Patch 9.1 Hotfixes, Class Tuning, Raid Trinket Tuning, TBC Same-Faction BG Testing

[Stoy]

Patch 9.1 Hotfixes - July 9, 2021

Classes

• Warlock
  
  • Affliction
    
    • Shadow Embrace can now be talented if you are below level 58.
      

Dungeons and Raids

• Sanctum of Domination
  
  • Soulrender Dormazain
    
    • Brand of Torment now deals the appropriate amount of damage based on the amount of players in the raid.
      
  • Painsmith Raznal
    
    • Fixed an issue that caused Flameclasp Traps to sometimes not target the maximum number of players.
      
  • Guardian of the First Ones
    
    • Fixed an issue where Energy Cores could generate less energy than expected.
      
  • Sylvanas Windrunner
    
    • Extended the encounter’s enrage timer on Normal and Heroic difficulties.
      
      • Developers’ note: The enrage timer on Sylvanas was set to a value used in earlier iterations of the encounter. It was never intended to gate progress.
        
    • Fixed an issue where the visual effect of Rive could sometimes become misaligned with its warning indicator.
      
    • Fixed an issue where Invigorating Field could inadvertently cause a player to trigger the Invigorating Field on the far side of the jump, perpetually moving them between the two.
      
    • Fixed an issue where Anduin Wrynn would fail to cast Crippling Defeat if players entered his platform during the encounter.
      
• Tazavesh, the Veiled Market
  
  • The shortcut portal from Customs to The Opulent Nexus is now automatically enabled when Timecap'n Hooktail is defeated.
    
  • Fixed an issue that would prevent parties from being able to easily resume the dungeon.
    
  • The Grand Menagerie
    
    • Players are no longer stuck in combat if the party is defeated during an intermission.
      
  • So’leah
    
    • Fixed an issue where Collapsing Star could sometimes become too small and difficult to interact with for consuming the remaining charges of Collapsing Energy.
      

Items and Rewards

• The currency cap for Cataloged Research has been removed.
  
  • Developers’ note: We have fixed an earlier technical limitation that required a cap to be set on a currency that came from stacks of consumed items. The earlier lower cap that caused issues getting to Tier 4 was an oversight on our part, but with this resolved we are now able to remove the cap.
    
• The Helm of Necrotic Sight should also now give Intellect to Holy Paladins.
  
• Tasteful Eyeglasses no longer have a level requirement to be transmogrified.
  
• Various Korthia and Maw weapons now sheathe appropriately.
  
• Alliance Pandaren should now be correctly changed into children by the Inner Child effect from the Experimental Anima Cell toy.
  
• Sanctum Gloomcharger’s Reins, Fallen Charger’s Reins, Soulbound Gloomcharger’s Reins, and Mawsworn Charger’s Reins now appear in the Dressing Room window.

Quests

• Fixed an issue where Brethlun the Brand could become stuck during the quest "The Brand Holds the Key."
  
• Prophet Velen has finally finished his long exhale after the defeat of Argus and is ready for players to turn in quests like "Audience with the Prophet" to him in the Exodar once more.

Torghast

• Anima Powers
  
  • Hunter
    
    • Petrified Pet Food no longer appears to other players in the hunter’s party.
      
  • Priest
    
    • Voidwraith Signet no longer procs from Ashen Phylacteries.
      

Class Tuning in Progress -- July 13

With Season 2 now underway and Mythic Difficulty Sanctum of Domination opening with scheduled maintenance next week, we’re working on a tuning pass for a few Classes.

As always, these are subject to further change before they go live, and we’ll have the final adjustments in our hotfixes update next week.

Hunter

• Beast Mastery
  
  • Kill Command, Cobra Shot, Barbed Shot, Multi-Shot, and Kill Shot damage increased by 15%.
• Marksmanship
  
  • Aimed Shot, Arcane Shot, Multi-Shot, and Rapid Fire damage increased by 10%.
  • Kill Shot damage increased by 15%.
• Survival
  
  • Serpent Sting, Wildfire Bomb, Raptor Strike, Mongoose Bite, Flanking Strike, and Kill Shot damage increased by 10%.

Mage

• Fire
  
  • Fireball damage increased by 20%.
  • Fire Blast damage increased by 15%.
  • Pyroblast damage increased by 5%.

Priest

• Shadow
  
  • Devouring Plague damage reduced by 8%.
  • Dissonant Echoes’ (Conduit) Void Bolt damage reduced by 5%.

Warlock

• Affliction
  
  • Damage of all spells increased by 5%.

Sanctum of Domination Trinket Tuning

We’ve made several adjustments to the power of a few Sanctum of Domination trinkets that will be going live with next week’s scheduled maintenance.

All values mentioned below are for item level 226 trinkets. Higher item level versions will also be updated proportionally:

• Titanic Ocular Gland now grants 117 of your highest secondary stat (was 112).
• Tome of Monstrous Constructions now grants your damaging abilities a very high chance to deal 507 additional Shadow damage to your studied foe (was 467).
• Shadowed Orb of Torment now grants 432 Mastery (was 268).
• Ebonsoul Vise can now critically strike, is improved by your Haste, and deals damage immediately on application. Its damage over time effect has been reduced to 781 (was 1,324).
• Salvaged Fusion Amplifier now causes your attacks to have a very high chance to deal 1,290 Arcane damage (was 1,189).

As always, these are subject to further change before they go live, and we’ll have the final adjustments in our hotfixes update next week.

Testing of Same-Faction Battlegrounds Will Continue

First and foremost, thank you to everyone who played Battlegrounds last week and sent us thoughtful and informed feedback on same-faction play. While we don’t plan to re-enable it again over the next few days, we’re analyzing the data we collected, and we’re planning to test more soon.

Here are some of our initial findings that will inform our next test:

• Before this test, most players who joined the queue were unable to get a match, sometimes after waiting for over an hour and/or dropping out of the queue altogether. This was particularly unfortunate at some times of day or in some regions. During the test, BG queue times became short and reliable for both factions.
• Prior to the first test, we wondered if the queue was having an effect on PvP in the outdoor world, and we now have data showing that when same-faction Battlegrounds were available, PvP deaths in the outdoor world were very close to 50/50 between the factions.
• Similarly, win-rates for the two factions when facing the other faction in Battlegrounds were close to 50/50.

We’ll let you know as soon as we’ve completed our analysis, have decided on any further tweaks to the system, and are ready to test it again.

And again, thank you very much for your feedback as we explore potential solutions.

[Qnubi]

Nice! I was almost respeccing into Frost and craft a new legendary but decided to wait. Fire looks to be viable again!

Also: Nice to see Blizz giving Hunters some love, they desperately need it. I was fine with going Frost for 9.1, at least I had a decent specc unlike Hunters that have nothing.

[Specialka]

Nice! I was almost respeccing into Frost and craft a new legendary but decided to wait. Fire looks to be viable again!

Still weak compared to frost and arcane.

[stoffe]

huge buffs for hunter, and BM hunters. Was really needed Thanks for the buffs!

[thunderdragon2]

wont make us top which im happy with now we can be competitive in most situations now and maybe not over looked in m+, buff we sorely needed

[ryjkur]

hunter buffs doesn't make sense. Our hunters were top 4 in every fight...

[sensei-]

Hunters are now decent in raid and really awesome in m+.

[Azerox]

Fire buffed, seems like a friend in high places is playing that spec.
Was fun seeing Arcane and Frost Mages. Fire is boring af.

[froschhure]

Class tuning should get renamed into random buff generator

[TheLucky1]

Fire buffed, seems like a friend in high places is playing that spec.
Was fun seeing Arcane and Frost Mages. Fire is boring af.

It's almost like they're actually trying to balance classes each tier and not giving into the immature "but xy spec was good for so long" whiners.

[stoffe]

hunter buffs doesn't make sense. Our hunters were top 4 in every fight...

Then get better DPS players. Hunters are/was trash in raid before this buffs.

[JustaWarlock]

It's almost like they're actually trying to balance classes each tier and not giving into the immature "but xy spec was good for so long" whiners.

Nice one lol.

Except the absolutely gutted Affliction into the literal dumpster. The 5% aura buff is meaningless.

Good to see massive fire buffs though. Can't have mages have any weaknesses.

[Qnubi]

Still weak compared to frost and arcane.

Nah, it's comparable now.

[TheLucky1]

Nice one lol.

Except the absolutely gutted Affliction into the literal dumpster. The 5% aura buff is meaningless.

Good to see massive fire buffs though. Can't have mages have any weaknesses.

Nice one lol.

"As always, these are subject to further change before they go live, and we’ll have the final adjustments in our hotfixes update next week."

And before the next one whines they never do changes after the first iteration, they did during CN tuning week.

[Specialka]

Nah, it's comparable now.

You are free to have your opinion but it does go against the fact.

[JustaWarlock]

"As always, these are subject to further change before they go live, and we’ll have the final adjustments in our hotfixes update next week."

Don't worry, it's only alpha/beta/prepatch/9/9.1/9.2/9.3/next expansion will fix it.

[TheLucky1]

Don't worry, it's only alpha/beta/prepatch/9/9.1/9.2/9.3/next expansion will fix it.

Here is a how to fix it instantly:
1. don't be a trash player.
2. you have 2 more specs as warlock that are doing quite well right now.

[Mhyroth]

Buffing Mages
Class which defo needs it lol.

[JustaWarlock]

Here is a how to fix it instantly:

What happened to "don't worry guyz, they're balancing things gud" that you were spewing earlier?

[Appelgren]

Beast Mastery
Kill Command, Cobra Shot, Barbed Shot, Multi-Shot, and Kill Shot damage increased by 15%.

Do they follow arena at all? This is absolutely braindead. BM will be even more faceroll now.