[snippets from the We Know forum]
Here are some screenshots of BC Kaz and pets so that you can see what the various stats are for each pet at level 60 (int/sta/etc are the same for the most part, but damage/armor/attack power change a lot):
Kaz
Imp
Voidwalker
Succubus
Felhunter
Felguard
I will post later with similar screenshots but at level 63 so that you can see the pet statistics scaling with the additional levels.
The Felguard does some neat tricks. He has a cleave to hit multiple targets, he can "taunt" like a voidwalker (not a real taunt just some threat generation, but what're you going to do?) and he also can stack up "Demonic Frenzy" up to 10 times. Each attack can (and usually does, maybe 100%) proc "Demonic Frenzy" and each buff gives him 5% more attack power, thus a total of 50% is attainable.
The Felguard was hitting level 60 mobs for about 150 on average and his intercept (just like a warrior) hits for 50ish with a short stun afterwards. Felguard = teh win! I love him, I really do and want to make little evil demon babies with him.
Comparing the Felguard to the Voidwalker, the Voidwalker is a much better tank now than it was before so if you want a tank use it. The Felguard has a lot of health and decent armour but it gets hit really hard none-the-less. With the 50% attack power boost from its Demonic Frenzy it gets its attack power up to 665 without raid buffs, which is pretty nice. Sure the extra 222 is only 14 more DPS without extra buffing going on but it scales well. The 50% is after buffs, so if the Felguard gets a battle shout, mark of the wild, kings, etc then it will have even more attack power. All in all the Felguard is an offensive pet, even though it has a taunt (which still won't keep mobs on it). For tanking you'll still want the VW since it has two fake taunts, a lot more armor and a lot more health. Plus if the poop hits the fan then you can sac it and run away.
Another change for pets that is nice is that if you accidentally hit a summon spell for a pet but cancel it you will keep your previously summoned pet. Before you'd lose your pet immediately upon starting a new summons, now you don't lose your old pet until the new one actually comes out. Nice!
I played around with the pets and equipment to see what happens to the pet's stats. Initially I didn't think any changes were being made but then I realized that the pet screen does not update when you swap equipment around. I changed Kaz's stamina by ~50 and int by ~20 (just as a quick test before I ran to the dentist) and it changed the pet's stamina and int by ~15 and ~5 respectively. Basically it looks like 25-30% of the change was applied to the pet. I will try and investigate this with a broader range of pets/stat changes so that I can nail anything down. There's probably a post on the official forums about all of this but I don't like their forums so I'll just ignore it. =P
At level 61 you can teach your Felguard Intercept 2 and train yourself Curse of Weakness 7. The other spell upgrades available are in the following screenies:
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I'm trying to find the thread on the official forums that discusses it, but they've removed the 100% cap on +dmg for DoTs lasting more than 5 ticks and for spells with casting times greater than 3.5 seconds. As it stands right now here is some data that I've collected through testing, not sure how it matches up with anything official:
Soulfire is indeed getting +dmg * (6 / 3.5), nearly double the +dmg that you have
Immolate is still getting 100% of the +dmg * (5 / 5)
Corruption is getting 140% of the +dmg * (6 ticks / 5 ticks should only be 120% but for some reason it's higher)
Curse of Agony is getting 240% of the +dmg * (12 ticks / 5 ticks = 2.4)
All of the instant spells remain the same, +dmg * (1.5 / 3.5)
Another oddity that I've found is that immolate is not getting the full 13% damage boost that demonology is supposed to afford. Instead it is merely getting the 3% boost from soul link but not the boost from demonic tactics or master demonologist (with the Felguard). All of these spells are getting the bonus +dmg based on your pet's (int + stamina) * 0.15 from demonic knowledge, which comes out to be (for Kaz) 83 more damage at level 61 with any pet other than the imp out, less for the imp.
I have not yet tested Unstable Affliction, I'm hoping to get to those in the coming days (affliction spec) followed by a few days toying around with a destruction spec. At level 62 Kaz got a slew of new spells which includes fel armor and an upgraded shadow bolt (same as from AQ20). Other spells are Corruption, Immolate (both like AQ20) and Drain Life. At level 64 I can test out incinerate (if we get that high) and at 66 we'll see what soul shatter (our aggro dump) is all about. Sadly seed of corruption (our new non-talent dot) is a level 70 spell and it is doubtful that we'll hit that anytime soon. I am guessing that before the closed beta completes Blizzard will bump people up to level 70 to test the higher end content. Even now there are zones in the expansion that we simply cannot go to, such as Blade's Edge Mountains and Shadowmoon Valley. Walking into these zones gives a debuff called "no man's land" that teleports you out of the zone.
Using the new drain life in addition to the demonic aegis boosted fel armor I can drain tank (using the new Drain Life) to retrieve 300 health per second from a mob. Life Tapping down to next to no health and then two Drain Lifes later on the same mob and I'm at 100%/90%. Wow, get ready for the Nerf baseball bat!! Kaz was at a nice round (and exact) +500 to shadow damage with an 10.6% chance to crit at the time of this testing.
Another note for warlocks that is worth mentioning is that the spellstone has been modified slightly (read: completely) so that it is almost useful. The buff given for damage absorption has been removed but now only debuffs are removed when the items is used instead of all buffs. Additionally, the item goes in the wand slot so that you can keep your off-hand item in place (can still swap in combat) and the item has a cooldown instead of being consumed upon use. A significant upgrade for a previously totally useless item. If only the firestone could get some lovin’!
Heading back to Stormwind upon reaching level 63 Kaz picked up a new drain mana spell as well as some pet abilities including an upgraded blood pact. With 3/3 improved imp in Demonology the new skill conveys a bonus of 86 stamina, which with a 15% boost from demonic embrace means a total of 97 stamina. Wow! At least we know what pet we'll have to have out for raids all the time, ... oh wait, we already knew that. Drat!
More to come later..
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