Launch development notes, 2 November 2026

Philosophy

• Blizzard stopped holding each class to its Classic power budget: damage is up for every class and higher-level creatures have more health to match.
• No big tuning before raids open on 9 December except bugs and serious outliers; a large pass follows once many players are past level 30.
• The goal is not numerical equality. Each class should feel valuable to its group with its own strengths kept.

Everyone

• New spells are no longer added to action bars automatically.
• Bags no longer auto-equip into bag slots.
• Class training 1–60 costs about 206–207 gold for every class; Warlock costs reduced to offset pet Grimoires.
• Low-rank spells trigger talents normally again, except Blizzard with Arcane Concentration, Frostbite and Fingers of Frost on ranks learned more than 12 levels ago.
• Proc roots (Frostbite, Entrapment, Improved Wing Clip, Counterattack, Improved Hamstring) have diminishing returns.
• Race base stats corrected (a Tauren Warrior starts with +5 Strength over a Human). Quitter debuff 40 seconds (was 5 minutes), its stun 2.5 seconds. Throw has its 0.5-second wind-up.
• Respawns are faster in starting zones and slower in higher zones for launch; low-level rates return to normal after the rush.

Tanks and Salvation

• Blessing of Salvation, Mass Salvation, Revoke and Blessing of Light removed.
• Bear and Dire Bear Form threat 115% (was 50%).
• Warrior Defensive Stance threat 80% (was 30%); Defiance 7/13/20%.
• Paladin Righteous Fury +33% threat and +90% extra threat from Holy damage; now trained at level 10.

Warrior

• Defensive Stance threat is 80% (was 30%) and Defiance is 7/13/20%, because Blessing of Salvation no longer exists. Tanks open with Sunder and Revenge and let the group start a beat later.
• Fury: Reckless Swings (row 4) costs 25% of base health and makes your next 4 hits generate 5 extra Rage each. Improved Whirlwind (row 6) shortens the cooldown and adds damage to the closest enemy. Bloodthirst now requires Death Wish; Flurry is 3 points for 30%.
• Arms: Two-Handed Weapon Specialization goes to 6%, Bloodthrill is 2 points, Improved Tactical Mastery is 3 points for 15 extra Rage kept when you change stance. Slam's cooldown is 15 seconds.
• Every weapon specialization talent is gone (Axe, Mace, Sword, Polearm, One-Handed). Rage is normalized to come in more steadily. Improved Shield Block and Improved Taunt are baseline.

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Paladin

• Righteous Fury is trained at level 10, generates 33% more threat and 90% extra threat from Holy damage. Blessing of Salvation, Mass Salvation, Revoke and Blessing of Light were removed.
• Holy and Protection were reshuffled. New talents include Oath of Light (a 5-minute oath that scales Holy Light on one ally), Shieldsworn (Holy Strike with your shield) and Templar's Bulwark, an absorb for 100% of your health.
• Blessing of Kings is baseline, Holy Strike is a trained attack that Retribution's Sacred Arbiter and Protection's Iron Creed build on, and Champion of the Light converts Intellect into spell damage for Retribution.
• Forsaken Paladins start in Bandarion Keep in the Whispering Wood of Tirisfal and earn an epic mount quest at 60 themed on Retribution.

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Hunter

• Traps work in combat and all traps share a 30-second cooldown. Aimed Shot is baseline at level 20. Hunter's Mark no longer stacks from multiple ranks.
• Damage up: Aimed Shot, Arcane Shot, Serpent Sting and Sniper Shot hit harder; Aspect of the Hawk and Trueshot Aura give more Ranged Attack Power.
• Pets scale with your gear, get broader ability access and unique family abilities. The Fox is a new family; see hunter pets.
• Talent cleanup: Improved Eyes of the Beast and Improved Hunter's Mark are baseline, Thick Hide folded into Endurance Training, Wyvern Sting/Killer Instinct/Improved Feign Death merged into Resourcefulness, Monster and Humanoid Slaying became Improved Tracking. Survival's Lightning Reflexes is 15% Agility at full rank.

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Rogue

• Shank (level 24) is an off-hand strike for 50% weapon damage that costs 5 Energy, cannot miss, has a 10-second cooldown and generates 15 Energy (25 at rank 2, level 44). It is the hub the new talents hang on.
• Poised (passive, level 18): when you are out of combat at full Energy, your next Energy ability costs 10 less. Deadly and Instant Poison Attack Power scaling is doubled.
• Assassination: Murder is gone. Lethality is 2 points for 20% crit damage, Relentless Strikes restores 25 Energy per Combo Point chance, Seal Fate is 3 points, Venom boosts poison damage 30% after a Shank, Blood Splatter extends Rupture and Garrote, and Mutilate moved to row 7.
• Combat: Improved Eviscerate became Coup de Grace, Improved Sinister Strike became Efficient Strikes; Composure strengthens Poised and Flash of Steel gives Shank more Energy and a shorter cooldown. Dual Wield Specialization is 2 points for 50% off-hand damage.
• Subtlety: Quietus, Cutthroat, Thousand Cuts and Improved Distract were removed. New: Boot Knife (Shank adds 2 Combo Points), Quick Getaway (an extra Sap target and speed after Sapping) and the 31-point Death Mark, a finisher that stores damage and releases it after 6 seconds.

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Priest

• Fear Ward and Devouring Plague are trainable for every priest race at level 20. Divine Spirit is baseline at 30 and Shadow Word: Death at 32; its self-damage on a failed kill is now 30% of max health (was 10%).
• Binding Heal was replaced by Holy Binding, which heals you for half of any Flash Heal cast on someone else.
• Discipline gains Penance, Divine Aegis and Soul Warding; Holy gains Prayer of Mending as its 31-point talent; Shadow gains Improved Mind Flay, Dark Inspiration and Early Demise.
• Talent cleanup: Unbreakable Will folded into Silent Resolve, Improved Power Word: Fortitude and Divine Spirit became baseline, Force of Will was removed. Racial priest spells were refreshed.

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Shaman

• Lava Burst was removed. Call of Thunder gives Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning 5% crit, Lightning Overload is 10/20/30% (was 3/7/10%), and Elemental Mastery became Lightning Mastery. Lightning Bolt hits about 80% harder at max rank; Chain Lightning has a 2.5-second cast and costs much more mana. Shocks are back to Classic damage.
• Enhancement: Stormstrike deals 150% weapon damage on a 6-second cooldown, Maelstrom Weapon triggers twice as often, Mental Dexterity converts up to 150% of Intellect into Attack Power, Flurry is 30% attack speed. Windfury has an extra swing animation.
• Restoration: Riptide is a heal over time with no up-front heal, about 40% cheaper, on a 12-second cooldown. Totemic Projection became Totemic Call: it teleports your totems to you on a 30-second cooldown.
• Dwarves can be Shaman, and Horde Skyborne have the class too. There are no Shaman tanks for now.

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Mage

• Frost Blast and Piercing Ice were removed. Ice Barrier now adds a 15% Frost damage bonus while shielded. Ice Lance and Fingers of Frost give Frost a shatter rotation.
• Arcane: Arcane Blast, Arcane Wrath and Missile Barrage were adjusted for launch; Arcane Mind doubles Arcane crit damage.
• Fire: Critical Mass is back to 3 points. Heating Up shortens Pyroblast after crits and Fire Power scales with your Fire effects on the target.
• Orcs can be Mages, and Alliance Skyborne too. Comprehension scrolls became a Mage ability.

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Warlock

• Pets gain 2 Health per point of Master's Stamina (was 7.5). Wrack (formerly Drain Hope) had its damage raised significantly. Spellstones only boost Shadow damage.
• Affliction is built around Wrack, Soul Siphon, Pandemic and Soul Harvest; Bane of Agony and Bane of Doom replace the old Curses so one Curse and one Bane can be up at once.
• Destruction gains Incinerate as its 31-point spell, Bane of Havoc for cleave and Fire and Brimstone. Demonology gets Demonic Energies, Demonic Brand and Demonic Knowledge.
• Trolls can be Warlocks. Training costs are lower than other classes to offset pet Grimoires.

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Druid

• Bear and Dire Bear Form threat is 115% (was 50%). Shred deals 200% weapon damage, Claw 140%, Ravage 435% (was 350%); Rip, Rake, Ferocious Bite and Pounce are about 25% stronger. Ferocious Bite gets a rank 1 at 24 and Poised arrives at 32.
• Feral has two 31-point talents: Primal Bite for Bears and Shifting Power for Cats. Berserk is gone. Lacerate is a row 4 talent and Predatory Discipline lets Ferocious Bite keep your excess Energy.
• Restoration: Bloom replaces Gift of the Earthmother, Wild Growth is the 31-point heal with a 3-second base cast that Naturalist shortens, and Swiftmend only consumes one effect. Heal-over-time spells can crit and Druids can drink potions in form.
• Balance gains Eclipse, Genesis and Nature's Splendor; Wrath was raised about 50% earlier in the beta. Improved Mark of the Wild is baseline.

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Gamepad

• Gamepad support described as fully functional: movement, spell casting, UI navigation, targeting, bags and more, with fixes in each area.

Quests and world

• Many quest XP, prerequisite and objective fixes and location-specific bug fixes.