Even AI knows issues of Warlocks, why Blizz can't figure it out

Classes Warlock
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I asked an AI a simple question: “Ok can you find information on why Warlocks are not happy with current design of their class?”
And there what AI found for an answer.

Some of it may be a bit out of place, but hey it is an AI but it kinda got to the core.

Warlock players in World of Warcraft express profound frustration with the class’s current design, stemming from systemic neglect, outdated mechanics, and a perceived abandonment of the class’s core fantasy. Here’s a breakdown of the key issues:

:warning: 1. Developer Neglect and Imbalance

  • Silence from Blizzard: Players report a persistent lack of communication or meaningful updates for Warlocks across multiple patches (e.g., no changes in 11.1 PTR builds despite glaring issues) 3917.
  • Class Bias: Suspicions that Warlocks share a developer with Mages, leading to preferential treatment for Mages in updates and utility 39.
  • Inadequate Tuning: Warlock specs (Affliction, Demonology, Destruction) consistently underperform. For example, Affliction requires extensive ramp-up for mediocre damage, while Destruction relies on outdated “RoF spam” mechanics 3917.

:arrows_counterclockwise: 2. Clunky and Unfun Gameplay Mechanics

  • Affliction’s Identity Crisis: The spec is now dominated by Malefic Rupture—a hard-cast spammable spell that overshadows traditional DoTs (e.g., Unstable Affliction, Agony). This reduces the spec to a builder-spender rotation, alienating players who enjoyed juggling DoTs 71417.
  • Demonology’s Homogenization: Forced reliance on the Felguard pet and removal of iconic abilities like Nether Portal and Succubus PvP talents erode the “master summoner” fantasy. Players lament the loss of demon diversity (e.g., no Infernal, Pit Lord options) 714.
  • Destruction’s Regression: Reversion to simplistic, passive rotations (e.g., RoF spam) and removal of mobility tools like Fel Flame 414.

:running_man: 3. Mobility and Utility Deficiencies

  • Severe Mobility Issues: Warlocks lack instant casts and suffer from long cast times, making them nonviable in fast-paced content like Mythic+. Abilities like Burning Rush (high self-damage) and Shadowfury (cast time added) exacerbate the problem 1417.
  • Outdated Utility: Healthstones and Demonic Gateways are deemed insufficient. Warlocks lack raid buffs (e.g., no equivalent to Mark of the Wild), have the longest interrupt cooldown (Spell Lock), and offer no unique debuffs since Curse of Elements was removed 914.

:balance_scale: 4. Balance and Survivability Issues

  • PvP Vulnerability: Once a “tanky cloth class,” Warlocks now have the highest death rate in arenas due to squishiness and poor defensive tools 317.
  • PvE Irrelevance: Long ramp times conflict with burst-centric raid/M+ design. Warlocks are frequently excluded from groups in favor of classes with better utility or burst damage 917.
  • Talent Tree Bloat: Overloaded with unimpactful “+damage%” passives and mandatory 2-point nodes, limiting build diversity 1417.

:scroll: 5. Broken Class Fantasy and Legacy Erosion

  • Lost Identity: The “casty juggernaut” and “pet commander” fantasies are diluted. Demo is reduced to a “pet generator,” while Affliction’s drain/DoT focus is supplanted by Malefic Rupture spam 414.
  • Historical Dismissal: Players cite the MoP redesign (widely praised) as a gold standard, contrasting it with post-Xelnath (lead MoP designer) neglect. Removal of iconic abilities like Metamorphosis, Soul Swap, and Dark Intent symbolizes this decline 31014.

:gem: Key Takeaway

Warlocks feel trapped in a time capsule of outdated design (circa 2014), while other classes receive modernized kits. The community’s feedback—calls for pet diversity, DoT relevance, mobility fixes, and raid utility—is consistently ignored, fueling perceptions that Blizzard has “given up” on the class 3714. Until core mechanics align with modern combat pacing and class fantasies, frustration will persist.

If Blizzard can’t use their own tools, data and metrics. Or AI to do quick research like this then it burns a question why those clowns are still Blizzard employees and get paid? If someone think that what I say is cruel and harsh then you are right it is intend to be harsh and cruel, Blizzard and we are not friends, especially modern blizzard. Warlocks was neglected for a decade now. Affliction and Demo sick of forced mechanics like Malefic Rapture or Demonic Tyrant mechanics.
Since the depute of the Tyrant he was changed in every expansion, but instead of completely reworking his design and attack pattern, blizzard only changed the way how this poor bastard empowers himself.
In BFA he consumed Wild Imps and increased his damage depending on energy that those imps had. In SL it was changed to % of Max HP of the demons and in Dragonflight he got another mechanic… but it never fixed the freaking core issue.

5 Likes
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I tried with the prompt ‘’ Can you find information on why warlocks are happy with current design of their class? ‘’

and this is what I got:

It doesn’t appear that Warlocks in World of Warcraft are generally satisfied with the current design of their class. Instead, most player feedback points to deep frustration and dissatisfaction. Here’s what the community sentiment looks like right now:

:mag: Community Sentiment: Warlock Design

:x: 1. Broad Dissatisfaction Across Specs

Across the community, Warlocks are considered one of the least satisfying classes to play right now. Affliction is viewed as the weakest spec, and all three specs face criticism over clunky mechanics, bloated rotations, and poor talent design. Many players feel Warlocks have become one of the most neglected classes in terms of meaningful updates.

:hammer_and_wrench: 2. Affliction’s Gameplay Has Become Cumbersome

Affliction players are particularly unhappy. The rotation requires managing multiple DoTs, casting Malefic Rapture at precise windows, and refreshing debuffs constantly. The spec feels exhausting without rewarding gameplay or competitive damage. Many describe it as “too much effort for too little output.”

:balance_scale: 3. Mixed Opinions on Destruction & Demonology

  • Destruction is a bit more popular due to its usability in Mythic+ and raid settings, but even then, players complain about its reliance on cooldowns like Infernal and the lack of fluidity in the rotation.
  • Demonology is considered thematically cool, but mechanically weak. It suffers from long ramp-up times, poor burst damage, and outdated talents like Nether Portal that feel underwhelming and clunky.

:magic_wand: 4. Nostalgia for Mists of Pandaria (MoP) Design

Many veteran players look back at Mists of Pandaria as the golden age for Warlocks. Back then, the class was powerful, yes, but also fun, with deep gameplay, meaningful talent choices, and multiple viable specs. The design was seen as rich, skill-rewarding, and full of identity. Players lament that the class has lost that depth.

:warning: 5. Lack of Faith in Current Direction

There’s a strong feeling that Warlocks have been left behind by developers. The community regularly comments that updates feel careless or non-existent, and that feedback has gone ignored for multiple expansions. Players even joke that Warlocks have “no designer assigned” due to the lack of innovation or tuning attention.

:white_check_mark: Summary: Why Warlock Players Are Not Happy

Concern Community Feedback
Complexity without reward Too many spells and DoTs for weak results
Spec imbalances Affliction underperforms; Destruction and Demonology lack strong niches
Movement and responsiveness Specs feel outdated and overly stationary
Developer neglect Warlock community feels largely ignored

:video_game: Are Any Players Happy?

There is little evidence that Warlock players are truly happy with the current design. Even high-end players and streamers express disappointment, and long-time mains are either switching classes or voicing strong criticisms. While some may enjoy the class in its current state, the overwhelming community tone is frustration and disappointment.

:brain: TL;DR:

There’s no strong evidence that warlocks are happy with the current state of their class—most player sentiment points to frustration over gameplay design, balance, and lackluster identity, especially when compared to the beloved MoP era.

3 Likes
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They refuse to make warlock somewhat meta because the whole class is on a fine line.
Give us 1 more movement ability and more cast on the move and we might dominate the meta (not like other classes have been doing that for some time)

The one thing we have is raid utility and its going to be the only thing we will have.
The only people who uses cookies in m+ are 0,1% because its a must, and even then you can still have cookies from previous warlocks, you dont need one in your current one.

They nerfed every class defensives in TWW, but warlocks have been nerfed during SL whole expansion because we were known to be extremely tanky. What the devs arent realising is that we have been on nerf on nerf for the last 3 expansions when it comes to utility, survivability and movability.

From what we know there is no specific balance team for warlock and it could be that the current team has had a large bias for other classes and actually hated warlocks for a extended time.
There is nothing that confirms this nor disconfirm it so its all up to speculation.
If not the team it would be Ion himself who has the responsebility and full blame for the awful treatment warlocks has had the past 6 years.

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Don’t forget that he was the one behind this

https://youtu.be/i-4u6gn1r4U?si=LJpGNNQJ25isleGm

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AI can not have any other output as long as it is only searching on forums a summarizing posts. Mainly crying posts, because nobody needs to create topic about his class and how super is it :slight_smile: If you check every class forum, people have always problems and want to have something better. I play only Warlock, I have no other class and I am satisfied with him :slight_smile:

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Good for you. But I played during Original Wrath and MoP and during that time most of the negative posts was more specific about numbers or mechanics. Since Legion negative more often topics include class fantasy issues, reports of broken mechanics or interactions, and never before legion it was so unanimous about specific issues like damn Malefic rapture or Tyrant. And at this point it is not the whine of players, it is a tons and tons of critical feedback and suggestions that was ignored. And it would have been ok if blizzard put their own spin on things and it was good, but in 90% of the time it is not.

Since Legion rework Demo warlocks asked blizzard to give us ability to control our new summons - Wild Imps and Dreadstalkers via pet control panel, in BFA they have added Tyrant and Vilefiend that we also couldn’t control till patch 9.1 and it was 1,764 days. For 1,764 days blizzard ignored they issue that they created with the rework of Demo warlocks that no Demo lock has asked. This was not whine it was a freaking critique of idiotic design from Blizzard.

And now prior to patch 11.2 I found the bug that blizzard had since BFA - The umbral blaze that was a trait on azerite gear back in the days, is not increases it damage via Wicked maw talent - that talent increases all shadowflame damage that target takes from you. And it is bugged because on the server side wicked maw is codded not as an modifier that increases damage from shadowflame school of magic, but as a modifier that increases damage from specific spells - Demonbolt/Implosion/Hand of gul’dan. And At the same freaking time we had a PvP talent for Succubus that increased all our shadow damage by 15% and that talent worked 100% on all shadow school magic spells.

So yeah, AI has summarized all critique well enough, also mentioning good design of the past Xpacs.

3 Likes
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What you say is absolutely true. Everyone tends to complain about their favorite class and offer suggestions on how to improve it. I’ve been playing the warlock since vanilla, and I can tell you that my complaints, for example, aren’t about damage/QOL like most of the topics started by players of other classes.

For me and for many others, the problem is a sort of carelessness and misunderstanding of what warlock is on the part of those who develop it, as well as illogical in many situations.

I particularly hate the fact that every time, when they don’t know what to do with the class, they bring back skills from the past, often in a random, senseless way and reusing the very old design of those skills from 20 years ago, trying to fit them into a 2025 game that has become a sort of diablo4… except bringing back the really iconic and necessary ones (I’m thinking of fel flame for example)

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What’s astonishing is how a spec like Destruction, for example, is currently completely inferior in every way to its MOP counterpart. There’s no comparison, and it’s a clear regression in design, mechanics, and fantasy.

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To be honest, you can compare every spec of MoP to TWW and MoP would win in every aspect of the design.

Demo got some unhealthy amount of nerfs over the course of MoP and still it was fun spec to play and despite low numbers you could do good and feel good. Now, you not much play the warlock rather than fight constant flow of bugs and issues that spec has.

Not many people talk about it, but MoP classes had a complete and functional design and purpose without talents, Talents served as a way to modify your spec for your needs. And with limited amount of talents, we had more build variety than in the last decade.

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AI can summerize how much people are unhappy with one specs though.
The more post there are complaining the less happy they are.
I have no idea what ai takes in as current times but anything older than 1 month shouldnt be relevant to such research.

One thing AI can and has done at least for me is search up and compared all other specs and pointed out the flaws in all 3 warlocks specs and given good examples of how to fix it.
I asked chatgpt about where IT would rank demonology in tiers compared to other classes and it put it in C-tier, future asking it to give stats on how less powerful it is and give reasonable buffs to it.
All which took roughly 20 mins, while blizzard takes over 3 months to realize a specs is underperforming by a large margin.

And i did believe its not that we have been cry posting alot, i personally i have tried giving feedback on these forums on what is wrong and how to improve it and even give theme buffs.
The only thing i have seen that i have said being used is the use of more demons and it was given to demonology. I suggested we perhaps could get more demons, one of which was overfiend.

At the end of the day it rather simple, we feel ignored and unwanted by the staff itself because they are throwing nerfs at us even though we have 10x less utility than meta classes.

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Due the formatting what I posted on Blizz forums didn’t included the links to AI’s research material. Deepseek based it’s opinion on forum topics starting since BFA till TWW.

It is clear that blizzard doesn’t know what it want from Demonology as developer, Blizzard doesn’t want to hear what we want from Demonology as players, and Blizzard is willing to neglect players in order to pursue their ideas that in 99% of the time doesn’t offer a payoffs. They are willing to rework Shadow Priests 5th time in last 2-3 years but never rework - like a proper rework demonology in order to fix core design issues.

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What makes me laugh is that he gave a speech about game development saying the players are important as it is their game also (I’m paraphrasing). Bellular did a video on it and the sheer irony and hypocrisy is not lost on me.

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OMG he is quoting blizzard, it is useless as trusting peace treaty to horde.
Ion freaking Hazzikostas the game director said in legion that he would rather double down on warlocks strength than give us mobility in Legion, and in the very next patch he nerfed shields and made us chose between two defensive talents at the same row, when they were on different one on the release. He is a liar and the fraud.

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