Raiding
3. UA/Destructive Reach (41/0/17 +3)
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=IAMrVRfkqtboZxx0pM
This is the build used by most Warlocks who are just starting to
raid (Karazhan, SSC, etc), because it is not quite as gear reliant as
Destruction builds. It has been shown to have the highest DPS at the
lower tiers of gear, and it has access to utility talents like
Malediction and Shadow Embrace.
The last three points after Destructive Reach in Destruction are
debatable. The build shows them in Suppression, which helps for DoT
DPS. You can also put them in Demonic Embrace for health in PvP, or in
talents such as Malediction to add some support capability to the
build. Because this is meant to be a "DPS build," I do not max out
Malediction and Shadow Embrace in this build.
Compared to the other raiding builds, this build suffers a little
during trash pulls, who usually die before your DoTs run out. This
build excels against single target raid bosses, thanks to the
efficiency and high dmg/cast time of the DoT's. Because a significant
portion of its DPS is instant cast, this build excels in mobile boss
fights. Thanks to Dark Pact, it is also a little more healer friendly.
This build is also popular because it is very flexible in terms of
the overall game. It has most of the important PvP tools of an
Affliction build. It arguably has the best PvE grinding tools. A simple
gear switch allows this build to do practically anything.
Affliction suffers later on due to poor scaling with the +crit and +haste itemization of the higher tiers of gear.
Alternative:
Affliction Support Build
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=NEMb0RfkqtfobZxx0pM
Since Nightfall and the Drain Life talents aren't nccessary for
high raid DPS, an Affliction Warlock may choose to put points into
"support talents" for the raid. As guilds start moving into 25-man
instances, it will probably be worth having a Warlock put points into
Shadow Embrace and Malediction. Another choice would be to move some
points into Improved Healthstone, though that talent is often taken by
the other two raid builds.
4. DS/SnF (0/21/40)
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=AZbxckIbzZEx0tr0khhi
The "pure nuking" build. This build is taken by raiders after they
hit 202 +hit and have a good amount of +dmg. This build is based almost
entirely upon the incredible scaling of Shadow Bolt at higher levels of
gear. The point in Improved Imp is simply a filler for DS and can be
moved somewhere else.
This build relies on Demonic Sacrifice to provide a large boost to
your DPS. The nukes from this build are among the strongest and most
efficient in the game.
However, all of this damage comes at the cost of your pet. If your
group demands that you Seduce or bring out the Imp, you will suffer a
major loss in DPS. Therefore it is necessary that you know the demands
of your raid group and of your Warlock before speccing into this build.
Most Warlocks will sacrifice the Succubus, not the Imp, and spam
Shadow Bolts. This is because Shadow Bolts synergizes better with the
raid (Imp. Shadow Bolt, S. Priest debuffs) and because Shadow Bolt has
a significantly higher +dmg coefficient than Incinerate (85% base vs
71%). Also, Conflagrate is rarely used in raiding, because it consumes
(at best) the a tick from Immolate, costs a global cooldown, and scales
poorly with gear. Emberstorm does not make up for these weaknesses.
Compared to Affliction, DS/SnF mostly suffers from lack of DoT
(mobile) damage, and aside from Imp. Shadow Bolt, poor raid utility.
Some Warlocks opt to stay Affliction because they need Malediction
and/or Shadow Embrace. However, 0/21/40 puts out significantly more DPS
with the gear available in the higher raid instances.
See this thread for more details:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=174598563&sid=1
Alternative:
DS/SnF with fire
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=AZdxczIbzZxx0tr0tVuV
Though Shadow Bolt has shown to have the best scaling and
efficiency, some people prefer to shoot red stuff from their hands and
don't want to let go of Conflag. This build also works better if you
raid with Fire Mages but no Shadow Priests.
[ Post edited by Maso ]
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html;jsessionid=853111C32EBFB4DC36E4739270F57C35?topicId=81953310&sid=1
