Well that ends the longstanding Filler debate (#rip 2012 - 2018). I personally would have preferred Drain Soul back baseline solely as an Execute like it was prior to MoP, but at least it's back for those that prefer it to Shadow Bolt.Darkglare is a very interesting ability and I'm thrilled to be getting it baseline to replace Doomguard/Infernal summons.Downsides: Nightfall still isn't baseline, UA still unchanged and obnoxious to use with Shadow Bolt, DoTs are still too short.
I'm sure it's not a really good question, but I kind of wish someone would have asked (and been answered) as to why Unstable Affliction is negatively affected by Haste. Like, the only one, too.I'm glad Drain Soul is staying around, but I'm completely fine with the heal going away. That plus Soul Leech sustained you and your pet through fights with elites/rares that slogged out a lot of damage.Also sad that Supremacy is going away, because I got some use out of Doomguard and Infernal, with only Doomguard really feeling Affliction-y; but I'm excited for Darkglare.Just... I'm feeling it'll be as annoying audio wise as Observer, and I'm worried. Really.Hmm, do have to put some thought in my talents, with the loss of legendaries.I think Haunt, Death's Embrace, Demon Skin, Soul Harvest, Demonic Circle, Drain Soul, and Siphon Life.
I'm quite happy about this as an affliction main since tbc. whether the changes are good or not isn't even the main concern for me. We finally got feedback! and some new mechanics. I will miss tossing the infernal over my shoulder for a stun as I'd walk away from a bad pull but that dot interaction with the Darkglare sounds interesting. Here's hoping it'll be fun to play. And even if not...look, I'm not even joking, I'm so happy we got a detailed blue response. At the rate the silence was going, I was thinking they were shipping my main spec as was.
Been playing lock since Wrath, can happily say legion will be the last of me. Demo looking great, but it's going to be way FoTM'd, destro is fine, and just not happy with aff changes.Change isn't a bad thing, but probably best to try something new, right? God speed, fellow locks.
Yuck, if UA stacking is going to be the only way to play the spec then I wont touch it. its lazy design. Ion's team in a nutshell basically.
Love that communication!
Based on this as well as the warlock talent screw ups pointed out in Deepshades article on reddit and my own experience with the class i think it is safe to assume that they have no idea what to do with affliction at all. for a long time iv felt like the ''DOT'' only class is outdated. shadow priests already seem to provide much flare and fun with how they function that it makes affliction just seem so obsolete. demo and destruction stand out more for the warlock now then affliction ever has, and to be honest i say the spec is in need of an entire redesign from the ground up. its like a poor mans shadoow priest with a demon that has no value anymore, and the theme of soul shards just to keep its snuggled up to the other 2 warlock specs and so blizz can retain what is left fo the warlock since since so mch has been taken from them since cata.. with how much better the other casters have become since legion, i honestly feel sorry for the spec.the poor thing just has nothing going for it
not liking some of these changes at all... the darkglare is cool i suppose but it probably won't be enough to make up for all these other downgrades. They are ruining drain soul but not fixing the clunky UA stacking mechanic, a real shame.I enjoy my afflic lock right now, guess i'll have to savour him while he lasts.
AIght now to put all you poopy locks in your place and let a real aff main that not only plays the spec but is half decent at it and enjoys it give some feedback. Ahem.. First of all the changes are exciting to say the least! Deathbolt-looks fun and gives us a short cd option for burst. Shadowfury baseline-good. Talent choices-a bit different but can work with it (AC and writhe being in same line makes certain fights a bit harder so thats good/bad depending on how you look at it but I'm looking forward to council fights being harder so ty). drain soul being gone who gives a sh!t really. Shadow bolt as filler-not gonna lie this is kinda idiotic. I mean even when you're in the spec selection in game it classifies affliction as being a spec that revolves around dots AND drains so not having some drain in your regular rotation doesn't feel like aff. Bad move most likely I'd prefer having shadow bolt as a baseline or talent option that the RP'ers can play around with but dont make me use that crap if you can help it. Sow the seeds-please keep this talent as moderately good aoe please. If it's not competitive aoe than just discard it and buff PS or the new talent please. Annoying to have a talent that's not worth ever using. From what I've seen so far on beta with it only using +1 seed it's damage is kinda crap. Not saying it should be as good as legion aff aoe but please keep it viable (also keep in mind it was already nerfed from 3-2 additional seeds so if you knock it down to 1 its visually lackluster as well even if the damage is good). Overall I'm excited it looks more fun, better baseline abilities(apart from shadow bolt) , more interesting talents, and I'm not worried too much about balancing that of course comes later. Thanks for the comms and don't listen to the fotm rerollers that say theyve played aff since vanilla. Most aff mains I know including me are excited for the design going into bfa keep up the good work!
Also one more thing. About making deathbolt instant cast please do because even with some slight variability it will line up better with the 2-3 min cds. Adding 2-3 secs for the cast time (or more if you have to cancel or delay the cast due to movement) will only make the lineup of deathglare and deathbolt kinda wonky and good aff players who maximize deathbolt usage will find themselves holding deathglare at times or holding off on a deathbolt waiting for deathglare and this interaction can make the rotation kind of cancer in an ideal situation. In less than ideal situations it just adds a lvl of difficulty that is perfectly fine with me but i know others will hate it. Making both deathbolt and deathglare (I assume it will be) instant cast will really help with the smooth feel aff has had in legion and carry that smooth feel into bfa. Having UA and shadowbolt (among other none dps spells) have cast times is enough I don't think it'll be healthy for aff to have almost every single spell be hard cast it just feels clunky and restricted.
Having made a long post just a few weeks ago about how Blizzard's developers rarely ever interact with their playerbase, how they are very bad at communicating their plans and philosophy behind changes and why all these are concerning problems that need to be addressed ... I'm just impressed right now. This is a very lengthy post and all I've got to say is good job guys! Keep it up!
I rather like having Haunt back how it was during WoD. I liked WoD affliction.
As an affliction-since-vanilla lock player, and a proud casual, laid back player I'm really happy with how the spec has been realized in Legion and now in BFA. Made it all the way through this post bracing for truly bad news and got none. The only thing that could have challenged grimSac for me would have been a permanent Void-themed DPS pet with an interrupt. We didn't get that, drain soul isn't a challenger, so I'm solid with grimSac for when grouped. Soloing I have a VW out and that talent line is just dormant, but that's my time and I'll honestly likely use drain life as a filler when soloing world bosses.Glad that just keeping the shard stock emptied with UA is still supported and not necessarily "wrong," taking away the stacking interaction would bring affliction too close to shadow in the micromanaging overkill sense. While 100% uptime is a fine goal for min-maxers in longer fights, for most of the game the burst potential of UA stacking is important to keep the spec approachable. Yes, we're all capable of micromanaging UA, but the spec needs to have an approachable on ramp so the newer Warlock can contribute significantly and not be a burden. It's not a bad thing for there to be an "easy mode" configuration for the class.
What the heck? I love the self healing on my Affliction Lock to solo stuff.