Question about Imp Swarm/Harvest Life

[FreddyJ 6]

I'm trying to improve my DPS, so I took a closer look at rotation, talents, etc.

 

I basically used this rotation: Shadow Bolt; Hand of Gul'dan; Corruption; Drain Life. Reason is I need something simple because of the problems I have (medical).  I can kill most things, it just takes a while because my average damage with this setup is around 38,000. I also use the spell (Elements) that increases damage by 5% for 5 min.

 

I'm trying to change the rotation closer to what's listed here for the demon lock, and have several questions.

 

I took the talent Harvest Life because of the 50% damage increase over Drain Life.  Then I read that it also increases your Drain Life healing by 150%.  However, I already have the glyph of Drain Life which increases the healing of the Drain Life spell by 30%.

 

So, are both these added together to increase the healing to 180%?  Is it beneficial to have the Drain Life glyph, in addition to the talent, or can I get rid of that and open up that glyph slot for something else?  Note:  I prefer the self-healing since I play mostly solo, so if the answer is 180%, I will keep that.

 

The next question is regarding the Imp Swarm.  I understand the reason behind using the swarm, since you'll have 4 imps right at the beginning of the fight, whereas by using the Shadow Bolt spell to get the imps it will take much longer.

 

But, I noticed (and then timed it) that they didn't hang around long, which was about 30 seconds.  Then, the spell is on a 1.74 min CD.  At least by using the Shadow Bolt spell it would take around 21 seconds to get more imps, and eventually I would have 6 of them for the majority of the fight, and wouldn't have that 1.74 min CD to deal with.  I did notice that I was doing about 62,000 damage while the Imp Swarm was up, but shortly after they left, my damage dropped back down to around 56-58,000 which is still a lot better than what it was previously.

 

Is the damage/dps so much higher that the Imp Swarm is a must use type of spell?

 

And the last question, I presume that the Void Lord is a no-no in raiding?

 

Although I play mostly solo, I'm thinking of trying some raiding and see what happens.

 

Thanks for the help.

[Lockybalboa 618]

Glyph and Harvest stack.

 

Imp Swarm is less imps no matter what. The use of it is burst or haste snap shotting.

 

Fel Guard all the time no matter what for Demo.

[FreddyJ 6]

Thanks for the reply.  I appreciate it.

 

Understand what you're saying about the Fel Guard, but since I play mainly solo, I need something to tank for me, hence I opted for the Void Lord.  I will change to whatever is required if I do manage to raid some, which is no sure thing given my low dps.

 

One other thing I noticed is that if you use Harvest Life, the icon on the spell bar doesn't change but remains the Drain Life icon.  I'd rather see the HL icon with the updated tooltip, but that's my preference.

 

Thanks again.

Edited May 10, 2014 by FreddyJ

[Oldtrout 7]

Harvest Life isn't its own spell anymore, just a boost to the current drain life. Also, Felguard / Wrathguard do a pretty good job of tanking themselves, and do a lot more damage than voidwalkers / lords.

 

If you plan to use demo in raiding just get used to using felguards now.

[FreddyJ 6]

Thanks.  That's not a problem, I'll use whatever is appropriate while raiding.  I'll try him for some tanking, too (using the wrathguard now).

 

I have another question.  I tried going into metamorphosis to up my damage.  I usually have 200-300 demonic fury when I switch, and am able to put a few spells on the enemy.  For some reason, I have a problem increasing the demonic fury pool to a higher level.  Then, after a short time, I get kicked back to my regular character (I was using drain life to add more demonic fury when it kicked me back).

 

So, I'm not doing something correct.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  Oh, I noted that when I was kicked back, the Doom spell was still on the enemy, so I take it once that spell is launched it will stay there the entire length, whether or not I'm in metamorphosis or not?

 

Thanks.

[Liquidsteel 279]

Spells in Normal form generate Fury. 

 

Spells in Demon form spend Fury.

 

Corruption can only be cast in Normal form.

 

Doom can only be cast in Demon form, and replaces Corruption in this form.

 

You should only jump into Demon form if you a) Need to apply Doom, b) Have a trinket proc, or c) Are closing to reaching max (1000) Fury. Also for burst AoE, but let's not over complicate it.

 

If you feel your fury generation is too low, get more haste. You should aim for haste and mastery on your gear.

[FreddyJ 6]

OK, now I understand.  I thought going into metamorphosis would allow me to stay there for a while, casting those spells.  Didn't realize you basically jump back and forth.

 

I noticed the Doom spell was still up after I'd been kicked back to worg form, so if it runs it course (over a minute), that's what I'll use metamorphosis for because of the awesome damage that spell does.  I'm trying for go for haste/mastery where possible, so at least I'm doing that right.

 

Thank you very much.

[Notoris 3]

Hi FreddyJ!

From my point of view: I leveled to 90 doing quests as Demo warlock and I never had any troubles taking aggro from my Wrathguard at all. I want you to check if the demon spell Threatening Presence is active;

Make sure your Wrathguard is summoned, open your spell book and check your demon's spells.

I don't know how familiar you are with the demon/pet spell system but some spells you can 'turn on and off' to make your demon either auto-cast them by itself or not use them at all. If you see a swirl-like border on a spell icon it means the spell will be auto-cast by the pet on CD. In the case of Threatening Presence it is an aura that stays on the demon until you deactivate it. If you RIGHT-click the icon the swirl disappears it means the spell is no longer auto-cast by the demon.

 

Regarding Threatening Presence you want to have it turned on all the time (with swirl) when soloing. And you want it off auto-cast AND turned off when you are grouped with a tank (raid or dungeon). It generates A LOT of threat to your demon and tanks get angry about that.

The spell is not on your pet bars by default but I recommend you put it there instead of the Pursuit for instance (or instead of Wrathstorm which you get as your Command Demon ability anyway with a Wrathguard summoned).

 

The Wrathguard does more dmg than the VW and it handles situations with more than one mob better (Mortal Cleave and Wrathstorm). I see no reason to use VW questing or farming

 

I might not have made myself very clear but play a bit with the  pet spells and you will find out what I mean.

 

Before you start raiding try to read the Demonology Warlock dps Guide from this forum. It will help you understand how the demo lock works.