Apex Talent Points, Class Sets, Many UI and Class Changes: Midnight Alpha Dev Notes, November 6th

Hello testers! Here are this week’s notes for Midnight Alpha:

CLASS SETS

• Havoc Demon Hunter
  • 2-set bonus: Blade Dance damage increased by 15%.
  • 4-set bonus: Your Haste is increased by an additional 6% during Metamorphosis.
• Vengeance Demon Hunter
  • 2-set bonus: Fracture damage increased by 30%.
  • 4-set bonus: Fracture has a 30% chance to explode while shattering your enemy’s soul, causing moderate Fire damage onto nearby enemies. Damage reduced beyond 5 targets.
• Assassination Rogue
  • 2-set bonus: Garrote’s damage is increased by 30% and it also applies your weapon poisons.
  • 4-set bonus: Garrote’s Energy cost is reduced by 10. Mutilate, Ambush, and Fan of Knives deal 25% increased damage to targets affected by your weapon poisons.
• Outlaw Rogue
  • 2-set bonus: Blade Rush’s damage is increased by 30% and its damage to your primary target is increased by an additional 25%.
  • 4-set bonus: Blade Rush’s cooldown is reduced by 6 seconds and it increases your damage dealt by 5% for 8 seconds.
• Subtlety Rogue
  • 2-set bonus: Finishing moves deal 1.5% more damage per combo point spent.
  • 4-set bonus: Shadow Blades has 4 seconds increased duration and causes your attacks to deal an additional 6% damage as Shadow.
• Arms Warrior
  • 2-set bonus: Mortal Strike and Cleave damage increased by 5%. Colossus Smash increases damage taken by an additional 5%.
  • 4-set bonus: Damaging a target affected by Colossus Smash with Mortal Strike or Cleave that hits 3 or more targets extends Colossus Smash’s effect on them by 1 second.

CLASSES

• All Apex Talents now unlock their first node at level 81, their second node at level 84, and their final node at level 90.
• DEATH KNIGHT
  • Hero Talents
    • Rider of the Apocalypse
      • An issue causing Scourge Strike to not shatter Trollbane’s Icy Fury has been resolved for Unholy.
      • An issue causing Frost Strike to not consume Frostreaper debuff has been resolved for Frost.
  • Blood
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
  • Frost
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
  • Unholy
    • Raise Abomination has been updated – Army of the Dead now raises an Abomination for 30 seconds and instantly Putrefies 4 Lesser Ghouls summoned at 100% effectiveness.
    • Summon Gargoyle has been updated – Army of the Dead now summons a Gargoyle into the battlefield to bombard your enemies for 25 seconds and instantly Putrefies 4 Lesser Ghouls summoned at 100% effectiveness.
    • Reanimation has been updated – Putrefied ghouls now have a 50% chance to be resummoned as Magus of the Dead (was 100%).
    • Unholy Devotion has been updated – Putrefy causes your permanent Ghoul to go on an unholy frenzy, increasing its attack speed by 25% for 5 seconds. Multiple applications may overlap.
    • Unholy Aura has been updated – No longer grants Haste when Putrefy is cast.
    • Ancient Runes renamed to Ancient Power and has been updated – Spending Runic Power grants you 1/2% Strength for 20 seconds. Multiple applications may overlap.
    • Risen Skulker is now affected by Commander of the Dead.
    • Fixed an issue causing Ghoulish Frenzy to not be applied.
    • Fixed an issue where the single target strike of Putrefy dealt less than intended damage.
    • Sweeping Claw damage increased by 50%.
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
• HUNTER
  • Beast Mastery
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
  • Marksmanship
    • Trueshot has been updated – Now reduces the cooldown of Aimed Shot and Rapid Fire by 40% (was 60%).
      • Developers’ notes: We’d like to leave a bit more room for other spells in your Trueshot windows.
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
  • Survival
    • Apex Talents: Raptor Swipe has been updated:
      • Developers’ notes: Our goal with this Apex Talent update is to ensure that Raptor Swipe feels like an active and meaningful rotational spell, allow it to proc and benefit from associate Raptor Strike effects, and reinforce the martial aspect of Survival’s gameplay.
      • 1st node: Raptor Strike has a 25% chance to upgrade itself to Raptor Swipe, dealing heavy Physical damage to up to 5 nearby enemies.
      • 2nd node: Raptor Strike, Wildfire Bomb, and Raptor Swipe damage increased by 10%/20%. Raptor Swipe deals 25%/50% increased damage to its primary target.
      • 3rd node: Raptor Strike now has a 100% chance to upgrade itself to Raptor Swipe. Raptor Swipes that benefit from Tip of the Spear provoke an additional Strike as one at 300% effectiveness.
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
• MAGE
  • Hero Talents
    • Frostfire
      • Frost
        • New Talent: Archmage’s Wrath – Arcane Surge damage increased by 30%. Ray of Frost damage increased by 20%.
        • Controlled Instincts has been updated – No longer requires your target to have been recently damaged by Arcane Orb or Blizzard. Cleave percentage reduced to 30% (was 40%).
        • Several talents have changed positions.
        • Volatile Magic has been removed.
    • Spellslinger
      • Arcane
        • New Talent: Archmage’s Wrath – Arcane Surge damage increased by 30%. Ray of Frost damage increased by 20%.
        • Infused Splinters has been updated – Chance to gain Arcane Salvo reduced to 15% (was 25%).
        • Controlled Instincts has been updated – No longer requires your target to have been recently damaged by Arcane Orb or Blizzard. Cleave percentage reduced to 30% (was 40%).
        • Several talents have changed positions.
        • Volatile Magic has been removed.
    • Sunfury
      • Arcane
        • Glorious Incandescence has been updated – Arcane Barrage summons 1 Meteor for every 5 Arcane Salvo stacks consumed.
        • Pyrocosm has been updated – Each wave of Arcane Missiles has a 10% chance to summon a Meteorite. When a Meteorite lands, you have a 5% chance to gain Clearcasting.
  • Class
    • Cone of Cold updated to apply Chilled.
  • Arcane
    • Developers’ notes: We’re taking a second pass at Arcane Salvo’s economy, focused on ensuring Arcane Missiles is one of your best Arcane Salvo generators while slowing down the cadence of Arcane Barrage casts. We’re also changing many Arcane Missiles procs to fire when Arcane Missiles is released rather than when Arcane Missiles deals damage to increase the responsiveness of the proc effects. We’re also making some Hero Talent focused changes to ensure that the ways each Hero Talent engage with Arcane Salvo is meaningful and also unique.
    • New Talent: Overpowered Missiles – Gaining Clearcasting has a 15% chance to cause your next Arcane Missiles to be Overpowered, causing it to deal 100% increased damage and strike 3 additional targets at 50% effectiveness.
    • Arcane Salvo has been updated – Each wave of Arcane Missiles grants 1 stack of Arcane Salvo.
    • Expanded Mind has been updated – Casting Arcane Blast or Arcane Pulse grants 1 stack of Arcane Salvo.
    • Arcane Singularity has been updated – Now a 2-point talent, increasing Arcane Salvo’s damage bonus by 2%/4%.
    • Focusing Crystal has been updated – Now causes each wave of Arcane Missiles to have a 50% chance to grant 1 additional stack of Arcane Salvo. Position changed.
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
    • Electrostatic Orb has been removed.
      • Developers’ notes: This talent was providing too much Arcane Salvo, specifically for Spellslinger, who is already proficient at generating Salvo in AOE.
  • Fire
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
  • Frost
    • Developers’ notes: We’re reducing Shatter’s power and moving it into some underperforming Frost spells. We’re also making Ray of Frost and Comet Storm a bit easier to use. Lastly, we’re reducing the number of 2-pointers in the tree to make pathing around Gates 3 and 2 a bit easier.
    • Everlasting Frost has been updated – Now causes Frozen Orb to grant Fingers of Frost.
    • Ray of Frost has been updated – Duration reduced to 4 seconds, tick rate reduced to 0.5 seconds (was 5 second duration, 0.625 seconds tick rate).
    • Flurry damage increased by 100%.
    • Shatter damage reduced by 25%.
    • Frozen Orb damage increased by 100%.
    • Blizzard damage increased by 300%.
    • Comet Storm damage increased by 25% and its radius is increased to 8 yards (was 6 yards).
    • Icy Hand is now a 1-point talent.
    • Deep Shatter is now a 1-point talent.
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
• MONK
  • Hero Talents
    • Conduit of the Celestials
      • Windwalker
        • New Talent: Xuen’s Bond – Decreases the cooldown of Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger by 30 seconds and increases its damage by 30%.
    • Shado-Pan
      • Flurry Strikes has been redesigned – Now has a chance to grant 1-2 stacks from auto attacks.
        • Developers’ notes: Flurry Charge generation is equalized between 2H weapons and 1H weapons.
      • One Versus Many has been redesigned – Now causes auto attack critical strikes to grant double Flurry Charge stacks.
      • Efficient Training has been redesigned – Now decreases the cooldown of Zenith by 10 seconds and Invoke Niuzao, the Black Ox by 20 seconds.
  • Class
    • Fatal Touch no longer increases damage dealt.
  • Mistweaver
    • New Talent: Morning Breeze – Rising Sun Kick’s damage is increased by your Mastery rating.
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
  • Windwalker
    • Jadefire Stomp now increases movement speed for 3 seconds after casting.
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
• PALADIN
  • Holy
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
  • Protection
    • Developers’ notes: We hear your concerns about loss of survivability as a consequence of reduced uptime on defensive cooldowns. One of our goals for Protection Paladin in Midnight was to make cooldowns less required and transfer survivability into baseline defensives. To that end, we’re adding some talents to provide a wider suite of options and customization for your defensives. We’re also exploring some options for providing additional rotational interest, especially surrounding Holy Power economy.
    • New Talent: Imbued Shield – Shield of the Righteous reduces magical damage taken by 10%.
    • New Talent: Adjudication – Judgment causes its primary target’s successful melee attacks against you to grant a Physical absorb shield for 20% of the damage dealt. Limit 1.
    • New Talent: Instrument of the Divine – Shield of the Righteous consumes up to 2 more Holy Power and deals 50% increased damage for each additional Holy Power consumed.
    • Valiant Crusade now grants Shield of the Righteous for 4 additional seconds (was 2 seconds).
    • Valiant Crusade moved into Gate 1 of the talent tree.
    • Grand Crusader’s chance to trigger increased to 20% (was 15%).
    • Reduced chance for Judgment to trigger Glory of the Vanguard.
    • Increased Glory of the Vanguard’s line effect damage.
    • Fixed an issue where Righteous Protector was increasing the remaining cooldown of Avenging Wrath.
    • Fixed an issue where Hammer of Wrath was not correctly overriding Judgment during Avenging Wrath.
    • Zealot’s Paragon moved from class tree to the Protection tree and is now a 2-point talent.
    • Added several talent node connections.
    • The following talents have been removed:
      • Inner Light
      • Inspiring Vanguard
      • Resolute Defender
  • Retribution
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
• PRIEST
  • Hero Talents
    • Archon
      • Holy
        • Empowered Surges has been updated to also increase the healing of Prayer of Healings affected by Surge of Light while the effect is active and Spiritwell is talented.
    • Oracle
      • Holy
        • Preventive Measures increases the healing of Prayer of Mending by 15% (was 40%).
  • Holy
    • Benediction has been updated – Rank 2 and 3 now increase the healing of Cosmic Ripple by 25%/50% and increases all healing done by 5%/10%.
• ROGUE
  • Hero Talents
    • Fatebound
      • New Talent: Sometimes Lucky – Critical strike chance increased by 3%.
      • New Talent: Controlled Chaos – After flipping a Fatebound Coin that ends a streak of 4 or more, flip another that matches the same face.
      • New Talent: Ravenholdt Mint – Flipping Heads increases damage by an additional 4%. Damage dealt by flipping Tails is increased by 15%.
    • Trickster
      • New Talent: Hoodwink – Fazed increases damage taken by an additional 3%.
      • New Talent: Flashing Steel – Unseen Blade may now occur once every 15 seconds and has 25% chance to strike twice.
      • New Talent: Clever Combatant – Pistol Shot/Shuriken Storm has 20% increased critical strike chance and now triggers Unseen Blade when available.
• SHAMAN
  • Elemental
    • New Talent: Lava Flows – Lava Burst damage increased by 5%. Lava Burst and Lava Burst Overload generate 1 additional Maelstrom.
    • Fire Elemental has been removed as a talent. Call of Fire remains as a way to continue to summon it.
    • Lava Burst damage reduced by 15%.
    • Several talents have changed positions in the talent tree.
  • Enhancement
    • Cooldown Manager has been updated to track new buffs, debuffs, and player auras.
      • Spells and buffs that have been removed or are no longer relevant to the specialization have been removed from the Cooldown Manager.
• WARLOCK
  • Demonology
    • Developers’ notes: After playtesting and reading community feedback, we are revising some of the initial changes for Demonology going into Midnight. Specifically, we are eliminating the cap on Wild Imps and returning the energy cost to Fel Firebolt. Additionally, we are redesigning Summon Demonic Tyrant and Implosion with the goal of making it easier to know when to cast either ability.
      Lastly, Dominion of Argus has been completely redesigned to increase both its visual and gameplay appeal. We wanted to bring back some of the fantasy that Nether Portal brought while ensuring each demon had presence and spectacle, rather than be just another auto-attacking creature added to a crowd that follows your target. Tuning on these talents and others will be ongoing as we dial in Demonology’s Soul Shard economy and overall damage profile.
    • New Talent: Dominant Hand – Increases damage dealt by Hand of Gul’dan to its main target by 20%.
    • New Talent: Inner Demons – You passively summon a Wild Imp to fight for you every 12 seconds.
    • New Talent: Blighted Maw – Dreadbite infects the target, dealing 50% of damage dealt over 8 seconds as Plague damage.
    • New Talent: Aura of Contempt – Felstorm grants your Felguard Aura of Contempt for 8 seconds. Aura of Contempt increases the Haste of friendly demons by 8%.
    • New Talent: Spiteful Reconstitution – Demonbolt deals 10% increased damage. Consuming a Demonic Core has a chance to summon a Wild Imp.
    • New Talent: Tyrant’s Oblation – Your Demonic Tyrant also empowers you while active, increasing your Haste by 8%.
    • New Talent: Reign of Tyranny – Your Demonic Tyrant lasts an additional 5 seconds and extends the duration of your Dreadstalkers by 15 seconds when summoned.
    • New Talent: Doom – When Demonbolt consumes a Demonic Core it inflicts impending doom upon the target, dealing Shadow damage to enemies within 10 yards of its target after 20 seconds or when removed. Damage is reduced beyond 8 targets. Hand of Gul’dan reduces the duration of Doom by 3 seconds.
    • New Talent: Grimoire: Imp Lord – Summons an Imp Lord to assist you in combat for 20 seconds and will remove 1 harmful effect from you when summoned. Transforms into Singe Magic while on cooldown.
    • New Talent: Grimoire: Fel Ravager – Summons a Fel Ravager to assist you in combat for 20 seconds and will interrupt their target when summoned. Turns into Spell Lock while on cooldown.
      • Developers’ notes: We are introducing this choice node as a means to give Demonology access to utility they are locked out of due to Summon Felguard. Long-time Demonology players will recognize these Grimoires from previous expansions; however, we are adding the ability to use Singe Magic or Spell Lock while their respective Grimoire is on cooldown. This new functionality should resolve the historical problem with Grimoires where you would use them on cooldown for their damage, rather than their utility.
    • New Talent: Stabilized Portals – Increases the duration of your Summon Vilefiend, Grimoire: Imp Lord, and Grimoire: Fel Ravager by 3 seconds.
    • Hand of Gul’dan has been updated – Calls down a demonic meteor full of Wild Imps which burst forth to attack the target. Deals up to Shadowflame damage on impact to all enemies within 8 yards of the target and summons 3 Wild Imps.
    • Power Siphon has been updated – Instantly sacrifice up to 2 Wild Imps, generating 2 charges of Demonic Core that cause Demonbolt to deal 30% additional damage.
    • Implosion has been updated – Demonic forces suck 6 of your Wild Imps toward the target, and then cause them to violently explode, dealing Shadowflame damage to all enemies within 8 yards. 30 second cooldown.
    • Demonic Calling has been updated – Call Dreadstalkers costs 1 less/2 less Soul Shards and its cast time is reduced by 50%/100%.
    • Demonic Brutality has been updated – Damaging critical strikes dealt by you and your demons deal 230% damage instead of the usual 200%.
    • Summon Demonic Tyrant has been updated – Summon a Demonic Tyrant that damages your target for 15 seconds. Damage dealt by Demonic Tyrant is increased by 10% for each Wild Imp, Dreadstalker, and Vilefiend active when summoned.
    • Master Summoner has been updated – Increases Mastery by 3% and reduces the cast time of Summon Demonic Tyrant and Summon Felguard by 0.5 seconds.
    • Summon Doomguard has been updated – Summons a Doomguard to assist you in combat for 12 seconds. Consuming a Demonic Core reduces the cooldown of Summon Doomguard by 3 seconds.
    • Doom Bolt Volley has been updated – Sends a volley of malefic bolts at 5 enemies within 40 yards, inflicting Shadow damage to each target.
    • Eye of Gul’dan has been updated – Hand of Gul’dan has a 100% chance to summon an Eye of Gul’dan for 8 seconds.
    • Infernal Grudge has been updated – Sears the soul of its target with fel fire, dealing Fire damage every 1 second.
    • Evil Eye has been updated – Eye of Gul’dan lasts 4 additional seconds. Infernal Grudge weakens the soul of its target, increasing damage taken from you and your demons by 4% while channeled.
    • Dominion of Argus (Rank 1) has been updated – Summoning your Demonic Tyrant leaves open a portal to Argus for 15 seconds, causing every 3 casts of Hand of Gul’dan to summon a subjugated demon that serves you for 10 seconds.
    • Dominion of Argus (Rank 2/3) has been updated – Increases the duration of Dominion of Argus by 5 seconds/10 seconds and increases damage dealt by Hand of Gul’dan by 10%/20%.
    • Dominion of Argus (Rank 4) has been updated – While Dominion of Argus is active, Hand of Gul’dan refunds 1 Soul Shard. Demons summoned by Dominion of Argus last an additional 4 seconds.
    • Several talent positions and pathing options have changed.
    • The following talents have been removed:
      • Ancient Imps
      • Doomguard Bracers
      • Executive Decision
      • Explosive Core
      • Hellbent Commander
      • Imp Mastery
      • Improved Implosion
• WARRIOR
  • Hero Talents
    • Slayer
      • Slayer’s Dominance has been updated – Your attacks have a 15% chance to trigger a Slayer’s Strike.
        • Developers’ notes: The method for determining whether a Slayer’s Strike should trigger has been updated to be more consistent. Total number of Slayer’s Strikes should not change significantly.
  • Class
    • Javelineer has been redesigned – Heroic Throw silences non-Player targets for 3 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 15 seconds.
    • Rallying Cry has been updated – Health granted is increased by 50% when not in a raid.
  • Arms
    • The previous 20% reduction to Rage generation from auto-attacks has been reverted.
    • Bladestorm no longer extends Colossus Smash on targets it damages.
  • Fury
    • Odyn’s Fury’s bleed damage increased by 140% and now deals reduced damage above 8 targets (was 5).
    • Fixed an issue that was causing Odyn’s Fury bleed damage to be incorrectly reduced by armor.
    • Bladestorm no longer Enrages you.
    • Talent layout changed slightly. Several talents have changed positions.
    • Frenzy is now a 1-point talent, total effect is unchanged.
    • Unbridled Ferocity has been removed.
  • Protection
    • Bolster has been updated – Last Stand’s cooldown is reduced by 60 seconds and when Last Stand is triggered, you gain Shield Wall for 4 seconds.
    • Bolster, Tough as Nails, Massacre, and Heavy Handed have changed positions in the talent tree.

HOUSING

• New house purchases have been disabled this build.

PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER

• DEATH KNIGHT
  • Unholy
    • Necromancer’s Bargain has been updated – Putrefy now summons a Lesser Ghoul to attack your target, healing you for 100% of the damage it deals. Lesser Ghouls last for 2 seconds less.

USER INTERFACE AND ACCESSIBILITY

• NEW ACCESSIBILITY FEATURE: COMBAT AUDIO ALERTS
  • The Combat Audio Alert system will read out various combat events over Text to Speech.
  • Settings for the system are available under Options > Accessibility > Audio Assist.
  • System settings include the ability to adjust the voice, volume and speed of these TTS messages.
  • Combat events supported in this build include player and target health, each with settings to control how often updates are read and which format the messages should be read in.
  • We will be adding support for more combat events throughout the remaining weeks of alpha and beta.
• ADDON SECURITY CHANGES
  • Loosened restrictions on addon access to the player’s spell cast information.
  • Loosened restrictions on addon access to the maximum health and power values of players.
  • Made improvements to the ability for addons to format secret numbers into text.
  • Made quality of life improvements to various addon aura APIs.
• The “Playstyle” dropdown in the group creation interface has been updated with standardized options and is now available for more types of group content, helping players find groups that better match their goals and expectations. The updated options are:
  • Learning
  • Fun & Relaxed
  • Fun & Serious
  • Experts Only
• Playstyle information will appear at the bottom of each listing and in its tooltip. A new section has also been added to the Filter dropdown, allowing players to toggle which Playstyle groups are shown.
• Nameplate icons for Rare, Elite, and Rare Elite have received visual updates.
• There is a known issue where Edit Mode may be hidden in the Settings menu. Edit Mode can be accessed via the chat window dropdown menu in the meantime.