Undocumented changes in Patch 3.1 on the PTR
There is the announced changes in every patch and the unannounced changes. And boy, did some interesting things get slipped into this first round of notes on the PTR for Patch 3.1 that weren't on the official patch list. The full list is below (so far) is below, courtesy of MMO-Champion. You'll see some talent and spell changes we already know about mixed in when those that are new since 8 hours ago when we first posted. Analysis for each class to come throughout the day.Death Knight
Blood
Skills
- Pestilence is now 1 rank. It now spreads existing Blood Plague and Frost Fever infections from your target to all other enemies within 10 yards. (Previously dealt damage)
- Strangulate no longer deals damage.
- Blood Boil damage increased, but its range has been reduced.
- Death Pact's heal can no longer crit.
- Blood Strike now instantly strikes the enemy, causing 40% weapon damage plus 305.6, increased by 12.5% per disease on the target at rank 6. (Previously caused 50% weapon damage plus 191, and an additional 95.5 bonus damage per disease)
- Heart Strike now
- instantly strikes the target and his nearest ally, causing 50% weapon damage plus 368, increased by 10% per disease on the target at rank 6. (Previously caused 60% weapon damage plus 220.8, and an additional 110.4 bonus damage per disease)
- Blood Gorged (Tier 10) no longer grants expertise. Instead your attacks ignore up to 2/4/6/8/10% of the targets armor.
- Heart Strike (Tier 9) now strikes the target and his nearest ally, causing 50% weapon damage plus 125, increased by 10% per disease on the target.
- Might of Morgraine (Tier 9) now increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Blood Boil, Blood Strike, Death Strike, Heart Strike, and Obliterate abilities by 10/20/30%. (Previously was 15/30/45%)
- Sudden Doom (Tier 8 ) is now a 3 point talent and now has a 5/10/15% chance to launch a free Death Coil at your target. (Previously gave a 4/8/12/16/20% chance to make the next death coil cost no runic power and guaranteed it to crit)
- Blood Aura (Tier 7) renamed Improved Blood Presence and now while in Frost Presence or Unholy Presence, you retain 4% healing from Blood Presence, and healing done to you is increased by 10% in Blood Presence.
- Bloody Strikes (Tier 5) now increases the damage of Blood Strike and Heart Strike by 15/30/45%, and increases the damage of Blood Boil by 20/40/60%.
- Scent of Blood (Tier 2) now can proc off dodging, parrying or taking direct damage.
- *New Talent* Improved Death Strike, Tier 8, 2 talent points - Increases the damage of your Death Strike by 15/30%.
Frost
Skills
- Icy Touch now causes Frost Fever to last 15 secs.
- Hungering Cold and Howling Blast have switched places in the talent tree.
- Howling Blast (Tier 11) now deals 50% additional damage to targets infected with Frost Fever. (Previously dealt double damage)
- Unbreakable Armor (Tier 8 ) now Reinforces your armor with a thick coat of ice, reducing physical damage from all attacks by 0.05 and increasing your strength by 25% for 20 sec. The amount of damage reduced increases as your armor increases. (Previously just increased armor by 25%, strength by 10%, and parry by 5%)
- Blood of the North (Tier 8 ) now affects Frost Strike as well as Blood Strike.
- Chillblains (Tier 7) now reduces movement speed by 15/30/45%. (Previously 10/20/30%)
- Endless Winter moved from Tier 6 to Tier 4.
- Chill of the Grave moved from Tier 5 to Tier 4.
- Runic Power Mastery moved to Tier 1 and is now a 2 point talent. Increases your maximum Runic Power by 15/30. (Previously 3 point talent that increased runic power by 10/20/30)
- Black Ice (Tier 2) increases your frost damage by 4/8/12/16/20%. (Previously 6/12/18/24/30%)
- Glacier Rot moved from Tier 1 to Tier 5 and is now a 3 point talent. Now diseased enemies take 7/13/20% more damage from your Icy Touch, Howling Blast and Frost Strike. (Previously 5/10%)
Skills
- Plague Strike now deals 50% weapon damage plus 189 and infects the target with Blood Plague, a disease dealing Shadow damage over time. (No longer removes a HoT)
- Raise Dead cooldown reduced from 5 minutes to 3 minutes. The ghoul now only lasts for 1 minute.
- Unholy Blight moved from Tier 11 to Tier 5.
- Scourge Strike (Tier 9) now deals 55% of weapon damage as Shadow damage plus 185.63, increased 9% per each of your diseases on the target. (Previously dealt 60% of weapon damage as Shadow damage plus 81, and an additional 40.5 bonus damage per disease.)
- Night of the Dead (Tier 8 ) now reduces the cooldown on Raise Dead by 45/90 sec and Army of the Deat by 5/10 min. (Previously reduced cooldown when you hit the target)
- Desecration (Tier 7) now causes all Plague Strikes to cause the desecrated ground effect. Targets in the area are slowed by 10/20/30/40/50% by the grasping arms of the dead while you cause 1/2/3/4/5% additional damage while standing on the unholy ground. Lasts 12 sec.
- Anti-Magic Zone (Tier 7) no longer requires a rune to activate.
- Unholy Aura (Tier 7) renamed Improved Unholy Presence and changed to: While in Blood Presence or Frost Presence, you retain 8/15% increased movement speed from Unholy Presence, and your runes finish their cooldowns 5/10% faster in Unholy Presence.
- Magic Supression (Tier 6) is now a 3 point talent and You take 2/4/6% less damage from all magic. In addition, your Anti-Magic Shell absorbs an additional 8/16/25% of spell damage. (Previously a 5 point talent)
- Master of Ghouls moved from Tier 6 to Tier 4. It now also reduces the cooldown of your Raise Dead spell by 60 sec.
- Summon Gargoyle moved from Tier 5 to Tier 11.
- Blood-Caked Blade (Tier 4) now has a 3 sec internal cooldown.
- Shadow of Death removed from the game.
- Outbreak (Tier 3) no longer affects Blood Boil. It now affects Plague Strike and Scourge Strike.
- Necrosis (Tier 3) now only affects main hand auto attacks. (Previously affected all auto-attacks)
- Virulence moved from Tier 2 to Tier 1.
- Morbidity moved from Tier 1 to Tier 2.
- *New Talent* Ghoul Frenzy, Tier 6, 1 point talent - Grants your pet 25% haste for 15 sec and heals it for 30% of its health over the duration. 1 Unholy Rune. 45 Yard range. Channeled. 30 sec cooldown.
Druid
Balance
Skills
- Faerie Fire now decreases armor by 5%. (Previously decreased armor by a set amount)
- Owlkin Frenzy (Tier 8 ) now procs off physical melee and ranged attacks. (Previously was triggered by all attacks)
Skills
- Faerie Fire now decreases armor by 5%. (Previously decreased armor by a set amount)
- Savage Roar changed to increase physical damage done by 30%. (Previously increased attack power by 40%)
- Maim now stuns the target instead of incapacitate.
- *New Spell* Savage Defense, 1 rank, level 40 - Each time you deal a melee critical strike, you gain Savage Defense, reducing the damage taken from the next physical attack that strikes you by 25% of your attack power.
- Survival of the Fittest (Tier 6) now increases your armor contribution from cloth and leather items in Bear Form and Dire Bear Form by 11/22/33%. (Previously 22/44/66%)
- Predatory Strikes (Tier 4) now increases now includes Moonkin Form in its effect.
- *New Talent* Primal Gore, Tier 10, 1 point talent - Grants the periodic damage from your Rake, Lacerate and Rip abilities the ability to critically hit.
Restoration
Skills
- Abolish Poison now ticks every 3 secs for 12 secs. (Previously ticked every 2 secs for 8 secs)
- Replenish (Tier 9) renamed Revitalize.
- Improved Regrowth (Tier 6) renamed Nature's Bounty. Increases the critical effect chance of your Regrowth and Nourish spells by 5/10/15/20/25%. (Previously increased just regrowth crit by 10/20/30/40/50%)
- Intensity (Tier 3) now allows 17/33/50% of mana regeneration to continue while casting. (Previously 10/20/30%)
- Improved Mark of the Wild (Tier 1) now also increases all of your total attributes by 1/2%.
- *New Talent* Improved Barkskin, Tier 10, 2 point talent - Increases the damage reduction granted by your Barkskin spell by 5/10%, and increases resistance to Dispel mechanics by 30/60% while under the effect of Barkskin.
Hunter
Beast Mastery
Skills
- *New Skill* Call Stabled Pet - A pet of your choice busts out of its stable and joins you no matter where you are, replacing your current pet. Cannot be used in combat. Instant. 30 min cooldown. Requires Level 80.
Marksmanship
Skills
- Kill Shot no longer has a minimum range. It can now be used in melee range.
- Wild Quiver (Tier 9) now increases your chance to shoot an additional shot when doing damage with your auto shot, dealing 80% Nature damage, by 4/8/12%. (Previously it dealt 50% nature damage and had a 4/7/10% chance.)
- Piercing Shots (Tier 7) Your critical Aimed, Steady and Chimera Shots cause the target to bleed for 10/20/30% of the damage dealt over 8 sec. (Previously triggered 2/4/6% armor ignore).
- Ranged Weapon Specialization (Tier 6) is now a 3 point talent, increasing damage with ranged weapons by 1/3/5%. (Previously a 5 point talent increasing damage by 1/2/3/4/5%)
Survival
Skills
- Disengage cooldown increased to 30 secs. (Previously was 25 secs)
- Hunting Party (Tier 10) is now a 3 point talent, increasing agility by 1/2/3% and your Arcane Shot, Explosive Shot and Steady Shot critical strikes have a 33/66/100% chance to grant up to 10 party or raid members mana regeneration equal to 0.25% of the maximum mana per second. Lasts for 15 sec.
- Trap Mastery moved from Tier 9 to Tier 2 and is now a 3 point talent. Increases the duration of Frost and Freezing trap by 10/20/30%, Periodic damage of Immolation and Explosive trap by 10/20/30%, and number of snakes summoned by Snake Trap by 30%. (Previously was just 1 point)
- *New Talent* Black Arrow (Tier 9) - Fires a Black Arrow at the target, increasing all damage done by you to the target by 6% and dealing [ 10% of RAP + 785 ] Shadow damage over 15 sec. Costs 6% base mana. 5-35 yard range. Instant Cast. 30 sec cooldown.
- Sniper Training (Tier 9) has been changed to increase the critical strike chance of your Kill Shot ability by 5/10/15%, and while standing still for 6 sec., you gain Sniper Training increasing the damage done by your Steady Shot, Aimed Shot, Black Arrow and Explosive Shot by 2/4/6% Lasts 15 sec. (Previously increased damage and critical strike chance based on your range to the target)
- Wyvern Sting (Tier 7) now lasts 30 sec on the target. (Previously lasted 12 sec)
- T.N.T. (Tier 4) now increases the damage done by your Explosive Shot, Explosive Trap and Immolation Trap by 2%. (Previously increased critical strike chance of explosive shot and and gave it a chance to stun the target)
- Lock and Load (Tier 4) now has a 33/66/100% chance to proc off Freezing Shot, Freezing Trap, and Frost Trap, and a 3/7/10% chance to proc off the periodic damage of Immolation Trap and Black Arrow. (Previously worked on all traps and included serpent sting)
- Improved Wing Clip has been removed from the game.
Mage
Arcane
Skills
- Mage Armor has been increased to allow 50% of your mana regneration to continue while casting. (Previously 30%)
- *New Spell* Polymorph Rabbit - Transforms the enemy into a harmless rabbit, forcing it to scamper around for up to 50 sec. While wandering, the rabbit cannot attack or cast spells but will regenerate very quickly. Any damage will transform the target back into its normal form. Only one target can be polymorphed at a time. Only works on Beasts, Humanoids and Critters.
- Arcane Meditation (Tier 4) Allows 17/33/50% of your mana regeneration to continue while casting. (Previously 10/20/30%)
Talents
- Burnout (Tier 10) now only affects Fire Spells. (Previously affected all spells)
- Pyromaniac (Tier 7) now allows 17/33/50% of your mana regeneration to continue while casting. (Previously 10/20/30%)
Frost
Talents
- Improved Water Elemental (Tier 9) has been renamed Enduring Winter. It now increases the duration of your Summon Water Elemental spell by 5 sec and your Frostbolt spell has a 33/66/100% chance to grant the Replenishment effect to up to 10 party or raid members mana regeneration equal to 0.25% of their maximum mana per second for 15 sec.
Paladin
- All Paladin auras have had their tooltip changed to note that they work on the entire raid, not just the party.
Holy
Skills
- Exorcism can now be used on all targets, but is now a guaranteed critical strike vs Undead and Demon type mobs.
- Judgement of Light now procs off spells as well. (Previously only "attacks" would trigger this)
- Purifying Power (Tier 6) now reduces the cooldown of your Exorcism and Holy Wrath spells by 17/33%. (Previously increased the critical strike chance of those spells by 10/20%)
- Pure of Heart (Tier 5) now reduces Curse, Poison, and Disease effects by 15/30%. (Previously was 25/50% but did not include poisons)
- Blessed Hands has been moved from Tier 5 to Tier 4 and now reduces the mana cost of Hand of Freedom, Hand of Sacrifice and Hand of Salvation by 15/30% and cooldowns by 10/20%.
- Improved Concentration Aura's (Tier 4) reduced silence/interrupt effect now works while any aura is active.
Protection
Skills
- Shield of Righteousness now deals 130% of block value + 520 at the highest rank. It no longer causes a high amount of threat. (Previously increased damage by a set amount)
- Blessing of Kings is now a baseline ability. Trainable at level 20.
- Shield of the Templar (Tier 10) no longer increases the damage of your Holy Shield, Avenger's Shield and Shield of Righteousness spells. Instead it gives your Avenger's Shield a 33/66/100% chance to silence targets hit by it for 3 sec.
- Judgements of the Just (Tier 10) now reduces the cooldown of your Hammer of Justice by 10 sec, increases the duration of your Seal of Justice effect by 0.5 sec, in addition to its previous effect.
- Avenger's Shield's (Tier 9) damage has been increased across all ranks.
- Guarded by the Light (Tier 9) now reduces spell damage taken by 3% and gives a 50% chance to refresh the duration of your Divine Plea when you hit an enemy. (Previously reduced the mana cost of your Holy Shield, Avenger's Shield and Shield of Righteousness spells by 15%.)
- Holy Shield's (Tier 7) damage slightly increased across all ranks.
- Ardent Defender (Tier 7) is now a 3 point talent, reducing damage taken by 10/20/30%. (Previously was a 5 point talent)
- Sacred Duty (Tier 6) increases stamina by 4% now. (Previously was 3%)
- One-Handed Weapon Specialization is now a 3 point talent, increasing damage done with 1 handers by 4/7/10%. (Previously was a 5 point talent)
- Blessing of Sanctuary (Tier 5) now only grants 2% of maximum displayed mana when the target blocks, parries, or dodges a melee attack. (Previously granted 10 rage or 20 runic power or 2% max mana)
- Divine Guardian (Tier 4) now has been changed to redirect damage "(up to a maximum of 150/300% of the Paladin's health)." (Previously had no limit)
- Improved Devotion Aura (Tier 4) now increases the amount healed on any target affected by any of your Auras by 2%. (Previously only worked with Devotion Aura active)
- Improved Hammer of Justice (Tier 4) is now a 2 point talent, reducing the cooldown of Hammer of Justice by 10/20 sec. (Previously had a 3rd rank that reduced cooldown by 30 secs)
Retribution
Talents
- Righteous Vengeance (Tier 10) is now a 3 point talent. When your Judgement and Divine Storm spells deal a critical strike, your target will take 10/20/30% additional damage over 8 sec. (Previously a 5 point talent)
- Fanaticism (Tier 8 ) is now a 3 point talent and now increases the critical strike chance of all Judgements capable of a critical hit by 6/12/18% and reduces threat caused by all actions by 10/20/30% except when under the effects of Righteous Fury. (Previously a 5 point talent)
- Improved Retribution Aura has been removed from the game.
- Improved Retribution Aura's effect has been merged into Sanctified Retribution (Tier 5).
- Divine Purpose has been moved from Tier 5 to Tier 6.
Priest
Discipline
Skills
- Divine Spirit is now a baseline spell.
- Penance (Tier 11) Damage increased slightly across all ranks.
- Grace (Tier 9) now lasts 15 sec. (Previously lasted 8 sec)
- Rapture (Tier 8 ) revamped. Now a 3 point talent. When your Power Word: Shield is completely absorbed or dispelled you are instantly energized with 1.5% of your total mana, and you have a 33% chance to energize your shielded target with 2% total mana, 8 rage, 16 energy or 32 runic power. This effect cannot occur once every 12 seconds.
- Focused Will (Tier 7) now increases spell critical strike chance by 1/2/3% in addition to its previous effect.
- Reflective Shield has been moved from Tier 7 to Tier 5. It is now a 2 point talent and causes 22/45% of the damage you absorb with Power Word: Shield to reflect back at the attacker.
- Enlightenment (Tier 6) is now a 3 point talent and now increases your total Spirit by 2/4/6% and increases your spell haste by 2/4/6%. (Previously a 5 point talent)
- Meditation (Tier 3) now increases mana regeneration by 17/33/50%. (Previously 10/20/30%)
- Improved Power Word: Fortitude (Tier 2) now also increases your personal stamina by 2/4%.
- Unbreakable Will (Tier 1) now reduces the duration of Stun, Fear, and Silence effects done to you by an additional 6/12/18/24/30%. (Previously 3/6/9/12/15%)
- *New Talent* Improved Flash Heal, Tier 7, 3 point talent - Reduces the mana cost of your Flash Heal by 5/10/15%, and increases the critical effect chance of your Flash Heal by 4/7/10% on friendly targets at or below 50% health.
- *New Talent* Soul Warding, Tier 5, 1 point talent - Reduces the cooldown of your Power Word: Shield ability by 4 sec, and reduces the mana cost of your Power Word: Shield by 30%.
Holy
Skills
- Prayer of Healing is now a targeted spell that heals the target's party.
- Holy Nova mana cost reduced from 27% base mana to 22% base mana.
- Circle of Healing (Tier 9) healing increased across all ranks.
- Test of Faith (Tier 9) now increases healing by 4/8/12% on friendly targets at or below 50% health.
- Serendipity (Tier 8 ) changed to: When you heal with Binding Heal or Flash Heal, the cast time of your next Greater Heal or Prayer of Healing spell is reduced by 6/12/20%. Stacks up to 3 times. Lasts 20 sec.
- Holy Concentration (Tier 7) changed to: Your mana regeneration is increased by 16/32/50% for 8 sec after you critically heal with Flash Heal, Greater Heal, Binding Heal or Renew. (Previously had a chance to grant clearcasting effect)
- Blessed Resilience (Tier 7) increases the effectiveness of your healing spells by 1/2/3% along with its previous effect.
- Improved Holy Concentration (Tier 9) removed from the game.
- *New Talent* Empowered Renew, Tier 9, 3 point talent - Your Renew spell gains an additional 5/10/15% of your bonus healing effects, and your Renew will instantly heal the target for 5/10/15% of the total periodic effect.
Shadow
Skills
- Shadowfiend now creates a shadowy fiend to attack the target. Caster receives 5% mana when the Shadowfiend attacks. Damage taken by area of effect attacks is reduced, and the Shadowfiend has a reduced chance to be hit by spells and melee attacks. Lasts 15 sec.
- Dispersion (Tier 11) now clears all snare and movement impairing effects when cast, and makes you immune to them while dispersed.
- Shadowform (Tier 7) now gives your Shadow Word: Pain, Devouring Plague, and Vampiric Touch spells the ability to critically hit.
- Darkness moved from Tier 6 to Tier 1.
- Silence (Tier 5) range increased to 30 yards. (Previously was 20 yards)
- Vampiric Embrace (Tier 5) now lasts 5 mins. (Previously lasted 1 min)
- Spirit Tap (Tier 1) now increases mana regeneration while casting by 87%. (Previously 50%)
- Improved Spirit Tap (Tier 1) increases mana regeneration while casting by 17/33%. (Previously 10/20%)
- *New Talent* Improved Devouring Plague, Tier 6, 3 point talent - Increases the periodic damage done by your Devouring Plague by 5/10/15%, and when you cast Devouring Plague you instantly deal damage equal to 5/10/15% of its total periodic effect.
Assassination
Skills
- Envenom now gives an additional 15% chance to apply Deadly Poison and a 75% increased frequency of applying Instant Poison for 1 sec plus an additional 1 sec per combo point. (Previously gave a 15% chance to apply both deadly and instant poison)
- Expose Armor now reduces armor by 20%, lasting longer per combo point.
- Hunger For Blood (Tier 11) changed to: Enrages you, increasing all damage caused by 15%. Requires a bleed effect to be active on the target. Lasts 30 sec. (Previously increased damage by 5%)
- Improved Poisons (Tier 4) changed to increases the chance to apply Deadly Poison to your target by 2/4/6/8/10% and the frequency of applying Instant Poison to your target by 10/20/30/40/50%. (Previously increased chance to apply Deadly and Instant poison by 2/4/6/8/10%)
Combat
Talents
- Savage Combat (Tier 9) now increases damage caused against poison enemies by 4%. (Previously increased damage by 1%)
- Adrenaline Rush (Tier 7) cooldown reduced from 5 minutes to 3 minutes.
- Lightning Reflexes (Tier 4) is now a 3 point talent and Increases your Dodge chance by 2/4/6% and gives you 4/7/10% melee haste. (Previously just increased dodge by 1/2/3/4/5%)
Shaman
Elemental
Skills
- Fire Nova Totem's mana cost has been reduced.
- *New Talent* Booming Echoes, Tier 8, 2 point talent - Reduces the cooldown of your Flame Shock and Frost Shock spells by an additional 1/2 sec., and increases the direct damage done by your Flame Shock and Frost Shock spells by an additional 10/20%.
Enchancement
Skills
- Bloodlust and Heroism now puts a debuff on you preventing you from using gaining the benefits of them for 10 mins. They now have a 5 min cooldown. (Previously had a 5 min debuff with a 10 min cooldown)
- Improved Stormstrike (Tier 8 ) now has a 50/100% chance to grant you 20% of your base mana when you Stormstrike.
- Stormstrike (Tier 7) now affects the next 4 nature attacks but only lasts 10 secs now. (Previously only affected 2 attacks and lasted 12 secs)
- Unleashed Rage (Tier 6) is now a 3 point talent. It now passively increases your agility by 1/2/3% in addition to causing your critical hits with melee attacks to increase all party and raid members' attack power by 4/7/10% if within 45 yards of the Shaman. Lasts 10 sec.
- Spirit Weapons (Tier 5) now reduces all threat, just not melee threat.
- Toughness (Tier 4) now increases stamina by 2/4/6/8/10% instead of increasing armor value.
- *New Talent* Frozen Power, Tier 6, 2 point talent - Increases the damage done by your Frostbrand Weapon if it is enchanted on your main-hand weapon by 10/20%, and your Frost Shock has a 50/100% chance to root the target in Ice for 5 sec. when used on targets at or further than 15 yards from you.
Restoration
Skills
- Poison Cleansing Totem and Disease Cleansing Totem have been merged into 1 totem.
Warlock
Affliction
Skills
- Curse of Elements Rank 5 now increases spell damage taken by the target by 13% (Previously 10%)
- Curse of Recklessness has been removed from the game.
- Curse of Weakness now reduces armor by 5% along with its previous effect.
Talents
- Pandemic (Tier 9) is now a 1 point talent. It now grants the periodic damage from your Corruption and Unstable Affliction spells the ability to critically hit.
- Malediction (Tier 8 ) now increases spell damage by 1/2/3%. (Previously also increased the effect of curse of elements)
- Eradication (Tier 7) has been changed to: When you deal damage with Corruption, you have a 2/4/6% chance to gain the Eradication effect. The Eradication effect increases the critical strike chance of your Shadow Bolt spell by 30%. Each critical strike reduces the critical strike bonus by 10%. Lasts 30 sec.
- Shadow Embrace (Tier 5) now increases Shadow Periodic damage. (Previously increased all periodic damage)
- Siphon Life (Tier 5) is no longer a spell. It is a passive talent that When you deal damage with your Corruption spell, you are instantly healed for 40% of the damage done.
- Frailty has been renamed Improved Curse of Weakness (Tier 2).
- Supression (Tier 1) now increases chance to hit with all spells. (Previously only affected affliction spells)
Demonology
Skills
- Enslave Demon penalties have been reduced. While enslaved, the time between the demon's attacks is increased by 30% and its casting speed is slowed by 20%. (Previously attack speed was increased by 40% and casting speed slowed by 30%)
Talents
- Fel Synergy has been moved from Tier 8 to Tier 1. You have a 50/100% chance to heal your pet for 50/30% of the amount of damage done by you.
- Mana Feed is now a 1 point talent and has been moved from Tier 6 to Tier 5. Your demon now gains 100% of the mana you gain when you gain mana from Drain Mana or Life Tap spells
- Master Conjuror (Tier 5) now increases the combat ratings gained from your conjured Firestone and Spellstone by 150/300%. (Previously 15/30%)
- Demonic Embrace (tier 1) is now a 3 point talent. Increases your total stamina by 4/7/10%. (Previously 2/4/6/8/10%)
- Demonic Empathy has been removed from the game.
- Demonic Sacrifice has been removed from the game.
- Improved Enslave Demon has been removed from the game.
- *New Talent* Nemesis, Tier 9, 3 point talent - Reduces the cooldown of your Demonic Empowerment, Metamorphosis, Soulstone and Fel Domination spells by 10/20/30%.
- *New Talent* Decimation, Tier 8, 2 point talent - When you Shadowbolt or Incinerate a target that is at or below 35% health, the cast time of your next Soulfire is reduced by 30/60%. Lasts 10 sec.
- *New Talent* Molten Core, Tier 6, 3 point talent - Your Shadow spells and damage over time effects have a 5/10/15% chance to increase the damage of your Fire spells by 10% for 12 sec.
Destruction
Talents
- Improved Soul Leech (Tier 8 ) now has a replenishment effect along with its previous effect.
- Conflagrate (Tier 7) is now 1 rank. It consumes an Immolate or Shadowflame effect on the enemy target to instantly deal damage equal to 15 sec of your Immolate or 8 sec of your Shadowflame.
- Backlash has been moved from Tier 7 to Tier 5.
- Pyroclasm has been moved from Tier 5 to Tier 7 and is now a 3 point talent. It now states when you critically strike with Searing Pain or Conflagrate, your Fire and Shadow spell damage is increased by 2/4/6% for 10 sec.
- Improved Immolate (Tier 5) now increases all damage done by Immolate. (Previously only increased the initial damage)
- Aftermath (Tier 2) now increases the periodic damage done by your Immolate by 3/6%, and your Conflagrate has a 50/100% chance to daze the target for 5 sec.
- Cataclysm (Tier 2) now reduces the Mana cost of your Destruction spells by 4/7/10%. (Previously increased hit chance with destruction spells and reduced mana cost by 1/2/3%)
- Improved Shadow Bolt (Tier 1) changed to Increases the damage done by your Shadow Bolt spell by 1/2/3/4/5%, and your Shadow Bolt causes your target to be vulnerable to spell damage, increasing spell critical strike chance against that target by 1/2/3/4/5%. Effect lasts 30 sec.
- Molten Core moved to demonology.
- *New Talent* Molten Skin, Tier 2, 3 point talent - Reduces all damage taken by 2/4/6%.
Warrior
Arms
Talents
- Wrecking Crew (Tier 10) now states that it no longer stacks with enrage.
- Blood Frenzy (Tier 9) now increases all physical damage done to the target by 2/4%. (Previously was 1/2%)
Fury
Talents
- Titan's Grip (Tier 11) now reduces physical damage you deal by 10%.
Protection
Skills
- Sunder Armor now reduces target's armor by 4% per application. Stacks up to 5. (Previously reduced armor by a set amount)
Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.
Patch 5.3 interview with Ghostcrawler
Mystery of the Unborn Val'kyr
The latest patch 5.3 news
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria news





Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)
Steel Feb 24th 2009 10:48AM
That sucks Shadow of Death removed from the game. I hated what it did making you come back as a ghoul but the extra strength and stam was a must for tanks.
Quartza Feb 24th 2009 10:48AM
Sexy, CoE is 13% now...mmm
Aftermath looks good, new shadowbolt talent looks good
Fel synergy is useless now, but Nemesis is pimp! I'm a demon lock and that just made my day...2 min cooldown? Count me in bruddha.
Might hve to respec a few more points into demon again...or maybe not...I'll have to the see the new tree with my own eyes first
Lab Monkey Feb 24th 2009 10:56AM
"Pandemic (Tier 9) is now a 1 point talent. It now grants the periodic damage from your Corruption and Unstable Affliction spells the ability to critically hit. "
That's a big yet subtle change for Affliction too. It used to proc bonus damage at a rate equal to your crit rate, now it actually counts as a crit. Yo Mages! Focus Magic on me!
Quartza Feb 24th 2009 11:06AM
haha right?
vazhkatsi Feb 24th 2009 5:31PM
i disagree, fel synergy being tier one and healing for 100% of damage done make it pretty nice. hello to never having to health funnel again
Manniken Feb 24th 2009 10:51AM
So, looking over the massive changes to the mage class, it finally dawned on my why the "bring the player not the class" philosophy is fundamentally flawed with respect to hybrid vs. pure classes. If the DPS spec of a hybrid class is supposed to be able to do as much damage in a raid setting as a pure DPS class, why are Frost mages not considered "raid viable". Look at any serious mage forum or discussion, and both Fire and Arcane are discussed as raiding specs, but not Frost. If a hybrid class (Paladin, Druid, etc.) can heal AND tank AND DPS at the levels desired by a raid, why can't the pure classes (Mage, Rogue, Hunter, Warlock) at least have all three talent trees capable of performing at that same level in end-game PVE? (Rogues currently have it worse than anybody when it comes to raiding spec diversity, but I can't really comment on that too much as I do not play a rogue.)
Ugh Feb 24th 2009 10:51AM
So those DK changes completely eff up the build and talents I've been having fun with.
Thanks a lot, Blizzard.
tanek Feb 24th 2009 10:52AM
"Survival of the Fittest (Tier 6) now increases your armor contribution from cloth and leather items in Bear Form and Dire Bear Form by 11/22/33%. (Previously 22/44/66%)"
Wait wait wait. I thought this was pushed UP before because we no longer got the multiplier on bonus armor or weapon/etc armor. Confused bear.
Dirrk Feb 24th 2009 11:42AM
No kidding.
They seem to hit the Unholy tree hard. Ghoul Frenzy seems worthless as your Ghoul is really disposable. Why would I heal my ghoul when I can just use Death Pact or Corpse Explosion and then immediately cast Raise Dead?
Maybe it's just the preemptive QQ'ing going on. This is probably just gonna make everyone redo their trees which really doesn't matter to me since I was planning on respecing as soon as I hit 80.
Capincrunch Feb 24th 2009 11:57AM
"*New Spell* Savage Defense, 1 rank, level 40 - Each time you deal a melee critical strike, you gain Savage Defense, reducing the damage taken from the next physical attack that strikes you by 25% of your attack power."
this makes up for the lost armor
Pfooti Feb 24th 2009 12:07PM
That's because they added the new skill that creates a damage shield (which scales based on AP) every time you crit in dire bear form. Overall, your mitigation is supposed to be about the same or a bit more, but now you can (a) prevent magic damage, and (b) have more stats to scale with, kind of like how DKs get parry from strength and warriors get shield block from strength.
Chuddy Feb 24th 2009 10:54AM
Over at mmo-champ there's lots of complaining about the dk changes. Never at one time have I felt so in the minority about a class. See I really like my blood spec'd dk. I have so much fun with her. Tanking and dps. The blood spec has so much utility it feels like my shadowpriest before the changes. I know unholy has been toned down but I dunno. These changes I almost feel too powerful and too much utility. Shaman changes are ok, enhance had some nice boosts and the ele change makes me want to play my shaman again. Just a little. lol.
- chuddy
mastercontrolcast.wordpress.com
Dustin Feb 24th 2009 10:55AM
still no un-nerfing of BM hunters?
Literaltruth Feb 24th 2009 11:06AM
WorldofRaids.com is listing the following new Hunter Pet Talents (which may not actually be in the PRT yet - I dunno)
I assume these are the new teir talents available to BM Hunters with the 51pt talent.
* New Hunter Pet Talents
o Shark Attack (2 ranks) - Your pet does an additional 4/8% damage with all attacks.
o Silverback (2 ranks) - Your pet's Growl also heals it for 1/2% of its total health.
o Wild Hunt (2 ranks) - Increases the contribution your pets get from your Stamina by 20/40% and attack power by 20/40%.
* New Advanced Quest Options: Screenshot 1, Screenshot 2, Movable/Resizable Default Quest Tracker!
djmayhem2k3 Feb 24th 2009 10:55AM
"Mage
Arcane
Skills*New Spell* Polymorph Rabbit - Transforms the enemy into a harmless rabbit, forcing it to scamper around for up to 50 sec. While wandering, the rabbit cannot attack or cast spells but will regenerate very quickly. Any damage will transform the target back into its normal form. Only one target can be polymorphed at a time. Only works on Beasts, Humanoids and Critters."
That's it? This is what I've been waiting for?
Oh wait....
More mana regen for Arcane.
Fixing things that aren't broken FTW!
S Feb 24th 2009 10:57AM
Did anyone else notice the fragments that you can collect in Ulduar? I think it's really interesting that they are unique 30, but you need 40 of them to make the quest item.
Makes "Val'anyr, Gavel of Ancient Kings", which is a Pally, Druid, Shaman, and Priest item. No news what it is.
knecht Feb 24th 2009 12:24PM
Given the classes, I'm sure its safe to say its a caster mace, which really sucks for us locks and mages. Hopefully the ele shaman in my guild will now stfu about everything.
themagewhocould Feb 24th 2009 10:59AM
Taken from MMO-Champion:
"Glyph of Mirror Image *new* -- Your Mirror Images gain the Winter's Chill talent, granting their Frostbolt spell a 100% chance to apply the Winter's Chill effect, which increases the chance spells will critically hit the target by 1% for 15 sec. Stacks up to 5 times."
The WC debuff currently gives 2%, stacking to five times, which brings it to a consistent 10% crit chance on a target.
Maybe the WC debuff'll be nerfed to 5%, which would mean scorch is next, or maybe the MIs just get a crappy version of WC.
Talia Feb 25th 2009 1:52PM
I would guess it's the latter (MIs just get a crappy version of WC), because unless you're arcane, or unless your MIs are hitting a secondary target, you probably have the WC/Scorch debuff already up on your target. So it's not that much of a boost anyway. Kind of pointless, actually.
Narlic Feb 24th 2009 11:00AM
What's the "frequency" bit on Improved Poisons? I was never aware of any sort of internal cooldown on that poison proc, have they added one??