I've been working closely with several of the designers over the last several weeks discussing a variety of the subjects and relaying much of the feedback appearing on our discussion boards. Primarily, our meetings have focused on each of the nine classes. In short, I wanted to take a moment and share with each of you - "The Warlocks", the information specifically discussed pertaining to your class. I sincerely hope you enjoy both the read and information presented!
We realize that some of you have expressed dissatisfaction with the soul shard system, and have even gone so far to request its complete removal. It should be noted that we are pleased with the system overall, however, are in the process of taking a very close look at each spell and ability requiring a shard to ensure that it's one which merits such a cost. Another thing that may aid the Warlock in this area is a system we're investigating which is designed to provide the Warlock with a replacement shard should the little demon become lost due to lag or any otherwise unintended circumstance.
While it doesn't necessarily address the soul shard "farming" issue, the upcoming Soul Shard bag should assist with the management factor, and allow for better item organization.
Moving on to more specific information, in patch version 1.8 (next patch) some changes have been made which should serve the Warlock well in the ways of additional defense, as the topic of Warlock defense/escape utility has been hot for a while now.
# Death Coil - The cooldown on this spell has been reduced to two minutes and there will now be a short duration (3 sec), non-diminishing fear effect applied to the target. The mana cost has been increased so the spell is less efficient for purposes of DPS.
# Pyroclasm – Now gives a chance to stun when Rain of Fire, Hellfire and Soul Fire hit the target.
Concerning Damage over Time Spells (DoTs), in patch 1.8 we’ve lowered the duration of Corruption and Curse of Agony, increasing the damage per tick. Rest assured that the total damage over the entire duration is identical. Once this change is in effect, players should notice an increase to the frequency at which these DoTs apply their maximum potential for damage, especially in PvP encounters which often end quickly.
Two other improvements you can expect with the next patch include the talent Bane, which will now reduce the casting time of Soul Fire and Immolation spells in addition to Shadow Bolt. The second improvement affects Intensity, which will now reduce the chance to be interrupted while casting Rain of Fire, Hellfire and Soul Fire spells.
End Game Warlock pets have been the center for concern and players should be pleased to know that both the DoomGuard and Infernal are slated to see improvements upon the release of patch 1.9. These End-game pets were originally designed to defeat two even con mobs at 60, however, overall creature power has increased, and therefore we recognize the need to ensure the power of these pets remain on par with our original design philosophy. Internally, they've already been given a very noticeable boost, and are now being tested by our Quality Assurance Department.
It should be noted that with the next patch we've also slightly reduced the critical damage bonus of Ruin. This change is very small and shouldn't impact overall Warlock DPS to a noticeable degree. While I realize that this change will not be seen as an improvement, I did feel it important to be fair and inform you the moment I became aware.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=wow-general&t=4988940&p=1&tmp=1#post4988940
The DC and dot change is MASSIVE. I don't think the Ruin change is going to matter, and the Soul Shard bag sounds promising.
