So I am preparing for Warlock's release and I need help, please

vasdamas

Hello there,

As title says I want to create one as soon as it's released but I've got a couple of questions for those who already played that class on preview.

1) Is lifesteal something viable for warlock? I heard it's a good stat for them?
2) Is it reasonable to stack recovery?
3) What artifacts would you recomend? (best of the best, I am quite rich xD)

Thank you in advance ^^


P.S unfortunately I can't log on preview myself and have a look at that class as I have some...problem with the internet and have to pay for each mb I upload/download so...

twilightwatchman

Haven't finished levelling mine yet, but from the perspective of Level 41 halfway through Pirate's Skyhold...

1. Lifesteal is essential. The Warlock has no defence to speak of and no dodge - you have to kill fast while out-healing incoming damage. There are also feats that boost Lifesteal and/or depend on it.

2. I'm not stacking Recovery and have no particular issue with cycling encounters. A lot of the gear has Recovery on it though.

3. Being poor I'm in no position to recommend Artifacts for the rich.

schweifer1982

vasdamas wrote: »

Hello there,

As title says I want to create one as soon as it's released but I've got a couple of questions for those who already played that class on preview.

1) Is lifesteal something viable for warlock? I heard it's a good stat for them?
2) Is it reasonable to stack recovery?
3) What artifacts would you recomend? (best of the best, I am quite rich xD)

Thank you in advance ^^


P.S unfortunately I can't log on preview myself and have a look at that class as I have some...problem with the internet and have to pay for each mb I upload/download so...

I have lvl 60 SW try out all path.

Dc artifact is must have .
Also the Wild Hunt Rider and Ligthfoot + ISOM+ P.Vorpal.
Build your char around crit and HP + LS + regen and power .
This class is realy soo called hard to play.
You will not see big DPS from SW.
But he is the awesome healer in NW.

harnel

For artifacts, I'd recommend the Sigil of the Devoted one to be able to spam Brood of Hadar (one of our only control abilities), Thayan Book of the Dead (more control!), and Kessel's Spheres of Annihilation (because what we cannot deal with effectively is a mob of small enemies). These three should have a reasonable power loadout for you, as well as have excellent stats.

vasdamas

What about armor enchantments? Barkshield or SF?

beckylunatic

Is the Wild Hunt Rider going to be good on SW? I sprang for one of the packs with the purple one when I got a 15% off coupon, which is sitting in my bank.

I thought general consensus was the active on him is best on CWs and then GWFs, because they can proc it a lot by hitting all the mobs, and if SW has minimal AoE it seems like not the best choice.

rustlord

vasdamas wrote: »

Hello there,1) Is lifesteal something viable for warlock? I heard it's a good stat for them?
2) Is it reasonable to stack recovery?
3) What artifacts would you recomend? (best of the best, I am quite rich xD)

1. Lifesteal is the core stat for Warlock, like crit was for the TR. We have feats that give raw 270 lifesteal and others that conditionally increase this stat or its effectiveness. Some paths offer flat % increase in lifesteal.
2. Recovery is a secondary stat if you ask me. Warlock at-wills are underwhelming, but (despite some powers that do not work yet) a Warlock's primary source of DPS are encounter powers. Additionally some powers are supposed to gen AP.
3. HP artifacts. Hit Points appear to be the only defense that a Lock has at this time. Any kind of defensive artifact may work towards PvP. To be on the safe side, it's too early to speculate which artifacts or builds will work best for this class.

Armor enchantment: SF. Expect to die a lot.

Source: LV60 Lock, leveled the hard way ~ no tomes

mconosrep

Anyone have an idea as to what the best stat distribution is for a Warlock?

harnel

Well, you want to amp lifesteal until you softcap at about 2k. After that, armor penetration isn't a big concern, but having a little to go with your intelligence boost for it is a good idea. You'll want to softcap critical strike as well. after that, pick up some defensive stats like defense and work on your power once you've hit an appropriate level of survivability.

mconosrep

harnel wrote: »

Well, you want to amp lifesteal until you softcap at about 2k. After that, armor penetration isn't a big concern, but having a little to go with your intelligence boost for it is a good idea. You'll want to softcap critical strike as well. after that, pick up some defensive stats like defense and work on your power once you've hit an appropriate level of survivability.

Thanks - any advice as to reasonable attribute rolls?

harnel

For all that the game says intelligence is your primary, I feel otherwise; that honor belongs to constitution and charisma. Sure, you want intelligence fairly high, but it's not the stat you should be focusing on. Amp your constitution for more survivability/damage, and your charisma for more crits/better combat advantage/better companion stats

mconosrep

harnel wrote: »

For all that the game says intelligence is your primary, I feel otherwise; that honor belongs to constitution and charisma. Sure, you want intelligence fairly high, but it's not the stat you should be focusing on. Amp your constitution for more survivability/damage, and your charisma for more crits/better combat advantage/better companion stats

So something like the 15 INT 15 CON 13 CHR or 15 INT 13 CON 15 CHR roll would be good then, with any bonuses focusing first on CHR/CON then INT?

harnel

That'd be correct. I'd actually recommend a loadout that (before race bonuses) sits at 16 Con, 16 Int, 13 Cha. Tiefling is nice as it'll let you amp both constitution and charisma

fauust01

3.

I am going for Combat Advantage ( he gain it after he crit ) / A Pen ( + 10% ) artifacts cuz Lock will make advantage of those cuz of feats.

Beho
Latern
Spheres


as for now i am going Human

and Con > Cha > Int build.

Wondering About BEST DPS companions can some one help me out ?

1> Stone of Might
2> Fire Archon
3> Aranea ( or what ever she is called spider lady )
4> Wild Hunt Dude
5> Blink Dog ( Combat Advantage Bonus )


Is this a GOOD Dps Set Up ?

harnel

It looks like a pretty solid DPS setup to me.

abaddon523

fauust01 wrote: »

3.

I am going for Combat Advantage ( he gain it after he crit ) / A Pen ( + 10% ) artifacts cuz Lock will make advantage of those cuz of feats.

Beho
Latern
Spheres


as for now i am going Human

and Con > Cha > Int build.

Wondering About BEST DPS companions can some one help me out ?

1> Stone of Might
2> Fire Archon
3> Aranea ( or what ever she is called spider lady )
4> Wild Hunt Dude
5> Blink Dog ( Combat Advantage Bonus )


Is this a GOOD Dps Set Up ?

I have yet to hear anything definitive on whether or not the Blink Dog does anything. I know my own testing and the testing of other people I trust has shown that it does absolutely nothing. It's added damage is either bugged or totally insignificant. But that was only on the green version. I've read that it does work when it is upgraded to a purple companion. But I'm skeptical.

vasdamas

Somebody told me that there are heavy diminishing returns on CA. After 800+

So not sure if it worths getting more than 2 artifacts with CA

lazaroth666

vasdamas wrote: »

Somebody told me that there are heavy diminishing returns on CA. After 800+

So not sure if it worths getting more than 2 artifacts with CA

Somebody? that's mean. :eek:

Yeah, only 1 artifact with CA is enough.

vasdamas

lazaroth666 wrote: »

Somebody? that's mean. :eek:

Yeah, only 1 artifact with CA is enough.

*points at Lazaroth*
Yes it was you >< You should show them the exact math from your tests btw :P

fauust01

vasdamas wrote: »

*points at Lazaroth*
Yes it was you >< You should show them the exact math from your tests btw :P

so for the artifacts

Latern, Spheres, and GWF class artifact seems better set up ?

vasdamas

fauust01 wrote: »

so for the artifacts

Latern, Spheres, and GWF class artifact seems better set up ?

yeap yeap, SW has no immunities and lacks of dodge so the class needs as much HP as possible so GWF class artifact is a way to go. I am going to use vanguard instead of that one though...

fauust01

vasdamas wrote: »

yeap yeap, SW has no immunities and lacks of dodge so the class needs as much HP as possible so GWF class artifact is a way to go. I am going to use vanguard instead of that one though...

So i guess i am set in Artifacts

now lets talk about Companions, is setup i have already posted like 2 days ago good ?


1> Stone of Might
2> Fire Archon
3> Aranea ( or what ever she is called spider lady )
4> Wild Hunt Dude
5> open slot for meybe this blade from AD bazar? for better crits? ( since blink dog does not work i guess )

gorakasul

When it comes to the (probably) best load-out for artifacts, I would/will go for a combination of GWF, DC and either Vanguard Banner or Kessel's Spheres. I would not recommend staying with a Lantern too long, as neither Crit nor ArPen is worth stacking beyond a certain point and Power will still be king in the end.

For companions I will go with the following:

1. Ioun Stone of Radiance (Or Might, for those without the Radiance)
2. Wild Hunt Rider
3. Dancing Blade
4. Laughing Skull
5. Open slot

As soon as Dungeons are open on the preview, I will test the Aranea on the Warlock to determine how useful the companion actually is for a Warlock. Same goes for the Wild Hunt Rider, although from my experience leveling it is very likely to be a good companion.
Still torn about the Blink Dog, as I did not have the time to test it properly on preview. If it works as intended, I will definitely go for it. HR will play a greater role in Mod 4 and they'll give 100% Combat Advantage to the group if played properly.

Fire Archon is a weak companion for its price with an average DPS-Increase of a meager 1.5%... Most companions can out-perform that by quite a large margin.

lazaroth666

First you need to know the weapon damage for the SW's main hands if you want to try the Aranea, if it's low then isn't really a good option. Wild Hunter Rider is only good for CWs thanks to the bugged Steal Time. Fire Archon isn't really bad, specially if you will play a Tiefling.

fauust01

lazaroth666 wrote: »

First you need to know the weapon damage for the SW's main hands if you want to try the Aranea, if it's low then isn't really a good option. Wild Hunter Rider is only good for CWs thanks to the bugged Steal Time. Fire Archon isn't really bad, specially if you will play a Tiefling.

i am going Human

then i am lost i dont know what companions to use, can u suggest something ? Weapon Dmg can be seen at test server its around 840 max.

gorakasul

lazaroth666 wrote: »

First you need to know the weapon damage for the SW's main hands if you want to try the Aranea, if it's low then isn't really a good option. Wild Hunter Rider is only good for CWs thanks to the bugged Steal Time. Fire Archon isn't really bad, specially if you will play a Tiefling.

Well, that is only partly true.
The main reason for the Wild Hunt Rider being that good is the amount of encounter-hits a CW can achieve over the course of a dungeon. It's not necessarily tied to Steal Time. Other encounters with a large amount of hits (AM Sudden Storm, AM Conduit of Ice, Steal Time) are usually what causes the incredible uptime. Most other classes don't have those spam-able AoE encounters and thus report a much lower uptime.
Hunter Ranger are a good example to demonstrate, why the Wild Hunt Rider is no tied to Steal Time. HRs are second to none when it comes to the amount of hits with an encounter and they, too, report a very good uptime. Their number of procs is even larger than that of CWs.

Warlocks have a good potential to achieve those numbers aswell. Though testing is still on halt due to dungeon servers not being available right now, it seems that the core encounters will be the following:
Dreadtheft
Harrowstorm
Blade of Vanquished Armies or Fiery Blast (or whatever that thing is called).

All of those deal AoE damage on a fairly short cooldown with a large number of hits.
Testing the Aranea will be similar, since the weapon damage is not the only thing that matters...

How good the Fire Archon is has nothing to do with the race that you play. It contributes to an average of 1.5% of your damage. Even upgraded companions that give 300 Power (~2% DPS increase) are a better choice when it comes to raw damage.

fauust01

gorakasul wrote: »

Well, that is only partly true.
The main reason for the Wild Hunt Rider being that good is the amount of encounter-hits a CW can achieve over the course of a dungeon. It's not necessarily tied to Steal Time. Other encounters with a large amount of hits (AM Sudden Storm, AM Conduit of Ice, Steal Time) are usually what causes the incredible uptime. Most other classes don't have those spam-able AoE encounters and thus report a much lower uptime.
Hunter Ranger are a good example to demonstrate, why the Wild Hunt Rider is no tied to Steal Time. HRs are second to none when it comes to the amount of hits with an encounter and they, too, report a very good uptime. Their number of procs is even larger than that of CWs.

Warlocks have a good potential to achieve those numbers aswell. Though testing is still on halt due to dungeon servers not being available right now, it seems that the core encounters will be the following:
Dreadtheft
Harrowstorm
Blade of Vanquished Armies or Fiery Blast (or whatever that thing is called).

All of those deal AoE damage on a fairly short cooldown with a large number of hits.
Testing the Aranea will be similar, since the weapon damage is not the only thing that matters...

How good the Fire Archon is has nothing to do with the race that you play. It contributes to an average of 1.5% of your damage. Even upgraded companions that give 300 Power (~2% DPS increase) are a better choice when it comes to raw damage.

Could you suggest me set of 5 RAW DMG companions on warlock ?

fauust01

Oh and what Weapon Enchant for Warlock ?

P Lightning ? or P Vorp ?

gorakasul

Lightning? Are you crazy?

The weapon enchant is determined by your personal DPS.
If you are among the very best players of your group and consistently top 2 in your group, go for a Vorpal.
If you are not finishing the runs in a top spot, take the Plague Fire and help boost the overall damage-output of your group.
And that's basically it when it comes to PvE weapon enchants.

I already posted a loadout for DPS-companions. But it will come down to testing some of the companions in order to determine how strong they really are. That's impossible however, as dungeons are disabled.

schweifer1982

fauust01 wrote: »

Oh and what Weapon Enchant for Warlock ?

P Lightning ? or P Vorp ?

I vote for Vorpal cuz if y go healer tree your heal can crit too also i suggest race : human +5% more dps .

jazzfong

Oh pls, p.lightning is very OP on warlock, check rustlord's tyrannic storm video and analysis.

I don't recommend vorpal for healing purpose cuz we can only heal if we heal ourself. If our hp is full, we lifesteal nothing so we heal nothing too. Better consider GPF or P.lightning.