Affliction lock - feeling like I should be doing better

[Shulax 1]

Hi folks,

It's my first time posting here, so thanks in advanced for the help... I leveled as Destro but switched to Affliction when I started raiding because it seemed like the best option. I've come to like it a lot, so I decided to continue with it. I'm a bit frustrated, though, when I look at my performance (specially if I compare it with my guilds SimCraft results and I look at my ranked level in World of Logs). I feel that I should be doing a better job as a DPS, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what I am doing wrong - mind you, I'm a newbie, so it can be something obvious

Would really appreciate if somebody could take a quick look and tell me if there is anything I should change or that I am doing wrong? I've tried to look into World of Logs myself to see if I could extract some learning, but I get lost in all that info...

A few data points to help:

- http://www.worldoflo...ko5wdctfn0223j/ This is a log of one of our last raids in ToT. I was sitting out on Jin'Rokh, but you can see my details in all the other fights (I'm Shulax)

- http://us.battle.net...d/Shulax/simple This is my profile in the armory... Note that I have a gem socket unused, but that's because I just got that head piece and I'm saving it for the legendary gem, which I should get today or tomorrow...

- Addons I use: Spellflash to maximize DPS, WeakAuras to keep track if something is expiring, TidyPlates to track multi-target DoTs (although I haven't been able to configure it in a way that makes my job easy), fortExorcist also to track multi-target DoTs (although, again, it seems to be too much for me)

It feels like I'm asking for a full-scale audit and counseling session, and I don't want to go too far, so any quick tips should be enough to get me going

Thanks,

Shulax

Edited May 17, 2013 by Shulax

[zeffrell 0]

I would start by getting that meta socket filled. After that I would look into getting rid of some of your mastery and applying it into hast and go from there Also look into affdots if you are already not using it. I know this is just short but hope it make seance and helps a little

[Shulax 1]

Thanks! It definitely does. I should have clarified - I'll edit the post: the reason why the meta socket is not used is that I'm one Secret of the Empire away from getting the legendary gem. I just got that head piece yesterday, so I decided to hold off on socketing until then.

I'll install affdots, see if it helps

Thanks!

Edited May 17, 2013 by Shulax

[Omaric 246]

It will help. It put hair on my chest and chicks on my...... boat.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Edited May 17, 2013 by Omaric

[Cruzan 71]

From a general overview of your log you'll need to work on your DoT up-times. Strive for as close to 100% as possible. As mentioned above, try the addon Affdots. It is an incredible tool and is highly (very highly) recommended.

Fight specifics...

Horridon: Low DoT uptimes. Keep DoTs rolling on Horridon 100%. You should have plenty of shards throughout the fight as you Drain Soul off of dying adds. Use SB:SS liberally to maintain high DoT uptime on a fair amount of targets. Don't worry about doing damage to the little adds, just focus on the large, high priority adds. Any time you have a fair amount of procs align you need to make sure you are refreshing and extending your DoTs' duration on Horridon. Make sure not to overwrite these until their durations are close to expiring. Haunt will have to be used at your discretion, but you should be overflowing with shards so toss it out on to targets that you plan to be channeling MG/DS on for any significant amount of time.

Council: Multi-target fight and you seem to only be focusing one target at a time. Unless your raid is having difficulty burning down the empowered bosses in time then your job should be to have DoTs rolling on 3+ targets the majority of the fight. Multi-dotting can be tough, but practicing on the 4 target dummies is a pretty good simulation. You'll be able to refill on shards off of the Loa adds that spawn. You got away with using an observer since you werent switching targets, but you might want to switch to an imp in the future.

Tortos: Similar to Horridon, but your strategy depends on what your role for the fight is. No matter what your role is though you should strive to have 100% DoT uptime on Tortos. You'll also want to make sure you always have a Haunt ready for when Tortos gets hit with a shell for the extra damage. If you are on turtle duty then SB:SS a couple turtles, Haunt on to your focus target and burn him down. Refill on shards off of bats that are dying then get back on Tortos. If you are on bat duty then enjoy doing a full AoE rotation any time the bats come out. Consider using an Imp for this fight as your observer was about a 5k DPS loss with all his running around.

That should be enough to get you started. Aside from DoT up-times, you'll notice a large increase in DPS by using Affdots to track your DoTs' power. The combo of Pandemic and Empowered DoT's plus proper timing of Haunt will get you the numbers you're looking for.

Good luck!

Edited May 17, 2013 by Cruzan

[Shulax 1]

Wow - Thanks for this, great detail! I'll definitely put all of this in practice.

I'll also try to experiment a bit with the target dummies (hadn't thought about that, d'oh!)... One of the biggest problems I have when I try to practice multi-dot in a fight is that I get lost and I feel I'm making a disservice to the guild. So some "cold" practice will definitely help.

Thanks so much for this!

[obleak 10]

There is no question "if aff dots will help" if you optimize its benefits you will see a great increase. I would take Spell Flash off as it is more of a "training wheels for Warlocks" add-on. Watch weak auras as it feel that with aff dots make affliction much much easier. Attempt to reapply dots when aff dots show it's green as this means re-casting at that time will be a benefit rather then casting when its red because that means your dots you cast will not be as powerful.

[Shulax 1]

Hi again,

I just wanted to post a quick note to thank people - indeed just the switch to Affdots work really well, I've seen some significant improvement in my stats since then!

A follow up question, though (I might post it in a different thread to avoid derailing this...). In a fight like Tortos, where a lot of moving around is needed to avoid rockfall and turtles, it was REALLY hard to keep track of my dots while moving, and many of my dots (specially Agony) expired on Tortos before I had time to recast. Anyone has some good suggestions about which UI to use or which addons would help me? I'm currently using fortexorcist (works pretty well, but it forces to me continuously look back and forth between my toon and the UI, having to refocus attention and missing stuff on both sides all the time) and TidyPlates integrated with Affdots, which is not specially helpful in a fight like Tortos...

Perhaps there is a way to configure fortexorcist to clearly indicate me when the dots are about to expire in any target other than the current?

Thanks,

Shulax

[Cruzan 71]

I've got zero experience with fortexorcist, but there might be a way to set up something with it. I use Weakauras for custom icons/timers like what you're looking for. Weakauras is extremely powerful. That, in combo with ElvUI has done everything I need.

[Shulax 1]

Interesting, thanks! Any way you can share a screenshot or similar so I can see how it looks?

Also, would it be possible to get the export string for weakauras? That way I can configure mine to match that and try that out...

Thanks!

[obleak 10]

I don't really use any special UI - I use some addons that let me play with the ingame UI and customize it a bit. I find i like this more. Weak Aura's should help with tortos. Make sure you have the abilities to see enemies health bars on and you can see the dots ticking as the move around. This will definetly help monitor it somewhat.

:)

I'm sure there is some better addon's in monitoring it though that i should probably look into using myself.

Good day sir!

[Cruzan 71]

Its tough to say if you'd like the one I have since I use ElvUI's Focus/Boss frames to track my DoTs on multiple targets. This string just brings up three icons for when your Focus's DoTs have less than 4 seconds remaining.

I've got Agony glowing with a sound warning for when it pops up. You can adjust it however you want

Click the spoiler below for my string.

daK)gaqjHuDljr7IiPHruoMQQLjP8mKIPjfxtsyBi03qQghsPZPQyDQsuZtOk3tvchuk1cfkpKi1evLixuizJQk9rHumsHk9sHkMPq0njIStk8temuIelvs6PktLkxvvQ2Qqk9vIOMlrG9c)vs1Gjc5WsSyvP8ykAYOYLfTze9zKmAIQtJYRfcZwQUnb7wWVP0Wj0YPQNRY0jDDu12jc67sjJxvsNxvSEHQA)eHA8dhwboOyh2VuBKkDP(btaJdJdoSxjqsEPcJA0BWEiqsEPcJkBOf7YoPuSSGIfJGZrqsrg1xhMpPy2G7rmXO8wErSaVGZZOOs)bJFmgh2xRj)jXs0lzDhw3w4GdZB7jCyc8DLbhuOqXYxflbUKdXGIzchm(HdJ0g0XIFcJAnyCStSxEMwmJ4WIUi2PfZioPyzbft6OmCrvf7Haj5Lk(wXhA)PPrMmAOHw6v8HiTGSYMkW8jfZgCpIjgZ0gWkbMqrz2aCyNw8kCy6JyIj6ZlvmrFEPIDDgx6zuYvOqXc8copJIk9hm(XELaj5Lk(sNEJSkOLoXAFOPHiT)ebzLneXyCyTPWAX4u5WGOmm1ZOOspCy(uaJiMTvGqO)Gyy8bMIrAn5pmt(tTc1LZ4smLjKCy8xwnfqmmFkqqm9f16XI3lWcfH8Gdg)yTPSHhOyC5B8KKUhXelUTRkPVVhjum5jJsUcdIYWkMkZgo4WoT4v4W4S1P62wiggv32QoPViKysolr0M3xUxUnfgv32QEXuz2a2j32c7S8boSz5dCsWeZE)KGXeSHOPiK1Jw2Xx61JMIqoT4vP2QiHyC26NLpWHyqHI1Tfo4W4VSUzVChIH5T9eomb(UYGdkuStmnHd7ybQEcJFOyM9YDWHDSavpXKC7Qrsq64afkuyudomsBqhl(jmQ1GXXoXE5zAXmIdl6IyDBHdom(lRB2l3HyyEBpHdtGVRm4Gcf7ett4WowGQNW4hkMzVChCyhlq1tmj3UAKeKooqHI9qGK8sfg)YOfRfJtLddIYWkbMqrz2aCyNw8kCy6JyIj6ZlvmrFEPIDDgx6zuYvOqXyCysB9EErf7vcKKxQ4lD6nYQGw6eR9HMgI0(teKv2qet9mkQ0dhMTvGqO)Gyy8bMIrAn5pmU8nEss3JyIf32vL033JelueYdoy8JjT175fvMnafZNceetFrTES49cmFkG1GXFz1uaXWm5p1kuxoJlXuMqYbflWl48mkQ0FW4htEYOKRWGOmmFsXSb3JyIXmTbStlMrCsXYckM0rz4IQkuyqdCyK2Gow8tyuRbJJDI9YZ0Izehw0fXoTygXjfllOyshLHlQQypeijVuXxIn0P5tnz)e)qdD60)udKv2qht9mkQ0dhMpfWAWSTcec9hedJpWumsRj)HXFz1uaXW8PabX0xuRhlEValueYdoy8J9E40YB9uILO2KKDMPYSbOyC5B8KKUhXelUTRkPVVhjMj)PwH6YzCjMYesoOybEbNNrrL(dg)yLatOOmBaoStlEfom9rmXe95LkMOpVuXUoJl9mk5kuOymoS3dNwERNyVsGK8sfFPtVrwf0)iJMpn)1QvRbKv2qeRfJtLddIYWKNmk5kmikdZNumBW9iMymtBaRBlCWHXFzDZE5oedZB7jCyc8DLbhuOyNyAch2Xcu9eg)qXm7L7Gd7ybQEIj52vJKG0XbkuOqXKqy83itguaa

Edited May 20, 2013 by Cruzan