Shadowlands - Druid Class Changes, Pearl of the Abyss Secret Toy, Build of the Month

[Lumy]

Shadowlands - Druid Class Changes

Thanks for all the feedback on Convoke the Spirits. It will have a further update in an upcoming build, focused on being oriented more around shapeshift forms, and including higher-value spells associated with each particular form.

Most importantly, the spell list is redesigned. It is no longer the same in every form.

• Spells included in every form: Moonfire, Wrath, Regrowth, Rejuvenation, Rake, Thrash
• Caster form only: Wild Growth, Swiftmend
• Cat form only: Ferocious Bite, Shred, Tiger’s Fury
• Bear form only: Mangle, Ironfur
• Moonkin form only: Starsurge, Starfall

When used in any given form, spells assocatied with that form’s role are strongly favored.
Starsurge, Starfall, and Ferocious Bite don’t cost resources. Swiftmend doesn’t remove a HoT. Ferocious Bite does maximum damage. Self-buffs that don’t stack (Tiger’s Fury, Starfall) won’t overwrite themselves.

A bit of discussion about this ability–one dilemma with it is that while it actually chooses abilities somewhat smartly, it can’t claim to do so perfectly smartly. So the tooltip doesn’t promise to always choose the optimal ability, but in reality it does much better than random chance. Some things that were true in prior iterations, and still true now:

• Spells that apply a DoT or HoT are favored on targets that don’t already have it, and generally won’t reapply to targets that do (some exception for Wild Growth).
• It won’t aggro new creatures that aren’t in combat
• It won’t break CC
• Heals will be more favored relative to other spells if there are lower-HP targets
• Thrash is used more often in Bear Form than in Cat Form

As always, let us know how it feels on alpha.

Pearl of the Abyss Secret Toy
Game Designers Jeremy Feasel and Russ Petersen have confirmed that the secret toy Pearl of the Abyss is not available in the game. Even though the hotfixes on July 2nd 2019 mention that the toy was obtainable, the item lost its toy tag and was removed from the Toy Box. To learn more about Hidden and Secret Toys in World of Warcraft check this guide.

Build of the Month - June 2020
Each month or so we will post a couple of hardware setups for those of you who are thinking of upgrading their computer!

All of the parts on this page are Amazon affiliate links. When you purchase your parts through them it helps support the site!

This month
Stock of parts is low and prices are elevated due to the pandemic. You may have to shop different retailers or swap to similar parts due to availability.

Depending on how much you want to overclock, you may need to spend a bit more for a better CPU cooler like the NH-D15.

Make sure to keep your AMD and Nvidia drivers up to date.

Don't forget to visit the Computer Forum for any extra questions!

Peripherals

Puppy

Monitor	Asus VA24EHE 23.8" 1080P Monitor
Keyboard	Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600
Mouse	Logitech G203

Dolphin

Monitor	ASUS VE248Q 24-Inch Monitor
Keyboard	Corsair K55
Mouse	Razer DeathAdder

Narwhal

Monitor	Asus VP249QGR 24" 1080p 144hz IPS Monitor
Monitor (Alternative)	Dell U2417H (or U2419H) Monitor
Keyboard	Logitech G512
Mouse	Logitech G502

Unicorn

Monitor	LG 27GL83A-B 27" 1440p IPS 144hz Monitor
Monitor (Alternative)	Dell U2719DX Monitor
Keyboard	Corsair K70
Mouse	CORSAIR SCIMITAR Pro RGB

Puppy and Dolphin
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Puppy and Dolphin.

Puppy

Updated February 2020

$

Case	Carbide Series 200R
Power Supply	EVGA 600BR
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Heatsink	Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black
Motherboard	ASUS Prime B450-Plus
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4
Graphics Card	GTX 1660 6GB
Hard Drive	Western Digital Blue 1TB
SSD	Crucial MX500 500GB

Dolphin

Updated February 2020

$$

Case	Carbide Series 200R
Power Supply	Seasonic S12II 650
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Heatsink	Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black
Motherboard	ASUS Prime X470-Pro
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4
Graphics Card	GTX 1660 Super 6GB
Hard Drive	Western Digital Black 2TB
SSD	Crucial MX500 500GB

Narwhal and Unicorn
All of these parts can be mixed and matched to create a build between Narwhal and Unicorn.

Narwhal

Updated February 2020

$$$

Case	NZXT H510
Power Supply	EVGA GQ 650W
CPU	Intel i5-10600K
Heatsink	Noctua NH-U12S
Motherboard	ASUS TUF Gaming Z490-Plus
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4
Graphics Card	RTX 2060
Hard Drive	Western Digital Black 2TB
SSD	SAMSUNG 970 Evo 500GB

Unicorn

Updated February 2020

$$$$

Case	Fractal Design Define R6
Power Supply	Corsair RM650x
CPU	Intel i5-10600K
Heatsink	Noctua 6 NH-D15
Motherboard	ASUS TUF Gaming Z490-Plus
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4
Graphics Card	RTX 2060 OR RTX 2070
Hard Drive	Western Digital Black 2TB
SSD	SAMSUNG 970 Evo 1TB

[Tomana]

See, folks, how the druid-playing devs are spending so much iterations on their favourite class so it's still OP as **** in all types of content?
All the other classes can go and screw themselves (I feel for you shadow priests...)

[Brostin]

See, folks, how the druid-playing devs are spending so much iterations on their favourite class so it's still OP as **** in all types of content?
All the other classes can go and screw themselves (I feel for you shadow priests...)

Except basically being the worst tank with no selling points? Yes

[Slath]

Why do we still get builds of the month with 60Hz monitors?

[Super Kami Dende]

See, folks, how the druid-playing devs are spending so much iterations on their favourite class so it's still OP as **** in all types of content?
All the other classes can go and screw themselves (I feel for you shadow priests...)

loosen the tinfoil hat a bit. It's restricting oxygen to your brain.

[Twdft]

Why do we still get builds of the month with 60Hz monitors?

Because the build features a 1660, why torture it 144Hz?

[mbrodie0]

Except basically being the worst tank with no selling points? Yes

i see you've watched a video on tanks in 3.5 and have no real idea about how tanks work...

bears are quite the opposite to what you claim, great damage mitigation, amazing self heals and self sustain, good damage and a big bag of utility.

not everything you see in videos is 100% accurate. Weird how a guardian druid made it into the top 5 mythic + tanks in the world...

[Dalheim]

i see you've watched a video on tanks in 3.5 and have no real idea about how tanks work...

bears are quite the opposite to what you claim, great damage mitigation, amazing self heals and self sustain, good damage and a big bag of utility.

not everything you see in videos is 100% accurate. Weird how a guardian druid made it into the top 5 mythic + tanks in the world...

Don't you come here with your knowledge!

[Ealyssa]

Because the build features a 1660, why torture it 144Hz?

that litteraly makes no sense. Refresh rate is much more than just "iT mUZ m4TcH mY fR4M3rAtE".
Geting my eyes destroyed when browsing the web or working on my computer ? Nope, thanks.

There is a reason even phones push higher framerate : eye comfort and smoothness of operation.
Sure sometime you can't avoid having low RR (video production and very high rez displays, mainly) but higher is in fact better.

[Nevcairiel]

See, folks, how the druid-playing devs are spending so much iterations on their favourite class so it's still OP as **** in all types of content?

Did you even read it? Its not even Druid core ability changes, but one lengthy post on one covenant ability, while other classes have been half re-designed in the last two weeks.

[Exkrementor]

Oh boi, here we go with the build of the months again.

1. Never buy a 3600X. its just 50 bucks more for a normal 3600.
2. Dont buy a GTX 1660 non Super.
3. You dont need a 90 bucks CPU cooler, especially for a 10600k. Buy one for 30-50 bucks.
4. 3000mhz RAM for a Ryzen? Are you high? Buy 3200mhzCL16 if you wanna good cheap RAM or buy 3600mhzCL16 if you wanna get 5-10 fps more out of your CPU.
5. Dont buy B450 or X470 mainboards anymore. I guess you can but only if you really dont wanna upgrade your CPU ever. Spend 30 bucks more on a mid-tier B550 Board.
6. Dont pay double the price for an NVME drive. Buy a SATA ssd, it makes no difference in gaming.

[Unholyground]

Except basically being the worst tank with no selling points? Yes

Love my Guardian tank, you crazy.

[IggisPanda]

Oh boi, here we go with the build of the months again.

1. Never buy a 3600X. its just 50 bucks more for a normal 3600.
2. Dont buy a GTX 1660 non Super.
3. You dont need a 90 bucks CPU cooler, especially for a 10600k. Buy one for 30-50 bucks.
4. 3000mhz RAM for a Ryzen? Are you high? Buy 3200mhzCL16 if you wanna good cheap RAM or buy 3600mhzCL16 if you wanna get 5-10 fps more out of your CPU.
5. Dont buy B450 or X470 mainboards anymore. I guess you can but only if you really dont wanna upgrade your CPU ever. Spend 30 bucks more on a mid-tier B550 Board.
6. Dont pay double the price for an NVME drive. Buy a SATA ssd, it makes no difference in gaming.

basically all of the above. except number 6. i am very well noticing a difference between a sata ssd and an nvme. it is not as noticable as hdd to ssd but there IS a difference. for wow? not so much. for open world games or games with many frickle textures and so on? yes. the more things need to be loaded the more you will notice the difference.

this all depends on graphics settings of course.

BUT: If you are on a tight budget dont buy an nvme. thats where you are absolutely right. the price difference is in no way justifiable in gaming except for "i have the money and i want a nvme drive"

[Mouri Kogorou]

basically all of the above. except number 6. i am very well noticing a difference between a sata ssd and an nvme. it is not as noticable as hdd to ssd but there IS a difference. for wow? not so much. for open world games or games with many frickle textures and so on? yes. the more things need to be loaded the more you will notice the difference.

this all depends on graphics settings of course.

BUT: If you are on a tight budget dont buy an nvme. thats where you are absolutely right. the price difference is in no way justifiable in gaming except for "i have the money and i want a nvme drive"

it doesnt make any difference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA

[Frostyfire14]

See, folks, how the druid-playing devs are spending so much iterations on their favourite class so it's still OP as **** in all types of content?
All the other classes can go and screw themselves (I feel for you shadow priests...)

Favorite class? Balance, Guardian, and Feral are a complete mess right now on alpha.

[Onikaroshi]

Is it just me or should intel have started a new naming scheme.... 10600k sounds fucking rediculous.

[Lionhearte0]

thanks Lumy for titling the post "Shadowlands - Druid Class Changes" so that us Ferals can get our hopes up only to be soul crushed once more

(Pretty sure the original post said "Convoke the Spirits changes" or something more specific)

[IggisPanda]

it doesnt make any difference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA

yeah i know that video. i dont say it is wrong. all i said is: There are differences in some cases. for most people unnoticable differences, sorry if that came out wrong.

maybe it has to do with the nvme being my system drive in addition to gaming (same drive) and the sata ssd is a standalone. about half a year ago i even clocked the loading times of different games once on the nvme and once on the sata. roughly a second up to 2 seconds difference.

that doesnt take into consideration that my components may not be running at peak. i dont have enough budget to test enough.


besides: i really like linus. but 3 candidates is not a huge sample size. they give a rough estimate and nothing more.

[Tomana]

Except basically being the worst tank with no selling points? Yes

They play resto, I guess.

- - - Updated - - -

loosen the tinfoil hat a bit. It's restricting oxygen to your brain.

You would have made a compelling argument with that around 2009. At this point, we have enough hindsight.

- - - Updated - - -

Did you even read it? Its not even Druid core ability changes, but one lengthy post on one covenant ability

Precisely. And they've been iterating on it for several weeks now while being extremely diligent about it. While in itself commendable, such diligence to balance one ability when whole specs are still to be reviewed is suspect to say the least.

- - - Updated - - -

Favorite class? Balance, Guardian, and Feral are a complete mess right now on alpha.

My guess is they must be playing restoration. I think the last time I saw that spec underperforming was 25H Lich King (we didn't even bring any on our kills back then). After that, it was always top notch.

[Tanthalus]

Oh my *** those builds are terrible. Dont buy Intel this time around and get away from Asus for motherboards , the VRM`s are useless. B450 Tomahawk is perfectly fine (and will get the Ryzen 4000), get a B550 for pcie4 and the instant on nvme drives.