut out the middle man and just endorse all my paychecks over to Blizzard, and then mail all of my in game gold to my daughter’s toons. It would make my life so much easier.

 

Fwiw, I moved all of my high level Alliance toons over to the Convert to Raid guild on Aerie Peak-US. All of my old Alliance toons were collecting dust and having them doing nothing made me feel guilty for not playing them. So I’ll be splitting up my game time between Earthen Ring and Aerie Peak for now as I take advantage of the 33% leveling increase.

 

A square peg at a roundtable

Last weekend, I was honored to take part as a guest on the Azeroth Roundtable podcast with Ben (@Althemage) and Jon (@Revendawn). If you haven’t heard, the podcast was formerly known as the Arcanum of Azeroth podcast and since Salem’s departure due to RL stuff, Ben and Jon have completely revamped and renamed the show. Of course, I had internet issues because it was storming in my area again. I think it’s Mother Nature’s cruel joke that whenever I’ve tried to take part in a live podcast show there always seems to be a flood, ice-storm, tornado, alien invasion, or a zombie apocolypse that seems to take place making my connections horribad.

Ben and Jon were quite accommodating despite my disconnections, and I had a great time whenever I could actually hear them or actually see the chat room. Omg, like everyone else I speak with those two are addicted to pet battles too. After hearing both of them all excited about Pet Battles it really did make me feel like a square peg at a roundtable. For the expansion so far I’ve resisted the addiction urge long enough from playing pet battles, but after talking with them I made Jon a promise I would try it out. So this weekend I shall plan to give it a try. If you get some time, please go and check out their show. The title of the episode where I failed them is called Have Some Cho Juice, but they have a lot of other episodes with other people who are much more entertaining and good at live shows. I’d like to also mention that Ben and Jon are some of my guildies over on Earthen Ring and I’m very proud of them for all of the good work they’re doing with their show ;P

Checking my list of things I want to cover for this post

1. No warlock loot again – check
2. Blizzard taking my money – Check
3. My daughter taking my gold – check
4. Ben and Jon at Azeroth Roundtable – Check
5. Warlocks are  endearing characters – To do
6. Highlighting Saga from Spellbound – To do    

 

Are warlocks endearing characters?

So I read a post by Vincentus over at LFRP called, Warlocks – Evil Misinterpreted. It’s a good post and everyone I know that plays a warlock eventually contemplates at some point as to how to view their warlock. From his point of view as an RPer, Vincentus in a round about way actually points out why warlocks are endearing. At least to me he does. In his post he gives ideas as how to view your character and to find their motivation for their actions. The only point I’d disagree with him about is when he says minions are not your friends. To me, my minions are my friends and companions, and I view them that way, but since I’m not an RPer I’m sure that considering your demons as a means to an end fits with the lore especially from the way Blizzard presents our class in the storylines.

To me, being completely evil is boring. Yes, being 100% evil might be fun for a bit especially when you have achieved world domination, but where’s the mystery? Where’s the suspense? Where’s the surprise? When a character is completely evil audiences loose touch with them quickly because they can’t sympathize with their actions especially when all the bad they do is justified with the phrase, “because they’re evil”. When you stop and think about scary and evil characters I’m sure you’ll find that the most memorable ones have a good story and motivation behind the character’s actions. When authors, screen writers, and movie directors get an evil character’s motivation presented in a clear way the “villain” of the story becomes quite memorable and sometimes people can empathize with them.

 

The question of, “Are warlocks evil?” has been around a long time. Don’t believe me? Hop over to google.com and type that question in the search window and you’ll see what I mean. You could spend several hours reading discussions from blogs, websites, and from the many forum posts. Vincentus offers some good advice in the fact that as warlocks, we’re wildcards and his key point is that if you’re always keeping them guessing about your motivations then you’re doing it right ;) 

So are warlocks all gloom and doom? Are we evil incarnate that’s hell bent on watching the world burn without a care? Or are we endearing and simply misunderstood?

 

Highlighting Saga

I can’t remember how long I’ve followed Saga’s blog over at Spellbound. Along with their writings about WoW and warlocks I always loved Saga’s blog name, and I love the look and feel of how they have the site is setup as well. Saga’s posts can vary from talking about what they are doing in game, to gear sets, to rotations, to talking about specific quests, to even something as simple as a Screenshot Sunday. Saga’s blog is always interesting, and never boring. 

If you’re wondering why I’m not referring to Saga as a “him” or a “her” it’s because to my own embarrassment I’m not really sure if Saga is a guy or a girl. I never asked and I always just considered Saga another warlock ;) Although, I suspect that Saga may be a girl IRL, and I can only hope Saga can clear that mystery up for me. I thought now would be as good a time as any for me to confess my ignorance on that matter since I probably should have asked long, long ago. Whenever I’ve corresponded with Saga it wasn’t really something I thought I needed to ask ;)

 

I would also like to point out that Saga was another warlock blogger who was kind enough to write me back after I contacted them asking for advice on blogging. He/she gave me a treasure trove of advice and one of the key points they offered was just to have fun. It sounds like simple advice, but all too often it’s easy to miss. Actually, it’s advice that should not only be carried with you for blogging, but for every aspect in your life as well. A positive attitude can carry you far no matter how bad things are going.

So with a heartfelt /bow and /salute, I present to you Saga…

Warlock Name: Démonique

Server: Stormrage – EU

Guild Name: KodeN

How long have you been a warlock? I created my Warlock in 2007, when my guild was still running Karazhan.

What specs are you currently running? My main spec at the moment is Destruction. I switch between Demonology and Affliction as off-spec depending on what I’m up to at the time.

What’s your favorite specialization and what do find the most appealing about that playstyle? I’ve always been a fan of the Destruction spec, since it allows me to melt faces with fel flames. It’s fairly quick paced with big crits, which I always enjoyed!

What’s your favorite spell and why? Chaos Bolt. It looks awesome and crits big. What else could a Warlock want?

What addons do you currently use besides the basic DBM and Recount? I’m an addon junkie.. So I will skip the UI altering ones, and just mention the utility ones I use.

NPCScan
AffDots
AskMrRobot
Auctioneer
BigBrother
ClassTimer
EnsidiaFails
EventAlert
Fatality
Grid
Herald
MapCoords
Mogit
Omen
OmniCC
Prat
Quartz
WarlockReminder

Do you prefer using a minion or using the Grimoire of Sacrifice? I always feel a little bit lost without a demon by my side, so I prefer using a minion. The class doesn’t feel like a proper Warlock if it doesn’t have a demon in tow, and so I always disliked the patches when Sacrifice was the way to go for the best dps.

Which is your favorite demon to command and why? Whatever the situation requires it what I will use, but I’ve always had a special connection to my Imp, Laznik. Perhaps because he was the very first demon I got. We have a love-hate relationship, you know.

Do you use any macros and if so which one? Right at this moment I don’t use any. I sometimes have specific ones for specific encounters or things I’m doing.

Your most (favorite / embarrassing / funny / proud / memorable) moment while playing your warlock was? (Feel free to use more than one) I really enjoyed the old Warlock quest to obtain our Dreadsteed. It was long and tedious, but also a whole lot of fun! Tanking Karathress in Serpentshrine Caverns is also a fond memory. I had to suit up in horrible-looking fire resistance gear (that made me look like I was getting ready for a day at the beach), and use my felpuppy. I remember hiding it out of LoS of the boss, and we had a Druid healer whose sole focus was keeping my pet alive! (So it could soak my damage with Soul Link.) Those were the good times! I don’t think I’ve ever died quite as many times as then though…

What flavor are your warlock cookies (examples: Chocolate Chip, Carmel, Salty QQ Mage Tears, Spicy Hawtness)? Fiery Hot with a hint of Awesome.

What is your favorite dungeon or PvP battleground and why? I always enjoyed Shadowfang Keep, but I have never been able to put a finger on why exactly. It may be linked to Silverpine Forest being one of my first zones when first leveling in WoW (as a horde back in the day), and the feeling of awe as I walked around. SFK is an extension of that, and I enjoy it to this day, even with the revamp.

Who is your favorite raid boss and why? I seem to be stuck in the past for these questions… I think my favourite raid boss is Onyxia. Even to this day I remember seeing her for the first time over my brother’s shoulder as he was introducing me to WoW. Later on I got to face her myself, and it was such an epic experience to fight a huge dragon together with 39 other people. I also really enjoy her lore, and getting to expose her in Stormwind.

What is your least favorite spell and why? To be fair, I’m quite fond of all the Warlock spells. I can’t decide on one for this.

If you could make up and give your warlock any title you wanted, what would it be? (examples: The Heartbreaker, Purveyor of Pain, The Uncaring, the Unforgiving) Démonique the Damned

What do you like most about playing a warlock? I like being evil and dabbling in fel magics. Getting to melt faces and laugh as I do so.

If you could add, change or remove anything with regards to the warlock class what would it be? I want a flying Warlock mount. Basically a Dreadsteed with demon wings. Blizzard, please?

Do you have any tips you can offer for newer warlock players, or to those who are new to your specialization? Play the spec that you enjoy. Unless you’re in a top guild, competing for the server first kills, the extra percent or so another spec might get you isn’t worth it if you don’t have fun. Try all specialisations, then pick the one that you enjoy the most. Then master it!

How can readers get in touch with you? They can check out my site http://spellbound.nu, my Twitter @SpellboundSaga or e-mail me on Saga@spellbound.nu

 

Hail All,

So another week and no new item drops for me! Gah! Oh, the frustrations of RNG fail and how any lucky drops elude me. I think at this point I’m consider running my shaman a lot more because loot drops for her all the time even when she doesn’t need it. Really, it’s like a shaman loot shower when I’m out there healing. For my Horde and Alliance warlocks it seems to be a constant nope, nada, zero, zilch, and the small pittance of gold as consolation prize. It really bites when your main never gets a break on good gear. *sighs* I know something will drop eventually, but it just gets frustrating when even something you don’t need doesn’t even drop! Bah!

 

In case you haven’t heard, Fimly’s and Hydra, and the entire TNB crew celebrated their 200th episode over at The Twisted Nether Blogcast this past Sunday night. Luckily, I was able to attend the live show and I’m glad I didn’t miss it. The TNB was the inspiration for me to start this blog so how could I not go and celebrate with them? Sadly, I was a bit late and arrived about 1/2 way through the show, but now I have an excuse to go and listen to everything I missed :) I really do wish them all the best and I look forward to hearing many more. If you’re a WoW blogger and you’re not listening to the TNB, or if you are not signed up over at Blog Azeroth, then stop reading this right now and go get yourself signed up! Then immediately go and download their show! Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

For those that have asked, yes, I’ve been going undercover to visit a few servers taking screenshots of warlock transmogs. It’s been a while since I did a “What Not to Wear for Warlocks” post and I’m shocked so many people enjoyed them. Also, I truly appreciate all of the nice emails and tweets I’ve received concerning my audio segment that Rho played on the Realm-Maintenance podcast last week. That means a lot so Tyvm! :) 

My little introduction for Elkagorasa

If you’re a regular reader then you might remember a few of the times when I talked about when I first started blogging. I wrote to a lot of bloggers who were out there asking for advice on how to get started. Elkagorasa (Elk – as I like to call him) responded back to me and I’m forever grateful. Over at Elkagorasa the Casual, Elk writes about a wide range of topics that can vary from his thoughts about upcoming changes, to things he’s working on, and he always adds his take on how he sees things from his point of view. He’s got quite the sense of humor and if there is one thing I’ve learned from Elkagorasa it’s that you should take your time when it comes to playing and enjoy it for it’s journey.

I’ve read Elk’s blog so long that I can’t even remember how I found it, but I’m glad I did. Whether it was a chance encounter or not it left a great impression because I still keep going back to visit. In last week’s post, Elk mentions that he’s been blogging for 6 years now and he’s very close at reaching an amazing milestone of 500 posts! Yes Elk, a few of your posts might be short and have only a few paragraphs, but it is still a lot of work and 6 years of blogging deserves a Meta Achievement or something! I know I’ve been following him for at least 4 of those if not more!

I find it interesting that the reason Elk started his blog was because when he had slow times at his work he would get the opportunity to research things about the World of Warcraft. From steps and directions about how to obtain certain mounts, to completing quests, or just reading up on encounters, Elkagorasa posted his research to his blog. When he returned home his blog was like his “sticky note” with all of his information compiled in an orderly fashion. Very clever! I’m just glad he keeps on cranking out his posts because I’ve always enjoyed them, and I look forward to reading many more. So today I’m honored to present Elkagorasa the Casual who now only has 3 more posts to go and he’s going to Ding 500! Gratsie Elk! /em bows and salutes

 

Warlock Name:  Elkagorasa

Server: Malfurion – US. It’s a central server, but I am in Pacific time zone.

Guild Name: Order of Thought – a Horde Level 25 guild

How long have you been a warlock? Since Vanilla (October 2006). My friend got me playing and suggested I start as a warlock. They have a pet that helps during leveling, I get the free mount (free meaning the long and painful quest line) and my dark humor seemed to fit.

What specs are you currently running? Dual spec, but solely run Demonology. Started as Affliction, then Destruction, but stuck on Demo for now.

What’s your favorite specialization and what do find the most appealing about that playstyle? I loved affliction back in the day because of the self-healing. I never really needed healing potions.  Destruction was fun in Wrath when the name of the game was speed. How quickly could you burn everything down. Demo is fun now that Blizzard has come back to large mobs of trash everywhere.

What’s your favorite spell and why? The Observer (upgraded FelHunter) has a auto-attack ability, Tongue Lash; I think it’s hilarious when a lot of my damage comes from him licking my enemies. My favorite spell was Death Coil, before it became a talent. I could be in a situation where I had aggro’d something, PVP melee or the boss in a dungeon, and I could make it run screaming from me, while it healed me in return..

What addons do you currently use besides the basic DBM and Recount? I love addons. It’s addons (IMHO) that make Warcraft so much different than other games I play.

• Addon Control Panel – A must have for anyone running multiple addon collections. (Raiding, question and AH?)
• Bartender4 – so I can change the location and sizes of my default bars.
• Reforgerade – for easy reforges based on data from Ask Mr Robot.
• Vuhdu – mostly for healing, but works as a nice buff (Dark Intent) monitor.
• TBag by Shefki – A great all-in-one bag that sorts by type of item.
• Omen – when running Dark Apothesis, it’s easy to out threat the tank.
• WeakAuras – nice to have pop-ups when certain skills are available big, front and center.
• BagSaver – auto-sells grey and soulbound, no class gear (good bye soulbound plate).
• Random Mount – because always running around on the Dreadsteed is boring.

Do you prefer using a minion or using the Grimoire of Sacrifice? Right now I mostly run with a minion. I love the AOE of the Wrath Guard (trash) and will swap to the Observer for single-target damage (boss).

Which is your favorite demon to command and why? Terror Guard and Abyssal because they no longer need to be maintained. He simply disappears when the fight is over.

Do you use any macros and if so which one? I have 3 macros that I use all of the time. I used to have quite a few more, but never updated them with MoP.

Macro 1: Easy Healthstone.  This is a three way macro. Click with no modifier, it uses a healthstone, hold down SHIFT, it creates the group soulwell, otherwise while solo, I can create a personal healthstone by holding down CTRL.

/use [nomod] healthstone
/cast [mod:shift] Create Soulwell ;[mod:ctrl] Create Healthstone

Macro 2: Easy Warlock portal – This allows me to have one button do both a summon portal and to teleport. Holding down a modifier key (alt, ctrl, shift) will activate the summon function, otherwise I seel the teleport image and cooldown.

#showtooltip
/cast [mod] Demonic Circle: Summon;Demonic Circle: Teleport

Macro 3: Fear This! – This macro was used more in Cataclysm than now, but still fun in PVP. Select a target, then click this to fear them. Swap back to my old target. The feared target is set as a focus, so I can continue to fear them without losing my current target.

#show Fear
/clearfocus [target=focus,dead][target=focus,noexists]
/focus [target=focus,noexists]
/cast [target=focus] Fear
/clearfocus [mod:alt]

Your most (favorite / embarrassing / funny / proud / memorable) moment while playing your warlock was? (Feel free to use more than one) Most memorable WoW moment would be the time that I tamed my felsteed. I had spent weeks finishing all the pre-requisite quests and gathering the mats. Of course I was about 5 levels behind everyone else in my guild so the fight was rather easy for them, but I appreciated their help.

What flavor are your warlock cookies (examples: Chocolate Chip, Carmel, QQ Mage Tears, Spicy Hawtness)? Snickerdoodles. I take glee in knowing that my warlock cookies are created from the souls of dead enemies.

What is your favorite dungeon or raid boss, or PvP battleground and why? Lich King would have to be my favorite raid boss as he was the first raid boss I had actually seen at level. I am such a casual player that every other boss fight was after it was stale for everyone else and we were just about to get a new expansion.

What is your least favorite spell and why? Eye of Kilrogg – This spell is fairly useless. I summon a flying eye to peek ahead. Why do I care what’s ahead? If I am in a group, I have a tank to take all the damage. If I am solo, I am probably headed that way anyways. I like that they glyph’d this spell in MoP to have the Eye place portals, but I have yet to use it. Use the Eye to sneak behind PVP lines, then drop a portal.  Meh.

If you could make up and give your warlock any title you wanted, what would it be? (examples: The Heartbreaker, Purveyor of Pain, The Uncaring, the Unforgiving) The Casual – I remember when as a “casual” (non-tier raiding) player, it was looked down on. In the last 2 expansions, Blizzard has finally realized that the real long term players are those who aren’t going to get burnt out playing WoW 20 hrs a week, but slowly and surely gear up. Sure I want to see and play everything, but LFR is absolutely enough commitment.

What do you like most about playing a warlock? Playing DPS. I have a Discipline priest that I used to play more when the DPS queues were enormous. I waited 45 minutes for this dungeon to pop and the healer is lousy! Healing is a thankless job that people love to complain about when they aren’t getting healed. Heals?? Yeah, maybe if you weren’t standing in the fire the entire fight.

Panda with it’s 3 ways to queue, I never wait to play. I could run scenario -> dungeon -> raid if I wanted. No one really complains if your DPS is too low when you’re topping the dps charts for most fights.

If you could add, change or remove with regards to the warlock class what would it be? In the beginning, I used to feel ‘bad’ about not having a nice buff to share with anyone. Sure we could soulstone in raids, but no real buff. Ah that friendly Priest dropped a Power Word Fortitude on me!! How nice.. Then Blizzard gave us “Dark Intent” but we had to pick our best buff buddy. Pick the wrong player and your DPS would be severely impacted.

Now in MoP, Dark Intent is a group wide buff that get’s overwritten by another buff, Paladin, IIRC. Wait, am I playing a Pally now?? Let’s drop Dark Intent as a group wide buff and let use maintain it only for ourselves..

Do you have any tips you can offer for newer warlock players, or to those who are new to your main specialization?

1. Don’t be afraid to put on PVP gear if it improves those questing greens you have.
2. Warlocks can be solo players. We have minions who can be mini tanks, agro monsters or mana batteries. If played right (and geared right) you can solo a lot of content. Sure we can’t wear plate, but how many other players can turn themselves into a demon that has fire at their feet and wings on their back.
3. Demonology is a lot of fun, especially now that we can call a small army of imps to shoot fireballs. Use them whenever they are available!
4. Don’t burn yourself out playing too much. It is easy to get too absorbed in this game and then burn out. Most my friends ‘quit’ playing because they were raiding 10-12 hours a week. This meant getting materials, looking for upgrades at other times.
5. Don’t feel bad not buffing other players. Go play a healer class if you want to be yelled at for not handing out the buffs. You yank monsters from another realm and control them to do your bidding. That should be enough satisfaction. If they complain, feed them warm slightly sweetened souls.
6. Ask for help. We’re a band of DPS dealers. Amijade and myself are more than willing to post something that might be helpful.

How can readers get in touch with you? The best way to find anything about me would be my blog at www.Elkagorasa.info. I’ve been posting there about warlocks, gearing up, achievements and other WoW news since 2010. Lately I’ve been posting a bit about my adventures in getting level appropriate gear in order to hit the Terrace of Spring LFR.

Hey All!

Yes, I missed a week of blogging without getting a post out! It’s the first time in since I started the blog I actually missed a whole week! Omg, I feel horrible about it and all I can do is offer my sincerest apologies for my tardiness. My kids have just finished up school for the summer break to begin, and needless to say we have been busy. If it wasn’t sports banquets, it was junior prom, award ceremonies, band concerts, parent-teacher meetings and a lot of running around to keep an active family busy. Another excuse for why I skipped my post last week was because I’ve been working on a special “Thank You” audio segment for Rho over at Realm-Maintenance. It’s one of the longest audio segments I’ve ever made and I had a lot of fun making it. It was a nice change of pace for me to do something a little bit different from what I normally do with my audio spots. I’ll just say the segment is about green fire and I’ll leave it at that :)

 

Trust me when I say that working with audio editing software, sound effects, music, voice files, instrument files, and everything else can be very daunting. Which is why I have a total respect for anyone and everyone who consistently works hard to produce podcasts or video programs from week to week. Editing sound and video really is a lot of work and it’s time consuming. For example, the segment audio spots I submit are usually less than 1 minutes and 30 seconds long and can take a few hours to put together. I can’t even imagine some of the time people put into shows that run from 1 – 2 hours! 

The kind of time and dedication in producing an entire podcast or video show from week to week must be like a second job for the people who create them. Imagine trying to juggle a job, your family, your game time, and then try to produce a full weekly podcast too. That’s just crazy to me and it even gives me a headache just thinking about it. So if you listen to any podcasts at all, please try to find the time to send them an email or even a tweet just to tell them “thanks”. I know they’d appreciate it.

A few words about Rho

About a year ago, I saw someone asking a few questions about editing audio and for the life of me I can’t remember where I saw it. It might have been on my guild forums, or twitter, or even my guild chat. What I do remember is that I told the person I’d meet them on vent and I’d help them out in anyway I could. That person? It was Rho. Did I help him? No! Hahaha! What little I knew about audio editing at that point Rho was already beyond it, and he had a lot of technical questions that I couldn’t answer. Oh well, I tried to help :)

At that time, like me, Rho was just starting to submit some of his own audio segments to several of the WoW podcasts as well.  As if it was yesterday, I vividly remember how passionate Rho was in wanting to do a good job. We only talked for less than an hour, but I was impressed with Rho’s determination. He told me his dream goal was to eventually produce his own show and judging by his excitement I knew he’d eventually make it happen.

When I think back to that conversation I laugh to myself because I remember telling him to be careful for what he wished for :) Since our first meeting on vent, Rho has worked hard towards making his dream a success. Not only did he keep submitting several audio segments to a few of the podcasts, but soon he started his own WoW Podcast show called, Realm-Maintenance.  On the show, he gives an overview of current news and discussions, patch notes updates, and brief highlights and glimpses into other podcasts. Rho has even done numerous interviews and spotlighted other WoW podcasters too.

A few months ago Rho also joined Medros as co-host on the All Things Azeroth show. IRL and in-game he’s friends with Jangasm of the Something Suggestive podcast where he has appeared on, and even hosted her show. When Eljeppy from CtrlAltWoW was away due to illness, Rho also filled in several times as a guest host. I have no idea how many shows he’s been a guest on over the past six months, but I know it’s a lot and I can see why. He’s a nice guy who loves the game, and he’s passionate about doing podcasts.

 

Why I wanted to thank Rho

If you hadn’t read any of my previous posts, shortly after the patch 5.2 dropped, both Rho and I were asked to take part on The Twisted Nether Podcast for their roundtable discussion. The show was therapeutic to some degree because both Rho and myself vented our frustrations about trying to farm for the Sealed Tome of the Lost Legion. Less than 4 days later Rho got one! Hydra got one on the first rare mob she killed on the Isle of Thunder. Me? I farmed for another two weeks and still had no luck. Nada! OMG, it was p-a-i-n-f-u-l-! But, being the nice guy that he is, Rho surprised me in vent one night by giving me a tome so that I could finally begin the green fire quest line too. And do you know what his words of wisdom were for me as I flew off to Outland to begin the first quest? “Be careful for what you wish for!” :P Ha! Thinking about him saying that still makes me laugh too.

/bows and salutes Rho

 

Warlock Name: Rho

Server: Earthen Ring-US

Guild Name: Alea Iacta Est Dignitas

How long have you been a warlock? Since joining WoW (Summer 2007)

What specs are you currently running? Destruction.

What’s your favorite specialization and what do find the most appealing about that playstyle? Destruction primarily because it was a fairly easy spec to learn and doesn’t require heavy maintenance when it comes to watching cooldowns/DoTs/etc.

What’s your favorite spell and why? Chaos Bolt. There’s something very appealing in doing huge six digit damage (sometimes 7 if the encounter and buffs are in your favor)

What addons do you currently use besides the basic DBM and Recount? TellMeWhen (monitors cooldowns), Omen, TomTom, Quartz, NPCscan.

Do you prefer using a minion or using the Grimoire of Sacrifice? Would prefer to use Grimoire of Sacrifice, but since 5.2 I have been using Grimoire of Supremacy in most situations.

Which is your favorite demon to command and why? Voidlord because it makes solo content that much easier.

Do you use any macros and if so which one? I’ll have macros set up for on-use trinkets typically. I have a ton of macros written up for the green fire fight, but they’re specific to that encounter.

Your most (favorite / embarrassing / funny / proud / memorable) moment while playing your warlock was? Most frustrating: The Kanrethad Ebonlocke encounter, all thirty hours I’ve spent on it… and it’s not over.

What flavor are your warlock cookies (examples: Chocolate Chip, Carmel, Salty QQ Mage Tears, Spicy Hawtness)? Pistachio.

What is your favorite dungeon or PvP battleground and why? Strand of the Ancients. It’s a very unique battleground which puts more emphasis on enemy crowd control than other BGs.

Who is your favorite raid boss and why? Yogg-Saron. Back when the tier was current it was a very challenging encounter and it felt very rewarding to triumph over it… moreso than the Lich King even in my opinion.

What is your least favorite spell and why? Chaos Bolt (though this time I’m referencing the ones Kanrethad casts at you)

If you could make up and give your warlock any title you wanted, what would it be? Rho the Nethermancer

What do you like most about playing a warlock? Plenty of tools for soloing and incredible burst potential.

If you could add, change or remove anything with regards to the warlock class what would it be? Green fire baseline. I appreciate the class quest and feel anyone who completes it should have an achievement or Feat of Strength. Not a fan of making it a symbol of prestige.

Do you have any tips you can offer for newer warlock players, or to those who are new to your specialization? When playing Destruction, ideally you want to get the most out of your Chaos Bolts and cast them when you have proc’d buffs going (Jade Spirit, Lightweave, trinkets, etc). Try not to cast Chaos Bolts without at least one or two of your buffs proc’d.

How can readers get in touch with you? They can follow me on Twitter @RhoWoW or listen to me on the All Things Azeroth and Realm Maintenance podcasts.

 

Hail Everyone!

I hope your week is going well, or at least that it has started off as going well. I only have one announcement to talk about since I was gone most of last week and through weekend. If you haven’t heard the news, or followed the progress on Twitter, but the fund raising group for Demonicric met their goal last week. So I’d like to give a special thanks to everyone who took part in making a donation because now one of our brethren warlocks has a chance to regain his sight again IRL! Woot! I’m very happy for the success of their efforts so far and we can only hope that the treatments will truly make a difference for him. Either way, he’s getting his chance and that’s all any of us can ask for really. I’m sure “Demo” knows I wish him the best, and whenever he gets caught up he’s suppose to send me his warlock questionnaire :P Actually, he’s one of the people who inspired me in starting this series of highlighting other warlocks for others to read about so I won’t give him too much teasing. Gratsie again Demo!

 

A link and a flash of light

A link and a flash of light? Isn’t that some kind of Paladin ability? Nope. You see, a long time ago I began reading a warlock blogger. I followed him for quite some time and then I got the nerve to start contacting him via email and in his comments section. He responded back too :) The only thing I can complain about is that he uses blogger and for some reason that platform hates my iphone. I’ll spend 10 mins tab typing out a comment and blogger won’t let me post it. Boo blogger! And when I thought about how I should introduce him the first thing that immediately came to mind was his name. Fulguralis. That’s latin for “a flash of light”. And just like his name flashed for me so did the title of his blog, Killing ‘em Slowly.

As a new blogger starting out, Fulguralis immediately wrote back to me and gave me advice when I contacted him. He was also one of the first people to add my blog as a link on his blog, and I’m grateful he did. I never expect anyone to add my blog as a link on their sites, but it sure is nice when they do :) When you’re a new blogger just starting out trust me when I say that getting an email telling you someone added a link to your site can be quite inspiring. Looking back now I know that adding that link was probably nothing for him, but it was and still is memorable for me.

 

While it is my honor to highlight him here on this week’s post, it is also sad for me to say that back in March, Fulguralis took his own personal “holiday” from WoW and let his subscription run out. Fulg, still writes on his blog from time to time about the new games that he’s trying out, and I still read his posts whenever I see a new one is up on my RSS Feed. However, I can’t help but miss seeing him talk about his warlock because if there’s one thing I learned from Fulguralis is that when you write you need to find your “voice”. And whether he decides to return to the game, or if his hiatus becomes permanent I’m glad I was lucky enough to find his site.

Besides writing about his Affliction warlock, Fulguralis would often write about other things as well. Sometimes it could be about the books or the blogs he was reading, sometimes it was about other games, and sometimes it was just him writing about playing his other toons (like his DK) and what he was working to accomplish in-game. Besides all the work he did on his blog with topics like upcoming patch changes or even to his thoughts on spells and rotations, Fulg has also written a few books you can check out too over at his website at hofferthbooks.com. I can only hope he knows I appreciated his banter and his opinions, and if it wasn’t for him I might never have tried running Morgana in LoL, nor would I have taken on the daunting task of reading the book series, The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan. The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills my friend and whether Fulguralis realizes it or not he is definately Ta’varen.

For now, I’ll leave you with one of his tag lines that for me I expect to see after every post, “Brought to you by the Warlock Coven for Dangerous and Impaired Spellcasting.” So with a /bow and a salute I present…Fulguralis.

 

 

Warlock Name: Fulguralis (Retired)

Server: Lothar

Guild Name: Generations

How long have you been a warlock? I’m currently on hiatus from the game, so I decided I’ll answer this with a perspective on my own "golden age" of warlockery. For me, you can pretty much consider it "Wrath." I started playing in the middle of TBC and really hit my raiding stride at the end of that expansion. Wrath saw some transitions and ultimately the formation of a small 10-man guild before 10-man was fashionable. We eventually downed the LK doing it "our way" and that was perhaps the pinnacle of my WoW in-game career.

So, I’ve been a Warlock for what, pushing 6 years now?

What specs are you currently running? Affliction. It’s always been affliction. One might say I was immediately… afflicted, and never sought a cure.

What’s your favorite specialization and what do you find the most appealing about that playstyle? Aff’lock to the shard. I’ve always appreciated the dexterity required to play the class well. Aff’locks have always been difficult to master, and I enjoy the challenge. There’s nothing better than finding yourself in "the zone," slinging shadow, and topping meters.

What’s your favorite spell and why? Seed of Corruption. Pop-pop-pop! And when they added the Soulburn option to spread your disease? How could it get any better?

What addons do you currently use besides the basic DBM and Recount? Xperl was a big one for me. Quartz as a back up for DoT timing. FortEx used to be big, I think it fell to disuse though. Dominos. Plus other standard map replacement/AH/money tracking ones.

Do you prefer using a minion or using the Grimoire of Sacrifice? I miss my Felpup, but I was using Sacrifice when I took my break.

What is your favorite demon to command and why? Felpup. He eats mages. 

Do you use any macros and if so which one? I used to macro pretty much everything. Typically I just made macros that allowed me to hold Alt or Ctrl to cast a different spell, thus binding multiple things to one button. The number of buttons needed to play Affliction has gone down in recent days, but I still use some of my old ones, mostly for my core DoTs. 

Your most (favorite / embarrassing / funny / proud / memorable ) moment while playing your warlock was? This implies that Warlocks have feelings. I’m not sure I can answer it in good conscience. Fortunately I got rid of that long ago. The most savory death probably goes to my old 10-man guild’s downing of the LK. Otherwise, I guess I pretty much like them all.

Early in my career, I remember finishing the quest to get my mount (back when that was a Big Deal). I also fondly recall defeating and subjugating my first Felguard.

What flavor are your warlock cookies? (examples: Chocolate Chip, Carmel, Salty QQ Mage Tears, Spicy Hawtness?) How can one not go with Mage Tears here? Is there anything more tasty?

What is your favorite dungeon or PvP battleground and why? I didn’t PvP much on my ‘lock, but when I did, I enjoyed Wintergrasp. Why? Because I could sit on the back of a vehicle and sling shadow with impunity. Pretty fun.

Who is your favorite raid boss and why? I can’t say I have a favorite, but I do have some distinct memories that stick out as pleasing. See if you can guess the boss (first one is easy): "BONESTORM" (aka – it gets easier the more you do it), "I’m in the crotch pot!"; "I’ll just be over here spamming seed a killing ALL THE IMP ADDS"; "So there’s a red beam, a blue beam, and a green beam… one requires a Warlock tank, I promise I didn’t make that up…"; "The rest of you will be on the adds…"

To be fair, that last one could be several different bosses. They’re all correct. I used to hate dealing with adds prior to the invention of Soul Swap.

What is your least favorite spell and why?  That one spell that helps/heals others that doesn’t kill anything… wait, do we even have one of those?

If you could make up and give your warlock any title you wanted, what would it be? (examples: The Heartbreaker, Purveyor of Pain, The Uncaring, The Unforgiving) Shardmaster

What do you like most about playing a warlock? Slinging Shadow. DoTs up on every time.

If you could add, change or remove anything with regards tot he warlock class what would it be? Green Fi- Oh, wait. We finally got that. Gee, well… I don’t know. I’ve been focused on one thing for so long… Let me go brood for a bit. 

Got it! Mages. I’d remove them.

Do you have any tips you can offer for newer warlock players, or to those who are new to your specialization? To master affliction takes trained fingers. You may feel clumsy at first, but when you find the rhythm… it’s a beautiful thing. So long as you consider killing something slowly beautiful.

How can readers get in touch with you? killingemslowly.blogspot.com. Been there for as long as I’ve been a ‘lock. I write about random things these days, but all my info is there.

Howdy All,

So truth be told I’m a fail warlock. Well, I guess the word lazy would be a better description of me than the word fail. You see, sometimes I’m not maxing out my dps, and often times I’m not watching my cooldowns as much as a should. There might even be a few times when I’m running in LFR when I don’t pop my Dark Soul spell or my trinkets when I should, and there are plenty of times when I probably should have tossed back a Jade Serpent Potion as well for good measure. Yep, I’m lazy and it’s even worse when I’m in vent or mumbles and particularly more so when it’s not progression. However, it’s an entirely different story for me when I’m with my raid team because that’s when I’m making sure every little bit of dps I can squeeze out counts. 

 

I’m sure all of you heard the old saying, “practice makes perfect”, but I actually like the Vince Lombardi version of that catch phrase better. Mr. Lombardi if you don’t know, was the famous football coach who gained notoriety having won two superbowl championships (Coaching the Redskins and Green Bay Packers) and who won numerous awards and playoffs during his career. Mr. Lombardi improved upon that old adage about practice by saying, “Perfect practice, makes perfect.” Do you see the difference? I know when I examine my own laziness in warlocking, the difference between the two quotes is quite clear and it was obvious to me as to what I’ve been doing wrong.

Another great example of the point I’m trying to make comes from none other than the martial arts legend Bruce Lee where I see his famous line about what he fears quoted on twitter at least once daily. “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once,” Mr. Lee said, “but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” When I thought about my own fail-laziness I realized I’m turning into the guy who practiced 10,000 kicks once. And that is not a good thing.

What’s worse is that I know that I’m being lazy and I should never allow myself be that way. Oh, I’ve got some good excuses I can offer for my behavior. Maybe you could call it the tedium of running LFR and Heroics each week? Or you could just call it being tired of chasing meters over the past several expansions? Either way, I know it’s a bad habit and I’m going to do my best to make it stop. It’s not good for me, it’s not good for the people I get grouped with and I especially don’t want it to become a bad habit. So right here and right now I promise to stop being fail-lazy. I bring up my own shortcomings because if there’s one thing I’ve learned from the warlock being spotlighted this week is that you should strive to always do your best.

When I look back to my formative years, I noticed a trait among some of my favorite teachers. All of these great educators often showed me a way of looking at things that I might have never considered before and when I finally saw what they were trying to show me it always gave me that “Eureka!” or “A-ha!” moment that inspired my passion onward. Poneria is like one of those teachers. It’s posts like her recent Blood Pact: World of Logging warlocks, part 1 that have helped me look at the game and various aspects I never considered. In all honesty, I’m pretty sure that before reading her post I would’ve been the last person to even consider looking at World of Logs. That’s not the case anymore. Like an inspiring teacher with and end goal in mind, Poneria never says you have to read logs. She merely presents her knowledge as she leads you along and shows what she sees. She lets you reach your own conclusions as she lets you reach that “A-ha!” moment on your own.   

A short history

For quite some time, I followed and read many warlock bloggers out there long before I ever decided to start my own blog. Poneria’s Fel Concentration was one of them. What seems like so long ago, I even distinctly remember stopping by The Warlock’s Den to read up on the forums when one of the postings caught my attention. Someone wrote that WoWInsider had hired a new warlock columnist and they were asking if anyone had ever heard of them. I smiled to myself because when I saw the name I knew they made a good choice. Back then, rarely did I ever reach out and communicate to the bloggers I followed. I did however, write to Pon to congratulate her on getting that spot whether she remembers it or not :)

When I finally made the decision to start this site, Poneria was also one of the writers I reached out to in asking for her advice and her opinions on how to be better at blogging. She was truthful and spot on with her advice and I hope she knows I appreciate more than she’ll ever know. Even now I consider myself a noob blogger, but looking back at what I was doing before Pon gave me some tips I was much, much worse :) Even as I sit here and type out this post I have a Webster’s Dictionary and a Thesaurus sitting next to me on my desk for quick reference. With every post (well, almost all) I sit and read each word out loud, and I read it slowly, making sure it conveys the thought I was trying to get across, and to re-check for bad spelling and grammar. All of these were simple and beneficial tips she recommended to me that I still use today. From her advice I realized how important it was to always strive to do my best in my writing, and that anything less was unfair not only to any visitors on my site, but also to myself as well.

I’m going to embarrass myself in this next confession, but I can admit that when I do make mistakes on my blog it’s always because I failed to follow her sage advice. All of the mistakes I make are because there are times when I’m rushing around trying to meet my own self-imposed deadline instead of taking my time and tackling my posts slowly. Trust me, if you ever start blogging never hit the “Post” button at 3 o’clock in the morning because the very next day you’ll be trying to fix and re-write everything you wrote the night before while kicking yourself at the same time. 

 

Being a better warlock, and a being a better player

Like the blogging and writing advice she gave me over a year ago, Poneria has been out there fighting the good fight for warlocks ever since she took over the Blood Pact column at WoWInsider. Through her research and writing, it’s quite clear to me that her only goal has been to make sure that all of us become better at being warlocks. It wasn’t too long ago when Poneria also celebrated the victory of becoming the longest standing warlock columnist over at the WoWInsider online magazine. Gratsie Pon! I’d also like to take this time to publicly thank Poneria once again for the advice and help she offered me when I started writing, and for her passion and devotion to share the secrets and knowledge of how to become a better warlock. Isn’t that what we all strive for? To become a warlock other players will loathe to fear (no pun intended)?

To top things off, Poneria has a keen sense in Tmog fashion which we all know is just as important as our impressive dps and utility. Normally, I shy away from giving away any spoilers, but I have to say before you read her answers that my favorite title for her is “Poneria the Pernicious”. It has such a nice ring to it don’t you think? /em humbly bows and salutes Poneria

 

 

Warlock Name: Poneria (armory)

Eye or Why: Originally I was Poneria with an ‘i,’ and in online handles and the occasional fic I write, it’s always an ‘i’. The reason my toon in-game has a ‘y’ is because Elune happened to be the only realm three years ago that also had a Poner-eye-a. (I have been it with a y for so long that I don’t feel like tripping up raid invites to change it.)

Server: US-Elune (Alliance)

Guild Name: Undying Resolution (as of responding to Amijade, we are recruiting ranged deeps!)

How long have you been a warlock? She’s my original toon; I started with WoW in Feb 2008. I took a brief break as a bear/tree in T9/Trial of the Crusader, but I was also playing my warlock just as much then, so it wasn’t truly a break.

What specs are you currently running? Affliction! I run destruction as an offspec, both for soloing purposes and for raiding, but affliction is my fa…oh shhh, that’s the next question, isn’t it.

What’s your favorite specialization and what do find the most appealing about that playstyle? Affliction! I love the DoTs and being able to almost multitask with multiDoTing. I also like DPSing on the move, and often kill daily mobs in decorative chains of dead bodies simply because it’s more fun than standing there for 30 seconds every other mob.

What’s your favorite spell and why? Unending Breath. Before Dark Intent came along, I’d use it as a token of my appreciation for help with a mob or a buff given to me. Now, it’s great for Soulburn: Unending Breath, which is waterwalking, so I can fish more than before. (I love to fish, OK.)

What addons do you currently use besides the basic DBM and Recount? I’m an addonoholic. But if I were to log into raid after a major patch hit live servers and I only had half an hour to redo everything, here’s what would be important to me:

• Shadowed Unit Frames
• DBM (I’m trying out BigWigs)
• Skada (not Recount)
• Omen + Tidy Plates: Threat Plates
• Weak Auras
• Grid + Clique (for quick soulstone brezzing)
• Mik’s Scrolling Battle Text
• AffDoTs
• Dominos (action bar) + OPie + BindPad
• OmniCC
• Gnosis (cast bar)
• Raven (buff frames)
• TipTac
• Addon Control Panel

I also have a lot of cosmetic/non-raiding addons like SLDataText and Fortress, PocketPlot, oGlow, Masque/ButtonFacade, Prat and WIM, MogIt, etc.

Do you prefer using a minion or using the Grimoire of Sacrifice? In the beginning I ran with GoSac a lot, but now I’ve started to run more with my voidlord Arcathion out. Occasionally I’ll have Colrak the observer out. When I played demo for a bit, my old felguard Skurikkilig or Bheezhem the favored felhunter were my top choices.

Which is your favorite demon to command and why? Bheezy is a longtime companion, and I like to think he’s chilling with Bizmir the imp in the Twisting Nether, recuperating from all the Cataclysm adventures.

As for my old leveling partner, I think Arcathion is really Ormmon the voidwalker, just evolved. I have a feeling that whenever I switch between Supremacy and Sacrifice, that for the few seconds Ormmon is summoned, he’s confused in a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde sort of way, wondering why he has Arcathion’s memories. Arcathion is definitely my soloing partner, whether that’s dailies or retro raids or grinding out dinosaur bones.

Do you use any macros and if so which one? I am as much as macroholic as an addon fiend. Most of my macros are old, so they may not be as efficient anymore since the UI has had improvements over time. (I might have some @player macros still when you can use @self to save a couple characters.)

For example, the ’2′ button is my filler spell, and it looks like this:

#showtooltip
/cast [equipped:Fishing Poles, nocombat] Fishing;[mod:shift, @mouseover, harm][mod:shift] Fel Flame; [spec:1]Malefic Grasp; [spec:2] Shadow Bolt

 

When I have a fishing pole equipped, it fishes. When I press shift, it shoots Fel Flame. When I’m in affliction spec, it shoots Malefic Grasp, and when I’m destruction it shoots Incinerate, which is Shadow Bolt technically (so it’s one less macro I have to change when I try out demonology occasionally).

Since I go destro the occasional times I PvP, my Havoc macro is tied to Fel Flame, since both I often would rather target via mouseover rather than manual target. I also need Fel Flame to be on something other than shift+2 when I PvP, since I keep fatfingering the Windows key + 2, which brings me out of WoW to a new 7-Zip window — right in the middle of intense PvP combat!

#showtooltip
/cast [@mouseover,mod:shift,harm][mod:shift,@target] Havoc; [@mouseover,harm][@target] Fel Flame

 

I also combine spells into macros, like Agony and Curse of Exhaustion, since both are affliction spells. I then have a generic curses macro with Curse of the Elements/Enfeeblement.

#showtooltip
/cast [mod:shift] Curse of Enfeeblement; Curse of the Elements

 

#showtooltip
/cast [mod:shift] Curse of Exhaustion; Agony

 

Finally, I love my Symbiosis macro in the odd instance or fight when I receive it from a druid. It allows me to use Rejuvenation by myself, or as I often do, on my target’s target (often the tank) via my unit frames. The tooltip will change with Symbiosis from the generic Symbiosis tooltip to the Symbiosis: Rejuvenation when I am buffed from a druid, so it also serves as a good reminder if the druid doesn’t automatically whisper me about it.

#showtooltip Symbiosis
/cast [@mouseover, help] [@player]Rejuvenation

 

If you want to learn more about getting the most out of macros, I’d suggest looking at the macro API and macro conditionals and also PvP guides (they tend to explain and use all the cool targeting tricks like @mouseover far more than PvErs do).

Your most (favorite / embarrassing / funny / proud / memorable) moment while playing your warlock was? (Feel free to use more than one) I’ll use two.

Back in Naxx 2.0 — my first real raiding experience — I remember the meaning of 129% threat with Patchwerk with the crappy Soulshatter of 50% threat drop on a 10-minute CD. I remember ribbing from my tank if I wasn’t on his threat tail within 3 globals. I remember standing up against the wall as Patchwerk came for me, and I actually had to wait until Patchwerk started his melee swing before ‘shattering. Sometimes I was just a hair too late!

The other moment I remember was with my current guild was in T11, with the dragon twins in Bastion of Twilight. We were killing them for either the first time or one of the first times (I can’t remember which), and we were losing people as the dragons were almost dead. I heard our Blood DK call on Vent that he was out of tank CDs, so we knew his death was imminent. We were dodging the purple circles around the room with Theralion on the floor, and I shattered to give myself time to continue my DoTs with Drain Soul. I had my back against the door in the corner with Theralion across the room. He turned to me, and I knew it: here we were, another sub-1% wipe. But he gave me the Engulfing Magic buff as he marched across the room, and I kill him first with both my Drain Soul execute and my heart pumping.

What flavor are your warlock cookies? Generally snickerdoodle (warlocks always be snickering at something!), but occasionally I make QQtmeal ("kyoo-cute-meal") ones (especially in PvP).

What is your favorite dungeon or PvP battleground and why? Naxxramas (2.0). I just have too many memories there and it’s great place to learn basic raiding maneuvers.

I like to walk around Karazhan for fun and to look at the walls while listening to the music, and Ulduar was super-cool with the various hard modes and the Putress tier, and Black Temple has Illidan, but Naxx was my first raid where I wasn’t loot-monkey and also the first raid where I jumped into raid leading (alt & PUG raids). I can’t tire of Naxx.

Who is your favorite raid boss and why? Primordius as destro (ALL THE NUMBERS :D) or Chimaeron as affliction (I could basically heal myself to that fight’s restrictions while DPSing and it was hella cool at the time).

What is your least favorite spell and why? Ritual of Summoning. Sometimes it’s a really useful spell, but if someone wants a summon for raid when they’ve been online for an hour, I magically go AFK for a while.

For memories’ sake, Heigan, for when a disconnecting Australian raid member was healed through the entire floor-waving dance, and Gothik, whose speed of shadow bolt flinging I dreamt of having one day.

If you could make up and give your warlock any title you wanted, what would it be? I have the titles in-game that I actually wanted for a long time on my warlock. I worked very hard to get Elder as that was the officer rank at the time in my first guild (and I wore it when I became an officer). I could wear Crusader as that is my current rank in UR, but it doesn’t fit Poneria the character very well.

I currently wear "of the Nightfall" since I play affliction, and of course, the old Shadow Trance talent in the affliction tree was Nightfall (now, it’s a passive). I’ve worn it off and on since I got it in Wrath. I suppose "the Fearless" would be a title I would like to have for fun, but I would need to find a heroic Terrace of the Endless Springs group to do it.

As for titles that don’t exist, when Poneria is feeling particularly evil, I’d like a "the Nefarious" or "the Wicked" or "the Vile." Or for the humorous evil title: "Poneria the Pernicious."

What do you like most about playing a warlock? The blurring of lines between life and death, minion and master, and fighting for good purposes and fighting for evil purposes. Warlocks appear to live on those lines and it’s interesting trying to justify going one way, the other, or even back and forth.

If you could add, change or remove anything with regards to the warlock class what would it be? Rain of Fire to 40 yds casting range instead of 30. Why is it still 30, Blizz, when everything else is 40. "Srsly."

Do you have any tips you can offer for newer warlock players, or to those who are new to your specialization?

1. What spec is the best depends on what spec you enjoy best. No, seriously, I mean it.

2. DoTs are made for chain-pulling. Fear, among your other defensive cooldowns, is made for when you pull too many.

3. Warlocks have depth in their spellbook when it comes to utility, though most people only focus on the components with damage. PvPing or doing solo work like the cosmetic green fire quest line or just soloing retro raids or dungeons will bring out all that awesome. Do things even if you suck so you can learn all the warlock secrets.

How can readers get in touch with you? @slowpoker on Twitter | poneria.fc@gmail.com OR megan@wowinsider.com | commenting at Fel Concentration, my personal WoW blog

P.S. Fellow warlocks can send me warlocky screenshots along with tips, tricks, or questions, for use in the Blood Pact column, since I can always use more screenshots. Just give me a commenting name or Twitter handle so I can refer to you in the source part of the picture.

—————

Megan O’Neill, aka "Poneria"

Blood Pact, WoW Insider

Fel Concentration, personal WoW blog

 

 

 

 

Muahahaha! Hail and greetings all!

One of the things I really like about playing Warcraft is that it’s not always about your destination, but it’s more often about experiencing the journey to get there. There are a few times when you reach an epic moment in the game that stops you and gives a reason to pause. For me, completing the warlock green fire battle against Kanrethad Ebonlocke is up there at the top of my list of epic moments. I’ll even go so far as to put his name up there on par with the Lich King when it comes to memorable moments. Yep, I said that and I mean it.

 

First, let me explain a few things. I went into this famous warlock vs. warlock fight without having read anything about it. I did my best to avoid anything that talked about it including videos, blogs, websites, twitchTV and everything else. Why? Well, for me it was for the challenge and for the surprise. So much of the game is written about and even video clipped showing you everything with step-by-step instructions. You can find guides and information everywhere now on just about everything.

Don’t get me wrong. I think that having so much out there about the game is great because I can remember when there was next to no resources outside of asking in /general chat. Does anyone else remember when you needed information and it wasn’t listed on the Thottbot or Alakazam’s website and you felt like smashing your face against your computer screen? OMG, things have sure changed because now we have WoWInsider, MMOChampion, AskMrRobot, IcyVeins, ElitistJerks, Noxxic, El’s Anglin, Warcraftmounts, Warcraftpets, and countless more. That’s not even mentioning all of the Youtube channels, TwitchTV, Podcasts, Blogs, forums, and everything else.

While having all of this great information only a Google search away is nice to have at our disposal, I feel that sometimes for me it takes away from the excitement and wonder of experiencing something when it feels new. The MV raid? I watched videos and read guides then I did the LFR with my guild, and then completed it with my raid team. *Yawns* While all of it was good fun because I enjoyed it with friends I quickly felt bored with it after my 3rd run in LFR. It lost it’s appeal. After that it became, “Omg, not this again.” And so I didn’t want the warlock epic quest line to be like that for me.

I’d like to toss out a special thanks to some of my guildies that had faith in me and probably think I’m a bit off my rocker ;p so a big thanks to Desdeny, Mycale, Bloodylock, Nagrats, Martensen, Havah, my raid team and a special thanks to Rho for giving me the tome to start the quest line. Without Rho’s kind gift, I’d probably still be farming for the drop!

 

Now that it’s over

After completing the fight, I’ve been going back and watching videos and reading strat guides and comparing my notes to what’s out there. While I’m sure there’s a lot of different ways to complete the fight you still can’t escape the underlying mechanics. Like most fights, it really is all about the mechanics and timing. While dps does help, I’ve read a few posts where ‘locks in ilvl 470ish gear are completing it which tells me how important getting the mechanics down can be. I’m also glad to know that there’s a trick or two I learned during my experience that I haven’t seen on any of the guides as well. Was I frustrated as I took my lessons and beatings from Kanrethad? You bet. Did I love every minute of it? Omg yes! Truth be told I didn’t keep track of my wipes because I didn’t want a number to frustrate me or make me feel demoralized.

 

Now that it’s over I have an idea of how many times I did wipe based on my repair bills which gouged me for a little over 12k in gold. Every 4 to 5 wipes it cost me about $300.00 gold in repairs. Since I lost 12,000 in gold we can divide by 300 (per cost of each repair) which equals 40 repairs and then multiply that by 4 or 5 wipes so that puts me between 160-200 attempts. It was brutal, but I’m glad I didn’t do it any other way. The most frustrating part was wiping sometimes because I forgot to do a certain mechanic or two after I was already getting past them. Mainly it was because of an often simple or stupid mistake on my end. There is some space and leeway for recovering during the fight, but not much.

I’m a little dismayed by some of the sites I’ve been to and reading some of the comments from certain types of players. You know the uber elite-types who “downed” a hard boss such as Kanrethad in only 3 to 4 tries. No offense, if a player says they defeated Kanrethad in less than 10-20 tries without reading a strat then they’re lying. Do I care if some of these players lie about their success? No. What I do care about is how they make others feel about not having defeated Kanrethad at this point. If you’re a warlock who’s still beating your head on your desk like I was then have faith, you’ll get him…trust me :) The fight is one long dance and once you find your stride, and get your own rhythm in repeating the steps then the next thing you know it’s over and you’ll have you’re green fire. And a beautiful Fel green it is!

My only advice is if you do run into any of the moronic types who think they’re all that and bucket of wings, ignore them because they’re fools. I plan to do a post to talk about the Kanrethad fight and no, I’m not giving away spoilers if at all possible, but I do plan to give my honest assessment of the entire questline and what I liked and didn’t like about the experience. If you would like some tips on the Kanrethad fight shoot me an email and let me know where you’re having the problems and I’ll do my best to help.

 

Enough about Kanrethad, let’s talk about Cynwise!

At this point, I don’t think there’s a warlock alive who doesn’t know Cynwise or about his blog over at Cynwise’s Warcraft Manual. Over the years he has been one of the warlock bloggers who has been an inspiration for me, as I’m sure he has been for countless others, and it’s humbling to highlight him here on my blog. His series about The Decline and Fall of Warlocks in Cataclysm helped put the problems facing warlocks center stage and in the spotlight. From his research and strong arguments as to why players were leaving their ‘locks in Cataclysm, Blizzard couldn’t ignore the problem any longer when it came to redesigning the warlock class. So from me, and I’m sure the rest of the warlocks who have survived the downfall and rebirth of our wonderful warlock class, I’d like to give Cynwise a very respectful, sincere, and grateful /bow and salute.

Cynwise was even so kind as to include several screenshots with the instructions for me to choose whatever I’d like to use for the post – Gah! The pressure! To make it easier I’ll include them all and let you choose which you like ;p All of you know I love cool screen shots, and I love a cool tmog set so I couldn’t choose between them.

Warlock Name: Cynwise

Server: Medivh-A, US (though I moonlight on Drenden-H)

Guild Name: <Waypoint>, a cartography guild.

How long have you been a warlock? I’ve played a warlock since 2008. Cynwise was the fourth character I rolled. She leveled as Affliction and I’ve played every spec since then.

What specs are you currently running? Destruction PvP. I have a Demo offspec that I tank old raids in, but mostly I use it to decipher demonic texts while questing.

What’s your favorite specialization and what do you find most appealing about the playstyle? This is like asking to choose between your favorite children!

Currently I enjoy playing Destro because of the surging rhythm of burst you get with it. It’s highly mobile in PvP (yes, even casting Chaos Bolt) and offers a good balance of burst, pressure and control which previously was lacking in Warlock pvp specs. Demo intrigues me in PvP, but I’m frankly not nearly good enough Rush at it.

There have been times and places where certain specs have been my favorite. Affliction PvP post-3.3.5 (end of Wrath) was excellent – I think that was my favorite time to play Affliction, even though the toolbox in Cataclysm was deeper. Demonology was wonderful to play in PvE during that time, too.

What’s your favorite spell and why? Oh my, so many. Demonic Circle: Teleport, probably? Fel Flame? Chaos Bolt? Dark Apothoesis? Burning Rush? The toolbox is so deep. Let’s go with Chaos Bolt. (Drain Mana and Blood Fear, I still miss you.)

What addons do you currently use besides the basic DBM and Recount?

• _NPCScan
• Addon Control Panel
• Auctioneer
• BG Defender
• ElvUI
• FocusHeals
• Healers Have To Die
• GronkIt!
• HroomHroom
• Ookin’ Dooker!
• Postal
• Skada, not Recount
• The Alternative
• Weak Auras
• Wowhead Looter

 

Some of these are pretty standard quality of life addons (NPCScan, ElvUI, Auctioneer, The Alternative).

I used to use SaySapped but migrated its functionality to an addon I wrote for myself (GronkIt!) that does a bunch of custom chat frame messages, says, and yells. I then split off some of those features into addons like HroomHroom, which announces when a heroism-type effect is used on you. I can’t say enough good things about SaySapped.

Another addon which is a must-have is Healers Have To Die. It tells me who the healers are on both sides and lets me know when my nearby friendly healers are getting attacked.

BG Defender automates the callout of incs in battlegrounds. I consider it more essential than Battleground Targets, which I don’t run anymore.

Weak Auras has replaced Need to Know in my current setup, partly because ElvUI handles dot tracking and partly because I wanted more conditional proc/event tracking. I have a few Weak Auras set up that have really improved my Shadowburn usage.

Ookin’ Dooker! is a silly addon that I adore. It filters all incoming and outgoing cursing into Hozenspeak! I can curse like a sailor and it comes out at a nice PG-13 rating. This prevents me from making missteps when kids are online in /g.

 

Do you prefer using a minion or using the Grimoire of Sacrifice? It depends. I prefer Sacrifice now for both playstyle and RP reasons, but there are distinct advantages to having your pet out in PvP. I’m still struggling to like Supremacy. Who are all these new demons, anyways!?

Which is your favorite demon to command and why? Tie between the Felpup and Succy. It depends if I can knock anyone off of the Lumber Mill or not.

Do you use any macros and if so which one? I use a lot of macros, though honestly not as many as I did back in Cataclysm. Here are a few.

Pump Macro, ties in several abilities into a single burst:

/use [spec:1] Dark Soul: Instability; [spec:2] Dark Soul: Knowledge

/use Volcanic Potion

/use Potion of the Jade Serpent

/use 14

/use 10

 

Farm with Fel Flame (allows you to FF one target until dead, then automatically switch to next target):

/cast [mod:shift, @focus] Fel Flame;Fel Flame

/use 10

/startattack

 

Cast Havoc on my focus (if there is one), mouseover target, or primary target:

/use [@focus,harm][@mouseover,harm][harm] Havoc

 

To reapply buffs quickly upon resurrection in a BG GY:

/castsequence reset=5 Dark Intent, Grimoire of Sacrifice, Create Soulwell, Underwater Breathing, Crystal of Insanity

 

To make sure I use my guild standards when farming bosses for rep, so I tie them into CB:

/cast [mod:shift, @focus, harm] Chaos Bolt; Chaos Bolt

/use 10

/use Battle Standard of Coordination

/use Standard of Unity

/use Banner of Cooperation

 

Help!, aka the panic button:

/use Dark Regeneration

/use Healthstone

/use Alliance Battle Standard

/use Ember Tap

/use Master Healing Potion

 

Shadowburn This (stop what you’re doing and cast Shadowburn):

/stopcasting

/cast [mod:shift, @focus,harm] Shadowburn; Shadowburn

/use 10

Your most (favorite / embarrassing / funny / proud / memorable) moment while playing your warlock was? I was running Jade Temple on my locked 85 warlock and pulling about 120k on the boss. The fight finishes (very quickly) and there’s silence in chat. Suddenly, the hunter pipes up: "calm down lock ur making us look bad"… Yep.

What flavor are your warlock cookies? Fel salsa.

What is your favorite dungeon or PvP battleground and why? Anything but Strand of the Ancients. I used to like Strand well enough until enough people took South Graveyard. (Don’t take South GY.) Seriously, I really like the CTF ones (Warsong Gulch, Twin Peaks) and the node control ones (Arathi Basin, Battle for Gilneas) much more than the PvW ones (IoC, Strand).

Who is your favorite raid boss and why? BQL, because I can pull insane numbers there with the first bite. Not ashamed to admit I like the big numbers!

What is your least favorite spell and why? Eye of Kilrogg, but ONLY because I feel defenseless using it. It’s a situationally useful spell, I just wish I didn’t feel like a rogue was going to jump me whenever I cast it.

If you could make up and give your warlock any title you wanted, what would it be? Mine are actually very simple and specific to her character: Colonel, to represent a high PvP field rank but outside of the traditional Alliance military structure, or Lady, to represent some kind of minor ennoblement and representing one of her childhood ambitions.

What do you like most about playing a warlock? Being able to have a constant war between the ends justifying the means, and living with the consequences of that philosophy.

If you could add, change or remove anything with regards to the warlock class what would it be? … I went through that exercise in Beta. I’m pretty happy with where they ended up. :D

Do you have any tips you can offer for newer warlock players, or to those who are new to your specialization?

1. There isn’t a best spec. Try them all. Try the one which appeals to you and see how you like it. Each one has a different feel and fantasy in Mists (unlike Cataclysm).
2. You have a deep toolkit, use it. Warlocks don’t have escapes, but we do have defensive CDs. Learn to use them.
3. Positioning is really important. Kiting is essential. If you run into a cloud of melee, you are going to die horribly. Keep your distance. To quote Dusk of Uldum, "Kite like it is your job and you are paid a lot of money to do it well."
4. Every demon brings something different to the table. Don’t let them overwhelm you, but try to figure out how to use their abilities to your advantage.

 

How can readers get in touch with you? cynwiseofstormwind@gmail.com / @wowcynwise / http://cynwise.wordpress.com

Howdy All,

Busy week has been busy! I hope you’re all doing well and that the RNG gods have been kind to you. So there is this guy named Kanrethad Ebonlocke? Have you heard of him? I sure have. He’s my new nemesis like I’m sure he might be for many of you as well. You gotta love to hate that guy! What a true ‘lock he is in so many ways. It seems like he likes to play around with all three specs at once. Don’t ya love that? He mixes and matches all three specializations of talents and skills. Yep, if you’re working on him I feel your pain. Derpy me is doing the fight as Affliction and I’m refraining from any help. The lowest I got him was 18% at this point. I just gotta figure out one more trick he’s got that seems to be of the RNG persuasion. Yes, I know I should be doing it as Destro…I’ve been told that by a few people. Maybe I’ll try him as Destruction on my Ally lock just to see the difference in tackling the mechanics.

 

I’m actually thinking of writing a post about my chronicles yet I’m sure there’s a ton of sites and videos on how to defeat him already. I want to do something fun about him, because fighting this guy is glorious and maddening at the same time. Kanrethad’s up there with the Lich King in my book when it comes to brutal fights. I can see why people are screaming nerf him, but I can only hope they don’t even consider it. With enough gear people will lay him waste in no time and they’ll only have to deal with the mechanics. From what I can tell the fight really is all about mechanics. It’s definitely spit second and spot on mechanics, but mechanics just the same.

 

I present to you Rewt!

Ha! Like Rewt needs an explanation of who he is right? Well if you don’t know, I met Rewt over a year ago from none other than @Demonicric. Rewt is one of the two Co-hosts of The Hearthcast Podcast. Rewt used to be Demonology to the core, but lately he’s showing his Destructive side. The locals in my area have a saying. If people tolerate you then they say, “You’re nice.” If they really like you then they say, “You’re just like family.” Well, I can easily say that after talking and chatting it up with Rewt that to me, he’s just like family. Both he and Freckleface are wonderful people and I’m better from having met them, plus he’s a warlock to boot! Although, I still think Rewt cheated on that last Hearthcast AoE contest I did with them :P It was that or just a really lucky proc on his end.

 

Warlock Name: Rewt

Server: Deathwing

Guild Name: Horderlies

How long have you been a warlock? 6 years.

What specs are you currently running? Demonology/Destruction

What’s your favorite specialization and what do find the most appealing about that playstyle? I tend to gravitate to whatever my guild needs. As a member of the raid team, I tend to go with the highest DPS output in game, according to sites like Noxxic. Right now, it’s Destruction.

What’s your favorite spell and why? Eye Of Kilgrog. It’s highly undervalued. Right now, I’m using it to peek into tents on Isle Of Thunder to check for Treasure Boxes. If you’re running solo, pick a "safe spot", launch your seeing-eye-ball, and see if the trip in is worth your time.

What addons do you currently use besides the basic DBM and Recount? I use tinydps instead of recount. I’m a huge advocate of TellMeWhen, and TidyPlates/ThreatPlates. Out of Combat, BankStack is a must. NPCScan and NPCScan_overlay

Do you prefer using a minion or using the Grimoire of Sacrifice? It depends on the DPS buff, and situation. At present, I’ve got Grimoire of Supremacy for my minions.

Which is your favorite demon to command and why? Situational again, and again I’ll defer to the DPS output. In raid, Observer. Out of raid, in high aggro areas, my voidwalker. In high gank areas (I play on a pvp server) I keep the sheeva out for her mesmerizing abilities.

Do you use any macros and if so which one? I have many. I use a mouseover macro for havoc, a macro for my soulstone, several for "high priority" targeting/focusing situations.

Your most (favorite / embarrassing / funny / proud / memorable) moment while playing your warlock was? (Feel free to use more than one) So many to choose from! I’ll go with the "last man standing" moments – I’ve now had 4, when it’s just you left, against the boss, dot them up, kite them around, and get the cheers of your loving team mates.

What flavor are your warlock cookies (examples: Chocolate Chip, Carmel, Salty QQ Mage Tears, Spicy Hawtness)? Didn’t know he had any.

What is your favorite dungeon or PvP battleground and why? Any dungeon where a warlock ability helps out. Banishing demons, fearing someone in place, seducing them… or now using our warlock tunnels to move the group through areas. It’s all fun.

Who is your favorite raid boss and why? I’ve only been raiding since Cataclysm, although I have gone back and done others with OpenRaid. Presently, I don’t really have a favorite.

What is your least favorite spell and why? That one that makes us run fast and die. Why the heck is that good?

If you could make up and give your warlock any title you wanted, what would it be? (examples: The Heartbreaker, Purveyor of Pain, The Uncaring, the Unforgiving) DeathMaster

What do you like most about playing a warlock? It’s not the easiest class to master. It’s always evolving, and swapping specs out during a raid is actually a good thing.

If you could add, change or remove anything with regards to the warlock class what would it be? Reduce the number of people it takes for us to summon. Allow us to summon corpses to us – useful for healers to rez.

Do you have any tips you can offer for newer warlock players, or to those who are new to your specialization? We may not always top the DPS charts, but when we do, we make sure the mages know.

How can readers get in touch with you? Google "hearthcast" or follow here at The Hearthcast Podcast, and @hearthcastrewt

 

 

Fundraiser for helping Demonicric to see again ends May 9th

Besides wanting to highlight Rewt for this post, it’s also a good time for me to reminder everyone that there is still time to make a donation for helping @Demonicric have the chance to see again, and to make sure to do so in less than three weeks because the deadline is May 9th. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for him. All of the info on his fundraiser is —->HERE<—-.

So it seems everyone really likes this idea of the warlock questionnaire. I’ve gotten a good response from the folks I’ve contacted, and I also have another small list I’m in the process of contacting as well. This weekend, I hope to get a regular post up as well. Until then, have a great week everyone and if you want to give Rewt a holler either over at the Hearthcast Podcast Website or on Twitter, I’m sure he’d love it.