Hello again guys! Today the new Icecrown Citadel Blood Wing is opened and players will have the opportunity to challenge the Blood Princes and Blood Queen Lana’thel.
I’m sure surprised about the fight mechanic after reading a few guides because it involves warlock as the tank! As a warlock I’m going to list the most beneficial talents and specs to maximize both dps and utility for the raid (10 man), some may say ”Who cares about trash mob!” but this is all about maximizing performance in every way possible.
1) As a dps class, we love to see big numbers. In the lower spire trash mob it is best to use affliction spec to boost the seed of corruption damage. (Low priority)
2) Lord Marrowgar, all specs are good and have their advantages. Affliction’s Siphon Life will make your healers less stressful from healing you through bone storm and your lifetap, the downside are: you will have a slower dps-switch in order to do damage to Bone Spike and the dots will occasionaly make you pull agro off the boss after bone storm ends.
Destruction/Demonologist on the other hand is favourable in this fight. Fast switch to the Bone Spike and not having to worry about pulling agro when bone storm ends.
For first boss in ICC Destruction is the way to go imo.
3) Lady Deathwhisper. The big challenge is to kill the adds as fast as possible. Your performance can vary depending on the group make up. If you have a lot of casters in the group then I would say Affliction/Demo is the way to go, if there are too many melees then Destruction is more desirable.
There are 2 mobs that if they get empowered they take little damage (around 99% dmg reduction) to either spell/melee. In a raid composition where there are too many casters, the melee may need help in killing the adherent (magic resistant) and this is where affliction/demo will shine. Fully DOT them up before they become empower will help the melee greatly in taking down the reflective and absorbing shield. Felguard is great in helping those melees as well.
When there are not enough casters, you want to burst down the fanatics (physical resistant) as fast as possible so destruction is the way to go.
For boss 2 in ICC, all specs are equally good.
3) Gunship battle is easy, I’m not sure about the offensive part of the fight because there may be a possibility that the pets get left behind so the warlocks + hunters are always stationed in defense
4) Deathbringer Saurfang. Now this is the encounter where destruction outperforms affliction and demonologist GREATLY. The two talents that can make a huge difference are Shadow Fury and Aftermath. Shadow Fury with a cooldown only 20 seconds is perfect in stopping those blood beasts when they first appear, combined with the 50% slow movement reduction from Aftermath talent then it is godly in taking down those beasts. Of course you are not expected to solo those beasts, but those 2 talents will greatly help the raid.
Affliction suffers here, low burst capability and the inability to stun/slow the beasts can make the encounter harder. Affliction is best here only if you have enough good range dpser (moonkin, ele shaman, hunters) to handle the beasts without relying on Shadow Fury + Aftermath combo, and as Affliction it would be better if you just stay on boss
Not sure about demonologist, there may be a possibility that if the felguard is hit by the bloodbeast then Saurfang will get runic power.
For boss 4 in ICC, destruction is the way to go!
5) Plagueworks: Festergut. The gear check fight of ICC. In this fight caster dmg is expected to be below melee because of the need to move and adjust position. As a range dps, we need to move to a desginated range spore location (usually to a healer because it is crucial for the healers not to move around or risk of having the tanks dead) or need to move to melee range if there is no spore in melee range and you have the spore.
Since this is a dps race with some movement required, Affliction is best way to go!
6) Rotface. Massive movement is required in this encounter from having to merge the oozes, avoiding puddles, avoiding explosions, avoiding slime spray, and avoiding the slime pools. Affliction is no doubt the best talent spec both to maximize dps and to help out your healers with siphon life.
7) Professor Putricide. Have not encountered him yet so I have no say about this boss, but from the looks of it destruction may be the way to go here from having to kill the small gas/slimes as fast as possible.
8.) Blood Princes. A warlock tank is desirable in this fight because of the empowered shadow bolt! So that means it would be good to take some talents in demonoloy and destruction to reduce damage such as Soul Link (transfer 20% dmg to pet), Nether Protection (reduce 30% dmg from spell), Molten Skin (-6% dmg taken). For the threat generation Searing Pain is back baby! Talents such as Improved Searing Pain (+10% chance Searing Pain critical) can be useful. Now the crap part is that Destructive Reach which makes our destruction spell to be 36 yards range should not be taken because it lowers threat generation by 20% as well (this talent is usually taken by many destruction specs because this is the most useful filler talents)
A special new spec may be required for the tanking warlock
9) Blood Queen Lana’Thel. Seems to be another dps race and having to move around due to Pact of the Darkfallen and having to bite another player. I would have to say that affliction would be the best spec for this encounter, but only time will tell.
In summary, warlocks are gonna be busy and possibly changing specs to maximize their performance in every encounter. After all that’s what raid progression is all about.
- Nullthalas
