Warlocks Wishlists for Dragonflight Talent Tree - Affliction, Demonology, and Destruction

Dragonflight Criado 11/7/2022 em 06:00 por Jaydaa

Warlock Wishlists for the Dragonflight Talent TreesAffliction Warlock Talent Tree WishlistWith new talent trees coming out weekly from blizzard for the new Dragonflight expansion, I thought I'd chime in with my opinions on some hopeful prospects for talent choices and changes for the Affliction Warlock tree in the new expansion.

Dead Talents

First and foremost, talents that never have a chance of being used need to be cut or reworked entirely whether its a numbers game that has never gone their way, or a talent that just consistently pales in utility to other similar options. Here's what could be done to make them viable in the next expansion, or whether or not that should even be considered as a possibility.

Ocaso - Unfortunately, ever since the return of Shadow Bolt as a filler spell, this talent has always been at the mercy of tuning in the first talent row. This should definitely just be added to the baseline Affliction Warlock kit as a passive, like it used to be back in the old days.
Mácula Torpe - Worse than Singularidade Fantasmática on single target, and worse than Plantar as Sementes on AoE, this talent never really found its niche in the expansion that it was made in. The only reason I could see this included in the Affliction Warlock kit for Dragonflight would be potentially as an upgrade to Singularidade Fantasmática, as this would make the Soul Shard cost a little viable and help it potentially see more play.
Uivo do Terror - This is a PvP talent that is for some reason slotted into the regular talent tree. There isn't a single PvE scenario where you would ever consider taking this. Move this to the PvP talents or remove it entirely.
Abraço Sombrio - Never really an option based on the numbers game, but similar to Ocaso, should just be added to the baseline Affliction Warlock kit rather than having to have a talent point slotted in. I could see a scenario however with potential use in the new talent trees as a 3-of pick with each successive talent point increasing its damage gain. It would be neat as well if there were a follow-up talent that also gave bonus damage in execute to align with Drenar Alma damage increases.

New Talents

Item - Warlock T21 Affliction 2P Bonus and Item - Warlock T21 Affliction 4P Bonus - These set bonuses are actually extremely cool for Affliction Warlock, and would be neat to see as capstone traits in the new talent tree. They are very synergistic to the Affliction playstyle, and would make a great addition to the overall play of the spec. One change I'd like to see is to also have the effect work for Semente da Corrupção as well. Currently these bonuses do absolutely nothing for affliction in AoE, and this could help with that a bit.
Forma da Alma - This may be a bit greedy, but playing with this spell in Shadowlands has filled a large hole in the warlock toolkit that we've had for almost all of its existence. Obviously for this to work with the warlock toolkit, you'd either need to retheme it to make it fit (maybe some sort of demon transformation to reclaim some of what Demon Hunters stole?) or justify keeping the power from the Night Fae, but it would be very painful to let go of this utility in Dragonflight.

Old Talents, New Concepts

These are all encapsulated under one concept. In Legion and beforehand, Affliction's playstyle was that of an uptime spec, as you were rewarded for high DoT uptime, and high filler uptime on top of that. This required good usage of instant casts while moving, while maximizing time spent standing still to using fillers to enhance that dps. The playstyle of Affliction drastically changed when Evocar Clarão Sombrio was introduced in Battle for Azeroth, and was doubled down on with the introduction of Arrebatamento Maléfico as a shard spender in Shadowlands. Nowadays, the damage a warlock will do during cooldowns will easily be a large majority of the damage they'll do throughout encounters.

In my opinion, this playstyle is rather boring, and honestly not that rewarding. What I'd love to see is a return to Drenar Alma as a filler, getting rid of Shadow Bolt once and for all. It was a good experiment, but I think it failed. This would open up returns to old talents that rewarded certain style of gameplay, such as Garra Maléfica, which rewarded high uptime filler on single target.

Conclusion

Obviously this is an opinion piece, and I don't expect everyone to agree with what I've listed here. I'm extremely excited to see what blizzard has for store for us in Dragonflight, not just for Affliction, but for all of the warlock specs as well as other classes that remain to be seen! Affliction warlock historically has been a class that almost always found its niche regardless of tuning, and as of late its turned more into a numbers game due to how powerful its cooldowns have gotten. Would love to see a return to the old style.Demonology Warlock Talent Tree WishlistAfter looking through the new talent trees, its clear that they are aiming to keep what they think are the "core identities" of each spec just that, the core. Demonology has a number of dead talents that simply aren't played due to clunkiness, bad tuning or they've just never been good, even in past expansions.

Dead Talents

While there are quite a few dead talents for Demonology there are definitely a few that stand out which I don't believe have been taken except when they were introduced during Legion (a little bit). For almost two entire expansions we have been pigeon-holed into essentially one talent set up for every scenario (until this most recent patch and the reintroduction to tier bonuses). Let's look at some of these talents.

Bombardeiros de Bile de Flagelo - This was used for a very brief period during Legion but has never been taken since then. It's a neat idea for a talent but at the cost of 2 Soul Shards, the fact that it's targeted and on a 30 second cooldown means your tanks better have the awareness of a hawk to not move out of the area of effect. This talent has a 0% representation on WCL.
Sifão de Poder - Outside of a neat flavour talent, this has never been taken for any situation in PvE. Imps over time will do more damage than 2 Seta Demoníaca and especially in the current patch, we are swimming in Núcleo Demoníaco procs and Soul Shards as there's never a time where you are truly starved and would rather take damage away from Evocar Tirano Demoníaco. This talent has a 0% representation on WCL.
Ruína - Again with this talent, it is a relic of old and likely kept here as a memento to the past when Ruína was actually relevant and got applied in AoE with Mão de Gul'dan back during Legion. This talent has a 0% representation on WCL.
Conduíte da Alma - Though used in modern times, albeit extremely rarely, there have been some moments where this talent was overpowered in the past and plenty more moments where this talent did nothing. While in theory more Soul Shards seems like a good thing there are more moments than not where this would lead to overcapping and wasting more Soul Shards than it would provide. This talent has a 5.33% representation on WCL.
Demônios Interiores - This talent has tons of flavour and really makes you feel like you are a Master Demonologist with a plethora of cool summons even after being buffed numerous times it has always just been mediocre. This talent has a 0% representation on WCL.
Almas Sacrificadas - They could buff this talent and make it 8% additional damage per demon and it would still be worse than the obviously premier talent in Consumição Demoníaca. It's not really that this talent is bad it's just that the other option is so strong. This talent has a 0% representation on WCL.
Portal Etéreo - Since coming into the game there has been only one tier (Uldir) that this talent saw raid gameplay seriously and that was very short lived. It's again got a ton of Master Demonology flavour but so little substance and is extremely clunky to play altering your spend phase every 3 minutes to get as many demons out as possible for a tiny gain. This talent has a 0% representation on WCL.

New Talents

There are a ton of neat things from the current game and past expansions but I'd like to touch on the things that would really bring out the best of the best in recent times that I'd like them to bring back/keep as available talent options.

Ira Demoníaca - Demonology Warlock has had this weird spot in the game where you can crank significant damage in Single Target and AoE but primarly if you are stationary and all of our Soul Shard generation comes from Single Target abilities. Back in Legion we had Ira Demoníaca which gave us a % chance per tick (coming from AoE around your demons) to generate a Soul Shard. The damage it did itself was insignificant but the Shard generation it provided was the real kicker. They could change it from being cast on the move and it would still be a very solid option (or make it more akin to Golpe Flamejante where it is cast on the ground and pulses in AoE for the same % chance to proc a Soul Shard). This would give us something different to do in AoE and would be a neat option to expand our tools.
Os Descartáveis - There is another Legion ability in Os Descartáveis that I think could be a neat addition to the Demonology toolkit. Previous versions of this gave a stacking % damage buff to your other demons when your Wild Imp expired or died. In the current state of the game that could lead to some small gains across all your demons and a nice consistent gain for your Felguard. They would need to reduce the effects length in order to not make this a cheesable mechanic for your Evocar Tirano Demoníaco (assuming they keep some form of Consumição Demoníaca in the game).
Consumição de Thal'kiel - In general the idea of taking power from the health of your demons and using it for your own damage I think is a core idea of what they wanted to move Demonology into back during the original Demonology re-work when they ripped the heart and souls out of Warlocks everywhere removing Metamorphosis. Instead of drawing health and giving it to your Evocar Tirano Demoníaco I think they should bring back Consumição de Thal'kiel and give the power back to the Warlock and making it feel more like you are the Master and not your Evocar Tirano Demoníaco being the 'commander' of your legion of demons.
Espreitadores Carnívoros - Thinking more about current abilities there is a conduit in Espreitadores Carnívoros that just gives your Dreadstalkers something extra. It's small and in the grand scheme of things if they keep the idea of your Dreadstalkers being an enabler for more Shadowflame damage it's just a cool conduit that could be given as a talent option instead to help give build diversity, especially in AoE. This in turn also means we would be keeping Estratagema do Mestre de Matilha and Açoite Pavoroso in the game.
Chamado Medonho do Inquisidor Sombrio - As another means of buffing your demons and making it feel like you're the demons Master they could also provide the option of having Chamado Medonho do Inquisidor Sombrio as a talent and expand it from being just your Dreadstalkers to be a buff to your next cast of Demonbolt increases the damage of your next summon of Dreadstalkers or Wild Imps. This is just reinforcing that the damage you're doing is what buffs your next summoned demons.
Forças do Pesadelo Chifrudo - Again in an effort to help bolster AoE, putting in the option to take a chance at double damage from Mão de Gul'dan through Forças do Pesadelo Chifrudo. This has been an impactful spell that makes pressing Mão de Gul'dan actually feel more like an AoE ability than a hodgepodge of AoE and Single Target.
Signo de Evocação Superior do Walfrido - Ever since Legion we have also had this....power given to us through other means in some shape or form of Signo de Evocação Superior do Walfrido. Mostly of course in the current game is used to bring a very powerful 3 minute cooldown into an average of 1.5 minute cooldown with no punishment to the sense of power you are pressing hitting that cooldown twice as often. This type of effect has been in the game for so long now it should almost be considered as the Demonology capstone talent. It has survived many different forms of iteration and has still been amazing.
Nascido do Sangue - Finally there is one other conduit that I think could be taken from Shadowlands and put forth as a talent which has helped the entire expansion with Soul Shard generation; Nascido do Sangue. It's super simple and yet has been very effective in giving static additional Núcleo Demoníaco procs which in turn just churns out more demons. Nothing wrong with keeping it simple.

The Power of Demons

Now...I was going to talk about some other.....let's say controversial things that I'd like to see brought back but there is really only one at the forefront of all Demonology Warlocks...There have been throughout the years a voice here or there that would like to see Demonology return to form....or morph in some way to signify that you're better than Grand Warlock Wilfred Fizzlebang, "master summoner", when you summon your demons.

Bringing back Metamorphosis is clearly a non starter at this point at least in it's previous form given that Demon Hunters are here to stay. However, I do think there are other flavours of Demon Lords we could transform into or at least....let's say harness the power of. Lord Jaraxxus himself, he who overtook his Grand Warlock. We've conquered Kil'jaeden a couple of times now throughout history and previously had harnessed some of his powers to walk around while casting. How about Archimonde, surely defeating him twice through history must leave an impression on Warlocks around Azeroth. Sargeras? What if.....the capstone to all Demonology was to try and harness/summon the power of these Demon Lords, giving us power for a period of time only to exhaust you mid combat and have it take its toll on your demons. Obviously...this is much more of a pipe dream than anything else and would still fit within the theme of Demonology Warlocks, being as their Mastery states, Master Demonologists.

Conclusion

There is definitely a lot of space for things to get reworked and changed around especially within the current talent tree options. There has long since been basically one path and one path only to success and they have to relook at these talents that haven't been taken (in some iteration) since Legion. There is opportunity with the new expanded point options to give a ton more flexibility and choices for both a more AoE centric build and a more Single Target focused build and I'd like to see them grow interject some of the above things from current and the past. Destruction Warlock Talent Tree WishlistWith various different talent trees being published for different classes and specs right now, I thought I would write down a list of some of the talents I hope to see in the Destruction Warlock talent tree for Dragonflight. This list consists of some reworks to existing talents, some talents I hope to see gone, old talents that are no longer in the game, legendary effects and old set bonuses I think would fit Destruction Warlock well in the future.

Dead Talents
Destruction has for a very long time been using the same set of talents for many tiers in a row, with very little variance. This has somewhat still been the case up until now, but we actually received a few changes from 9.1 and onwards that put a few other talents into the mix. That being said, there are still some talents in the Destruction Talent tree that aren't going to see any play. This is either because they are severely underpowered, or they're on the same row as a talent that in its design is very hard to compete with:

Fogo d'Alma - Way too long of a cast, but actually performs relatively close to the alternative talents.
Fogo e Enxofre - In its current state has never seen any play. I hope this returns as a baseline toggle spell, which would also add extra depth to the Destruction playstyle.
Grimório de Sacrificar - Used to be the 'go-to' when it came to the row of different grimoires. However, when Shadowlands launched they decided to leave this as the only remaining grimoire. The effect of Grimório de Sacrificar was also changed significantly in Legion, when it went from being a buff to your damage to a random proc of extra damage. I hope these grimoires get reintroduced, and that Grimório de Sacrificar gets its old effect back.
Canalizar Fogo Demoníaco - is a really cool talent, but it's just so hard to compete with Alma Negra: Instabilidade and Conduíte da Alma that have both had their place cemented into the setup of the Destruction Warlock very heavily for a very long time.

Talents

Sombra Ardente - Used to be a baseline ability and an alternative Soul Shard spender to Seta do Caos on single target. I like the current version of Sombra Ardente but hope this becomes baseline as it's been a part of the Destruction spec for a very long time.
Cataclismo - Same deal here, but a more recent ability being introduced in Warlords of Draenor. This went from being a spec-wide talent choice to being a very iconic Destruction ability.

Legendary effects

Cinzas dos Azj'Aqir - This is one of the effects that smooth out the Destruction playstyle the most. It adds more mobility and makes you generate significantly more Cortina de Fogo stacks that also add to the flow of the spec.
Dízimo Expurgante + Detritos da Alma Definhante - Is situationally such a powerful addition to the Destruction kit, due to the on-death effect bonus. This makes Destruction an absolute monster in situations where you're able to benefit from this fairly regularly. It would be interesting seeing some sort of on-death effect bonus like this.
Grilhões de Magiataque - While being a passive damage bonus, this was a very fun way to further improve your damage on multiple targets. The fact this could also proc from a Devastação target made Destruction an absolute machine on two target cleave.

Old abilities and talents
There are numerous old talents and effects I hope to see make a return in the Dragonflight talent tree for Destruction Warlock.

Charred Remains - A passive talent that made your Incinerar and Conflagrar deal 60% less damage, but generate 200% more soul shards. This also made the old toggle version of Fogo e Enxofre now affect Seta do Caos. This was one of the most fun Destruction playstyles in my opinion. It felt super fast because you were constantly filling up your Soul Shard bar, and you always had big damage for AoE. I hope to see this make a return as a talent in Dragonflight.
Wreak Havoc - A passive talent that increased your Devastação duration by 20 seconds, essentially making you have 100% uptime on this. This talent was actually sort of an issue to have, because it was impossible to make Destruction a viable single target spec, as it would directly translate into a way too overpowered 2 target spec. I put this on my list because I hope to see some kind of talent that adds an interesting effect to Devastação, either increase duration, damage %, reduce cooldown, change the effect or something of the sort.
Seta Dizimadora - Having an execute type ability that plays well into progression raiding is something I will always hope to see. I really like the feel and playstyle of Seta Dizimadora, being a damage source in itself but also buffing your Incinerar.

Conclusion
Destruction has always been a spec with a very well defined playstyle that revolved around generating and spending shards, and I hope this stays the same when Dragonflight comes. Through the last many expansions, there have been numerous cool talents, legendaries and set bonus effects I would like to see come back again, while the spec still stays somewhat within the identity it has had for a very long time.

Faça Login Para Comentar Comentários em Inglês (67)

Escreva um Comentário

Notícia Anterior

Próxima Notícia