Ugh, not doing nearly as much dps as affliction

[fordfiesta 1]

I can pull consistent 80-90k on most fights as demo, but have pretty decent gear (490 ilvl) and thought affliction would yield results that were higher, maybe even 5-10k higher, but instead I am seeing significantly lower numbers, like 15k lower.

I'm sure I'm doing the rotation correctly, keeping at least agony and corruption on everything (I ignore UA on high target fights, picking 3 targets to keep it on, but not applying it all to anything else), but I'm primarily concerned about low target raid boss fights anyway.

I'm CoE, popping demon soul, using trinket, getting the dots on with SB:SS macro, Haunt, then MG spam / dot refreshing / applying Haunt whenever a shard procs, and then replacing MG with Drain Soul at 20% and then using the macro to reapply all 3 dots from then on out while keeping 100% uptime on Haunt.

I'm thinking that the lower dps and the elevated dps a lot of affliction warlocks are seeing might have a whole lot to do with the trinket from Elegon. I don't have one, not even an LFR version. I've used the bonus roll every time, but no luck yet.

What I'm really wondering is are there any affliction warlocks out there who DO NOT have the Elegon trinket that are pulling higher than 65-75k dps on single target normal (without crazy dmg buffs like on Elegon) raid boss fights (Garajal, Feng, Spirit Kings, Zorlok, Blade Lord)?

It seems to me like 65-75k is the best I'm going to get without the trinket and I should go back to demo until I do get one.

[fordfiesta 1]

oh and I should add that I have exactly 4717 haste, and am almost hit capped at 14.99% (pretty happy with my reforge)

[Gravyspasm 70]

this you? http://us.battle.net...rdfiesta/simple

only logs i could find with you in them: http://www.worldoflo...sum/damageDone/

edit: also, nice choice on robe transmog.

Edited November 26, 2012 by Gravyspasm

[fordfiesta 1]

yes :) thanks!

I haven't done logs yet, but will start doing it soon. That log is from my 1st time trying aff out, I'm sure I was completely terrible at it and isn't a good reflection of what aff can do with my gear, without the trinket!

But in the lfr's and sha kills I've done since then I'm still between 65-75k, which is 10k lower than what I do as demo, so do really think that I need to pray to the WoW rng gods and score an Elegon trinket asap! :)

[Busker 0]

Casual Gamer here. Not pro by any means, and my opinion of my Aff-Lock can a little controversial sometimes but I'll tell ya what i do.

When you say 'dot refreshing' do you use Fel Flame at all? Personally I use it every time I cast Hunt just to keep my corruption/UA timers high. ( I just love the fact it's another instant cast refresh for UA) Also, keep in mind Grim'O Sacrifice ups Fel Flame by 50% damage too. I take advantage of it.

I also agree with Mr.Robot when it says Hit is an overrated stat. At least for Affliction. Think about it. Priority is keeping your 3 dots up 100%. You want to start just thinking about refreshing your dots when they get below 50% on the timer. Missing a refresh on a dot doesn't mean that much because the dot is still around for 8 to 10 more seconds to try again later. you should never be refreshing dots one by one.(Agony can be an exception sometimes) always with SB:SS and FF.

SB:SS and FF are each single spells, but they apply each dot as its own spell. People Bitch about wasting a GCD with a miss but ill give you an example: SB:SS deals damage, applies agony, corruption, and UA but each as their own spell . That's 4 spells one one cast. One mite miss, but the other 3 diddn't. A GCD is never wasted. Same with FF.

try turning some hit into Mastery.

But what about Hunt and MG miss chance you say? Well... they are secondary when it comes to keeping up the 3 dots.

[Zagam 1,982]

Never refresh with Fel Flame. I think I've spoken my point on this multiple times, but I can't stress it enough. With the change to Kil'Jaeden's Cunning, just remove Fel Flame from your Warlock vocabulary. It is crap and will ruin your DPS.

Priority for Affliction isn't just maintaining your DoTs' uptime...it's making sure they are maintained in their spell power upon application as well. You can't just have your 3 DoTs up and expect mega DPS. You have to reapply DoTs when procs happen, reapply them before the procs wear off, and not refresh them until they're about to drop off or a new proc happens. The add-on Affdots helps a great deal in the pursuit of knowing how much spell power you had when you applied your DoTs.

You actually SHOULD be refreshing DoTs one by one because they all have different times. Soul Shards are more important for Haunt uptime. The only time it is acceptable to SB:SS DoTs onto a target is right after Dark Soul if all 3 DoTs are missing or if all 3 DoTs can benefit from the increased Haste (very likely) and all can benefit from Pandemic. Just because Unstable Affliction has 2 seconds left doesn't mean Agony needs refreshed. This is a very common misconception and will result in subpar performance in Affliction.

TL;DR: Affliction isn't just about putting DoTs up mindlessly. If you're trying to be mediocre, then sure, that works. If you're wondering why your DPS is lackluster, take a look at my post in the 5.1 Affliction Tips and Quirks page. I go into heavy detail on Pandemic, why Fel Flame sucks, why hit rating makes your life easier, and how to manage your empowered DoTs.

[fordfiesta 1]

first of all, really appreciate your guide and tips, thanks a bunch!

I'm doing all of that, I don't use fel flame ever, paying attention to reapply dots when yu'lon procs or from dark soul and try to keep those particular dots on for a long time. but you definitely have the trinket from Elegon, well that and you obviously have been playing affliction for a long time and know how to play it REALLY well. I have the vp Shado-Pan Snow Blossom trinket as a really poor substitute.

I feel like I'm playing affliction well, following your guide, but really just can't break 75k, while I can easily hit 100k or even a lot higher for multi-target fights like empress and closer to 200k for high target fights like Wind Lord in demo, and rarely do under 80k (I'm a kiter on Garalon so do pretty terrible there, but I also play aff on Garalon).

I'm mostly just wondering if there are affliction locks out there who are doing better than 75k dps (more like 68-73) that don't have the elegon trinket, it seems like the proc happening so frequently is a huge part of affliction dps.

[Zagam 1,982]

Light of the Cosmos is worth approximately 9k DPS over wearing nothing in that slot. Having at least something means you should only be 4-5k DPS behind. The 9k DPS gain is modeled by executing DoT management perfectly, and no one is going to be doing that flawlessly. It's a nice trinket, but it's not breaking everything open. Take my profile for example...I'm a weapon away from ranking on every single fight I do. My holdback? A 463 weapon. It has a measly 5.1k spell power, which is any caster's 2nd best stat after Intellect. I just earned enough Justice Points last night to upgrade it to a 471 and I gained 400 spell power and 40 intellect which is equivalent to about 400*3.5 + 40*4.3 = 1400 + 180 = about 1600 DPS. The 3.5 is the stat weight for spell power and 4.3 is the stat weight for intellect. Upgrading to a Sha-Touched weapon (since I have the +500 intellect gem already) would be an asinine upgrade. The LFR version has 7k spell power and a much higher intellect rating. Adding the gem...

7000 - 5100 = 1900 * 3.5 = 6650 DPS

Gain of about 200 Int via weapon upgrade = 900 DPS

+500 Int Sha-Touched Gem = 2300 DPS

Upgrading to the Sha-Touched weapon would literally boost me up 10k DPS from my current weapon. You can see how significant those weapons are and how much more of an impact weapons have over trinkets.

[Busker 0]

I just really like using Fel Flame. :'( but maybe it is just a blizzard tick i cant see through yet.....