Yet Another Warlock Nerf

Is it my imagination or is Blizzard just trying to come up with more reasons to grind honor?
This baby will cost us 40,000 honor points for a whooping amount of 25 resilience. Another must-have for serious PvPers, but again, that's going to be a boring grind again just like Battlemaster.
I'm guessing the trinket will be changed soon and require a personal rating of 2000.

> New Medallion

Afflicted is a PvP timer mod, which shows you enemy silences, interrupts and buffs in a convenient way. Although the name of this mod might suggest it's for warlocks, rest assured it's not.

You can download Afflicted on wowinterface.com!

Other addons: Reslack, Afflicted, Proximo, Advanced Tradeskill Window, Posessions, Doublewide & Lightheaded, Auctioneer

> Addons: Afflicted

We can all agree the afk reporting feature in 2.2 patch didn't help much - in the first few days after the patch hit everyone was eager to report people and it did help a bit. If nothing else, I felt like I could finally do something about the afkers except live with it. You can't spend half of the time checking the map and see who's inactive and who is not, and even if you did report them, they just got in combat to remove the debuff and kept on afking. There's been a lot of requests and suggestions on how to further improve it (such as kicking players out of battlegrounds), but up until now Blizzard probably didn't know what to do.
Finally, it seems they got tired themselves and announced the following:

In our continued efforts to support fair gameplay in World of Warcraft and to provide a positive experience for players, we are currently taking steps to ensure fair and enjoyable competition in the Battlegrounds. Starting immediately, we will be issuing warnings and penalties, including suspensions and the removal of Honor points and recently acquired Honor rewards, for non-participation in Battleground games.

So, issuing warnings and penalties eh? That doesn't sound so bad now - it's certainly more than I expected. I guess it will be again very forgiving, your account won't be suspended for doing it a few times, but those who constantly abuse the system will sooner or later be caught.

It's nothing special really, but I've figured this out awhile back. If I'm too lazy to do battlegrounds, I just don't do it no matter how much I need the honor. Or if I'm too lazy to fight, I just defend. Standing still on farm in Arathi Basin doesn't take much effort, and killing some random hunter or rogue from time to time who tries to take the node ain't that difficult.
That way, I can watch TV but still contribute in the game.

I'm glad Blizzard finally did something serious about this issue. I doubt this will really end the leeching in battlegrounds, but it sure will help.
But I wouldn't mind if inactive players got kicked from the BG as well. *hint*

> Thou shall be banned

Warlocks have a lot of tricks, and while they might not always require much skill to play (talking about SL/SL mostly), there's always things which separate skilled players over casual ones.
Perhaps you know all of this already, perhaps you don't. But it's always good to have an open mind and a few uncommon tactics so you can adapt to almost any situation.
I'm like Athene of the warlocks, giving away free tips. Read on to find out what hides in the warlock's trick bag!

1. I'll get this out of the way: use macros. There's plenty of them to be found, and a good place to start is my Useful warlock macros post.

2. I'll get this out of the way also since it's related to one of my previous posts. Get the Felguard Legionnaire. Enslave Demon is not completely useless - you can check this topic to see a list of cool demons which can be enslaved.

3. In PvP, always buff yourself with Detect Invisibility and Unending Breath. It's 2 more magic effects, meaning it might take 1 more priest's dispel or shaman purge to get your Fel Armor off of you. And those pesky Arcane Shot spamming huntards need to spam even more!

4. In PvE, you can break Fear on mobs by casting Curse of Recklesness (CoR) on them - use rank 1 CoR, it won't do much threat nor waste much mana, and the attack power bonus is negligible. When the mob is coming back at you, just throw another curse and he will run in fear again without the need to recast it.

5. If you send your pet to attack a rogue (or druid), even if he stealths the pet will attack him and break his stealth.

6. If you're using Succubus to CC in instances, pull with Searing Pain (or Soul Fire) for max threat. This is especially important for heroic instances: if your succy gets attacked it will probably get one shotted; if the mob goes after you it will give your pet enough time to reseduce the mob.

7. You can keep players in combat in arenas by sending your pet after them - they won't be able to drink. Also, if you didn't know, Star's Tears is the only drink you can use in arenas. Buy a stack, you never know.

8. You can banish druids in Tree of Life.

9. Always have your Felhunter's Paranoia buff on. There's no reason not to, and a lot of invisible reasons why you should.

10. You can summon yourself with Ritual of Summoning. Helps also if you get stuck behind objects in instances (happened to me in Shadow Labs on first boss when he feared).

11. You can Devour paladin's Hammer of Justice. Obvious, but often overlooked.

12. Spend 1 talent point in Shadow Embrace (affliction) if you can - it's one more magic debuff on your target - one more cleanse/dispel.

13. Use your felhunter to dispel Unstable Affliction on you - he won't take damage.

14. Banishing a warlock's pet will get rid of his Soul Link.

15. Get Boar's Speed.

16. You can cast curses on mages - some of them are retarded (sorry but it's true).

17. Spam Rank 1 Corruption to get that paladin OOM faster! Also spam it when the rogue pops Cloak of Shadows - it might stick on him and break his vanish.

16. Cast Siphon Life on hunter's pet - free healing ftw. Also, you can either cast Curse of Weakness to reduce it's melee damage, or Corruption (rank 1 is fine) for Nightfall procs if you specced.

17. If you have Dark Pact: when buffing up in raids, get your imp out of phase shift - tell your priests and paladins to buff him with spirit/mp5.

18. You can carry 3 healthstones of the same rank, if they are from 3 different warlocks, depending on how many talent points they put into Improved Healthstone. Also, you can make different ranks of healthstones for yourself in arenas, which is useful if the fight lasts a bit. Note: all healthstones share the same cooldown.

19. In arenas, summon Voidwalker first. About 12 seconds before the match starts, start summoning Felhunter/Felguard - spam Sacrifice and you should get the shield after about 5 seconds. If you have talent points in Master Summoner, it's a bit tricky - you can still get the shield, but it's really hard if you have latency above 300. Start casting about 8 seconds before the match then. This way, you should have the shield for the first 25 seconds of the match.

20. If you're low on health, use lower ranks of Life Tap.

21. If you're facing a wipe in instance, Life Tap to low hp and use Hellfire. You will kill yourself, but won't loose any durability.

22. You can cast Curse of Tongue's on mage's Water Elemental. If you're banishing the Elemental, try to Spell Lock the mage first (maybe also Fear if you're sure he won't break it instantly) so you don't get Counterspelled. You can also CoT + Siphon Life + Corruption to kill the pet.

23. If you see a warrior pop Spell Reflect, cast Curse of Recklesness. Congratulations, you're now immune to fear! You can also cast Siphon Life - it will heal basically heal you a bit due to Fel Armor bonus.

24. Hellfire triggers Prayer of Mending - if you're on full health, life tap and use Rank 1 Hellfire.

25. Recast Fel Armor on yourself before using bandages or Cannibalize.


Help me with more tips - that's what comments are for.
Did you know all this, or did I just make a totally useless post? Got any tricks for your own class, or did you find a way to beat warlocks?
What's your tip?

> 25 Awesome Warlock Tricks

Most people tend to pick rogues as their preferred twink class. Noob class. So are hunters.
When I started playing my shaman, I didn't think about twinking him, however over time I realized how incredibly powerful they are at lower levels, especially 29 or 39 brackets.
Of course, don't expect to one shot mages or warlocks like rogues do, but do expect much more survivability and options.

You need level 40 to wear mail armor, so that is obviously not an option here. You will want as many leather items as possible, due to higher armor values, and stats that suit you. I prefer agility over strength, but it's up to you. I don't slack on intellect either - shocks and totems play an important role to beating any class you face, and healing yourself (or sometimes others) is usefull as well.
I'll be talking here about the best or second best items possible; some are gained from quests, others from instances, and some with honor points. It will take some time to get the honor required for certain items, but you will be doing battlegrounds anyway.

Head:
Enduring Cap
Leather
Stats: +16 intellect, +7 spirit; 88 armor
How to get it: don't bother faming it, it's a BOE (bind on equip) world drop so auction house is your best friend here. It will cost anywhere between 20g - 100g, depending on your realm's economy and demand.
Enchant: 100 HP (Libram of Constitution), 10-20g on auction house + you have to do a few higher level quests to get it. You can't enchant other people's items with this so try not to make your head soulbound before you enchant it.
Alternative: there are plenty of green items with +agility and/or +stamina, but I prefer this hat due to its high +intellect bonus.

Neck
River Pride Choker
Stats: +4 strength, +9 stamina
How to get it: another world drop, meaning you will have to visit the auction house again, and pay somewhere between 20 and 50 gold for this one.
Alternative: Scout's Medallion (or Sentinel's Medallion for Alliance). You will be using River Pride Choker for some time, since you will need honor for rings and trinkets first, so it's not a bad investment.

Shoulders
Watchman Pauldrons
Stats: +3 strength, +11 stamina, +4 spirit; 80 armor
How to get it: auction house again, 30-50g.
Alternative: Forest Tracker Epaulets or Mantle of Thieves. Both world drops. Forest Tracker Epaulets don't look that good so try to avoid it :p
Note: Aldor/Scryer or similar reputation gained enchants make the item soulbound, so don't expect any enchants for your shoulders.

Back
Tigerstrike Mantle
Stats: +8 agility, +7 stamina; 25 armor
How to get it: auction house; this tends to be more expensive on my realm, up to 100g
Alternative: Battle Healer's Cloak (Caretaker's Cape for Alliance), you can get it cheap (95 honor and 10 Warsong Gulch Marks) and they are pretty darn good also, +13 healing is a lot.

Chest
Raptor Hunter Tunic
Stats: +4 strength, +3 agility, +16 stamina; 117 armor
How to get it: Raptor Mastery quest chain in Stranglethorn Vale
Alternative: Beguiler Robes, BoE. I had that one because I couldn't afford the experience gained from doing quests. You can't put Burning Crusade enchants on this one though.
Enchant: Major Stats (+6 all stats), or Major Resilience (+15 resilience)

Bracers
Barbaric Bracers
Leather
Stats: +4 agility, +6 stamina, +4 spirit; 47 armor
How to get it: crafted with leatherworking; 5-10g on AH
Alternative: it's too cheap to bother with other items
Enchant: Superior Stamina (+9 stamina), Superior strength (+9 strength), Healing (+24 healing spells)

Hands
Wolfclaw Gloves
Leather
Stats: +6 agility, +6 stamina, +5 strength; 61 armor
How to get it: auction house, ranging between 50g and 100g usually
Alternative: Toughened Leather Gloves (crafted, 5-10g), Brawler Gloves (AH, 15-30g)
Enchant: Superior Agility (+15 agility) - not sure if it works on items below level 35; if not, you're stuck with +7 agility

Waist
Defilers Chain Girdle
Leather
Stats: +5 stamina, +24 attack power; 61 armor
How to get it: 175 honor and 20 Arathi Basin Mark of Honor
Alternative: Defiler's Padded Girdle

Legs
Troll's Bane Leggings
Leather
Stats: +14 agility, +4 stamina, +4 spirit; 90 armor
How to get it: Auction house, 50-100g.
Alternative: Petrospill Leggings
Enchant: make sure not to equip the item before you put Clefthide Leg Armor on them (50-70g). You need to be Level 60 to use enchant the pants, however they do not become soulbound.

Feet
Defiler's Chain Greaves
Leather
Stats: +8 agility, +8 stamina; 74 armor; equip bonus: +8% run speed
Alternative: none
Enchant: Greater Agility (+7 agility) or Greater Stamina (+7 stamina)

Rings
Legionnaire's Band (Horde) or Protector's Band (alliance)
Stats: +6 strength, +6 agility, +4 stamina
How to get it: 95 honor points and 20 WSG Marks of Honor

Thunderbrow Ring
Stats: +8 strength, +3 agility
How to get it: auction house - 20-30g
Alternative: Plains Ring (+8 stamina, +3 intellect), averaging 50g on AH

Trinkets
Insignia of the Horde / Insignia of the Alliance
Use: Removes all movement impairing effects and all effects which cause loss of control of your character. 5 minute cooldown.
How to get it: 2805 honor points - it's hard to get on that level, but well worth it
Alternative: there is no alternative, however you can use Rune of Perfection till you get your insignia (118 honor, 30 WSG Marks of Honor)

Defiler's Talisman (Horde) / Talisman of Arathor (Alliance)
Use: Absorbs 248 to 302 physical damage. Lasts 15 sec. 3 minute cooldown.
How to get it: 175 honor and 30 Arathi Basin Mark of Honor.
Alternative: none

Weapon
Thermaplugg's Left Arm
Two hand axe; 70-106 damage, speed 2.70
Stats: +18 strength, +7 stamina
How to get it: Mekgineer Thermaplugg in Gnomeregan, 18% according to Wowhead.

Corpsemaker
Two hand axe; 88 - 132 damage, speed 3.80
Stats: +15 strength, +8 stamina
How to get it: drops from Overlord Ramtusk in Razorfen Kraul, 31% chance. It took me 5 runs to get it, but even if it took 20 I would still try.
Alternative: Cobalt Crusher, no stats but nice proc. About 50g on AH.
Enchant: Crusader

It's usefull to equip a shield and one hand weapon when carrying the flag in WSG, so you might want to get these as well:

One hand weapon
Scout's Blade (Horde) / Sentinel's Blade (Alliance)
One hand dagger
Stats: +7 agility, +3 stamina
How to get it: 316 honor points, 30 Warsong Marks of Honor
Alternative: Vendetta, Headsplitter (Headsplitter is usually much cheaper)

Shield
Vile Protector
Stats: 1051 Armor, 17 Block, +4 Strength, and an interesting equip proc!
How to get it: I hope you're horde: Compendium of the Fallen quest. Combine that with +18 stamina enchant and you're on a roll.

Marbled Buckler
Stats: +5 strength, +5 agility, +5 stamina, +5 spirit; 775 armor, 17 block
How to get it: a quest in Razorfen Kraul: A Vengeful Fate for Horde, The Crone of the Kraul for Alliance. You need to be level 29 to pick up this quest, so make sure you don't get too much xp and ding 30.
Alternative: Resplendent Guardian or Shield of Thorsen
Enchant: Greater Stamina (+7 stamina) or Resistance (+5 all resistances)


Talent points
0/20/0

Tier 1: Ancestral Knowledge vs. Shield Specialization - 5% more mana isn't much, but you won't be using shield much anyway so Ancestral knowledge is more usefull.

Tier 2: Thundering Strikes - 5% more crits means more damage and more Flurry procs. Improved Ghost Wolf - reduces Ghost Wolf Cast time to 1 second. I find it usefull when chasing players. 3 second cast time is just too much if you ask me, this shouldn't even be a talent. Guardian Totems talent makes no sense, Stoneskin is rarely used, and you don't even have Windwall and Grounding Totem at level 29.
Improved Lightning Shield: although I often use it, I rather put 3 points into something more usefull.

Tier 3: Enhancing Totems - You get Grace of Air totem at level 42, so you would be improving only strength of Earth by 16%... I don't think so.
Two handed Axes and Maces is a must have talent. Will be replaced with a different talent in 2.3, but till then you have to keep it.
Since we have to put 2 points somewhere now, I choose Anticipation rather then Improved Lightning Shield, however you may want to choose the latter.

Tier 4: We only have 5 points to spend now, and Flurry seems like the best choice. Toughness is great, but we ain't fightin' melee classes all the time.

Link to the talent build on Wowhead!


Professions

Most of the professions don't have any of the good stuff at level 29; if you need any items crafted they won't be BOP like later in the game.
Engineering on the other hand, has its uses. There are no cool devices or trinkets yet, but you will have access to Iron Grenades, which I find extremely usefull in certain situations. These grenades have a 1 minute cooldown, and take 1 second to cast (you can move while casting). Great for finishing or stopping players, or interrupting spellcasts.


Basic tips for shaman

Although Enhancement shaman are probably the easiest class to master (if there even is anything to master), here's a few tips that might help you if you're new to the class.

• If you defend a node in Arathi Basin or flag in Warsong, drop totems
• Use earthbind to slow down players if you have WSG flag (duh!)
• Use Rank 1 Earth Shock to interrupt spell casting
• Use Searing and Magma totems when fighting with more opponents
• Have Lightning Shield on you when possible. It procs on damaging spells you receive also.
• Heal others when necesarry. Especially if he's carrying a flag. Most of the time you won't smash people fast enough so heals will give you that time.
• Use bandages. Defiler's Silk Bandage and Warsong Gulch Silk Bandage are incredibly cheap. So is the food. If you can waste 1.000g and more for items and enchants, then you can afford a few bandages.
• Don't bother casting Lightning Bolt. Make Elemental shaman if you want Lightning Bolts. There are exceptions though, like players running away on low health, but your main tool is your Corpsemaker Thermaplugg's Left Arm.

It will take awhile to get all these items. Find someone (high level) who can help you run instances so you don't end up almost level 30 before you get the necessary items. Also, don't forget about xp gain for discovering new areas.
Making a twink is not cheap, you will spend more than 1000 gold for all of this. Items are not so expensive, but enchants can be. If you have a level 70 alt, grinding gold shouldn't be a problem.
Is it worth spending all that money? I'd say yes. If you're into twinking and wanna melt some faces, go for it!

*post edited to include some items changed in patch 2.3.

> Level 29 Enhancement shaman twink guide