[WoW] Ask Uncle Von: How To Get Ahead In Demonology

On a previous post, David asked:

Since I’ve started playing a warlock, I’m interested in how you run that pet-less demonologist? Sounds different and I’d like to give it a shot.

Since David also linked to an interesting article, with which I don’t entirely agree (I think there’s a new breed of hardcore player that subs out epic six-hour grind-fests into nibbling away at grindy content two hours a night, three nights a week, but with the same spreadsheet-driven longing for NUMBERS that the poop-sock brigade display… but these might look more ‘casual’ based on the actual time spent playing) but which I enjoyed reading, I figure the least I can do is show some love and introduce y’all to Aunty Sybeth.

I’ve had Sybeth since I started playing the WoW thing back in mid-2009, although she’s jumped back and forth across factions a few times. She levelled, in those half-forgotten days of 51-point talent spreads and careful, finicky percentile-counting, as a Demonologist before switching to Affliction when I discovered the joys of running through Battlegrounds with lots of instant-cast fear and damage-over-time effects. During that time I sort of neglected Demonology a bit and, during Cataclysm, only used the spec for daily quests because it was so damn easy and safe (send Felguard to hit things, cast Immolation, wait for Molten Core to trigger, cast Soul Fire, rinse and repeat, cast Health Funnel now and then). I was sure there was more to do with it but I just couldn’t be bothered when I had all that Afflicting to enjoy.

Mists of Pandaria has brought with it some saucy new Warlock powers, in particular some saucy new Glyphs, which have revitalised my interest in Demonology as ‘that spec you can run without a demon’. It seems counter-intuitive, but trust me on this, there’s a method to my madness here. The key lies, as one might expect, in combos. Combos that sort of leapt out at me from the morass of new options in the Mists talent builder and the range of new Glyphs and the revised class specialisation, while I was trying to work out what the hell to do with this Sybeth person. I threw this together on a whim and blow me down dead if it didn’t work quite nicely.

40K – Allies Fur Alles – Von’s Crons

So, last week I dragged myself onto Skype to discover that my lacklustre 40K Correspondent has actually played some sixth edition 40K at last, and while he won’t be blogging about it (something about proxies, unpainted miniatures, non-existent records and so on), it did at least start a conversation.

Von: Did I tell you I have been thinking dire thoughts of Allies for the 40K thing?

Lexington: No! Polate most extra-ishly, plz.

Von: Does sir have time to give any thoughts on Allies which he might have? I say so because, well, there’s bloggin’ in this.

Lexington: A co-article, as it were?

Von: Yeah. The sort of thing we said we’d do when you joined.

Lexington: We’re bad at that. Anyhow! Allies for your Cybermen, or Allies for Alles?

Von: Well, I figured I’d talk about my particular predicament first, and then if you had anything broader to say (you know, as a man who owns multiple armies and such). Although I like Allies fur Alles as a series. Maybe we should do that. Talk about the various reasons for taking Allies, and use our collections as a case study.

Lexington: I like this.

And The Hammer Came Down: A Bad Seeds Report

We go back a long way, the former Commander Magnus and I. Right the way back to the start of this ‘ere blog, as I may have mentioned once or twice, and indeed to before then. We spent some time together – a wild, experimental time, when we were still trying to work out what the future held. And, I admit, we drifted apart for a while – money was involved, and mistakes were made. We’ve been seeing rather a lot of each other lately, though, and I might just about be ready to say we’re back together.

I’ve been playing Magnus the Warlord week in, week out for the Slow Grow League up at Dark Sphere, and doing quite well, troubling the top three despite a second week in which I lost the ability to gauge threat ranges, charge lanes or indeed anything that might keep Magnus alive for more than two turns.

Beasts from the East – One Man And His Lord Tyrant

As well as running a friendly, well-stocked brick-and-mortar and online shop (for all your guilt management needs), the good people at Dark Sphere Games have a rather spiffy gaming space that’s half an hour’s walk from my place and draws a decent Warmahordes crowd of a Monday night. It’d be churlish of me not to give it a go, really, and so I’ve popped up and been rocking the Skorne for a couple of games. One of these was my first with the good Lord Tyrant Hexeris since, umm, actually since I acquired him two and a half years ago, and it proved to be a strange experience after Morghoul.

WFB – All Aboard the Clapham Omnibus

I live in London now. This is presumably a good thing, although I haven’t had the chance to do masses of exploring just yet, as it’s still busy busy busy research season and I have nine days to produce something like eleven thousand words of material. No pressure, then.

However, last night I did manage to sneak out and pay a visit to some nice chaps who claim to be the Clapham War Gamers. Rain very nearly stopped play (ten minutes into the walk, the heavens opened and I spent fifteen further minutes cowering in a bus stop) but I just about made it in time to play some WFB against a nice enthusiastic chap of Teutonic extraction (hi Max!) and his nasty Skaven (boo, Skaven!).