Cataclysm Beta: New 31-point talent trees, spec bonuses and more
by Michael Sacco 
Jul 14th 2010 at 3:50AM
We've got talent calculators, spec bonuses, and more after the break, courtesy of MMO-Champion. Bear in mind while reading that this is only the first pass of this talent overhaul and several trees/classes, including death knight, druid, paladin, warlock, arcane mage, and assassination rogue, are nowhere near done.
Blood
A dark guardian who manipulates and corrupts life energy to sustain himself/herself in the face of an enemy onslaught.
Frost
An icy harbinger of doom, channeling runic power and delivering rapid weapon strikes.
Unholy
A master of death and decay, spreading infection and controlling undead minions to do his/her bidding. For more on Cataclysm's latest changes for death knights, check out our analysis.
Restoration
Uses heal-over-time Nature spells to keep allies alive, taking on the form of a tree when the need is most urgent. Feral
Takes on the form of a great cat to deal damage with bleeds and bites or a mighty bear to absorb damage and protect allies. Balance
Can take on the form of a powerful Moonkin, balancing the power of Arcane and Nature magic to destroy enemies at a distance. For more on Cataclysm's latest changes for druids, check out our analysis for restoration, feral and balance.
Marksmanship
A master archer or sharpshooter who excels in bringing down enemies from afar. Survival
A rugged tracker who favors using animal venom, explosives and traps as deadly weapons. Beast Mastery
A master of the wild who can tame a wide variety of beasts to assist him/her in combat. For more on Cataclysm's latest changes for hunters, check out our analysis.
Arcane
Manipulates arcane energies, playing with the very fabric of time and space. Frost
Freezes enemies in their tracks and shatters them with Frost magic. Fire
Ignites enemies with balls of fire and the breath of dragons. For more on Cataclysm's latest changes for mages, check out our analysis.
Holy
Invokes the power of the Light to protect and to heal. Protection
Uses Holy magic to shield himself / herself and defend allies from attackers. Retribution
A righteous crusader who judges and punishes opponents with weapons and Holy magic. For more on Cataclysm's latest changes for death knights, check out our analysis for holy, protection and retribution.
Discipline
Uses magic to shield allies from taking damage as well as heal their wounds. Shadow
Uses sinister Shadow magic, especially damage-over-time spells, to eradicate enemies. Holy
A versatile healer who can reverse damage on individuals or groups and even heal from beyond the grave. For more on Cataclysm's latest changes for priests, check out our analysis for discipline, shadow and holy.
Combat
A swashbuckler who uses agility and guile to stand toe-to-toe with enemies. Assassination
A deadly master of poisons who dispatches victims with vicious dagger strikes. Subtlety
A dark stalker who leaps from the shadows to ambush his/her unsuspecting prey. For more on Cataclysm's latest changes for rogues, check out our analysis.
Elemental
A spellcaster who harnesses the destructive forces of nature and the elements. Restoration
A healer who calls upon ancestral spirits and the cleansing power of water to mend allies? wounds. Enhancement
A totemic warrior who strikes foes with weapons imbued with elemental power. For more on Cataclysm's latest changes for shamans, check out our analysis of elemental, restoration and enhancement.
Destruction
Calls down demonic fire to burn and demolish enemies. Demonology
A warlock who uses both Fire and Shadow magic along with powerful demons. Affliction
A master of Shadow magic who specializes in fear, drains and damage-over-time spells. For more on Cataclysm's latest changes for warlocks, check out our analysis.
Arms
Highly trained for battle with two-handed weapons, uses mobility and overpowering attacks to strike his/her opponents down. Fury
A furious berserker wielding a weapon in each hand, uses a flurry of attacks to carve his / her opponents to pieces. Protection
A stalwart protector that uses a shield to protect himself/herself and his/her allies. For more on Cataclysm's latest changes for warriors, check out our analysis.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From goblins and worgens to mastery and guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.Filed under: Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 12)
Johnny Jul 14th 2010 3:55AM
mmm... Talent trees. :)
Hollow Leviathan Jul 14th 2010 5:41AM
I've been frothing at the mouth for these talent trees, but I hesitate to bite in. They're so rough, nearly alpha quality. They are definitely not nearly for consumption. As much as I'm hungry for specs and analysis, I'm gonna wait a couple builds before looking at these again.
Rollo Jul 14th 2010 7:06AM
Wow, finally shaman tanking! But, in bear form..?
Wait, the shaman link is wrong. :-(
Qot Jul 14th 2010 9:48AM
Sure, the specs are still rough, but you're missing the big picture: Nom Nom Nom survived the revamp!
Hooray!
Zaros Jul 14th 2010 4:18PM
@ felfireblog, they are not re-inventing the wheel; They are adding shiny rims.
Zaros Jul 14th 2010 7:31PM
Ignites enemies with balls of fire
i lol'd
McFish Jul 16th 2010 8:56AM
From what I have seen so far, it looks like All the talents are AMAZING! However, there are fewer of them.
So, Im assuming the cookie cutter best dps and best pvp specs are going to be enforced even more so. Which also means that placing 3 pts here instead of there and sacrificing this for that is going to be a much harder decision.
But all in all, there will be less "average azerothian idiots" who are running around with less than optimal spec?
felfireblog Jul 14th 2010 3:57AM
Warlock talents have been GUTTED! /tear
http://felfire.com/
EasyAnswer Jul 14th 2010 4:30AM
I agree, WTB better talent trees ='(
Jeaz Jul 14th 2010 4:43AM
If you check the patch notes you'll see that many classes talent trees are noted as not as finished as others. Warlocks, Druids, Paladins and DKs are among them. So expect alot of changes on their talent trees in upcoming builds.
thawedtheorc Jul 14th 2010 4:47AM
I went to that site and I have to ask- How old is that blogger?
Gutted? That would mean they took almost all the talents and spells away. They have not and will not. They have not gutted any of the trees and they are not going back to 'vanilla' style talent trees. They are simply not making you use talent points every level as much or at all on degrees on the same talent. ie: 1st point for 20% increase of some spell to 5th point for 100% increase of some spell.
You will also be starting out at level 10 with really good spells instead of waiting until level 40-60-70 etc.
I do not understand people who start complaining about something or write articles like that link above and all the while they are groaning, they state they don't have many details.
Callimaco Jul 14th 2010 4:56AM
You did read that:
A) All classes are getting this treatment.
B) The Warlock class is one listed as furthest away from being done.
C) Specs now get some of their old talents free at level ten.
D) The Demo tree has five new talents in it. Including Improved Hellfire. While I couldn't fit it in my test build (Dear Blizz: Demo Locks don't want to be forced to take a point in Improved Imp, Succubus, or Health Funnel) that talent made me literally laugh out loud. An evil, evil, laugh.
felfireblog Jul 14th 2010 5:08AM
1) I wrote the article a day before the talents were released, and I merely disagreed with the IDEA of gutting the trees. Were some talents boring? Yes. Did some talents need to be scrapped or revamped? Yes. Did they need to change the main system that we have been using for years when everything worked fine? No.
My stance was merely: Why invent the wheel?
2) I am aware that this is still beta, lots can be changed between now and then. I thought I stated that very clearly.
felfireblog Jul 14th 2010 5:10AM
Re-Invent the wheel*
Callimaco Jul 14th 2010 5:25AM
I am not running off to read your blog. You didn't say any of that here.
They are not reinventing the wheel. There are still trees and points. A whole new system would not be something that could be explained by going "it is the same exact system, except you have smaller trees and less points". Was it wheel reinvention when each expansion changed trees and point totals? Same thing is happening here. If anything, this is closer to a regression to earlier WoW.
Bionic Radd Jul 14th 2010 7:11AM
i would argue that they are building a much better, lighter, more efficient wheel. These talent trees will accomplish in 31 points what the talents in Wrath need 51 points to match. If I had a complaint based on the druid and hunter trees I looked at, it would be that, much like now, everyone is going to be using the same builds. Feral Tanking really only had one option that I could see and I only looked through Marksman for Hunter, but that tree seemed to have 31 points worth of PVE talents and some optional stuff to swap out for a PVP build.
Again, not really a change from how things are, now. It just means there are no dumb talents, overall. I'd love to see them pepper a few more talents through the trees, possibly even adding one more tier of talents to choose from. More good stuff that will make it harder to choose and allow us to tweak our play style a bit, if we want.
kazeko.fuuga Jul 14th 2010 7:21AM
Once upon a time, wheels were stone. Then they grew big and wooden. Now they're smaller, made of plastics and metal and adjusted for our new forms of transport.
Why is this confusing? Their design is changing drastically, but the talents were from an old design philosophy.
Zaros Jul 14th 2010 4:21PM
Replyed to the wrong post last time >.< let me repeat.
@ felfireblog, they are not re-inventing the wheel; They're adding shiny new rims.
Lanaius Jul 14th 2010 4:52PM
The way I see it, they are required to gut it. If the talent structure (and my understanding of it) holds, then you get the Felguard at level 10. Considering that he packs more utility than any summon other than the Felhound (and possibly the succubus CC) there's not much reason to spend points investing into talents that improve the other summons. In the current build you have to spend points in those to get where you really want. Getting the Felguard at level 10 completely destabilizes the Demonology build, which is likely why the Warlock trees are as far from completion as any other talent set.
moxiegraphix Jul 14th 2010 3:57AM
Mangle has a 100 yard range. 100. I laughed when I saw that on my baby druid in the beta. I do really like that it is available immediately at level 10, though. The trees mostly seem lackluster, so far, but they are not final and will very likely see a lot of polishing before everything is said and done.