On September 30 Blizzard started a series we had been waiting for: the development team explains, class by class, what changes in WoW Forever and why. Two installments are out, one on the Hunter and Druid and another on the Priest and Warrior, and they say they will cover the rest as the beta goes on. It's the closest thing to design notes Blizzard has published so far.
Here are the essentials in our own words. Names of spells and talents are the official English ones. Everything can change during the beta, and Blizzard repeats that in both installments.
In short
| From what level are there talents? | From level 10, with the same row structure as Classic |
| Which "gold medal" talents are there? | The usual ones at 11, 21 and 31 points, plus a new one at 16 points in each tree |
| Where do you change talents? | At your class trainer in a major city (Legacy talents too) |
| Is there dual specialization? | Yes, at level 40 |
| What happens to buffs that used to be talents? | Several become baseline, like Blessing of Kings or the Mark of the Wild improvement |
| When does the new stuff arrive? | Part of it is already in the beta; some Druid talents arrive with next week's build |
The Hunter
Blizzard's idea: a more flexible Hunter that is still the pet class and the ranged class, but can bet heavily on the pet, skip it entirely, or mix ranged and melee play.
What becomes baseline and what changes:
- Aimed Shot is learned by every Hunter at level 20, no talent needed. Arcane Shot no longer shares a cooldown with it; Multi-Shot now does.
- Traps can be set in combat, but their cooldown goes up to 30 seconds, and Frost and Fire traps have separate cooldowns. They can still only be placed at your own feet.
- Aspect of the Beast also grants melee Attack Power, Disengage removes twice as much threat, and Scorpid Sting now lowers the target's chance to hit by 2%.
The pet is the big change. It gains stats from the Hunter's gear, but no longer receives stat buffs from players. Every family can learn Bite or Claw (sometimes both) and a charge or a sprint, and each family has one ability only it has: the bear hits three targets, the crocolisk halves the healing the target receives, the wolf raises the party's melee Attack Power, the cat can stealth… And a new family arrives, the fox, which dodges more and attacks faster for a few seconds. If you're wondering how your pet learns those abilities, see our guide to hunter pet abilities and hunter pets.
Talents that change how you play:
- Beast Mastery: Summon Hawk (16-point talent) deals instant damage and brings out a hawk that attacks for 18 seconds; you can have two. Focused Fire raises all your damage and your pet's while the pet is out.
- Marksmanship: Lone Wolf (11 points) gives 20% more damage if you have no pet, the first time the game rewards playing without one. Trueshot Aura drops to row 4 as a 21-point talent, and the 31-point talent is Sniper Shot: a 4-second cast, more damage than Aimed Shot, 45 yards of range and +10 yards on your next three shots.
- Survival: it becomes a real melee tree. Counterattack moves to 16 points, Strider Kick (21) hits and gives you speed, and Lacerating Strikes (31) makes Mongoose Bite leave a bleed.
What doesn't change, and Blizzard says it plainly: the Hunter only does damage (the pet tanks solo or in small groups), can't stun or interrupt, and still has the dead zone of 8 yards.
The Druid
Here the goal is that changing form doesn't punish you. It's the installment with the most changes.
Forms:
- Potions and almost all consumables can be used without leaving the form, rage potions included. Engineering bombs still can't be used, apart from some new recipes designed for it.
- Weapon enchants, weightstones and the Shaman's Windfury Totem effects work while shapeshifted. Auto-attack damage in Bear or Cat Form becomes your weapon's DPS, at a fixed speed depending on the form.
- You can open doors and objects and use racial abilities without leaving the form (Shadowmeld, War Stomp, Walk on Air).
- Tiger's Fury is removed and replaced by a new Feral talent, Shifting Power.
What becomes baseline and what changes: Revive, an out-of-combat resurrection, at level 12; Nature's Grasp at level 10 (castable in form and indoors); Omen of Clarity at level 20, and Wrath no longer consumes its effect because it now costs very little mana. Lacerate arrives at level 42 for the bear. Hurricane loses its cooldown, Entangling Roots can be cast indoors and Faerie Fire can be cast in Bear or Cat Form at no cost, with a 6-second cooldown.
Talents:
- Balance: Insect Swarm moves here as a 16-point talent, Eclipse shortens your Starfire casts after casting Wrath, and Moonkin Form gives its party crit bonus to all spells and attacks (and no longer stacks with Leader of the Pack).
- Feral Combat: two 16-point talents on the same row, one for the cat (Shifting Power: 40 energy instantly in exchange for a lot of mana, which brings back "powershifting" in a simpler way) and one for the bear (Primal Bite). The 31-point talent is Berserk, inspired by Wrath of the Lich King.
- Restoration: Swiftmend drops to 16 points and no longer consumes your Rejuvenation or Regrowth. The 31-point talent is Wild Growth, also from Wrath, adapted: it heals the target's whole party over time, starting strong and tapering every second.
Heads up: Shifting Power, its improved version and the row change for Shredding Attacks are not in the beta yet: Blizzard says they arrive with next week's build.
The Priest
More tools for every Priest, whatever their race.
What becomes baseline and what changes:
- Fear Ward and Devouring Plague are learned by all Priests at level 20, whatever their race. They stop being racials.
- Divine Spirit is baseline at level 30, and Shadow Word: Death arrives at level 32: instant damage, but if it doesn't kill the target, you lose 10% of your maximum health.
- Prayer of Healing heals the target's party, not your own. Renew from several Priests stacks on the same target. Fade removes twice as much threat.
- Racial spells: each race keeps two, and they've been reviewed. Gnomes get theirs for the first time. You can see them one by one, with their client numbers, on the Priest page.
Talents:
- Discipline: Soul Warding (16 points) shortens and cheapens Power Word: Shield, Penance (21) heals or damages by channeling for 2 seconds, and Divine Aegis turns critical heals into a shield.
- Holy: Binding Heal (16) heals you and your target at once, and Prayer of Mending (31) bounces among five party members. Lightwell is gone.
- Shadow: Vampiric Embrace drops to 16 points, Devouring Contagion makes Devouring Plague jump to another enemy if the target dies, and Shadowform changes how you play: less damage bonus, half the mana cost on Shadow spells and double the critical damage.
The Warrior
The installment opens with a confession: Rage has bugs in the beta, and Blizzard estimates it may take a couple of weeks to fix them. It also explains how Rage works in Forever:
- From taking damage: the usual formula, but ignoring your Armor (as if you always had 50% mitigation) and ignoring absorb shields. Wearing plate no longer costs you Rage.
- From dealing damage: it depends on weapon speed. In the beta crits gave no extra Rage; they will now give 75% more.
What becomes baseline and what changes: Tactical Mastery at level 14 (keep 10 Rage when switching stance), Victory Rush at level 20 (a strike that heals you for 10% after a kill), Recklessness, Retaliation and Shield Wall stop sharing a cooldown (and the last two drop to 15 minutes), Thunder Clap can be used in Defensive Stance, and Sunder Armor works even if the target already has a stronger Expose Armor.
Talents:
- Arms: Spearing Strike (16 points) dismounts the target and does double damage to dragons and giants; Weaponmaster merges all the weapon specializations into one talent; Improved Slam means Slam no longer delays your auto-attack.
- Fury: Raging Blows (16) makes Whirlwind hit with both weapons, Boundless Rage raises your maximum Rage, and Bloodthirst no longer heals you: it gives you 10% movement speed.
- Protection: Vanguard (16) lets you Charge in Defensive Stance, Bastion raises your damage with a shield and Focused Rage makes your attacks cheaper.
What it means for you
- If you play a Hunter: the gear you wear also makes your pet stronger, and Lone Wolf opens a way of playing that didn't exist. Survival is worth trying even if you dismissed it in Classic.
- If you play a Druid: you can drink potions and keep weapon enchants without leaving form, which was the most requested change. And with Revive at level 12 you no longer depend on anyone for an out-of-combat resurrection.
- If you play a Priest: your race matters less than in Classic, because Fear Ward and Devouring Plague are for everyone. But the two racial spells are still different for each race.
- If you play a Warrior: Rage should work better with good armor and with crits, but until they fix the bugs, what you feel in the beta is not the final version.
What's missing and what's next
- The other five classes (Paladin, Rogue, Shaman, Mage and Warlock) don't have their written breakdown yet. For the Warrior, Rogue and Shaman there is an official video with the main points.
- Today, October 1, the beta goes up to level 30 with a new build. When it shows up in the client, we'll update the talent calculator, the spellbook and the patch notes.
- You'll find the exact numbers for each talent on each class page: Hunter, Druid, Priest and Warrior.
Frequently asked questions
From what level do classes have talents in WoW Forever?
From level 10, as in Classic. The row structure is the same, with the special talents at 11, 21 and 31 points and a new one at 16 points in each tree.
Is there dual specialization in WoW Forever?
Yes. According to Blizzard, dual specialization unlocks at level 40, and talents (Legacy ones too) are changed with your class trainer in a major city.
Can Hunter traps be set in combat?
Yes. In Forever traps can be placed in combat, but they have a 30-second cooldown and Frost and Fire traps are tracked separately. They still only appear at your own feet.
Can the Druid use potions in Bear or Cat Form?
Yes. In Forever almost all consumables, rage potions included, can be used without leaving the form. Engineering bombs can't, apart from some new recipes.
Is Fear Ward still a Dwarf racial?
No. In Forever Fear Ward and Devouring Plague are learned by all Priests at level 20. Each race keeps two racial spells of its own, which have been reviewed.
