Warlock

“	Yo Doc, how come you ain't made us some freaky floaty armor like these dudes?	„
	~ Veradux

Warlock
Warlock in battle.
Level	22 ~ 30 25 ~ 26, 28 (Legend)
Race	Zombie
Zone	The Red Pillars - Stage 3/Wave 1 ~ 2 - Stage 5/Wave 1 - Stage 6/Wave 2 - Stage 7/Wave 1 - Stage 9/Wave 2 - Stage 10/Wave 1 ~ 2 - Stage 11/Wave 1 - Training (2/5 Fights)
Allies	Firespitter Spartan Naga Boom Bot

Warlock is a Normal enemy unit in Sonny (2017). They're encountered in The Red Pillars.

Attributes

Attribute Notes:

• Values in bold can be encountered in a Legend run (no training), no bold means that these values are only available in training fights.
  • Italic values cannot be encountered in training despite being coded in the game due to Sonny's level being +1 higher than the zone level when entering a new zone, on a legend run.
• Buffs cannot reduce Power/Defense/Speed below 1. This also applies to Vitality but it normally cannot be modified in battle.
  • For Defense specifically, this means that the Damage taken Mod becomes ~200% while both breached and exposed. See this this page for more info.
• Visible Power/Defense/Speed is rounded to nearest integer. If the actual value ends exactly in ".5", then it will be rounded to nearest even integer. Visible (Max) HP is rounded up.
• Abilities can also have Hit./Crit. Bonuses, which are listed under the Abilities section.
• Only Physical Defense is shown because the other elemental defenses are not used at all on units. They can still get non-physical elemental defense from certain abilities.

	Base	Mod		Lvl 22	Lvl 23	Lvl 24	Lvl 25	Lvl 26	Lvl 27	Lvl 28	Lvl 29	Lvl 30
Power	0	1.1		1256.64	1356.08	1458.81	1564.8	1674.02	1786.43	1902.02	2020.74	2142.57
Defense	0	2		2284.81	2465.59	2652.37	2845.08	3043.67	3248.06	3458.21	3674.07	3895.58
Speed	0	1.3		1485.12	1602.64	1724.04	1849.31	1978.38	2111.24	2247.84	2388.15	2532.13
Vitality	0	1.2		1370.88	1479.36	1591.42	1707.05	1826.2	1948.84	2074.93	2204.44	2337.35
Max HP from Vitality (7*Vitality)				9596.18	10355.49	11139.97	11949.36	12783.4	13641.85	14524.49	15431.09	16361.45
Visible Max HP from Vitality				9597	10356	11140	11950	12784	13642	14525	15432	16362
Visible Power				1257	1356	1459	1564	1674	1786	1902	2020	2142
Visible Defense				2285	2466	2652	2845	3044	3248	3458	3674	3896
Visible Speed				1485	1603	1724	1849	1978	2111	2248	2388	2532
Damage Taken Mod from Defense				21.464%
... while Breached (-50% Defense)				77.378%
... while Exposed (-75% Defense)				137.5%
Hit. Bonus	0%
Crit. Chance	15%
Stun Resist	0%
Focus Drain Resist	0%
Physical Defense	-50%

Abilities

• Attack
• Shade Strike
• Shadow Spear
• Ghost Haste

Attack	Element	Type	Range	Target
	Physical	Basic Attack	Melee	Enemies
	Cooldown	Scaling	Hit. Bonus	Crit. Bonus
		100% Power
	Starting Cooldown	A.I. Score Mod	A.I. Score Bonus	A.I. HP Threshold
		30%		100%
	Reaction		Notes

Shade Strike	Element	Type	Range	Target
	Shadow	Active	Melee	Enemies
	Cooldown	Scaling	Hit. Bonus	Crit. Bonus
	5	75% Power		30%
	Starting Cooldown	A.I. Score Mod	A.I. Score Bonus	A.I. HP Threshold
		100%	250%	100%
	Reaction		Notes
	Caster gains 85 Focus and drain 25 Focus from target on hit.		Ignores Defense.

Shadow Spear	Element	Type	Range	Target
	Shadow	Active	Ranged	Enemies
	Cooldown	Scaling	Hit. Bonus	Crit. Bonus
	5	0% Power + 50% Target Current HP
	Starting Cooldown	A.I. Score Mod	A.I. Score Bonus	A.I. HP Threshold
	5	100%		100%
	Reaction		Notes
Stun	Target Buff Description
	Unit is stunned and cannot act.
	Target Buff Polarity	Target Buff Charges	Target Buff Duration	Target Buff Notes
	Negative		1

Ghost Haste	Element	Type	Range	Target
	Shadow	Active	Ranged	Allies
	Cooldown	Scaling	Hit. Bonus	Crit. Bonus
	4	-50% Power
	Starting Cooldown	A.I. Score Mod	A.I. Score Bonus	A.I. HP Threshold
	2	100%	350%	100%
	Reaction		Notes
Haste	Target Buff Description
	Speed increased by 30%.
	Target Buff Polarity	Target Buff Charges	Target Buff Duration	Target Buff Notes
	Positive		2	+1 duration when first applied.

A.I. Ability Order

A.I. Notes:

• The A.I. prefers to use the topmost item in the left list, which is ranked according to the abilities' total scaling and A.I. score bonuses. For attacks specifically, their cooldown also plays a part in the rankings (the longer the cooldown, the higher it goes).
  • When an ability's Max HP Threshold condition is met and it's off cooldown, then that ability is added to the left list, in most cases to the top.
  • If an ability cannot be used due to being on cooldown, incl. silences, then the A.I. moves down the list to the next ability. If no abilities are available, then the A.I. skips their turn.
  • The A.I. will also not use healing abilities with 100% HP Threshold if all their teammates have full HP.
• The A.I. does have a chance of not following the list and instead picking a random ability. The chance depends on it's A.I. type and the difference in total scaling & A.I. Score Bonuses.
• It might also pick a different ability if the valid target(s) has:
  • Increased elemental defense against an element one of their available abilities has.
  • High Defense and the A.I. has access to an ability that deals piercing damage.
• The A.I. prefers targeting units with low HP% (both attacks & heals) and a high Damage Taken Mod (only attacks). Buffs that increases damage/healing taken also affect the targeting priority.
• Again, the A.I. has a chance of targeting a random unit instead. The chance depends on it's A.I. type, the difference in HP% & difference in Damage Taken Mod.

A.I. Type	This unit has the A.I. type "Normal". They tend to follow the list and targeting priority, but can sometimes switch it up with a random ability or target.
Phases	Ability Preference List	HP Threshold Abilities	Passive Abilities
Phase 1	- Shadow Spear (5th turn & onward) - Shade Strike - Ghost Haste (2nd turn & onward) (Ally <100% HP) - Attack

Note: If party has high Defense the Warlock will prefer Ghost Haste first over the other attacks.

Tactics

Use the Slow (-35% Speed) or Snare buff (-80% Speed until hit) to slow down their attacks. To damage Warlocks effectively, use Physical attacks. As for any other element, use piercing attacks and abilities that apply the Breach buff (-50% Defense).

Additionally, Warlocks are vulnerable to DOT (Damage Over Time) abilities such as Sear or Venom Claw due to their high speed and consequent frequent turns. The advantage of using a DOT ability on a Warlock is that the damage is consistent and only demands a single turn of yours to damage them for a few of their turns. Wound also proves effective in killing Warlocks quickly.

If possible, consider casting Blind (50% hit chance for 3 turns) with Haze on Warlocks just before they're about to attack with Shadow Spear for the first time. This will potentially make them miss their most dangerous attack while also possibly making them miss the Shade Strike that Warlocks usually follow up with 2 turns after their first Shadow Spear. Combining Blind with Slow or Snare is also effective in dealing with Warlocks.

Trivia

• The player can randomly gain one of the following tips when being defeated by, or retreating from, this unit:
  • "Warlocks have strong defense against non-physical elements."
  • "The Shadow Spear ability deals percentage damage based on the target's current health."
  • "The Shade Strike attack will ignore the target's defense and restore Focus to the caster."
• Warlocks, along with Shredders, have the highest Defense Mod (2) out of all Normal type enemies that the player encounters in Normal type stages, as well Normal type enemies that acts like minions to a (mini)boss.