World of Warcraft News and Raiding Strategies

Now that Season 1 is underway, we’re planning the following tuning adjustments to classes, to take place during scheduled weekly maintenance on December 20.

Classes

Druid

• Restoration
  
  • All healing increased by 5%. This change does not apply to PvP combat.
  • Embrace of the Dream healing increased by 25%.
  • Luxuriant Soil now has a 1.5/3% (was 1/2%) chance to spread Rejuvenation.
    
    • The tooltip will not reflect this change, but it will be corrected in a future update.

Death Knight

• Soul Reaper damage increased by 10%.
• Icy Talons duration increased to 10 seconds (was 6 seconds).
• Unholy
  
  • Apocalypse ghoul duration increased to 20 seconds (was 15 seconds).
  • Death Coil damage increased by 10%.
  • Clawing Shadows damage increased by 6%.
  • Scourge Strike damage increased by 6%.
  • Plaguebringer duration increased to 10 seconds (was 5 seconds).
  • Reaping now increases the damage of Soul Reaper, Scourge Strike, Festering Strike, and Death Coil by 25% damage to enemies below 35% health (was 20% increased damage).

Evoker

• Disintegrate damage increased by 15%.

Hunter

• Marksmanship
  
  • All ability damage reduced by 3%.

Mage

• Fire
  
  • Pyroblast damage increased by 12%.
  • Ignite damage increased by 5%.
  • Fire Blast damage increased by 12%.
  • Fireball damage increased by 12%.
  • Scorch damage increased by 12%.
• Frost
  
  • Ice Lance damage increased by 12%.
  • Flurry damage increased by 15%.
  • Frostbolt damage increased by 15%.
  • Glacial Spike damage increased 15%.
  • Splitting Ice now causes Icicles and Ice Lance to hit another nearby target for 80% (was 65%).
    
    • The tooltip will not reflect this change, but it will be corrected in a future update.

Monk

• Windwalker
  
  • All ability damage reduced by 3%.

Priest

• Shadow
  
  • Increased the mana cost of Power Word: Shield to 5% of base Mana (was 4%).
  • Vampiric Touch damage increased by 10%.
  • Shadow Word: Pain damage increased by 10% for Shadow only.
  • Shadowy Apparition Damage increased by 10%.
  • Devouring Plague damage increased by 10%.
  • Void Bolt damage increased by 20%.
  • Mind Blast damage increased by 20% for Shadow only.
  • Mind Spike damage increased by 20%.
  • Mind Flay damage increased by 20%.
  • Idol of Y’shaarj increases damage done by 5% when Mindbender is summoned on a feared target (was 15%).

Rogue

• Resounding Clarity now causes Echoing Reprimand to Animacharge 2 additional combo points (was 3).
• Assassination
  
  • All ability damage reduced by 3%.
  • Fatal Concoction’s damage bonus for weapon poisons reduced to 10% (was 15%).
• Outlaw
  
  • All ability damage reduced by 3%.
• Subtlety
  
  • All ability damage reduced by 3%.

Shaman

• Enhancement
  
  • All ability damage reduced by 3%.

Warlock

• Affliction
  
  • Malefic Rapture damage increased 15%.
  • Drain Soul damage increased 20%.
  • Shadow Bolt damage increased 20%.
  • Pandemic Invocation damage increased 500%.
• Destruction
  
  • Chaos Bolt damage increased by 5%.

Warrior

• Arms
  
  • All ability damage increased by 3%.
  • Mortal Strike damage increased by 5%.
  • Execute damage increased by 10%.
• Fury
  
  • (2) Set Bonus: Execute critical hit chance bonus increased to 25% (was 10%).

Player versus Player

Based on data we’ve observed so far in Season 1, we’re making some PvP-specific adjustments. One of the broader changes we’re making is to target mana regeneration for different healers to better balance their longevity in relationship to throughput in PvP.

Druid

• Restoration
  
  • Lifebloom healing reduced by 10% in PvP combat.
  • Lifebloom (Bloom) healing reduced by 10% in PvP combat.
• Developers’ note: Lifebloom continued to constitute a significant portion of a Restoration Druid’s healing in PvP, so we’re lowering it. We feel that Restoration Druid’s throughput with this adjustment will remain strong.
• Balance
  
  • Starsurge damage increased by 20% in PvP.
  • Wrath damage increased by 20% in PvP.
  • Starfire damage increased by 20% in PvP.
• Developers’ note: Balance Druid’s potential burst has gone down significantly, while at the same time their consistent spread damage has increased. Overall this is a healthier place, but we want Starsurge to also be a viable option for spending Astral Power in PvP. Additionally, we’d like to reward Balance Druids for casting Wrath and Starfire since those are more difficult to cast in PvP.
• Feral
  
  • Leader of the Pack now heals for 3% of maximum health (was 5%).
• Developers’ note: As a follow up to one of our goals in last week’s tuning of DPS specializations having higher self-healing than we were comfortable with, we are making an adjustment with Leader of the Pack to be more in line with other DPS specializations’ self healing.

Paladin

• Holy
  
  • Mana regeneration now reduced by 35% (was 40%) in PvP combat.

Priest

• Discipline
  
  • Mana regeneration now reduced by 5% (was 15%) in PvP combat.
• Shadow
  
  • Reduced the duration of Void Volley: Horrify to 2 seconds (was 3 seconds).
  • Reduced the damage of Void Volley by 30%.
  • Reduced the absorption value of Power Word: Shield by 20% in PvP Combat for Shadow only.
  • Reduced the healing transfer of Vampiric Embrace by 20% in PvP Combat.
  • Shadow Word: Death damage reduced by 20% in PvP Combat for Shadow only
• Developers’ note: Shadow Priest self-sustain is too high in PvP so we are making targeted adjustments to their healing. Additionally, we are targeting Void Volley and Idol of Y’Shaarj as we’ve seen it could lead to frustrating situations with minimal counterplay when paired with other instant cast damage dealing abilities.

Monk

• Blackout Kick damage increased by 15% in PvP combat.
• Tiger Palm damage increased by 15% in PvP combat.
• Mistweaver
  
  • Mana regeneration now reduced by 15% (was 5%) in PvP combat.
• Windwalker
  
  • Strike of the Windlord damage reduced by 30% in PvP combat.
• Developers’ note: Strike of the Windlord and Thunderfist are dealing more burst than we are comfortable with so we are adjusting them and increasing additional sustained damage.

Rogue

• Numbing Poison’s attack and cast speed debuff effectiveness reduced by 33% in PvP combat.
• Assassination
  
  • Deathmark’s damage dealt by duplicated poisons and bleeds reduced by 30% in PvP combat.
    
    • The tooltip will not reflect this change, but it will be corrected in a future update.
• Subtlety
  
  • Secret Technique damage reduced by 30% in PvP combat.
• Developers’ note: Assassination bleed damage is higher than we are comfortable with and Secret Technique has potential to lead to burst windows with minimal counterplay, so we are toning them down. Additionally, we are most comfortable with baseline cast speed reduction being 10% in PvP currently, so we’re reducing Numbing Poison to be in line with similar abilities.

Shaman

• Healing Stream Totem healing increased by 15% in PvP combat.
• Enhancement
  
  • Reduced the damage of Elemental Blast by 15% in PvP combat.
  • Primordial Wave causes your next Lightning Bolt to hit all targets with Flame Shock for 75% of normal damage for Enhancement only in PvP Combat (was 150%).
• Restoration
  
  • Riptide healing increased by 15% in PvP Combat.
• Elemental
  
  • Reduced the damage of Elemental Blast by 15% in PvP combat.
• Developers’ note: We’ve continued to see Elemental Blast be too bursty in PvP, for both Enhancement and Elemental. Additionally, Lightning Bolt burst with Primordial Wave for Enhancement was dealing more burst than desired, so we’re bringing down the value of Primordial Wave so that Lightning Bolt on its own can continue to shine. For Restoration, we’re targeting buffs to instant cast spells for improved survivability.

Warlock

• Demonic Embrace no longer gains 10% additional stamina in PvP.
• Developers’ note: Warlocks continued to be more survivable than we’d like so we are making further targeted adjustments.
• Affliction
  
  • Soulburn Port duration reduced to 6 seconds in PvP.
  • Soulburn Drain Life no longer grants an absorb when healing at full health in PvP.
  • Soulburn Healthstone healing is reduced to 20% (was 30%) in PvP combat.
• Demonology
  
  • The cooldown of Call Felhunter is now 60 seconds (was 30 seconds).
• Developers’ note: Demonology Warlocks have an abundance of control in their toolkit that can be used frequently so we are targeting the cooldown of Call Felhunter.
• Destruction
  
  • Chaos Bolt damage increased by 15% in PvP Combat.
  • Shadowburn damage increased by 30% in PvP Combat.
  • Incinerate damage increased by 30% in PvP Combat.
• Developers’ note: Destruction Warlocks traditionally shine in PvP through setting up big burst windows, and we feel like they have been lacking in that regard.

Warrior

• Fury
  
  • Warpaint now reduces damage taken by 5% (was 10%) while enraged in PvP combat.
• Developers’ note: We feel that Fury Warriors are too durable, even after last week’s adjustments to their self-healing from Bloodthirst.
• Protection
  
  • Shield Slam damage reduced by 20% in PvP combat.
  • Rend damage reduced by 20% in PvP combat (Protection Warrior only).
• Developers’ note: Protection Warriors are continuing to deal more damage than we would like even after recent adjustments. In some cases, we’ve observed them competing with damage-dealing specializations, so we’re making additional targeted adjustments on Shield Slam and Rend.

We’ve opened our application form for the 2023 WoW Community Council.


If you’d like to be considered for the Council group, please fill out and submit the application here by 12:00 Noon PST January 3, 2023.

Thank you!

The fine folks of Smokywood Pastures aren’t letting a little thing like a shattered sky and ominous portents get in the way of spreading holiday cheer—or gaining a bit of profit. Winter Veil has begun in Azeroth, and with it come all the fripperies, fineries, and delectable comestibles of the holiday.

When: December 16 – January 2
Where: Initial holiday quests can be found in Orgrimmar and Ironforge, but festive decorations can be found throughout the world.


Take a magical sleigh ride with your friends over Orgrimmar or Ironforge! Don’t forget to take a S.E.L.F.I.E. to preserve the moment!


Stop by the Smokeywoods Pastures cart in Ironforge or Orgrimmar and click on Greatfeather Pepe to obtain A Tiny Winter Hat. When you summon Pepe to join you on your adventures, he may just show up in the perfect Winter Veil outfit complete with a tiny beard.

Festive Favorites

Let your spirit be light by stepping into one of the Giant Snow Globes found outside of the Ironforge Bank, in Orgrimmar overlooking the Valley of Wisdom, or in the Broken Isles in Dalaran. It’s a truly transformative experience letting your inner Greatfather Winter helper out. A little /dance will spread the joy to those around you.^*

The Abominable Greench is (still) a mean one, but we’re sure that once you’ve filled up on the fine foods and beverages from Smokywood Pastures, you’re bound to put a stop to his reign of terror in the Hillsbrad Foothills. The quest You’re a Mean One… is now available to players level 60 and up.

There are plenty of holiday hats to be found on a variety of bosses from dungeons in the Broken Isles, Northrend, and more. You just need to decide which color hat you want. Will it be green or red?

Make sure to check in on December 25 to see what presents Greatfather Winter has left for you.

Feast of Winter Veil in WoW Classic

When: December 15 - January 2
Where: Initial holiday quests can be found in Orgrimmar and Ironforge, but festive decorations can be found throughout the world.

*Please /dance responsibly. Side effects include joy and laughter. Wait at least 30 minutes after eating Smokywood Pastures fine festive foods to avoid unpleasant side effects.

Hey all! Here are today’s hotfixes.

Classes

Classes

• Druid
  
  • Balance
    
    • Orbital Strike’s targeting reticle will now match the radius of the damage spell.
    • Orbital Strike will now damage targets that are on top of or behind the Druid.
    • Umbral Embrace will now appear on the Personal Resource Display.
• Hunter
  
  • Survival
    
    • Fixed an issue with Ruthless Marauder incorrectly affecting the damage of Fury of the Eagle.
    • Fury of the Eagle damage increased by 115%, which should keep the damage of Fury of the Eagle roughly the same as it was when talented into 3/3 Ruthless Marauder.
• Paladin
  
  • Retribution
    
    • Fixed an issue that prevented Divine Purpose from being gained from Radiant Decree casts.
• Priest
  
  • Fixed an issue causing Inner Light from Inner Light and Shadow to not reduce the mana cost of several spells.
• Rogue
  
  • Assassination
    
    • Fixed an issue that prevented Exsanguinate cooldown from resetting after encounters.

Dungeons and Raids

• Algeth’ar Academy
  
  • Echo of Doragosa
    
    • Adjusted the number of Overwhelming Power applications required to create an Arcane Rift to 3 (was 4).
      
      • Developers’ note: This ability is taking longer than expected to come into play during the encounter, making the encounter less engaging than desired.
• Halls of Infusion
  
  • Proto-Dragons now have more consistent movement when positioning themselves around a player.
• Vault of the Incarnates
  
  • Fixed an issue where items with a profession skill requirement could be rolled on by anyone when using Group Loot.
  • Eranog
    
    • Fixed an issue causing Primal Flames to sometimes turn in unexpected ways during Stage Two.
  • Terros
    
    • Fixed an issue that could prevent Druid’s Convoke the Spirits from striking Terros at the appropriate range.
  • Dathea, Ascended
    
    • Fixed an issue causing Shaman Windfury Totem and Earthen Wall Totem to not apply correctly during the encounter.
    • Fixed an issue causing Warlock’s Demonic Gateway to incorrectly change its location during the encounter.
  • Broodkeeper Diurna
    
    • Added a personal notification when a player is targeted by Empowered Greatstaff’s Wrath.
    • Fixed an issue where Primalist Reinforcements’ spawn location indicator may be overlapped with another.

Items and Rewards

• Fixed an issue where Rumbling Ruby would not trigger from certain melee attacks.
• Fixed an issue where Desperate Invoker’s Codex did not have its current cooldown reduced when gaining stacks of Hatred. Now, if Desperate Invoker’s Codex is on cooldown, gaining a stack of Hatred will reduce it by one second.

Mythic+

• Fixed an issue with the Thundering affix that caused Primal Overload to trigger after a keystone dungeon has been completed.
• Fixed an issue where some players were unable to loot a Mythic+ Keystone.
• Fixed an issue where players’ saved Mythic Keystone level was not properly upgraded when running a Mythic+ dungeon that originated in a previous expansion.
• The Nokhud Offensive
  
  • Balakar Khan
    
    • Players pulled by Static Spear are no longer affected by Quaking.
• Shadowmoon Burial Grounds
  
  • Fixed an issue where a Shadowmoon Burial Grounds Mythic+ group could default to Challenge difficulty when listed in the Group Finder.
  • Shadowmoon Dominator’s Domination can now be interrupted by stun and knockback effects.

Player versus Player

• Classes
  
  • Rogue
    
    • Assassination
      
      • Fixed an issue that caused poisons to be removed when entering Arenas if talented into Dragon-Tempered Blades.
  • Warlock
    
    • The following spells are no longer usable while silenced: Call Fel Lord, Demonic Strength, Guillotine, Inquisitor’s Gaze, Shadowflame, Soulburn, Soul Strike, Soul Swap, and Soul Tap.
    • Summon Soulkeeper is no longer castable while moving and can now be interrupted.
    • Fel Domination and Soul Strike are now classified as Shadow magic.
    • Dimensional Rift and Summon Soulkeeper are now classified as Chaos magic.
    • Burning Rush and Summon Infernal are now classified as Fire magic.
    • Guillotine and Inquisitor’s Gaze are now classified as Shadowflame magic.
• Items
  
  • Victorious Contender’s Strongboxes are now awarded after every 4 wins in a given bracket.
  • Victorious Contender’s Strongboxes now correctly drop a scaling amount of Primal Chaos based on PvP rating from the match the box was earned from.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented Primal Focus and Concentrated Primal Focus reagents from having a chance to drop for players at Rival II or higher if the match it was earned from was at an appropriate rating.
  • Significantly increased the drop rate of Infurious recipes.
• Solo Shuffle
  
  • Made some adjustments to Rated Solo Shuffle matchmaking to have more evenly matched games. We will continue to monitor these matches and look for ways to make further improvements as necessary.

Primal Storms

• Elite enemies that are spawned during Primal Storms will no longer despawn if their corresponding storm ends and they are in combat.
• The map marker for the Elemental Storm in the Cobalt Assembly has been moved to be more visible.

Professions

• Engineering
  
  • Fixed an issue that caused Primal Deconstruction Charge to cost 1 Awakened Fire instead of 1 Rousing Fire.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented Grease Grenade from being craftable.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented EZ-Thro bombs from being discoverable when specialized into EZ-Thro.
  • Increased the chance of discovering new epic bracer recipes when crafting rare goggles and the P.E.W. x2 for specialized Engineers.
  • Significantly increased the chance of discovering Safety Components when a Tinker malfunctions for specialized Engineers.
  • Slightly lowered the chance to experience a catastrophic malfunction when using Tinkers.

Quests

• Valdrakken
  
  • Alexstrasza will now always be available in Valdrakken for players to turn in “Moving On.”
  • “To Valdrakken” will now point you to Alexstrasza’s location if she has left Valdrakken.
  • Added paragon reputation tracking to “Aiding the Accord” quests early. We didn’t anticipate the commitment some players have to digging holes for reputation.