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The big boys and girls aren't the only ones getting new toys come Cataclysm. Players of all levels are getting new spells, abilities and mechanics that will change the way we level, all the way from 1 to 85. As Blizzard lets loose the first crop of class change details this week, WoW Rookie recaps the changes that will affect you most as a leveling player. It's a fairly short list this week -- shamans, warlocks and priests, as of press time for this post -- with the rest on tap for next week, after Blizzard has completed the first round of class info dumps.

New for leveling shaman

If you've wanted to level an enhancement shaman, Cataclysm sounds like the time to give it a whirl.

Cataclysm Shaman Class Changes

Primal Strike (available at level 3): Primal Strike is a new weapon-based attack that every shaman will learn very early in the game. Our goal with this ability is to make leveling as Enhancement rather than as Elemental more viable, since many key Enhancement talents become available at fairly high levels.

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Adds Nethaera:

Cataclysm Shaman Class Changes

Last but not least, it's the intention of Primal Strike to let shaman play as an Enhancement at low levels. Currently when leveling in this spec, you end up just using Lightning Bolt a lot so you feel like an Elemental shaman instead. At a higher level, Primal Strike gets replaced by Storm Strike. They share a cooldown so Enhancement just won't ever use Primal Strike after that, in the same way that Prot warriors don't use Sunder Armor once they have Devastate or Feral druids don't use Claw once they get Mangle.

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Resto shamans will get a boost to their toolkit, with a new direct healing spell in the earliest levels that will broaden their healing repertoire.

Cataclysm Shaman Class Changes

Healing Wave (level 4): While the shaman already has an ability called Healing Wave, we're adding another spell to the class's direct-healing arsenal and giving it a familiar name. The current Healing Wave will be renamed Greater Healing Wave, and the intent is for the "new" Healing Wave to be the shaman's go-to heal. Lesser Healing Wave and Greater Healing Wave will be used on a more situational basis.

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Game-wide changes to cleansing mechanics will affect shamans in a big way.

Cataclysm Shaman Class Changes

We're making changes to which classes and specs are able to dispel magic, diseases, curses, and poison, largely for PvP purposes. Shaman will have Cleanse Spirit as a baseline ability, but it will only remove curses. Restoration shaman will have a talent that will improve Cleanse Spirit so that it also removes magic. Shaman will no longer be able to remove poison.

Cleansing Totem will be removed from the game, as we want dispels to be a decision for players, not something done mindlessly. To that end, all dispels will cost slightly more mana, and you will waste the spell if you cast it when there is nothing to remove. (Currently, the dispel is only cast when there is something to remove, which encourages spamming 'just in case.") We will balance PvE dispelling with this new model in mind.

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For more extensive information on shaman changes ahead in Cataclysm, see our three-pronged analysis post.
New for leveling warlocks

No news yet on any leveling spells for warlocks in the coming expansion (besides fancy stuff beyond level 80, anyway -- not really WoW Rookie's target audience). Alas, no new demons, either, and nothing new on mounts. The hot news on the 'lock scene is the change to soul shard mechanics, which was initially announced at BlizzCon 2009.

Warlock Cataclysm Changes

Soul Shard Overhaul

This major change regarding Soul Shards was previously announced at BlizzCon 2009. Soul Shards will no longer be inventory items, but instead a new UI resource mechanic. Warlocks will have 3 Soul Shards that can be used during a fight and will not be able to gain additional shards during combat. Soul Shards will not be required outside of combat. Soul Burn will consume a Soul Shard resource, thereby allowing you to use the secondary effects of some spells. Soul Burn has no mana or health costs and is off the global cooldown. Planned secondary effects are outlined here.

• Summon Demon + Soul Burn = summon the demon instantly.
• Drain Life + Soul Burn = Reduces cast speed by 60%.
• Demonic Circle + Soul Burn = Increases movement speed by 50% for 8 seconds after teleporting.
• Unstable Affliction + Soul Burn = Instantly deals damage equal to 30% of its effect.
• Soul Fire + Soul Burn = Instant cast.
• Healthstone + Soul Burn = Increases total health by 20% for 8 seconds.
• Searing Pain + Soul Burn = Increases the crit chance of Searing Pain by 100%, and subsequent Searing Pain spells by 50% for 6 seconds.

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A significant list of ability and mechanics changes, plus new talents and talent changes, will usher in new spellcasting and pet options for Cataclysm-era warlocks. How much of it trickles down into the leveling range to affect our playstyles as we come up through the ranks remains to be seen. See our analysis of warlock changes for more extensive details about the spell and talent changes ahead.

New for leveling priests

Ready for priest changes? Their notes hit during the middle of the night. Like shamans, priests will be getting a new version of a single-target heal at low levels; also like shamans, they'll be affected by the changes made to cleansing. More exciting, healing will get a new "chakra"-style mechanic, and shadow priests will get to feel shadow priest-y at earlier levels than ever with a new mechanic to boost their damage.

Priest Cataclysm Changes

New Priest Spells

Heal (available at level 16): While priests already have a spell called Heal, the existing version becomes obsolete at higher levels, which is something we intend to change in Cataclysm. Introduced at a low level, the "new" Heal spell will functionally work much like a down-ranked Greater Heal did in the past, adding more granularity to your direct-healing arsenal. If you need to heal someone a moderate amount and efficiency is an issue (making Flash Heal the incorrect spell for the job), then Heal is what you want to use. Heal is intended to be the priest's go-to direct-healing spell unless they need something bigger (Greater Heal) or faster (Flash Heal). We will be following a similar philosophy with all the healing classes.

Changes to Abilities and Mechanics

• We want to bring back Shadow Word: Death as an "execute" -- something you do when the target is at 25% health.
• While we want to keep the priest's role as a well-rounded healer, we also want to make sure the class is a viable tank healer, which is something priests moved away from a little in Wrath of the Lich King. Greater Heal will probably be the tank-healing spell of choice, though we've also discussed giving Discipline a second shield so that they have a small shield to cast on lots of different targets, and a big, more expensive shield to cast on a tank or anyone else taking a ton of damage.
• Divine Spirit and Prayer of Spirit will be removed from the game. As Spirit will be the primary mana-regeneration stat, we don't want it to vary as much between solo, small group, and raid play. Blessing of Kings and Mark of the Wild will not boost Spirit either.
• Mana will be a bigger consideration for all healers. We aren't trying to make healing more painful; we're trying to make it more fun. When the cost of a spell isn't an issue, then casting the right spell for the job is less of an issue because you might as well just use your most powerful spell all of the time. We are, however, getting rid of the five-second rule, because we don't want to encourage standing around doing nothing. We're also going to cut back on the benefits of buffs such as Replenishment so priests (and all healers) don't feel as penalized when those buffs aren't available.

New Talents and Talent Changes

• We want to make Holy a little bit more interesting to play. One new talent will push the Holy priest into an improved healing state when he or she casts Prayer of Healing, Heal, or Renew three times in a row. The empowered state varies depending on the heals cast.
• Since the Shadow tree has a lot of passive damage-boosting abilities -- something we're trying to avoid in Cataclysm -- we will need to replace several of the tree's talents. One idea is to play off of the new Shadow Orbs mechanic (see Mastery section below), possibly allowing you to consume an orb to increase damage from Mind Blast or reduce Mind Spike's cast time.

Mastery Passive Talent Tree Bonuses

Shadow
Spell damage
Spell Crit
Shadow Orbs

Shadow Orbs: Casting spells grants a chance for Shadow Orbs to be created that fly around you and increase your shadow damage. This will help lower-level characters feel more like "Shadow priests" before they obtain Shadowform.

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Re: Priest Cataclysm Changes

A few quick clarifications:

The idea behind the Holy "cast three in a row" talent (it's called "Chakra") is that we've always positioned Holy as a versatile healer. This talent lets you shift into different modes. If you need to be a tank healer, cast three single target heals and your single-target healing is now better. Cast three area heals, and you can be a temporarily specialized group healer. We're going to try to play this mechanic up with a cool UI to try to get that "I'm almost in the zone" feel. We'll let it apply to as many types of spells as we can, perhaps even Smite for those times when nobody's taking damage.

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Learn more about what's in the bubble for priests in Cataclysm.

Hold on tight -- more construction ahead

More class changes will be pouring in today and tomorrow, with paladins following a little behind the pack next week. Stay tuned to WoW.com's Guide to World of Warcraft: Cataclysm for all the latest class previews and news updates. We'll pick out more class change highlights that affect leveling players again, next week here on WoW Rookie.

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Filed under: WoW Rookie, Cataclysm, Priest, Shaman, Warlock