The most recent preview patch notes all look great, especially the top and bottom end buff to Killing Flames (much needed) soul spark mechanic slowly consuming when combat ends. Those worried about AP gain will be fine, as its highly unlikely you will not have full AP again by the time the next mob is encountered. Those same people can also pop their Sigil of the Devoted if its that bad.
Two big things to watch:
1) Tyrannical Threat / Tyrannical Curse may have been nerfed too hard.
2) Hellbringer still too weak in all aspects compared to Soulbinder. Without an encounter like soul scorch, it will need both additional damage boosts--similar to HR's blade storm or CW's spell storm that procs separate fire damage opposed to simply +% damage class features--and cooldown reductions to be relevant in PvE.
Again, you rock. You've established a lot of credibility here. Just be sure you can handle all the dev-mance love, haha!
@amenar this is my first post in the game forums in 2.5yrs of playing NWO. i thank you for your attention for SW, you have done more in 2 weeks than anybody i saw until today. keep up the good work, and maybe my SW who was my main until mod 5 will dust off, get out of his coffin and start making havoc
I don't know if it's a new general policy or just your personnal one @amenar but this way of including the player base in your reflexion is a very refreshing and welcome change.
Now, as things have changed quite a lot in different ways, could we let the dust settle and have a comprehensive change log just to have it spelled out what exactly we will be different from the mod 9 please?
A few other questions in the spirit of clarification;
The many damage increase to the powers described in the change logs , do they apply to the base damage power or to the final damage actualy done?(I became aware of the difference with the dev blog piece about the HR)
The feats that add x% weapon damage, do they deal this percentage of weapon damage only (like new lostmauth set) or are they buffed? (and if so wich buff are we talking about? all party buff? zone buffs? self buffs? target's debuff?)
In any case, thanks again for this unparallel exchange @amenar
The most recent preview patch notes all look great, especially the top and bottom end buff to Killing Flames (much needed) soul spark mechanic slowly consuming when combat ends. Those worried about AP gain will be fine, as its highly unlikely you will not have full AP again by the time the next mob is encountered. Those same people can also pop their Sigil of the Devoted if its that bad.
Two big things to watch:
1) Tyrannical Threat / Tyrannical Curse may have been nerfed too hard.
2) Hellbringer still too weak in all aspects compared to Soulbinder. Without an encounter like soul scorch, it will need both additional damage boosts--similar to HR's blade storm or CW's spell storm that procs separate fire damage opposed to simply +% damage class features--and cooldown reductions to be relevant in PvE.
Again, you rock. You've established a lot of credibility here. Just be sure you can handle all the dev-mance love, haha!
Indeed, in such short time frame. @amenar did a alot. But still it do not solve key reason why SW performance lag behind. Developers actually made 2 big mistakes since start.
1) they looked to powers individually. Not for possible combination and over all performance. CW is also long/mid range spellaster, so its obvious closest class to warlock.. And when I met CW and we compare encounter individually, my warlocks looks scary. And usually CW start complain that SW powers are Overpowered. But how they go along feats, other powers is just trolling you to death.
And 2) They choose warlock among first ones to balance. Warlock is class which can't be reworked, tweaked/balanced by same way as Cw, DC, GWF, gf, OP, Hr, TR. They are burst dps classes. SW powers is about curses(debuffs) + DoT, Only closest to warlock is Master of Flame CW. Who also is DoT mage. But even he is way ahead SW.
So since start was obvious that warlocks problems will not be solved due short time frame. I was hopping that we at least get somewhere near, so that I could finally go in Epic dungeons and know that I am striker and I can hurt bosses, kill monsters. Now I just class who imitating fighting.
Anyways, thanks @amenar for changes, now matter what kind they would be, and I hope that one day, you maybe have longer time frame to work with warlock and do real changes. Plus maybe next time we also look not to warlock classes only but look to other classes and find out why they are performing better than SW, and also on top visit warlock forum more often. There even kinda low activity, but guys have brilliant ideas for either SB or HB
best regards: dead HB warlock
======================================================================== “The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim. Gustave Le Bon. ==================================================
^ @defiantone99 exactly. I don't think many people have been following the full progress of this thread, and I don't blame them. It will make sense why we're asking for buffs after the full class balance list comes out.
First, thank for trying @amenar . Sadly after all this changes that I believe were all needed the class will still underperform against the other strikers in terms of DPS. Fixing the bugs that made this class to deal a lot more damage than they should abusing exploits it was needed, but that doesn't mean the class is a good choice for any new toon that will not have acces to Fabled set (another broken mechanics that still remain). You did a good job fixing the class, the problem is that if the intention was to help the class then the results are going to be opposite.
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romotheoneMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 729Arc User
edited July 2016
@tomiotar you obviously haven't tried the class after the rework. It is super solid and you still hit for 10 million with Killing flames in a buffer group.
@tomiotar you obviously haven't tried the class after the rework. It is super solid and you still hit for 10 million with Killing flames in a buffer group.
I preview server about 2 hours ago i did million dmg with killing flame< sound great yea? But I did only because my target/victim had only 1 Hp remained. And since Killing flame mechanic is:
So yea, if u use it as finisher to kill more like already dead monster, it show up extreme high dmg output. But while your target have full Hp, it will never make such dmg at all.
======================================================================== “The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim. Gustave Le Bon. ==================================================
@tomiotar you obviously haven't tried the class after the rework. It is super solid and you still hit for 10 million with Killing flames in a buffer group.
I preview server about 2 hours ago i did million dmg with killing flame< sound great yea? But I did only because my target/victim had only 1 Hp remained. And since Killing flame mechanic is:
So yea, if u use it as finisher to kill more like already dead monster, it show up extreme high dmg output. But while your target have full Hp, it will never make such dmg at all.
Point is, now Killing Flames will not only has lesser spread (buffing minimum hit by 67%) but also the extra damage buff based on percentage of target's HP missing will be capped on 25% of HP, not 0%. It means more constant and stronger hits.
should be based on the target's missing hitpoints and yours and viceversa.
Its not my idea. its thats how it worked since mod 4 when warlock was introduced. But even if we create nice suggestion, all calculation would be done, Still we hit to @amenar post.
OK all, here's another set. Nearing the end of what we'll be doing before this module goes live. We still have some time for emergency fixes and such, but... anymore than that, and I'm gonna get some serious glares from our producers. That doesn't mean no changes will ever happen again, but the builds gotta get all the approvals and translations and blah blah blah. Anyhow, here they are:.
From which i understand that no big changes,< only slight power adjustments. Otherwise his boss will start to oozing bloodlust over @amenar shoulder.
Point is, now Killing Flames will not only has lesser spread (buffing minimum hit by 67%) but also the extra damage buff based on percentage of target's HP missing will be capped on 25% of HP, not 0%. It means more constant and stronger hits.
Ohh yeah, that big spread dmg range was such a headpain. And still, for dmg in dungeon as furry HB I will be sticking with Creeping death. Thats mean DoT encounters which are: obvious WB for survivability + dmg. With Hadar grasp to DoT + cc, and DT .
Also @fernuu have u done Hellbringers testing run? I am curious have u found encounter which could rival SB's SS.
======================================================================== “The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim. Gustave Le Bon. ==================================================
Unfortunately, I cannot test anything as I am xbox. However, I check this thread at least twice a day for any viable info in looking ahead. As far as you all's preview testing goes at today, what are the results? I don't need ACTS but am looking for general wordage. Is the SW in a good spot given the buff "nerfs" everyone will be experiencing when it hits? Will the well geared/stat warlock finally reign over the undergeared/bogus Stat SW whose puppet does everthing? The 2.7 SW shouldn't be doing like damage of a 3.2+ dps class... being aware IL means little, items should mean a heck of a lot IMO, or what's the point in aquring the best possible gear...? Will the purely striker class, in many regards, actually do what it's supposed to do? I say/ask all of this not as an elitist but as someone concerned about his main toon. There's an epidemic of SW atm on xbox and I'm sure that'll fade away once changes hit but are the vetted SWs going to "get the job done" efficiently...
Thanks PC guys for your endeavors.
@amenar I applaud your perseverance and desire to make the proper changes to the SW.
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treesclimberMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,161Arc User
Awesome work @amenar i liked all the changes and many of them reflect that you really care for us, will you be here when TR, CW,OP,DC changes come?
I have to say, testing HB on the shard now, its quite fun, and so far I like the changes. W/ 2.6k ilvl + goat augment, I easily solo'd Cult Prison w/ a 'tanky' setup (BotVA, PoP, Infernal Spheres + Shadow Walk and FoE, Fury spec), pulling multiple mobs along the way, and even fighting the boss w/ extra mobs in tow. Same deal w/ Biggrin's tomb: survived aggro-training all the mobs before the bone door all at once (basically half of the instance), and took on the summoner+zombie craze before Biggrin easily (when before as HB I'd need WB, DT, and constant kiting to even stand a chance against them). This was w/ me intentionally standing in most red zones and eating Biggrin's slow axe slams like a noob.
PoP has a very short cd and casting time such that renewing or re-positioning it isn't too much of an issue in pve, and esp when solo ur constantly getting the dmg boost defense boost, and lowering many enemy's defenses and dmg for trying to gang up on you. The only time I've died is when I get frozen/CC'd for a long time and can't act or lifesteal.
HB's style w/ PoP is like a stationary turret. Drop PoP, spread Hellish Rebuke and curses around, throw out ur other encounters, splat enemies w/ a well-placed Gates of Hell (really satisfying if pulled off right), etc. There's also a ton of diff useful encounter setups and passives to pick from and juggle for ur needs.
It may still not be as competitive dps as SB in groups, and still prob lacks in burst dps a bit (Fiery Bolt, Gates, and KF can help that, though), but I do like what I've seen w/ the new HB.
That said, it would be nice if PoP's radius w/ increased a bit more- to help w/ mobility a touch, but also to better deal w/ enemies that have large hitboxes or w/ large clumps of enemies that surround you and box you out.
Scourge Warlock: Soul Sparks: No longer immediately consumed when combat ends. Instead, one is consumed every 0.5s you are out of combat. This means at full stacks (30) it will take 15 seconds for them all to be consumed. If you re-enter combat, the passive consumption of Soul Sparks will stop.
should be based on the target's missing hitpoints and yours and viceversa.
Its not my idea. its thats how it worked since mod 4 when warlock was introduced. But even if we create nice suggestion, all calculation would be done, Still we hit to @amenar post.
OK all, here's another set. Nearing the end of what we'll be doing before this module goes live. We still have some time for emergency fixes and such, but... anymore than that, and I'm gonna get some serious glares from our producers. That doesn't mean no changes will ever happen again, but the builds gotta get all the approvals and translations and blah blah blah. Anyhow, here they are:.
From which i understand that no big changes,< only slight power adjustments. Otherwise his boss will start to oozing bloodlust over @amenar shoulder.
Point is, now Killing Flames will not only has lesser spread (buffing minimum hit by 67%) but also the extra damage buff based on percentage of target's HP missing will be capped on 25% of HP, not 0%. It means more constant and stronger hits.
Ohh yeah, that big spread dmg range was such a headpain. And still, for dmg in dungeon as furry HB I will be sticking with Creeping death. Thats mean DoT encounters which are: obvious WB for survivability + dmg. With Hadar grasp to DoT + cc, and DT .
Also @fernuu have u done Hellbringers testing run? I am curious have u found encounter which could rival SB's SS.
Yeah, that big damage spread was a pain because you could either do 700k hit or 5kk hit. Now you will deal ~1.7kk - 5kk (not counting Executioner's Gift or Creeping Death etc.). If that doesn't matter for you then fine.
Every Fury SW will stick to Creeping Death as it will be 2nd or 3rd major source of damage so no point of taking HB/SB here. And you do not have to use dot encounter for that - burst will be even better.
About HB - I did only minor test as I'm waiting for new patch, as HB is getting more and more attention each update.
And seriously - all warlocks will have to adapt, maybe change a build or rotation a little but that was a point of this rework. We will have a lot more ways to be useful in each situation, our survivability is *poof* magic up to the roof now and rest? Rest is adaptive. I believe @kolatmaster will finally update he's big SW build topic within starting weeks of new mod.
Mod 10: [Combat (Self)] Critical Hit! Your Killing Flames deals 16636893 (1009292) Fire Damage to Ethraniev Marrowslake.
Mod 9: [Combat (Self)] Your Murderous Flames deals 376274433 (18876929) Fire Damage to Red Tiamat Head.
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treesclimberMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 1,161Arc User
I agree sw is not bad at all. There are simply 3 things i would change: 1. TT is very likely to fail providing good damage because we cant know how fast other dos will kill the cursed target, i would make TT also work in other targets if the main target took less than xxxxx damage. 2.like i said before make eldricht blast spread npnm otherwise using Hand of blight to nuke greater mobs will be more powerfull than it, even in multi target. 3.give temptation a party buff, even if small.
My 2.7 CW puts my 2.6 SW to shame! Much higher damage, better survivability, and excellent crowd control. Considering what the CW offers a party, the SW should have higher damage potential, and I dont think buffing the underused abilties of the class will fix this. I found little use for TT on preview, (even while soloing, and while in groups it offers next to nothing), little use for soul sparks, and the changes to soul spark consumption after combat will only make this worse. I suppose the overabundance of soul sparks will make soul scorch better on long single target fights, but those are rare, and people seem to try and avoid having to participate in long fights, wanting to outgear dungeons and bosses so that they die in seconds.
I should add I'm still fairly new to SW, I play fury and have never played damnation. I havent been using TT since I first heard about the changes, so I could get a feel for where the class and spec would be without it. I see little to no difference between the damage potential on live and on preview. Sure as fury I'll have more options for creeping death, but the highest damaging abilties were necrotic damage anyway, so the only real buff to underperforming fury is dreatheft not removing curse. Fury still feels very weak, and the small survivability buffs dont really balance it out much. I can only imagine what a bad place damnation will be in.
Buffing some of the under used encounters isnt going to hurt, but it also doesnt seem it will really help when our most powerful and most used encounters are still relatively weak. Perhaps buffing warlock curse may help give a small boost to all specs? For soul binder, perhaps working a small amount of splash damage into soul scorch curse consumption?
I'm glad the class is getting some attention, but my SW still struggles on preview with mobs that my CW plows through.
I have to say, testing HB on the shard now, its quite fun, and so far I like the changes. W/ 2.6k ilvl + goat augment, I easily solo'd Cult Prison w/ a 'tanky' setup (BotVA, PoP, Infernal Spheres + Shadow Walk and FoE, Fury spec), pulling multiple mobs along the way, and even fighting the boss w/ extra mobs in tow. Same deal w/ Biggrin's tomb: survived aggro-training all the mobs before the bone door all at once (basically half of the instance), and took on the summoner+zombie craze before Biggrin easily (when before as HB I'd need WB, DT, and constant kiting to even stand a chance against them). This was w/ me intentionally standing in most red zones and eating Biggrin's slow axe slams like a noob.
PoP has a very short cd and casting time such that renewing or re-positioning it isn't too much of an issue in pve, and esp when solo ur constantly getting the dmg boost defense boost, and lowering many enemy's defenses and dmg for trying to gang up on you. The only time I've died is when I get frozen/CC'd for a long time and can't act or lifesteal.
HB's style w/ PoP is like a stationary turret. Drop PoP, spread Hellish Rebuke and curses around, throw out ur other encounters, splat enemies w/ a well-placed Gates of Hell (really satisfying if pulled off right), etc. There's also a ton of diff useful encounter setups and passives to pick from and juggle for ur needs.
It may still not be as competitive dps as SB in groups, and still prob lacks in burst dps a bit (Fiery Bolt, Gates, and KF can help that, though), but I do like what I've seen w/ the new HB.
That said, it would be nice if PoP's radius w/ increased a bit more- to help w/ mobility a touch, but also to better deal w/ enemies that have large hitboxes or w/ large clumps of enemies that surround you and box you out
.
Bulldozer gameplay looks nice from range. Good when u clean trash monsters which u can blow up with fiery bold + Kf in second anyway. But PoP + BoVa have flaws which obvious and give concerns.
1) Sw itself is not tank. No matter how many BoVa + PoP DR provide, its far from Gwf tanking ability. And even Gwf had some though times by doing it. 2) PoP are is small, so more like if bear step in u have u run away. If any monster/player use push away Cc u are out form PoP and lose benefits. for example, Snow wolfs in new hunting area grab warlocks leg, throw away from PoP effect area, then other do same, and u can see how snow wolfs play volleyball with my warlock. < And even i keep holding shift its not effect. So That moment ~2min I laugh. If trash monsters wiping floor with warlocks face. So obvious in pvp will be even worse. 3) PoP DR can easy negated. Enough monster/player hit warlock from back or side. And you lose combat advantage = he does more dmg to you. PoP DR buff maybe counter it, but in the end they negate each other = u stay with BoVa DR benefits only. 4) no matter which game u pick, target who is acting as Duck and stay in one area = easy mark. And total/epic/uber noob would faill to take that easy mark. This PoP in pvp make warlock sit on plate with mark on head</ In pve u lose Shift/dodge = u die. PoP area effect to small to use shift and most of time u will be out of its area. 5) PoP dmg + buff + debuff combo still do not give enough dmg output.. I can bet its x2 smaller than Bova.<
So yesterday I went to new hunting area with warlock and decide to do some He's. After all I love harsh/bloody battles when u are on brink of death. I hate boring gameplay where u can beat anyone while most of time reading book + drinking tea and only time to time pay attention to whats happening in game( Cw class<<)
So get in first He, There was me as HB sw, then 2 Hr's. 3 groups of monsters appear. I dash with shadow slip to my group and before I land first hit with BoVa they all died<. Next wave, I dash again, and same scenario all enemies where wiped before I manage land first hit. Not only my group, but all where wiped. Then third, fourth, fifhts and I give up. I just watched from range how Hr easy wipe them all. And they where not like 3k< they where 2.5k< By Gs my sw 2.6k. Then moved to strong He. No more fast monster wiping. So picked Encounters: Pillar of power + Blades of Vanquished Armies + Warlock's Bargain Class features: Warding Curse + Shadow Walk Daily powers: Accursed Souls(panic button) + Gates of Hell/latter switch to Brood of Hadar. At wills: Hand of Blight + Hellish Rebuke
in the end. there weak one hit enough to take my warlocks 80% hp. Neither panic button + wb + BoVa + PoP manage to keep my warlock alive for ~3s. Then when I was thinking how I could improve. Came Cw, blow up all monsters in He and then it was like , meeeh, What the point to bother with warlock anyways? If u go bulldozer u give up dmg, Go with range give up surrvivability , But non of them rival any other Strikers classes. Not even Soulbinder who with tank build still beat HB by far higher dmg output + have more freedom to move around and are not bound to PoP area effect.
Yeah, that big damage spread was a pain because you could either do 700k hit or 5kk hit. Now you will deal ~1.7kk - 5kk (not counting Executioner's Gift or Creeping Death etc.). If that doesn't matter for you then fine.
Every Fury SW will stick to Creeping Death as it will be 2nd or 3rd major source of damage so no point of taking HB/SB here. And you do not have to use dot encounter for that - burst will be even better.
About HB - I did only minor test as I'm waiting for new patch, as HB is getting more and more attention each update.
And seriously - all warlocks will have to adapt, maybe change a build or rotation a little but that was a point of this rework. We will have a lot more ways to be useful in each situation, our survivability is *poof* magic up to the roof now and rest? Rest is adaptive. I believe @kolatmaster will finally update he's big SW build topic within starting weeks of new mod.
KF buffing was needed, so it most of time i keep away, and when boss type monster lose 70% his HP i can use it, till that any other encounter where better option.
Furry HB backbone and secondary dmg source is CD, and thats why i suggested to remove it and add buff type feat. Burst fire powers dmg looks nice. lets say fiery bold would done 10k dmg to target after all negations and whatever. If DoT would same dmg it gets edge only by that it would proc CD. U understand that too. So DoT get edge even if it wold do 8k not 10k. Plus while dot is in effect + CD effect u get chance life steal = higher survivability over all. If u fight weak/trash monsters maybe fire burst dmg have edge. But in epic dungeon as mainstream warlock, I don't think think i would go such way. Even now my warlock in epic dungeons survive not only due DR. But mostly due warlock bargains life steal mechanic, plus 15% of your incoming damage is redirecting to your linked target.
Soulbinder have SS = most powerful warlocks encounter. Hellbringer don't have and thats why HB population is low. And also is key reason I asked you to test HB warlock. To compare HB to your own SB warlocks capabilities, and hear comments would you choose HB over SB or not. For now, all my known HB who respected to SB claims that their dps now is 2x higher than they where HB.
And next key reason, we lacking HB warlocks in testing< Its least favorite class, least one good when comes striker role. Most guys concern about SB.
As for gameplay chaning. Thats obvious, either u adapt new gameplay or die. But even if u change gameplay, u still will not give competition to any other strikers. So my fears is that we will have same scenario as we had when mod 6 came out, and big warlock population simply give up. From 20 HB warlocks which I knew, only 2 still play as warlock but as SB. Others moved to cw, hr or gwf. The one who went to Cw still tend to troll me when we met each other. THen he start his favorite blasting monsters in epic dungeons and trolling how warlock is weak. To point I hate that I can't kill him << :P
So warlock is not worst class for sure, but as HB sw in bottom for sure. And only worser are undergeared warlock<<
======================================================================== “The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim. Gustave Le Bon. ==================================================
bloodspamer: Keep in mind I only took that power setup w/ BotVA and Infernal Spheres cause I was soloing and knew I would be playing against mobs that liked to gang up, so that defensive and reflective dmg playstyle worked really well for what I was doing. To suit a diff situation I would use diff powers. Although MF w/ rank 4 KF isn't fixed on the shared yet, I was having decent results w/ PoP + r3 KF + Fiery Bolt in general. The new 25k healing pots help too, in a pinch.
PoP's cd is short and its casting anim is almost instant, so even if its still too small and immobile for play where you are constantly moving, that imo that won't really apply much outside of pvp. PoP seems to boost DR by about 30%, while also lowering enemy dmg by ~30% if they're in the circle; those 2 things stacked up and allowed me to face-tank a surprising amount of stuff on the shard.
But yeah, if they increased PoP's radius (and duration) a good bit more, that'd be great. If HB is still weak for pvp, then *shrug*.. that sucks, but pvp is terribly imbalanced anyways, so I dunno what to say there. I don't think that Gatekeeper's Empowerment is working on Hellish Rebuke's DoT yet, but that DoT is another dial to tune up if HB is under-performing.
Oh, and I prob shouldn't mention this cause its funny and I kinda don't want it to go away, but it seems like Gate's knock is working on CC-immune targets. I doubt that's intended, but it is interesting to bug-out dragons with :x
@bloodyspamer first off all, I also think HB should have get some more love/buff, but I am thankfull to some degree , that warlock got some major fixes and changes. I also hope that finetuning will happen in case this class will prove to be useless as striker in mod 10, like lifting basedamage/weapondamage I´d like to know how much lifesteal you run with your HB fury in IWD on preview, since no LS= dead in seconds. And why not using Blades + Dreadtheft (DR buff) or firy bolt or maybe Arms of hadar using prone effect, sure I hate that encounter, but since there are not many aoe spells to play with and this one would prone cursed targets (also working with lesser curse?) it could work ...somehow Why not TT against elite mobgroups? Class feat: slip + warding curse (only works against cursed targets towards you), I´d use ACC (procs tons of LC) all time and NPNM since comabat advatage 24/7 is a huge damagebuff in case you got some charisma and stats and boons. I did not test HB at all, maybe I will give it a try on PTR.
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ghoulz66Member, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 3,748Arc User
Solo won't be as horrific as it used to be. But if the DPS is still behind even a CW it just leaves me feeling a bit of a burden for a group, so may as well use my CW or DPS DC instead. They can at least offer buffs.
Oh, and I prob shouldn't mention this cause its funny and I kinda don't want it to go away, but it seems like Gate's knock is working on CC-immune targets. I doubt that's intended, but it is interesting to bug-out dragons with :x
Gates off hell.. should hit like that in a mataphoric way, knock them all or vaporize
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ghoulz66Member, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 3,748Arc User
Oh, and I prob shouldn't mention this cause its funny and I kinda don't want it to go away, but it seems like Gate's knock is working on CC-immune targets. I doubt that's intended, but it is interesting to bug-out dragons with :x
Gates off hell.. should hit like that in a mataphoric way, knock them all or vaporize
The mobs don't believe in Hell, so it misses
Would be nice if we got our own Oppressive Force with a high target cap and CC. That little CC on blobs really helps the group.
That's how it should be. SB has a super single target daily, let HB have an AoE nuke daily. It can't compete with OF in terms of CC, nor damage for that part. Even WoBs fro the TR hits harder. Gates of Hell needs a cap increase and normal AoE.
bloodspamer: Keep in mind I only took that power setup w/ BotVA and Infernal Spheres cause I was soloing and knew I would be playing against mobs that liked to gang up, so that defensive and reflective dmg playstyle worked really well for what I was doing. To suit a diff situation I would use diff powers. Although MF w/ rank 4 KF isn't fixed on the shared yet, I was having decent results w/ PoP + r3 KF + Fiery Bolt in general. The new 25k healing pots help too, in a pinch.
I keep that in mind, and all stuffs what I wrote is about preview server only. Only except one line where I stated, that are guys who hunt bugs/glitches not to report, but for keeping them till they hit live server and latter could be abused.
AS for build I can only only comment behalf myself. And what kind impact made these changes. I can't judge other players gameplay. Some maybe prefer kiting, some prefer defensive/turret(duck) style. Some prefer berserker(offensive).
So this is also one of reason why I asked @fernuu to test HB warlock. Its because he could compare SB and HB by having same gear set, probably using same gamestyle. And most important he is famous warlock. And biggest reason is that there are not so many HB around in live server and even less here in preview. So I still do wait his comments about HB warlocks, or even video.
But as for now I can comment only what I so, what I went through with changes. Its simple, trash cleaning with BoVa + PoP is fun, no doubt its fun. But same group monsters I wiped with Fiery bolt + KF and It tooks ~50% less time, no mention non of them even put finger on my warlock. But these are trash monsters. Lets go for stronger ones where real battle begun. And there problems start to appear. Combat advantage losing when enemy hit warlock from side or back, can say negate my PoP DR benefits. Lot of monsters simply hit warlock even without stepping in circle at all. And if they do mostly they kick warlock out. After 5 times got kicked out of PoP effect area or forced to run away. I simply though, what the point use such power which benefits is easily negated? So switch to range(KF + fiery bolt) and after moment they all dead.<
AS feedback I could say. PoP lack damage itself. dmg + debuff + buff combination is not even pair with BoVa.
And as survivability , yeah its not shining. But even before changes I could go Dragon pen, icewind dale and clear dungeon only by sloting warlock bargain and using kiting trick.
PoP's cd is short and its casting anim is almost instant, so even if its still too small and immobile for play where you are constantly moving, that imo that won't really apply much outside of pvp. PoP seems to boost DR by about 30%, while also lowering enemy dmg by ~30% if they're in the circle; those 2 things stacked up and allowed me to face-tank a surprising amount of stuff on the shard..
Yes and no. Any monster with longer leg/arm or weapon hit you outside PoP effect area. If from side or back they get combat advantage. Not mentioned kicking out of PoP effect area also is stuff which monsters just love to do.
But yeah, if they increased PoP's radius (and duration) a good bit more, that'd be great. If HB is still weak for pvp, then *shrug*.. that sucks, but pvp is terribly imbalanced anyways, so I dunno what to say there. I don't think that Gatekeeper's Empowerment is working on Hellish Rebuke's DoT yet, but that DoT is another dial to tune up if HB is under-performing.
I think it would be good if Pillar of Power would get not area radius increasing. But also adding feature that negate Combat advantage losing and even chance to negate incoming CC effect. As for pvp. Imagine duck sitting in one place. What u would do? obvious shoot down. Now Hr get boost, so it would be duck hunting season in pvp. As for Infernal Spheres, I still do wait for that new patch hit preview server. But even by theory its not shining. 3 encounters can be used by warlock. So its hard stuff to pick right ones. Full tank build = easy mark for range ones. Building range = easy for close ranged ones. Then remain universal, which could work OK in both situation, after all its not like u can hit Pause and change encounter set. And for that BoVa probably replace Infernal spheres. Or Pillar of Power. So its would be one of three powers which remain. Probably Bova. It provide life steal with every blade hit your target, + mobility.
Oh, and I prob shouldn't mention this cause its funny and I kinda don't want it to go away, but it seems like Gate's knock is working on CC-immune targets. I don't think that's intended, but it is interesting to bug-out dragons with :x
I wrote that gate of hell stun dragons and its AI brokes. So u can do whatever u want with dragon after gate of hell.
first off all, I also think HB should have get some more love/buff, but I am thankfull to some degree , that warlock got some major fixes and changes. I also hope that finetuning will happen in case this class will prove to be useless as striker in mod 10, like lifting basedamage/weapondamage I´d like to know how much lifesteal you run with your HB fury in IWD on preview, since no LS= dead in seconds. And why not using Blades + Dreadtheft (DR buff) or firy bolt or maybe Arms of hadar using prone effect, sure I hate that encounter, but since there are not many aoe spells to play with and this one would prone cursed targets (also working with lesser curse?) it could work ...somehow Why not TT against elite mobgroups? Class feat: slip + warding curse (only works against cursed targets towards you), I´d use ACC (procs tons of LC) all time and NPNM since comabat advatage 24/7 is a huge damagebuff in case you got some charisma and stats and boons. I did not test HB at all, maybe I will give it a try on PTR.
well i welcome any changes for HB warlock. I track all news about this class, even for possible ones. After new mod release always spent time in preview to see does it improve my warlocks capabilities or nerf. So I can only hate time frame which was given to @amenar and his manager which my warlock plan to hang :P
As for TC, well you know all these changes are to promote least used powers. So I was looking way to use other ones instead classic TT + WB + DT + HG to proc CD. But eventually only against really strong ones I have to give up gate of hell, and move to TT. So as I wrote in my older posts, In epic dungeon runs nothing changes. If u have guild boons which can provide high def/life steal then sure u can go hand2hand combat. If u don't have = kitting and hiding behind tank is better option. Otherwise u love to hit ground dead <
======================================================================== “The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim. Gustave Le Bon. ==================================================
Comments
Excellent work.
Fantastic communication.
The most recent preview patch notes all look great, especially the top and bottom end buff to Killing Flames (much needed) soul spark mechanic slowly consuming when combat ends. Those worried about AP gain will be fine, as its highly unlikely you will not have full AP again by the time the next mob is encountered. Those same people can also pop their Sigil of the Devoted if its that bad.
Two big things to watch:
1) Tyrannical Threat / Tyrannical Curse may have been nerfed too hard.
2) Hellbringer still too weak in all aspects compared to Soulbinder. Without an encounter like soul scorch, it will need both additional damage boosts--similar to HR's blade storm or CW's spell storm that procs separate fire damage opposed to simply +% damage class features--and cooldown reductions to be relevant in PvE.
Again, you rock. You've established a lot of credibility here. Just be sure you can handle all the dev-mance love, haha!
Now, as things have changed quite a lot in different ways, could we let the dust settle and have a comprehensive change log just to have it spelled out what exactly we will be different from the mod 9 please?
A few other questions in the spirit of clarification;
- The many damage increase to the powers described in the change logs , do they apply to the base damage power or to the final damage actualy done?(I became aware of the difference with the dev blog piece about the HR)
- The feats that add x% weapon damage, do they deal this percentage of weapon damage only (like new lostmauth set) or are they buffed? (and if so wich buff are we talking about? all party buff? zone buffs? self buffs? target's debuff?)
In any case, thanks again for this unparallel exchange @amenarDevelopers actually made 2 big mistakes since start.
1) they looked to powers individually. Not for possible combination and over all performance.
CW is also long/mid range spellaster, so its obvious closest class to warlock..
And when I met CW and we compare encounter individually, my warlocks looks scary. And usually CW start complain that SW powers are Overpowered.
But how they go along feats, other powers is just trolling you to death.
And
2) They choose warlock among first ones to balance.
Warlock is class which can't be reworked, tweaked/balanced by same way as Cw, DC, GWF, gf, OP, Hr, TR. They are burst dps classes.
SW powers is about curses(debuffs) + DoT, Only closest to warlock is Master of Flame CW. Who also is DoT mage. But even he is way ahead SW.
So since start was obvious that warlocks problems will not be solved due short time frame. I was hopping that we at least get somewhere near, so that I could finally go in Epic dungeons and know that I am striker and I can hurt bosses, kill monsters.
Now I just class who imitating fighting.
Anyways, thanks @amenar for changes, now matter what kind they would be, and I hope that one day, you maybe have longer time frame to work with warlock and do real changes.
Plus maybe next time we also look not to warlock classes only but look to other classes and find out why they are performing better than SW, and also on top visit warlock forum more often. There even kinda low activity, but guys have brilliant ideas for either SB or HB
best regards: dead HB warlock
“The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.
Gustave Le Bon.
==================================================
By nwo wiki: http://neverwinter.gamepedia.com/Scourge_Warlock
So yea, if u use it as finisher to kill more like already dead monster, it show up extreme high dmg output. But while your target have full Hp, it will never make such dmg at all.
“The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.
Gustave Le Bon.
==================================================
Mod 10:
[Combat (Self)] Critical Hit! Your Killing Flames deals 16636893 (1009292) Fire Damage to Ethraniev Marrowslake.
Mod 9:
[Combat (Self)] Your Murderous Flames deals 376274433 (18876929) Fire Damage to Red Tiamat Head.
But even if we create nice suggestion, all calculation would be done, Still we hit to @amenar post. From which i understand that no big changes,< only slight power adjustments. Otherwise his boss will start to oozing bloodlust over @amenar shoulder.
Ohh yeah, that big spread dmg range was such a headpain. And still, for dmg in dungeon as furry HB I will be sticking with Creeping death. Thats mean DoT encounters which are: obvious WB for survivability + dmg. With Hadar grasp to DoT + cc, and DT .
Also @fernuu have u done Hellbringers testing run? I am curious have u found encounter which could rival SB's SS.
“The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.
Gustave Le Bon.
==================================================
As far as you all's preview testing goes at today, what are the results? I don't need ACTS but am looking for general wordage.
Is the SW in a good spot given the buff "nerfs" everyone will be experiencing when it hits?
Will the well geared/stat warlock finally reign over the undergeared/bogus Stat SW whose puppet does everthing? The 2.7 SW shouldn't be doing like damage of a 3.2+ dps class... being aware IL means little, items should mean a heck of a lot IMO, or what's the point in aquring the best possible gear...?
Will the purely striker class, in many regards, actually do what it's supposed to do?
I say/ask all of this not as an elitist but as someone concerned about his main toon. There's an epidemic of SW atm on xbox and I'm sure that'll fade away once changes hit but are the vetted SWs going to "get the job done" efficiently...
Thanks PC guys for your endeavors.
@amenar I applaud your perseverance and desire to make the proper changes to the SW.
PoP has a very short cd and casting time such that renewing or re-positioning it isn't too much of an issue in pve, and esp when solo ur constantly getting the dmg boost defense boost, and lowering many enemy's defenses and dmg for trying to gang up on you. The only time I've died is when I get frozen/CC'd for a long time and can't act or lifesteal.
HB's style w/ PoP is like a stationary turret. Drop PoP, spread Hellish Rebuke and curses around, throw out ur other encounters, splat enemies w/ a well-placed Gates of Hell (really satisfying if pulled off right), etc. There's also a ton of diff useful encounter setups and passives to pick from and juggle for ur needs.
It may still not be as competitive dps as SB in groups, and still prob lacks in burst dps a bit (Fiery Bolt, Gates, and KF can help that, though), but I do like what I've seen w/ the new HB.
That said, it would be nice if PoP's radius w/ increased a bit more- to help w/ mobility a touch, but also to better deal w/ enemies that have large hitboxes or w/ large clumps of enemies that surround you and box you out.
<CO docs> .: Petco :. // Base DPS Sheet (needs revision) // PSA on Power Activation Delay
- Themed Tanks // Misc Build Dump // Ayonachan's Gift Horse (stat data)
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
Scourge Warlock: Soul Sparks: No longer immediately consumed when combat ends. Instead, one is consumed every 0.5s you are out of combat. This means at full stacks (30) it will take 15 seconds for them all to be consumed. If you re-enter combat, the passive consumption of Soul Sparks will stop.
Ask and you shall recieve.. Great changes!
Do your due diligence and check on multiple rotations, powers, enchants, etc.
SW is NOT bad currently and will get better with the most recent update on test
.. KF / Soul Sparks I'm looking at you baby!
Bottom line, bugs got fixed and a lot of stuff got awesome. I'd say trust in me and @fernuu but what do we know, right? lol
Every Fury SW will stick to Creeping Death as it will be 2nd or 3rd major source of damage so no point of taking HB/SB here. And you do not have to use dot encounter for that - burst will be even better.
About HB - I did only minor test as I'm waiting for new patch, as HB is getting more and more attention each update.
And seriously - all warlocks will have to adapt, maybe change a build or rotation a little but that was a point of this rework. We will have a lot more ways to be useful in each situation, our survivability is *poof* magic up to the roof now and rest? Rest is adaptive. I believe @kolatmaster will finally update he's big SW build topic within starting weeks of new mod.
Mod 10:
[Combat (Self)] Critical Hit! Your Killing Flames deals 16636893 (1009292) Fire Damage to Ethraniev Marrowslake.
Mod 9:
[Combat (Self)] Your Murderous Flames deals 376274433 (18876929) Fire Damage to Red Tiamat Head.
1. TT is very likely to fail providing good damage because we cant know how fast other dos will kill the cursed target, i would make TT also work in other targets if the main target took less than xxxxx damage.
2.like i said before make eldricht blast spread npnm otherwise using Hand of blight to nuke greater mobs will be more powerfull than it, even in multi target.
3.give temptation a party buff, even if small.
I should add I'm still fairly new to SW, I play fury and have never played damnation. I havent been using TT since I first heard about the changes, so I could get a feel for where the class and spec would be without it. I see little to no difference between the damage potential on live and on preview. Sure as fury I'll have more options for creeping death, but the highest damaging abilties were necrotic damage anyway, so the only real buff to underperforming fury is dreatheft not removing curse. Fury still feels very weak, and the small survivability buffs dont really balance it out much. I can only imagine what a bad place damnation will be in.
Buffing some of the under used encounters isnt going to hurt, but it also doesnt seem it will really help when our most powerful and most used encounters are still relatively weak. Perhaps buffing warlock curse may help give a small boost to all specs? For soul binder, perhaps working a small amount of splash damage into soul scorch curse consumption?
I'm glad the class is getting some attention, but my SW still struggles on preview with mobs that my CW plows through.
1) Sw itself is not tank. No matter how many BoVa + PoP DR provide, its far from Gwf tanking ability. And even Gwf had some though times by doing it.
2) PoP are is small, so more like if bear step in u have u run away. If any monster/player use push away Cc u are out form PoP and lose benefits.
for example, Snow wolfs in new hunting area grab warlocks leg, throw away from PoP effect area, then other do same, and u can see how snow wolfs play volleyball with my warlock. < And even i keep holding shift its not effect. So That moment ~2min I laugh. If trash monsters wiping floor with warlocks face. So obvious in pvp will be even worse.
3) PoP DR can easy negated. Enough monster/player hit warlock from back or side. And you lose combat advantage = he does more dmg to you. PoP DR buff maybe counter it, but in the end they negate each other = u stay with BoVa DR benefits only.
4) no matter which game u pick, target who is acting as Duck and stay in one area = easy mark. And total/epic/uber noob would faill to take that easy mark. This PoP in pvp make warlock sit on plate with mark on head</
In pve u lose Shift/dodge = u die. PoP area effect to small to use shift and most of time u will be out of its area.
5) PoP dmg + buff + debuff combo still do not give enough dmg output.. I can bet its x2 smaller than Bova.<
So yesterday I went to new hunting area with warlock and decide to do some He's. After all I love harsh/bloody battles when u are on brink of death. I hate boring gameplay where u can beat anyone while most of time reading book + drinking tea and only time to time pay attention to whats happening in game( Cw class<<)
So get in first He, There was me as HB sw, then 2 Hr's. 3 groups of monsters appear. I dash with shadow slip to my group and before I land first hit with BoVa they all died<. Next wave, I dash again, and same scenario all enemies where wiped before I manage land first hit. Not only my group, but all where wiped. Then third, fourth, fifhts and I give up. I just watched from range how Hr easy wipe them all. And they where not like 3k< they where 2.5k< By Gs my sw 2.6k.
Then moved to strong He. No more fast monster wiping. So picked
Encounters: Pillar of power + Blades of Vanquished Armies + Warlock's Bargain
Class features: Warding Curse + Shadow Walk
Daily powers: Accursed Souls(panic button) + Gates of Hell/latter switch to Brood of Hadar.
At wills: Hand of Blight + Hellish Rebuke
in the end. there weak one hit enough to take my warlocks 80% hp. Neither panic button + wb + BoVa + PoP manage to keep my warlock alive for ~3s.
Then when I was thinking how I could improve. Came Cw, blow up all monsters in He and then it was like , meeeh, What the point to bother with warlock anyways?
If u go bulldozer u give up dmg,
Go with range give up surrvivability , But non of them rival any other Strikers classes. Not even Soulbinder who with tank build still beat HB by far higher dmg output + have more freedom to move around and are not bound to PoP area effect.
<blockquote class="UserQuote">
Yeah, that big damage spread was a pain because you could either do 700k hit or 5kk hit. Now you will deal ~1.7kk - 5kk (not counting Executioner's Gift or Creeping Death etc.). If that doesn't matter for you then fine.
Every Fury SW will stick to Creeping Death as it will be 2nd or 3rd major source of damage so no point of taking HB/SB here. And you do not have to use dot encounter for that - burst will be even better.
About HB - I did only minor test as I'm waiting for new patch, as HB is getting more and more attention each update.
And seriously - all warlocks will have to adapt, maybe change a build or rotation a little but that was a point of this rework. We will have a lot more ways to be useful in each situation, our survivability is *poof* magic up to the roof now and rest? Rest is adaptive. I believe @kolatmaster will finally update he's big SW build topic within starting weeks of new mod.
KF buffing was needed, so it most of time i keep away, and when boss type monster lose 70% his HP i can use it, till that any other encounter where better option.
Furry HB backbone and secondary dmg source is CD, and thats why i suggested to remove it and add buff type feat.
Burst fire powers dmg looks nice. lets say fiery bold would done 10k dmg to target after all negations and whatever.
If DoT would same dmg it gets edge only by that it would proc CD. U understand that too. So DoT get edge even if it wold do 8k not 10k. Plus while dot is in effect + CD effect u get chance life steal = higher survivability over all.
If u fight weak/trash monsters maybe fire burst dmg have edge. But in epic dungeon as mainstream warlock, I don't think think i would go such way. Even now my warlock in epic dungeons survive not only due DR. But mostly due warlock bargains life steal mechanic, plus 15% of your incoming damage is redirecting to your linked target.
Soulbinder have SS = most powerful warlocks encounter. Hellbringer don't have and thats why HB population is low. And also is key reason I asked you to test HB warlock. To compare HB to your own SB warlocks capabilities, and hear comments would you choose HB over SB or not. For now, all my known HB who respected to SB claims that their dps now is 2x higher than they where HB.
And next key reason, we lacking HB warlocks in testing< Its least favorite class, least one good when comes striker role. Most guys concern about SB.
As for gameplay chaning. Thats obvious, either u adapt new gameplay or die. But even if u change gameplay, u still will not give competition to any other strikers. So my fears is that we will have same scenario as we had when mod 6 came out, and big warlock population simply give up. From 20 HB warlocks which I knew, only 2 still play as warlock but as SB. Others moved to cw, hr or gwf. The one who went to Cw still tend to troll me when we met each other. THen he start his favorite blasting monsters in epic dungeons and trolling how warlock is weak. To point I hate that I can't kill him << :P
So warlock is not worst class for sure, but as HB sw in bottom for sure. And only worser are undergeared warlock<<
“The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.
Gustave Le Bon.
==================================================
PoP's cd is short and its casting anim is almost instant, so even if its still too small and immobile for play where you are constantly moving, that imo that won't really apply much outside of pvp. PoP seems to boost DR by about 30%, while also lowering enemy dmg by ~30% if they're in the circle; those 2 things stacked up and allowed me to face-tank a surprising amount of stuff on the shard.
But yeah, if they increased PoP's radius (and duration) a good bit more, that'd be great. If HB is still weak for pvp, then *shrug*.. that sucks, but pvp is terribly imbalanced anyways, so I dunno what to say there. I don't think that Gatekeeper's Empowerment is working on Hellish Rebuke's DoT yet, but that DoT is another dial to tune up if HB is under-performing.
Oh, and I prob shouldn't mention this cause its funny and I kinda don't want it to go away, but it seems like Gate's knock is working on CC-immune targets. I doubt that's intended, but it is interesting to bug-out dragons with :x
<CO docs> .: Petco :. // Base DPS Sheet (needs revision) // PSA on Power Activation Delay
- Themed Tanks // Misc Build Dump // Ayonachan's Gift Horse (stat data)
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
first off all, I also think HB should have get some more love/buff, but I am thankfull to some degree , that warlock got some major fixes and changes.
I also hope that finetuning will happen in case this class will prove to be useless as striker in mod 10, like lifting basedamage/weapondamage
I´d like to know how much lifesteal you run with your HB fury in IWD on preview, since no LS= dead in seconds.
And why not using Blades + Dreadtheft (DR buff) or firy bolt or maybe Arms of hadar using prone effect, sure I hate that encounter, but since there are not many aoe spells to play with and this one would prone cursed targets (also working with lesser curse?) it could work ...somehow
Why not TT against elite mobgroups?
Class feat: slip + warding curse (only works against cursed targets towards you), I´d use ACC (procs tons of LC) all time and NPNM since comabat advatage 24/7 is a huge damagebuff in case you got some charisma and stats and boons.
I did not test HB at all, maybe I will give it a try on PTR.
Would be nice if we got our own Oppressive Force with a high target cap and CC. That little CC on blobs really helps the group.
That's how it should be. SB has a super single target daily, let HB have an AoE nuke daily. It can't compete with OF in terms of CC, nor damage for that part. Even WoBs fro the TR hits harder. Gates of Hell needs a cap increase and normal AoE.
AS for build I can only only comment behalf myself. And what kind impact made these changes. I can't judge other players gameplay. Some maybe prefer kiting, some prefer defensive/turret(duck) style. Some prefer berserker(offensive).
So this is also one of reason why I asked @fernuu to test HB warlock. Its because he could compare SB and HB by having same gear set, probably using same gamestyle. And most important he is famous warlock. And biggest reason is that there are not so many HB around in live server and even less here in preview. So I still do wait his comments about HB warlocks, or even video.
But as for now I can comment only what I so, what I went through with changes. Its simple, trash cleaning with BoVa + PoP is fun, no doubt its fun. But same group monsters I wiped with Fiery bolt + KF and It tooks ~50% less time, no mention non of them even put finger on my warlock. But these are trash monsters.
Lets go for stronger ones where real battle begun.
And there problems start to appear.
Combat advantage losing when enemy hit warlock from side or back, can say negate my PoP DR benefits. Lot of monsters simply hit warlock even without stepping in circle at all. And if they do mostly they kick warlock out. After 5 times got kicked out of PoP effect area or forced to run away. I simply though, what the point use such power which benefits is easily negated?
So switch to range(KF + fiery bolt) and after moment they all dead.<
AS feedback I could say. PoP lack damage itself. dmg + debuff + buff combination is not even pair with BoVa.
And as survivability , yeah its not shining. But even before changes I could go Dragon pen, icewind dale and clear dungeon only by sloting warlock bargain and using kiting trick.
Yes and no. Any monster with longer leg/arm or weapon hit you outside PoP effect area. If from side or back they get combat advantage. Not mentioned kicking out of PoP effect area also is stuff which monsters just love to do.
I think it would be good if Pillar of Power would get not area radius increasing. But also adding feature that negate Combat advantage losing and even chance to negate incoming CC effect.
As for pvp. Imagine duck sitting in one place. What u would do? obvious shoot down. Now Hr get boost, so it would be duck hunting season in pvp.
As for Infernal Spheres, I still do wait for that new patch hit preview server. But even by theory its not shining. 3 encounters can be used by warlock. So its hard stuff to pick right ones. Full tank build = easy mark for range ones.
Building range = easy for close ranged ones.
Then remain universal, which could work OK in both situation, after all its not like u can hit Pause and change encounter set.
And for that BoVa probably replace Infernal spheres. Or Pillar of Power. So its would be one of three powers which remain. Probably Bova. It provide life steal with every blade hit your target, + mobility.
I wrote that gate of hell stun dragons and its AI brokes. So u can do whatever u want with dragon after gate of hell.
well i welcome any changes for HB warlock. I track all news about this class, even for possible ones. After new mod release always spent time in preview to see does it improve my warlocks capabilities or nerf. So I can only hate time frame which was given to @amenar and his manager which my warlock plan to hang :P
As for TC, well you know all these changes are to promote least used powers. So I was looking way to use other ones instead classic TT + WB + DT + HG to proc CD. But eventually only against really strong ones I have to give up gate of hell, and move to TT. So as I wrote in my older posts, In epic dungeon runs nothing changes. If u have guild boons which can provide high def/life steal then sure u can go hand2hand combat. If u don't have = kitting and hiding behind tank is better option. Otherwise u love to hit ground dead <
“The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.
Gustave Le Bon.
==================================================