WARLOCK BASICS

Discussion in 'Mages' started by Nynaeve, Jan 17, 2013.

  1. Nynaeve Active Member

    hi guys!
    this "basic warlock" stuff was written for a buddy. If it helps anybody else, great, just don't flame me for it please. I'm certainly not the end of all warlock knowledge and skills. Feel free to add your commentary with improvements and corrections. thanks.

    [IMG]


    basic screen setup
    here's my current screen-setup. it's not ideal, I just wanna stress 2 things.
    1.) it's important to pull down the target+implied target boxes to a location near your hot-bars, because that makes it much easier to watch the enemies cast-bar and see stuff that you need to interrupt or joust quickly.
    2.) the group window (or raid window if you prefer that) should also be close to your hot-bars for easy observation.


    [IMG]

    Cast-bar & Spell rotation:
    my cast bar is a bit of a mess right now, but the general idea and setup is like this:
    I set up the PRECAST and DAMAGE-AMPLIFIERS in a "T" form, and below
    on the left side are mainly SINGLE-TARGET spells, and
    on the right side are mainly ENCOUNTER and AOE spells.

    typical single-target situation:
    turn on NEGATIVE VOID
    on pull cast : Curse of Void, Gift of Bertox, (Vacuum Field)
    Focused Casting (doublecast; if available)
    Freehand Sorcery + Plaguebringer
    Catalyst + Thunderclap
    Aura of Void, Dark Aggravation, Flames of Velious, Acid, Dark Pyre
    Arcane Bewilderment, Encase, Apocalypse

    if you think the target will be alive longer than 20s, you can also throw in your greens:
    Dark Syphoning, Absolution.

    You should always cast Apocalypse when it's up for the chance to reset Focused Casting!

    special case:
    When your Toxic-Aura has increased to 180 (watch your Effects window) and the target is "worth it" you should cast Toxic-Assault (with Freehand-Sorcery and Catalyst and Focused Casting if possible!).
    Also: when you have time, throw in "Curse of Darkness".

    typical encounter (big groups, 3+ enemies)
    turn off NEGATIVE VOID
    Eternal Damnation!!!
    all your GREEN skills, Blast of Devastation, Dark Aggravation, Cataclysm, Plaguebringer, Static discharge.

    If you have multiple enemies who are not linked together in an encounter, leave Negative Void on, because your "greens" will only hit 1 enemy anyway!

    special case:
    only when the target group is worth it, and you have 180 ticks aura: cast Caustic Detonation with all your Amplifiers turned on if possible.

    Always know your Toxic-Aura. When you have 180, you can use the insta-cast "Rift" and "Apocalypse" on trash-mobs, but when you have a worthy target, you want to throw Toxic-Assault or Caustic Detonation it with all your Amplifiers and Doublecast!

    Curse of Void (1min), Gift of Bertox (45s), (Vacuum Field, 30s) - these should always be running. (except for mobs that die in ~10 secs)...
  2. Estred Well-Known Member

    I don't play a lock but I do love the idea behind this guide. It serves as a starting point for Locks. You can easily create new layouts for yourself once you know what spells do.

    Thank you for posting this, I found it quite informative.
  3. Nynaeve Active Member

    add: always cast "Sanguin Sacrifice" when it's available. it gives me about 70 Potency for 1 minute. You may want to "save" it if you're close to the next boss for maximum damage.
  4. Cleaner Active Member

    not all green spells proc your aura spells, on AOE pulls. so you need to optimize your spell cast order for abilities that make COD, GOB**, and Eternal damnation hit, the dumbfire pets now proc your aura spells. i spec right side tree because it will rift/ apocalypse become insta-cast 180 increments, your aa spec for Concussive Blast will tripple your Tox Count so instead of running rift and Apocalypse insta-cast mode the entire fight you can now hit Caustic blast every Once in a while when CB is up to get you back in insta-cast mode quiker. Dumbfire pets will cast 5-7 aoe's that trigger on each mob in return they hit up to 5-8 targets around each mob hit so you can hit anywhere from 8-48 mobs in some cases ****** your dps. ive pulled some BIG numbers right off the pull w running prepull aura's then start casting dumbfires out while incoming, then throw out FC and start running through my aura proc rotations spells. i can spike HUGE amounts in 10 seconds. TC and Jcap will make you drool over the parse.
  5. Chronus Active Member

    To be honest I'd hate to play with that hotbar set up. I also keep the target and target implied window up in the top right, nothing wrong with it honestly. I also watch my maintained window up there for timewarp preparation and opitulation. You also don't need the group or raid window close to your hotbars seeing as apart from maybe on Drinal, you don't even need to worry about the raid window unless you're raid leading. Even then I had them in the place I do.

    Also you spec right side, which is worse than left side on every fight except maybe on mass pulling all trash and Pirate Kings. Maybe Tuzerk too. Also you don't mention the unclick myth clicky + dark siphoning to build increments trick.

    Your FC order is also weird.
    Dumbfires before you even hit FC.
    Dark siphoning pre cast with FC hit halfway through it.
    Thunderclap
    Acid
    FH+Catalyst+Plaguebringer
    Apocalypse
    Distortion
    Acid
    Dark Pyre (Flames of Velious if under 50%)
    Arcane bewilderment
    Thunderclap.

    That's a rough guess from just knowing it by feel.

    Eternal Damnation for your information does not proc off blast of devastation or static discharge. You should also never ever cast static discharge. If you read Eternal Damnation you will see it only procs off noxious spells, so if you are using it, spam cataclysm.

    Absolution is actually a very bad spell and should never be used with myth clicky on specced left side, only off with 3+ targets. Specced right side Idk, maybe every now and then. Encase is also bad and shouldn't be cast apart from very occasionally if specced right side (unless you're in pvp!).

    To the guy in big lettering above me, TC and Jcap should NEVER go on a warlock. Upbeat Tempo is the buff that warlocks should be getting and it does not stack with time compression, which is much better served on the wizard, summoner, sk or even troubador in your group. Jcap is also a scout buff and should only really be used on Rangers, Assassins, Brigands, Swashbucklers, Beastlords and Bards (while they're charging RO). Something that is applicable as a single target buff is bolster due to the extra int making Sanguine even better than it already is but it's better served on a wizard (as they get so much more from int) and/or rangers, who are sort of OP atm.

    Vacuum field doesn't have to be constantly up if you're raiding btw, but this seems a guide aimed at heroic players so a moot point really.

    Honestly, to start out on learning a warlock, it'd be much better to read the stickies on flames in the warlock section. Mogrim's school for Warlocks and Nune's efficiency spreadsheet thread have much more information and lay out in an easy to understand way too. I'll also respond to questions if you send a tell to splitpaw.chronusxx, send me a pm here or on flames.
  6. Demoneru New Member

    Thanks for the information. I just made a lock.
  7. Macshorty2013 New Member

    I made a Warlock last night, and was looking for information on the class.. I came across this post and wanted to say Thank You for posting. I love you set up. :)
  8. Cleaner Active Member

    Single targets-NV
    Prebuffs= GOB=COD=ED
    San sac+Spellbind
    VF
    FC
    apocalypse
    Freehand
    Concusive(-hate+GOB and Enhanced Dark Pact trigger)
    PB
    MS(if you have the Neck)
    DA (if up whenever up)
    Acid
    DP
    COV
    AOV
    TC
    Bewilderment
    Toxic assult when up
    -Hit acid, TC, Bewilderment when up rest follow rotation.

    AOE's
    Prebuff your Aura's (Gift, Curse ,Damnation )
    On Pull
    Toxic Aura Builders-[Acid Cloud Static Discharge concussive] (All Triggers Aura's for a lot of dmg)
    Aura of Void
    CoV Curse of Void
    (San Sac+Spellbind)
    Cataclysm
    FC+Free hand+ apocalypse
    Dark Siphoning
    Rift
    Dark aggravation when up (explosive hits multi targets on occasion builds increments)
    concussive
    Blast of devastation
    Caustic Detonation
    **Keep Appocalypse running Keep Cataclysm running
    Hiting Caustic Detonation every rotation seemed to put increase dps more than hitting it every time it Became available.
  9. Nynaeve Active Member

    left Prestige is a bit easier for newbs with OK dps, but right Prestige is more powerful but requires more concentration and know what to cast when.

    I'm using PROFIT UI by the way.
  10. Arieste Well-Known Member




    So which is it?


    Anyhow, here is my tip for how to learn warlock "from scratch":

    Go to flames, see the posted parses - find ones for single target and ones for multiple targets. Look at parses from more than 1 player to ensure consistency. Look at their top 7-10 spells on every parse. Put those on your main hotbar and stop casting everything else until you learn how to maximize those. This will involve learning to how to use your temps, timewarp, etc. If you see (for example) that Apocalypse and Plaguebringer are top 2 for every warlock, but they're not for you, then you're doing something wrong. Once you've mastered getting your top 7-10 to match everyone else's, you'll have a good idea for when you have time to cast some additional spells and you can start think about what to add into the rotation. By this point, you should have a decent enough idea of the class to make more sound judgments on your own.

    The first and most important lesson for every warlock (imho) is to learn what spells to NOT cast. Once you've eliminated those, it's just a matter of finding rhythm.
  11. Jokirr Member

    Just to point out to everyone, the thread was created in jan of 2013 (making it 1 year old) and the last post before it was necro'd was in aug. So take most of whats said with a grain of salt.
  12. Cleaner Active Member

    i agree...

    for anyone reading this post, searching for answers, Go right side its better for single and aoe fights, ive tested it with a leftside running warlock he only beats me by very small increments on single target fights and i will eat him alive on aoe pulls.

    Fundimentals that helped me alot

    1. Mogrims Spell efficiency guide
    2. Layout Hotbars in Blocks instead of lines sort spells by Priority in one block , aura's and temp buffs in one , aoe's and explosives in another i have single target in a line at the bottom for easy clicking between aoe cooldowns (Thunderclap, Dark incubations, Dark agrovation,ect..)
    3. I set up target windows across the top and my spell monitoring window right beside my priority cast box as im watching it the most.
    4. set up your Spell monitoring window in order of operation. i have mine set to show aura's at the top , Clickys, and buffs, then i have my main dots under that.
    5. If you use """""DarqUi"""" that is sooo awesome for a warlock. you can monitor your Troub or Illy when they cast a particular spell and will play a sound. from the Cast Monitoring window (CNTRL =SHFT + t will open that window)
    6. experiment with different combinations in your cast order see what spells work better back to back.
    7. Time / Coordinting / execution for utility buffs. educate yourself about your dragon aa's vs buffs, Learn about INT buffs and who gives the best ones , Time compression, jesters cap, UT and Timewarp.
  13. herem Member

    • set up a macro to tell your illy when you're about to hit max increments - not getting double cast on your increment dump while using FC is the saddest thing for raid. i'll try to tell my illy/group when i'm 2-3 casts away from max increments. that gives illy time to recognize and react
      • this only "works" on the first cast of the fight. after that your illy should recast TW whenever it's available.
      • unless reset, tw recasts in 60s or so. figure out how quickly you can hit max increments on certain fights - i'm right around 45s on ST.
      • then...dump your increments early (for me, after about 15s on st) so you can be at max increments at the 60s mark.
    • string your temps together for the first big time-warped focused-casted increment dump. sanguine, effigy, scale, spellbind, then focused casting, rift, apoc, then BOOM with increment dump.
    • spellbind recasts in 30s, scale in 1 minute, sanguine/effigy in 2 minutes (1m use, 1m cooldown).
    • throw in bertoxxulous' curse once every half hour for a little more
  14. herem Member

  15. Nynaeve Active Member

    this thread is outdated. please ignore anything I wrote about casting order and prestige tree. most of it is BS.
    best lock this thread as well.