Would this duel build work?

[Peacehagen 0]

So I was just messing around with talent tree calc while waiting for launch and came up with this build:

http://db.vanillagaming.org/?talent#IqhiVoboVZbxVzg0o

 

What I would try to do with it is sacrifice Voidwalker for 3% health per 4 sec and use only Siphon Life, Corruption, Curse of Weakness/Tongues and Drain Life to just wear down opponents. And also use instant Shadow Bolt procs ofc.

 

Also it would be a build focusing on stamina + spell dmg gear.

 

Do you think this would work or is it impossible to sustain the damage from a Rogue or Warrior for example in this way? Was so long since i played vanilla that I can't remember if the burst is so high that defensive builds does not work

[Uriel Ventris 224]

Defensive builds do work with Soul Link.

That one of yours however won't be enough.

Many classes just do too much burst to overcome it just via lifedrain/regen.

Sacrifice shield of the Voidwalker on the other hand might allow you to survive some fights without using the Link.

Still, SL is the best defensive build there is so if you want to. 30% absorbtion of ALL damage + resistances given by Felhunter or Voidwalker's 10% resistance to physical damage will make you ridiculously hard to kill.

Something like this or this.

 

On the sidenote: I personally prefer Soul Link + Shadowburn builds over Soul Link + Nightfall. While instant Shadow Bolt procs are great, they are still not as reliable as you'd want them to be. My average duel was rarely over one minute long. During such period of time Nightfall is expected to proc but it might not proc at all or it might proc only once or so due to its random nature. Shadowburn on the other hand is a reliable instant burst spell even though it has a cooldown and does slightly less damage than a Shadow Bolt. You can plan exactly when and how much Shadow Burns you will use through the fight. You can't do that with procs.The situation will be different at BG's ofcourse where you can afflict several enemies with Corruption and enjoy multiple procs. Then there comes the problem of enemy dispellers ruining your day, but that's an another story.

[Peacehagen 0]

Alright man, thanks alot for the reply!

Im really looking forward to the fresh launch so i can try the warlock out

I probably wont have enough time to raid so i might be doing som pvp at 60 (wont be able to farm ranks but will prob have some fun anyway ^^).

[Denbts 3]

Voidwalker DS is nice sometimes for farming, but awful for everything else. 

 

Let's say you have around 4.5k health. DS will heal you for 3% of that: 4500*.03 = 135. That means that every four seconds, you're gaining 135 health. That's basically the equivalent of having a level 15 priest following you around casting heal on you.

 

Consider that all the demo talents (aside from DE and improved HS) before DS buff the demons that DS then prevents you from using. That means those talents are essentially wasted, and so whatever benefit you get from DS needs to outweigh all those wasted points. A 135 hp heal every 4 seconds doesn't cut it, especially since you could just spend 10 more talents and get a flat 30% reduction to damage taken in addition to getting to keep your buffed pet around. 

 

 

[Aethelwulf 12]

SM/DS is typically considered the ultimate mob grinding build, and more Shadow Priest than the Shadow Priest. For PvPing, the loss of a pet is still liable to cripple you and Soul Link has the stronger defenses. You also went 3/3 improved Curse of Weakness (no one uses this), skipped 2/2 Grim Reach (range is invaluable to PvP), and didn't get Curse of Exhaustion (SM/DS excels in kiting people, please take the kiting curse). It's not really recommended for PvP and its specialty is wearing people down over time as opposed to burst.

Warriors are liable to hit you with Mortal Strike which halves your healing and Berserker Rage out of your fears which makes demonic sacrifice on a voidwalker rather bad (on a Succubus you still get more damage though). You could instantly summon a voidwalker and sacrifice him for his shield (take 3/3 voidwalker for this) to rage-starve a warrior though. And Rogues are either burst damage (which makes your regen pointless) or stunlock (in which case your regen will help a bit). I guess if you carry Free Action Potions though you can mess up Rogues and Warriors well enough. Playing Orc for the stun resistance might help too. That said if you're looking for strong defenses, Soul Link is typically where people go.