The “Shadow Rot Build” ditches a lot of health and intellect to focus on pure +shadow spell power. Stacking spell power on a Warlock functions very different than that of other classes such as mages. The focus on added shadow spell power is not to hit big CRITZ with Shadow Bolt but rather make your two DoTs even more deadly than they normally are. Curse of Agony and Corruption will do some serious damage to the enemy team as you can just DoT them up while keeping other people Feared. A serious squishy menace is a “Shadow Rot Build” Warlock.
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Tier 0:
Gear that is easily accessible (usually exclusively AH) but not optimal. This gear should be used if you cannot get access to Tier 1 twink gear for whatever reason. Tier 1: Gear that can be obtained from the AH (at a reasonable price), through dungeon runs or through high level quests. Much of Tier 1 is viable long-term. Tier 2: Gear that can be obtained from the AH but is usually extremely expensive. Tree Bark Jacket, Twisted Chanter’s Staff and Shadowfang are a few items that fit into this category. It’s recommended to grab these types of items whenever someone puts them on the AH at a low cost. Tier 3: Gear that can be obtained but is usually part of an extensive grind or has to be competed for. |
Shadow Rot Build: Why should you play this build?
The easier build for Warlocks in the 19 bracket is the Survival Build. However, there are a few eccentricities of the 19 Warlock that make stacking shadow spell power work very well here:
- The two main sources of dps for the Warlock are of relatively low mana cost in the form of Curse of Agony and Corruption. Unlike a mage, you are going to get instant full benefit from your DoT’s simply by placing them on the enemy team. You are not losing time casting spells. Also, Life Tap is going to keep your DoT’s always up.
- As the talents for each build are the same, you can just swap back and forth between builds. A bandage should get you back up to full health when swapping gear.