5.4 Changes and Notes as of 7/10

[Annoroth 5]

Victory.

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/9309301938?page=1

KJC will let us channel our fillers while moving, with no cast speed penalty.

[Zagam 1,982]

HOLY SHIT WIN! This is EXACTLY what I was hoping for!!!

[Zagam 1,982]

Told everyone the Demo set bonus wouldn't go live. All of our set bonuses got gutted, so it'll be up to some testing to see if we again ignore set bonuses for better item level stuff.

[Cruzan 71]

Holy balls. I like it! 100% movespeed while using fillers? tyvm. AV changes incoming as well. Should be interesting to see what they come up with.

Lore is settling in to his job as CM nicely. Maybe having a warlock main as a CM will work out in our favor after all!

Cool beans.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Cruzan

[JvChequer 43]

And about Haunt change? It will continue?

Hope yes.

Only lost to Affliction is casting UA stand still, the glyph will help a bit on it. And Destruction still need cast Caos Bolt and Immolate. .

Well, I hope they buff AV to something viable.

[keefbeef 1]

So the newest version of KJC is wonderful. I really hope they now decide to simply leave Mannoroth's Fury alone. I'd be happy with just keeping it the way it currently is on live (passive 500% Area increase, no damage modifier) instead of the 10s/60s cooldown version.

My concern is now for Fel Flame. Taking away the DoT extension really hurts Demo since it affect both Fel Flame and Void Ray. If Fel Flame no longer extends DoTs and doesn't generate any Demonic Fury then it is no longer a decent option on fights requiring movement. Since we expect lots of movement in encounter design, doesn't this make it that much harder to choose MF (or *GASP* AV)?

Doesn't the Fel Flame change effectively force all warlocks to choose KJC again? I, personally, would otherwise have embraced MF (even in it's CD form) and used Fel Flame during movement by default. I feel that them killing Fel Flame and thereby nerfing Demo was unintentional, though. So I propose this:

Why not just make the DoT extension removal a minor glyph? We already have a minor glyph to remove the knock back from Carrion Swarm. How about:

Glyph of Fel Flame

Fel Flame no longer increases the duration of Corruption/Unstable Affliction/Immolate.

Then the Aff locks could have this minor glyph to make Fel Flame usable during movement for them and Demo and Destro can continue to use the current version. Maybe most locks won't care and just run with KJC 100% of the time, but some of us want to be able to choose MF as well (at least sometimes).

[Zagam 1,982]

I will be 100% recommending people forget they even have Fel Flame if Destruction can cast Incinerate on the move, Demonology can cast Shadowbolt/Touch of Chaos on the move, and Affliction can cast Malefic Grasp on the move. Fel Flame doesn't generate Burning Embers, Demonic Fury, or make your DoTs tick additional times, so Fel Flame will be a worthless spell to even consider.

[vaeevictiss 17]

i am very happy with this!

Today is a good day for warlocks again :P

hopefully we can still cast haunt on the run making UA the only thing we have to stop for.

[Annoroth 5]

i am very happy with this!

Today is a good day for warlocks again

hopefully we can still cast haunt on the run making UA the only thing we have to stop for.

I believe the Haunt changes are being reverted, which is fine, as they didn't make much sense anyway. As long as we can stutterstep for a Haunt, it's just MG channeling from there. I don't forsee major problems for Affliction.

[Omaric 246]

I think the Haunt change will remain intact.

I'm also excited to see what their plans are for Archimonde's Vengeance.

[vaeevictiss 17]

i actually just thought of something else...drain soul...

That technically is our filler under 20% and most likely at that point of a fight there is more movement than ever...that kinda will screw us

[Watermasta 7]

Victory.

http://us.battle.net...09301938?page=1

KJC will let us channel our fillers while moving, with no cast speed penalty.

Can someone copy and paste this info here for those of us who are websensed.

[Kaboozey 16]

Can someone copy and paste this info here for those of us who are websensed.

Here ya go:

There's been a lot of discussion on the topic of Kil'Jaeden's Cunning in 5.4 (most notably in this thread: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/9282218881 ) but we've got some new info, and since that thread is growing rather large I think it's best to start up a new one.

We've been following all of your feedback very closely, and we're going to try a different approach to Kil'Jaeden's Cunning in 5.4.

In a future PTR build, Kil'Jaeden's Cunning will once again be a passive effect. Selecting it will allow the Warlock to cast Malefic Grasp, Shadow Bolt, and Incinerate while moving. There is no penalty, so you'll be able to move at full speed.

We still feel that the 5.3 version of Kil'Jaeden's Cunning isn't working out, but we don't want to "nerf fun" either. It's clear that many Warlocks simply enjoy the feel of being able to cast on the move, and we'd like to be able to preserve as much of that feeling as possible.

With this change, we can make the "penalty" of taking KJC that you don't have Mannoroth's Fury or Archimonde's Vengeance, which should result in more damage output in cases where movement is less critical (and we're working on some changes to Archimonde's Vengeance that should help with that). We're also still planning on buffing Fel Flame in a way that helps lower the impact to mobility caused by choosing one of those talents over Kil'Jaeden's Cunning, without nerfing it for PvP purposes.

Remember, we're still extremely early in the PTR process. There will be many more changes to the game before the patch goes live.

[Zagam 1,982]

Now, you guys are getting greedy again.

We've been offered, as quite literally a compromise, one filler ability to cast while moving. Oh, and they gave it to us without a movement debuff! So now you can be like an Elemental Shaman...they can cast Lightning Bolt while moving with no movement penalty but must plant their feet to launch casted Lava Bursts.

Warlocks SHOULD have to plant for Haunt, Drain Soul, Soulfire, and Chaos Bolt as well as very quick Unstable Affliction and Immolate casts. This is MORE than generous and consider things like Haunt and how fast the cast time is. Haunt is almost always under 1.5 seconds. Soulfire, when executed under proper circumstances, is usually a quick cast. Destruction's signature move, Chaos Bolt, requires slight pre-planning on when you're going to launch it. There is nothing wrong asking people to use some pre-planning in a raid or PvP setting.

Drain Soul is your filler sub 20%, but remember you don't need to channel the entire duration for it's full effect. It has a tick interval, and just like you did in the old days, you'll need to monitor every 2 ticks when you generate a Soul Shard as your typical break point of when to quit casting it and move.

We got more of a buff than you think, and requiring some minor thought and care as to where you'll be standing is a GOOD thing.

[Twinkielock 15]

I will be 100% recommending people forget they even have Fel Flame if Destruction can cast Incinerate on the move, Demonology can cast Shadowbolt/Touch of Chaos on the move, and Affliction can cast Malefic Grasp on the move. Fel Flame doesn't generate Burning Embers, Demonic Fury, or make your DoTs tick additional times, so Fel Flame will be a worthless spell to even consider.

Wouldn't it be worth it in case you get spell locked? My logic is crap dps > 0 dps.

[Kaboozey 16]

I think the Haunt change will remain intact.

I'm also excited to see what their plans are for Archimonde's Vengeance.

This is honestly what I'm REALLY interested to see a change to... or better yet, a complete redesign. AV as it is... is not interesting, is not fun, and is not remotely on par with the other two talents. The reason given by Blizzard for the KJC change to begin with is that everyone was taking it (similar to GoSac before the nerf). This latest iteration of KJC will continue the trend as it being used as the default go-to talent - nothing will change in the eyes of Blizzard unless AV is changed to a talent that is actually used. Something that truly shines enough for a player not to care they they have to stand still to cast those spells effected by KJC.

[Zagam 1,982]

Wouldn't it be worth it in case you get spell locked? My logic is crap dps > 0 dps.

Getting spell locked should only be an issue in PvP. If you're getting spell locked in PvE situations, it's an issue with learning to stop casting when an interrupting effect is incoming.

[Watermasta 7]

This is honestly what I'm REALLY interested to see a change to... or better yet, a complete redesign. AV as it is... is not interesting, is not fun, and is not remotely on par with the other two talents. The reason given by Blizzard for the KJC change to begin with is that everyone was taking it (similar to GoSac before the nerf). This latest iteration of KJC will continue the trend as it being used as the default go-to talent - nothing will change in the eyes of Blizzard unless AV is changed to a talent that is actually used. Something that truly shines enough for a player not to care they they have to stand still to cast those spells effected by KJC.

Archimonde's Vengeance You summon and enslave a member of Archimonde's demon army to aid you. This summoned demon reflects 25% of the damage directed towards you while empowering your spells for an increase in 20% damage. This demon is under your control for 30 seconds. 5-min Cooldown.

What do you guys think?

[Kaboozey 16]

Archimonde's Vengeance You summon and enslave a member of Archimonde's demon army to aid you. This summoned demon reflects 25% of the damage directed towards you while empowering your spells for an increase in 20% damage. This demon is under your control for 30 seconds. 5-min Cooldown.

What do you guys think?

I think 8+ Imps, Felguard, Service Felguard, Doomguard, plus your new suggestion would force me to rename my character to DTwoNecro.

[Watermasta 7]

I think 8+ Imps, Felguard, Service Felguard, Doomguard, plus your new suggestion would force me to rename my character to DTwoNecro.

I personally like controlling demons. To me it makes the class feel unique and what separates us from Mages. Plus, all of those minus one are Cooldowns.

[Zagam 1,982]

Too much micromanagement.

[Omaric 246]

Told everyone the Demo set bonus wouldn't go live. All of our set bonuses got gutted, so it'll be up to some testing to see if we again ignore set bonuses for better item level stuff.

Even with the gutting, it seems like the change to void ray will still make tab ToC casting a better bet than using void ray in an AoE situation. The only scenario I can see where that wouldn't be the case would be adds that die very fast that don't give you enough time to dig for HoG procs.

"HoG proc" still sounds tasty.

[Zagam 1,982]

HoG proc a.k.a. BACON. Btw, when I update the guide, HoG procs will be known as bacon procs because I love bacon.

[Felbrew28 1]

Thats...better....still I can't help but wonder if crit is shit why they keep dumping crit on the destro bonuses.

[Omaric 246]

The community decided that crit was shit, not Blizz. They are probably trying to bring new life to it for Destruction, but the proc that you get from a conflag crit isn't *that* good.