Ding!

Well, I hit 80 on my Warlock over the weekend. The gear I had gathered was enough to give my 4 lvl 80 epics and all 78+ blues except for a BC epic Badge of Justice trinket and a green ring and wand. The ring and wand I can't find replacements for since I'm trying to stack +hit (I respec'd to an affliction build for heroics and raiding) since I'm still a bit shy of the affliction hit cap. That very evening, I ran my first Northrend Heroic on my warlock. It was H Violet Hold and I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to pull my weight. However, I did a solid 1,500 dps average and we completed the dungeon at which point I scored two cloth pieces ( ! ) from the final boss, epic bracers and rare pants. All in all, a good experience. I will say that Affliction has got to be one of the hardest dps rotations in the game. Leaving Immolate off the table, you have 5 DoT's to keep up at all times, not to mention trying to squeeze in a few direct damage spells in between. I have begun to wonder if the alleged poor performance of raiding locks has to do, not so much with the limitations of the class itself, but more with the complexity of the game play. If you don't keep those DoT's up, you're dps is going to be much lower than if you can somehow keep that rotation going. For instance, on the last boss of H VH, I would have been well served to remember about the warlock teleport we have now. As it was, I found myself running back to the same spot and losing precious casting time every time Cyanigosa dragged us all to the center of the room. I did alright, but I think my dps will improve with time as I discover the intricacies of playing affliction.