[News] Shadowlands Class Updates

[Rofladin-eredar]

DK: The whole philosophy of the class existing was to be able to dps and tank in every spec, you still fail delivering this.

Druid: did you just make a joke about Bear Hug without giving us back Bear Hug? you savages.

Hunter: ok so warriors have dead zone on charge but hunters still have no dead zones… great job.

Mage: Oh cool, you still give them bloodlust even though only Shamans should have it for the sake of class uniqueness. Wands as weapon type not returning is lame.

Monk: let me guess, more abilities that work differently in PvE than PvP… lame

Rogue: ALL WE WANT IS POISONS AND GOUGE IN EVERY SPEC.

Shaman: You shouldn’t have to choose between being a caster or a melee, you are a battle mage, that is the flavor of being a Shaman, you can burst people from afar, you can smack them from nearby. At the moment there is no appeal to the class at all unless you like handicapping yourself over a druid. Still no instant flying form neither. Let me guess, we can still equip 2 handed axes but gimp ourselves for no reason while you could have designed an arms spec for shamans.

Warrior: no stance dancing? no weapon swap insentivization. Flat and boring design. Still better than what we have now.

[Drede-cairne (Drede)]

For Warriors.

Shattering Throw back is amazing.

Intervene for all specs is amazing. (Though it should be combined with charge since we will macro them together anyway)

Ignore Pain for all specs is amazing. (Make it cost a bit less for Arms/Fury. Say 40-50 rage even it it’s less effective.)

Execute for all Specs is amazing. (Please make it the Fury Execute that gives rage)

Hamestring for all specs is amazing.

Slam is nice for all Specs. I feel this should replace some moves though. (Looking at you Revenge!)

Arms and Fury do not need Shield Slam. Regular Slam is enough and Shield Slam is Prots signature move. It’s like giving Arms Bloodthirst or Fury Mortal Strike.

I would rather all Warrior’s get Thunderclap instead of Arms and Fury having Piercing Howl. It has a better animation, deals damage, and you can glyph it. So it’s a better themed move.

Cleave should be the bassline AoE for all specs. Whirlwind should be Arms/Fury only and have the cleaving affect from Fury added to Arms. Make Cleave better for Arms/Prot and make Whirlwind better for Fury. Arms would no longer need Sweeping Strikes.

DPS specs do not need Challenging Shout, Taunt is more than enough, and as Prot I would rather have Mocking Banner as it has much more utility.

Rename Shield Block to “Block” and make it no longer require a Shield.

Please consider making Stormbolt a baseline CC for all Warriors as it is essential for all aspects of Warrior gameplay. I would gladly trade Intimidating Shout for it.

[Mevaar-destromath]

@Martei-skywall

Yes feral gets barksin at the cost of survival instincts.

Huh.

@Martei-skywall

Offering feed back for feral seems pretty pointless cant remember when it seemed like they were actually listening to feral feedback they seem to always already have there mind set when it comes to the spec.

Would almost like to see a post by blizz saying why they think the spec is fine what they see are weakness/strengths would at least give people some idea of why they are doing what they are doing.

I think we need more buffs on sound changes…

[Smedmore-kul-tiras]

Will hunters have a viable one-pet build? I really prefer one-pet hunting.

[Mÿt-bleeding-hollow]

Please no rng eclipse procing for balance. I want full control and I want to be able to starsurge people in pvp without requiring a random proc that’s obvious and easy to cc in.

[Martei-skywall (Martei)]

They have apparently since given feral 1 charge of survival instincts back. Still feel like feral feedback is pointless though. At this point in the alpha feral brings maim to a group. At least the seems to be how blizz sees it, given the one talent row. Feral druids will bring significantly less then every other spec of druid will for utility. So forget competing against demon-hunter or wind-walker or rogue for a spot you cant even beat out the other specs of your won class anymore.

I mean could they at least say what they are thinking not even a hint on how they feel feral is going to fit on or compete for a place in this game.

[Ojoverde-eldrethalas (Ojoverde)]

Please help blizzard! My class suck badly

[Knifeprty-thunderlord]

Shadowlands looks like a whole bunch of the same crap the majority of players have been saying they don’t want. I have no faith in the alpha testers whatsoever from what I’ve been reading either. They’re too worried about writing a Pulitzer Prize review and kissing Blizz’ butt for an invite than to tell them how its basically a continuation of the rent-a-system that we’ve been dying to get away from. So-called “unpruning” is giving spells (back) to classes that make no sense and then gutting or nerfing those that do. Everything is lining up for another bust of an xpac, imo.

[Sarîa-moon-guard (Sarîa)]

“Frost Death Knights, who can again choose between two 1-handed weapons or one 2-handed weapon to cut down their foes.”

Don’t give me hope.

[Marlenn-quelthalas]

or the freeaking jump that turalyon seems to have wen you quest along side im, that is like an heroic leap but holy

[Greybear-terenas (Greybear)]

@Vonvulviln-emerald-dream

Just here to say Enhancement Shamans were a 2h strength based Melee-caster that primarily did damage with windfury, shocks and enhancing a party through totem buffs originally.

I see nothing wrong with the original design and nothing to gain from making it a dual wielding spec and plenty of ways to handle Enhancements to make a variety of them valued in different situations if you only have one weapon to enhance. Id prefer if my class resembled its original self, not some new age sissy slap master spec that barely casts spells. 2h Enh was the Manly Enh. And their prime stat should be strength or intelligence.

I largely agree. Either we do away with the differences in Str, Agi, and Int, and just label it as the Pow stat on everything, or allow the class to be consistent across the board. Shamans, Druids, and Paladins should derive their power from Int, with Monks going full in on Agi, and have that modify the Attack or Spell Power on the spec. I hate having to farm those extra weapons just because I want to do Balance for a Raid and Guardian for a Dungeon.

[Dadåwg-area-52]

I mained Melee Survival since the start of legion and love it in every way shape and form how it played in legion and also enjoy the new rework in bfa. Dont hate it bc you cant play it, and also MM is the one that needs to be changed into more like the old Survival. It makes alot of sense to do that.

[Elfrig-dalaran]

@Lahlania-farstriders

I am deeply concerned with the future state of feral druids in Shadowlands, based on what those testing them are currently saying. Among the primary complaints:

• Lack of melee utility
• Survival issues (though giving survival instincts back seems to have helped just a little)

I disagree with the community in large, however, on the issue of the Sabertooth talent, and would be extremely disappointed if it were to get removed or modified.

I wouldn’t be concerned because druid dps specs are are getting plenty of dev attention and communication - they have 2 blue replies whereas all other classes have a whopping 0.

[Evillinn-perenolde (Evillinn)]

Don’t forget magthar druids added… tight?

[Fireazula-aerie-peak]

Shadow Priests’s in their current state feel absolutely horrid to play in every aspect of the game due to the insanity mechanics crippling flaws.

When you guys released Shadow’s rework in legion I loved it, in PvE it was super fun trying to stay in S2M for as long as I could and timing it right, the skillcap was fun and the damage mimic’d the players skill level.

It’s fine to say hey, we made a mistake and shadow’s skill floor is too high. But you took away the only thing that actually made the voidform mechanic good, and just decided to not give us anything else in return.

Lingering Insanity, Shadow word Void, and Legacy of the Void all need to be baseline as they are the only choices you have for most activity’s in the game or the class feels unplayable. When 4/7 talents are manditory for a spec to function properly, something isn’t right.

I get if you guys want to try and salvage the void form mechanic but honestly bring back Shadow Orbs and Devo plague. That form of shadow priest is universally agreed to be the community favorite, and then make voidform a 3 minute cooldown.

Or at least for PvP purposes change Edge of Insanity back to how it was before so we dont NEED to be in voidform to do damage but can use it as a tool to gain some mobility and extra burst. Shadow’s damage in Arena and RBG’s is so predictable and easy to counter that half the time I just decide to play a different class, and I don’t want to do that because I have mained Shadow for 8 years.

[Gagaah-shattered-halls]

I have so many ideas and spells for DH. it seems that one thing lacking.
Spells like
Fury Kick Fel flame kick
Back lash : A 180 turn back hand
Wing block: Wing enfold
Death Breath: A black eerie could that surrounds the Dh. A damage to attacks
Talon strike. A short jump style rake like kick
Sever: a quick wing attack.

I have tons of more.

[Ellywicket-moon-guard (Ellywicket)]

Seeing some of the offered changes to Warriors… This is based off what was posted April 8 and I assumed updated, but here’s my two cents:

I have played this game since… 06? 07? Classic is my baby but Elly here was my pride and joy for over a decade. Warrior and Mage are my main classes, but Warrior is my calling.

General Changes

Execute , Hamstring , Ignore Pain , Shield Block , Shield Slam , Slam , Spell Reflection , and Whirlwind are now available to all Warriors to use regardless of their active specialization. Furthermore, Challenging Shout and Intervene are returning, and all Warriors can use them to turn the tide of battle. Shattering Throw is also back, with a new twist—it will deal devastating damage against foes protected by an absorption shield.

Lastly, Double Time and War Machine can now be utilized by all specializations as a Talent.

First off, yes. GOOD JOB. We now have a means of defense/sustain (Ignore Pain, Spell Reflection), and we have a reason to carry our sword and board again! Praise the Omnissiah! Challenging Shout is a HUGE plus, because that ability was so clutch for so long playing in both arenas and in PUGs. Shattering Throw? FINALLY. WE HAVE UTILITY AGAIN. WE HAVE A WAY TO SHUT DOWN THE PALADINS AND MAGES!

Double Time should be replaced though. Because, as I have long said for years, along with literally EVERY OTHER WARRIOR IN THE GAME: Say it with me, Blizzard. Double. clap Time. clap Base. clap Line. clap

War Machine… This is one of those really not fun talents to even look at. Highly recommend going with a lot more rage generation than 10%, or making it feel like it’s going to actually give us some use in combat. If it gave our bleeds or crits a chance to proc Victory Rush, then we can talk.

Arms

The armies of Maldraxxus have inspired Arms Warriors to return to several key martial tactics and abilities.

Piercing Howl can now be used by Arms Warriors, giving them another way to stop enemies in their tracks by dazing them and significantly reducing their movement speed for a short duration.

Cleave (Talent) has been redesigned—after striking three targets with Whirlwind, the Warrior can use Cleave to strike all enemies in front of the Warrior, inflicting Mastery: Deep Wounds —a scaling bleed effect. The Deadly Calm Talent has also been redesigned, and will completely remove the Rage cost of the next four abilities, and includes a passive effect that increases the Warrior’s maximum Rage by a moderate amount. Dreadnaught now takes on the Seismic Wave Azerite Trait, empowering Overpower to deal damage to enemies in a line. When Overpower hits two targets with Sweeping Strikes, Dreadnaught causes two devastating seismic waves.

Piercing Howl available to Arms again? WOOOO! Cleave, we can get on that after touching on what I feel has been the biggest mistake since it was implemented:
Do not make Deep Wounds our Mastery trait again.
30-50% of our total net damage coming from an armor-ignoring bleed DoT ability is not fun or engaging gameplay. Please do not repeat this mistake again. I’d rather take Colossus Smash ‘damage windows’ over this. Unless there is HUGE reworks to Deep Wounds to make it functionally the same as a physical version of Ignite (Read: Rolling Ignite Stacking), this will just make Mastery another dead and worthless stat. I personally liked Opportunity Strikes, because I was always one of those players who gamed on Sword Specialization and Hand Of Justice and praying for RNGsus to bless me with explosive numbers. But please, gget the bleed gimmick out of Arms tool kit. We liked the bleed damage effectively increasing our critical strike damage, but a gamey DoT effect tied to baseline abilities that munch up ticks at the execute phase is garbage. Same with making Haste the best stat ever. I really hope that changes.

I love that Dreadnaught is getting some love but if it’s on the same tier as Anger Management, it’s still never getting chosen.

Fury

Fury Warriors will find themselves at home in the Shadowlands and will be able to perform feats in battle that were previously unfathomable.

Fervor of Battle is a new Talent, where the Warrior loses themselves to their bloodthirst during Whirlwind and also Slams their primary target and gains additional Rage. Warriors will also be able to learn Onslaught , in which an Enraged Warrior brutally attacks an enemy for a large amount of damage and generates some Rage.

Frothing Berserker has been reimagined—now, when the Warrior reaches 100 Rage, they gain Haste and movement speed over a few seconds. Wrecking Ball returns as a Talent, which gives the Warrior a moderate chance for their next Whirlwind to deal a devastating amount of damage. Fresh Meat now causes Bloodthirst to always Enrage you the first time you strike a target with Bloodthirst.

FoB moving to Fury is interesting. But I guess it sort of works since Whirlwind is just naturally a rotation item. Fresh Meat getting made into the same “Always does X with Y condition” is a bad choice. As it is, Fresh Meat is AMAZING for PvP and solo-sustain. Something that Warriors are terrible at. Please don’t ruin this.

Protection

In their shining armor, Protection Warriors are seen as stalwart defenders, but behind the shield stands a coldblooded tactician. Protection Warriors can now tap into their brutal side with some reimagined Talents. Best Served Cold increases the damage of Revenge, with the damage bonus increasing significantly after a successful dodge or parry has made Revenge cost no Rage. Menace has also been redesigned with this theme in mind, empowering Intimidating Shout to cause all enemies to cower in fear for a substantial amount of time, knocking back those that are not the primary target. Indomitable will passively increase the Warrior’s maximum health by a moderate amount, and spending Rage while the ability is active will heal their wounds. Never Surrender increases Ignore Pain by either a moderate or significant amount based on missing health.

Glad to see rage problems being addressed and the Prot spec taken out of that really user unfriendly feeling of “I want to do damage but I have to save rage for Ignore Pain.” Fear Shout getting a little knock back is kind of cool. I hope they remove the target limit. Baseline Indomitable? Or is that a talent? Never Surrender is always welcome to see, especially if it can scale up to huge numbers. Though I’d rather see it provide a bigger damage reduction as health decreases over a bigger shield.

All in all, I’m hopeful we can actually pick up our warriors again and say “Hey guys, we’re not trash anymore!” But still, stop teasing us and give us back two charges baseline. That has been one of the most heinous abuses to the warrior community since you removed Gag Order.

[Edren-gnomeregan]

Not in the new “classic” but this was my first character created in Vanilla. I got him somewhere into the high 50’s before BC came out. So I missed out on Vanilla endgame. But I had crazy button bars to handle all the spells/abilities Druids had. Then when you added all the downranked healing spells it was over the top, but fun.

[Meds-area-52]

“we want the focus of the rotation to be about managing your Flame Shock debuff on multiple targets to maximize the potential of Lava Burst through Lava Surge procs” - Direct quote from the ‘Shadowlands Class Updates’ page.

…and yet flame shock still has a CD, and remains dispellable in PvP in a plethora of different ways (EVERY healer can dispel, cleanse the weak, cleansing waters, double dispel from disc, reverse magic, diffuse magic off the top of my head). PLEASE think about a solution for this. Several options you can consider: total cooldown removal (as in Legion, which was most people’s favourite iteration of ele), 2-3 charge system for flame shock, dispel protection (such as the haste buff from WOTLK, or alternatively, an instant refund of the cooldown if it is dispelled), or at VERY LEAST have the cooldown scale down with haste like other fundamental abilities (i.e void bolt, mortal strike)
Also, please make sure fulminate stacks can be generated by abilities that are actually used in PvP (i.e off flame shock ticks of lava burst casts)… Lightning bolt/chain lightning are almost completely unused in PvP right now because it’s such a low-value spell that purging is generally more valuable between lava surge procs. Not being able to generate fulminate stacks would make Earth Shock pretty pathetic in PvP. As fun as playing around lava surge procs is, Earth Shock is what allows the rotation (in PvP, at least) to not be bland and 1-dimensional. This is critical to address.

[Dubheciar-garrosh]

Wait…

Likewise, even though Shadow Priests focus on harnessing Void energies, they are still able to draw on the Light to protect themselves.

Mind Blast , Mind Soothe , Power Infusion , Shadow Word: Death , and Shadow Word: Pain will be available for all Priests to use regardless of their active specialization. Additionally, Power Infusion can now be cast on allies.

So… what light spells are we getting?

Sometimes it feels like Blizz has no idea what to do with shadow priests. Here, our signature moves are given to every priest and we get… mind soothe and power infusion? It feels like Blizzard’s over-correcting. I understand giving SOME of our shadow spells to all priests (PW:Pain strikes me as an obvious one, and I can see PW:Death) but now it feels like we’re the sucker priests. We’ve given up the heals other priests have in exchange for mind flay, mind sear, and void eruption As far as class fantasy goes, it feels like all the “gazing into the void” isn’t paying much in dividends.