Playing with the title the title of a well-known novel, I wanted to discuss the almost total uselessness of a highly iconic warlock spell like Drain Life. Already in retail the spell is useful only and exclusively for Affliction, while for Demonology and Destruction it is a spell that can easily be removed from the bars like Corruption at cast time.
In War Within, Affliction will also be able to remove the spell from the bars, considering that Grim Feast and especially Inevitable Demise will be removed. From a PvP point of view it is something absolutely inexplicable, which the very good Demonic Healthstone cannot compensate for. Considering that such channeling in an increasingly fast and melee game whose brutality increases from expansion to expansion with almost 100% uptime on the caster, it would be time to finally review the spell and make it usable by all three specializations .
The idea is that Drain Life changes exactly like corruption/immolate/doom and drain soul/incinerate/shadowbolt based on specialization.
- Affliction: Drain Life is instant, use a soul shard with a CD, transfers X life from victim to warlock in Y seconds
- Destruction: Drain Life becomes Soul Tap, use a soul shard with a CD, cauterize the warlock’s wounds and heal him for X in Y seconds
- Demonology: Drain Life becomes Dark Mending (an ability used by warlocks themselves to protect Magtheridon in TBC), instant, use a soul shard with a CD, regenerates X warlock’s health in Y seconds
Obviously, given these changes, the Demonic Healthstone should be restored (especially in its version with Soul Burn) to compensate.
These are just ideas, but in any case something about Drain Life in War Within absolutely needs to be done!
What do you think? And if you like the ideas, don’t hesitate to report them if you have the chance both on the Beta topic and perhaps on the US forum!
9 Likes
If feels weak alright in TWW, I probably just think it should be put back to 2% damage 2% heal like it used to be. maybe put it at 5% or 6% of mana per tick, maybe you get 3 or 4 off in a mana pool. In pvp it would get kicked + damp and all the other minor interrupts. strong in the opening min but maybe not fantastic after that.
Although I do have it bound in retail to remove warrior spell reflect , so its not useless
They have made the spell so useless in retail even as affli that I would have to press it 20 times before even gain max hp from half health and this is also with the Accrued Vitality talent, for first time in 20 years Im considering removing drain life from hotbar as affliction which feels really weird as its always been its iconic spell how it gains health. Give the old drain life talent back for affli and keep the demonic healthstone for the rest. I dont need the demonic healthstone I want my drain life.
3 Likes
It was something quite obvious. Both destruction and demonology NEVER use drain life unlike affliction which benefited from inevitable demise and grim feast.
If they simultaneously remove inevitable demise and grim feat and make it more difficult to take accrued vitality at the home of a class tree that doesn’t allow you to do practically anything, it’s clear that even for affliction drain life becomes a totally useless spell. Which is clear to everyone, but not to them.
I tested and imo the talent Accrued Vitality dont even do nothing anymore without the old drain life talents, drain itself is too weak for heal in first place now and then 30% from that little is nothing, the whole 2/2 talent for accrued became useless aswell with this change. Its really strange they did it or didnt think about the use of drain life on affli. I guess our self healing is just on the demonic healthstones now like every other specs but this also makes drain lifes pvp talent useless to reduce dmg on us. Seems their choise to remove grim feast and inevitable demise snowballed to also make two talents which they left and also the drain life itself to now rendered useless. In this light I will only play demo in tww, theres no affli for me without drain life and drain tanking type gameplay with it. I play demo or destro if I just want to sling spells without the self healing capabilitites that were iconic to only affli ever since vanil, if they remove drain life from it then there is no affli imo. The dots are also too weak to be considered over demo/destro so the drain tanking type gameplay were the appeal for me atleast in pvp.
They removed accrued vitality only because we got fix for the healthstones via demonic healthstones talent - pact of gluttony.
Yeah and its bit shame cause affliction still had use for drain life but now they kinda dont. Now theres no real use for it to anyone which is kinda strange as its still kept in the game and the few talents that affect too little to matter so its just a mess for this spell all in all now.
1 Like
In the past we had doom as a useless spell for demo, right now for unknown reason we have a corruption for non affli warlocks and new addition to that shame to use list is now Drain life.
2 Likes
Agree on all of those, Ive thought for while that the design could use proper rework and spec identities need to become back. Right now with hero talents destruction plays more like affli and affli seem more like destruction with its gameplay of casting malegic raptures and theres not even drain life to separate them from each other any longer. Only good change were related that doom that it got baked into that demo tree and thank goodness for that.
1 Like
delete drainlife its boring and annoying give instant heal to full like hunter instead
I remember spamming drain life in WoD in 2v1 arena and a disc priest and hunter couldn’t kill me until i was out of mana. Those were the days… You are totally right that the spell in TWW is beyond useless now. You might aswell be stunning yourself when you press that button. I tried to use it on a pvp dummy after a duel to heal up. After casting it like 8 times I was out of mana and still not full HP. Totally trash.
I’m stunned Blizzard are ignoring this issue.
It’s totally ruined Affliction Warlock for me thematically.
1 Like
Its been ruined ever since legion.
1 Like
Agreed but at least Inevitable Demise was a reasonable compromise.
The current iteration is just dire 
I’m sure others are enjoying it but it’s not for me.
Thankfully I’m really enjoying Monk/Shaman/Paladin/DK and I alternate between all 4.
I can’t see me playing Warlock again until there are major changes.
1 Like
Drain life can only get buffed if soul rot no longer cleaves it.
I feel like at this point we need to print these out and mail them directly to the developers homes specifically otherwise it’ll just fall on deaf ears.