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1.0  – The Basics

Warlock Guide Contents

Warlocks That Rock - Basics
Warlocks That Rock - Spell List
Warlocks That Rock - Methodology
Warlocks That Rock - Quests & Nice Equipment Drops
Sorcerer Achievements
Warlock Achievements

1.1 – Character Creation

Some players prefer to maximize their stats from the get-go, choosing a race solely for the adventurer attributes.  Given that you’re going to be staring at and playing this character for countless hours, I’d urge you to at least give some thought to aesthetics and personality too.  Variety is the spice of life, and things would be thoroughly boring if every warlock-in-training chose Erudite, or every fighter chose Barbarian, every scout chose ratonga or halfling, etc.  The difference in INT between the highest and lowest INT characters is nothing a few lucky drops couldn’t fix.  Chose the class you enjoy!

Race & primary stats:

That being said, INT, power pool, and power regeneration are very important stats for a good Warlock.  INT has a few important functions: 1) it lowers the power cost of spells point for point (until a predefined minimum per each spell), 2) more INT means more effective casting (less fizzles, less chance of interrupts, higher damage), 3) more INT has more positive impact on your power pool than the “power” attribute on items until around 90 INT (e.g. increasing INT from 63 to 64 grants 2 power points, rather than the 1:1 impact of “straight” power points).

Races with the most starting INT: Erudite (30), Gnome (27), Dark Elf (26), Ratonga (25).  Racial traditions and personal attributes are almost identical between each of these races, so the choice is yours.

After 90 INT, start concentrating moreso on building power regen and power pool.  Power = damage, the more you have, the faster the mob drops.

1.2 – Introductory Tips

Check out “Methods and Procedures” for detailed info on how best to use your spells and abilities.  What follows are some general tips and definitions of common terms used throughout the guide.

The least you need to know while solo:

My #1 tip: know when to run.  There’s nothing to be ashamed of, and the debt you could incur is worth erring on the side of caution.  I use “50/50” as a rule of thumb, if I haven’t reduced the mob’s health past 50% (or 50% of the group isn’t “dead”) when I hit 50% power, it’s time to run. Have a clear path to the exit, and don’t forget to /yell – you’ll lose the mobs faster.

Don’t forget to buff up (buffs are spells which augment your physical abilities, many use up concentration points) before going into any hostile area.  Buff spells like “Burning Radiance” are short-duration and must be used immediately before combat begins.  Choose your path of movement carefully: if you can make every battle a battle of your choosing, you’ll stay out of experience debt 99% of the time.

The general form of solo fighting: select your target carefully, stand back about 20 paces, turn on melee, lead off with a root (a spell like “Frozen Manticles” which reduces the enemy’s movement to zero briefly) and apply all the DoT spells you can (a DoT or “damage over time” spell does a certain amount of damage every few seconds (“ticks”) and may have initial and final damage bonuses as well) before the root breaks.  If there’s still time, apply another root.  Next, start firing off your nukes / DDs (DD stands for direct damage) via Heroic Opportunities or HO’s.  Use HO’s, it’s free damage!  The only time to be careful of using HO’s when solo is when “Arcane Storm” comes up when fighting in close proximity to non-aggro mobs (enemies which won’t attack you unless provoked) or gray-con agro mobs.  “Arcane Storm” is an AoE (Area of Effect) spell, which will damage all mobs within a certain radius.  Simply hit “Arcane Augur” again and use another HO. 

On most solo mobs, 2 or 3 HO s in conjunction with your DoTs should do the trick, with a filler stun/DD used while “Arcane Augur” cycles.  Use nil-crystal granting spells toward the end of the fight to ensure you have a huge supply while grouped (nil crystals grant your group increased power pools).  If the battle goes sour, be sure to save at least enough power to root the mob and sprint to safety.

The least you need to know while grouped:

My #1 tip while grouped: play as conservative as you need to, just don’t draw aggro under any circumstances.  If the mob turns to attack you because you can’t manage your spells properly: 1) you might get killed, and 2) your group isn’t going to be happy if all their doing is peeling mobs off of you.  You should ramp up your damage spells, start with the milder debuffs and DoTs at the start of the fight and slowly progress to the heavier hitting DDs, DoTs, and power drains after the mob group has reached 50% health or less.  Stand back from the encounter a modest distance unless you’re the meleeing sort- really, you should be casting full time and being close might earn you substantial AE damage.

Don’t forget your buffs, which again should all be kept active while in hostile territory.  Get a “feather” or “spirit call” from your healer; you’re in the back row and should survive to rez the healer if things go south.

You eventually will have a wide variety of very useful spells; ranging from crowd control to spell interrupts to lifetaps, drains, and the “nil crystal” power augmentations for your group.  Check out “Methods and Procedures” for hints on how to effectively use some of these more exotic spells effectively.

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