Affliction warlock used to have a DoT + Channel playstyle. At least for single target. This new MR spam style made me really annoyed with the spec.
it doesn’t feel like a DoT caster now at all. Let’s say you have your MR on 5, you press that key so much, it wears down the colour really rapidly. And even worse, as MR being a hard cast, aside from being REALLY Boring, it is REALLY handicapping to constantly and verrrrry frequently HARD CAST the same 1 spell again and again and again…
MR spam has ruined Affliction experience in my opinion. Maybe… Just maybe, making it a bigger Shard spender and more damage with a longer cast time or like a CD and rare procs could feel better.
How do you feel about MR spamming fellow Affliction friends ? Do you have suggestions ?
to provide you a little bit of insight to better understand the situation i am presenting you some data from the Sikran Fight comparisons of most frequent used hard casting spells of some range dps specs:
- Affliction Warlock - Malefic Rupture - 1 cast per 3,4 seconds
- Destruction Warlock - Chaos Bolt - 1 cast per 5,7 seconds
- Marksmanship Hunter - Aimed Shot - 1 cast per 5,4 seconds
- Shadow Priest - Mind Blast - 1 cast per 5,7 seconds
- Arcane Mage - Arcane Blast - 1 cast per 2,3 seconds
- Frost Mage - Glacial Spike - 1 cast per 14.0 seconds
- Elemental Shaman - Lightning bolt - 1 cast per 1,3 seconds
- Balance Druid - Wrath - 1 cast per 2,7 seconds
So, there have remained like 2-3 specs more where i could calculate their datas for you. But it must be obvious to you all that Affliction warlock has almost been the “1 skill spam” spec like an Elemental Shaman or Arcane mage.
This game style is completely and utterly against the roots of the spec being a DoT class. Our DoTs have to be improved and MR must not be this much on focus.
7 Likes
Unfortunately since they introduced this spell, the warlock affliction playstyle has changed radically and for the worse as far as I’m concerned. I don’t find it thematic or funny. Among other things, given the difficulty in obtaining shards from affliction due to the agony NRG, it often happens that once you have chain-spammed Malefic Rapture in the end nothing is done until some shards come back.
Some warlocks defend this design choice because it is very effective in coucil fights. Which in my opinion is an absolute stupidity as an answer, in fact it would have been enough if instead of malefic rapture there was “shadow implosion” or an implosion of the targets affected by DOTs and with increased damage based on the number of them and whether it is present or not the unstable affliction. Obviously not a casted spell but an instant proc (like tormented crescendo) and that uses a shard. Outside this proc, the spell is gray and unable to use
6 Likes
This sounds like a really good idea. So, with that, they could balance the strength of the spell and the damage of the DoTs just by playing around with the proc frequency & mastery.
Oh i’d wish they’d do it… Sadge…
2 Likes
Someone in Blizzard really loves the Idea of Malefic Rapture, and they think that they know better what is best for affli.
1 Like
I don’t even use it, it doesn’t feel like it belongs in an affliction tree.
Replace it with another DOT - I want to have like 10 DoTs with 20 stacks on 20 people =-)
1 Like
The problem is with the hero talents. Soul Harvester relies around Malefic Rapture, the DoTs are only there to improve the damage of Malefic Rapture.
But have you tried Hellcaller? That class revolves more around DoTs than Soul Harvester. Even the talent choices reflect this, like Sacrolash’s Dark Strike, Malediction and Contagion. It also plays slower and has a lot less of Malefic Rapture spam
Unfortunately Hellcaller is about 100k in DPS behind Soul Harvester, so it is never used in raids nor mythic+. But this might change with the upcoming buffs of Warlock next reset.
Both hero talents for Affliction will be buffed, but if you actually look at the buffs, it will close the gap a bit between Hellcaller and Soul Harvester. My calculations estimate it to be still be a 50k DPS difference, let’s hope it’s actually less. But this means Hellcaller will be a more viable option than it was before. I was actually thinking of using Hellcaller next reset instead of Soul Harvester, because I enjoy Hellcaller more. And that was even before I learned they were buffing Warlocks. Now I am definitely going to run Hellcaller next Thursday.
If you haven’t tried Hellcaller yet, I suggest you try it, it relies more on DoTs than on Malefic Rapture spam. As an Affliction Warlock/DoT spec should be in my opinion.
1 Like
Hellcaller is nice. For me it’s the RNG of agony generating soul shards. Especially when we have a lot of spells in Aff that cost soul shards. Vile taint should be instant if it’s going to cost a shard or cut the cool-down and remove the shard cost.
I would like to play Hellcaller, but Soul Rot giving you 3 shards is too good at the moment.
1 Like
Lol me too, I have one saved build where I avoid every talent that would buff MR’s damage
In my opinion they can keep a cast time and cost on Vile Taint but they should remove the cooldown. Or remove the cost and make the cooldown 20 seconds.
In the case of Soul Rot giving 3 shards, this is something which plays into the play style of Soul Harvester. Hellcaller is much slower gameplay. You will be spamming a lot less Malefic Rapture because in between Soul Rot windows, you’re keeping your shards so you can spend them in your burst window. Usually when Malevolence and Soul Rot come off cooldown, I have 4 or 5 soul shards ready for my burst window.
1 Like
I’m going to give it another shot. Honestly, I liked the with and malevolence play style.
I just wish Oblivion would replace MF. Too bad it doesn’t trigger the Hero Talents…
The general implementation of Warlock hero talents does not effectively complement Warlock abilities. For instance, the Destro PvP talent, Reign of Havok, which transforms Havok into an AoE, fails to distribute Wither from Hellcaster. Additionally, no hero talent that inflicts single-target damage provides shields through soul leech.
This malefic rapture stuff force me to stop playing affliction. The true is, as soul harvester, it is very easy rotation with very nice damage. Also questing with haunt triggering nightfall is nice for hunting low mobs. However, it is very boring. Hellcaller is better, but still, it is about malefic rapture and playing shadow bolt instead drain soul is nonsense for dot class…
1 Like
Drain Soul should replace Shadowbolt for Aff and be like the spell Malefic Grasp and Malefic Rapture should be your “shadow implosion” idea.
yes that’s exactly what I was trying to explain 
p.s. I’m Xanatas but it won’t let me post on the forum with any character other than this classic
1 Like
No thanks! I love that we have a choice, because I prefer my Shadow Bolts to Drain Soul.
Unless they change it back to when Drain Soul would cause all our DoTs to trigger, everytime it dealt damage, I loved using it back then 
Malefic Rapture, I wouldn’t mind seeing changed.
1 Like
Isn’t that was Malefic grasp in Cata/MoP?
It is. Also, nightfall procs should allow you channel drain soul whilst moving.
2 Likes
Not sure where you get the information from that Hellcaller is still depending on Malefic Rapture but that’s not true. The build I’m currently running has Wither as an absolute top damage spell and my other DoTs are either the same as or more than Malefic Rapture
Because MR (by spending soul shards) stacks Wither and during Malevolence even by 2, until Wither collapse. And, of course, it is still big damage addition
1 Like