5-box all Warlocks: Best group ever?

[Stabface]

Hey folks *waves* first post here although I've been lurking for a while. I've 2-boxed for a few months, and finally getting my 5 box setup going in the next few weeks.

I'm very strongly leaning towards a 5 Warlock setup for this simple reason, the L70 spell Seed of Corruption.


Seed of Corruption
882 Mana
30 yd range
2 sec cast
Imbeds a demon seed in the enemy target, causing 1044 Shadow damage over 18 sec. When the target takes 1044 total damage or dies, the seed will inflict 1110 to 1290 Shadow damage to all other enemies within 15 yards of the target. Only one Corruption spell per Warlock can be active on any one target.



Running the math: it gains 22% of your +damage and ~30.5% increase from talents / Curse of Shadows (improved). With 5 or more mobs and 3 casts per Warlock with good gear. This works out to over 20K+ in damage for ~8 seconds of casting. With around 1000 +damage and 20% crit you have over 25K damage. This is sufficient damage to instantly kill the vast majority of elites in the L70 instances. (Notable exceptions would be the high-HP single pull mobs, such as the Overseers in Shadow Labs)
Alternatively you could keep your spell damage low (~600 or less) and you may be able to get off 4 casts, if your latency is low enough, button mashing fast enough, and no damage from other sources to set off the bomb early. This puts you over 26K damage.
Also, above 1400 +damage you would only get 2 casts off before the bomb drops, dropping you less than 20K AE damage.

I'm not sure how to beat bosses with this group, but you could chew through trash at an extremely fast rate! Thoughts? Something I'm overlooking?

[Stealthy]

I think survivability will be an issue with no healer when you reach BC...
Siphon life + life tap aren't really a replacement for a direct healing, especially as the higher level elites hit hard! Even if you go demo, with 5 felguards tanking, there will be times when health funnel just won't cut it for healing a pet.

Personally I would drop one warlock for a priest - you get all the healing you need, a nice stam buff, extra shadow protection & the ability to dispel magic.

[Xzin]

I would not roll without a healer. Believe me, you do not want to do 5 locks. 5 shammys maybe, bc all 5 can heal.

[ytrehod]

I've been dual-boxing with my existing characters (70 warlock and 70 hunter) but have been thinking about expanding to tri-boxing and starting new characters.

My question is what class combinations would be best to 3 man instances? Is it even possible? I was thinking 2 warlocks and a priest might be able to pull it off. Am I just deluding myself that it's possible?

[Abox]

I am really happy so far with shaman as support class.

Earth Shield is argo less heals (uses +heal at time of cast but crits based on targets spell crit)

Nature's Swiftness is awesome for that big heal or even Ghost wolf (2m timer)

Self-Rez 40 minutes (w/ talents) is handle for deaths

Shaman can use totem for any class and they do not suffer from LoS much (Windfury gives my main 650dps non-raid-buffed)

My Earth Shield heals my main for 560 (level 68 so far) per tick and will tick 10 times. All that agro is on main and not healer which makes things more simple me thinks

Shocks interrupt well or snare and are easy to macro into your mains style of play (20 yard range I think)

Purge!

I really happy with my support toon being a shaman so far and was turned off by the amount of micro manage I had when I tested my warlock. I would do a shadow priest thou


2shaman 3warlocks might be nice. Chain Heal since they all be close by due to /follow

[Stabface]

Well see that's the thing, there's no need for healing at all if you blow up an entire pull in a few seconds.

Have those of you running 4 Warlocks + 1 Priest ever tried doing AE pulls in instances with Seed of Corruption? It should still be enough damage to totally destroy pulls in the lower instances, but probably not in the L70 ones. I'd love to see a video.

[Los]

Normal instances should be doable with some decent spell dmg, heroics would be a no go imo. One hit is usually a death for a clothy (especially with life tapping locks! )

[Mannyman]

Well see that's the thing, there's no need for healing at all if you blow up an entire pull in a few seconds.

Have those of you running 4 Warlocks + 1 Priest ever tried doing AE pulls in instances with Seed of Corruption? It should still be enough damage to totally destroy pulls in the lower instances, but probably not in the L70 ones. I'd love to see a video.

I have a friend with a Warlock/Pally combo and he runs SM and such, doing what you just stated. The Pally pulls the entire instance, puts his shield up, and the lock throws seeds out. It's almost unfair how fast they clear.

[Stabface]

Just curious if anyone with 5 TBC-enabled accounts is willing to test this group idea out on the PTR? I only have 3 TBC-enabled accounts right now or I'd do it myself.

[pomo]

i recommend 1 healer/rezer especially for the higher up levels . on my single played lock toon i got 11k health 9 k mana and around 880 shadow damage and there is only a couple places in 70 instances that i can shoot off enough SOC to not die and pull aggro.


sure haveing 5x seeds would be nice but the AOE radius would always have you pulling back that and some mobs just hit to hard . 4locks + priest would work you can make the priest a shadow priest and that will give you even more shadow damage due to his talents. plus fearing then mindflaying a mob with 4 seeds of corruption would be a nice time bomb.