On November 2 Blizzard published the final notes before launch. It is the biggest patch since the beta opened: it raises the damage of every class, reworks the rogue and removes Lava Burst from the shaman.
In short
- More damage for every class and more health on high-level creatures. Blizzard admits that sticking to Classic budgets left iconic abilities weak.
- Reworked rogue: Shank, Poised and Death Mark come in; Murder and Thousand Cuts go out.
- Warrior: Reckless Swings and Improved Whirlwind in Fury, and Defensive Stance goes from 30% to 80% threat.
- Shaman: goodbye to Lava Burst; Elemental stays on lightning.
- No big adjustments until the raids, except for bugs or extreme cases. What you pick tomorrow should not change much over the next month.
A warning about our data. These changes are not in the client yet. In our talent calculator, new or moved talents sit in the row the notes give, but the column is provisional until the game is out.
Why everything goes up
Blizzard's explanation is the most interesting part of the notes. Everything new they added had to come out of something else, because they were sticking to each class's power in Classic. That is why they raised damage across the game and, to compensate, the health of high-level creatures.
They also admit that some fixes taken from Burning Crusade or Wrath were too fast, and have replaced them with ones native to Forever. Their goal, they say, is not numerical parity but for each class to contribute to its group and have its moments. After launch they will do a big review once they have data from people leveling past 30.
For all classes
- Training costs a total of 206 to 207 gold from 1 to 60.
- Learning a spell no longer adds it to your action bars automatically.
- Low ranks: talents no longer penalize their use, except Blizzard (the spell) with ranks more than 12 levels below.
- Starting zones: enemies respawn faster to withstand the launch rush; this will be lowered later.
- Bags: they no longer equip themselves.
- Base stats: fixed for all races. A tauren warrior starts with +5 strength compared to a human (before, +2).
- Controller: you can now play everything with it. We cover it in controller, Mac and Steam Deck.
Rogue
It is the class that changes the most. Read its up-to-date guide and try your spread in the calculator.
- Shank (level 24, rank 2 at 44): 5 energy, 10 s cooldown, 50% of off-hand damage, generates 15 and 25 energy, and cannot miss.
- Poised (passive at 18): out of combat and with full energy, your next ability costs 10 less.
- Poisons: Deadly Poison and Instant Poison scale twice as much with attack power.
Assassination: Murder is gone. Lethality drops to 2 points. Relentless Strikes moves down to row 5 with 5 points. Venom becomes a passive tied to Shank. Blood Splatter extends Rupture by 6 s and Garrote by 9 s. Mutilate moves up to row 7 and hits harder.
Combat: Coup de Grace replaces Improved Eviscerate and Efficient Strikes replaces Improved Sinister Strike (it also makes Hemorrhage cheaper). Composure improves Poised and Flash of Steel makes Shank more frequent and rewarding. Aggression no longer affects Backstab.
Subtlety: the old Coup de Grace, Cutthroat, Improved Distract and Thousand Cuts are gone. Ghostly Strike opens Ambush or Garrote without Stealth. Boot Knife gives combo points with Shank. Death Mark is the new 31-point talent: a finisher that stores damage for 6 s and unleashes it all at once.
Warrior
Its guide and its calculator.
- Defensive Stance: threat from 30% to 80%. Slam: 15 s cooldown.
- Arms: Improved Tactical Mastery at 3 points; Two-Handed Weapon Specialization at 2/4/6%; Bloodthrill at 2 points; Improved Slam reduces 2.5/5 s.
- Fury: Reckless Swings spends health in exchange for rage; Improved Whirlwind lowers the cooldown and hits the nearest enemy harder; Flurry at 3 points, from 10 to 30%; Bloodthirst now requires Death Wish.
- Protection: Defiance at 7/13/20%.
Shaman
Its guide and its calculator.
- Lava Burst is gone, from all texts. Call of Thunder replaces it (+5% crit). Elemental Mastery is renamed Lightning Mastery.
- Lightning Bolt gains a lot of damage at high ranks. Chain Lightning goes to 2.5 s, with more damage and more cost. Shocks go back to their Classic numbers.
- Lightning Overload: 10/20/30%.
- Enhancement: Stormstrike at 150% normalized and 6 s; Mental Dexterity up to 150% of intellect; Maelstrom Weapon jumps twice as much.
- Restoration: Riptide only heals over time, costs less and its cooldown rises to 12 s.
- Totemic Call (formerly Totemic Projection) brings your totems to you, every 30 s.
The other classes
- Hunter: Aimed Shot +110% extra damage, Arcane Shot +30%, Serpent Sting +20%. Traps share 30 s. Barrage up to 15% and Sniper Shot with double the extra damage.
- Druid: Poised at 32. Bear Form rises to 115% threat. Shred at 200%, Claw at 140%, Ravage at 435%, and Starfire +40%.
- Warlock: Wrack hits more than double at level 60, but pets have much less health and Drain Soul gives fewer shards.
- Mage: goodbye to Frost Blast. Ice Lance shares 8 s with Fire Blast.
- Paladin: Righteous Fury at level 10. Salvation, Mass Salvation, Revoke and Blessing of Light are gone.
- Priest: Shadow Word: Death returns 30% if it does not kill.
Everything, entry by entry and by tree, in the patch notes.
What to do before tomorrow
- Check your class in the talent calculator: saved rogue, warrior and shaman builds warn you that the data changed.
- Review your macros. We removed the ones that used Lava Burst and Salvation from the class macros.
- If you are still unsure about a class, the nine classes compared are up to date.
Frequently asked questions
Does Lava Burst still exist in WoW Forever?
No. Blizzard removes it with the launch patch and replaces it with Call of Thunder, which gives 5% crit to Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning.
What is the rogue's Shank?
A new ability learned at 24: it costs 5 energy, generates 15 (25 at rank 2) and has a 10 s cooldown. Several new talents revolve around it.
Will there be more changes before the raids?
Blizzard says it will not make big adjustments until the raids, except for bugs or extreme cases. Afterwards it will do a big review with data from those who pass level 30.
Are these talents already in the game?
Not yet. They are not in the client, which is where we get our data. They arrive with launch. That is why the column of new or moved talents is provisional in our calculator.
Why do my saved builds show a warning?
Because rogue, warrior and shaman have changed trees. Open them and spread your points again.
