Chaos Bolt

Chaos Bolt
Chaos Bolt (2 ranks) Warlock ability 30 s. yd range 7% of base mana 12 sec cooldown 2.5 seconds cast Sends a bolt of chaotic fire at the enemy, dealing X Fire damage. Chaos Bolt cannot be resisted, and pierces through all absorption effects.
Properties
Class	Warlock
School	Fire
Cooldown	12 seconds
Improvements	Cataclysm, [Bane], [Aftermath],  [Devastation], Intensity, [Destructive Reach], [Ruin], [Soul Leech], [Shadow and Flame]

[[Category:warlock abilities]][[Category:warlock abilities]]

Chaos Bolt is a Warlock spell that deals direct damage to the target. It has a shorter cast time than either [Incinerate] or [Shadow Bolt], and a higher spell power coefficient. In PvE, this spell should always be on cooldown.

Rank table

Rank	Level	Damage	Cost
1	60	837 - 1061	Talent
2	70	1077 - 1367	25
3	75	1217 - 1545	80
4	80	1429 - 1813	80

Improvements

Talents

[Bane] will lower the cast time of Chaos Bolt by up to .5 seconds at max rank.

[Shadow and Flame] will increase the amount of fire spell damage that applies to the spell by 20% at max rank.

[Destructive Reach] extends the range of Chaos Bolt to 36 yards and reduces generated threat by 20% at max rank.

[Fire and Brimstone] increases damage of Chaos Bolt to targets affected by [Immolate] by 10% at max rank.

Chaos Bolt is a Destruction spell, and thus gains the benefit of the talents Cataclysm,  [Devastation], Intensity, [Destructive Reach], [Ruin], and [Soul Leech].

Glyph

20

• Glyph of Chaos Bolt
• Prime Glyph
• Use: Permanently teaches you this glyph.
  
  Reduces the cooldown on Chaos Bolt by 2 sec.
• Classes: Warlock
• Requires Level 69
• Sell Price: 1

Source

This item is created with Inscription; discovered through  [Book of Glyph Mastery].

Materials required:

1x [Ethereal Ink]

1x [Light Parchment]

Patch changes

• Patch 5.0.4 (2012-08-28): Removed. Existing glyphs converted to  [Glyph of Burning Embers].
  
• Patch 3.1.0 (2009-04-14): Added.
  

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB

Tips and tactics

• Chaos Bolt pierces through Fire resistance
• Chaos Bolt pierces through Absorption effects (i.e. [Mana Shield], [Anti-Magic Shell]).
• Chaos Bolt pierces through resist effects (i.e. [Cloak of Shadows])
• Chaos Bolt damage is reduced normally by Damage reduction effects (i.e. [Pain Suppression]. Something to note here is that [Cheat Death] describes the talent as a damage reduction but the actual game mechanic it's an absorption thus Chaos Bolt pierces through Cheat Death.
• Chaos Bolt does NOT penetrate full immunities ( [Divine Shield] and [Ice Block]). It is NOT deflected by [Deterrence].
• [Fire Ward] is a particularly interesting case. It cannot absorb Chaos Bolt damage however if talented with [Molten Shields], as a Fire spell, the mage can reflect Chaos Bolt before it even touches him.
• Chaos Bolt does 10% additional damage to targets that are afflicted with [Immolate] if you have taken the talent [Fire and Brimstone], so this spell should always be cast on your opponent before Chaos Bolt. Following up with [Conflagrate] deals massive burst damage. Even better, pick talent [Backdraft] and use the  [Glyph of Conflagrate]. Cast Immolate, Conflagrate (proccing Backdraft) and Chaos Bolt (now with 30% reduced cast time). This sequence is sure to reduce most non-elite mobs to a smoking pile of ash! Works well in PvP too.
• [Curse of the Elements] increases magic damage done to a target by 13% and should also be applied prior to casting Chaos Bolt in fights of sustained damage.
• Before patch 3.1.3, Chaos Bolt was one of the most mana-efficient spells in the warlock's arsenal, along with [Soul Fire]. It truly shone in PvP because of its short cast time and the fact that it even ignored damage reduction effects like [Pain Suppression].
• This spell is particular fun in Karazhan where the mana-shielded mobs in the Curator-boss is a major nusiance - bring a Destro-lock and one-shot them with Chaos Bolt.

The resilience myth

It appears as if the whole resilience thing was just a myth. Ghostcrawler said that the developers could not find anything that affected resilience and Chaos Bolt has never bypassed it.

Re: Chaos Bolt change depressing lore-wise | 2009-05-27 06:44 |  Ghostcrawler

EDIT: As it turns out, Chaos Bolt does NOT ignore resilience. When the developers went to make this change, they found out that the resilience bypassing was just a myth. They still thought making the change to have CB not bypass other damage reduction affects was an appropriate change. I try to stay on top of all of the changes my team makes, but it's a big game and we typically make a lot of changes every day. The mistake was mine, and I do apologize for any confusion. TLDR: The 3.1.3 change remains, but resilience is not (and never has been) affected.

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Patch changes

• Patch 3.1.3 (2009-06-02): This spell no longer ignores damage reduction effects of the target.
  
• Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14): Added.
  

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB