[2023] Class Tuning Incoming – January 24

In addition to the class changes that are part of the 10.0.5 patch, during scheduled weekly maintenance on Tuesday, January 24, we will make a number of tuning adjustments to specializations based on their performance in Raid and M+ content. It’s our intent that these changes help make these specializations viable options for raid and dungeon content.

Druid

• Balance
  • Fixed an issue where Cosmic Rapidity did not increase the frequency of Shooting Stars to occur based on the increased rate of Moonfire, Sunfire, and Stellar Flare.
  • Lunar Eclipse now increases the damage Starfire does to nearby enemies by 30% (was 50%).
    • This is an adjustment to the 10.0.5 PTR values for this ability.
• Developers’ notes: The redesign of Lunar Eclipse proved to be a bit overtuned during testing so we’re reining it in a bit. The current tuning should still make Lunar Eclipse the ideal state for when you’re dealing with multiple enemies at once. Additionally, we’re fixing an unintended bug caught during testing that caused Shooting Stars to not benefit from Cosmic Rapidity.
• Restoration
  • Verdancy healing reduced by 10%.
  • Adaptive Swarm now increases the effectiveness of periodic effects by 20% (was 25%) for Restoration druids.
  • Adaptive Swarm healing and damage reduced by 10%.
  • Dreamstate now reduces cooldowns by up to 20 sec while channeling Tranquility (was 15).
• Developer’s notes: We are making targeted adjustments primarily aimed at Restoration Druid’s Mythic Plus performance. Our goal is to also avoid much impact to their raid performance.

Mage

• Fire
  • All ability damage increased by 5%.
• Frost
  • All ability damage increased by 5%.

Monk

• Mistweaver
  • Lesson of Despair now increases critical strike while above 50% health (was 80%).
  • This is an adjustment to the 10.0.5 PTR values for this ability.

Paladin

• Holy
  • Barrier of Faith now accumulates 50% of effective Flash of Light and Holy Light healing (was 40%).

Priest

• Discipline
  • Flash Heal healing increased by 25% (Discipline only).
  • Renew healing increased by 25% (Discipline only).
  • Power Word: Radiance healing increased by 100%.
  • Ultimate Radiance increases the healing done by Power Word: Radiance by 10% (was 100%).
  • Sins of the Many increases damage dealt by 40% at its highest effectiveness (was 30%).
  • Divine Aegis create a protective shield for 3%/6% of critical healing done (was 5%/10%).
• Developers’ notes: Our changes to Discipline are aimed at improving the spec’s ability to react to burst damage, especially in dungeons. At the same time, we’re tuning down a talent that’s contributing more than intended to Discipline’s overall healing. Between these tuning changes and talent changes in 10.0.5, we expect Discipline to be slightly more effective in raids and significantly more effective in dungeons.

Rogue

• Outlaw
• Combat Stamina stamina bonus reduced to 5% (was 10%).
• Developers’ notes: Outlaw’s survivability in challenging content has been consistently higher than what we expect and intend. As a result, we are reducing Combat Stamina’s bonus to a value more appropriate for its position and single-point cost.
• Killing Spree (newly added for 10.0.5) damage reduction value reduced from 65% to 35%.
  • This is an adjustment to the 10.0.5 PTR values for this ability.

Shaman

• Healing Surge healing increased by 15%.
• Mana Spring now restores 400 Mana at level 70 (was 200).
• Totemic Surge reduces the cooldown of Totems by 3 seconds/6 seconds (was 2 seconds/4 seconds).
• Elemental
  • Flame Shock damage increased by 10% (Elemental only).
  • Chain Lightning damage increased by 10% (Elemental only).
  • Lava Beam damage increased by 10%.
  • Earthquake damage increased by 10%.
• Restoration
  • Healing Wave healing increased by 6%.
  • Acid Rain damage increased by 120%.
  • Flame Shock damage increased by 20% (Restoration only).
  • Lava Burst damage increased by 20% (Restoration only).
  • Master of the Elements increases the effectiveness of the Shaman’s next Nature, Physical, or Frost spell by 20% (was 10%).
• Developers’ notes: These changes for both Elemental and Restoration are aimed at improving their capabilities in dungeon content. We feel Restoration is lacking in reactive healing as well as damage contribution, so we’re increasing single target heals and a few damage abilities and talents. We’re also increasing the effectiveness of Master of the Elements, which is intended to encourage weaving in damage spells while healing.

Warlock

• Affliction
  • Harvester of Souls damage increased by 25%.
• Demonology
  • Reign of Tyranny causes Demonic Tyrant to deal 7% additional damage for each stack of Demonic Servitude active at the time of his summon (was 5%).
• Developers’ notes: Overall, we’re happy with Demonology’s AOE capabilities. However, we feel their single-target profile needs a bit of help. We’re increasing the damage output of Reign of Tyranny to accomplish this. Ideally, Reign of Tyranny serves as a strong single-target oriented choice in comparison to Grand Warlock’s Design which works well in content like M+.

Warrior

• Arms
  • Thunder Clap damage increased by 30%.
  • Cleave damage increased by 5%
  • Whirlwind damage increased by 10%.
  • Bladestorm damage increased by 5%.
  • Rend initial damage only (not periodic) increased by 15%.
• Developers’ notes: The 10.0.5 talent tree update for Arms will make for more flexible builds, however, their performance in AOE in Dungeons and Raids hasn’t been where we would like relative to other specs, so we’re additionally making some tweaks to improve things.
• Fury
  • Raging Blow damage increased by 10%.
  • Execute damage increased by 15%.
  • Rampage damage increased by 10%.
  • Annihilator damage increased by 15%.
  • Bloodthirst damage increased by 10%.
  • Bloodbath damage increased by 5%.
• Developers’ notes: Despite a strong start to Season 1, Fury’s performance has fallen behind where we’d like it to be. 10.0.5 will see some minor changes to their talent tree but these are more related to encouraging build diversity than providing more throughput so we’re making some additional changes to help their damage output.
• Protection
  • Brace for Impact now increases block value by 3% (was 5% per stack).
  • Brutal Vitality now causes 10% of the damage you deal to add to your Ignore Pain (was 15%).
  • Shield Specialization now increases block value by 12% per rank (was 15%).
• Developers’ notes: Protection Warriors are currently dominating tank populations. While we do want all tanks to feel powerful, our data and overall perceptions of tanks put Protection Warriors ahead of the pack. We’re making some small talent adjustments that are overbudget to help address this.

Player versus Player

In addition to the above notes and the 10.0.5 patch, during scheduled weekly maintenance on Tuesday, January 20, we will make a number of tuning adjustments to specializations based on their performance in PvP. It’s our intent that these changes help adjust outliers to have a better and more fun gameplay experience in PvP.

Items

• Gladiator’s Distinction (Trinket Set Bonus)
  • Primary stat provided by the bonus decreased by 40%.
  • Stamina provided by the bonus increased by 35%.
• Developers’ notes: We’ve seen that overall PvP pacing, especially in arena, has been very fast as players acquire more gear/tier sets. This leaves less room for player reactions than we would like. In conjunction with the rest of the balance changes, we’re adjusting the primary stat and stamina bonus from Gladiator’s Distinction to help address this.

Death Knight

• Death Strike healing is no longer reduced in PvP Combat (was reduced by 25%).
• Improved Death Strike’s effectiveness is still reduced by 50% in PvP Combat.
• Enfeeble’s enemy damage reduction against the Death Knight is now reduced by 33% in PvP Combat.
• Rune of Spellwarding’s absorb shield is now 33% effective in PvP Combat.
• Rune of Spellwarding’s cast speed reduction is now 33% effective in PvP Combat.
• Unholy
  • Necrotic Wound from Necrotic Wounds now absorbs 4% of healing done (was 5%) and heals the Death Knight for up to 4% of their max health when its effect ends (was 5%).
  • Virulent Plague no longer deals increased damage in PvP Combat (was increased by 30%).
• Developer’s Note: Death Knight survivability continues to be higher than we are comfortable with, especially against casters, so we are targeting passive parts of their defensive kit while adjusting Death Strike’s healing up as a more proactive survivability tool. Additionally, Unholy Death Knights are dealing too much overall damage, so we are adjusting Virulent Plague.

Druid

• Rake damage reduced by 18% in PvP Combat.
• Rip damage reduced by 18% in PvP Combat.
• Ferocious Bite damage reduced by 25% in PvP Combat (was reduced by 20%).
• Balance
  • Orbit Breaker now resets its count when entering an arena match.
  • Full Moon damage reduced to 60% power (was 80% power) when triggered by Orbit Breaker in PvP.
  • Wrath deals 50% increased damage in PvP.
  • Starfire deals 50% increased damage in PvP (was 20%).
  • Starsurge deals 40% increased damage in PvP (was 20%).
  • New Moon, Half Moon, and Full Moon deal 20% increased damage in PvP.
  • Gathering Starstuff (Balance Druid 2 piece set bonus) grants 15% increased damage to Wrath or Starfire per stack (was 20%).
  • Touch of the Cosmos (Balance Druid 4 piece set bonus) grants 20% increased damage to Starsurge (was 35%).
  • Umbral Embrace increases Wrath or Starfire damage by 40% (was 50%) in PvP.
• Feral
  • Feral Frenzy damage reduced by 10% in PvP Combat.
  • Frenzied Regeneration healing reduced by 50% (was reduced by 38%) in PvP Combat (Feral and Restoration only)
• Restoration
  • Frenzied Regeneration healing reduced by 50% (was reduced by 38%) in PvP Combat (Feral and Restoration only).
  • Budding Leaves is now 50% effective in PvP combat (was 70%).
• Developers’ notes: Feral damage has been much higher than we are comfortable with, so we are lowering it. Additionally, both Feral and Restoration have been too survivable when targeted, so we are lowering the healing from Frenzied Regeneration for those specializations. Balance druid’s single target pressure is behind other casters. We’d like to reward them for using cast time spells like Wrath and Starfire a little bit more, while at the same time fixing some issues that caused Orbit Breaker to do more damage than intended.

Evoker

• Devastation
  • Deep Breath deals 20% increased damage in PvP (was 40%).
  • Spellweaver’s Dominance grants 20% increased critical strike damage in PvP (was 30%).
  • Disintegrate deals 20% increased damage in PvP (was 15%).
  • Azure Strike deals 20% increased damage in PvP.
• Developers’ notes: Devastation Evokers’ burst potential is higher than we’d like, so we’re reducing it a bit to give players more time to react to damage.
• Preservation
  • Dream Projection’s heal over time effect can now be dispelled.
  • Dream Projection now costs 4% base mana.
• Developers’ notes: Dream Projection has been more impactful and efficient in Preservation’s healing breakdown than we would like.

Hunter

• Roar of Sacrifice (PvP Talent) now deals 10% of damage the target suffers to the pet (was 20%).
• Developers’ notes: We have been concerned with Hunter pet survivability, particularly during Roar of Sacrifice. We are adjusting the damage transfer from Roar of Sacrifice to help.

Mage

• Arcane
  • Arcane Bombardment is now 40% effective in PvP combat (was 65%).
• Developers’ notes: Arcane Bombardment has remained a more effective execute than we would like after our previous reduction to its effect. We are lowering it again with the goal of increasing the opportunities for opponents to counterplay.

Monk

• Mistweaver
  • Mana Regeneration now decreased by 10% in PvP Combat (was 15%).
  • Enveloping Mist healing increased by 25% while in PvP combat.
  • Chrysalis (PvP Talent) - Reverted a previous change. Now reduces the cooldown of Life Cocoon by 45 seconds.
• Developers’ notes: In a previous recent change, we adjusted Mistweaver mana regeneration. The result was more than we would like, so we are adjusting it back a bit. Enveloping Mist’s healing was reduced for PvE purposes at the start of Dragonflight, so we are increasing its healing to match its previous levels in PvP.

Paladin

• Divine Protection now reduces damage by 30% while in PvP combat (was 20%).
• Flash of Light healing increased by 15% in PvP combat.
• Aura of Reckoning max aura stacks raised to 100 (was 50). The Reckoning effect now activates at 100 stacks.
• Consecration damage increased by 50% in PvP combat.
• Holy
  • Reckoning (PvP talent) now increases the damage of your next Judgment by 25% (was 100%). The tooltip for Aura of Reckoning will be updated to reflect this in a future patch.
  • Holy Light now heals for 75% more in PvP combat (was 40%).
  • Holy Shock healing increased by 15% in PvP combat.
  • Fixed an issue that caused the Judgment from Reckoning to not always critically strike.
• Retribution
  • Final Reckoning damage reduced by 20% in PvP Combat.
  • Radiant Decree damage reduced by 33% in PvP combat.
  • Paladin Retribution Class Set 2-piece now increases the damage of Judgment, Blade of Justice, and Wake of Ashes by 10% in PvP Combat (was 15%).
  • Crusader Strike now deals 80% increased damage in PvP combat (was 30%).
  • Healing Hands now 70% effective in PvP combat (was 50%).
  • Templar’s Verdict damage increased by 10% in PvP combat.
  • Final Verdict damage increased by 10% in PvP combat.
  • Exorcism damage increased by 80% in PvP combat.
  • Lawbringer (PvP talent) now deals up to 8% of the enemy’s maximum health (was 10%).
• Developers’ notes: Aura of Reckoning has been much more powerful than intended, so we are making targeted adjustments to slow down its availability for all Paladins and its healing/damage contribution for Holy Paladins. We are increasing some of Holy’s other healing spells with the goal of a more balanced healing breakdown for this class. Additionally, Paladins have been squishier than we would like, so we are increasing Divine Protection’s defensive capabilities to help in this area. Retribution Paladins have high burst potential without counterplay, so we are adjusting their burst capability downward while bringing up some of their sustain damage, to have a healthier playstyle. Lawbringer has represented a higher-than-expected damage contribution due to Judgment based procs within the Talent Tree, so we are reducing its value slightly.

Shaman

• Earth Unleashed from Unleash Shield now breaks on damage and lasts 2 seconds (was 4 seconds).
• Healing Stream Totem healing is increased by 30% in PvP Combat (was 38%).
• Restoration
  • Water Shield now returns 1% mana when struck by a melee attack in PvP combat (was 2%).
  • Stormkeeper’s damage increase is now 67% effective in PvP Combat (Restoration only).
  • Riptide healing is increased by 10% in PvP Combat (was 15%).
• Elemental
  • Elemental Shaman’s Dragonflight Season 1 2-piece Tier Set bonus has 50% reduced effectiveness in PvP Combat.
  • Primordial Surge’s Lava Burst damage increase is now 60% effective in PvP Combat.
• Developers’ notes: In conjunction with the above game-wide adjustments to their healing spells, we are making further adjustments for healthier gameplay in PvP. Root mechanics typically break on damage, and Unleash Shield was an exception to this, so the root will now break when enough damage occurs. We’re not applying diminishing returns to it, but decreasing its duration as well. Additionally, we felt that Restoration Shaman mana regeneration from Water Shield and burst capability with using Stormkeeper was too high, so we are adjusting those down. Finally, Elemental shamans’ burst has been higher than we would like, with minimal time for opponents to react, especially as players have been obtaining tier set bonuses.

Warrior

• Thunderous Roar (Talent) bleed damage no longer deals reduced damage in PvP (was 50% reduced).
• Uproar (Talent) no longer has a reduced cooldown effect in PvP (was 50% reduced).
• Fury
  • Slaughterhouse (PvP Talent) now lasts 16 seconds (was 12 seconds).
  • Storm of Steel (Talent) no longer has a reduced damage reduction effect in PvP (was 50% reduced).
• Developers’ note: Fury Warriors have fallen behind other melee specializations, so we’re increasing the duration of Slaughterhouse to allow access to the max effectiveness of their healing reduction more often.