How squishy is the Scourge Warlock?

wrathsoul1

The question is in the title. So, how squishy it is?

championshewolf

Not really that squishy at all, as long as you play smartly. If you try to play like a tank however and take every hit on the chin well.. you will die quickly.

twilightwatchman

Depends on the build. It's easy to build a squishy 'lock (the first Fury 'lock I built on Preview folded like a deckchair) but with care you can be reasonably durable. My Damnation 'lock that I'm levelling often engages in Melee without any problem.

championshewolf

I think the problem with people being squishy as a long as they really don't build to a locks strength which is centered around life steal.

alkemist80

So far at level 47, I am finding my Temptation lock squishy enough, IF I pull more than I should or a gang of adds hit me up and all my skills are on CD. I am stacked with 27xx life steal right now and even then that's not enough to keep me alive if I get into the hot seat. I am not sure if the Temptation capstone will help me or if that is for my allies only. This is using the yeti tank pet too, but I'm sure once the I get the capstone, it will help keep it alive. Being a support tree, I don't have as much oomph as the Fury tree, though Fiery Bolt and Dreadtheft packs a mean punch, just sometimes still not enough.

Of course this is all on the basis of leveling, level 60 will be much different and once I figure out the best synergy of skills and feats.

dualistic

I can only compare my melee HR(that i leveld when it was released, then stopped playing) to my temptation lock but i think my lock is a hell of a lot tougher.
I've always tried to balance power,crit and lifestealing(with a slight focus on lifesteal) using mostly aoe spells(dreadtheft,firebolt and burning spheres were my most common set up) and survived most things without issues, hardly ever needed to use potions untill i got close to level 50 when the game gets abit less forgiving.
Aslong as your lifesteal stat is around 10% unbuffed you should be pretty tough.

whitupiggu

With all the life steal and temp HP they aren't that squishy. However you'll get CC'd to death if you ever try to pvp.

kolatmaster

whitupiggu wrote: »

With all the life steal and temp HP they aren't that squishy. However you'll get CC'd to death if you ever try to pvp.

My sentiments exactly...

noblis

championshewolf wrote: »

I think the problem with people being squishy as a long as they really don't build to a locks strength which is centered around life steal.

This is very true.
Life steal is a SW's BEST friend.
Go for life steal and damage reduction with a side order of defense=tanky and dangerous.
Try it.

And don't forget your shift ability (shadow sprint.) Stay mobile.

charononus

Not very squishy at all. Did an epic Karru run where 1 party member dc'd and never came back and another rage quit that were were 4 maning it and made a bad pull. On the second boss I kited the adds on a Fury SW while a CW and a TR killed the boss. Took a couple tries for me to get used to what I'd have to do to do it on a SW but the fact that it can be done says a lot.

cayapp

SW can be built in many ways from a true glass cannon...to a monstrous tanky beast and every thing in between. During preview I saw SW with 10K power but would shatter if hit by a feather,however they could out out massive damage as long as they lived...and I saw SW with 45KHPs who could go toe to toe with most things...I chose the middle ground.

manbaby

My SW is only in the 20s, but I dont find it to be tht squishy at all especially for a magic dd, I have noticed u have to stay constantly moving more so than some other magic classes but its definitely a fun class so far! Paired with a defender companion makes it even better for pve.

rabbinicus

My Temptation warlock is not at all squishy as long as he can keep hitting things.
Pump lifesteal and you're golden.

charononus

rabbinicus wrote: »

My Temptation warlock is not at all squishy as long as he can keep hitting things.
Pump lifesteal and you're golden.

Even Fury is that way. Get a good amount of lifesteal and you're golden. Dreadtheft on a pack of mobs might as well be a heal at this point for me.

cayapp

charononus wrote: »

Even Fury is that way. Get a good amount of lifesteal and you're golden. Dreadtheft on a pack of mobs might as well be a heal at this point for me.

Oh lets just say it...Curse x 3 with damage, blades, weapon enchant, and bam dreadtheft all at once...you do the math.

shpoks

Granted I'm not at full level yet, but so far I haven't really felt squishy with my SW at all. Play it smart and it can endure a lot.

dadanddragons

I solo'd Cloak Tower at 16 with my SW, didn't die once and used about 10 pots. And that's before I knew Life Steal was so important!

sirrodney

I had a couple of issues at L27 when I started fighting the large packs of cultists in Neverdeath, but after swapping in Fire Bolt that largely went away. Lifesteal has been the key so far, since straight-up tanking isn't practical on a character that cannot yet (and may never be able to) effectively stack Defense.

Lack of CC has occasionally been an issue, since fast-moving mobs can readily bypass my Man-at-Arms, however a couple of 'slides' usually gets them to switch targets.

rynnalee

I started the other day and made lvl 10 today and was wandering why I didnt get a companion I understand that other classes get a companion at 10??

charononus

rynnalee wrote: »

I started the other day and made lvl 10 today and was wandering why I didnt get a companion I understand that other classes get a companion at 10??

No it's 15, 16? that you get the quest to get a base companion. Those that have one earlier either bought it from the Zen Store or AH, got a promotional account wide companion, or have an account wide companion from a pack.

intoxicatedknigh

you're squishiness depends on your lifesteal, you can be a tanky as hell warlock with a temptation build, any health you lose instant regenerated , warlocks are Lifesteal monsters , in my opinion you are no squishier than a cw with more LS. in fact if you build it right my warlock on preview had 2500def and 1400 deflect , and 2700 lifesteal so you can be tanky

bubette

As a level 60 Damnation Wizard who likes to PVP, I do not find myself to be too squishy and can even go toe to toe melee wise in certain circumstances. That being said, for this to happen, one must be well geared, and play smartly like constantly moving and shooting, using the uppers tiers if applicable and supporting your team mates, especially the melee when they are fighting someone. Keeping your curses up as well is also key. Plus it doesn't hurt to have large amounts of regen, lifesteal, arm pen, recovery, power and crit.

neverknight5

A squish fest if you get stun locked. Pvp armors need more defence.

intoxicatedknigh

neverknight5 wrote: »

A squish fest if you get stun locked. Pvp armors need more defence.

well if you go in by yourself expect to get killed go with the team and get a harrowstorm on the opponent first and prone them your fine ,,, I have found that we are glass cannons in PVP, we lack a defense but can kill someone in 3 hits with the right rotation.

with that said consider approaching pvp as a glass cannon, and you might look at it differently.

lihin23nihil

intoxicatedknigh wrote: »

with that said consider approaching pvp as a glass cannon, and you might look at it differently.

and as a Fury spec that may be the best option. Temptation can have much higher survivability at the cost of reduced offense.

neverknight5

I see where your coming from into, but not everyone likes playing glass cannons. I cannot 3 shot rotation people but I can get them below 1/4 hp. But yeah some defence would be nice, we have no stealth and not the cc of the wizard. Some defence would be nice to compensate our lack of control.

vasdamas

40% DR here, never felt too squishy - . -

celticgamer0

Level 55 Fury SW and so far the only "squishies" have been in the event with the glitches. Got a vorpal on my dragonbone pactblade so might be helping a bit.

luthandrose

Most of the people posting a reply to your question are speaking from a PvE perspective. In PvE I have no issues and think the class is just fine with HP and durability.

So, now lets talk about PvP and the weakness of the SW. Lifesteal has always had a history in this game of people testing it to see if it's really viable for some kind of OP build in PvP. The issue they always find is CC. Once CC comes into play, it's game over the SW because for life steal to work, you have to DPS. Now, couple that with how squishy we are compared to our other leather wearing brethren; HR & TR. They both have great mechanics to avoid all that CC. What does the SW have? The shift ability with a stamina bar on it....

Now, you're going to hear people say "if you build your character right, you'll have almost unlimited stamina". They are right on that point. However, the DR while using it is only an added 30%. I've been iceknifed while using this shift ability and died. Now, that would make you question the gear and build on my toon. I'm a Temptation spec SW running with 23% PvP stats using 2 piece BI (purified) and 2 piece profound. I have a legendary constitution belt, and artifacts. My over all gear score is 18k+. I do stack a little heavy on power but when I check other well geared SW's, I notice my stats are very similar.

Now, my two cents on SW for PvP...why take a class that nobody fears because everyone (and I mean everyone) on the other team know they can kill it? The exception to this is that poor DC that desperately needs some developer love...they die. Everyone else, we are an easy kill if they can catch us, which will happen since they can CC us to death.

The issues we suffer from:

• Long cast times on encounters that would allow us to be more effective in PvP
• DoTs don't work without line of sight on the target. I tested this one several times for encounters and dailies. At wills seem to do ok (Hellish Rebuke)
• SW animations cause some casting issues. I've noticed on some abilities, the animation finishes and if you don't wait a second after the cast before you more, it cancels the cast.
• Lack of a CC breaker or buff to deflect massive incoming damage if noticed in time. Think of the other leather wearing classes when you consider this one.

Lets face it, nobody wants to purposefully group with an SW for PvP right now, especially for a premade of any sort. I've heard people that play very competitively in PvP complain about the SW being in the group...even if well geared.

I know people will not share my opinion and contradict what I'm saying here and that's fine. But if you do that, be sure to explain if you PvE or PvP on your SW. Also, list your gear score so people have a frame of reference for your toon.