Destruction Warlock 8.3

[Valks 2,375]

This thread is for comments about our Destruction Warlock guide.

[Guest helper]

havoc copy dmg reduced again to 60% down from 75% as stated here

[Furty 51]

4 hours ago, Guest helper said:

havoc copy dmg reduced again to 60% down from 75% as stated here

I fixed the reference in the intro section, and it was already up to date everywhere else. Thanks for the catch!

[Guest dragnipurake]

movement management section of Rotation/Cooldowns/Abilities refers to demonology warlocks rather than destruction

[Furty 51]

29 minutes ago, Guest dragnipurake said:

movement management section of Rotation/Cooldowns/Abilities refers to demonology warlocks rather than destruction

I've fixed that, thanks for pointing it out!

[Drakolich 0]

Could you please guys add the Strengths and Weakness from each Warlock's specs on the DPS main pages?

[Valks 2,375]

4 hours ago, Drakolich said:

Could you please guys add the Strengths and Weakness from each Warlock's specs on the DPS main pages?

We'll get them added, no worries. ?

[Furty 51]

6 hours ago, Drakolich said:

Could you please guys add the Strengths and Weakness from each Warlock's specs on the DPS main pages?

I'll add them back to the guides soon. I removed them with the pre-patch as it wasn't entirely clear how some of the changes would play at level 100.

[Guest Arcticblight]

Hey, there's a typo in the Shadowburn talent, it says it generates 30 soul shard fragments, not 3.  I was a little confused why generating 30 fragments wouldn't be strictly better than anything else.  It wasn't until i experimented that i noticed it was supposed to be 3.

[Valks 2,375]

On 7/22/2018 at 2:57 PM, Guest Arcticblight said:

Hey, there's a typo in the Shadowburn talent, it says it generates 30 soul shard fragments, not 3.  I was a little confused why generating 30 fragments wouldn't be strictly better than anything else.  It wasn't until i experimented that i noticed it was supposed to be 3.

Will get it fixed, thanks!

[GrizzlyGriggs 3]

Any idea when the legendary recommendations  will be out for Destruction spec?

[Valks 2,375]

10 hours ago, GrizzlyGriggs said:

Any idea when the legendary recommendations  will be out for Destruction spec?

This is almost finished and should be live on the site tomorrow. Sorry for the delay!

[Guest Mike]

so uhh what pet do we use? can't see it anywhere

[Furty 51]

On 7/29/2018 at 1:55 PM, Guest Mike said:

so uhh what pet do we use? can't see it anywhere

It doesn't really matter, but the Imp is most players' default choice due to the Blood Pact buff and Singe Magic utility.

[Guest Diablo]

I'm confused about the Tiers. What does each of them mean? And which is "best" all around BiS Legendary items?

[adamaj 0]

I too am confused by the rankings for legendaries. What does the "s" in s-tier stand for? 

[Furty 51]

On 8/4/2018 at 3:54 PM, Guest Diablo said:

I'm confused about the Tiers. What does each of them mean? And which is "best" all around BiS Legendary items?

 

2 hours ago, adamaj said:

I too am confused by the rankings for legendaries. What does the "s" in s-tier stand for? 

Apologies for the confusion; it's called a "Tier List", which is a system that power ranks things. They are extremely common in video games and I've opted for the most common and generally accepted, which goes:

1. S
2. A
3. B
4. C
5. D
6. F

Since many things have variable value based on context, I think it is more appropriate to assign them a relative power ranking rather than a numerical list. Inexperienced players often fail to interpret numbered lists correctly, mistakenly believing it to be an absolute truth. The Tier list allows me to assign a more accurate value, which is especially useful in the pre-patch, where players will want to spend essence to acquire the most valuable items using their essence. Organizing items using a tier list also allows me to rank items based on their true value to the player, rather than having to create multiple lists for "single target items" and "cleave items" and "aoe items". With the Tier list, you know which legendaries you need to acquire right away.

[Kaedys 5]

Would be nice if there was a section detailing the effects of some of the talent choices other than the recommended setup.  Like, for example, if Shadowburn is worth using in a single-target rotation if the target isn't about to die and won't for a while (does about the same damage as Incinerate, and generates as many fragments as a critical Incinerate, so I feel like that's probably the case).  There's also not a section describing optimal use of CB if you have Eradication (iirc you want to space them for maximum uptime, unless you have a surplus of shards), usage of Soul Fire, or pooling behavior before Summon Infernal if you have Grimoire of Supremacy (worth it or not?).  I feel like it might also be worth noting either in the multi-target section or the spell summary that Rain of Fire can stack in an area and completely replaces CB once you have enough targets, since the multi-target section seems to suggest that's not the case and that CB is still used even against very large numbers of targets.

[Guest Luria]

Under "Builds and Talents" do the writer recommend "Cataclysm" as the only viable single target choice, but in the opening sequence the writer dont consider cataclysm as an ability to cast.

He said on twitter it should be pre-casted instead of immolate on single target vacuum fights, but the writer dont update the opening sequence. It shoud be :

-3 sec Pre : Pot

-3 sec Pre : Incinerate

-1,5 sec Pre : Cataclysm

0 sec Cast : Summon Internal

[Rosegoddess 0]

I read the wiki page linked by a mod but still don't know what each tier stands for? I'm just wanting to know more about the legendarys and which to use and why etc? Can you explain the tiers meanings please? Or update that section with more info ❤️

[Furty 51]

On 8/7/2018 at 10:21 PM, Kaedys said:

Would be nice if there was a section detailing the effects of some of the talent choices other than the recommended setup.  Like, for example, if Shadowburn is worth using in a single-target rotation if the target isn't about to die and won't for a while (does about the same damage as Incinerate, and generates as many fragments as a critical Incinerate, so I feel like that's probably the case).  There's also not a section describing optimal use of CB if you have Eradication (iirc you want to space them for maximum uptime, unless you have a surplus of shards), usage of Soul Fire, or pooling behavior before Summon Infernal if you have Grimoire of Supremacy (worth it or not?).  I feel like it might also be worth noting either in the multi-target section or the spell summary that Rain of Fire can stack in an area and completely replaces CB once you have enough targets, since the multi-target section seems to suggest that's not the case and that CB is still used even against very large numbers of targets.

I can look at adding this information in an "academic" capacity, but last expansion several players voiced in the comments that they felt the guide became like "rocket science" or that such information implied that those talents were viable.

 

8 hours ago, Rosegoddess said:

I read the wiki page linked by a mod but still don't know what each tier stands for? I'm just wanting to know more about the legendarys and which to use and why etc? Can you explain the tiers meanings please? Or update that section with more info ❤️

Same as a grade school ranking (A is good, D is bad) with "S" being the ultimate ranking (S for "Super Tier" if it helps you remember it).

[Guest Zanier]

I have been away for about half of Legion, coming back in just the last 2 weeks, and I am a bit confused about the whole "Summon Infernal" thing. They took away our single-target Doomguard, and left us with a Melee Infernal, which I am to understand gets pulled out to increase damage of CB, now, is the Infernal just supposed to be on passive in a raid environment, just for the buff? did Blizz not think this one through, or do they delight in making things tougher on Warlocks? (pulling out a melee class pet to do extra damage with CB...) I would much have preferred they took away the Infernal and left the Doomguard to do the same thing! An Infernal loose in a raid is going to pull aggro from the tanks, or did I miss something by being away so long? Sorry if this seems like a "stoopid" question, but I haven't seen it addressed anywhere else, it's as if the Warlock community just took it in stride without the usual griping... Thanks!

[Furty 51]

40 minutes ago, Guest Zanier said:

I have been away for about half of Legion, coming back in just the last 2 weeks, and I am a bit confused about the whole "Summon Infernal" thing. They took away our single-target Doomguard, and left us with a Melee Infernal, which I am to understand gets pulled out to increase damage of CB, now, is the Infernal just supposed to be on passive in a raid environment, just for the buff? did Blizz not think this one through, or do they delight in making things tougher on Warlocks? (pulling out a melee class pet to do extra damage with CB...) I would much have preferred they took away the Infernal and left the Doomguard to do the same thing! An Infernal loose in a raid is going to pull aggro from the tanks, or did I miss something by being away so long? Sorry if this seems like a "stoopid" question, but I haven't seen it addressed anywhere else, it's as if the Warlock community just took it in stride without the usual griping... Thanks!

Each Warlock spec now as a "signature demon" as their default cooldown (Tyrant for Demo, Darkglare for Aff, Infernal for Destro). Forget everything you know about the old Infernal pet, as it functioned differently.

[Kaedys 5]

On 8/11/2018 at 8:50 PM, Furty said:

I can look at adding this information in an "academic" capacity, but last expansion several players voiced in the comments that they felt the guide became like "rocket science" or that such information implied that those talents were viable.

I feel like this is a bit inconsistent with the target audience, tbh.  Like, I agree with noting what the optimal talents are, but the people reading Icy-Veins guides are going to be disproportionately less likely to change talents on a boss-by-boss basis.  The people optimizing to that level already know the talents, and what they don't, they generally use their class discords for.

I feel like, for the people reading the guides to get a solid primer on how to play the spec in the first place or to improve their play on alts, they are likely to select talents based on the average type of content they are doing or similar.  For example, Shadowburn could arguably be worth taking in M+ where you can get the resets, and in such a situation, it's worth noting whether or not it's worth using it on the boss fights as well.

I do sometimes feel like these guides are written mostly for the tippy-top of the player scale, when that's the portion of the player base arguably least likely to need or use these guides.

On 8/12/2018 at 6:04 PM, Guest Zanier said:

did Blizz not think this one through, or do they delight in making things tougher on Warlocks? (pulling out a melee class pet to do extra damage with CB...) I would much have preferred they took away the Infernal and left the Doomguard to do the same thing! An Infernal loose in a raid is going to pull aggro from the tanks, or did I miss something by being away so long?

Infernals no longer taunt or have increased threat, they are no longer permanent pets (Grimoire of Supremacy gives the warlock stacking increased CB damage while the Infernal is active instead), and the they are no longer tuned primarily for AoE.  They are a damage cooldown, and the Infernal was selected instead of the Doomguard because it fits the flame theme of Destruction better. 

[MorticiaNoire 0]

With the azerite gear I’ve got chaotic inferno selected by n my shoulder but now have a head piece do they stack? So if I chose the same for my head will it be even more potent or pointless? Plus can you change what you’ve chosen as it’s unclear