Managing Your Minions - the Bonus Pets

What are these 'bonus pets' of which I speak? Ah... those would be the minions that you can only control briefly. And not by giving them wedgies. Ba Dum Shhhhhh.

Enslave(d) Demon

The spell becomes available at level 30. For the cost of a Soul Shard, you can appropriate just about any demon you like of appropriate level as your own personal minion for up to 5 minutes. Your new friend will replace any existing minion you have out and comes with his own ability bar (leash not included).

Pros: The spell is introduced right about the time a young Warlock will be visiting Desolace, making her visit to Mannoroc Coven a much more pleasant experience. For some odd reason, the Maraudon instance is also located in this zone. Although you won't be back for it until the high 40s - early 50s, Enslaving in Mara is also a real blast. You'll also enjoy this spell in Felwood and Blades Edge, but don't expect much use for it in Northrend.

Cons: While Banishing works for both Demons & Elementals, that's the not case for Enslave. Your target must be a Demon. When the spell breaks, you're going to have to deal with it. If you've Enslaved an elite, just banish it while you re-summon your Void, Sac for the bubble, and run.

Infernal

Speaking of Felwood, level 50-ish 'Locks should seek out Niby the Almighty while exploring the zone. He will start you on your quest to receive the Inferno spell. Back when Mal did this, D was for some reason not available to help me. I can't remember why. What I DO remember is that the end boss of the quest chain was an Elite and a total PITA for a nublock like me to kill. IIRC, it took me a good 5-6 tries, using techniques like 1) enslaving a nearby Infernal to tank for me, 2) Fearing, dotting, fearing - dying, and 3) slowly funneling the Infernal while keeping only one DoT on the boss.

However - this was by and large one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen in WoW, and you do not want to miss it. If you're looking for some background on why this quest exists, make sure to read the comments on Wowhead and watch the video.**




Pros: Primary use is to drop an Inferno on the boss when he's got about a minute or so to live for extra dps. You can also summon them in lowbie starting zones to watch the newbies freak out, but really, that's about it.

Cons: Unlike Enslaved demons, the Infernal will simply go "poof!" when his spell wears off. He will, however, still leave you without a pet.

Doomguard

There are two different ways to get a temporary Doomguard of your very own; both require you to be at least level 60. The easy way is by using the Curse of Doom spell. If a mob dies from the damage of that curse, a Doomguard will spawn (when that mob gives XP, that is). Note that the mob must die from that spell - easiest way to accomplish this is to apply the curse to a demon or elemental and then immediately use a 30-second Banish. As soon as the Banish wears off, hit it again, this time with the 20-second version. Your mob will break free just in time to die of the Curse.

The more difficult option involves a quest. In order to get started, you must seek out Daio in the Tainted Scar area of the Blasted Lands zone. He will offer you two quests: The Prison's Bindings and The Prison's Casings. Neither are particularly easy for a level 60 'Lock to complete, but with the help of just one high-level friend (and the key to Dire Maul) you can reasonably expect to knock these out in short time. Return to Daio to receive the Suppression quest. Make sure to pick up the item near your entrapped Doomguard - without it you won't receive credit!

Pros: You only get the little guy for 15 minutes, so make good use of him! He will substantially increase your dps in dungeons, so it's definitely worth it. Plus, he's so just so damn cool. His abilities include a Stomp and a Rain of Fire, so he offers some great AoE potential.

Cons: He's temporary. /sad face. Also, you need to make sure you're carrying around a supply of Demonic Figurines if you choose to summon him via Ritual; since bag-space is a premium for 'Locks, that's a consideration.


**There is an encounter in Molten Core where one member of the raid becomes "the bomb." One Warlock, Biny, received that debuff on his minion. He promptly dismissed the minion. This did not, however, remove the debuff. When he resummoned his minion, it blew up causing massive AoE damage to all players in the vicinity. He then began using this trick to blow up players hanging out in Stormwind, which is actually pretty hilarious when you think about. /salute Biny, now THAT's evil.