Fear and Loathing part 2

    Last week, we began the investigating implications of affliction spells and the purposes behind these methods of mayhem.  This week will continue the analysis of affliction's torturous methods.  So, without further ado...

Fear and loathing in WoW

Since my first adventure into the wilds with my little warlock,
the different specs seemed to have their own, distinct flavors.  I'm not referring to the rotations, damage dealt, or even focus of each spec; those were present, too, but this difference was its own entity.  Rather, each style had a unique aura that I felt while playing it, as if the goal was different for each player.  The closest class that I can align this idea to is the rogue: a combat rogue is a tavern brawler, a thug who loves to ambush people in plain sight; a subtlety rogue is more of the street thief who is not terribly interested in attacking if (s)he can steal and get away; an assassin rogue is a ninja - kill quickly and by any means.  For the warlock, each of the different styles had a similar spirit, but there was a little something that made it more... sinister.

What's in a name?

I ended up with my Draenai, after all.

So now that we have been formally introduced, I must ask: What, exactly, is a warlock? Is it someone who sacrifices others for his or her own goals? Rogues and Hunters can do that. Someone who taps into primal forces for the sake of becoming more powerful? Mages, Shamans, and Priests can do that. Someone who steals others' souls to make yummy, delicious cookies for himself and all his friends? Well... yes, this is exactly what warlockery is about: the unadulterated realization that you are the central focal point, not of the universe, but of everything that is important in the universe. It's an intrinsic factor of our existence.  We're not necessarily mean, but the sheer joy experienced when imbibing on the life force of another living  (or unliving) entity is overwhelming (my favorite are undead - they have an earthy, almost truffle-like flavor).

So, Patch 5.1 has been out for a week, and the complaints are flying faster than my health pool when I pvp.  Blizzard received some harsh questioning from a variety of posters about supposed "ninja nerfs" from many of the classes.  The argument that Blizzard purposefully hides these changes in order to avoid upsetting a large number of players seems a little tunnel-visioned, but there is no doubt that players choose, not only their play style, but also their class, based on perceived balance issues, and, as in any venue, when facts that affect major issues surface, especially if it appears that there was an attempt to hide them, people become upset.

Fortunately,  Daxxarri, a community manager, clarified what happened...