My biggest concern is that I want to give meaningful feedback on Affliction, but I don’t think it’s fair to judge or suggest changes to content I haven’t actually been able to experience yet.
Ironically, I think that’s probably the most important feedback I can give at this point.
We’re already halfway through the talent tree, and I’m struggling to explain what actually makes an Affliction Warlock feel different from the other Warlock specs. The easiest way to describe it is simply by looking at what Affliction doesn’t get.
At this point in the tree, Destruction is picking up abilities like Shadowburn and Conflagrate. Demonology is either sacrificing its demon and building around talents like Decimation, or going down the Brand route.
Affliction, meanwhile, has mostly gained small passive improvements and perhaps an occasional free Shadow Bolt that barely affects the overall rotation. We’re not using Shadowburn or Conflagrate. We’re not sacrificing our demon for major buffs, we’re not casting Soul Fire, and we’re not getting the big hits that make Brand stand out.
For the first 20–30 talent points, Affliction largely feels like the same spec it was before. Other specs, including other Warlock specs, are already picking up talents that noticeably change their gameplay and reinforce what makes them unique.
That’s actually how you can currently identify an Affliction Warlock: they’re the Warlock whose gameplay has barely changed over the last 20–30 levels.
I understand that Affliction has traditionally been a more subtle specialization. Its identity doesn’t necessarily have to come from flashy abilities or huge burst windows. But right now, the entire talent tree feels like a collection of small, mostly invisible adjustments, with the expectation that everything will eventually come together once we unlock Wrack and finally get the classic DoT-and-drain Affliction playstyle. (wrack looks kinda weak)
The problem is that, until we reach that point, Affliction’s identity is defined less by what it does differently and more by what it doesn’t do.
And I use the word “expectation” deliberately. We haven’t had the opportunity to actually play with Wrack yet, so I don’t want to judge it prematurely. At the same time, based on the information currently available, I’m not particularly confident that it will completely solve the problem of Affliction lacking a distinct identity throughout the earlier parts of the talent tree.