What the September 24 beta build changes in how each class plays, from Blizzard’s development notes.
Every class
- Spells that could not land critical hits now can: Rejuvenation, Tranquility and Wild Growth for Druids, Renew for Priests, Riptide for Shaman, Lacerating Strikes for Survival Hunters and Contingency Plan for Gnome Priests.
- Wands no longer gain damage from spell power, and Minor, Lesser and plain Wizard Oil go back to their Classic Era values: 8, 16 and 24 spell power.
- For the beta only, a talent reset costs 1 silver. A second reset soon after costs much more, falling back to 1 silver an hour later.
Druid
Wrath’s base damage goes up about 50%, and Thorns now grows with the Druid’s spell power. Mangle is renamed Primal Bite: it lost its debuff, so the old name no longer fit.
Hunter
Tame Beast no longer works on beasts above your level. Pets’ Furious Howl gives 40% less attack power, and Bats can now use Sonic Blast. Marksmanship Hunters who skip Lone Wolf no longer lose 4% damage while their pet is out.
Mage
Arcane Missiles checks line of sight once, when the channel starts. For Fire, Wake of Fire lasts 30 seconds (was 20) so it survives the break to drink between pulls, Hot Streak lasts 20 seconds (was 15), and Ignite stops counting damage bonuses twice.
Paladin
Every rank of Holy Strike after the first deals more weapon damage, 50% at the top rank (was 40%), so each new rank is an upgrade. For Holy, its cooldown drops to 10 seconds (was 12) and the Improved Holy Strike talent is gone, its effect built in: Blizzard didn’t want a must-take talent so early in a healing tree.
Retribution’s Vengeance now triggers from any critical strike that isn’t periodic but stacks to 3 (was 5), Two-Handed Weapon Specialization drops to 2/4/6%, Sacred Arbiter doubles its Holy Strike bonus to 20%, and Twist of Light makes Seals 20% cheaper. Righteous Fury’s extra holy threat falls to 60% (was 90%).
Priest
Power Word: Shield can always replace another shield on a target without Weakened Soul. The Undead Priest’s Dark Sacrifice no longer breaks crowd control.
Shaman
Totem buffs stop stacking with each other. Flametongue Totem no longer stacks with Flametongue Weapon or Windfury Totem, and Tranquil Air, Windfury and Grace of Air Totems don’t stack even when different Shaman place them. Flametongue Totem also loses its duration: it stays until you place another totem.
Elemental Alacrity and Elemental Fury swap places, so Elemental Shaman get Alacrity, one of their key talents, at row 3 instead of row 6. Enhancement’s Rage of the Far Seer no longer speeds up spell casting. Lightning Bolt ranks 3 and 4 and Lava Burst ranks 1 and 2 hit harder, so each is an upgrade on the rank before.
Warrior
Protection gets Focused Rage at row 5 and Bastion moves to row 6, to ease leveling before Shield Slam. For Arms, Bloodthrill triggers twice as often but only from main-hand attacks, Heroic Strike and Cleave included; Slam’s cooldown rises to 18 seconds, and Improved Slam takes up to 3 seconds off it. Sunder Armor’s threat is corrected at every rank.
Warlock
Voidwalker Sacrifice now scales with 10% of the Warlock’s spell healing.
Racials
- Gnome: Eureka! becomes a flat 10% discount on abilities that cost Mana, Rage or Energy, for every class.
- Tauren: Cultivation needs a character level for each herb: the herb’s Herbalism requirement divided by 5. Herbs that need more than 300 skill can be grown at level 60.
- Undead: Touch of the Grave no longer breaks crowd control, and only spells and abilities that deal damage trigger it. Shadow Word: Pain triggers it when cast but not as it ticks; Distract and Pick Pocket never do.
Also in the build
The Cooldown Manager is ready to test for Druids, Mages, Priests, Warriors and Warlocks: it moves the cooldowns and buffs you choose to a place you choose. Turn it on under Options, Gameplay Enhancement. Gamepads get class flyouts (Druid forms, Hunter and Warlock pets, Paladin auras, Warrior stances) and new targeting options.
