Warlock BiS, Patch by Patch - Finalized

[Botmaster5]

No world bosses!! (keeping it a little realistic)

The below is the Bis of the Bis, universally accepted, diligently theory-crafted, Xashe approved.

With the release of BWL, and some +spell hit gear, we finally have a sturdy base to build on. I've started a list of the primo BiS from now till the end of vanilla, broken up into the upcoming patches.

Current Patch 1.6 (BWL)
Helm - Mish'undare, Circlet of the Mind Flayer - Nef
Neck - Choker of the Firelord - Rag
Shoulder - Mantle of the Blackwing Cabal - Razorgore
Back - Cloak of the Brood Lord - Nef
Chest - Robe of Volatile Power - Luci/Shazz/Geh/Sulf
Bracer - Bracers of Arcane Accuracy - Broodlord Lasher
Hands - Ebony Flame Gloves - Ebonroc
Belt - Mana Igniting Cord - Magmadar/Geddon/Garr/Golemagg
Legs - Flarecore Leggings - Crafted
Boots - +30 Boots of Shadow Wrath - BoE
Ring1 - Band of Forced Concentration - Ebonroc
Ring2 - Band of Dark Dominion - BWL trash
Trinket1* - Briarwood Reed - Jed or Eye of the Beast - Quest
Trinket2 - Neltharion's Tear - Nef
2H - Staff of the Shadow Flame - Nef
Wand - +23 Lunar Wand of Shadow Wrath -BoE
*ToEP goes here, but priority Mages > Warlocks, also depending on buffs and raid DPS Reed vs Eye

Patch 1.7 (ZG) changes:
Back - Cloak of the Brood Lord -> Cloak of Consumption - HakKar
Chest - Robe of Volatile Power -> Bloodvine Vest - Crafted
Legs - Flarecore Leggings -> Bloodvine Leggings - Crafted
Boots - +30 Boots of Shadow Wrath -> Bloodvine Boots - Crafted

Patch 1.8 (Dragons of Nightmare/Abyssal Council) changes:
Bracer - XXX -> Rockfury Bracers - Quest

Patch 1.9 (AQ 20/40) changes:
Head - XXX -> Doomcaller's Circlet - Quest
Neck - XXX -> Amulet of Vek'nilash - Twin Emps
Shoulder - XXX -> Doomcaller's Mantle - Quest
Back - XXX -> Cloak of the Devoured - C'Thun
Hands - XXX -> Dark Storm Gauntlets - C'Thun
Belt - XXX -> Eyestalk Waist Cord - C'Thun
Ring1 - XXX -> Ring of the Fallen God - C'Thun
Ring2 - XXX -> Ring of Unspoken Names - Quest
2h / 1h+OH - XXX -> Sharpened Silithid Femur + Royal Scepter of Vek'lor - Viscidus + Twin Emps

Patch 1.10 (non-content) changes:
-Nothing, cry more noobs.

Patch 1.11 (Naxx - non-Frost Wing loot) changes:
Helm - XXX -> Plagueheart Circlet - Quest
Shoulder - XXX ->Rime Covered Mantle - Gluth
Chest - XXX -> Plagueheart Robe - Quest
Legs - XXX -> Leggings of Polarity - Thaddius
Boots - XXX -> Plagueheart Sandals - Quest
Ring2 - XXX -> Seal of the Damned - 4 Horsemen
2h / 1h+OH - XXX -> Wraith Blade - Maexxna
Wand - XXX -> Wand of Fates - Patchwerk

The 2/8 set bonus (Your Shadow Bolts now have a chance to heal you for 270 to 331) is always reached since Tier 3 head, chest and boots are best in slot items. The 4/8 bonus (Increases damage caused by your Corruption by 12%) is very easily reachable with Plagueheart Shoulderpads, meaning that the set bonus worth discussing is the 6/8 bonus (Your spell critical hits generate 25% less threat. In addition, Corruption, Immolate, Curse of Agony, and Siphon Life generate 25% less threat), extremely handy in threat-sensitive fights.

The 6/8 T3 set bonus is most effectively reached by adopting the Plagueheart Belt and Plagueheart Gloves over your Eyestalk Waist Cord and Dark Storm Gauntlets.

[Botmaster5]

*Reserved

[Cousy]

Staff of the Shadow Flame is better than Claw of Chromaggus + Jin'do OH. You get 2 more SP and 2 crit instead of 1 hit.

Just because it has hit % doesn't mean it's better.

Also, patch 1.8 brings Rockfury Bracers (+37 spell damage 1% hit) from the Silithus quests and commendations.

[Botmaster5]

Staff of the Shadow Flame is better than Claw of Chromaggus + Jin'do OH. You get 2 more SP and 2 crit instead of 1 hit.
Just because it has hit % doesn't mean it's better.

With Rallying Cry of the Dragonslayer, which we usually raid with, Staff of Shadow Flame is only slightly better than Claw + Jin'do - 113 vs 104 rating. Also, ZG into AQ marks the break point where MH+OH starts to outclass 2H for warlocks, making it a somewhat necessity to switch over. Might as well get a jump on it in ZG. Something else to consider, mages should be prioritized over warlocks for this staff.

Also, patch 1.8 brings Rockfury Bracers (+37 spell damage 1% hit) from the Silithus quests and commendations.

*corrected, just assumed that it came out in 1.9 with AQ

[Larsen]

I don't think you can really call green +30 shadow dmg boots better than Maleki Footwraps. Even if you consider only the damage, 9 int is something like 0.20% crit, which is probably about par with 3 spell damage. And then the blue boots give mana and stamina.

[Botmaster5]

I don't think you can really call green +30 shadow dmg boots better than Maleki Footwraps. Even if you consider only the damage, 9 int is something like 0.20% crit, which is probably about par with 3 spell damage. And then the blue boots give mana and stamina.

I think you're not taking into consideration buffs and debuffs. The difference is slight, but the +3 diff is enough to make them better.

[Cousy]

With Rallying Cry of the Dragonslayer, which we usually raid with, Staff of Shadow Flame is only slightly better than Claw + Jin'do - 113 vs 104 rating. Also, ZG into AQ marks the break point where MH+OH starts to outclass 2H for warlocks, making it a somewhat necessity to switch over. Might as well get a jump on it in ZG. Something else to consider, mages should be prioritized over warlocks for this staff.

It's silly to assume you will always have Rallying Cry of the Dragonslayer. Even still, crit is more valuable than hit and the staff is definitely BiS until AQ40. Claw + Jin'do's is 2nd best, sure, and it may be close under ideal circumstances, but it's still worse under ideal circumstances and gets worse as you lose your world buffs. If your list is the ultimate BiS for each patch, then Claw + Jin'do doesn't belong on it.

[fabik007]

Hey fellow locks, got one question about Maleki's pre-raid BIS boots - have this item dropped recently (~month) for anyone of you? I have made about 15-20 runs to Strat UD and so far, I have not seen it dropped, not once... Idk if its just a coincidence or something is screwed with em.

[Larsen]

I don't think you can really call green +30 shadow dmg boots better than Maleki Footwraps. Even if you consider only the damage, 9 int is something like 0.20% crit, which is probably about par with 3 spell damage. And then the blue boots give mana and stamina.

I think you're not taking into consideration buffs and debuffs. The difference is slight, but the +3 diff is enough to make them better.

There are no buffs or debuffs that are relevant in this context. The spell crit gained from 9 int is worth about as much DPS as 3 spell power, and the added stats put Maleki's ahead. 30sp is not better than 27sp 9int 9sta. The blue boots will be much easier to obtain, too, since max-level 'of x wrath' items are really rare.

[Botmaster5]

There are no buffs or debuffs that are relevant in this context. The spell crit gained from 9 int is worth about as much DPS as 3 spell power, and the added stats put Maleki's ahead. 30sp is not better than 27sp 9int 9sta. The blue boots will be much easier to obtain, too, since max-level 'of x wrath' items are really rare.

While i agree with you that the footwraps are easier to obtain, +30 SP boots are just objectivly better.



The last column being the shadowbolt rating.

As far as Staff of Shadow Flame vs. Claw + Jin'do, yes, the staff is better (114 vs 104 rating) Ill make those corrections when I get home.