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Warlock

Introduction

Although many that consort with demons fall to darkness, the warlock class manages to bend demonic forces to its will without succumbing to pure evil. These spellcasters can summon demons to serve them, and they also cast many painful spells that slowly eat at the life of enemies. Warlocks are typically weak physically, but they compensate for this deficiency with their potent array of spells and their demonic pets.

History

File:Orcwarlock.jpg

Warlocks were mages that delved too deeply into the roots of demonic power. Consumed by a lust for dark knowledge, they've tapped into chaotic magic from beyond the world. The Burning Legion now feeds them its powers, allowing them to channel destructive energies and call upon the powerful emissaries of their demon masters.

In most societies, the warlocks live on the fringe of civilization, tolerated but not trusted. Most people see warlock magic as a vain attempt at gaining power. During the First and Second wars, the formerly shamanistic orcs were transformed into a warlike juggernaut by their shaman-turned-warlock leaders. The Horde soon added warlocks in various forms to their armies, and orcish and ogre warlocks came to be feared within the ranks of the Alliance.

In addition to the orcish warlocks, many humans and gnomes are warlocks too. These were mages that were drawn by the lure of demonic power and broke the boundaries of acceptable magical study. Many of the human warlocks pledged their lives and services to the Lich King just prior to the invasion of his undead Scourge. In the Lich King's service many of these warlocks became skilled necromancers. In addition, the Lich King granted many of his undead servants limited warlock abilities as well. When the portal to the Twisting Nether was finally opened and the demons began pouring through, it seemed that the heyday of the warlocks was at hand.

However, against impossible odds, the orcs, humans and night elves defeated the Legion at the World Tree in distant Kalimdor. Following this battle, the Lich King lost control over a good portion of his servants. These Forsaken, as they began to call themselves, found that, while still undead, they had had their spirits returned to their bodies regaining their free will. Consequently, many of the Forsaken embraced their demonic tendancies and became warlocks. Forsaken society is perhaps the only one in which the warlocks are accepted as equals.

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Overview

Warlocks rely primarily on pets and Damage over Time (DoT) spells to deal out pain to their enemies. They hold the power to lay various Curses on their enemies which have varying weakening or damaging effects, as well as debuff the enemy with a number of other spells.

As Warlocks advance in level, they gain some powerful Area of Effect (AoE) spells which deal out damage to all enemies within a range, sometimes including the Warlock who casts the spell. This becomes especially valuable when the Warlock's group becomes surrounded.

Another noteworthy aspect of the Warlock is the ability to summon a magical Felsteed when desired. All other clases, except Paladins, must purchase their own mounts.

Races

The following races can play a Warlock:

• Alliance Template:Alliance Quest
  • Gnomes
  • Humans
• Horde Template:Horde Quest
  • Orcs
  • Undead

Weapons & Armor

Warlocks can wear Cloth Armor only, and can initially use Daggers and Unarmed combat in battle. They can also use Wands for ranged combat, and equip special Orbs in their off-hand to enhance various skills. They can train at a weapon master for 10 silver to gain the ability to use Swords and Staves. More information regarding Warlock-specific armor can be found at Warlock Sets.

Soul Shards

A large number of the Warlock's skills and spells rely on the reagent known as Soul Shards. Soul Shards are obtained by using the [Drain Soul] spell as an enemy is dying. Soul Shards will go into your inventory (and do not stack) for future use in spells. Be sure to always have a steady supply of Soul Shards at your disposal! A good recommendation to follow is to try to replace any Soul Shards you use immediately afterwards.

It is important to note that you can only obtain a Soul Shard from an experience-giving enemy. Any enemy more than 20% levels below you (e.g.: you are level 60, the enemy must be at least level 48) will not give experience, even if they are considered 'elite'. This means you may find yourself in an area, such as an instance, full of powerful elite enemies, none of whom will surrender a soul shard for you. Always come prepared!

Abilities

Find detailed information about the warlock's various abilities on the Warlock Spells page.

Pets

Warlocks can summon a variety of pets, each exhibiting different skill sets which are useful in different situations.

• Imp (Level Obtained: 1)

The Imp's main role is a support pet, designed to do additional damage alongside the caster. The Imp is very fragile and will die very quickly if attacked. The Imp requires no Soul Shard to summon, and is often used to farm new Soul Shards when you run out and cannot summon a different pet. Other Imp abilities include Phase Shift (allowing the Imp to shift out of phase and cannot be targetted by enemies), Blood Pact, a powerful stamina buff everyone in your party, and Fire Shield, a Thorns-like damage shield which he will cast on you and your groupmates that enter combat. With the Improved Imp and Improved Firebolt talents, the imp is the most damaging pet in the warlock's arsenal (with the notable exceptions of the Infernal and Doomguard), at least until he runs out of mana.

• Voidwalker (Level Obtained: 10, Undead, Orc, Gnome, Human)

This demon deals little damage, but has very good armor and good hit points. The Voidwalker's main ability, [Torment] is a taunt that causes enemies to lose focus of the warlock and instead attack the Voidwalker. There is also a PBAOE version of Torment called Suffering. This makes for an excellent soloing pet, and is also great for farming additional Soul Shards. Additional Voidwalker spells include Sacrifice, which kills your Voidwalker but creates a 30-second damage absorption shield for the warlock, and Consume Shadows which is an out of combat self-heal for the Voidwalker.

• Succubus (Level Obtained: 20, Undead, Orc, Alliance)

The Succubus is replete with spells that deal damage and mesmerize the enemy in different ways. Her first ability, Lash of Pain, is a direct-damage, low-mana cast that deals shadow damage to her target. Other spells include "Soothing Kiss", which causes an enemy to ignore her (the reverse of the Voidwalker's Torment ability), and "Seduction", which mesmerizes a target for 15 seconds (or until attacked). The Succubus also has a self-only Lesser Invisibility spell. Succubus deals the most damage of all the basic pets, without talent upgrades.

• Felhunter (Level Obtained: 30, Horde, Alliance)

The Felhunter is your anti-caster pet. Where the Succubus deals lots of melee damage, the Voidwalker is a great tank, and the Imp deals lots of ranged damage, the Felhunter has high magic resist and has abilities to counterspell and remove buffs from enemies, and remove debuffs from friendlies.

• Infernal (Level Obtained: 50, from  [Grimoire of Inferno] or Kroshius' Infernal Core)

While it deals better melee damage than the succubus, has higher HP, fire immunity, and more AC than a voidwalker, it needs to be enslaved (with the Enslave Demon) spell. This demon can break loose unexpectedly, causing it to turn on its former master. It can be enslaved again, but Enslave is subject to diminishing returns -- the duration decreases with each successive casting on the same demon. The Infernal deals strictly in melee damage, combined with an immolation effect that hurts all enemies nearby. It also requires an  [Infernal Stone] to summon.

• Doomguard (Level Obtained: 60, from [Curse of Doom] or [Ritual of Doom])

The Doomguard is the most powerful warlock pet. It has the highest HP and AC, as well as having Rain of Fire, Dispel, Cripple and Warstomp. A properly used Doomguard can take out entire camps of enemies at a time before perishing. However, like the Infernal, it requires Enslave Demon to be cast on it to stay within the warlock's control. It can be re-enslaved after but the enslave's duration diminishes after each casting. Curse of Doom has about a 10% chance of summoning a Doomguard if it deals the killing damage. Ritual of Doom will summon a Doomguard 100% of the time, but requires the assistance of your party, and will kill one of your groupmates. Ritual of Doom requires a  [Demonic Figurine] reagent.

Mounts

• Felsteed (Level Obtained: 40, from Strahad Farsan in Ratchet)

The Felsteed is the 'free mount' that Warlocks recieve at level 40. Other than Paladins, all other classes must pay 100 gold for a mount. This is of great help since Warlocks must purchase spells for their summoned pets as well.

• [Dreadsteed] (Level Obtained: 60, from Mor'zul Bloodbringer in Burning Steppes near the Altar of Storms)

The Dreadsteed is the Warlock Epic level 60 mount. This pet is obtained though a long and expensive quest line.

Direct Damage Spells

The warlock's direct damage spells are either shadow or fire based. While a warlocks direct damage does not compare to the mage, when coupled with our DoT's and a pet, we can achieve a strong, steady DPS.

• [Shadow Bolt]
• [Searing Pain]
• [Soul Fire]
• [Death Coil]
• [Rain of Fire]
• [Hellfire]
• [Conflagrate] (talent)
• [Shadowburn] (talent)

Curses

The warlock has available variety of curses, but only one can be cast upon an enemy at a given time. This creates the need for determining an appropriate curse in a given situation. Curses include strength-draining, damage-over-time, resistance depletion, and others.

• [Curse of Weakness]
• [Curse of Agony]
• [Curse of Recklessness]
• [Curse of Tongues]
• [Curse of the Elements]
• [Curse of Shadow]
• [Curse of Doom]

Conjured Items

Another powerful ability of the warlock is to create varying Stones from Soul Shards. Certain stones are wielded in the off-hand, and enhance damage, or remove negative spell effects.

• [Create Healthstone] - Creates a stone that will heal damage. It comes in various strengths and is tradable. It is very similar to a health potion, but on a separate timer.
• [Create Soulstone] - Creates a stone that allows you to insure someone's soul. That person can self resurrect if they died while the soulstone was active.
• [Create Firestone] - Creates a non-tradable off-hand item which adds fire damage to your wielded weapon.
• [Create Spellstone] - Creates a non-tradable stone that when equipped and used, will absorb magical damage and remove all magic effects -- good and bad.

Healing

While a Warlock is by no means a healer they do have some limited ability to heal themselves, their pet and others while in combat and even resurrect!

To heal themselves there are [Drain Life], [Siphon Life] and [Death Coil] which, conveniently, also damage the target.

To heal others a Warlock can create a Healthstone and hand it to another member of their party.

To heal their pet they have [Health Funnel].

To resurrect a target Warlock can have a Soulstone prepared for the specific target and use that to rez.

Miscellany

The warlock has other valuable spells at their disposal: [Fear] - sends an enemy fleeing for a period of time; [Ritual of Summoning] - a ritual requiring 2 other party members which allows you to summon another party member to your location; Eye of Kilrogg - a fragile, but speedy eye that allows you to scout out dangerous areas from a safe location.

Talents

• Demonology - Demonology talents improve the effect of your Stones, as well as the abilities of your pets.
• Affliction - Affliction talents enhance the effects of the warlock's various Curses.
• Destruction - Destruction talents add to the damage done by the warlock's direct damage spells.

Talent builders can be found at Official Blizzard site, Classes of Warcraft, WoW Vault, ThottBot, Merciless Talent Calculator. See the Warlock Talents page for detailed information and talent trees.

Macros

There are a couple of nifty useful warlock macros, I will try and post a few of them here for you:

• The following script will cast [Curse of Agony] as long as the targets health doesn't go below 20%. Using the script on the target and the health is below 20% it will instead cast the "anti-flee curse", [Curse of Recklessness].

  /script if (UnitHealth("target")>20) then CastSpellByName("Curse of Agony(Rank 1)") else CastSpellByName("Curse of Recklessness(Rank 1)") end;

• The following script will cast [Drain Soul], to collect soul shards, if the targets health is below 10%.

  /script if (UnitHealth("target")<10) then CastSpellByName("Drain Soul(Rank 1)") end;

• The following script casts [Curse of Tongues] on mobs or PCs with mana, [Curse of Weakness] on anything without mana. When the mob drops under 30% health, the script casts Curse of Recklessness. I also keep the PVP script below so that I don't Curse of Tongues a Hunter in PVP.

  /script if (UnitHealth("target")<30) then CastSpellByName("Curse of Recklessness(Rank 1)") else if (UnitMana("target")>0) then CastSpellByName("Curse of Tongues(Rank 1)") else CastSpellByName("Curse of Weakness(Rank 1)") end end;

• The following script is a nice little nifty PVP script, if the target you are attacking is a caster you will cast [Curse of Tongues] and if its a melee you will cast [Curse of Weakness].

  /script if (UnitClass("target")=="Warrior" or UnitClass("target")=="Rogue" or UnitClass("target")=="Paladin" or UnitClass("target")=="Hunter") then CastSpellByName("Curse of Weakness(Rank 1)") else CastSpellByName("Curse of Tongues(Rank 1)") end;

• The following script will cast [Shadow Bolt] or [Searing Pain] if the warlock has mana enough to do so, if not it will use the wand.

  /script if (UnitMana("player")>150) then if (UnitHealth("target")>50) then CastSpellByName("Shadow Bolt(Rank 1)") else CastSpellByName("Searing Pain(Rank 1)") end else CastSpellByName("Shoot") end;

Note: All spells are taged as "Rank 1" and should be edited for best usage.

SPECIAL NOTE: All of the above macros which used CastSpellByName() have become obsolete as of patch 1.6.0. All spells now require a keypress to activate.

Addons

There are several crucial Soul Shard handling addons for Warlocks.

• ShardSort automatically puts all of your shards in one bag. You can get it here. Unzip it to the Interface/Addons/ directory in your World of Warcraft directory. You'll also need to make a few small changes to the Shardsort.toc file. Open it in Notepad, then change the version number to match the current version of WoW (1500). Before you run ShardSort, you need to set the bag it uses. Type /shardbag 4 to place your shards in the far left bag, or /shardbag 0 to put the shards in your backpack.

• SoulCount counts the shards you have, and attaches the number to your minimap. With a slight modification, SoulCount can also automatically run ShardSort any time you get a new shard. Get the mod here. Unzip it to the Interface/Addons/ directory, then open ShardCountDisplay.lua in Notepad. Add a new line after you see UpdateShardCount(); and put ShardSort_Sort(); on that line.

• ShardTracker includes a ShardCounter,a Sorting Feature, Buttons for your Stone Creation Spells and some small other usefull Features. You can get it here.

There are also some other really good addons for Warlocks.

• Servitude is a very good Pet Control Plugin. It has many features for controlling the autocast of your Felhunter, Voidwalker, Succubus or Imp. You can get it here.

• Necrosis is a very good All-in-one Addon including sorting shards into a specific bag, showing the total amount of soulshards you got, good looking graphical interface, servitude functions for your pets, buttons for your mount, soulstone, healthstone, spellstone, firestone, a summoner menu, sounds for critical damage, shadow trance, enslave demon break, soulstone expire and spell timer displays. Get it here.

See Also

See Starting a Warlock for some advice when starting out.
See the Warlock Category for further information on the Warlock class.

Some good info at the official WoW forums:

• Warlock FAQ

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