WoW Forever Beta Raises Class Damage and Retunes Specs

Since the last full WoW Forever beta update on October 15, Blizzard has spent about two and a half weeks on bugs, class tweaks, and tester feedback.

Trying to keep class power around Classic levels meant every new thing had to come out of something else, so a lot of the iconic abilities felt weak. Blizzard wrote: "So over the last two weeks, we’ve raised damage on classes across the game, and have increased the health of higher level creatures to compensate." The aim "is not perfect numerical equality, but rather for every class to feel valuable to the groups they join, with powerful, unforgettable moments brought on by mastering them."

Aside from bugs and serious outliers, Blizzard doesn’t plan big tuning changes before raids open next month. A bigger pass comes once people leveling past 30 give them enough data. They also said classes "will continue to evolve over the course of the months and years ahead just as they did following the original launch in 2004."

Fixes include Throw’s windup timer, the Replica Ironforge Air Rifle reward, the quitter debuff cut from 5 minutes to 40 seconds, a stun cut from 3 seconds to 2.5, correct base stats for all races, and diminishing returns on proc roots. Low-rank spells no longer cut talent proc chance, except the Blizzard spell. New spells no longer jump onto your bars. Training from 1-60 now costs between 206 and 207 gold for every class, with Warlock totals reduced by expected Grimoire costs.

On Druid, Bear and Dire Bear threat is up now that Blessing of Salvation is gone, Lacerate is now a Feral talent, and several Feral and Balance numbers are higher. Hunters share one 30-second trap cooldown, and Aimed Shot, Arcane Shot, and Serpent Sting deal more damage. Mages lose Frost Blast and Piercing Ice; Ice Barrier now boosts Frost damage when you use it. Paladins train Righteous Fury at 10 instead of 16. Salvation, Mass Salvation, Revoke, and Blessing of Light are gone, and Righteous Fury is what pushes your threat up.

Priests lose Binding Heal. In its slot, Holy Binding heals the Priest for 50% of any Flash Heal cast on someone else. Shadow Word: Death now costs 30% of maximum health when it fails to kill, up from 10%, and nothing when it misses. Rogues get the biggest rework: Poised at 18 takes 10 Energy off the next ability when out of combat at full Energy, and Shank at 24 is an off-hand strike that costs 5 Energy and gives back 15. Venom becomes a Shank passive that raises Poison damage by 30% for 6 seconds, Thousand Cuts is gone, and Subtlety's new capstone is Death Mark, a finisher that stores a share of your damage and deals it after 6 seconds.

Shamans lose Lava Burst. Call of Thunder takes its slot with 5% more crit chance on Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning, and Elemental Mastery is renamed Lightning Mastery. Lightning Bolt and Stormstrike hit harder, and Riptide is now heal over time only, on a 12-second cooldown. Warlock pets get 2 health per point of the Warlock's Stamina instead of 7.5, Spellstones boost only Shadow damage, and Wrack does more than twice its old damage at 60. Warriors get an 80% threat bonus in Defensive Stance, up from 30%, and Slam's cooldown drops to 15 seconds. Flurry reaches 30% attack speed in 3 points instead of 25% in 5, and Bloodthirst now requires Death Wish.

Blizzard thanked everyone who tested and said, "we can’t wait to see you on November 4!"