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By Staff
Frost is on the Death Knight tuning table this time around! There's new talents throughout the three and even two new capstones, as well as Breath of Sindragosa, Frostscythe and other skill improvements.
Frost (Source)
Hello, Death Knights–
This week’s Alpha update includes another round of changes for Death Knights – this time focused on the Frost tree. Like our last round of changes for Unholy, we looked at talents that felt more appropriate to be baseline for the spec and talents that worked better as 1 rank instead of 2. Notably, we made Fatal Fixation and Rime baseline, reduced Frostwhelp’s Aid, Enduring Strength, and cut both Cold-Blooded Rage and Invigorating Freeze and reduced their new talents to 1 rank.
The goal with the above changes is to cut down on build friction allowing for more customization as you spec through the tree. These changes alongside other talent movements and new pathing connections should help create a better experience for build variety.
We’ve also created a variety of new talents and added 2 new capstones that focus on your auto-attacks which should help give some better sustained damage outside of Pillar of Frost windows. These talents also complement both Obliteration and Breath of Sindragosa builds and add some unique gameplay that expands on the Shattering Blade talent node.
We’ve added Razorice to the targets unit frame to allow easier tracking on when to use Frost Strike. Frostscythe has also seen an update to move it out of the regular rotational rune spender to a big heavy hitter on a medium cooldown. Its rune cost has been increased to 2 and its damage has been greatly increased and is always guaranteed to critically strike. It also has unique mechanic that reduces its cooldown when you consume Killing Machine which has some fun synergy with the suite of new auto-attack talents we’ve added to help your Killing Machine procs.
Lastly, we increased Breath of Sindragosa damage to compensate for the loss of uptime from our first round of changes which should lend itself to a burstier playstyle with less focus on “infinite” duration buffs. We are keeping an eye on its current Runic Power cost which is unchanged since its increase in Dragonflight. From our internal testing, we’re seeing 30-40 second breaths, based on situations but the are many scenarios where it can feel extremely tight as you wait for Runes to replenish, which means we may need to look at its cost per second and pulling out some runic power generation elsewhere.
We would love your feedback on how the current iteration of Breath of Sindragosa feels on uptime. Tangentially, we still have some work we’d like to do on Obliteration build resources especially as it pertains to Runic Power consumption as it can still be flooded a bit inside cooldowns.
Thank you for the continued feedback. Our next round of changes will be focused on Blood updates, Unholy, and Core talent iteration based on feedback we’ve received so far.
And here are the actual changes from the development notes:
Frost (Source)
DEATH KNIGHT Frost New Talent: Shattered Frost – When Frost Strike consumes 5 Razorice stacks, it deals 50% of the damage deal to nearby enemies. Deals reduced damage beyond 8 targets. Available as a capstone talent after Shattering Blade. New Talent: Arctic Assault – Consuming Killing Machine fires a Glacial Advance through your target. Available as a new capstone directly after Obliteration. New Talent: Smothering Offense – Your auto attack damage is increased by 5%. This amount is increased per stack of Icy Talons you have and can stack up to 2 additional times. New Talent: Icy Death Torrent – Your auto attack critical strikes have a chance to send out a sleet of ice dealing Frost damage to enemies in front of you. New Talent: The Long Winter – While Pillar of Frost is active, your auto-attack critical strikes increase its duration by 1 second, up to a maximum of 5 seconds. Frostscythe has been redesigned – A sweeping attack that strikes all enemies in front of you for Frost damage. This attack always critically strikes and critical strikes with Frostscythe deal normal damage. Deals reduced damage beyond 5 targets. Consuming Killing Machine reduces the cooldown of Frostscythe by 1 second. Now has a 30 second cooldown and Rune cost increased to 2 (was 1). Rime is now a baseline ability learned at level 21. Breath of Sindragosa damage increased by 25%. Chill Streak can now bounce off the Death Knight if a second enemy target isn’t found. Enduring Strength is now a 1-point talent. Strength increased to 20% (was 10%). Frostwhelp’s Aid is now a 1-point talent. Now grants 8% Mastery per target hit (was 4%). Killing Machine now stacks 1 additional time. Everfrost is now learned in gate 1 directly after Howling Blast. Frostwyrm’s Fury position moved to gate 2 and located directly after Icecap, Frostwhelp’s Aid, and Enduring Strength. Absolute Zero shifted up to gate 3 unlock positioned directly behind Frostwyrm’s Fury. Shattering Blade is now available after Avalanche. Rune of Razorice now displays the debuff on the enemy nameplate. The following talents have been removed: Fatal Fixation Cold Blooded-Rage Invigorating Freeze Horn of Winter is now positioned in Fatal Fixations old location. Empower Rune Weapon is now located in Horn of Winter’s old location. Obliteration has replaced Cold-Blooded Rage. -
By Starym
We have some outdoor items being fixed so they can interact with the Revival Catalyst and get their sockets upgraded in retail, along with an Azure Vault and mount fix. Meanwhile in Cataclysm Classic we have class changes and some cockroach and fly quest fixes!
May 14 (Source)
Dungeons
Azure Vault Fixed an issue causing the time requirement reaching two and three chests on Mythic Keystone difficulty was lower than intended. Items
Veteran and Champion track items obtained from outdoor activities should now be eligible for conversion at the Revival Catalyst. This fix is retroactive. Veteran and Champion track rings, necklaces, and armor obtained from outdoor activities should now be eligible for socket upgrades. This fix is retroactive. Mounts
Fixed an issue causing the Rostrum of Transformation to require level 70. Non-player Characters
Cheered up Thomas Bright who was feeling a little low. Cataclysm Classic
Fixed missing text in guildmaster's Rank Permissions panel so that it is clear that the checkbox controls whether the guild rank is considered an officer rank. Fixed an issue that would cause Cockroach Cabins to be uninteractable, preventing the daily "Roach Coach" quest from being completed. Fixed an issue that prevented players from interacting with the objects required to complete the "Would You Like Some Flies With That?" daily quest. Mage Fixed a problem with Focus Magic being useable while not talented into it. Living Bomb critical strikes will no longer trigger Ignite. It did not trigger Ignite in original Cataclysm, as even its final detonation was considered periodic damage. Shaman Flametongue Totem will no longer stack with other Spell power increasing effects. Warlock Drain Life will no longer turn its target permanently green until they log out. -
By Staff
Priests got some changes to their Voidreaver Hero tree, as Blizzard apply some experimental adjustments to make its gameplay more smooth.
Priest (Source)
The Voidweaver changes in today’s Alpha build are experimental and were aimed at trying to resolve an issue where Void Torrent was required to make the hero talent tree work.
We hear you that the gameplay isn’t as smooth with spawning an Entropic Rift from Shadow Crash, and we will likely move it back to spawning from Void Torrent.
On Shadow Crash firing at your target instead of using a reticle: this was also an experimental change, and if we do end up moving forward with this change in place, we will provide an option to players to use a reticle through a choice node.
And here are the actual changes, as well as a Shadow adjustment as well:
Priest (Source)
Voidweaver Developer’s note: The goal of these changes is to make Collapsing Void work better with Discipline Priest’s Atonement ramp, as well as to make Collapsing Void more relevant for encounters with lower health enemies. For Discipline Priests who want to better fit Collapsing Void into their Atonement window, they can choose Void Empowerment to help with that. In addition, Devour Matter felt like an odd choice against Void Empowerment, so now it is a node that you are guaranteed to have. Entropic Rift duration reduced to 8 seconds (was 10 seconds). Void Torrent now immediately summons Entropic Rift and pauses its duration until the channel is complete or interrupted. Darkening Horizon extension for Entropic Rift capped at 3 seconds (was 5 seconds). Void Empowerment redesigned for Discipline – Now extends your shortest 5 Atonements by 1 seconds (was 80% increase to your next Power Word: Shield). Void Empowerment is now a choice node with Darkening Horizon instead of Devour Matter. Shadow Entropic Rift is now summoned by Shadow Crash instead of Void Torrent. Inner Quietus has been redesigned – Shadow Crash deals 400% additional damage to its primary target (was Vampiric Touch and Shadow Word: Pain damage increased by 20%). Shadow Shadow Crash now centers on your target, rather than using a reticle to target a position on the ground. -
By Staff
Druids get plenty of changes in today's Alpha build, with two Hero trees getting significant changes, as Keeper of the Grove and Wildstalker are improved.
Druid (Source)
Hello Druids,
There are a couple pieces of feedback we received on Keeper of the Grove that informed today’s updates.
Keeper of the Grove
Dream Surge: Dream Burst damage reduced by 15%. Harmony of the Grove: Force of Nature treants increase spell damage by 5% (was 3%). Power of Nature now increases Force of Nature Treant melee damage by 100% (was 20%). Bounteous Bloom: Each treant generates 6 Astral Power per 2 seconds (was 3 Astral Power). Early Spring: Now reduces the cooldown of Force of Nature by 15 seconds (was 10 seconds). Cenarius’ Might design updated: Balance: Entering Eclipse / Restoration: Casting Swiftmend increases your Haste by 8% for 6 seconds. Power of the Dream no longer affects Cenarius’ Might. Control of the Dream’s maximum effect increased to 15 seconds (was 5 seconds). Grove’s Inspiration: Wrath and Starfire damage bonus reduced to 10% (was 12%). Persistent Enchantments has been replaced by Potent Enchantments: Balance: Orbital Strike applies Stellar Flare for 8 additional seconds and deals 30% increased damage. Greater Alignment increases the duration of Celestial Alignment by an additional 20% and increases Eclipse damage during Celestial Alignment by an additional 5%. Reforestation grants Tree of Life for 2 additional seconds. First, we heard your concerns that maximizing Cenarius’ Might’s value would significantly restrict your rotations as both Balance and Restoration, so we replaced it with a simpler bonus that lets you play how you want while still empowering your burst phases.
We also heard that you felt 5 seconds on Control of the Dream wouldn’t give you meaningful flexibility, so we are trying it at 15 seconds. There are also some tuning updates and a change to Persistent Enchantments to reflect design changes to Balance Druid.
Thank you!
Wildstalker
Symbiotic Blooms now prioritize growing on injured targets. Strategic Infusion’s chance for your periodic heals to crit is decreased to 8% (was 10%), but its duration is increased to 10 seconds (was 6 seconds). Wildstalker’s Power has been updated: Rip and Ferocious Bite damage increased by 5%. Rejuvenation, Efflorescence, and Lifebloom healing increased by 10%. New Talent replacing Wildstalker’s Persistence: Lethal Preservation: When you remove an effect with Soothe or Remove Corruption / Nature’s Cure, gain a combo point and heal for 4% of your maximum health. If you are at full health an injured party or raid member will be healed instead. Root Network now increases the healing of all your abilities, not just Lifebloom and Wild Growth. Implant has been updated: When you gain or lose Tiger’s Fury, your next single-target melee ability causes a Bloodseeker Vine to grow on the target for 4 seconds. Swiftmend causes a Symbiotic Bloom to grow on the target for 4 seconds. Twin Sprouts’ chance to grow new vines increased to 20% (was 10%). Resilient Flourishing can now cause Bloodseeker Thorns to spread to any nearby valid target, preferring ones currently unaffected by Bloodseeker Thorns. Bursting Growth has been updated: When Bloodseeker Thorns expire or you use Ferocious Bite on their target they explode in thorns, dealing physical damage to nearby enemies. Damage reduced above 5 targets. When Symbiotic Blooms expire or you cast Rejuvenation on their target flowers grow around their target, healing them and up to 3 nearby allies. Entangling Vortex now immobilizes affected units for 3 seconds. This round of updates to Wildstalker has a couple goals. First, we’re increasing the number of Thriving Growth vines and blooms you’ll see at any moment. We heard that you feel the tree is on the passive side, so we’re adding some more effects that interact with vines and blooms, without those interactions taking over your rotations.
The new Implant will give both Feral and Restoration Druids more control over what targets they want vines growing on, and the update to Bursting Growth rewards you for targeting allies or enemies with your vines with your other abilities.
We’re also simplifying and strengthening several effects that worked on a subset of your abilities, like Wildstalker’s Power and Root Network.
We appreciate all of your feedback and testing!
And here are some of the non-Hero-tree changes from the development notes:
Druid (Source)
Druid of the Claw Bestial Strength increases Primal Wrath’s direct damage by 50% (was 100%). Dreadful Wound bleed damage increased by 25%. Feral New Talent: Resourceful Hunter – Leech increased by 2%. Versatility increased by 2%. Rampant Ferocity restored, replacing Resourceful Hunter – Ferocious Bite also deals damage per combo point spent to all nearby enemies affect by your Rip. Damage reduced beyond 5 targets. Rampant Ferocity damage relative to Ferocious Bite increased by 20%. Tear Open Wounds has been removed. -
By Staff
We're looking at the latest Monk changes from the War Within Alpha.
Blizzard made some changes to Monk's Vivacious Vivification, Fury of Xuen, and added a new PvP Talent called Absolute Serenity. Descriptions are available below:
(Source)
CLASSES
MONK Vivacious Vivification now additionally increases the healing of your next Vivify. Windwalker Fury of Xuen now increases Haste, Mastery, and Critical Strike chance by 3% (was Critical Strike chance by 5%).
PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER
MONK New PvP Talent: Absolute Serenity – Celestial Conduit now prevents incapacitate, disorient, snare, and root effects for its duration. Kaivax explained the change to Revival that caps the amount of magical debuffs the spell can dispell off of each target is intended for Battleground, where the ability has been overly oppressive to other specs that rely on magic debuffs to function.
(Source)
Hello Mistweavers!
We’ve made an update to Revival in this Alpha build that caps the amount of magical debuffs the spell can dispel off of each target.
This is mainly targeted at Battlegrounds, where Revival has been overly oppressive to other specializations that rely on magic debuffs to function. We are not expecting this to impact PvE.
Thank you for your feedback!
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