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Blood Pact: Beginning The Bastion of Twilight as a warlock
Every week (when the regular warlock writer hasn't been eaten by a prince of hell or something, that is), WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology and destruction warlocks. For those who disdain the watered-down arts that other cling to like a safety blanket, for those willing to test their wills against the nether and claim the power that is their right, Blood Pact welcomes you and invites you to take a seat. You might think that the Old Gods and the demons would get along. After all, both really just seem to want to kill everything on the planet. Apparently, you'd be thinking wrong. Strange, I know, but I guess there can be more than one reason to destroy a world, and these two butt heads over who should get to do it. Personally, I'm all for killing both -- well, killing those who refuse to become my slaves, that is. Due to that whole "must destroy the world" shtick, we find now find ourselves face to face with yet another dungeon full of monstrosities to wipe clear. With as many of these cults and beasties as there seem to be, you'd think the races of Azeroth would just stop caring by now. This time, the diabolical threat is Cho'gall, the leader of the Twilight's Hammer, which has come a long way since its original incarnation as a clan of orcs. So far I know, it goes kind of like this: Old Gods want to destroy Azeroth, Deathwing works for the Old Gods, Cho'gall works for Deathwing; ergo, we must kill Cho'gall ... or something like that. It seems a little hokey in my book, but anything with that many eyes around its body cannot be cool and probably needs to die, anyway. So let's get to killin'!
Blood Pact: Storming Throne of Four Winds as a warlock
Every week (when the regular warlock writer hasn't been eaten by a prince of hell or something, that is), WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology and destruction warlocks. For those who disdain the watered-down arts that other cling to like a safety blanket, for those willing to test their wills against the nether and claim the power that is their right, Blood Pact welcomes you and invites you to take a seat. Welcome back, darklings. I hope the previous week has treated you all well, or at least that you didn't sustain too many injuries in your attempts to wrangle down a new demonic slave. Those things can be so tricky at times. Why I remember once when ... oh, I'm rambling again, aren't I? Anyway, now that we have raided yet another dragon's lair -- and it did seem familiar, for some strange reason -- it is time that we commit ourselves to a true test of our magical prowess. Dragons are all well and good, but taking down an elemental lord? That takes finesse. Throne of the Four Winds is another of the three raid instances availible on the first tier of raiding in Cataclysm. In it, you find yourself face to face with Al'Akir and three of his strongest servants. Fortunately, none of them have any minions of their own, which is why this must be my favorite instance of all time. That's right, there is absolutely no trash here -- just two bosses waiting to be slain. So let's start up that felfire.
Blood Pact: Warlocks in Blackwing Descent, part 2
Every week (when the regular warlock writer hasn't been eaten by a prince of hell or something, that is), WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology and destruction warlocks. For those who disdain the watered-down arts that other cling to like a safety blanket, for those willing to test their wills against the nether and claim the power that is their right, Blood Pact welcomes you and invites you to take a seat. Greetings once again, my dark cousins. It is time once again to dive back into the world of raiding an undead dragon's lair; I was rather hoping to be done with the whole undead part. In case you missed it, check back in with part 1 of our warlocks in Blackwing Descent guide to see how to deal with the first set of bosses within the instance. Now that we're finally in the correct instance, there are still a few more bosses that need to be cleaned up, not the least of which is Nefarian himself. A key thing to note about Nef before we actually get into details about the encounter: He is a pretty tough fight, being the last encounter of the instance and all, and it may be possible that your raid is not yet prepared for him at this time. You may find it better to actually go out and try your hand at the other bosses in Bastion of Twilight or Throne of Four Winds instead, if you are struggling against the undead dragon.
Blood Pact: Warlocks in Blackwing Descent, part 1
Every week (when the regular warlock writer hasn't been eaten by a prince of hell or something, that is), WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology and destruction warlocks. For those who disdain the watered-down arts that other cling to like a safety blanket, for those willing to test their wills against the nether and claim the power that is their right, Blood Pact welcomes you and invites you to take a seat. There will be no silly wand-waving or worthless incantations in my class. The curse of the warlock writers on WoW Insider strikes once more. Your normal master of darkness, Adam, is still lost in the Nether, presumably off hunting some new, rare, malformed demon-spawn. The last fill-in, the dark conjurer Zach, has also become lost to the void. I assure you that both situations are merely a setback. For the moment, that leaves you with me -- a minor power in the demonic struggle, but hopefully with enough tricks hiding up my proverbial sleeves to share a trick or two. Warlocking (or is it warlockery?) is rough stuff. People expect a lot of you! You have to kill things, summon people, provide glowing hell-health fragments, command a vast array of demonic forces. Then there are the fight mechanics to worry about as well. You've gotten the first part of all that down, but each new raid brings new encounters with new mechanics to learn. It's a daunting task, but that's what I'm here to help with. Well, hopefully. It could also be that I'll just wind up getting you killed a horrible, gruesome, if not glorious, death. Either way, I'd say your prospects look good!
Blood Pact: Gearing up your warlock in Cataclysm
Every week (when the regular warlock writer hasn't been eaten by a prince of hell or something, that is), WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology and destruction warlocks. For those who disdain the watered-down arts that other cling to like a safety blanket, for those willing to test their wills against the nether and claim the power that is their right, Blood Pact welcomes you and invites you to take a seat. If there's anything that surprised me the most out of Cataclysm, it's how fast you replace your gear. While Blizzard made it clear that you would be replacing your Wrath endgame purples with greens as early as the first few quests, I didn't quite expect to replace the Cataclysm blues I got with quest greens in the next zone. In the end, you'll only be wearing your new shinies for a few hours (depending on how fast you level) before replacing them, so looking for gear before level 85 will be somewhat pointless. You're supposed to dump your gear, so don't fall in love with it, even the blues. Especially the blues. The folks at Blizzard want you to graduate to purples. They've made it so easy that they made blues easy to replace. So what do you have to look forward to in Cataclysm? Well, quite a bit. While this is supposed to be a gearing guide, anybody who's quested through the expansion knows that you pick up gear as you go along. On the other hand, it's going to be nice to know what to aim for once you hit the big eight-five. Hit the jump to start looking at purple shinies.
Blood Pact: A brief primer for the Cataclysm warlock
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology and destruction warlocks. For those who disdain the watered-down arts that other cling to like a safety blanket, for those willing to test their wills against the nether and claim the power that is their right, Blood Pact welcomes you and invites you to take a seat. Since Cataclysm falls on our heads next week, I thought it'd be a perfect time to give some leveling ideas to folks who want to roll a new warlock in the expansion. Why would anyone roll a new warlock, you ask? Well, four good reasons: trolls, dwarves, goblins, and worgen. If you aren't inclined to spring for the $25 character recustomization that includes a racial change, you might want to consider rolling a new warlock from scratch. For some people who have never played a warlock before, the new races might be push they need to finally dabble in the demonic arts (with the succubus around, I honestly don't know why you'd need the extra push ... but hey, whatever works!). As of Patch 4.0.3, you can now choose to play a troll or dwarf warlock. If you activate Cataclysm next week, you'll be able to play either a worgen or a goblin, too. If you haven't rolled a new warlock but plan to, it only makes sense to try out the new races. There isn't a lot of lore to explain why dwarves can suddenly become warlocks, but with the Dark Iron matriarch Moira Thaurissan née Bronzebeard sitting in Ironforge, it isn't too much of a stretch to imagine the dwarves trying out all sort of dark and devious things. Trolls, on the other hand, aren't hard to imagine getting involved in the fel arts. Besides, a whole bunch of warlock-like troll NPCs have been running around Azeroth under the guise of witch doctors, anyway.
Blood Pact: Demonology and the art of closing the gap
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology and destruction warlocks. For those who disdain the watered-down arts that other cling to like a safety blanket, for those willing to test their wills against the nether and claim the power that is their right, Blood Pact welcomes you and invites you to take a seat. Demonology is a curious spec. When Metamorphosis first came out, I panned the talent for having abilities that clearly push the warlock to engage in melee. It didn't make any sense to have a squishy caster have abilities like Shadow Cleave, Demon Charge, or even -- gasp -- Challenging Howl. The latter spell has thankfully been expunged from the data repositories of Wowhead, but some of you may remember it as a spell that taunts nearby enemies for 6 seconds. An AoE taunt. For a clothie. Never mind that Metamorphosis pumped up warlock armor to tank-like levels or that it reduced damage ... I always questioned the wisdom of having an AoE taunt followed by high-damage (and consequently high-threat) abilities while in a form that would shortly, inevitably expire. Two years later, the developers finally scrapped all the seriously dumb (but strangely cool) abilities and replaced them with Demon Leap. It serves pretty much the same purpose as Demon Charge, but it looks a lot more awesome and it can save your butt from falling to your death. The stun component has a shorter duration but is now an AoE effect, which is great because it works even better in PvE situations. Metamorphosis retained Immolation Aura, which was probably the best spell among the bunch, so the form wasn't totally stripped of special abilities. The idea is the same -- demonology is a warlock spec that deals its best damage up close. That makes it play completely differently from the other two specs, and there's a whole lot of required mobility.
Blood Pact: The warlock study guide for Cataclysm
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology and destruction warlocks. In a dark and hidden place, the true masters of the arcane arts share secrets and swap stories. For those who disdain the watered-down arts that other cling to like a safety blanket, for those willing to test their wills against the nether and claim the power that is their right, Blood Pact welcomes you and invites you to take a seat. Didn't we mention that the position of the warlock writer here at WoW Insider is something akin to the Defense of the Dark Arts teacher position at Hogwarts? Well, our current warlock Adam has taken a brief leave to attend to dark, sinister forces, which means that in the meantime, you guys are left with me to deliver your weekly dose of felfire and brimstone. That's like leaving the sorcerer's apprentice to clean the workshop all by himself, and well, you all know how that one turns out. Anyway, let's see what we can get away with this week. Let's face it, playing a DPS class is a bit of a chore. It's challenging, certainly, and there's an unspoken need to be competitive, always measured by your performance on the meters. For some players, this is a motivation for playing their class -- diving into loads of data, crunching numbers, and testing against target dummies. It's a lot of hard work. For some players who pick up the warlock class mostly because they like the flavor -- it's still a roleplaying game, after all -- all that can be a little daunting. In fact, there are still many players who aren't hardcore enough to troll forums, read blogs, or pore through spreadsheets to squeeze the most DPS out of their class.
Blood Pact: The clothes make the warlock -- stats and reforging in 4.0.1
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology and destruction warlocks. In a dark and hidden place, the true masters of the arcane arts share secrets and swap stories. For those who disdain the watered-down arts that other cling to like a safety blanket, for those willing to test their wills against the nether and claim the power that is their right, Blood Pact welcomes you and invites you to take a seat. The first rumblings of the Cataclysm are upon us, and the sage wisdom that carried us through our adventures in Northrend is now as useful as that protective talisman a smooth-talking troll sold me. (Note to self: Find that troll again and communicate my feelings about his product quality. Remember to share my feelings with his friends, family and nearby flammable objects, while I'm at it.) But business before revenge. What you want to hear about is gear, or more specifically, what you want out of it now. Some stats are changed, others are gone forever, and we've got an entirely new one to deal with. On top of that, our gear is now more customizable than ever before with the newly added Reforging option to take advantage of. So join me after the jump as we go over stat weight, gemming, reforging and everything else you need to know to maximize your eldritch might in the twilight before the end of the world.
Blood Pact: Warlock soloing instance bosses for fun and profit
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology and destruction warlocks. In a dark and hidden place, the true masters of the arcane arts share secrets and swap stories. For those who disdain the watered-down arts that other cling to like a safety blanket, for those willing to test their wills against the nether and claim the power that is their right, Blood Pact welcomes you and invites you to take a seat. Did you know that warlocks can do more than bask in the tears of the weak and cowardly as we blaze a trail to supremacy? It's true! While tears are their own reward, it's sometimes good to take a moment to pad your purse or pick up a hot new ride or just earn the respect you know you're due. "But," I hear the doubters in the back exclaim, "those things are not the rewards of one man. It takes a well-honed team of friends five, 10, even 20 strong to wrest some of those treasures from the enemies who hold them." This might be true for most heroes, but warlocks are not "most." Quite aside from knowing that "friend" is another word for "disposable minion," warlocks are masters at daring alone what once took many hands. The dungeons and raids of the previous eras of World of Warcraft have many rewards to offer, and it's never been easier for an enterprising warlock to go after them. There's gold, achievements, titles, and for the patient, even pets and mounts to be won. By readying yourself to run these solo, you can save yourself the hassle of coordinating with other retro seekers, as well as avoiding the agony of having to roll off when that dreamed-of 1 percent drop finally pops up in the loot window. All you need is to equip yourself with the right tools and use a few of the right tactics. After the jump, all you need to know to take down instance bosses as well as a list of which ones to go after now before they are gone when Cataclysm launches.
Blood Pact: Soul Shards, talent specs and the 4.0.1 warlock
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Blood Pact for affliction, demonology and destruction warlocks. Today, Zach Yonzon fills in while the new warlock columnist dusts his robes off after his trip from the Twisting Nether. A new warlock columnist? Why, yes -- holding the warlock columnist position here at WoW Insider is akin to holding the Defense of the Dark Arts teacher position at Hogwarts, you know. Let's get this one out of the way: The game isn't balanced for level 80. You can't cry about being broken or your spec not being viable or your DPS not being up to par because, right now, everything is in flux. The new mechanics are balanced for level 85 and some values in the game aren't properly scaled for this level, so none of the numbers you see will be truly representative of how it's going to be a couple of months down the line. You won't even get a feel of how important mastery is because there just isn't the proper gear to support it. Unless you're hell bent on being on top of the meters at a time when it's largely meaningless, you're better off using this period to get a feel for how the class plays.
Blood Pact: Conjuring DPS rotations for patch 4.0.1, part 1
The people are quiet, with red eyes glazed and empty as they stare off into the dark distance. They move slowly, as if anchored to the worn bodies dragging along behind them. Is this a scene of war? A B-rated horror movie? No. It's Monday, the poisonous end to the weekend and dawn of the dreaded work week. But fear not, for Eli Khoury has your cure: a bloody Mary and Blood Pact, freshly poured and on the house. Drink up. Greetings, conjurers of fire and dark. With the expansion eyeing a Dec. 7 release date and a major content patch less than a few weeks away, the Blood Pact mailroom has filled to the brim with the stench of uncertainty. Many prodding letters continue to suffocate the space with their incessancy, searching for some much-needed warlock satisfaction and firing off question after question about what to expect of our class in the weeks to come. Those searing questions, and the interesting succubus-themed cosplay images that some of you have sent, are quite the interesting read, let me tell you. Of all the questions that I've received, however, there is one theme that is a constant amidst all of the babble. No, it's not regarding the rumors of a certain warlock's untimely demise (which have been highly exaggerated, let me assure you). Nor is it about the threesome between the Cobra Commander, Batman and a very unlucky druid, which apparently inspired the wretched warlock T11 design that has had me scratching my head these past few weeks. But what I am talking about is warlock DPS -- or more specifically, what our DPS rotations will look like in the upcoming patch and expansion. Today, we're going all scabies and starting from scratch. We'll be working with the raw goodness from the Public Test Realm (PTR), grabbing, pulling and yanking data out from our spell books to find a key ingredient to our DPS equation: the overall worth of our abilities. Once that information is gathered, we can calculate the average damage per cast time (aDPCT) of our spells and put together a priority-based rotation, not only helping our understanding and appreciation of the design process, but also (and perhaps most importantly) maximizing our DPS output in patch 4.0.1 and Cataclysm. We wouldn't want to fall behind those simpleton, button-mashing mages and hunters, would we?
Cataclysm Beta: Warlock evilness (goodness) in build 12984
If you follow the WoW Insider team on Twitter (and you should, if you haven't already), you were treated to some sweet hilarity early this morning when information of an upcoming beta build woke us up with a swift fist to the face. And let me tell you -- it has left an impression. Of all the builds that have come and gone, this one screams the loudest, telling the tale of just how close Cataclysm is to breaking the horizon. Instead of another huge list of major overhauls, this patch brings a good amount of substance to smaller but still important elements of the game. We're seeing new achievements, feats of strength, non-combat pets and spell refinements. And for the warlock class, there are changes that look dead sexy and are definitely worth a stare or two. But before we dive into this fresh cesspool of puppy love, do keep in mind that there are spoilers ahead. If you lay awake at night anxious that the day ahead may shatter your dreams of a virgin expansion experience, you may want to skip this post. However, if you are craving Cataclysm goodness or just can't control the temptation any longer, come on in -- the water is warm and there is plenty of Unending Breath to go around.
Blood Pact: The Soulburning warlock
A familiar necrotic stench fills the air as sights and sounds fade into a fog of Fear. Your hope is not that the warlock considers you a friend among foes, but that he has a use for you -- for that is the only way to survive this hell and receive his hallowed Blood Pact. It's Friday -- the portal to the weekend and new home of Blood Pact, the festering pot of warlock goodness that seeks to satisfy your burning soul. So sit back, banish away the worries of the week, masticate on newborn flesh and ponder in disgust the obvious reason for a certain class's obsession with sheep, as you plot to kill them all. It's fry day, after all. Soul Shards. These two simple words have been the source of much warlock angst. Ask any warlock, especially those who have played since the days of old, what he thinks of the tiny purple reagents and you will likely be met with a shaking finger in your face and a foaming rant about losing an entire bag slot and precious farming time to the little devils. Personally, I clearly and regretfully remember the redundancy of having to seek out "green" level mobs to farm Soul Shards from before patch 3.1. And even now, my bags are still constantly full (thanks, Abyssal Bag). If there was ever a reason to overly appreciate a dumb and inanimate hunk of wood or develop an unimaginable hate for pixelated bag space issues, Soul Shards would be it. Bombarded by complaints of inconvenience, calls for stackable Soul Shards -- or something, anything that would improve a warlock's quality of life or death or whatever -- Blizzard has been listening. Come Cataclysm, the Soul Shard reagent will be no more, and the entire outdated system will cease to exist as we know it. In its place will spawn a resource mechanic, not completely unlike the death knight's rune system -- but different enough to make it fresh, new and completely our own. With this new mechanic arrive some sexy spell-altering effects, some of which are more attractive than others, but all of which warrant a closer look nonetheless. Now, the following statement may be a tad obvious, but after suffering the displeasure of raiding with individuals who sport ilvl277 gear and still stand in fire, ooze or whatever the hell else is beneath their feet trying to kill them, I have lost all faith in the common sense of man, and so this must be said: The information in this post may contain what some consider to be Cataclysm spoilers. So please, proceed with caution.
Blood Pact: Destruction warlock changes in the beta
Echoes of distant incantations fade through the stagnant air, announcing the warlock's departure. His maddening enslavement is no more, and fearful citizens once entrapped in darkness now fill the streets in celebration. But such revelry is hollow, for with the warlock lies the protection of his Blood Pact -- and where it is removed, destruction follows. Greetings from the eternal dark, master summoners. Here we are again, at the beginning of another week, and dealing with the hot mess that the beta continues to splatter all over our computer screens. It is quite the experience, let me tell you. In some ways, it is glorious and satisfying. In others, well, let's just say that I have witnessed numerous screen flickers, program crashes, and enough bugs to warrant an exterminator. And yes, I know -- such is the testing phase and I should just be happy for the opportunity to enjoy four frames per second of Cataclysm goodness while so many others just hope for an invitation. Believe it or not, I am thrilled about it. You just can't tell because, as usual, I am in an incredibly wretched mood -- I play a warlock, after all. During our last meeting, we took to the trees to break down the interesting changes made to the once lowly but now supremely sexy demonology specialization, which has developed beyond puberty to become a stunning piece of work. This week, we shift our focus to the right. We'll be eyeing the key changes made to the least DoT-dependent of warlock specializations. Some call it the "shadow mage equivalent" and should be slapped in the face with meat cleaver. The more intelligent call it "destruction." As is always the case with posts like these, there will be what some consider to be spoilers in the information ahead. So please, click responsibly.
Blood Pact: Demonology changes in the beta
Bloody tears stream from the eyes of the hopelessly insane, huddled silently in wait and separated from reality by the voices echoing within their minds. The whispers speak their names in bidding, and the horror lies not in their sinister calling but in knowledge of a dreaded fate if a summon were to go unanswered. This is the life, and death, of enslaved demons, warlock minions, and the Blood Pact they dare not deny their masters. The darkest of salutations, warlocks. Monday is upon us. You know what that means, don't you? It is time to check your kill quotas for the month, browse the local newspapers for a fine selection of newborn baby announcements (aka dinner plans) and peruse the obituary section for mage funerals to attend, corpses to desecrate and mourners to cast into mage heaven (read: a Celine Dion concert, aka warlock hell) with their fallen brethren. I hear that Julia Sunstriker is going to meet a timely, explosive, bright and violent death soon. It would be a pity to miss that party, wouldn't it? But before we get too far ahead of ourselves with images of pain and our pleasure, Mondays also mean that we have class matters to attend to. And with the incoming Cataclysm on the not-so-distant horizon, we are going to continue processing the goodness that a lucky few of us are witnessing in the beta. Last week, we spent a great deal of energy and saliva lusting over the devilishly delicious talents placed into the affliction tree -- I am still recovering from the loss of fluids. This week, we're going to switch specs and dissect, discuss, devour and digest the key changes made for those master summoners among us, the demonology warlocks. Needless to say, there will be what some may consider spoilers ahead, so if you're the type that wants to experience every detail of the expansion as a virgin and first hand, be careful where you click. That giant "Read more" is probably something you should stay away from. Those of you who are yearning for more, you may want to grab some food and drink for sustenance and have a mop and bucket ready for easy cleanup, because this is going to get nasty -- in a good kind of way, of course. Ready? Good. Let's press on.
Blood Pact: Affliction changes in the beta
The people are quiet, with red eyes glazed and empty as they stare off into the dark distance. They move slowly, as if anchored to the worn bodies dragging along behind them. Is this a scene of war? A B-rated horror movie? No. It's Monday, the poisonous end to the weekend and dawn of the dreaded work week. But fear not, for Eli Khoury has your cure: a bloody Mary and Blood Pact, freshly poured and on the house. Drink up. Ah, affliction. How I love thee. Nothing says "warlock" more, in my mind, than slowly withering enemies away with powerful damage over time spells -- spells that will continue molesting their target long after the warlock has moved on, cursing his next victim to an eventual death with banes and profanities. Where destruction and demonology warlocks explode their targets, the affliction warlock forces them to suffer within the grief of their incoming demise. That is, in a word, pure evil (okay, two words), and the current affliction tree (live realms) is a testament to the atrocious, having stood the test of time near the top of single-target damage meters since patch 3.0 and enjoying much PvP success as well. When early beta patches showed minimal changes to affliction, I will admit that I was a little if not completely relieved. Aside from the filler talents that I am happy to see removed from their unimportant duties, the tree has a balance to it that I hope remains undisturbed. The DPS rotation is as smooth as a mage's bottom (they all cry like babies, after all), and PvP options are aplenty. But changes are coming, and they are coming fast. The modifications to the affliction tree that we were promised amidst the barrenness of previous beta builds are beginning to show their faces. So, are they sister's-best-friend fine or frying-pan ugly? Let's take a closer look at the major differences amongst the old and the new and find out, shall we?
Cataclysm Beta: Warlock specializations and talents
A familiar necrotic stench fills the air as sights and sounds fade into a fog of Fear. You tremble at the searing touch of flame that has enveloped those around you. Your hope is not that the warlock considers you a friend among foes, but that he has a use for you -- for that is the only way to survive this hell and receive his hallowed Blood Pact. Finally, it has happened. The alpha has met its omega, the nondisclosure agreement is no more, and a freshly patched beta has released a swarm of much-anticipated Cataclysm information onto an unsurprisingly anxious and open-mouthed crowd. Standing before us are the revamped talent trees, relieved of the rot that has infested them for so long and ready for us to dissect and devour. I hope you're hungry. Many talent changes have already been covered here at WoW.com, but what is missing is most important, not only because it pertains to what may become the most-shaken and altered class of patch 4.0, but also because their presence alone keeps the population of mages at bay. And too many mages means too much Lady Gaga, apple martinis and glittery body sprays. Ugh. So, let's not waste a moment on pleasantries or poems, warlocks, for the time of our new arrival is nigh.
Blood Pact: Tip-top trinkets
Blood Pact is your weekly warlock digest, brought to you by Dominic Hobbs. "Shinies for the Great Rain Stone! Good! Good! We offer these right away. Lafoo thought of this, yes? He a very smart Rainspeaker." -- High-Oracle Soo-say Unlike your normal gear items, trinkets offer a little more interaction. Whether they are proc-based and trigger themselves in response to things you do, or on-use and need to be activated, or even just charge themselves up to give a steady buff they normally need some degree of user attention. This makes them something of a personal choice item. There are certainly those that are bad, better or brilliant but choice and playstyle often impacts trinket selection. Below I've listed out fifteen trinkets that can take a warlock from freshly dinging 80 to the best the game has to offer. They are in a rough DPS benefit order, though that will depend on your other gear, spec and preference to some degree. So lets see what shinies await us.
Blood Pact: Shattering souls
Blood Pact is your weekly warlock digest, brought to you by Dominic Hobbs. "I sense that you have the potential to become one of the most powerful warlocks of this era." -- Strahad Farsan Before Wrath of the Lich King, one of the biggest DPS-boosting buffs around was Blessing of Salvation. This buff made you less interesting to mobs and essentially allowed you to do up to 30 percent more damage. It didn't help you do the damage, but it stopped you being so limited by the threat generated by the tank. Warlocks who didn't have a paladin to grant this buff were wise to be very cautious with their Shadow Bolts of massive critability. These days, the tanks innately generate more threat. As such, the fear of having your damage capped by their threat generation abilities is much reduced. However, it is still possible to be threat-capped and if this happens, then anything that reduces your threat is suddenly your best ally. At level 66, you can learn Soulshatter, an unassuming little ability that sits quietly in your spell book until you really need it.
