2.3 Warlock Changes

Hey hey, what do we have here? A Warlock-changes list that's longer than a couple of lines and with a few items of actual substance? Imagine my surprise. And frankly, after glossing over the changes, I am quite happy with what I am seeing, despite all of the QQ we're already seeing in the forums. Here's a summary of the PTR notes, Warlock-style:

Warlock

* Banish can no longer be cast on tapped targets.
* Conflagrate: Immolate will now always be removed correctly.
* DL and SL affected by healing reducing effects.
* Hellfire will no longer affect casting time or prevent flag captures.
* Nether Protection now has a new, more distinct visual effect.
* Ritual of Souls takes less time to cast and complete.
* Seed of Corruption detonation will now obey line of sight.
* Shadow Embrace: can no longer trigger other effects.
* Shadow Ward gains additional spell damage bonus.
* Soul Siphon increases damage by 2/4%, ignores Drain Mana.

Not bad, am I right? I mean, on the surface, some may seem redundant and others as all out nerfs, but most of the changes are actually very nice and should be welcomed, and others are not nearly as bad as some are making them out to be.

The changes to Drain Life and Siphon Life? Expected, and I agree with them after taking into account the mechanics of the game. Yeah, a nerf, and yeah, Bliz is calling it a bug fix which really makes no sense, but it's actually all very simple. A health transfer that equates to a health gain is a heal, and should be treated as such. Simple enough imho. But for those who feel a bit too affected by this nerf, it shouldn't be too difficult to adapt to the changes. Yes, it may be a bit more difficult, take a bit more planning, make use of some extra gear, a Healthstone AND a health pot, but if the end result is the same, what does it matter? =)

"ZOMG! Ritual of Souls takes less time to complete! It's all I ever wanted!" Heheh, I heard a lot of this sarcasm when the Patch Notes were released. And yeah, it's not a HUGE deal. However, if you're an Arena Warlock, this is a very welcomed change. Prep time takes time, and anything that reduces it is a good thing. And hell, if it's now realistic to drop one of these suckers while in combat, in any environment, without having to wait an eternity, well that's just awesome! No sarcasm intended.

And THANK GOODNESS we finally have our Seed of Corruption change that makes it a little less volatile in raids or instances. No more drawing aggro from mobs on the other side of a wall, beneath a floor, or on the level above. We can now use it without worry of unintended aggro pulls. Definitely an improvement for PvE. For PvP, however, Warlocks are crying foul since an inflicted player can now use LoS to prevent damage to his teammates. To me, that's how it should have always been, and is more of a legit bug fix than a nerf.

Shadow Ward gaining spell damage bonuses is a definite buff. For Level 70, it had seemed a little weak to me considering the amount of damage we are seeing, especially in PvP. This will help a bit at the very least, and when coupled with Nether Protection and a Spellstone... GG.

Speaking of "GG," I totally didn't see this change coming. Soul Siphon now increases damage by 2 or 4 percent? I seriously had to take a double take to make sure I was reading that right. It increases damage of all spells, not just DoTS, by 40 spell damage per +1000. That's a pretty significant buff that comes very early in the Affliction talent tree! And best of all, it helps dampen the effects of the Resilience changes we saw in the last patch. GG indeed.

So that's pretty much it, and I gotta say that I'm pretty happy with the changes that are incoming. There isn't anything that will completely cripple us, and there are definite improvements on the way. Ya gotta be happy about that.

Until next time.

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