Leaked Info From WoD Alpha About Warlocks? Whaaa?

Hail Dastardly Denizens!

A source contacted me about a friend of theirs who happens to be in the tech alpha for WoD. They had some information to pass along to me since they knew I love warlocks. Needless to say I was shocked by what I heard. I’m not one for offering spoilers, but this info is just too juicy not to pass along. So if you don’t want any spoilers…turn back now! I will say this only one more time. If you do NOT want spoilers, then this is your last chance to shut down your browser and walk away.

You still here? Hehe. Good. If you’re reading this then you’re the conniving, immoral, and greedy warlocks Blizzard has made all of us out to be right? /em rubs evil bony hands in glee

Okay, just remember you asked for it

I guess this is a little payback on my part. Remember when Blizzard added the Kanrethad Ebonlocke green fire quest line and the designers forgot to mention that the Sealed Tome of the Lost Legion was for the first time attached to a new looting mechanic never seen anywhere else in the game? Oh, you remember…that little “First to Click” loot mechanic they didn’t tell us about? Ah, well let’s let bygones be bygones. Omg, I just said bygones? Who uses that word?

My source informed me that there will be a quest line for warlocks in WoD that will allow your Dreadsteed to fly. Crazier things have happened right? I mean we were given green fire so this doesn’t appear to be too far fetched. In fact, I kinda like the idea of adding demonic wings to one of the best looking ground mounts in the game. Do you think we’d have to call our majestic steeds All-Terrain vehicles (ATVs) when we’re able to eventually fly on them? Over land, water, and air we’ll roam. Nothing will be out of reach for us! World domination is here!

The source even included a data mined picture which sadly didn’t have a name attached. I’ll post the little beauty for your viewing pleasure now:

Of course, I have no clue why the image has blue shadings and I’m sure it would look much more impressive as burning flame red or with beautiful fel-green in the tinting. Personally, I’d also like to see the wings appear to be more bat-like-ish.

 

Crazier things have happened right?

Anyone remember when the name Heroes of the Storm was registered and passed around on the interwebs and people were going crazy thinking that was the name of the new expansion? Does anyone remember when The Mists of Pandaria expansion name was first mentioned and everyone thought that it was going to be an Iphone and Ipad app? I can even recall when MoP was finally announced there was a lot of shock and disbelief as some just couldn’t believe Blizzard was going to be adding panda bears to our beloved WoW. No way. It wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be.

Well to all of those naysers (Omg I just typed the word naysayer), I’d ask that you go and check your calendars and I’m sure if I told you it was April 1st that you could at least believe me on that one right? So on behalf of Legracen over at the Chaos Portal Show I’d like to wish all of you a fun, safe, and happy April Fools’ Day! All hate mail can be directed to @Legracen since he is the mastermind behind this April Fools’ day prank. I might be a despicable warlock, but even I enjoy a little tomfoolery from time to time. Omg, I just said tomfoolery.

I really would like to have bat wings on my Dreadsteed, and I think that idea sure beats having floating pink shards on my head when I run Affliction. What do you think is better? Floating pink shards above your head or a flying Dreadsteed? And how much hate mail will Legracen get over this idea?

On Being Lazy, Wretched, and Self-Serving

Halllloooowww Everyone,

Yes, I know, it’s been almost 1, er…2…3 months a long time since my last post and I could probably come up with a whole slew of excuses as to why I’ve failed to write. Instead, I’ll just be honest with you and myself, and just openly admit that I’ve been lazy, wretched, and self-serving. What can I say? I’m a warlock right?

The reason for my laziness

In my last post back in November, I started to write up my own version of a basic “How to Demonology Guide” and I really did have every intention on getting it done. Since I’m a hack writer who constantly finds myself nitpicking and rewriting what I had previously written I soon came to realize that with all of my never ending revisions that I actually had written the post two or three times over. I know the expansion is winding down and it’s probably irrelevant at this point in time, but I still plan to get it posted because I’m still saddened that I haven’t seen very many Demonology warlocks anymore, and it is my hope that maybe, just maybe, a new fledgling warlock will read it and it might inspire them to try Demo.

Fwiw, I really do need to explain my absence if only to shed some of my own guilt so please humor me ;) A few days after my last post a couple of things occurred which made me lazy. First, my area was hit with two different snow storms that kept us from leaving our home for almost 2 weeks. My company also changed their vacation policy and I was forced to take three weeks of vacation before the end of the year. Then the Christmas and New Year’s Holidays arrived and they were followed up by our area getting hit with two more ice storms. So in a nutshell time has flown past me in a flash. What did I do during all of that down time? Omg, lots! I’m now running on two different flex teams, and I’ve filled in for a bunch of other teams with my alts on the nights when I’m not actually signed up to raid. Oh, and I guess I should mention I went from six toons at cap to now having 12!

The unexpected downtime with Recruit-A-Friend

You might be wondering how can I blame some snow, extra vacation time, and the holiday season as a reason for my being lazy when it comes to putting out posts? Well, I can blame them quite easily actually, but I have to truly blame two people who inspired me. You see, back in the early part of November I listened to @Ashayo and @Eljeppy on WoWgeekly as they discussed taking advantage of the Recruit-A-Friend program to help speed up the leveling process. I’ve always drooled at the 2 player rocket mount that you can only get through RAF, and when Blizzard offered up such a good deal on purchasing the game less than a week later it only helped to force and embolden galvanize my thoughts on getting a second account. 

Between hearing @Ashayo and @Eljeppy, and seeing Blizzard offering such a cheap deal I was already teetering on the edge, but it really was during that first snow storm hit that I jumped into getting a second account and taking advantage of Recruit-A-Friend. You see, normally when my area gets hit with that much snow and ice we either lose our cable and internet, or our electric service, and sometimes we lose both. This time; however, we were trapped inside our home but were fortunate enough to never lose any of our basic services. We had heat, we had TV, we had internet, and we had plenty of free time since we weren’t able to go anywhere.

On the very first day of being snowed in our home my oldest asked if she could play WoW. I let her start a new character on my account and after an hour or she approached me and asked if there was anyway we could play together. She didn’t have to ask me twice ;) and so I got her signed up on RAF. For the next five days, and for only a couple of hours each day we spent some Dad and daughter bonding time by questing, drinking hot chocolate, and running a ton of dungeons. When the snow began to melt less than one week later our toons had already reached the starting quest for the MoP Expansion.

As the home bound days, holidays and vacation days passed not only did we get our toons to cap, but we worked on a few more characters too. I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed playing the game with my daughter. She used to play the game a few years back, but when she started to notice boys all of that changed. In fact, when I asked her why the sudden turn around in wanting to play WoW her choice of words were something along the lines of, “because I love melting faces and OMG I really, really want a cloud serpent!”

Being greedy and self-serving

While my motives in purchasing a second account with RAF at the beginning might have been greedy and self-serving because I wanted to level a few new alts faster, and because I wanted that sweet two-player rocket mount it actually turned into something quite different. Instead, I found that I got to spend a lot of time with my daughter that was different from what we do in our normal lives. Don’t get me wrong, as a family we do a lot of things IRL together because we camp, we boat, we float, we hike, and from time to time we take trips or go on vacation. During the week we’re like most families in that we do homework, we attend sports games, and we try to stay sane with the demands of busy life; however, playing WoW with my daughter this time was something a little bit different and a little more special to me.

It was different because I got to have my daughter’s time and attention all to myself during the winter storms. She leaves for college this summer and I’m going to miss her more than she’ll ever know. So yes, I was greedy and self-serving in wanting to spend time with my daughter if even for a few hours fighting bad guys and flying on dragons. My daughter is old enough that I’ve come to grips with the fact that she’s not a little girl anymore. I’ve come to grips with the fact that I’m not the center of her world anymore like I was when she was younger. I’ve come to grips with the fact that when she leaves in six month to go off to college that her childhood years have come and gone and that they’re never going to come back.

So forgive my friends for being greedy and self-serving, and for being a few months behind on my posts.

What you can expect from me

I’ll be finishing up my demonology guide soon and from there I plan to write a post about taking a look at warlock demons and the skins that I would like to see available for them. Hunters can have their pick and choosing of companions so why can’t we?  Along with that I’ll be going back to look at more warlock transmogs, and I’ll be highlighting a few more warlocks with my Unleashing the Warlock Within series. I’ve got some things to rant about that I think need to be fixed for in-game quality of life stuff, and I want to talk about what warlocks could give up for the battle of the button bloat.

Just to make it easier to hold me accountable here’s a list:

• Demonology Guide
• Warlock minion skins
• Rants and raves about things in-game
• Button Bloat – What can we live without?
• More Unleashing the Warlock Within player highlights

 

Things I’ve learned while I’ve been playing WoW with my daughter

Taurens can wear anything and they still look good. The view from the level of a gnome makes my neck ache. Tanking is a lot more fun than I remember. Trying to work too many farms on too many toons can become a second job and really hampers your play time. A new player has enough curiosity and questions to try your patience. Pet battling still isn’t for me. What you think is a fun aspect of the game isn’t always what someone in your party finds enjoyable. Newer players have a lot less tolerance for the trolls in LFR. Hot chocolate is best served with six medium sized marshmallows.

 

*If you want to hear a funny story listen to the latest Training Dummies podcast (Episode 61 titled – Bowling Bumper Boss Mods) to hear how Rob (Hotpox) found out my daughter plays WoW too.

About my podcast segments

To everyone who wrote and tweeted me about the “Winter Veil” song I did during the holidays, thank you! I really do appreciate the kind words. I haven’t had time to work on any segments lately, but I will be making more. The expansion is winding down and to be honest, so am I. I’m giving serious debate to taking part in the beta for The Warlords of Draenor due to time constraints and knowing how busy I’ll be getting when summer gets near. My segments are fun to put together and they do keep me out of trouble so I’m sure when inspiration hits me you can expect to hear some more snarkiness, and maybe even a very badly sung song or two.

Until next time, stay warm and have fun! 

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

 

Howdy and Hail All,

Okay. So, it’s been 1 month since my last post and yes, I feel really, really bad for my tardiness, but, let me explain why. It turns out my oldest did quite well on her ACT a few months back and so on the weekends we’ve been touring campuses for her future college. Its been a very surreal experience for me, and an eye opener for her. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying touring the colleges with my daughter and I’m sure that whichever one she finally decides on to be her new home will be the right choice for her, but it still feels weird. I’m very proud, but it’s still weird.

For my life in Azeroth I’ve been busy raiding 3 nights per week. I’m doing 1 night in regular 10 man raiding, and 2 nights per week in flex raids. On the weekends I’ve been running in pug-flex groups on both the Alliance and Horde sides too. I’ve been quite busy in game and busy IRL, and to tell the truth I’ve been loving it. And while I feel like I’m getting a lot of things accomplished my blog has sadly been getting neglected and I hope this post makes up for it.

Believe it or not, I’ve written several posts that I just haven’t posted yet. The first one, which is my own little version of a Demonology 101 guide I’ll post next and it’s not really little. In fact, I think I’m driving myself nutty with all of the revisions I’ve made in trying to cut it down in size. The second post, which I’ll put up a little later this month, takes a closer look at our demons and their skins. It might sound gross, but it’s not what you think. 

Following up on my in-game and online friends – or should I just say friends?

A few weeks ago I was asked to be on the Training Dummies Podcast with Hend and Hotpox. It was an honor to have been invited on the show and I had such a good time chatting with the guys. As you know “live” shows make me a nervous wreck and of course in my dorky way I might have gotten a little long winded talking about warlocks with them. OMG, I went on and on and on about warlocks. Ya know, someone really needs to kick me when get to talking about warlocks and I can’t shut-up! /em slams head on desk in embarrassment. The good news is that Hend, who’s only ever tried Destruction, promised that he’s going to try Affliction and Demonology, and I promised that I’d go and help him get started. I’ll keep you posted as to how that turns out.

I also would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Saga from Spellbound was on the Twisted Nether Blogcast last month, and so was Ambermist from Tastes Like Battlechicken. I really enjoyed hearing both of them since I’ve followed their blogs for some time I’d like to personally say thank you to both of them for sharing their stories, and a special thanks goes to the TNB for doing the interviews! Also if you haven’t heard, @Eljeppy and @Ashayo have started their own podcast called WoWGeekly. I really enjoy hearing those two talk about their experiences playing the game, and they always make me laugh because they tell just as many stories as I do (but theirs are funnier). Nice show gentlemen, you have a friend and a fan in me so keep up the great work. I’m also very proud of my friend @Leetawow for all of her hard work and the success she’s having with her show that I’ve mentioned before called, Behind The Avatar. When you get time go and check them out!

About two months ago, I was very excited because I received an email from Ghemit wanting to know if I’d be a guest on the Lets WoW Podcast for their Halloween special with him, Dae and Uno. Of course I told him I would, but sadly about two weeks ago I saw Twitter explode with people talking about Ghemit leaving WoW. I just assumed that the holiday show he asked me to be on was cancelled, but you know what happens when you assume ;) It turns out that they still planned on doing the show, and Ghemit is just taking a break from the game and he plans to come back. He’s going to Blizzcon if that tells you anything :P So lucky for me this past Sunday night I spent 2 hours chatting it up with the Lets WoW Podcast crew via Skype. I had such a great time and those guys are a lot of fun! I also learned you need to be careful for what you say when you think people have a microphone turned off ;) So checked out their latest show called, “It’s not my fault!”.

 

The Lets Wow Podcast “Derp a Developer” Blizzard store mount contest

Here’s a few teasers I’ll toss out about my visit with the Lets Wow Podcast crew. First, Dae cosplaying a troll while Uno does a voice-over for her is classic! Go watch that 1 minute clip like now! Ghemit plans to “Derp a Developer” at Blizzcon, and I promised to give their next contest winner any in game mount of their choice. To enter the contest for a chance to win the mount all you have to do is email what question you’d like to see Ghemit ask a developer at the convention. Whatever question Ghemit picks to ask wins! So the more crazy and bizarre the question the better! Just submit your question to: ghemit @ letswowpodcast. com (with no spaces). The deadline for your question submission is November 9th and you can’t win if you don’t enter!

If I don’t say it often enough then I have to say it again. I am so very thankful and humbled for all of the great people and friends I’ve met from playing WoW and from having started this derpy little blog about warlocks. It amazes me to no end!

 

So many good podcasts and blogs and so little time

Sadly, I have to be honest in the fact I just can’t keep up with all of the WoW podcasts anymore. I still try to hear as many as I can during the week, but I think there’s well over 60+ shows now that are dedicated to WoW. OMG, that’s an insane amount of shows dedicated to one game and it’s jut too many for me to keep up with on a weekly basis. I do my best and try to listen to as many as I can, but now I’m playing them on Stitcher Radio as 1.5x speed just to stay current. Hey, it works so I can’t complain.

 

What? Demonology? Why you no run Affliction or Destruction?

Yes, it’s true. I’ve been running Demonology a lot lately and if you heard me talking endlessly on the Training Dummies (and you still managed to stay awake) then you might of heard my reasons as to why I’ve made a change. Let me just state that first and foremost, I am a warlock. I’m proud of having always played a warlock and it doesn’t really matter what spec I’m playing because at the end of the day I’m still a warlock. Despite the fact that I’m running more Demo lately, I still love Affliction even though I’m not quite happy with the new changes that arrived in patch 5.4.

Believe me, the shrill cries from my enemies as my DoTs tick down on them still rings like sweet music to my ears, but the recent changes to Affliction have made the spec feel much more dependent on RNG procs than I would prefer. The once smooth and flowing rotation style of Affliction now feels like it gets humming along and then it’s like, “OMG a proc! SB:Soulswap and re-DoT all things again!” Affliction in 5.4  feels too reactionary for me to enjoy atm. For me, it’s like Affliction has lost it’s groove so to speak or at least the groove I felt when I played it. So I decided it was time for a small change-up in my play style to keep the game fun and to keep me from getting bored.

Why did I go Demonology and not Destruction like a majority of the other warlocks out there? I know Destruction is fun, and I completely understand why people are loving big crits from Chaos Bolt hits like my friend Hend admitted on the Training Dummies show, but I can’t help to look at Demonology and think that it deserves some love and attention too. Let’s be honest, early on in the MoP expansion Affliction stood out in the spotlight and now it appears that Destruction is exploding once again (no pun intended) in popularity. Demonology, on the other hand, has never really peaked in popularity like Destruction or Affliction and so I decided it was about time to explain why it’s a specialization I hope other warlocks consider playing, or to at least try out for an off-spec. Another reason I decided to go Demo is because it offers more planning and control with my damage as compared to crossing my fingers and trinket watching.

Why should you consider playing Demonology? 

If you’ve never run Demonology, or you had in the past but haven’t dabbled with it in quite some time, please consider trying it out. Demonology really isn’t that hard to learn, and believe me when the timing is right and all of your cooldowns are gtg your head will swoon from the intoxicating surge of demonic power you’re about to unleash. When you reach the snapping point in your rotation and you’re about to destroy everything that moment is glorious!

If you’re a die-hard Destruction fan who gets excited about having your Dark Soul: Instability available just as bloodlust and/or heroism is popped and you have a spell bar full of embers, or if you’re an Afflictionist who cackles madly when your trinkets proc and you find that you still have enough shards for Soulburn:Soul Swap topped with plenty of Haunts, or if you never tried Demonology because you thought it looked too complicated and too confusing then I hope you consider dabbling into Demonology. So plan to stop back by and check out my little Demonology 101 Guide next week.

 

When RNG pays off is it too good to be true?

All Hallow’s Eve 2103 will be long remembered by me because two of the luckiest drops I ever got happened in the span of less than 40 mins, and like most things in my life it happened out of an accident. It all started when my youngest child woke up in the wee hours on Hallow’s Eve morning due to being sick. After finally getting him settled and back to bed it turns out that I was still wide awake and I couldn’t go back to sleep. So I logged into the game to check some auctions and it wasn’t long before a friend /w me asking if I’d give him a quick que for the Horseman since I have a healer and his toon is a dps. Okay fine. We finished the run without any problems and I left group to head to my farm to finish up my daily chores. When I arrived at the Halfhill Inn I started cleaning out my bags by the mailbox and when I clicked on the loot bag from the Horseman voila! Boom! The Reins of the Horseman sat in the loot window staring back at me. Needless to say, I passed out.

 

When I awoke and I couldn’t contain myself from the excitement I began telling everyone what happend. From /gchat to /whispers to /general to /trade and anyone on my friends list…I told everyone. If you were logged in-game at that time you might have seen me spamming my macro of, “OMG I got the Horseman Mount!” Yes, I was quite obnoxious about it ;) Since I still had a few hours before I had to leave for work, and because most people at that point put me on ignore I thought to myself, “Why not go and run Onyxia’s Lair?” So can you imagine my surprise when after my first attempt (for the week) I see the elusive Reins of the Onyxian Drake sitting in the loot window? Needless to say, I passed out again.

 

This time when I awoke from utter shock I wasn’t sure if I should tell anyone or not. First, I didn’t want to get put on ignore again, and second, I wasn’t sure if anyone would believe me. Heck, I didn’t even believe it myself. So I peeked back in my bags again and yep, the Onyxia mount was still there. Needless to say I passed out a third time. Now before you hate me for what might be considered bragging please keep in mind that I’ve run Ony every week on 6 toons for what feels like forever, and I have been running all of my toons for the Horseman’s mount every year as well. Please consider that both of these drops occurred after many failed attempts. I’m just quite dumbfounded that they finally dropped in under an hour on the same day. Holy crapolie!

Another lucky thing had happened to me just a few days before the rare mounts dropped too. I was on my Alliance Hunter and decided to check to see if Portent, the rare Quillen, was up. At the first place I stopped to look I came upon a set of tracks that didn’t continue further along the trail. I immediately tossed up a flare and there before me shimmering in the yellow glow of the flickering light was Portent. Out of the four different colors that this hunter pet can appear in this particular Portent was even in the color I was wanting too. I guess with all the bad RNG I’m having in not getting any decent gear drops, or secret drops, or runestone drops via raiding, when RNG pays off elsewhere in the game for me maybe it just seems too good to be true?

 

For everyone going to Blizzcon

Have a safe journey and enjoy the fun, and please make sure to send lots of pics on twitter! Have a great week everyone and have a great convention!

How Blizzard Could Improve On The Proving Grounds

Howdy All,

As you can tell, I’m a little behind on my bi-monthly posts ;) My apologies truly, but sometimes RL just happens to get in the way of my hack writing. Luckily, my RL work has slowed up a bit, the kids are back in school, and the announcement of patch 5.4 being here on September 10th has helped me sharpen my focus on what I would like to accomplish before it hits. It often feels like I have too many alts and not enough time in the day! *Sighs*

I had a difficult time in trying to decide on what to write about this week. There’s so much news going on out there: Flex raiding, new mounts, new pets, new quests, new raids, a new trailer, and the new end goal of ousting Garrosh for good; however, I decided I want to take a step back and look at something that made the news a few weeks ago that I think deserves a little more attention and discussion.

 

A interesting topic sparked from an Elf

About 1 month ago I read a post over at The Grumpy Elf called, Will the Proving Grounds Help or Hurt?  The post is well written and well thought out, and it’s well worth the read. And while I agree with all of the points TGE is making, I couldn’t help and ponder about the upcoming addition to the game that designed to help players practice how to play their class with the use of a new training area called The Proving Grounds.

At first, I began reading The Grumpy Elf’s post with the idea that he would be discussing how newer and seasoned players would be taught how to play their class starting with basic rotations and eventually working their way towards mastering it; however, after reading the first few paragraphs I realized that derpy me misunderstood the meaning of the post’s title. The real point The Grumpy Elf is trying to convey is about how people might possibly use the new Proving Grounds area as a measuring stick, or as a way to judge another player on their abilities in-game. Like TGE, I never used a player’s gear score or in-game achievements to judge anyone, and I can honestly admit, that I don’t plan to use the Proving Grounds as a measuring stick either.

If you’re not in the beta or if you’re not aware of this new addition that is being added to WoW in the upcoming 5.4 patch then let me explain what the Proving Grounds are and what they’re suppose to do. The premise of the Proving Grounds is that a player will enter a solo instance or solo scenario type of environment to help practice the role of their class. In its basic concept it’s designed to aid a person and to make them a better player. It’s a novel concept particularly for players who would like to try taking on the role of tanking or healing without the added pressure of being in a group setting. It’s a safe place to get your feet wet in learning your role and where making mistakes won’t get you kicked. Now whether the Proving Grounds will be able to accomplish that task, well, we’ll just have to wait and see.

 

Easy to learn, difficult to master

Easy to learn, difficult to master. I hear this phrase tossed around all the time about World of Warcraft and most of Blizzard’s games in general. It’s a catchy phrase and it’s got that “cool” quality factor hidden in the wording that gives it a bit of mystique and intrigue. Like I said, it’s a catchy phrase, but the problem I have with how the phrase is used in that it’s very ambiguous as to where one would learn to master their playing skills. When I first heard about the Proving Grounds I have to admit I really like the idea behind it because I was hoping that Blizzard would finally create a learning environment in the game that actually trained players how to play their class better.

Sadly, some of the information I’ve been reading regarding the Proving Grounds on the PTR makes it sound like this new teaching system may fall short of my expectations. From what I can gather it sounds like a player is dropped off in a small arena to solo fight various waves of mobs and depending on the role they’ve chosen (heals, tank, or dps) it’s left up to the player to “practice” with little guidance or direction other than what Blizzard already offers in the game via the Spellbook and Core Abilities Tab. You have to agree that the Proving Grounds definitely sound better than just smacking a target dummy, but I can’t help but wonder how soon will it be before we’ll be seeing videos, blogs, and web magazines offering guides for how to complete the new Proving Ground encounters.

One of my biggest pet-peeves about WoW is when you have to alt-tab out of the game to gather information about how to do something in-game from another website, and when it comes to playing your class role better I don’t know anyone that doesn’t seek advice from some other place on the internet instead of learning it from the game. Shouldn’t it be Blizzard’s role to help train a player to the fundamentals of their class?  How many times have you seen or heard someone ask how to play a class better only to get directed to some place else? There’s a ton of sites out there that offer help in making you a better player, and I’m sure you’ve probably visited these sites yourself because who hasn’t heard of sites like Elitist Jerks? MMO Champion? Icy-Veins? or WoWInsider? I just find it odd and puzzling when I stop to consider why isn’t any of this player education coming from Blizzard?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for all of the hard work being done at these websites and for all of the writers and people who help compile all of this great information ( /em mourns the loss of The Warcraft Hunters Union and the Fatboss guys), but I can’t help but think that Blizzard is missing a great opportunity to take on the role for teaching their players how to actually play rather than let others do it for them.

 

Training and learning tools that are currently available in the game

When you stop and think about the training and learning tools that are currently available in the game, you’ll soon find there isn’t much of anything to teach a player how to really play. When I stopped and tried to think of what the game offered I could only count a few teaching tools and they are: Use X on Y quests, The Spellbook, the Core Abilities Tab, and Target Dummies.

In regards to the type of training that has a player use X on Y quests I know there’s still a very low level quest for warlocks where you’re asked to use the Immolate spell a few times on a nearby target dummy and then you’re done, you’re rewarded, and then you just move on. I call it the “Use X on Y” quest. All this type of teaching quest does is acknowledge that you learned how to find the Immolate spell on your action bar and that you could click on it a few times while targeting a target dummy. It’s a simple enough quest to complete, but for a new player that is just starting out there’s a lot of small details that this quest doesn’t show or explain.

As seasoned players we all know the difference between a DoT and a direct damage ability, and we understand the difference between a buff or a debuff including various other important terms we consider as common knowledge, but would a new player know these things? Would a new player who completed the Immolate spell quest understand what the debuff box on the target dummy’s character window showed and why it was important? The Immolate quest doesn’t explain that this spell should always be kept up on a target during battle and the only way a player might come find and understand this idea of keeping Immolate up on a target is if they read this concept on the Core Abilities Tab.

Another problem with the learn Immolate quest is that unlike a regular foe or mob you’d face in battle, the target dummy doesn’t fight back or respond. Did you spam Immolate twice on that thing? Yep. Okay, take your loot and move along because there’s nothing else to teach you here.

 

For seasoned players the game’s simple tasks and concepts like the “Use X on Y” quest and what a damage-over-time (DoT) spell is might be laughable and almost too elementary, but I’m trying to be open minded and imagine what learning the game would be like from the view of a new player. Other than a few of the “Use X on Y” quests does anyone ever recall a system in the game that told you what order you needed to toss out your spells and abilities to be the most optimal? Oh sure, we have the new Core Abilities tab but before Blizzard added this feature in MoP there was nothing to guide you to be a better player other than your spells tooltips, experimenting, or being taught from other players or visiting other websites.

A couple of weeks ago, I thought about how new players learn to master their class after helping a few fledgling warlocks who were still a little bit confused on how to do better. All of them complained that they wished something was in the game that could have shown them the few tips I merely pointed out. Where did I learn these tips? Well, as much as I’d like to think I’m clever, I’m not. I learned these tips like most players by reading as much as I can about our class from other sites. So while Blizzard’s implementation of the Core Abilities Tab is a start in the right direction I still believe it falls quite short of actually being helpful. The main problem with the Core Abilities Tab is that it’s too basic to offer any true value other than maybe being useful for attacking a daily quest mob. When you consider it’s worth for a dungeon boss you’ll find it rather lacking.

Example:

<Ability Name> Keep this on the target at all times.

<Ability Name> Use this spell next, or when it lights up.

<Ability Name> Use on target when it’s below 20% health.

<Ability Name> Spam this when you have nothing else to do.

The picture above shows the Core Abilities tab for an Affliction warlock. I remember back a few months ago when I once had another player ask me why it shows Corruption as the first spell to cast because when an Affliction warlock applies their DoTs instantly using the Soulburn: Soul Swap mechanic, then the DoTs are actually applied in a different order. The Core Abilities infers that the order should be Corr > Agony > UA. When applied using the Soulburn method they actually go up on the target as Agony > Corr > UA. I know that both Corruption and Agony are instant casts and as long as those spells are both up and ticking away it’s probably not a big difference in dps as to which order they are applied, but for a newer player you can understand their confusion. If you don’t know what you don’t know, how does a player know they’re doing it right?

All of the little intricacies

When I was helping three new fledgling warlocks just a few weeks ago I noticed a big difference in how they learned. For two of the players who were running on an alt-toon all it took was for me to throw out a few key terms and explanations about game mechanics that they already understood to get them up and running quickly, but the third player who was completely new to the game it took a little more time and effort to get them feeling confident about the what they were doing, and to grasp the reasoning behind it. My intention is not to embarrass this newer player for not knowing or understanding important game mechanics, instead, my intention is to point out how Blizzard could be doing more to help educate their player base a little bit better.

The problem the newer player was having was despite having a decent ilvl they were still having trouble with lower geared warlocks out performing them on the dps meters. So I had this player meet me by the target dummies and I had them show me what they normally did on their rotation. Within the first minute of watching and having them explain to me what they were doing a couple of small things soon stuck out on where they could improve. Unbeknownst to this player they were using trinkets and the Dark Soul ability incorrectly. The concept of renewing “DoT snapshots” was never explained to them and this player believed that when you popped a trinket or a big cooldown ability like Dark Soul that your spells increased at a higher damage output automatically. I don’t blame this person for thinking that way, nor do I look down on them. None of the teaching tools in the game explain this concept so how could you blame this player for thinking this way? 

 

Teaching new players

There’s so many different ways Blizzard could help teach people in game to play their class better, and I hope that if Blizzard is going to add a teaching aid (like the Proving Grounds) that they’d go all out and do it right. My youngest recently purchased the video game series Portal I and Portal II with allowance money he carefully saved up. I sat and watched my son load up the first game and within five minutes of entering the game’s world he had all of the basics down of what to do in a simple walk-through type of scenario. In about 15 minutes he was completely acclimated to the game’s world in moving, completing puzzles and scenarios, and using action buttons for his guns to pop in and out of the portals to manipulate objects and various things in the environment.

The Portal Game designers were able to teach my son, and me, all of these complex concepts within the span of 15 minutes in a very entertaining way (Omg those robots are hilarious!). I went back and counted 18 variables we had learned and mastered in that quick span of time. Now I understand that while the Portal game’s abilities and commands are nothing close to the number of of spells a WoW character would have access to using it’s still a great example of how a simple teaching method could be added for better training of players.

What if at every 10 levels you were told to go see your class trainer who walked you through simple concepts like what they show on the Core Abilities tab and how to use them in a real kind of setting? What if like the Proving Grounds players were placed in an instance or scenario as mobs appeared that you would battle as the trainer instructed you on what abilities you should use at the appropriate times?

If you’ve completed the Valley of the Four Winds area you might remember being instructed over in Paoquan Hallow about focusing energy. The questline is a tongue-in-cheek reference towards The Karate Kid movie that moves you along a path in training you how to focus your energy, and throughout the expansion that same mechanic is used several times. The mechanic itself is very easy to do and even though its only a single button push it still makes me wish Blizzard would have added a quest line like that back in Cataclysm to help teach people to push the button correctly on the Ultraxion fight. I’m sure if they did it might have saved more than a few wipes.

 

What I’d like to see in the Proving Grounds

Here’s the three key things I’d like to see in the proving grounds that could be toggled on or off as a player becomes confident in their skills: A Graphical Display, Class Trainers, and the option to have a Spectator Mode.

 

A Graphical Display

When it comes to a graphical display tool the easiest description I can offer is an older addon called Easy Destro. The Easy Destro addon became wildly popular back in WotLK when everyone started switching over to playing the Destruction spec because it began putting out the best numbers. All this particular addon did was incorporate a window to your screen that you could resize to be big or small, and could be moved anywhere for easy viewing. When you entered combat the Easy Destro addon would display the icon of the spell you needed to cast next to reach the optimal damage in your rotation. Once you cast the correct spell it would then instantly switch to the next spell you should be casting.

The simplicity of the Easy Destro addon helped players execute the Destruction warlock rotation for single target fights only and a lot of warlocks used it until they grasped the flow of the rotation. When a player felt comfortable with what they were doing they just turned it off. The addon didn’t offer and insight into burst, CC, or AoE education. It made learning the rotation quick and painless and people loved it.

Now I’m sure by even suggesting that Blizzard add a teaching feature like the Easy Destro Addon type of learning tool to the Proving Grounds many of the more elitist types would argue that it’s dumbing down the player base and making the game way too easy. I hate to break the news to them but isn’t that what the Core Abilities tab is trying to do only falling short? Blizzard could even take the Easy Destro addon a step further and add features that Easy Destro was lacking such as training for burst, CC and AoE situations. 

Class Trainers

My second suggestion for improving the Proving Grounds would be for Blizz to dust off all of those old class trainers who find themselves neglected and put them back to work. You just know those old NPCs are bored to tear. All they do is sit waiting around to offer a few low level quests to leveling players every now and then, and you know they probably go giddy whenever a player drops by to ask for a quick respec. C’mon Blizzard give some respect back to the Class trainers! Believe me, everyone loves to have a good mentor. How many movies have been made about a teacher that inspires their students? From The Karate Kid, to Mr. Holland’s Opus, there’s tons of movies that fit that genre and for good reason. And to help make the Class Trainer NPCs truly shine all Blizzard would need to do is let them help the player by filling in the little details that the graphical display can’t show or explain.

For a game that changes so often and so quickly, do you think it would be too difficult to add something like this? I don’t think so. By combining “use X on Y” type quests, offering a simple graphical display, and adding smaller details explained by a class trainer through the use of text I think it’s quite doable. Imagine walking into a small arena facing a single enemy as your class trainer sits off to the side waiting for you to begin. After accepting your training starter quest from them you are offered several choices as to what skills you’d like to work on.

“Hail <PLAYER NAME>! So you’ve come for more training in mastering our class? A very wise choice indeed. Well, if you feel up to it…which skills would you like to sharpen?

• Basic Spells
• Single Target Rotation
• Advanced Single Target Rotation
• Facing multiple enemies
• Advanced skills – CC, Interrupts, and whatever else

 

If the newer warlock who didn’t understand how Dark Soul and DoT snapshots worked it could have been easily explained from the trainer followed by a combination of the “Use X on Y” quest coupled with the Graphical Display and some text from a class trainer. 

 

A Spectator Mode

To me the most important step Blizzard could do to help aid players is to allow the Proving Grounds to have a spectator mode. Have you ever tried to explain something to someone over the phone when the other person couldn’t see what you were seeing? With a spectator mode integrated into the Proving Grounds your friends and other experienced players could watch you and help offer advice if needed. Maybe you’re a tank and you need help learning how to use Tidy Plates? Maybe you’re a healer and need help learning a healing addon like Healbot or Vuhdo. Maybe you’re a dps who is just trying to get better at using your CC to the fullest? Adding a spectator mode would be a great tool to compliment all of those situations and more.

When you stop and think about it, Blizzard already has a spectator mode set in place such as when players group into a party or raid to practice on the target dummies. Another good example can be seen in the Brawler’s Guild as you can stand along the sides of the arena to watch other players compete. By adding a spectator mode to to the Proving Grounds groups can work at their own pace in a controlled environment so as not to interrupt or annoy other players, and it gives the group the opportunity not to be bothered or distracted by randomly re-spawning mobs.

 

A Brawler’s Guild with benefits

I guess When you get right down to it the type of Proving Grounds I’m envisioning is really another Brawler’s Guild, but with the added benefits of having a graphical display and a competent class trainer added to help offer advice and advanced tips. With all of the creative ideas I’ve watched Blizzard add into the game, I know that they could make a useful training tool like this a reality where a player would not only learn basic play, but could work towards advancing their skill to finally becoming master of their specialization and their class.

For the past week I’ve been working on this post and imagine my surprise when as I was driving home tonight and listening to the newest Convert to Raid podcast (#109) and it just so happens that they were interviewing Ion Hazzikostas. It’s a good interview and I recommend you give it a listen when you can find the time. Without giving too much away I’ll just say that when the topic of the Proving Grounds is brought up I became sadly disappointed. From the explanations Ion gave it sounds like the Proving Grounds are just going to be single person scenario with no guidance or instruction. Ion even admitted that the Proving Grounds won’t be offering a spectator mode either. The reason? The designers didn’t want players to be embarrassed if others players saw them make mistakes. I have an easy fix for that problem for the Blizzard to consider. Why not just allow a spectator mode to occur only if players enter as a party or a group? If a player enters alone, then spectator mode is turned off. I think that is an easy fix don’t you? 

From Ion’s answers it really does sound like the Proving Grounds is just a single player instance with no particular guidance.  I hope I’m wrong, but I’m thinking that if Blizzard wanted to take the easy route on creating the Proving Grounds then they should have just removed the Core Abilities Tab and instead added a “Core Link Tab” that listed other sites or videos that actually try to teach their players instead. When you click on any of the suggestions listed on the Core Link Tab then the game could automatically open a web browser and direct you to those sites. Adding something like that would probably be more helpful IMHO. And why not add a Core Link Tab because it’s what most people do anyway right?

What you can expect

Since I’m getting back on track in RL, and I’m back on track with getting out my bi-monthly posts I want to let you know what you can expect from me. I still have a lot of great warlocks to highlight with my Unleashing the Warlock Within series, I’m also working on a special post about our demons, and I’m collecting what feels like gigabytes and gigabytes of good and bad Tmog pictures too.

Have a great week and as always, thanks for reading!

Double Teaming Transmog Reviews with Blutt

Hail Everyone,

I hope all of you are doing well, and that the weather in your area has been kind. I just came off of a mini-vacation where the sun decided to teach me a lesson on who’s the boss when it comes to AoE. To say that I’ve been sunburned is an understatement and I can now honestly sympathize with how bacon feels when it has been cooked. Owie! Aloe skin lotion ftw!

 

Today, I’ve been honored to have Blutt, (@blutt_wow) join me in reviewing some warlock transmogrifications. I’m very excited to have her take part with her tmog comments and recommends, and I’d like to personally take the time to tell her “Thank You”. It’s always nice to consort with other warlocks especially when it comes down to the important things like looking good at being bad. And if you’re not following Blutt on twitter you should consider it because she’s funny, and she’s always up for talking warlocky stuff /em bows and salutes Blutt!

Now before I get to looking at some good and bad Tmog with Blutt, I’d first like to complain and rant discuss some warlock stuff and then touch on some of the latest news for just a bit…

 

Too much utility? Really?

While there still hasn’t been no official announcement date for the 5.4 patch release date, I’m really enjoying the time to play catch-up both IRL and in gearing up my alts. And while most of the warlock changes on the PTR have slowed down a bit, the only really big warlock topic that has created an uproar in the past few weeks (besides the changes to KJC) was the article over at WoWInsider written by Sara Pine called, Do warlocks bring too much utility to a raid? It’s a simple question that was sparked from one of Ghostcrawler’s tweets when he mentioned that warlocks might bring too much utility to a raid.

 

Without getting into too much of a heated discussion about this top, fwiw I’d like to offer my take on answering this question. Ghostcrawler’s tweet was cryptic in the fact that he didn’t specifically mention how much utility was too much, or did it point to what specific abilities were over-the-top or over-powered in his view. Was Ghostcrawler referring to our dps output combined with our raid utility? Or was he referring to our personal survival skills combined with our raid utility? If you read the article, and if you read Ghostcrawler’s tweet the discussion is about raid utility.

Do we bring too much?

I’ve tried to consider what specific categories of raid utilities Ghostcrawler might have been referring to and so I’ve tried to take a step back and consider the question of “Do warlocks bring too much raid utility?” from the view of a player who runs 2 hunters, 2 warlocks and 2 shaman. So here is a short list I came up with for your consideration:

Single Target Damage – I personally don’t view dps as a raid utility because I like to keep the conversation from being diluted, (apples and oranges) but I’m throwing it out there because it appears on some of the lists that people complain about in regards to warlocks lately. Rarely in LFRs do I see warlocks at the tops of the charts unless they’re over geared for the encounter. I can tell you right now, as I’m gearing up my healers, I’m seeing Rogues, Mages, DKs and Hunters sharing in the single target dps spotlight, not warlocks.

AoE Damage – Should we consider AoE damage as a raid utility? IMO, I don’t think so, but again it’s a major complaint I’m seeing people toss around as being too high with warlocks. Maybe some of these complainers view trash clearing as a raid utility? Like single target dps, I’m not seeing the AoE of warlocks topping the charts unless a particular toon is over geared and they’re slumming LFR farming valor. For high AoE damage atm, all I’m seeing is Elemental Shaman and Hunters topping the charts.  In particular, those two classes stand out for me because when it comes to AoE I’ve often been shocked to see some of the numbers Recount is recording on them. If spamming Chain Lightning doesn’t get nerfed I’d be very surprised.

Raid Stamina Buff – Another raid utility we offer via a warlock’s Dark Intent spell. Maybe I’m crazy, but wasn’t this changed to give a balance again for groups because some raid compositions might not be able to get the stamina buff? Okay, what-evs!

Healthstones – (a.k.a., our warlock cookies( The complainers see them as free health pots. Big whoop. Okay, so now we give them in stacks of three. Geez louise, go back to making it 1 again. Fine. Does anyone see them as a game changer utility? I don’t and maybe that’s just me? This one really surprises me because one of the longest running jokes I’ve hear from warlocks and non-warlocks players alike is when after a wipe we still hear people say, “Oh yeah, I forgot to use my cookie”. Even my own raid team that I hound every Tuesday night still forgets to use them sometimes even when I constantly remind them!

Battle Rez / Soulstone – These little gems used to only work for us, or on a person we decided to place it on. Of course common sense (and our raid leaders) often dictated that it was always placed on a healer, and a healer who could Brez always took first priority. Wasn’t the reason Blizzard gave the Brez ability to our Soulstones was there might be some raid compositions that would be without a Brez? Wasn’t the Brez ability for warlocks to help add a balance for raids? Okay, fine. Take away the Brez portion of our Soulstone and go back to how it was before and I have no problems. I rarely die to standing in bad stuff so this is not a concern for me. Sadly, newer tanks in LFR might not like that kind change. I know because I’ve battle rezzed a lot of them with both of my warlocks when I’m farming for valor and gear.

Raid Mobility / Demonic Gateway – If this was a discussion about PvP we could probably have quite a discussion about the changes to our gateways, but instead we’re talking about Ghostcrawler’s tweet about warlocks having too much utility in raids. When it comes to raids, rarely do I see our gateways used. Even when they are utilized I don’t see them being tools that would make them game changers. Can anyone name a fight where a demonic gateway was a key factor in downing a particular boss? Is there any fight I might be missing where a team had to bring a warlock in order to win using this niche spell? Maybe there is one and I’m just not sharp enough to see it. If you can think of any where a DG makes that huge of a difference in the outcome please let me know.

Crowd Control and CC – Other than questing, scenarios and 5 man dungeons, do any warlocks use their crowd control in raids? I haven’t needed to use mine very much and it’s because of a very good reason. For raiding, our CC is rarely needed because every trash group is just a tank pull and an AoE grind fest to follow. The only raid fight in MoP that I’ve seen that truly needed crowd control IMHO was for Wind Lord Mal’jarak’s adds, but when Blizzard gives anyone in the raid the ability to use Impaling Spear then who cares about using any of the usual CC?

Out of all of these abilities of what many would consider as a raid utility the only one I could see as being a little too much, or might be seen as over-the-top might be our Soulstone’s ability to battle-rez. Ha! I kid. I mean a hunter pet can brez and no one complains, but give it to a warlock and it’s OP. As for me, the only time I get to use my Soulstone’s Brez ability in a 10 man raid is when our resto Druid Teammate drops (which is very rare) or when I’m in an LFR and all of the other classes that can provide never use it. I guess the next time I have to battle-rez a newer tank in LFR because 2 of the other classes (that usually have 6 to 8 players represented as compared to maybe me and one other warlock) and they can’t use their battle-rez spells I’m going to screen shot it and send it to Mr. Ghostcrawler with a note explaining:

Dear Mr. Ghostcrawler,

It’s not that warlocks have too much utility, it’s the fact we’re the only ones who care to use them. Please see pic included…” <failedbrezzers.jpg>

My Best,

Amijade

(PS – I do love your snarkiness)”

Okay, I’ve done enough ranting about too much warlock utility, but I’d love to hear your take on it. Do you think warlocks provide too much? I really am curious…

 

OMG! An in-game store and the end of the world

So there’s been data mining that shows Blizzard is playing around with micro-purchases available at an in-game store. *Yawns* Yes, some think the end is nigh because of this information. Believe me, everyone has been covering this news and from my PoV as long as you don’t need to purchase anything to give you an advantage to defeat a boss or give you an edge over others in battles or in raids, then I think it’s fair game. If it gets to the point where it’s a “pay to win” then the days for me and WoW will be probably end. We’re not even close to that point yet and I don’t think Blizzard is dumb enough to jump the shark for something like that. I know I for one would wish that some of the elusive TCG look could be considered for micro-transactions. Can you say Feldrake? I’m not saying I’d buy them all, but there are a few where I know I’d be willing to spend my money.

 

We can even carry this discussion over about micro-transactions as it leads to what everyone has probably now seen available for digital purchase over at the Blizzard Store. Transmog items. Yep! Three unique transmog helms are available over at the Blizzard Story that are account wide and running at $15.00 each. Now, if they were offered at $5.00 each I could see that as a reasonable offer especially since they’re account bound, but at $15.00 that’s too steep for my liking. I’m on the fence about seeing Tmog items available for purchase. Atm, Tmog items aren’t something I’d pay money for at least with the current offerings. If Blizzard is going to head down the path of micro-transactions then I’d much rather have them focus on things such as mounts, cool trinkets, or vanity pets. 

Alright, enough with the ranting! Let’s move along to some warlock Tmog review fun with my friend Blutt.

 

What Not To Wear For Warlocks

Starting off with some of the good Tmogs

Blutt: This gentleman looks dark and foreboding in his Gul’Dan’s Regalia, the warlock Tier9 set (which is so much better looking for Horde than Alliance)! His belt matches and looks great with the robe.

Amijade: Everything works for me except his shoes, but maybe he was on his way to fix that? For sets like this there’s so many MH + OH and MH only weapons. Even with the blue shoes he looks imposing and threatening.

 

 

Blutt: What is better than having Illidan horns? Having Illidan horns bigger than you, that’s what! This diminutive warlock looks fantastic and must have worked hard for his Betrayer’s Regalia, rewarded from Challenge Modes.

Amijade: This is a great set won from scenario challenge modes so hats off to this little guy for putting in the effort. This set looks great for all classes except for female Undead toons. The small boney frames of those models make the horns look too big, but for everyone else it works. Just remember if you’re anything other than a human or a Belf, you really need to make sure to wear this set with the helm showing.

 

 

Blutt: A+! I am a huge fan of revealing transmogs – when done well. This warlock managed to look sexy and sinister (bonus points for avoiding the overly-trendy Black Mageweave Leggings) with pieces from the Malevolent Gladiator Felweave set and Barbaric Cloth Vest and matching loincloth. 

Amijade: As many of you know, Rouge pictured above, is a role-player and she devises tons of great looks. It seems every time I bump into her on my server I have to stop and take pictures of her current tmog set. When you’re a female human, or a female Belf and you look better than your succubus then the take home message is that you’re doing it right. Rouge proves that point. Another fact I’d like to add is that if you’re a female human or Belf then showing any of your own skin is just fine. For all other classes of warlocks if you can see any skin or fur, then you’re doing it wrong.

 

 

Blutt: I personally am a huge fan of the Laughing Skull Shoulderpads. These petite black shoulders compliment a wide variety of armor sets and should be a staple in any fashion-conscious warlock’s void storage. This blood elf’s belt model, Girdle of Endemic Anger, drops in Temple of the Jade Serpent, and shares the same model of numerous other belts. This belt’s fashionable purple hue and its slim profile makes it a very versatile piece. But warlocks – do not forget to transmog your weapons!  I suggest she transmog her Loshan, Terror Incarnate to Latro’s Dancing Blade from Magister’s Terrace.

Amijade: This is great set and I’d have to agree with Blutt in regards to the weapon needing a better transmog choice. It’s hard to see, but her dagger is extremely green. The weapon also doesn’t stand out other than the fact that it doesn’t compliment anything nor does it look threatening. For outfits that are more plain and simple, and that don’t have a lot of fancy special effects, a good Tmog weapon that glows, spews fire, or whatever else to add some flash would really make a difference here! It’s a great start and it gives a good reason to use MogIt to find just the right weapon to compliment the set. With enough flash and pizzazz from a good weapon, this outfit would really be considered a classic.

 

The not-so-good and downright Terrible sad

Blutt: In most cases, revealing warlock transmogs should be left to female humans and blood elves. However, I will make an exception for this decidedly un-sexy worgen female. Why? Well, if you saw this warlock running toward you in a battleground, you would likely be so shocked by the combination of exposed furry thighs and alien-esque helm that she’d global you with a Chaos Bolt before you knew what was coming. Scaring the enemy should be every warlock’s goal!

Amijade: The gnome is wearing some of the latest pvp gear and is doing a great job of covering up and hiding looking scary behind a helm. It’s a simple, yet foreboding set and the main items such as the chest piece, shoulders and helm can all be purchases off the AH for usually under 1,500 gold. Good job little Gnome dude, I like it. He may have picked the wrong class for a warlock, but you’re making up for it with a good taste in warlock style. The Worgen’s tmog set reminds me of a mullet hair-cut. It looks like business in the front and party on the bottom. While the helm and shoulders are from the Vengeful Gladiators Dreadgear (the recolor set to the Malefic Rainment set), the bottom half appears to be lacking and takes away from the everything else. While I have to admit the Worgen’s staff is pretty cool, it really needs a good set to go with it. A simple fix to this outfit would be to complete the set from the chest down. I’m a little bit more strict as compared to Blutt because there is way too much fur showing for me, but that’s just imho.

 

 

Blutt: You sir, in the clown suit, is why transmogrification exists in the first place. For years players have equipped odds and ends from dungeons, raids, pvp sets, VP/JP purchases, and often looked as bad as, well, you. BUT NOW YOU DON’T HAVE TO! Run as fast as your little legs can take you to your bank and local AH and see if you can put together something that at least slightly matches, and stop shaming warlocks everywhere.

Amijade: Where to start? Well, maybe this little guy just hit level 90 and they been running dungeons and they haven’t had time to Tmog? We can only hope that is the case. We know he’s been doing something because he is wearing his gloves from the Sha so I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt and I’m going to say that he just hit cap.  If this Gnome is at cap he can do dailies and since he’s been running back and forth to his farm that means he’s growing crops. Having both dailies and crops available to him means he can make gold. So he needs to do what Blutt suggests and take his gold and go redeem himself (and warlocks everywhere) by spending most of it on a good Tmog set! And for Fel’s sake please change your helm option to Show Helm! 

 

Blutt: These two warlocks have been afflicted by the curse of the Firestrike Cord, which has been striking horror into transmog afficionodos like myself since 5.4. The belt itself is a quite attractive model, with the glowing green buckle. But since 5.3, a bug seems to be in place where the area above the belt wraps toons in a swatch of fabric from the Fire Support Robes, destroying any attempt at a nice transmog (and even slashing tabards in half, making them crop tops)! Warlocks – please take a look down and take note if your transmog is ruined by this unfortunate belt.

Amijade: First off, I love the vanity pet. Yes, it’s a cool pet, but sadly it looks more menacing than his Fel imp when they are both out at the same time. Also, even though the vanity pet is very cool it does nothing to help highlight his Transmog set. Please remember that unless you’re a human or a belf, then displaying your helm is a must. Now, I understand that it can be hard for Affliction warlocks to find a good Tmog helm because of the very annoying floating shards or verdant spheres that always get in the way. It’s one of the reasons why I think the Glyph of Subtlety should make their removal permanent and not just out of combat! I know some people love the little floating things, but all of you should know by now that I dislike them and for several good reasons. Sadly, the worst of all is that they really limit your tmog choices. I think a simple fix to make this tmog set stand out would be to find a better choice of gloves and a very imposing and shiny weapon.

 

Blutt: Now this just makes me sad. This warlock has a great outfit put together, with the Meteor Chaser’s Raiment and matching gloves and shoulders. It looks as if she has her pants transmogged to Kilt of Untreated Wounds. Tip: feel free to transmog your pants into a skirt model and pair with a matching vest or chest piece. However, if you then transmog your chest piece to a full length robe, the robe graphic will be cut off and your skirt underneath will show. You don’t want your petticoat peeking out! Let’s hope this warlock is on her way to Warpweaver Dushar to undo the transmog graphic of her pants.

Amijade: I agree with Blutt. The shoulders and the chest piece showing off her skin and her hair look great. However, the problems with the pants not showing the full robe is a major problem. The good news is that it’s a simple fix like Blutt suggests. You can’t see it, but she has a great looking orange and green glowing dagger that I believe comes from the Firelands raid. Once her lower half Tmog is fixed she’s on her way to dominate attention and respect.

Blutt: Not sure if trolling, or…? This warlock’s belt, robe and shoulders match. But that headpiece and gloves make her look like a sub-par Arcane Mage from Tier 11. Surely she is wearing Rittsyn’s Ruinblasters, but to my eye they just look like the bulky and unattractive reputation gloves I wore at the start of Cataclysm (that share the same model as Mage Firelord Regalia). Tread carefully here. The last thing any self-respecting fel-flinger wants is to be mistaken for a mage.

Amijade: Obviously, this is a former mage who re-rolled a warlock via an invite from recruit-a-friend request. As you can see, this person is confused in so many ways. Using a hodgepodge mix of current dungeon gear, and various colors of clashing retro pieces doesn’t work…at all. My best advice to this newer warlock is to start over and start with the basics. Grab an older pvp set, or farm for an older warlock tier set just to get a feel for what power with good looks can do for your respect factor. When you’re doing it right, people will love to hate you. When you’re doing it wrong (like this) people will love to laugh in your face. Being a warlock takes work. When your a belf warlock Looking like a force to be feared shouldn’t be difficult because they have more options than most warlocks. You’re free to show skin or not. You can even show your helm or not. There’s so many options at your disposal it’s just sad to know that this tmog what you settled on. Please, don’t ever do this again!

 

Ending this post with a simple tmog rule with examples

Warlock Tmog Rule: If you’re any race other than human or belf, you must always display your helm in public.

 

As you can see this little female gnome is wearing nothing that matches. It’s a terribad tmog outfit, but despite it’s lack of taste and coordination it still looks scary, creepy and it makes you feel uncomfortable. Why? This little gal covered everything up and left her helm showing. By covering up and displaying her helm she looks like rabid clown that most people will certainly try to avoid. Just looking at this pic gives me the chills because it makes you afraid that she might, at any moment, attack your ankles.

 

In this second example, this little gnome has a great warlock tmog set. She has mixed the Deathbringer Tier chest piece with a cool looking staff and some retro shoulders. What’s not to like about a warlock tmog set that is black with purple and dark blue? Everything looks great IMHO except for the fact that she’s breaking an important rule. She isn’t a human and she isn’t a belf so she should hide her cute face cover her face with a good tmog helm too. I mean she is so close to having a great set that even when it looks this good it can still fall short by breaking such a simple rule. Her enemies wouldn’t be fearful of her at all. In fact, most would probably want to pinch her cheeks and pull on her pigtails and then laugh about how kids are so cute these days.

Using the addon Mogit, the helmet from example #1 was added to example #2 and the picture below is a great example of how wearing a helm is so important for a warlock if they’re not a human or a belf. The only thing that wasn’t used in the MogIt display window was the staff from example #2 because I couldn’t find it in the MogIt database so I improvised.