"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Nietzsche just might be on to something, here. When attempting to overcome an adversary, he warns not to become what you hate about your adversary.  Hmmm.. I wonder if Illidan did some cross-realm transfering to pick up a bit of light reading.

Prometheus Bound

Welcome back, Warlocks.  I hope that the new year is finding you awash in a sea of your enemies’ blood. Last week we delved into the idea behind Destruction with an overview of the basic concept behind the spec, now we will probe the essential spells and abilities of this spec to prove that the Destruction warlock is one masochistic son of an ember.

Tyger, Tyger, burning bright, in the forests of the night...

What immortal hand or... ah,
forget it, let's incinerate something.

To borrow the words from William Blake, who could conceive of such a concept as the Warlock? The idea of a person who casts spells that destroy foes has been around in weaker forms (i.e. wizards/mages), but Warlocks are more insidious by drawing upon demonic forces; forces that seek the destruction of everything lawful and good.  The first two weeks of this stint were spent exploring the degenerating forces of the Afflock.  Now, we'll swing the pendulum in the complete opposite direction by looking at the Destruction Warlock - he of the ever burning fire.

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...