nefigah 26 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 Current as of patch 5.4.7. Preface After the unexpected amount of positive response garnered by my treatise on Warrior icons, I figured I'd try my hand at helping other classes with the harrowing task that is skill icon comprehension. I received a request to tackle warlock icons next from Lockybalboa, my good friend (read: he doesn't know me, but I like his name)--so here we are. Note I still think Zagam would've done a fine job of this, but he was likely afraid that warlock icons wouldn't be "easy targets" like warriors'. Icon confusion is an important issue; one which many of us have had to deal with since the days when we weren't allowed to cast Curse of Agony because it'd overwrite the Curse of Agony cast by your guild's Warlock Class Lead. In spite of this long history, few efforts have been made to evaluate and explicate each ability icon, and compile this information in one place. This ultra mega serious guide will attempt to do so. Organization A wise man once said--I think it was Thomas Jefferson or maybe Yogi Berra--that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Thus I'll keep the structure similar to the warrior icon guide, and group warlock skill icons into familiar spaghetti-western-inspired categories, based on their effectiveness in representing their respective skills. Category I: The Good Chaos Bolt - If you are warlocky enough to be reading facetious posts about warlock icons, you probably already know that the Chaos Bolt spell looks like a crazy dragon/shark/velociraptor thing when viewed from the front. But if you hadn't been aware, well, now you know why this icon is a bolt with a mouth. Command Demon - A good generic demon, not easily confused with any of your summonable demons. We can assume this guy is the one doing the commanding. Conflagrate - And thus begins our iconic saga of fire and hands. (Hmm, sounds like George R.R. Martin.) I like that this could be showing either a guy conflagrating or a guy getting conflagrated. I still don't agree with the MoP changes to this spell, though--thematically I liked how you used to light the fuse with Immolate, and Conflagrate blew em to bits. Corruption - Sometimes an icon doesn't look like much from a distance, but one day you take a closer look and see Dhalsim from Street Fighter 2 Turbo vomiting blood. And you are forced to concede that it is pretty cool. Curse of Enfeeblement - This spell reduces physical damage, as might come from a sword. Here we see a sword being magically F'd up. Good icon. Dark Soul - Well, the dude's definitely dark. And I think that from the lack of muscle tone, we can assume he's a soul. More concerning than the icon is Blizzard's choice of naming the spec-specific buffs. Let's play a fun game of "Which one of these things does not belong?"Instability: "Infuses your soul with unstable power, increasing your critical strike chance..." - Okay, unstable power randomly splurts out of you. I can buy that I guess. Knowledge: "Your soul is infused with demonic knowledge, increasing the effects of Mastery: Master Demonologist..." - Demonic knowledge makes you a better master demonologist. I'm with ya. Misery: "Infuses your soul with the misery of fallen foes, increasing spell haste..." - Now you lost me. Demonic Breath - I don't remember ever using this spell, but the icon's pretty neat. Demonic Gateway - I could be talked into classifying this one as "bad." It does kinda look like the in-game lock gates, but since it's an icon, they could've gone with a little less green and a little more gate. Drain Life - This is actually one of my favorite icons in the game. Brings back fond memories of drain tanking with my 30/21/0 siphon life+demonic sac build. Drain Soul - Yeah, it looks a bit more like "Drain Skull" than "Drain Soul," but maybe someone in the chain of command had a speech impediment. Dreadsteed - FIERY HORSESHOE Enslave Demon - Everyone knows that no demon can withstand the power of Metal. Shred on, my hard rockin' amigos. Eye of Kilrogg - The picture is not conclusively Kilrogg's eye, but once you've seen one disembodied floating organ, you've seen em all, right? Fel Flame - Looks more like a Fel Sneeze, but I seem to recall the in-game projectile does too. Felsteed - LESS GOOD HORSESHOE Hand of Gul'dan - Gul'dan is apparently Demonspeak for "One who has difficulty grabbing things." But I think the icon artist deferred to the 3D spell effect here, too. Hellfire - I love this guy's comical proportions. "BWAAAAAAAH IT'S HOT AS HELL IN THIS FIRE" Howl of Terror - I was on the fence here. Pink poodles generally don't invoke much terror, except maybe to Fel Fire Hydrants. Mannoroth's Fury - No one comes between Mannoroth and his burrito. Metamorphosis - Indeed! Rain of Fire - It came down, down, down, and my embers went higher. And it burns, burns, burns... Seed of Corruption - Yeah, I guess it's a grungy seed. For a long time I thought it was a corrupted pothole, though--we had some like that when I lived in the city. Shadow Bolt - I'm not really sure if Shadow Bolt looks like this anymore, as for some reason they decided to give a classic warlock spell to Demo only, and I can't tri-spec. But back in the day it definitely looked like this. Shadowfury - Yeah, I guess. They could also rebrand it "Fabulous Fury" and give it to Theralion. Soul Fire - "Hey man, sorry to keep bothering you, but how did you guys animate 'Soul Fire'? Oh, it's just a big fireball? K, I'll draw that." Soulburn - Well, Skullburn; but see above. Twilight Ward - If this were a warrior icon, I'd have some choice words for it, but since it's your only shield I guess it's okay. Unending Breath - Delightfully watery! Unstable Affliction - The dude's face is melting off. You'd be a little unstable too! No hooker is worth catching an affliction like that. The... Good? Mortal Coil - On the one hand, I think the guy who thought up the replacement for Death Coil (why did they have to give it to DKs again?) was trying to be punny and clever (death vs. mortal, Shakespeare reference, etc.), which doesn't translate well to icons. I haven't looked at the spell enough to know if the Skittles-colored icon is accurate. Flames of Xoroth - How accurate this icon is depends entirely on what the hell a Xoroth is. The Bad Agony - The agony caused by this DoT is nothing compared to the agony this icon causes me. Maybe in the beta it was "Curse of Sunder Armor"? Banish - So it begins. During my research into the inanity of warrior icon design, I found the artists were under a mandate to adhere strongly to a "theme"--in their case, you could basically sum up the theme as "shields." The warlock artist, on the other hand, preferred a motif of vaguely scary hands. Blood Horror - This icon makes a lot of sense if the pictured bloody orb is in fact a testicle. Otherwise I dunno. Burning Rush - Here we see some red goo. If you cheat and look at the filename of the icon: ability_deathwing_sealarmorbreach. "Ah, yes!" You exclaim. "It does indeed look like one of Deathwing's skin plates getting torn off." I think Blizzard was in a... Rush... to reuse art assets. Carrion Swarm - Carrion Swarm is an ability that you get in demon form. By this artist's logic, most icons should conversely be pictures of unmetamorphosized warlocks just standing around. Create Healthstone - Far be it from me to say what a healthstone does or does not look like. It seems in such cases, however, that maybe the icon should try to like, you know, convey some useful information about the skill. Create Soulwell - Don't quote me, but I want to say that at one time this spell had "ritual" in its name (similar to the summoning one). If that's true, this icon of a guy dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight makes some sense. Dark Bargain - This icon doesn't have much to do with dark bargains, but it would've made a better icon for Blood Horror than the one they went with! Dark Regeneration - Scary hand = regeneration! Or something. Demonic Circle: Summon - So that's where the ninja turtles came from! Fire and Brimstone - I could actually see placing this in the "good" category. Naysayers may point out the lack of brimstone, and even fire, but from a distance Skeletor's apparel suggests the split or dispersion the ability enables. Haunt - This is a cool spell, a cool concept, and there's so much they could've done with it! Instead, they went with Scary Hand + Mike Tyson's skull. Havoc - Though "havoc" is admittedly an abstract noun, the in-game ability itself would be trivial to represent artistically. Plus Skeletor has gained some weight since his famous appearance in Fire and Brimstone. Health Funnel - I guess shiny blood is more or less acceptable, especially to Twilight fans. It's just always struck me as a pretty lackluster drawing. Good thing I can basically take it off my bars these days--that's one solution! Immolate - I feel bad having to relegate Immolate to this category, but my personal quota of "scary hand fire" had already been met. Incinerate - Ah, yes, what to do when you, a humble icon artist, are faced with several fiery abilities? How do you breathe a unique spark of life into each? (Don't worry if you don't know the answer; the guy Blizzard hired didn't know either.) Siphon Life - Would somebody please give this hand a job?! Soul Leech - It took a while to decipher what the hell is going on in this icon, but fear not, gentle reader: I do this for you. Here we have a shadowy hippie, his back facing us, on a clear summer day. And then suddenly, a taser! Maybe that'll learn him to get a haircut. Soul Swap - This icon takes a stab at answering the age-old question: "What if Edvard Munch had sucked?" Soulstone - At least the Healthstone guy deigned to create something more evocative than "round thing." Unbound Will - More like Unbound Number of Hands Special Section: Grimoires We shall return to rambling incoherently shortly, but I feel the work of the Grimoire talents artist deserves an especial mention. Consider the following three icons and determine which represents which talent. (Try not to cheat.) Keep in mind that icons are very handy for differentiating a tier's talents at a glance. The answers? Grimoire of Sacrifice - If you look closely, you can see the demon head is crying bloody emo tears at being sacrificed. Grimoire of Service - In case you left your electron microscope in your other labcoat, there are in fact two demon heads on this book cover. Grimoire of Supremacy - I think this is an imp with horns, which I'm guessing only the upgraded Fel Imp gets. Update: Nope, regular imps have horns too. The Ugly Curse of Exhaustion - This drawing of a Sacagawea dollar isn't even good! Curse of the Elements - "But wait," you are saying, "This icon sucks, but you categorized similar ones as merely bad." To that I respond: Shut up and write your own fake guide. Dark Intent - This one is a real head-scratcher--quite possibly the head-scratcheriest of all warlock icons. A crack team of investigative iconoclasts determined the following explanation is most likely accurate: A night elf (based on hand color) darkly intends to touch a Fel Boob. Perhaps the after-effects of doing so are pictured in the previous icon. Ember Tap - We are dying to know: Will the fiery spermatozoa reach the burning ovum?? Fear - Apparently the artist is afraid of goths. Life Tap - This icon is informally known in the business as "The Emperor's New Icon." You see, Blizzard's art department hired a very expensive consultant to illustrate Life Tap, as at the time it was to be a warlock's most iconic spell (pardon the pun). Sacrificing one's own essence for greater access to magical power--now that's warlockian! Well, what you see here is what the consultant came up with. Though he wasn't given any more work, management had a dilemma: how to justify what they spent to the higher-ups? Thus began a harrowing tale of rationalism, deceit, and shame. To cover this embarrassing incident, Blizzard has been gradually de-emphasizing the spell, requiring it to be cast less and less in each expansion. I wouldn't be surprised if it were removed from WoD entirely. Malefic Grasp - Now this one just floors me. The one spell whose name basically means "scary hand" does not get a scary hand icon. Sacrificial Pact - I think this is supposed to be some sort of demonic symbol superimposed on a wizard. But it could also be the Taj Mahal. Shadowburn - Scary Hand 2: Judgment Day features a liquid metal scary hand that is sent back in time to kill the icon artist in his youth, but the plan is thwarted by Arnold Schwarzenhand. Soulshatter - What do you mean, "soul shatter"?! This is obviously a picture of a refreshment table. Unending Resolve - Here we see a fat kid doing a handstand, or possibly breakdancing. Apparently we are to believe that his skill was acquired via insurmountable determination in the face of mockery at the (scary) hands of his peers. I remain unconvinced. 10 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lockybalboa 618 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 Pinned for badassness. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lockybalboa 618 Report post Posted March 2, 2014 Life Tap - This icon is informally known in the business as "The Emperor's New Icon." You see, Blizzard's art department hired a very expensive consultant to illustrate Life Tap, as at the time it was to be a warlock's most iconic spell (pardon the pun). Sacrificing one's own essence for greater access to magical power--now that's warlockian! Well, what you see here is what the consultant came up with. Though he wasn't given any more work, management had a dilemma: how to justify what they spent to the higher-ups? Thus began a harrowing tale of rationalism, deceit, and shame. To cover this embarrassing incident, Blizzard has been gradually de-emphasizing the spell, requiring it to be cast less and less in each expansion. I wouldn't be surprised if it were removed from WoD entirely. I lost my shit. My dog is looking at me funny going "the fuck are you laughing at?!" 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kazistrasz 216 Report post Posted March 3, 2014 A+ I look forward to more of these! FIERY SPERMATAZOA!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Liquidsteel 279 Report post Posted March 3, 2014 Definitely dressing up as a scary hand next Halloween. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Malum 0 Report post Posted March 4, 2014 nicely done sir! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mediocregatsby 18 Report post Posted March 4, 2014 so many scary hands Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vindican 2 Report post Posted March 7, 2014 Regarding Dark Intent's icon... 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nefigah 26 Report post Posted March 7, 2014 Thank you everyone for the kind support; if you chuckled, I did my job And anyone who dresses up like a skill icon wins my vote in a theoretical icy veins costume contest And that's an uncannily good representation of Dark Intent Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mediocregatsby 18 Report post Posted March 7, 2014 Regarding Dark Intent's icon... that is genius Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elro 47 Report post Posted March 8, 2014 You sir, are a genius. You are forever welcome among us demon worshippers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soulzar 42 Report post Posted March 21, 2014 Awesome post, great way to finish up the last bit of my Friday "work" day. haha All I have to say, is at least we are not unfortunate enough to get an icon that looks like a sparkling penis. Looking your way Mages.... Blink Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JvChequer 43 Report post Posted March 22, 2014 Take my life tap, you deserve it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Moozedude 47 Report post Posted March 22, 2014 outright hilarious. puts so much more perspective on my oh-so-serious abilities. I feel like a Spaceball. Ludicrous Speed! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisdux 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2014 Btw. That Agony icon looks to me like a razor that has been dulled. Have you ever tried shaving with a dull razor? Now that's agony ;-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Calol 5 Report post Posted March 25, 2014 Xoroth is supposed to be a fiery world that our dreadsteeds and possibly dread lords as well. How we can summon other demons from there is beyond me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
