Voodu Warlock: A Pure Warlock Enlightened Spirit Tank Project companion thread

[russelc]

It's good reference, ty for posting

Mmm, what really sucks is I ground for a year to get equipment/crafting and spent real MONEY for the build that while isn't quite useless, it mostly is. Thats the sad part. This is what keeps happening, I finally found a build I like, I put in the effort, time and MONEY, and get shafted. this build was the first I liked in a long time.

I guess this is how it always goes in DDO, great.

Thanks for the build, but I guess its time to move on.

RussC

[Phoenicis]

Mmm, what really sucks is I ground for a year to get equipment/crafting and spent real MONEY for the build that while isn't quite useless, it mostly is. Thats the sad part. This is what keeps happening, I finally found a build I like, I put in the effort, time and MONEY, and get shafted. this build was the first I liked in a long time.

I guess this is how it always goes in DDO, great.

Thanks for the build, but I guess its time to move on.

RussC

frankly, even with the unrecovered light damage, ES warlock will still be very strong in Heroics. it will lose out considerably in Epics, true.

[Arctigis]

frankly, even with the unrecovered light damage, ES warlock will still be very strong in Heroics. it will lose out considerably in Epics, true.

The following is meant to be a disinterested illustration of the proposed changes:

Looking purely at ES Warlock who goes all in on bursts and takes as much extra
pact damage as available from TS (i.e. best case comparison):

On live now:
L4:
3D6 (burst) + 2D6 (blast) + 2D4 (pact) = 22.5 avg.

L12:
3D6 (burst) + 3D6 (SR) + 6D6 (blast) + 6D4 (pact) = 57 avg.
10D6 (sp. blast) + 3D6 (SR) + 6D6 (blast) + 6D4 (pact) = 81.5 avg.

L20: (Tier 4 of pact damage from TS)
3D6 (burst) + 3D6 (SR) + 3D6 (CS) + 9D6 (blast) + 14D4 (pact) = 98 avg.
10D6 (sp. blast) + 3D6 (SR) + 3D6 (CS) + 9D6 (blast) + 14D4 (pact) = 122.5 avg.

L26: (Both blast feats taken)
3D6 (burst) + 3D6 (SR) + 3D6 (CS) + 13D6 (blast) + 14D4 (pact) = 112 avg.
10D6 (sp. blast) + 3D6 (SR) + 3D6 (CS) + 13D6 (blast) + 14D4 (pact) = 136.5 avg.

U36:
L4:
1D6 (burst) + 2D6 (blast) + 2D4 (pact) = 22.5 avg.

L12:
1D6 (burst) + 3D4 (SR) + 4D6 (blast) + 6D4 (pact) = 40 avg.
4D6 (sp. blast) + 3D4 (SR) + 4D6 (blast) + 6D4 (pact) = 50.5 avg.

L20: (Tier 4 of pact damage from TS)
1D6 (burst) + 3D4 (SR) + 3D6 (CS) + 6D6 (blast) + 14D4 (pact) = 77.5 avg.
4D6 (sp. blast) + 3D4 (SR) + 3D6 (CS) + 6D6 (blast) + 14D4 (pact) = 88 avg.

L26: (Both blast feats taken)
1D6 (burst) + 3D4 (SR) + 3D6 (CS) + 13D6 (blast) + 14D4 (pact) = 102 avg.
4D6 (sp. blast) + 3D4 (SR) + 3D6 (CS) + 13D6 (blast) + 14D4 (pact) = 112.5 avg.

Changing Spiritual Retribution from 3D6 to 3D4 is interesting as it doesn't affect
the average too greatly (-3) but compresses the distribution (obviously) - it's
-6 from the top end. I'm mystified by the decision to hit L26+ damage so hard.
It would've made more sense, IMO, to graduate Eldritch Burst and Spirit Blast
based on level.

[Vooduspyce]

Mmm, what really sucks is I ground for a year to get equipment/crafting and spent real MONEY for the build that while isn't quite useless, it mostly is. Thats the sad part. This is what keeps happening, I finally found a build I like, I put in the effort, time and MONEY, and get shafted. this build was the first I liked in a long time.

I guess this is how it always goes in DDO, great.

Thanks for the build, but I guess its time to move on.

RussC

Glad you enjoyed it! This was never a max dps or speedy solo build. For me, a reduction in dps will mean it will take me a few minutes longer to solo a quest. If I'm in a group I suspect the difference will be marginal. So this is why I'm not concerned, as the real world difference of taking a few extra minutes in a quest isn't a big deal to me. I do understand that a lot of people are upset by the changes. There's always a segment of the population that is chasing the best dps. New flavors of the month will emerge if warlock loses its coveted status.

On another note, I am planning on making a few changes to the gear in the OP as soon as I can get my hands on a reaper chains blank. The reaper blank is the only hold up, as I don't want to spend hundreds of slavers mats on a new item without it having a reaper bonus. The changes will be:

Armor: Legendary Scales of Malice
Neck: slave lords chains with fortification 185, spellsight 22, radiance 185, quality intimidate +5
Bracers: Arm of the Aggressor
Belt: cannith crafted SR51, insightful SR25, insightful balance +11

I'm hoping with the u36 changes to SR stacking that I will be able to achieve a meaningful SR at end game.

[Knctrnl]

On your how to choose a warlock for beginners video your char is a Morninglord not a drow? Same Voodu or a different one. Also you have different Enhancements. I looked in this thread for a couple of pages but did not find that build.

Also are you just absorbing the medium armor penalty to attack and ASF or am i missing how you are proficient in medium armor?

[Arctigis]

On your how to choose a warlock for beginners video your char is a Morninglord not a drow? Same Voodu or a different one. Also you have different Enhancements. I looked in this thread for a couple of pages but did not find that build.

Also are you just absorbing the medium armor penalty to attack and ASF or am i missing how you are proficient in medium armor?

ES Tier 4 has medium armour proficiency with no ASF. Voodu's early videos where before the first set
of Warlock balance changes; blast/burst had no ASF in heavy armour (I think, I was on a break then).
Shining Through initially gave 15xCON temp. HP - it's now 8x.

[Knctrnl]

ES Tier 4 has medium armour proficiency with no ASF. Voodu's early videos where before the first set
of Warlock balance changes; blast/burst had no ASF in heavy armour (I think, I was on a break then).
Shining Through initially gave 15xCON temp. HP - it's now 8x.

I see the ES enh now. Thanks. I just recently returned and made a drow lock. Saw the video and he was in a Morninglord so wondered if that was a change in the build. I am wondering if this build is still viable now with the changes. Read on the dps drops. I still like the class though. Was wanting to run a lock and a druid.since I came back.

[Arctigis]

I see the ES enh now. Thanks. I just recently returned and made a drow lock. Saw the video and he was in a Morninglord so wondered if that was a change in the build. I am wondering if this build is still viable now with the changes. Read on the dps drops. I still like the class though. Was wanting to run a lock and a druid.since I came back.

It's still worth it though the campaign for more nerfs has already started. It's depressing playing
this game sometimes. I hate the crab mentality...

[KoobTheProud]

It's still worth it though the campaign for more nerfs has already started. It's depressing playing
this game sometimes. I hate the crab mentality...

We're headed into a nerf cycle that is going to hit a lot of different things but Warlocks are going to be in the forefront because they are the FotM for Reaper/RTR's.

I'm hoping SSG understands that what happens in Heroics isn't mirrored in Epics and that what the baseline is has very little to do with the ceiling. If not we're going to see Warlocks become a class not played much after a few more nerfs. At that point the nerfbatters will move on to whatever is making them feel inferior at the moment and the cycle will continue.

[Arctigis]

We're headed into a nerf cycle that is going to hit a lot of different things but Warlocks are going to be in the forefront because they are the FotM for Reaper/RTR's.

I'm hoping SSG understands that what happens in Heroics isn't mirrored in Epics and that what the baseline is has very little to do with the ceiling. If not we're going to see Warlocks become a class not played much after a few more nerfs. At that point the nerfbatters will move on to whatever is making them feel inferior at the moment and the cycle will continue.

Indeed. I'm vacillating over whether to keep playing or not to be honest. I have no confidence that anyone
can tell the difference between baselines and ceilings. All I see is posters picking on one particular aspect,
i.e. Stricken or Consume, and using just that to declare OP'ness.

[C-Dog]

I am wondering if this build is still viable now with the changes. Read on the dps drops...

'Locks were often leading the kill count vastly, and most builds could solo Reaper at-level, so there was certainly room for some drop in DPS without ruining them. Exactly how much the recent changes dropped the DPS has yet to be reported, but I'm guessing "Hardly enough to negate viability".

[Arctigis]

'Locks were often leading the kill count vastly, and most builds could solo Reaper at-level, so there was certainly room for some drop in DPS without ruining them. Exactly how much the recent changes dropped the DPS has yet to be reported, but I'm guessing "Hardly enough to negate viability".

Right - but they didn't need to lose anything in high (L26+) - there's no way to
recover lost light damage in ES.

[Knctrnl]

Right - but they didn't need to lose anything in high (L26+) - there's no way to
recover lost light damage in ES.

So sounding like locks may be nerfed to oblivion. Or is it just this build?

Still wondering about the morninglord lock too.

[sirgog]

We're headed into a nerf cycle that is going to hit a lot of different things but Warlocks are going to be in the forefront because they are the FotM for Reaper/RTR's.

I'm hoping SSG understands that what happens in Heroics isn't mirrored in Epics and that what the baseline is has very little to do with the ceiling. If not we're going to see Warlocks become a class not played much after a few more nerfs. At that point the nerfbatters will move on to whatever is making them feel inferior at the moment and the cycle will continue.

Really do not understand this mentality.

If you want your Warlock to feel as overpowered as it was a week ago, play on casual, the difficulty designed to provide the experience of god-mode. Boom - your 'delete entire screen' button is back.

This build remains fully functional and indeed still strong in heroics. High epics it loses little. Low epics it will be a little worse for wear but still completely functional.

[Arctigis]

Really do not understand this mentality.

Obviously.

If you want your Warlock to feel as overpowered as it was a week ago, play on casual, the difficulty designed to provide the experience of god-mode. Boom - your 'delete entire screen' button is back.

This build remains fully functional and indeed still strong in heroics. High epics it loses little. Low epics it will be a little worse for wear but still completely functional.

That wasn't the point of what you're responding too. The build is still fine. The worry is over
what's changing, the motivation for doing so and what impact it has on the remaining playerbase.

[Vooduspyce]

So sounding like locks may be nerfed to oblivion. Or is it just this build?

Still wondering about the morninglord lock too.

Hey Knctrnl,

I've been out of the game for several days but looks like others covered most of your question. I was just working through a Morninglord IPL when I made the How to Choose Your Warlock vid, and the enhancements that I showed were just used as an example so I could demonstrate things like Cone Shape stance that I don't normally use. The enhancements shown are not my normal configuration.

At first glance, Morninglord seems like it would work well with warlock and I was excited to try it but found it isn't that great. The Sunburst SLA, for example, doesn't scale with warlock Levels, so was quite lame with warlock. I already had Deathward from Tainted Scholar and Spell Resistance from racial (though that has changed) so Blessing of Amaunator was meaningless. Voodu is not a mana intensive build, so the extra sp wasn't valuable and while the +30 light spell power is cool, it's not worth going out of your way for. That said, my choice of Drow is mainly a flavor choice, so if you really like the flavor of Morninglord then go for it, but if you're considering Morninglord because you think it will synergize well, it doesn't as much as it might seem.

Hope that helps

[Knctrnl]

Hey Knctrnl,

I've been out of the game for several days but looks like others covered most of your question. I was just working through a Morninglord IPL when I made the How to Choose Your Warlock vid, and the enhancements that I showed were just used as an example so I could demonstrate things like Cone Shape stance that I don't normally use. The enhancements shown are not my normal configuration.

At first glance, Morninglord seems like it would work well with warlock and I was excited to try it but found it isn't that great. The Sunburst SLA, for example, doesn't scale with warlock Levels, so was quite lame with warlock. I already had Deathward from Tainted Scholar and Spell Resistance from racial (though that has changed) so Blessing of Amaunator was meaningless. Voodu is not a mana intensive build, so the extra sp wasn't valuable and while the +30 light spell power is cool, it's not worth going out of your way for. That said, my choice of Drow is mainly a flavor choice, so if you really like the flavor of Morninglord then go for it, but if you're considering Morninglord because you think it will synergize well, it doesn't as much as it might seem.

Hope that helps

It does. Thanks and to all the others that answered. I decided to stick with the lock even if it may get some more nerfs. Its my 1st playthrough anyways. I also was thinking the Morninglord SLA and bonus light dmg. Not to mention the big 10k heal would all be useful but good to know your experience with it. I went drow as I have a few of them already from before.

Guess I will find out if the ES build will still work. Not sure if I will TR at 20 or explore some more epic levels first

[C-Dog]

Guess I will find out if the ES build will still work. Not sure if I will TR at 20 or explore some more epic levels first

Well, since you'll be needing Tokens after you hit 20*, and if you have access to Epic Destinies, do explore "some". Visit a Fate Spinner immediately upon taking 20, select an available ED, and get some of that while farming for the Tokens. If nothing else, those improvements will help, if just a little, the next time you hit 20. And since they're "free", why not?

(* Which you'll do after you hit 18 and bank 20 - faster way to get the xp to 20 that way.)

[tookie]

Hey Uncle V (yeah, it's me Josh),

Would care to _enlighten_ (yeah, warlock puns for the win) me with what elements go into getting your current con score of 79?

-- Osake/Walcanar of Argonessen

[Vooduspyce]

On another note, I am planning on making a few changes to the gear in the OP as soon as I can get my hands on a reaper chains blank. The reaper blank is the only hold up, as I don't want to spend hundreds of slavers mats on a new item without it having a reaper bonus. The changes will be:

Armor: Legendary Scales of Malice
Neck: slave lords chains with fortification 185, spellsight 22, radiance 185, quality intimidate +5
Bracers: Arm of the Aggressor
Belt: cannith crafted SR51, insightful SR25, insightful balance +11

I'm hoping with the u36 changes to SR stacking that I will be able to achieve a meaningful SR at end game.

The OP has been updated with my new gear set, level 6 spells changed out and updated stats. Sadly, with the changes to SR, even with the crafted SR belt, my total SR is only 63. Keeping it that way for now to see if it's meaningful.