Warlock Advice

So, I don't think we have anyone currently interested in demo locks, other then me, but I'll post what I know in case.

We all know I <3 my Zili, but why do I love him? Because he does insane things for me...no, not "those" kinds of things...better yet, I should say he does insane things for my dps.

The power behind a demo lock, is your Felguard. Without him, you are nothing but a bad spin off of a mage. With that being said, one of the most important things for a demo lock, is your build. We'll take a look at the changes coming outi n patch 3.1.

This is the build I'm going to try with Kaly: http://ptr.wowhead.com/?talent=IZbGchkAzi0sxuAoE0hV

You'll notice a couple of obvious changes from the orginal talent tree and the new one. First off, there is no longer a talent to reduce your hit cap. What does that mean? Easy, you'll now need the full 17% to be hit capped at level 80. This is no easy feat to accomplish, but with the right gear and a little work it can be done.

Secondly, you'll notice that the talents lower in the demo tree have had their points reduced. This means we need less points in the demo tree and that gives up more to add to the destro tree. I'm very excited about this change. It will now allow me to easily get all the things I want from demo, plus all the great talents to boost my Shadow Bolt.

You may notice, I did not put the points into "Master Summoner". Why? Well, from what I've learned, Zili doesn't die a lot, and I'm not often needing to switch or summon minons while in combat. So, in my opinon, I've decided that I can summon between fights, eat to refill my mana and thus the points would be better spent in "Improved Healthstone". This way the entire, party/raid, will benifit from my healthstones restoring 20% more health. I may learn that this doesn't work, but it'll be trial and error.

Demonic Tatics/Improved Demonic Tatics - This is the heart and soul of why you're a demo lock. Max this out. The wonderous things that this will do for you and your Felguard is well worth it. It works like a domino effect. You get a boost to your crit chance every time your Felguard crits and vise versa.

Mana Feed - I went without this for awhile and was shocked when I finally talented into it, on how much more damage Zili did. Every time I life tap to gain mana, Zili gains 100% of the mana I get. Thus, this allows him to use his "Cleave" ability more often, in turn boosting our "Demonic Tatics" bond as well. Yay, for mana feed!

Soul Link - I personally do NOT use this talent, but I point into it, to allow me to get to the talents associated to it. I found out quickly that allowing Zili to absorb part of my damage...made for a dead Zili, very fast. But it's up to you, try it and see what you think.

Master Conuror - Wow, this is an amazing change. Talent into, no matter what. Gaining a 300% boost your benifits from your firestone is HUGE. Currently, without the patch, I get a 30% increase and this is nice, can't wait to see what 300% does!

Now that we've talked about the key talents...lets talk about...dum, dum, dum...

"METAMORPHOSIS"
So, not only do you get to control a cool demon, you get to BE a cool demon. And when I say cool...you look cool! Just image, a big black/purple winged demon with amazing powers! *Bow before me, tremble in fear!"...ok, sorry about that. Now to the key points of when and how to actually use it. I use this for one of two reasons.

1. My "Oh Shit" button...600% armor boost for those sticky times when you manage to pull aggro off the tank and find yourself staring face to face with a giant baddy!

2. To strike fear into the heart of every instance/raid boss...20% increase in your damage for 30 seconds. Make those raid bosses shudder in your wake.

Ok, so all silliness aside. This is a great ability, not to mention fun. If you're going to go Demo...not skip this talent.

Spell rotation..hmm...find what works for you. My spell rotation..Demonic Empowerment, Curse of Agony, Corruption, then spam Shadowbolt and watch the crits fly. The only change I make to this is replacing my Curse of Agony with Curse of Doom on boss fights. Don't forget to use your trinkets everytime the cooldown is up. It helps to make a macro once you know your spell rotation, then all you have to do is click that button to use those trinkets and cast your DoTs.

Now, in summary. Remember these key points:
1. Demonic Empowerment - Talent it and USE it every time the cooldown is up. 20% attack speed to your Felguard shouldn't be wasted.
2. Fel Armor - Talent into Demonic Aegis and never let your buff go down!!
3. Metamorphosis - Be the scary demon!
4. Hit, hit, hit...get your raid hit cap, you're not talenting into these damage buffs to see "MISS, MISS, MISS"

Well, that's my advice for all you little locklings!! Have fun and happy hunting!