Blizzard has pushed another round of hotfixes for World of Warcraft, dated October 27. Most of the changes are class tuning for Midnight, in both PvE and PvP, and Burning Crusade Classic gets a change of its own. Some fixes apply right away, while others may need a realm restart before they show up.
PvE class changes
Restoration Druids get the biggest PvE boost. Blizzard says they lag behind other healers when handling burst damage in dungeons, though they are doing fine in raids. The buffs below do not apply in PvP:
- Verdancy healing up 60%
- Regrowth healing up 10%
- Improved Swiftmend now raises Swiftmend healing by 40% (was 30%)
Marksmanship Hunters get more area damage. Trick Shots now adds 85% ricochet damage to Aimed Shot and Rapid Fire (up from 75%), and Explosive Shot and Volley each deal 10% more damage. Feral Druids and Fire Mages both get a flat 5% damage increase outside PvP. Affliction Warlocks see Unstable Affliction damage rise by 20% in PvE, and Destruction’s Rain of Fire also goes up by 20%.
Subtlety Rogues are heading the other way. All ability damage drops by 8%, and the Trickster hero talent’s Fazed now increases damage by 5% instead of 7%. Blizzard explained why:
The buff Subtlety received as compensation alongside changes in the 12.1.5 patch overshot expectations, so we’re rolling back a significant portion of that buff.
Mistweaver Monks also get a fix for the Mistline talent, which sometimes failed to heal the lowest-health target.
PvP tuning and other fixes
The PvP list is long. Some of the most notable changes:
- Fire Mage damage goes down 5% in PvP, even as it goes up 5% in PvE. Frostfire Mages get 20% more damage on Isothermic Core’s Meteor and Duality’s Pyroblast.
- Unholy Death Knight: San’layn’s Vampiric Strike deals 20% less damage.
- Marksmanship Hunter: Kill Shot and Dark Ranger’s Black Arrow both deal 40% more damage.
- Holy Paladin: healing up 5%, and Divine Favor now cuts Holy Light’s mana cost by 50% (was 30%).
- Holy Priest: Prayer of Healing heals 30% more, alongside several Archon buffs.
- Mistweaver Monk: Conduit of the Celestials gets stronger Celestial Conduit healing and Strength of the Black Ox absorbs.
- Restoration Shaman: Healing Stream Totem and Stormstream Totem heal 20% more.
Devourer Demon Hunters, Preservation Evokers and Deathstalker Rogues also get PvP buffs. Outside of class tuning, the hotfix fixes some Labyrinth scenarios that were not giving Great Vault credit, and it stops tabards from hiding the Rexxar armor set.
Burning Crusade Classic players have an easier path into Heroic dungeons. The keys now require Honored reputation instead of Revered.
Earlier hotfixes in the same post are also worth a look. Mistcrests, Conquest and Bloody Tokens are now uncapped, and the Spoils of War buff increases Conquest and Honor gains in Battlegrounds and Arenas. The Fabled: Let Me Solo Him: Kindo’jan achievement can be earned until weekly maintenance during the week of October 27. The full list is on the official hotfix page.
Source: World of Warcraft official news.
