Instancing questions for warlocks.

[Naysayer]

For those warlock boxers out there that have matured at level 70 and have decent gear, how do you find heroic difficulty these days? Are there any that are possible for you now that you have decent gear? Do you usually clear a couple ezmode bosses and leave the others alone? Do you alter your party to compensate (bring a tank, bring a healer, ect), and if so are full clears still possible for you with 4 locks +1 other?

Heroics are the only thing holding me back from embracing my fresh new warlocks as my main group.

[Manaburner]

I have a priest/4 lock team at 70 as well as a 5X70 Shaman team.

Heroics level instances are just not possible with locks. The pets, (Voids with talents or even Felguards) just don't last long enough for damage over time or even for full nuking destruction specced locks to take down an elite mob. They are just too squishy to clear to the first boss of any heroic instance.
My locks are 450 resilience with 12 K stam and 1062 spell damage -My priest 460 resilience 11 K stamina and an even in alternate full Tier 5/Lightfathom scepter (1900 +healing) - I just.... die clearing trash. Usually what happens is I can try CC'ing adds, load up on DoT's/nuke shadowbolt first target. The pets take enormous amounts of damage so that my healing ends up aggroing on to my priest who fades - then the pets die one by one because I can't heal them fast enough. The locks eventually lose aggro and get smacked one by one and an eventual wipe ensues.

This ends up taking one, or maybe 2 mobs down during the pool. I soulstone and then I can kill the remaining mobs on a second pull. Setup ends up taking 5 minutes because I have to re-buff/summon demons and drink/lifetap up to full. So clearing trash takes a LOOOONNNGGG time to do and is usually fruitless once you get to 4 mob pulls.

Locks are insanely fun in World PVP/AV but in instances... it just isn't in the cards I'm afraid.

On the other hand, I like many others, can farm easy heroics on green-geared shaman teams.

Maybe when Demon Form comes it might be easier, but for now it's an exercise in futility.

[Naysayer]

Well, they are making it possible to boost VW health by around 80% come wotlk (30% default boost, 30% talented, 20% glyph), and their threat up by about 30%. They are also supposedly removing crushing blows, so that's another huge bonus. I still doubt they'll be able to hold down the fort in an 80 heroic. We can always dream though, can't we?

[Mudd]

I gave up on trying to 5-lock instances when they were using up 28-slot shard bags on pets before getting to the 2nd bosses of lvl 70 instances (non-heroic). Give the voids a true taunt and you might be able to nuke your way through some instances.

[Pavavion]

would a tankadin (kara and badge geared) and 4 lock combo have enough dps to push through NON heroics??? I ask this as i am boxing 4 locks atm but have a 70 tankadin on sep account for a while.



/OT sorry:

I do have a 4 shaman set sitting at 20, locks always my thing though and want to have enough high lvl toons on each account so I can box dknights once xpac out. FYI I started mbing before the recruit a friend xp bonus. So roll the locks up to 70 via instance boost with Pally, come back to plow through quests/rep for coin, do some farming zergs with the pal+4locks. Then when bored lvl the shamans with the pally tank again, by that time WOTLK will be out and getting to 70 to farm heroics wont be a priority but leveling will be?