Quote:Our Warlocks have bitterly defended their right to tap, accusing me of whoring up my healing meter stats. Is there something I'm not seeing in this method of regenerating mana? I do have a level 48 Warlock which I play mainly solo and I've found that there's so little to choose from between drinking and eating that I may as well just go with whatever I have handy so I drink if I've looted drinks off the mobs I've been killing and eat if i've looted some food
Full Disclosure: The warlock was my first character, played from the first day of retail. I was a warlock raiding officer and trainer. In other words, I'm pro-warlock.
It's not clear from your post what your warlocks' perspective on tapping is or exactly what they're doing. But tapping can be a legitimately faster way to come back to full life and mana while out of combat. And in combat, it's flat-out necessary. Many warlock-specific pieces of equipment generate HP/time to boost natural warlock HP regen specifically for tapping.
Out Of Combat Tapping: Tapping until the two bars are even and then drinking and eating simultaneously is much faster than drinking alone. Tapping and bandaging is faster than drinking (a bandaging lock may become irritated if you waste your mana and his/her bandage with a heal). Tapping to full mana and then receiving a heal before a healer sits down (because they're going to drink anyway) can be cheaper in total cost with a negligible increase in time.
In Combat Tapping: Warlocks don't have big mana pools like Mages; they have medium mana pools, high stamina, and low spirit. They must tap to produce maximum damage during a fight. I know this can be disorienting; that person's life is dropping really really fast! But rest assured that any warlock worth his or her salt knows their lifebar very well and understands what they're doing.
Finally, if you see a warlock tapping, give them a renew or rejuvenation first. HoTs are a better response to tapping than a Gheal or Healing Touch, because it costs less total mana and better maps to their need.
Edit: Added full disclosure