World of Warcraft News and Raiding Strategies

Kil'Jaeden's Cunning Feedback
The simple fact is that the constant, passive ability to perform a complete DPS rotation while moving was never intended to be a core feature of the Warlock class. Those who remember the early days of Patch 5.0 will recall that, initially, Kil’Jaeden’s Cunning actually increased cast time whenever it was triggered. In those days, that extra cast time made the talent so unattractive that very few players actually took it. We decided to try it as only a snare instead, but that has had the opposite effect: in Patch 5.3, virtually all Affliction Warlocks are using Kil'Jaeden’s Cunning. Remember, we want talents to be meaningful choices. If one talent is far and away superior to its neighbors, there’s a problem. There were also some very strange side effects (such as the ability to cast something like Fear while ducking in and out of line of sight).

Now, as I mentioned, the ability to always cast on the move wasn’t intended as a core Warlock feature (otherwise, it wouldn’t have been a talent). However, that doesn’t mean we want Warlock DPS to plummet every time there’s a fire on the ground. One thing that may have gone under the radar is the fact that the new version of KJC is not on the global cooldown, and can be cast while another cast is already in process. So, for example, you won’t have to interrupt a Chaos Bolt to activate KJC should you need to react to something in a hurry.

Furthermore, it’s a change that we’re certainly going to balance around. Remember, we’re very early in what is likely to be a lengthy PTR cycle. There’s plenty of time to tweak and tinker with it. In fact, a recent change made internally allows Haunt to be cast while moving by default. The goal is most certainly not that Warlocks lose out on a ton of DPS or lose viability in raid encounters. We do encourage you to hop on the PTR, experiment with it, and tell us what think once you’ve gotten some hands-on time!

I dont know if this is an issue with implementation on the PTR or bad information, I tried the new KJC on the ptr and it was on the GCD and it did interrupt a current spell cast.
If it's acting that way on the PTR currently, it's just an outdated implementation of the spell. Again, we're very early in the PTR cycle. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Patch 5.4 PTR Class Changes
"Moonkin Form no longer reduces all damage taken by 15%"
This is huge nerf for PvP... You need to compensate or something. Else I'm doomed to play arenas on alts again
We removed these because they were causing a lot of problems in PvE situations. Don't fret though as we intend to balance around this change as we can adjust the damage in PvP to compensate for this in many different ways, such as resilience.

To those wondering why Aspect of the Iron Hawk was only reduced in damage reduction rather than removed, this is because it's a talent and it still needs to have a purpose. We are happy that this change will mean that the other talents in that tier will be more attractive now.

In general I think that gamebreaking effects, such as the Warrior one, do not fit into PvP. Even if the chance of proccing is only <1%, it still feels out of place. I think we would get the "5.1 TBF"-situation
The goal is for PvE set bonuses to not be the best choice possible, but not for them to be worthless either. We don't want PvE-focused players to be afraid to set foot in PvP by deactivating these cool set bonuses in PvP. If a PvE set bonus proves problematic though, we'll adjust it accordingly.

What i do not understand though is why now add it all in a certain rating and not giving em gradually like tbc? As you also said there are no rewards for those below the said ratings which is quite high for many so there is no "within reach" goal that will push certain mindset of ppl to try a lil harder every time
This follows the same logic as that of the Challenge mode armor rewards. Since they're a purely cosmetic reward, it doesn't make much sense to reward items one at a time because having several different items of varying colors would look out of place.

This is overpowered. You'll have to be lower it to 20 - 30% off the CDs. Bubble with 2.5 minute CD and divine protection with 30 seconds is stupid. Can't let it go through or you'll have so much complains on these forums.
The reason that this change is occurring is because we felt that Unbreakable Spirit was weak compared to its counterparts. We’ll be keeping a close eye on it, so be sure to test it out on the PTR when it becomes available.

Now that we have a blue in here, whats the idea of making destru, one of the only speccs that has to cast to do damage, lose the only way to get it off? When you were versing 2 melees or hunter - melee as it is, getting casts off wasnt something easy to do, and now with nerfed mobility, how are you ever going to get a chaos bolt off to contribute to a kill?
The reason for this change is that Kil'Jaeden's Cunning just felt too good and over 99% of Affliction Warlocks were taking it. We weren't happy with the snare effect, but when it had a cast time debuff instead, no one used it. Changing it to just be a snare effect ended up making the talent too good. We have a long PTR cycle ahead, there is plenty of time to tinker with it, and Warlocks will be balanced around this.

It’s worth noting that the new Kil'Jaeden's Cunning is off of the global cooldown and can be cast while another spell cast is already in progress. For the Affliction Warlocks worried about this change; one recent change on the 5.4 PTR is that Haunt is now castable while moving.

why rather not worry about the fact that 80% of the arena team above a certain rating are hunter-oriented? And there are changes coming for Hunters as well as the recent hotfixes that stopped pets summoned by Stampede using abilities and giving Blink Strikes a 20 second cooldown. Don't forget also:

We have a long PTR cycle ahead, there is plenty of time to tinker with it
There will be more changes to come, so keep your eyes on the patch notes blog and test out the changes when the 5.4 PTR comes around. Don't take all of these changes as the final ones, there are more to come and those that we have made can change as well. As Ghostcrawler said; "The PTR is our Petri dish and not every experiment works". (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Tier Set Pieces
We currently do not have any plans to remove tier sets from LFR. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Stromgarde Scenario
Just to avoid any further confusion, there is no Stromgarde scenario in patch 5.4, and what you’ve seen datamined is little more than a developer experiment with a stand-in name.

This happens quite often; developers will put something quick together to test out some new tech or functionality, and the remnants occasionally slip through to the PTR files where dataminers can get ahold of them.

So, just to be clear, there is currently nothing related to Stromgarde in production. That’s not to say it’s a location we’ll never revisit, but should that happen, it will not be in 5.4, and the recently datamined files will not be part of it. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Golden Lotus Daily Quests
The world does and will change from time to time and this change is no exception. You'll still have a variety of ways to get Golden Lotus rep, but yeah things won't be the same in the Vale. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Legendary Quest Catch-up
There is no way for the gap to ever be closed as by the time they get the gem - patch 5.4 is out.
By the time they get cloak(which they will have to do old LFR for) everyone will get what i assume is an op weapon and the content will prolly be complete...

When Patch 5.4 is released, the legendary quest items from 5.0/5.1 will drop in Throne of Thunders for players that are on that step of the questline. The developers don't see much value in keeping Tier 14 relevant once Tier 16 is available.

However, in 5.4, if you decide to run Tier 14 raids for those items, you will see a dramatically increased drop chance. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Flexible Raid System Clarifications
Will the lockout be similar to LFR where you can run it again (with only 1 chance per week for loot) or will it be like normal, where you can only kill a boss once per week?
Right now, the idea is to have FR lockouts work very similarly to lockouts in LFR.

You will be able to repeat bosses, and that will actually still be somewhat rewarding, you’ll be able to use additional bonus rolls, earn Valor Points, and potentially loot some shinnies from trash...

There’s something unique about FRs though, I’ll explain it with an example:
Let's say you join a 12man and kill the first boss, leave the raid, and join a 20man, you might have to repeat the first boss.

"Might", so how does that work?
If everyone in the new 20man raid has already killed the first boss just like you did, then that boss will not spawn.
But even if only 1 of the players in that 20man has not killed the first boss, he will spawn again and everyone else will have to repeat the encounter. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Classes

• Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • General
    
    • Arcane Shot now deals 10% more damage. [Requires a realm restart]
      
    • Cobra Shot now deals 10% more damage. [Requires a realm restart]
      
    • Hunter Pets summoned by Stampede now only use auto-attacks against their target. [Requires a realm restart]
      
    • Steady Shot now deals 10% more damage. [Requires a realm restart]
      
  • Talents
    
    • Blink Strikes now has a 10-yard minimum range, and the teleportation effect cannot happen more than once every 20 seconds. [Requires a realm restart]
      

Quests

• Destroying the Altars: Master Summoner Zarod should once again drop Master Summoner's Staff, allowing players to complete the quest.
  
• The Might of Three: Buffs from the four celestials should now continue to work properly for players entering the Big Blossom Excavation area. [Requires a realm restart]

Creatures

• Bleeding Hollow Tormentor no longer summons a Bleeding Hollow Worg.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

• Throne of Thunder
  
  • Durumu the Forgotten
    
    • Elixir of Detect Lesser Invisibility will no longer allow players to see fog beasts while they are invisible.
      
    • Fixed an issue where Azure Fog may incorrectly trigger Flash Freeze at the end of the Light Spectrum phase.
      
  • Ji-Kun
    
    • Fixed an issue where players intercepting food globules were not properly gaining stacks of Slimed, preventing them from obtaining higher stacks of the Primal Nutrient damage buff.
      
  • Lei Shen
    
    • Lei Shen will now always drop a Titan Runestone or Secrets of the Empire for players that are on the legendary quest line. [Requires a realm restart]
      

Brawler's Guild

• Ro-Shambo should now properly display the UI for Rock, Paper, Scissors! if the character was casting a spell at the time.

Bug Fixes

• Rocketway rockets in Azshara should no longer be despawning too quickly after being summoned.
  
• Mac
  
  • Fixed an issue where changing the resolution settings could cause hot corners to not work correctly on Mac OS X 10.8.
    
  • Fixed an issue where binding a modifier key to a mouse button could cause the modifier key to become stuck.
    
  • Fixed an issue where certain circumstances could cause the cursor to become smaller than intended on the Retina MacBook Pro.
    

Virtual Realms
can someone explain how this works, and which realms will be linked together etc? Will I be seeing people from WRA etc in Stormwind?
We're working on an article currently that will explain more about Virtual Realms in detail. We're hoping to have it out to you all soon and will do our best to answer as many questions as you have as possible.

Keep in mind, we've only released the PTR notes at this point and still have testing, refining, more testing, gathering constructive feedback, testing, and then... when we think it's actually ready, releasing this live. While we have an idea of when we think we are going to have the patch go live, it's no guarantee that everything will go as expected (*crosses her fingers*). This isn't something that's going to be out in a week or anything.

You mean listening to the complaints of the players and then promptly spitting in their faces?
I've never "spit" in anyone's face in my life, I assure you.

Ghostcrawler said it yesterday in a tweet, consider the PTR like a petri dish. We're going to put things on there from time to time to test out how they work. By doing this, we get to see the results without having to commit them and affect a larger population of players in a "permanent" way. Constructive feedback from testers is always a valuable commodity as is just having people go in to the PTR and playing like they normally would so that we can see the effect of the changes.

As I also said, Virtual Realms will not be releasing overnight. There's still time before we go live with them and we still have more to do to make sure they work in a way that makes sense and adds value to the community they serve. Again, I think once we get more details in front of people, and are able to answer more questions about it and what it will do, the more likely many of the concerns I've seen here will be addressed. And if they're not, we'll work to address them as much as possible.

Area 52 currently has queues as high as 1300 just to get on. Are these super high pop realms going to be merged with other super high pop realms? A52 is mostly horde, but if we merge with a mostly alliance server, we're looking at double the queue if we have another 1300 alliance also trying to get on. That's the major concern I have, is population and massive queues, especially with everything being 50% off and more people coming to our already flooded server.
I can't answer about specific realms or how they will be connected (or not) currently, but I can say that we're very aware of the need to balance between a having a healthy population and ending up with queues. We will want to make sure that people can get in and play when they want to and still have people and resources they can rely on to have a great play experience. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Patch 5.4 Set Bonuses
I don't think these will go live in their current state in rated PvP.
You're correct, the numbers on set bonuses are actually just place holders for the moment. At this time try focusing your feedback for set bonuses around the actual mechanics rather than the tuning of the numbers. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

LFR and Flex Loot Restriction
Our very own “Crabby” recently tweeted (#1 #2) about loot options in Flexible Raids. Just in case some of you missed it, we’re considering the possibility of having certain pieces of loot drop only in Flexible, Normal and Heroic raids.

We know that Tier and Legendary items are both very appealing to all types of raiders, but removing either of those from LFR at this point in time would tamper with the consistency of this expansion, there are a lot of players that rely solely on LFR to get those items and they are expecting LFR to continue to have the same sort of philosophy and design until at least the end of the expansion. Drastic and unexpected changes that impact negatively on parts of the player base is something we should try to avoid as much as possible.

So, for now, instead of making tier pieces exclusive to F/N/H raids, we’re considering the possibility of giving exclusivity to F/N/H on certain valuable pieces that don’t belong to any Tier. We know this isn’t exactly what some of you have been asking for, and that is doesn’t solve the issue of players going into LFR for a chance to get a piece of Tier, but it does provide more value and exclusivity/prestige to raids other than LFR without undermining players that have been relying exclusively on LFR as their main endgame progression experience since the start of the expansion.

I’d also like to point out that LFR content has always been staggered, and FR follows that same pattern but at an accelerated pace; that will probably make it less likely for raiders to run LFR in search for Tier drops, unless of course, they still prefer the accessibility of LFR over Flexible raids. I know that being time efficient is what drives many players, and having tier bonuses at the cost of a lower ilvl might still look like a better option than having to organize a Flexible raid. In the end we like to give players more options, and despite what some might say, I don’t think they will be overwhelming with the addition of Flexible Raids.

May I ask what the reason is for the stagger in Flexi? Makes sense in LFR, but not so much for Flexi imo!

You didn't exactly say the reason for flexi, only LFR, but maybe its one and the same?
Same reason as LFR I would say. We want to make a distinction between Normal and Heroic from the rest, players shouldn’t feel very compelled to go into LFR or even FR if they’re into more serious raiding, it’s still ok if there’s some appeal to them just as long as it doesn’t feel absolutely mandatory, especially a few weeks after LFR has opened.

I don’t like to generalize that much and I think that sometimes I inadvertently fall into the trap of extreme generalization. What I mean is, not all raiders are the same. There’s players raiding normal at a very slow pace, others that clear content as fast as it opens, so I can’t really say FR or LFR will be appealing to normal or heroic raiders, I can only imagine that guilds with slower progress will probably go into FR and LFR to help with their progression much more often than a guild that clears all normal content in a week, so I suppose we can say that FR and LFR shouldn’t be very appealing to anyone at a moderate to fast progression rate, but it’s ok if others that are struggling a bit more or those that can’t commit to guild raiding schedules for more than 1 or 2 days a week feel more inclined to try FR and LFR. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

The changes we have coming for Blink Strikes are intended to assist with the regular complaint we hear about peeling Hunter pets. The change will mean that Hunter pets will only be able to Blink Strike once every 20 seconds and there will be a 10 yard minimum range to avoid the pet using it off cooldown when it's already close to the target. We hope that this will help with Hunter pets utilizing large amounts of glue to stick to their targets.

Our plans for Stampede are actually quite simple to explain; we are removing the ability for the pets summoned through Stampede to use any abilities. The end result of this change should be that the pets a Hunter summons from Stampede will only be able to auto-attack. As you are all aware, these changes will result in a quite the reduction of net damage for Hunters, because of this we have also done a minor 15% buff to the damage of Arcane Shot.

So we asked for hunter nerfs since their damage is ridiculously overpowered and instead they're pretty much getting buffed? Not sure if I'm catching your drift.
The damage gained from the buffs you can receive from using Stampede is no longer possible, which lowers Hunter damage. The pets summoned by Stampede can no longer bite/claw/nibble/tickle, they can only use auto-attacks, lowering damage during Stampede. Blink Strikes now has a 20 second cooldown making the pet easier to peel instead of them blinking all over the Arena to their target. These are all nerfs which are heavily targeted at pets which mainly effects Beast Mastery Hunters.

In regards to the "triple trinket" that BM hunters have; we have no plans to remove Bestial Wrath from Readiness at this time. Please continue to present your feedback on these changes though as we're always interested to hear your opinions on them. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

We’re aware that the latest round of hotfixes caused some confusion for many Hunters, and want to offer some insight into the logic and reasoning that led to these particular changes.

Patch 5.3 resulted in Hunters feeling a bit stronger in PvP than in 5.2, where we feel they were in a much better place overall. Stampede in particular has been proving troublesome. We originally designed it with an “empty your stables” theme primarily for flavor–we wanted you to be able to see all of your favorite pets. In practice, it turned into more of a “deck building” mini-game, where Hunters were managing their entire stable to bring as much crowd control, raid buffs, etc. as possible. That’s opposite of our intentions with the Mists stable redesign; we want you to be able to pull out whichever pet you feel is ideal for your current situation. If you’re instead filling your stable based on whatever’s ideal for Stampede, you lose that entirely.

Furthermore, this min-maxing led to Stampede being a bit stronger of a DPS cooldown than we’d really like, especially for Beast Masters (who are already quite bursty in PvP). The hotfix lets us tone Stampede back just a little, and once again allows Hunters to keep whichever pets they like in the stable.

With Blink Strikes, our goals with the original 5.3 changes were to reduce Hunter burst for PvP as well as give them a passive talent option. Generally speaking, we prefer active talents to be slightly superior to passive talents in the same tier. No one will choose an active talent if it requires more work for the same reward. So, we wanted Blink Strikes to be DPS-neutral. Instead, it ended up being a PvP buff, hence the hotfix.

Regarding the changes to Arcane Shot, Cobra Shot, and Steady Shot, we had originally only buffed Arcane shot, but there was some risk that it would change Hunter rotations, which wasn’t our intent. We simply wanted to compensate for the Stampede and Blink Strikes changes. Ultimately, our goal with all of these changes is simply to tone back some of the outlying behaviors that were causing Hunters to feel a little too strong in PvP in 5.3, without much impact elsewhere. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Patch 5.4 will be available for testing on the Public Test Realms (PTR) soon! Participating on the Public Test Realms lets you test new content before it's available. This patch includes a brand new Raid, a new area: Timeless Isles, class tuning changes, assorted bug fixes, and more.

PTR Disclaimers

• Please keep in mind that the notes below are not final, and a great deal could change before the release of patch 5.4.
• Not all the content listed may be available for testing or may only be available during a limited testing window during the 5.4 PTR. When the PTR is available, keep an eye on the PTR Discussion forum for further details.

General
New Raid: Siege of Orgrimmar

• More information coming soon.

New Feature: Flexible Raid Difficulty

• This is a new raid difficulty designed for pre-made groups of 10 to 25 players or any number in between. This means it's possible to have raids of 15 or 22 players! Difficulty will adjust automatically based on the number of players present with encounters intended to provide a challenge roughly between Raid Finder and Normal difficulty.
• Flexible Raid difficulty requires a pre-made group to join but has no minimum item level requirements or role restrictions. Both BattleTag™ and Real ID friends are eligible to participate.
• Loot quality will be between Raid Finder and Normal difficulty and awarded through a personal loot system (similar to Raid Finder). Bonus rolls and loot specialization will also be supported.
• Players will be able to earn raid achievements just like in Normal or Heroic difficulty.
• Flexible Raid difficulty has a lockout that is separate from Raid Finder and Normal difficulty.
• To learn more about Flexible Raids, please visit our blog titled: A Raid for All Seasons: Flexible Raid Preview.

New Area: Timeless Isle

• More information coming soon.

New Feature: Proving Grounds

• Proving Grounds is a new feature for individual players to test and improve their combat skills.
• At the Proving Grounds, players may undertake trials, designed for Damage, Tank, or Healer roles.
• It provides a great opportunity to learn how to Tank or Heal, without the need of a group.
• Each trial is available in four separate difficulties: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Endless. Harder difficulties include more difficult and varied enemies.
• Endless mode allows you to test your mettle against increasingly difficult enemies. Compare your best scores to friends and guildmates!
• [PTR]: Access to the Proving Grounds and more information is coming soon.

New Feature: Virtual Realms

• Virtual Realms are sets of realms that are fused together, and will behave exactly as if they were one cohesive realm. Players on the same Virtual Realm will be able to join guilds, access a single Auction House, join arena teams and raids, as well run dungeons or group up to complete quests.
• Players belonging to the same Virtual Realm will have a (#) symbol next to their name.

Classes

• Fears cast by players no longer increases the target's movement speed.
• Vengeance gains from being critically hit have been halved.

• Death Knight (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • Blood
    
    • Dancing Rune Weapon no longer costs Runic Power.
  • Unholy
    
    • Master of Ghouls now reduces the cooldown of Raise Dead by 60 seconds.
  
  
• Druid (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • General
    
    • Innervate now causes the target to gain mana equal to 50% of the casting Druid’s Spirit every second for 10 seconds.
    • Wild Mushroom Restoration version of the ability now summons a single mushroom at the friendly target’s location. If the mushroom is recast, the mushroom moves to the new location and retains its accumulated bonus healing. A single mushroom now heals for as much as what 3 mushrooms combined healed for previously.
    • Wrath has its mana cost increased by 50%.
  • Talents
    
    • Dream of Cenarius has been completely redesigned to reduce complexity and increase usability, but maintain the spirit of the effects. Benefits now varies by specialization.
      
      • Balance: Increases the amount healed by Healing Touch by 20%. Casting Healing Touch increases the damage bonus of the Druid's next Eclipse by 10%.
      • Feral: Increases the amount healed by Healing Touch by 20%. Casting Healing Touch causes the Druid's next Rip to deal 15% increased damage.
      • Guardian: Increases the amount healed by Healing Touch by 20%. Mangle (Bear) critical strikes have a 20% chance to make the next Healing Touch or Rebirth instant, free, and castable in all forms.
      • Restoration: Causes Wrath to deal 20% more damage and heals a nearby friendly target for 100% of the damage done.
    • Heart of the Wild when activated, now also provides a 25% bonus to healing for Restoration Druids.
    • Mass Entanglement no longer has a limit on the number of targets that could be affected, up from 5.
    • Nature's Swiftness is no longer a talent, and is now an ability learned by Restoration Druids at level 30.
    • Nature’s Vigil when activated, causes healing spells now trigger an additional heal on a nearby ally for 25% of the amount healed. This is in addition to the existing effect where it damages a nearby enemy target for 25% of the healing done.
    • Soul of the Forest has been partially redesigned to make it more attractive to Balance, Guardian, and Restoration Druids.
      
      • Balance: Wrath, Starfire, and Starsurge casts have a 8% chance to cause the next Astral Communion to instantly advance the Druid to the next Eclipse.
      • Guardian: Increases Rage generation from Mangle (Bear) by 20% instead of 30%, but the bonus now also applies to Rage generated by Primal Fury.
      • Restoration: Now causes the Druid to gain 100% haste (up from 75%) on their next spell after casting Swiftmend.
    • Ysera's Gift, a new talent healing the Druid for 5% of their maximum health every 5 seconds. If the Druid is at full health, it will heal the most injured friendly target nearby instead. This talent fills the spot vacated by Nature's Swiftness.
  • Glyphs
    
    • New Glyph: Glyph of Efflorescence increases the healing done by Swiftmend by 20%, causes the Efflorescence healing effect to be triggered by Wild Mushroom instead of Swiftmend, and lasts as long as the Wild Mushroom is active.
    • Glyph of Innervate now causes Innervate to give both the Druid and the target 60% of the normal effect of the spell if it's cast on a target other than the Druid.
  • Balance
    
    • Eclipse now energizes the Druid for 50% of their maximum mana when triggered, up from 35%.
    • Moonkin Form no longer reduces all damage taken by 15%.
    • Starfire has its mana cost increased by 50%.
    • Starsurge has its mana cost increased by 50%.
  • Restoration
    
    • Genesis is a new Restoration spell learned at level 88. Genesis targets all party or raid members within 60 yards and accelerates the casting Druid's Rejuvenation effects, causing them to heal and expire at 400% of the normal rate. Costs the same amount of mana to cast as Rejuvenation.
    • Swiftmend area-of-effect healing effect is now called Efflorescence.
    • Wild Mushroom: Bloom is no longer capable of critical strikes, and accumulates overhealing done by Rejuvenation by 100%, down from 150%. Overhealing bonus no longer benefits from Naturalist or Mastery: Harmony.
  
  
• Hunter (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • General
    
    • Arcane Shot had its damage and focus cost increased by 50%.
  • Talents
    
    • Aspect of the Iron Hawk now reduces all damage taken by 10%, down from 15%.
    • Silencing Shot is no longer a talent and is now an ability for Marksman Hunters.
  • Marksman
    
    • Binding Shot is no longer a Marksman Hunter ability and is once again a talent.
  
  
• Monk (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • Talents
    
    • Ring of Peace has a new visual effect.
  
  
• Paladin (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • General
    
    • Turn Evil now has a 15-second cooldown. (Note: Glyph of Turn Evil will be redesigned and noted in a future PTR update.)
  • Talents
    
    • Burden of Guilt has been replaced with a new talent called Evil is a Point of View, which allows the Paladin to use Turn Evil on players and beasts.
    • Hand of Purity now reduces damage taken from harmful periodic effects by 80% (up from 70%) and reduces damage taken from harmful periodic effects that cannot be prevented by immunities by 40% (up from 0%).
    • Unbreakable Spirit has been simplified. It now reduces the cooldown on Divine Shield, Divine Protection, and Lay on Hands by 50%.
  • Glyphs
    
    • Glyph of Inquisition has been redesigned. The glyph now increases the duration of Inquisition by 30 seconds (up to a maximum of 2 minutes) each time the Paladin lands a killing blow on targets that yield experience or honor.
  • Retribution
    
    • Guardian of the Ancient Kings (Retribution version) now has a reduced cooldown of 3 minutes, down from 5 minutes, and the maximum number of stacks has been reduced to 12.
    • Inquisition now lasts 20 seconds per charge of Holy Power consumed, up from 10 seconds.
  
  
• Priest (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • General
    
    • Leap of Faith no longer has a facing requirement.
  • Talents
    
    • Angelic Feather now increases allies' movement speed by 80%, up from 60% and the feathers have a duration of 10 minutes, up from 5 minutes.
    • Divine Insight for Discipline Priests now has a 100% chance to activate its effect after using Penance, up from 40%.
    • Twist of Fate damage and healing threshold to activate has been increased to 35%, up from 20%.
  • Shadow
    
    • Shadowform no longer reduces all damage taken by 15%.
  • Class Armor
    
    • Restoration PvP 4-piece set bonus is no longer an area-of-effect and only affects the character that dispels Vampiric Touch.
  
  
• Rogue (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • General
    
    • Recuperate now restores 4% of maximum health every 3 seconds, up from 3%.
  • Talents
    
    • Nightstalker now increases damage dealt by abilities while stealthed by 50%, up from 25%.
  • Combat
    
    • Killing Spree targeting has been changed. If Blade Flurry is not active, Killing Spree will now hit the Rogue's target 7 times or pick the closest eligible target if none had been selected. Killing Spree will continue to work as it has while Blade Flurry is active.
  
  
• Shaman (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • General
    
    • Healing Rain radius has been increased to 12 yards, up from 10 yards.
  • Talents
    
    • Astral Shift now has a cooldown of 90 seconds, down from 120 seconds.
    • Unleashed Fury Flametongue Weapon effect now increases Lightning Bolt damage by 30%, up from 20%.
  • Glyphs
    
    • Glyph of Chaining now increases the cooldown on Chain Heal by 2 seconds, down from a 4 second increase.
    • Glyph of Fire Elemental Totem now reduces the cooldown and duration for Fire Elemental Totem by 50%, up from 40%.
    • Glyph of Riptide reduces the initial direct healing of Riptide by 75%, down from a 90% reduction to healing.
  • Enhancement
    
    • Stormstrike debuff now also affects Elemental Blast.
  • Restoration
    
    • Riptide mana cost has been reduced by 25%.
  
  
• Warlock (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • General
    
    • Fel Armor no longer reduces all damage taken by 10%.
  • Talents
    
    • Howl of Terror is no longer a talent and is now a baseline skill for all Warlocks.
    • Demonic Breath, a new talent replacing Howl of Terror. The Warlock sends out a cone of Shadow damage, snaring targets, has a 20-second cooldown.
    • Kil'jaden's Cunning is no longer a passive ability. Kil'jaden's Cunning now now has a duration of 15 seconds with a 1.5 minute cooldown.
    • Mannoroth's Fury is no longer a passive ability. Mannoroth's Fury now has a duration of 15 seconds with a 1.5 minute cooldown.
  
  
  Warrior (Forums / Skills / Talent Calculator)
  
  • General
    
    • Enrage now also triggers on critical hits from Devastate and Shield Slam.
    • Shattering Throw no longer costs rage.
  • Talents
    
    • Enraged Regeneration now instantly heals the warrior for 10% of their total health (up from 5%), and an additional 10% over 5 seconds (up from 5%).
    • Vigilance no longer transfers damage to the Warrior. The talent now reduces amount of damage the target takes by 30% for 12 seconds.
  • Arms
    
    • Slam now does an additional 10% damage to targets affected by the warrior’s Colossus Smash.
  • Fury
    
    • Titan’s Grip now works with polearms.

Quests

• The Strength of One's Foes: Players should no longer be receiving excess Sigils of Power or Sigils of Wisdom.

Creatures

• Bonus Roll change: Players that don’t have a coin or elect to not use a Bonus Roll when defeating one of the world bosses (Sha of Anger, Galleon, Nalak, and Oondasta) can come back later that same week to use the Bonus Roll. The limit has not changed and remains one attempt and one bonus roll per boss, per week.

Pet Battles

• General
  
  • A new pet battle tournament is available on the Timeless Isle, more details coming soon!
  • Players are now able to trade in any 3 of the same family specific Flawless Battle-Stones for a single Marked Flawless Battle-Stone.
  • Viewable pet battles will now display working health bars.
  • Battle Pet levels are now only shown on the map if you are tracking Battle Pets.
  • Aquatic type's passive effect now reduces damage from damage-over-time effects by 50%, up from 25%.
  • Critter type's passive effect now makes critters immune to roots, stuns, and sleep effects.
  • Dragonkin type's passive effect now activates after an attack brings a target's to below 50% health, up from 25%.
  • Elemental type's passive effect now only affects negative direct effects of weather. (E.g. Sandstorm's accuracy reduction won't be applied, but the damage reduction will.)
  • Magic type's passive effect now caps damage taken at 35% of maximum health, up from 40%.
• Battle Pets
  
  • Darkmoon Zeppelin: Several abilities have swapped positions.
  • Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling: Several abilities have swapped positions.
• Battle Pet Abilities
  
  • Accuracy now affects the entire team.
  • Dark Simulacrum has been replaced with a new ability, Rot. Rot deals Undead damage and temporarily turns the enemy pet's type into Undead.
  • Trihorn Charge now has a 1-round cooldown.
  • Trihorn Shield now displays the correct amount of damage reduction.

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

• Raids
  
  • The chance for awarding loot from kills or bonus rolls has been increased for Mogu'shan Vaults, Heart of Fear, Terrace of Endless Spring, and Throne of Thunder on Raid Finder difficulty.
  • The chance for awarding loot from using a bonus roll has been increased for Throne of Thunder on Normal difficulty.
• Dungeons
  
  • Players who obtain a realm-best time in a Challenge Mode dungeon (group must contain at least 3 people from the same realm to qualify) will receive a temporary title specific to each dungeon (e.g. Siegebreaker for Siege of Niuzao temple, Darkmaster for Scholomance, etc.). This title will persist for as long as a player retains the top time on the realm. Holding a realm-best time at any point will also confer a permanent Feat of Strength to record the accomplishment.

PvP

• Season 14 Grievous gear is now available. Elite versions of Grievous gear will require a rating of 2000 to purchase.
• Season 13 Tyrannical gear can now be purchased with Honor Points.
• Season 12 Malevolent gear can now be crafted.
• [PTR]: For testing purposes, Grievous Flaskataur will be available near the Niuzao Temple selling standard Grievous gear for gold.

Items

• All permanent item enhancements provided by Enchanting, Engineering, Leatherworking, Tailoring, and various vendors and quests are now able to be applied to items of any level. This means all enchantments can now be applied to heirloom items.
  
  • High level enhancements applied to items equipped by low level players have their power scaled down to be similar to enhancements intended for that level range.
  • Low level enhancements applied to items equipped by high level players do not grow further in power beyond their intended level range.

UI

• The vestigial Use Hardware sound option has been removed.

We're continuing the Battle.net®-related testing we mentioned previously. As part of this, we're now inviting beta testers to help test and refine a new desktop app for Battle.net designed to improve the launcher experience for all Blizzard games and streamline the ability for players to get into their games.

If you’d like to help us with the testing, head to your Battle.net Beta Profile and opt in to at least one of the game universe beta tests (if you haven’t done so already). We’ll be inviting players to the beta test in waves—if you’re selected, your Battle.net account will be flagged automatically and you’ll receive an email with additional details.

For more information, check out the FAQ or visit the beta test forums.

When does the beta test begin? How do I opt-in?
The beta test is now underway. If you’d like a chance to participate, first make sure you’ve created a BattleTag, and then head to your Beta Profile Settings and opt in to any of the Warcraft, StarCraft, or Diablo beta tests. See the Beta Opt-In Instructions for a helpful walkthrough. If you have already opted in for a previous Blizzard beta, you don’t need to opt in a second time.

What platforms and languages are supported?
The Battle.net desktop application is available for Windows and Mac in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Russian, Polish, traditional Chinese, and Korean.

What regions can participate?
Players in the Americas and Oceania, Europe, Korea, and Taiwan can participate. Players in mainland China will not be able to participate in this beta test. We’ll have more information to share about our plans for the Battle.net desktop app in mainland China in the future.

Is there a non-disclosure agreement?
There is not a nondisclosure agreement for this beta test. Those invited to play are free to take screenshots and discuss the app. Participants can give us feedback in the beta test forums.

How does game patching work through the Battle.net desktop app?
When you’re logged in to the Battle.net desktop app, it automatically downloads and installs updates for all supported games as they become available. You can patch one game at a time; the Battle.net desktop app also allows you to pause the patching process for one game in order to patch another, if needed.

Which Blizzard games are supported in the Battle.net desktop app?
The Battle.net desktop app allows you to launch Diablo III, StarCraft II, and World of Warcraft. Classic Blizzard games such as Diablo II, StarCraft, and Warcraft III are not currently supported, though we’re looking into the possibility of adding support for these games in the future.

I want to use the game-specific launcher for one of my games. How do I do that?
During the beta, you can switch to the previous launcher by uninstalling the Battle.net desktop app. As long as the Battle.net desktop app is installed on your system, you will not be able to access World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, or Diablo III through their standard launchers.

Can I log in to the Battle.net desktop app on multiple computers?
Yes, although the original login will expire if your account is logged in from another computer.

Can I still access the Battle.net website in my browser?
Yes, the Battle.net website will stay the same. The Battle.net desktop app provides a quick, convenient way to access your Blizzard games and certain features of Battle.net account management without opening a web browser.

Will everyone’s launchers eventually be updated to the Battle.net desktop app?
Yes — in the future, every Blizzard gamer will need to use the Battle.net desktop app to play their favorite Blizzard games. The Battle.net desktop app will replace the individual game launchers for World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and Diablo III, and will act as your gateway to accessing future Blizzard games.

We’ll let players know in advance when we plan to roll the app out to everyone.

I'm having an issue—how can I get help?
Check the Known Issues List or visit the Battle.net desktop app beta forums to see if your issue is mentioned there. During the beta test, if you’re unable to resolve the issue and it’s preventing you from accessing your games, you can uninstall the beta client at any time to go back to using a game’s standard launcher.