Filed under: (Warlock) Blood Pact

Blood Pact: Catching up on Patch 5.3

by Megan O'Neill May 20th 2013 at 2:00PM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill is free to pet battle all day, e'ry day.

I tried to gauge when Patch 5.3 would hit so that I'd end the series on World of Logs just in time, but unfortunately I overestimated and the new patch has cut me off. With my original plan of posts, I'd be a week short, but now...uhhhh it might be a halftime break.

In case you've missed the World of Logs posts so far, here's a recap:

A brief overview of ranking and the combo of how to tell what warlock or pet you would or should be looking at,
Looking closer at some of the graphs on World of Logs, and
How to use the buffs and debuffs graph to gauge proper cooldown or proc usage, as well as a basic understanding of what stats (for trinket procs) do for each spec.

I intend to explore some warlock-specific examples using the expression editor to dive deep into the combat log, but I'm not sure I can fit it all into one post. I'll finish the series off with a deeper look at the damage done tables and how the spells spread for each spec in general raid encounter styles.

But this week? This week is a little shorter and lighter while we go over what Patch 5.3 means for warlocks.

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: Buffs and debuffs for warlocks and logs

by Megan O'Neill May 13th 2013 at 9:00AM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill is almost free for summer. Almost.

The last two weeks have been on simple topics like glancing at a raid parse on World of Logs (WoL) or looking at the various graphs WoL has. Before we dive into the actual combat log itself with the expression editor, I'm going to take a stop at what buffs and debuffs are going on in the fight. This information is still broad in scope and can apply to almost anyone, but it's still important foundation knowledge for warlocks and logs.

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: WoL, 'locks, and damage done

by Megan O'Neill May 6th 2013 at 1:00PM

Blood Pact General damage done on World of Logs MON

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill wants to coin WoL'lock, but isn't sure if she should.

Last week, I started off with some basics of World of Logs (WoL) regarding warlocks. I started to write a column to go spec by spec, but later I realized that might become a game of find and replace with the different buffs or DoTs important to each spec. So instead, this week is another general World of Logs lesson with a little more specific caster DPS focus with warlock flavor. We'll just build up to the nitty gritty spells next week.

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: World of Logging warlocks, part 1

by Megan O'Neill Apr 29th 2013 at 9:00AM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill wonders how many logs would a warlock log if a warlock could log logs?

Occasionally I get a request to look through someone's raid log on World of Logs for warlock improvement. Sometimes it's for a guild applicant and sometimes it's for another tweeter. A thing I've thought about doing for a long time is a World of Logs 101 on warlocks -- both for warlock players and for non-warlock raid leaders.

I'm starting with the bare basics: how to tell warlocks apart on a World of Logs parse and exploring the DPS rankings. (It's actually not that difficult anymore!)

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: The chaotic influence of haste

by Megan O'Neill Apr 15th 2013 at 1:00PM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill may play affliction in-game, but really she's a destro 'lock IRL.

I'm starting to dislike hit rating again. Previously, with reforging, it was totally possible to sit there with 14.96%, 14.97%, 14.98%, 14.99%, or the occasional rare times I nearly hit fifteen-even, just off by a mere handful of rating points. Now, with the huge amounts of stats on our gear, I feel like we're approaching Wrath-era hit rating juggling, where a new piece means you're way under hit cap or way over hit cap.

This is not a fun stat balancing. Hit is coming back around to the pre-reforge era where it it's actually irritating to balance, not just annoying.

But I don't want to talk about spell hit this time. I want to talk about the very-coolness of haste.

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: Kanrethad's defeat at mortal hands

by Megan O'Neill Apr 1st 2013 at 4:00PM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill celebrates one year at WoW Insider with a fel fire victory.

I promise, I won't put unfortunate spoilers in the header this time.

One of my favorite Blood Pacts to write was a narrative based around our spells and the hints of a fascinating possible subplot just for warlocks. Instead of writing a traditional, straightforward guide for the final boss in the quest for green fire -- Ackthal's already written a great one -- I want to celebrate my personal victory with the quest and another special occasion with this story post.

See, this is my 53rd Blood Pact. I believe a certain moonkin now owes me a crown for the longest reign as WoW Insider's Defense ~~Against~~ With the Dark Arts professor.

For the sake of space, I've obviously shortened the story down from my actual experience with the final fight. But many of the elements are there, from spell details to actual NPC roleplay (none of the NPCs' dialogue is mine). Jump behind the cut to catch the story.

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: To summon or not to summon, that's the question

by Megan O'Neill Mar 25th 2013 at 8:00PM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill scraps another attempt at Kanrethad to discuss being a pet class instead.

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous pet bugs in encounter design like jumping down into Nefarian's pit in Blackwing Descent so your pet then did nothing but stand in the middle, or to take up Doomguards against a despawning abyssal phase 3 in Throne of the Four Winds -- and by opposing end them: to die, to sacrifice.

To sacrifice, perchance to DPS; Aye, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death, what meter-topping dreams of 5.0 may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil (no, not that one!), must give our developers pause.

My terrible warlock Shakespeare adaptation aside, we've had the ponderings about how tied to pets warlocks should or shouldn't be. As I continue to throw myself at Kanrethad's own demonic stampede, I've had some thoughts about the subject.

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: A pewpewer's notes from tanking and healing

by Megan O'Neill Mar 18th 2013 at 12:00PM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill muses about tanking, healing, and why she really does play a DPS.

I have a confession: I was once a tank. Technically I could have been half a tank, because I think I healed just as often, but once upon a time I rolled a druid with the intent of getting a melee DPS perspective.

One night in Wrath of the Lich King, my first guild had some trouble with kiting the adds on Gluth. So we upped the tank count to 3: the paladin tank moved to the back for holy tag with the undead while the former-bear warrior walked me through my feral spellbook as I sat in bear form on that pipe. I think it was the extra Mauls that hooked me. I became a bear tank with a branch-waving offspec.

I have fond memories of alt or PUG raids where I had cooldown-busting health pools and hero-bear resurrections between Gormok's death and the arena entrance of Acidmaw and Dreadscale. But as my guild tore apart in the beginnings of Icecrown Citadel, I've been back to pewpewing from the back as a warlock. My bear is merely an alt.

But my bear has made my warlock a little stronger.

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: On the usefulness of SimulationCraft

by Megan O'Neill Mar 11th 2013 at 2:00PM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill will tell you how she became the princess warlock of a continent called Pandaria by switching to saur'lock spec.

You know me: I play a warlock spec that starts with a 'D' only over several dozen copies of my cold, dead body. I'm diehard affliction whether the spec is on top or not. But that doesn't mean I don't ever pay attention to the DPS simulations. I just think the vocal playerbase hedges their bets a little too much on what comes out of the BiS heroic simulations.

Fortunately for me, Ghostcrawler also feels players put too much emphasis on SimulationCraft when it comes to spec balance in PvE. Does this mean SimulationCraft is not valuable? No, it just means that players should be more aware of what's going into a particular simulation and how to interpret whatever data comes out.

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: Thundering on and on about raid gear in patch 5.2

by Megan O'Neill Mar 4th 2013 at 1:00PM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill maybe decides that commenter-suggested Zul'duar is the better name than Thund'uar for the troll-like Ulduar raid instance, Throne of Thunder.

I mentioned last week that I'd discuss the changes for warlocks while listing out loot in the new raid instance. I may have fibbed a little. I tried to slide in patch change discussion without it reading like I shoved two posts into the space of one, and I miserably failed.

You can read the latest patch notes for yourself, but the PvE DPS gist is that affliction's petless power days are diminished if not over and demonology might be the new top dog. PvP warlocks might be more interested in Blood Fear's metamorphosis from an offensive fear to the Nature's Grasp-like Blood Horror and Soul Leech's change from a trickle heal to a stacking shield.

Regarding of whether you chase Conquest or Valor Points, we warlocks will have a major problem in patch 5.2. I'm not talking about the endless debates of whether fire should be green or whether warlocks should always have a minion at their side.

I'm talking about the removal of the imp ability Blood Pact, due to Dark Intent gaining the 10% Stamina buff to its effect. Future warlocks will wonder what this column is named for!

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: Reputable sources of warlock loot in patch 5.2

by Megan O'Neill Feb 25th 2013 at 3:00PM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill splits the warlock loot over two weeks to keep things light.

Various people have been referring to Throne of Thunder as Thund'uar, a name I fully intend to steal and use. It's just a perfect blend of the new raid and its supposed raid model, Ulduar, with the expected troll-like apostrophe thrown in for good measure.

But this week I won't be listing out the Thund'uar loot drops; I'll just drop in with a lighter piece covering gear miscellany and the new faction offerings. Next week, we can discuss how the PTR patch buffs and nerfs fit in with the expected performance of warlocks in Tier 15 while listing out the loot, instead of dropping a lump of lists in your lap.

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Kill dragons solo to ride more dragons

by Megan O'Neill Feb 18th 2013 at 1:00PM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill beats up internet dragons for fun, for mounts, and maybe as a little catharsis.

I've already done some Raiding with Leashes vanilla raid posts. The next logical step would be Burning Crusade soloing, but I've tried and failed to make a glorified loot list more interesting to read, since BC content tends to be more "walk in and win" nowadays than an actual soloing contest.

So, while I wrangle out an adventure in tiers four to six, I will talk about killing dragons solo as a warlock in order to grab dragon mounts.

I'm not talking about dragons that require friends by your side to complete: e.g., Deathwing's two dragon mounts, Ultraxion's mount, completing a dragonstick, or Al'Akir's dragon drop. Al'Akir has actually been soloed before by a warlock, but you'll need friends in order to clear his genie council first. I'm talking dragons you can go beat up by yourself.

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: Knocking out Naxxramas for pets and more

by Megan O'Neill Feb 4th 2013 at 9:00AM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill has too much fun standing in floor fire while in Metamorphosis trying to get Deadly Boss Mods to yell warnings in Demonic.

I have to admit, the Mists of Pandaria reason for soloing old raids is trying to match my minion's weapons to Matthew Rossi's warrior columns. Unfortunately, the only thing I have is Ashkandi. My new mission is to get Reclaimed Ashkandi for a complete Wrathguard set to properly mock warriors with.

You've probably read how to spec for old raids and you might have your own Ashkandi (or two) from visiting old Blackwing Lair for some pets. Now, let's finish up Raiding with Leashes and other achievements in Naxxramas.

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Wrath of the Lich King, Mists of Pandaria

Blood Pact: Taking care of your DoTs

by Megan O'Neill Jan 29th 2013 at 2:00PM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill admits to problems with DoT clipping (*gasp*) and finds a way to fix it.

Every warlock has at least one damage over time effect to take care of. Destruction has Immolate. Demonologists flip between Corruption and Doom (Metamorphosis), though I suppose you could count Shadowflame off Hand of Gul'dan as one. Affliction is the "DoT spec," starring Agony, Corruption, Unstable Affliction, with appearances of Haunt.

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

Should green fire be prestigious?

by Megan O'Neill Jan 21st 2013 at 9:00AM

Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology, and destruction warlocks. This week, Megan O'Neill wishes the mages would stop sending out the bad voodoo vibes to everything she owns so she can buy new fun things for her birthday instead of old replacements.

There's plenty to look for through the datamining, but the question on everyone's mind is, "How do I start the questline?" Trust me, when someone finds out, I'm sure the internet will explode about it. It'll probably be on a Monday, during my other job's hours, and right after this column posts, knowing my luck.

But before I get into an all-out walkthrough of the questline, I want to discuss one thing: does green fire have to be exclusive? Is exclusivity required for meaningfulness?

Filed under: Warlock, (Warlock) Blood Pact, Mists of Pandaria

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