I personally find that even at level 24 drain tanking is more effective than a standard voidwalker build. You have to be more aware of the 5 second rule, but I can chain pull endlessly and maintain 5 second faster kill times. It only gets better with talents, but dont be afraid to try it early
You can also use imp and leave him on passive and phase shifted for unlimited dark pacts. Yes you lose out on thicc girls damage but you gain blood pact, fire shield, and a mich larger pet mana pool.
Awesome spec just tested it and I've got to say it's really nice. Changed to it at 44 and i can't believe how fast it is. I put 2 points in nightfall and 1 into curse of exhaustion then 2 into improved healthstone, next 5 are going into demonic enbrace. Bought shadoweave and shadow wrath gear, it makes a massive difference. Thank you for the guide
I was level 40 and grinded only mobs to get level 41. It was tough. But with your strat. Its so easy and fast. I hit level 42 way more faster. All i want to say is thank you so much for sharing.
Also ALWAYS use health stone on coldown. But overall its hard to level after level 40 cause there is to much pvp that u can’t aford to be low on health and mana. On PVE server yes, warlocks level up as monsters.
You'll do more single target damage as SM/DS but won't have nearly the sustain of a draintank build so you'll lose a lot of time with eating, drinking and bandaging. Also in the higher levels with no pet you'll take a ton of damage without a pet to use as a bit of a tank here and there. Mobs are more likely to have some sort of interrupt, and hit harder.
@@pokemoncounter223 Questing is always going to be faster as a lock, because you can't pull like a mage. The key is finding quests for good grinding spots. For example, when leveling my lock the satyr chain in felwood was great, and I stuck around grinding satyrs for 4-5 levels because I wanted to have all the felcloth I needed for my robes of the void.
Drain Life leveling was a thing since vanilla. Literally every lock did it back then. Now somehow it's something "new", a big thing "discovered" by one person. It kinda pisses me off. It was always here and we always used it.
Let's be realistic. In Vanilla no one really knew what they were doing when leveling. People definitely did use drain life with fel concentration, but a big part of this build is to use the succubus and stack shadow damage. That wasn't a very used strat back in the day.
@@cliffwow2365 Question, what make the succubus better then lets say the felhunter ? Wich I like for the interupt skill. Bigger mana pool or more damage or ? thanks in advance.
@@o0Vissers0o Hey Jeff, thanks so much for watching! The felhunter can be useful depending on the type of mobs you're fighting. Specifically, I've used it against mobs with some sort of strong buff or magic debuff, enemies with stealth, or those that cast a heal. Otherwise, the succubus does more damage and has more mana. She has more mana because you turn all her spells off of autocast, and only use lash of pain when she's full mana - this way, she will always be in the mana regen window, and pets regen mana very quickly. Overall, the felhunter is very viable, it just depends on the mobs you're fighting. In many cases it is indeed the better option.
@@cliffwow2365 Cool video, but I will tell you it indeed was a thing. "common" I guess is a subjective term, but it certainly wasn't rare. It was totally always a thing to use the succubus as a mana battery
sl/dm to lvl up in server pvp outdoor ? ll be so hard lvling now with pvp i dont know what can i use it... someone saying full destrucction and live into of all instance to get xp heheh others aflic to grinding... ll be so hard, what can i do bro ?
@@osmanrumeli Yup. Succ has the highest basic melee damage. You aren't using the mana abilities so the higher damage is required for threat holding as well.
Depends on your server I suppose. If there's a ton of PvP going on then the only real build you can survive with is soul link, but your damage output will be crap. Otherwise it's great. It's fine in dungeons and whatnot up to 60. But for any 20 or 40 man content you'd want to switch into a more shadowbolt oriented raid spec.
I've seen a few locks running that spec and every single one of them was doing super poorly and being forced to drink every now and then. Maybe it's optimal with a shit ton of spell damage but you don't want to buy many 50g pieces or run dungeons if you're "leveling fast". Not to mention you're a free kill for any rogue that wants your farming spot, or any group of players really. Void walker and wand seem to be much better tools at least on a pvp server.
Voidwalker is definitely better if youre in danger of pvp. As for the spell damage gear, remember that warlocks get their mount absolutely free, so just from straight questing/grinding, they will have a lot of excess gold to spend on some spell dmg gear. A lot of it is also crafted and not very expensive, like the shadowweave set. The bonus shadow damage is very important because it increases the life tap amount per global, and increases the ticks from drain life and siphon life.
@@cliffwow2365 i just played about 20 days of /played with warlock since early september so i'm well aware about having seemingly an excess of gold during the leveling. however i do think every gold piece should be spared for the epic mount if it's your first character on a server. I'm telling that because I did purchase a lot of SD gear on the AH, (still using a green shadow wrath wand in MC runs) and it was painful grinding gold at 60 knowing I could be like 500g ahead if i had done some careful planning. I just was never convinced by that "drain tank" grinding spec, always seemed off and not worth losing a shield and a reliable taunt when shit happens, namely overpulling or being ganked. On a highly populated server during phase 1, ganks happen like every 20 minutes at peak hours.
@@foxmulder8955 well, if a single person ganks you then you can use the succubus seduce and fear whatever you're currently fighting then bandage/potion/cookie up wait for the previously feared mob to back away a good distance and then prepare a fear on the ganker, dot them up and either charge a shadowbolt/wand/dl or run away and let the dots melt him a little, they'll most likely pull a mob too depending on where you are. if it's a group ganking you then you're screwed either way.
@@danielhernandez2575 succubus is meh in a ny wpvp situation unless you're solely roaming for kills and never expose yourself by farming mobs. If they notice you're using that pet they can just kill it or kick it right away and focus you after. In group pvp (like 2v2 or 3v3 ish) that pet is quite useless too as anyone from the opposing team can quickly kill or cc it. Void waler is the only pet that brings value in pvp during leveling.
I'm lvl 40 running this spec and using sucubus and it's very effective. I kill so.much fast this way and dont have to life Tap near as much thanks to dark pact
This is a fairly common debate on the build. Rather than get into it here, check out the very bottom left of this PDF for the full explanation: shorl.com/vojahotuhosa
A basic affliction build would use a voidwalker and just dot up mobs and wand. This build switches the main dps ability from wanding to drain life, and uses a succubus (or felhunter), instead of a voidwalker. It's quite different.
1) No it's not. 2) Show some respect in my comments section. If you feel something I've said is wrong then explain why. Don't just all caps type dumb opinions. 3) No it's not. Because with this build you're stacking shadow damage which makes it even better, and you're using drain life as a main ability, so being able to trade more life for more mana in 1 cast means you can stay out of casting easier and get a few more ticks of mana regen.
Just swapped to this build about an hour ago while leveling and I am having a MUCH better time. Thanks for this.
I personally find that even at level 24 drain tanking is more effective than a standard voidwalker build. You have to be more aware of the 5 second rule, but I can chain pull endlessly and maintain 5 second faster kill times. It only gets better with talents, but dont be afraid to try it early
its actually better to agony before siphon life since agonys damage does ramp up with each tick. and mobs are typically dead within 24 seconds
You can also use imp and leave him on passive and phase shifted for unlimited dark pacts. Yes you lose out on thicc girls damage but you gain blood pact, fire shield, and a mich larger pet mana pool.
Awesome spec just tested it and I've got to say it's really nice. Changed to it at 44 and i can't believe how fast it is.
I put 2 points in nightfall and 1 into curse of exhaustion then 2 into improved healthstone, next 5 are going into demonic enbrace.
Bought shadoweave and shadow wrath gear, it makes a massive difference.
Thank you for the guide
Wow! Thanks so much for the kind words Hydro. Just glad I could help
I was level 40 and grinded only mobs to get level 41. It was tough. But with your strat. Its so easy and fast. I hit level 42 way more faster.
All i want to say is thank you so much for sharing.
Wow man. This was so great to read. Thank you so much for watching. I'm so glad I could offer some insight!
I love the term Drainspank. I’m going for this! Thanks alot!
What addon shows the dot countdown?
I hit 38 last night, im gonna try this at 40
Also ALWAYS use health stone on coldown.
But overall its hard to level after level 40 cause there is to much pvp that u can’t aford to be low on health and mana. On PVE server yes, warlocks level up as monsters.
What addons is he using that displays time left on dots ?
Should i get the shadoweave set?
Isnt it better to keep lvling with sm demonic sacrifice for talents and keep questing?
You'll do more single target damage as SM/DS but won't have nearly the sustain of a draintank build so you'll lose a lot of time with eating, drinking and bandaging. Also in the higher levels with no pet you'll take a ton of damage without a pet to use as a bit of a tank here and there. Mobs are more likely to have some sort of interrupt, and hit harder.
@@cliffwow2365 and is "aoe" farming with lock faster than normal questing??
@@pokemoncounter223 Questing is always going to be faster as a lock, because you can't pull like a mage. The key is finding quests for good grinding spots. For example, when leveling my lock the satyr chain in felwood was great, and I stuck around grinding satyrs for 4-5 levels because I wanted to have all the felcloth I needed for my robes of the void.
@@cliffwow2365 and for a lvl 31 lock what's an average xp or hour??
What is the addon at the top??😅
Drain Life leveling was a thing since vanilla. Literally every lock did it back then. Now somehow it's something "new", a big thing "discovered" by one person. It kinda pisses me off. It was always here and we always used it.
Let's be realistic. In Vanilla no one really knew what they were doing when leveling. People definitely did use drain life with fel concentration, but a big part of this build is to use the succubus and stack shadow damage. That wasn't a very used strat back in the day.
@@cliffwow2365 Question, what make the succubus better then lets say the felhunter ? Wich I like for the interupt skill. Bigger mana pool or more damage or ? thanks in advance.
@@o0Vissers0o Hey Jeff, thanks so much for watching! The felhunter can be useful depending on the type of mobs you're fighting. Specifically, I've used it against mobs with some sort of strong buff or magic debuff, enemies with stealth, or those that cast a heal. Otherwise, the succubus does more damage and has more mana. She has more mana because you turn all her spells off of autocast, and only use lash of pain when she's full mana - this way, she will always be in the mana regen window, and pets regen mana very quickly.
Overall, the felhunter is very viable, it just depends on the mobs you're fighting. In many cases it is indeed the better option.
@@cliffwow2365 Cool video, but I will tell you it indeed was a thing. "common" I guess is a subjective term, but it certainly wasn't rare. It was totally always a thing to use the succubus as a mana battery
ok boomer
Running this build as well but man it's hard on a PVP server not to go Destro.
If you're running into a lot of pvp issues I'd likely recommend soul link over destro. Especially when phase 2 hits.
Just hit 42 on my lock, tryin to figure out how to lvl fast by grinding. I am runnin basically this spec. Seems ok so far :)
What scrolling combat text are you using?
sl/dm to lvl up in server pvp outdoor ? ll be so hard lvling now with pvp i dont know what can i use it... someone saying full destrucction and live into of all instance to get xp heheh others aflic to grinding... ll be so hard, what can i do bro ?
You're a warlock, just kill them...
Finally I just hit 40, and was looking for someone to break down drain tanking . I love this guide!
Thank you so much for the kind words man.
Any specific shadow gear i should keep an eye on ah ?
"of shadow wrath" , underworld band, and pieces of the shadowweave set are all decent pieces.
Why the succubis over voidwalker?
Has almost x2 more damage and much more mana pool to drain for ourself
It's misleading because "Drain tank" comes from the fact that you tank the damage and the pet is there to be your mana battery and damage dealer ;)
@@osmanrumeli Yup. Succ has the highest basic melee damage. You aren't using the mana abilities so the higher damage is required for threat holding as well.
This looks dope! Thanks for sharing! How does this fare for Open world/Instances is it viable? Thanks
Depends on your server I suppose. If there's a ton of PvP going on then the only real build you can survive with is soul link, but your damage output will be crap. Otherwise it's great.
It's fine in dungeons and whatnot up to 60. But for any 20 or 40 man content you'd want to switch into a more shadowbolt oriented raid spec.
would this be effective at lvl 30?
No because your life tap and drain life spells don't work as well. Use this method starting level 38
why not felhunter?
Succ auto attack damage is better. It's maximizing damage basically, but other pets are always an option if the utility is needed.
I've seen a few locks running that spec and every single one of them was doing super poorly and being forced to drink every now and then. Maybe it's optimal with a shit ton of spell damage but you don't want to buy many 50g pieces or run dungeons if you're "leveling fast".
Not to mention you're a free kill for any rogue that wants your farming spot, or any group of players really. Void walker and wand seem to be much better tools at least on a pvp server.
Voidwalker is definitely better if youre in danger of pvp. As for the spell damage gear, remember that warlocks get their mount absolutely free, so just from straight questing/grinding, they will have a lot of excess gold to spend on some spell dmg gear. A lot of it is also crafted and not very expensive, like the shadowweave set. The bonus shadow damage is very important because it increases the life tap amount per global, and increases the ticks from drain life and siphon life.
@@cliffwow2365 i just played about 20 days of /played with warlock since early september so i'm well aware about having seemingly an excess of gold during the leveling. however i do think every gold piece should be spared for the epic mount if it's your first character on a server. I'm telling that because I did purchase a lot of SD gear on the AH, (still using a green shadow wrath wand in MC runs) and it was painful grinding gold at 60 knowing I could be like 500g ahead if i had done some careful planning.
I just was never convinced by that "drain tank" grinding spec, always seemed off and not worth losing a shield and a reliable taunt when shit happens, namely overpulling or being ganked. On a highly populated server during phase 1, ganks happen like every 20 minutes at peak hours.
@@foxmulder8955 well, if a single person ganks you then you can use the succubus seduce and fear whatever you're currently fighting then bandage/potion/cookie up wait for the previously feared mob to back away a good distance and then prepare a fear on the ganker, dot them up and either charge a shadowbolt/wand/dl or run away and let the dots melt him a little, they'll most likely pull a mob too depending on where you are. if it's a group ganking you then you're screwed either way.
@@danielhernandez2575 succubus is meh in a ny wpvp situation unless you're solely roaming for kills and never expose yourself by farming mobs. If they notice you're using that pet they can just kill it or kick it right away and focus you after. In group pvp (like 2v2 or 3v3 ish) that pet is quite useless too as anyone from the opposing team can quickly kill or cc it. Void waler is the only pet that brings value in pvp during leveling.
I'm lvl 40 running this spec and using sucubus and it's very effective. I kill so.much fast this way and dont have to life Tap near as much thanks to dark pact
This looks so much fun. Thanks for this. Ill respec to it
02:19 - Video starts here
why not improved drain soul? The mana regen is nutty plus
This is a fairly common debate on the build. Rather than get into it here, check out the very bottom left of this PDF for the full explanation: shorl.com/vojahotuhosa
will this work without stacked shadow damage gear?
Not nearly as well. The stacked shadow damage is what gives drain life the massive dps.
So a Basic Affliction build... why try to give it a new name?
A basic affliction build would use a voidwalker and just dot up mobs and wand. This build switches the main dps ability from wanding to drain life, and uses a succubus (or felhunter), instead of a voidwalker. It's quite different.
Called drain tanking because you tank for your pet. First read about this in the Strategy Guide back in Vanilla
I'm a level 42 Warlock
Ehhhhhhhh. Drain tank is fine if you have the gear. I prefer demon talents to increase voidwalker taunt then dot em up softly and watch them all die.
Thanks man
Improved Shadowbolt sucks, pick improved souldrain, improved lifeshard and demonic embrace
Nice mean girls reference 😂😂
Thanks for watching Marco! Im glad someone got it!
Report for succubus abuse.
just switched to this..much easier...elites are a breeze.
drainspank gachiHYPER
Is this an entire video copying drain tank and renaming to drain spank? Sick
gachiHYPER
spirit lol
iMP. lIFE TAP ISA USELESS LEVELING TALENT
1) No it's not.
2) Show some respect in my comments section. If you feel something I've said is wrong then explain why. Don't just all caps type dumb opinions.
3) No it's not. Because with this build you're stacking shadow damage which makes it even better, and you're using drain life as a main ability, so being able to trade more life for more mana in 1 cast means you can stay out of casting easier and get a few more ticks of mana regen.