Is Warlock just meh

[Duder]

I'm having a feeling maybe it wasn't good to class as Warlock. The damage types between Arcanist and Occultist don't really seem to jive. Chaos/Vitality/Poision and Elemental/Aether seems to clash a bit. Other than the pets I feel like I've made a bad choice.

From what I'm seeing online the consensus seems to be class with a Shaman. Although I am seeing people say doing that ruins the game for the other classes?
I'm just not digging Warlock any suggestions would be awesome.

I rely pretty heavily on Callidors Tempest and either PRM or AAR for range, and of course never use weapon attacks. TSS for far off enemies while I deal with closer ones, and for bosses of course.

[gNuff!~©~gNom3™]

Arcanist does elemental damage. Occultist has elemental resist reduct
Occultist does chaos dmg - arcanist has Chaos Albrecth's Aether Ray transmuter(if one wants)
while it doesn't support "fully" each of what it does, it does support "enough", and later on you can get conversion items too that will just boost things further.
Warlock used to be pretty bada*s specially at higher lvls with some doom action on top (clairvoyant?)
not exactly sure how things have changed for warlock over time, but remember you can always gather inspiration from the compendium https://forums.crateentertainment.com/t/build-compendium-x-forgotten-gods/49673/35
"basic" stuff will/can still apply to lvling phases of a build. Like getting Curse of Frailty with max Vulnerability for resist reduct, more resist reduct from devotions and then go apprpriate dmg types, ex Trozan, or AAR with fire+lightn etc etc
Think warlock used to be be one of "the" glass canon types with its burst capability, strong enough to nuke things in a flash, but squishy enough chargers made you sweat at times -but main campaign is much more forgiving than Crucible/SR or superboss hunting, so much easier to survive an AAR or Trozan build there

[Duder]

"Arcanist does elemental damage. Occultist has elemental resist reduct "

So far yes the Curse of Fraility but it doesn't seem to be that significant. Raven is nice for support but Hellhound just feels like cannon fodder, Of course I don't use Dreeg's Eye at all because of my Arcanist skills. I hardly have any direct attacks that involve Chaos, vitality or acid/poison damage so I'm feeling it's not the combo for me.
I really want something that accents the Arcanist's skills more heavily through the game. Demolitionist seems nice, because I'm a pyro, but Shaman too for the lightning. And would it be Nightblade for cold then?

[gNuff!~©~gNom3™]

i can't tell you if you it's a combo you'll have a feel for a not
i can tell you it sounds like you a mixing things you shouldn't, -don't waste points in pets if you are going direct dmg/vice versa.
You can make a chaos/vit 'lock, it can sorta be the weaker of the 2 while lvling, because more of arcanist dmg types are elemental, and RR are easier for ele (no chaos rr for Occ iirc), but chaos-vit AAR +sigil +doombolt can totally work, whether you enjoy it is another matter
the easier way with multiple simple RR is to go elemental dmg, AAR does 2/3 ele types, supplement with trozan for massive bursts, -and if you think -30Ele resist reduct from Curse of frailty/Vulnerability isn't significant, then i don't know what or how you're playing, it's massive and very helpful.
My main issue with warlock is how mana intensive it is, even with full stacked components, both early on and a bit later, but i also like to just keep blastin ma lazors, even tho i'm probably not supposed to.
but, if you got AAR and or Trozan, with 2-3 resist reducts you should definitely feel some dmg rolling out CoF will be the easiest to cap first, as ofc Rhowan Crown/X devotion scaling will depend on xp lvling, but should still get up rather quick'ish enough to where you can notice your skills feeling more effective.
It's a spam class for sure, and if you don't like spam skills it might not be for you. But there is almost 0 difference in playing a Druid vs a Warlock, you'll still be spamming skills all the same. just with a different RR and buff.
^this can apply to any such class/build, ex AAR magehunter also feels little different in playstyle, as it's just dmg and buff functionality that differs. So if you need something massively different, you have to go in while other direction, like a "full"/dedicated pet warlock, or another class entirely with another approach to combat
-but "any" spell spam build is gonna "feel" roughly the same, just like many autoattack spam melee builds feels sorta the same, because the overall theme is the same, so you have to switch it up with something else in the mix to add some flavour to set it apart.

[Duder]

Originally posted by gNuff!~©~gNom3™:

i can't tell you if you it's a combo you'll have a feel for a not
i can tell you it sounds like you a mixing things you shouldn't, -don't waste points in pets if you are going direct dmg/vice versa.
You can make a chaos/vit 'lock, it can sorta be the weaker of the 2 while lvling, because more of arcanist dmg types are elemental, and RR are easier for ele (no chaos rr for Occ iirc), but chaos-vit AAR +sigil +doombolt can totally work, whether you enjoy it is another matter
the easier way with multiple simple RR is to go elemental dmg, AAR does 2/3 ele types, supplement with trozan for massive bursts, -and if you think -30Ele resist reduct from Curse of frailty/Vulnerability isn't significant, then i don't know what or how you're playing, it's massive and very helpful.
My main issue with warlock is how mana intensive it is, even with full stacked components, both early on and a bit later, but i also like to just keep blastin ma lazors, even tho i'm probably not supposed to.
but, if you got AAR and or Trozan, with 2-3 resist reducts you should definitely feel some dmg rolling out CoF will be the easiest to cap first, as ofc Rhowan Crown/X devotion scaling will depend on xp lvling, but should still get up rather quick'ish enough to where you can notice your skills feeling more effective.
It's a spam class for sure, and if you don't like spam skills it might not be for you. But there is almost 0 difference in playing a Druid vs a Warlock, you'll still be spamming skills all the same. just with a different RR and buff.
^this can apply to any such class/build, ex AAR magehunter also feels little different in playstyle, as it's just dmg and buff functionality that differs. So if you need something massively different, you have to go in while other direction, like a "full"/dedicated pet warlock, or another class entirely with another approach to combat
-but "any" spell spam build is gonna "feel" roughly the same, just like many autoattack spam melee builds feels sorta the same, because the overall theme is the same, so you have to switch it up with something else in the mix to add some flavour to set it apart.

I'm not worried about spamming too much I just want a better compliment for whatever my play style is. Yes I'm likely putting points in the wrong places because it is my first playthrough. I'm thinking Sorcerer might be the way to go for me. I've started a new game, lets see how many opinions I can get here by level 10.
PLEASE NOTE - I'm playing the game vanilla for the first playthrough, no expansions or DLC.

[gNuff!~©~gNom3™]

base skills, and resist reduct/class synergy is not so much different from vanilla to expansions so no worries there
warlock still has curse of frailty +rhowans crown and widow/murmur/solael etc. Just like Sorcerer(ess) will have thermite mines+same devotions. Difference is in Sorc you get "fire spam" skill to supplement your arcanist spam skills, where as, without conversion, you might not have had so many bonus spam skills in Occ as warlock
Sorc is definitely not bad, the bonus spam from Blackwater Cocktail and potentially pipe bomb might add a bit to your overall enjoyment and ability to focus in a dmg type ex fire (or lightn i think too)

[Takeda]

I should add that the Hell Hound is a grenade - nothing you do will make it a proper tank - it's designed to pull aggro then AoE detonate

[Faust Wither]

warlock is good, it can has very high damage absorbtion, can nulltify buff and reducting enemy resistance, the only problem is the max health.

[Duder]

Originally posted by Faust Wither:

warlock is good, it can has very high damage absorbtion, can nulltify buff and reducting enemy resistance, the only problem is the max health.

I'm just not digging it. I hardly use any of the skills except Raven mainly, Hellhound for cannon fodder currently and Curse of Frailty - with what's it called the green upgrade to the curse that lowers elemental resistance a bit - not a whole lot unless I pump tons of points into it.

I'm looking for the class that will best augment elemental attacks, considering CT is my main skill.
I use Aether Ray in tighter quarters, great for finding secret doors and blowing up junk, and PRM at other times. I actually divide the time between the two ranged quite a bit.

Entropic Damage from the Occultist, Acid, Chaos and so forth for my playing style doesn't seem to work well for me. I feel kind of burdened having to put any points in Occultist whatsoever, I just need a better balance. I'm sure it works great for some people, I'm not enjoying it as much as I should be. Better balance of skills, I want to use more skills from both masteries

[Faust Wither]

Originally posted by Duder:

Originally posted by Faust Wither:

warlock is good, it can has very high damage absorbtion, can nulltify buff and reducting enemy resistance, the only problem is the max health.

I'm just not digging it. I hardly use any of the skills except Raven mainly, Hellhound for cannon fodder currently and Curse of Frailty - with what's it called the green upgrade to the curse that lowers elemental resistance a bit - not a whole lot unless I pump tons of points into it.

I'm looking for the class that will best augment elemental attacks, considering CT is my main skill.
I use Aether Ray in tighter quarters, great for finding secret doors and blowing up junk, and PRM at other times. I actually divide the time between the two ranged quite a bit.

Entropic Damage from the Occultist, Acid, Chaos and so forth for my playing style doesn't seem to work well for me. I feel kind of burdened having to put any points in Occultist whatsoever, I just need a better balance. I'm sure it works great for some people, I'm not enjoying it as much as I should be. Better balance of skills, I want to use more skills from both masteries

conjurer(occultis+shaman) more fit for you then.

[Duder]

Originally posted by Faust Wither:

Originally posted by Duder:

I'm just not digging it. I hardly use any of the skills except Raven mainly, Hellhound for cannon fodder currently and Curse of Frailty - with what's it called the green upgrade to the curse that lowers elemental resistance a bit - not a whole lot unless I pump tons of points into it.

I'm looking for the class that will best augment elemental attacks, considering CT is my main skill.
I use Aether Ray in tighter quarters, great for finding secret doors and blowing up junk, and PRM at other times. I actually divide the time between the two ranged quite a bit.

Entropic Damage from the Occultist, Acid, Chaos and so forth for my playing style doesn't seem to work well for me. I feel kind of burdened having to put any points in Occultist whatsoever, I just need a better balance. I'm sure it works great for some people, I'm not enjoying it as much as I should be. Better balance of skills, I want to use more skills from both masteries

conjurer(occultis+shaman) more fit for you then.

Yes, but don't many of shaman's skills rely on a two handed weapon? I plan on using a focus most if not all of the time.

[Lowpe]

Originally posted by Duder:

Entropic Damage from the Occultist, Acid, Chaos and so forth for my playing style doesn't seem to work well for me. I feel kind of burdened having to put any points in Occultist whatsoever, I just need a better balance. I'm sure it works great for some people, I'm not enjoying it as much as I should be. Better balance of skills, I want to use more skills from both masteries

Warlock: I am working on is the classic wizard, and this is hardcore: Arcanist max Magic Missile tree and support for it among the Arcanist class, along with defensive spells like mirror, maivens, null, etc...but maxing damage first. Occultist grab Curse of F and its tree for the sweet elemental reduction, grab mark of dreeg and its tree, and put a few points into Raven tree for a familiar.

To get the most out of the Raven if you put points into it, you need to use the pet move key and get the bird in close to the enemy so the shotgun hits one target.

Early devotions are quill and candle to crown which is binded to magic missile.

I am having fun early on, lots of synergy and cruising thru the game so far....have to kite bosses, but, I am a wizard!

Once I get to 94 I will re-allocate into something else or not if I am having fun.

[John Travoltige]

Powerfull combo
i have a warlock with clairvoyant set (AAR+Doombolt) 196k dps

[Duder]

Yes I've changed my mind.
Guess I just need a different way of looking at the game.