Broken Orange Condom

Warlocks have a problem. You see, there's this socially-accepted anti-'lock mindset that has formed from all of that "overpowered" and "nerf" talk out there. You know what I'm talking about, right? If Warlocks complain about a weakness of theirs, everyone else calls them spoiled, tells them to stop QQ'ing, and their complaints are ignored as a result.

For the most part, that's exactly what should happen. There is VERY LITTLE wrong with the Warlock class at this point, so much of the crying is indeed completely baseless. But, that's not ALWAYS the case. What happens when there is something truly wrong that needs attention? What do we do then? For example, what of the issue of the broken orange condom?

If you know a little about the Warlock class, you're probably familiar with the Succi and Seduce. If you're not, it's not nearly as hawt as it sounds, so don't run off and reroll just yet. Seduce is a crowd-control spell that the Succi can cast on one humanoid target at a time. It's very useful in 1-on-1 PvP; "See. Seduce. Smash." is how one Warlock once described it. Back in the day, I used to plant my Succi on the ramp in WSG, Seduce incoming targets, and greet them with a "berserked" Soul Fire / Shadowburn combo that was enough to kill many. Those were good times.

Yeah yeah, nerf nerf, stfu.

But unfortunately for the 'lock, such control comes at a price. The trade off for the ability to mess with another's mojo is that the Succubus is essentially a wet paper bag in a sexy disguise. She is 2-to-3-shotted easliy, and when she's gone, so is Seduce. This creates a very serious problem if the Warlock is in a PvE CC role where Seduce is the 'lock CC of choice. This is especially the case in heroic instances where Succubi seem to be 1-shotted by as little as an NPC's fart.

Fearing, the other 'lock CC, generally isn't the first option in many cases because it is a very high-maintenance and chaotic CC that sends the inflicted NPC running (oh please don't run into that group, oh please don't run into that group, etc.) and creates the potential that other groups will aggro, causing a wipe (oh shit, why did you run into that group!). Sure, 'locks can control Feared mobs with CoR, but doing so is usually at the expense at must DPS, which may not be a smart thing in many situations. Also, with multiple Fears, things can get ugly very quickly. So, when the Succubus dies and seduce breaks, not much can uber-effectively be done about it, and things can go to shit very, very quickly. And oh, how quickly people point fingers and cry.

In the last Mech pick-up group I was in, I was given CC duties over a Mage that didn't want to sheep because "it lowers DPS." Whatever. I just wanted my stinkin' badges. Bye bye Heroic-friendly Imp. Hello crowd-pleasing Succubus.

After about 20 mins of AFKs, we get started. "Jag," (I hate it when people call me that) "you're the orange condom."

"Thanks sweetie."

The first pull went as expected. Lots of DPS. Lots of of tank aggro. It was a clean, almost textbook quasi-wipe (I had made it out of the instance). F'n brilliant I tells ya. The Warrior tank CHARGED into the group of 3 Blood Elf NPCs on the left. The Rogue follows, drawing the robot patrol. "Oh god." I cast Seduce, which is immediately broken by the now dead Warrior's AoE.

Yes, the DEAD Warrior. The Succi and Rogue quickly followed.

Apparently, the Priest was too busy putting Shadow Word: Pain on everything to heal, and in a Heroic, that means a quick death. I cast Exhaustion on the Elves, booked it towards the entrance and made it out alive, only to be greeted by "What happened to Seduce?" on the other side of the loading screen. /sigh

Now, broken condoms are never a good thing. They lead to pain, stress, unforeseen expenses, and many unplanned sleepless nights. When they happen because of idiocy, they can at least be explained, and hell, are maybe even deserved. However, not all broken condoms happen that way.

Yes, some are due to too much friction and not enough lubrication. Been there, done that. But what about the others? You know, the "wth, now that's just lame" breaks that we are oh so familiar with...

In my experience as a Warlock, I've noticed that Seduce breaks early very regularly compared to most other CC's. Now, this might be my imagination or I'm just missing the true cause of the break (AoE, accidental damage to either the Succi or the Seduced, etc.). Whatever be the case, the viability of Seduce as a serious form of CC, especially in end-game, should definitely be considered.

Think about it. Seduce is one of two CCs in the game (if you even want to count Mind Control) that can be broken by hitting a target other than the CC'd NPC. In group PvP, this renders it almost useless.

Strike 1.

Hitting the Succubus pretty much kills it, almost immediately in Heroics and some PvP situations. No other CC'ing class has a problem quite like that, because if they are attacked, they are usually given healing priority, whereas 'lock pets are usually ignored. I can hear Mages, Priests, Hunters, and Rogues laughing at the thought.

Strike 2.

While Mages and Priests can re-Sheep and re-Shackle before their initial CC's expire, Succubi can't re-seduce during an active Seduce cast. The charm has to break first, and only then can Seduce be cast again. This is something that can be dealt with in most instances, but in Heroics and PvP, it's quite underpowered.

Strike 3.

You're out.

Oh, and they cost a shard to summon every time. And when they die as easily as they do, well, that's a lot of shards.

You're out, twice.

Okay, so you know, maybe I'm exaggerating a little about a few issues that aren't really that big a deal. I usually don't have problems when CC'ing with my Succubus, and I haven't heard many complaints about their weaknesses, to be honest. But I also don't see many Warlocks using their Succi all that often. And given the fact that Warlocks instigate very negative reactions when they complain about anything, maybe passivity is just how the class has decided to deal with it. Perhaps that's the strongest argument of all that Succubi require some much needed attention...

...cause lord knows the last thing we need is another broken condom on our hands.

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