Fearedit

From WoWWiki

For general info, see fear effect.

It fled without a word... unless "AAAAAGH!" counts as a word.^{TCGHoA 123}

Fear is a Warlock spell in the Affliction tree. Fear causes a single enemy to flee in fear, effectively disabling it temporarily. This can be a powerful, though dangerous, tool that is integral to the warlock crowd control.

Fear has a damage limit. If the damage limit is reached, the Fear spell will break, regardless of the length of the spell. Glyph of Fear increases the amount of damage a target can take before the Fear spell breaks by 20%.

Due to the Diminishing Returns Rule, repeated castings of fear increase the victim's ability to resist it for players, but not for mobs. A mob can be repeatedly feared indefinitely.

Contents 1 Rank table 2 Notes 2.1 PvE 2.2 PvP 2.3 Diminishing returns 2.4 Counters 3 Talent improvement 4 Tips and tactics 5 Controversy 6 See also 7 Patch changes

Rank table

Rank	Duration (sec)	Level	Cost
1	10	8	2
2	15	32	63
3	20	56	1 98

Notes

PvE

In a solo setting, Fear can put a mob out of commission for a period of time; this is hugely beneficial considering the low mana cost of Fear. The danger is that the feared mob can run into companions that, depending on the type of mob (usually humanoid and some beasts), may aggro. This drawback normally restricts Fear's PvE use to planned settings or emergency situations (i.e. the warlock is about to die). A common use of Fear is to cast many DoTs on a mob and then repeatedly fear it, hindering its ability to damage the Warlock or his minion so long as no additional mobs are aggroed.

Fear only works on one target at a time. Even so, a skilled warlock can keep two mobs running at once with Fear: fearing the first mob, then the second mob when the first is some distance away (breaking the fear spell on the first) then re-fearing the first when it gets back, causing a "fear relay" that takes a lot of the Warlock's attention.

PvP

In PvP, Fear finds its place to shine -- it is powerful tool, especially in a 1v1 setting, and when combined with the Succubus Seduction it can eliminate two opponents from the fray. This strategy has also resulted in the derogatory nickname "fearlock."

Diminishing returns

In PvP, Fear is subject to diminishing returns, meaning that it will have smaller maximum duration each time it's cast. The first fear cast against a player lasts up to 10 seconds (as opposed to 20 seconds stated in the tooltip), the second, up to 5 seconds, the third, up to 2.5 seconds and the enemy becomes immune in the fourth cast. To reset the fear length to 10 seconds the warlock must spend at least 15 seconds without casting fear. See also Diminishing returns.

Counters

• Items that can dispel fear:
  • [Glimmering Mithril Insignia] grants immunity to fear for 30 sec when used.
  • [Phaseshift Bulwark] makes the wearer immune to fear when used for 4 sec.
  • [Insignia of the Alliance] and [Insignia of the Horde] both break all movement-impairing and loss-of-control effects over a character, including fear.
• Hunter pets of hunter's with the Bestial Wrath talent (and the hunter themselves, if they have The Beast Within) are immune to fear for the 10 second duration.
• Priests can use Fear Ward to prevent one fear effect from working over a 3 min period.
• Shaman can use Tremor Totem to remove fear (also charm and sleep effects) every three seconds.
• Druids can use Berserk to both clear fear and prevent it for 15 seconds, 20 seconds with Glyph of Berserk.
• Warriors can use Berserker Rage to become immune to fear for 10 sec or use Recklessness for 15 sec.
  • Warriors with the Tier 5 Arms talent Death Wish can use it to be immune to fear for 30 sec. (Death Wish fear immunity removed in Patch 3.0)
• Forsaken characters can use their racial trait Will of the Forsaken to dispel fear, as can Humans with Every Man for Himself.
• Paladins can use Divine Shield to stop fear.

Talent improvement

• Grim Reach improves the casting range of Fear.
• Improved Fear adds a snare effect to the target when Fear breaks off. (-30% of normal speed)

Tips and tactics

PvP gloves improve Fear by giving the wearer a 50% chance to avoid interruption caused by damage while casting Fear.
Most warlock PvP sets have a four piece bonus to reduce the casting time of the wearer's Fear spell by 0.2 seconds.

Controversy

Fear can be used as a last resort but in duels it is often considered cheap. This is because the opponent cannot break free without being hit. By the time the opponent recovers they could be feared again. On the other hand, the same could be said of many such abilities from other classes, and asking a player to handicap themselves (by not using particular spells or abilities, i.e. to deliberately play their character in a less than optimal fashion) is unfair. To make it fair, a warlock should only agree to refrain from using fear at the request of the other player, and in return, should be allowed to pick an ability that the other player must refrain from using as well.

See also

• Howl of Terror
• Death Coil
• Fear Effect

Patch changes

• Hotfix (2009-04-30): "Mana Burn now causes Fear, Hex and Psychic Scream to break early when used."
  

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