sl-sl
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Nymh of EU Drek'thar first to level 80
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Nyhm_of_EU_Drek_thar_is_the_first_level_80_in_the_world'; Reports of the first character to reach level 80 are flooding in, and there are screenshots to back it up. Congratulations to Nymh of EU Drek'thar on your achievement! Nymh's Armory displays her (him?) as an SL/SL Warlock, which I've been told is an exceptionally good grinding spec, especially when coupled with a healer. Judging by her buffs in the full screenshot, it looks like she just may have had a pocket healer on the journey to 80. A Discipline Priest, specifically. Whether the Priest was there the whole way through or just happened to be partied with Nymh at that moment, we're not really sure.That screenshot also seems to be from the Grizzly Hills, which is roughly a mid-70s zone. Nymh may have dinged 80, but she still has plenty of content ahead. I hope the trek to 80 was an enjoyable one! How long until you start leveling your alts, Nymh?[via MMO-Champion]
Build Shop: Warlock 24/37/0
Every Tuesday, Chris Jahosky contributes Build Shop, which takes a look into one of the many talent specs available to players.Ah, warlocks. Before the Burning Crusade, there was no class I hated more. Of course, my opinion of the class did a 180 once I got my own Warlock to 70. This build (and variants of it) is often called SL/SL, because it picks up both Siphon Life and Soul Link (talents in the Affliction and Demonology trees, respectively). Unlike most other Warlock builds that focus on damage output, this build is meant to help you outlast your opponents by mitigating some of the damage you take, while using Siphon Life and Drain Life to get your health back. Warlocks with this build can be annoyingly difficult to kill, and is still a popular spec in 2v2 Arena.The downside (and there's almost always a downside, folks) is that you won't top any DPS charts when it comes to PvE -- it's just the nature of the build. If you think you can live with that, I strongly encourage you to try this build out for yourself. I'm a big fan. And if you're looking for even more info on it, Zach covered this build in-depth last week.
Blood Pact: Tough lock... the SL/SL build
V'Ming, a lock who spends his time between Arenas laughing ominously in AV, tanking Olm with his own minions and pondering troll fashion from Zul'Aman, is away on a hellish vacation. He won't be able to brag about 8k Shadow Bolts this week because, as Amanda noted, he's acting as a practice piñata for the WoW Insider weekend interns.Vims is away this week, so I took the opportunity to sneak into his Warlock's sanctum and play with his toys. For this week's Blood Pact, we're going to take a look at the notorious SL/SL spec that's so popular in PvP. SL/SL stands for Soul Link / Siphon Life, the two talents which are the cornerstones of this build and define its playing style. Let's get one thing out of the way: SL/SL is not a damage build. It has no burst and it doesn't capitalize on damage talents. It is designed for high survivability, utility, and low healer maintenance; to outlast instead of outdamage. In Level 70 Resilience-centric PvP where instagibs are virtually a thing of the past, SL/SL's endurance is a force to reckon with in Arenas and wreaks complete Havoc in Battlegrounds.
