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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsPatch 4.1 PTR notes updated for March 1
by Anne Stickney 
Mar 1st 2011 at 5:20PM
The patch notes for PTR patch 4.1 have been updated, and we've got all the latest changes for you below. Included in this update is some startling information regarding death knight talents.
The original round of 4.1 patch notes can be found here.
General
Death Knights
The original round of 4.1 patch notes can be found here.
General
- Resilience scaling has been modified for linear returns, as opposed to increasing returns. Under the new formula, going from 30 resilience to 40 resilience gives players the same increase to survivability as going from 0 to 10. Resilience now scales in the same way armor and magic resistances do. A player with 32.5% damage reduction from resilience in 4.0.6 should see their damage reduction unchanged in 4.1. Those with less than 32.5% will gain slightly. Those with more will lose some damage reduction, increasingly so as their resilience climbs.
Death Knights
- Raise Ally has been redesigned to be a battle resurrection, analogous to Rebirth. It is instant cast, but costs 50 Runic Power to use, and has a 10-minute cooldown. It shares the same global battle resurrection cap with Rebirth and Soulstone.
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Talent Specializations
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Blood
- Blood Shield now only works while in Blood Presence.
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Frost
- Frost Strike now deals 130% of weapon damage, up from 110%.
- Howling Blast damage has been increased by 20%. To compensate, the area-of-effect splash now does 50% of the single-target damage, down from 60%. The net result of this change leaves the area-of-effect damage roughly the same as 4.0.6 numbers.
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Blood
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Glyphs
- Glyph of Raise Ally is now Glyph of Death Gate, and makes Death Gate cast 60% faster.
Druids
- Swipe (Bear) cooldown has been reduced to 3 seconds, down from 6.
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Talent Specializations
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Restoration
- Gift of Nature (passive) also reduces Tranquility's cooldown by 2.5/5 minutes.
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Restoration
Priests
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Talent Specializations
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Discipline
- Power Word: Barrier's cooldown has been increased to 3 minutes, up from 2, and its effect has been reduced to 25%, down from 30%.
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Discipline
Warlocks
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Talent Specializations
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Affliction
- Shadow Mastery (passive) has been increased to 30%, up from 25%.
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Affliction
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Pets
- Doomguard's damage has been increased by 50%. The Doomguard is intended to be the best guardian for single-target damage, and the Infernal the best when there are multiple targets.
- Shadow Bite (Felhunter) damage and effect has doubled.
Warriors
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Talent Specializations
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Arms
- Strikes of Opportunity damage has been increased by 10% to keep stat parity with other strike changes.
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Fury
- Unshackled Fury now only grants 2 base points of mastery, down from 8. This change offsets the Flurry boost to better control Fury burst damage.
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Arms
Items
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Item Sets
- The current damage-dealing death knight 4-piece raid set bonus now also grants increased attack power when Killing Machine triggers, as well as when the death knight gains Death Runes).
- The current Holy paladin 4-piece raid set bonus now grants 540 Spirit for 6 seconds after casting Holy Shock.
Filed under: News items, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 5)
windstalker668 Mar 1st 2011 7:46PM
I fully agree with the original poster. First off, I have nothing against a class outside of the healing classes having a B-rez, Warlocks have had one fore years and it makes sense. DK's having one just doesn't work lore wise for me at all. They are masters of DEATH magic, not life magic, resurrection is something that shouldn't be able to be done by those that are the exact opposite of the light or nature. The way the spell existed before was actually pretty cool, they should have expanded on that, made it a temporary battle rez where healing just doesn't work as well on the target or something. I just don't like DK's getting something like this, it just makes them seem more...cheap to me, but I have never been one to like the idea of "specialty"/"hero" classes anyway, they tend to make the other classes seem dull.
archer75 Mar 1st 2011 6:11PM
Every time I respec one way they nerf it and buff the tree I was in. Then I change specs again and so on. It just doesn't end. I wish blizzard would make up their damn minds!
loop_not_defined Mar 1st 2011 6:17PM
The one constant you can count on is change, and it is Blizzard's responsibility to make changes and adapt. Make your decisions with that in mind.
If you choose to play on the razor's edge, then you must accept the necessary change that comes with it.
Deathknighty Mar 1st 2011 6:21PM
Have you, perhaps, considered choosing a spec you enjoy and not changing on a whim?
That might help...
archer75 Mar 1st 2011 6:27PM
The changes are such that it affects the viability of each class/spec. Even if you play the same spec the changes often necessitate redistributing points to remain viable. The changes are just too frequent and too class changing. Sometimes completely invalidating a spec in one hotfix/patch and overpowering another in the next.
Changes are indeed a part of life. But they are just too massive and too often. Blizzard needs to approach the classes like a surgeon, not a lumberjack.
loop_not_defined Mar 1st 2011 6:31PM
I would appreciate it if you didn't abuse words like "viability", "invalidating" and "overpowered".
Deathknighty Mar 1st 2011 6:15PM
Hmm. As far as I can tell, that new holy paladin set bonus looks pretty awesome.
I might actually consider using that tier gear now. :P
MrJackSauce Mar 1st 2011 6:20PM
Another druid ability gone. Sure thing it was needed because some groups didn't have druids and having a DK that can do this is useful.
But seriously: ciao droods.
razion Mar 1st 2011 6:38PM
Just as adding Time Warp to mages didn't take away Bloodlust from Shaman, Raise Dead's new use for DKs will not be taking away Rebirth from Druids.
cyanea85 Mar 1st 2011 8:08PM
I'm looking for the part where it says that Druids are going to lose Brez.
I'm not finding it.
Oh wait, you're an idiot.
SillyString Mar 3rd 2011 8:21AM
They're removing B-Rezz from Druids? Haven't seen that anywhere. Are you sure you're not being a complete retard, or are you just QQing because you're not super special Fancy McPanties anymore?
Kia Mar 1st 2011 6:21PM
Oh hey, look, more Disc nerfs! Why don't they just kill the spec and be done with it, instead of making it so bloody useless it's just a joke to make us sit around and hope we'll actually be able to do what we were meant to do any time soon.
Nadia Mar 1st 2011 6:46PM
I know, right?
I've been in car accidents that hurt less than there Disc nerfs.
Artificial Mar 1st 2011 6:27PM
"Shadow Bite (Felhunter) damage and effect has doubled."
I CAN HAZ PUPPY BACK?!! :D
Astoreth Mar 1st 2011 7:06PM
pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease
MrJackSauce Mar 1st 2011 6:27PM
"Hey guys we're gonna be doing less class balancing this next patch"
lmfao.
Artificial Mar 1st 2011 6:34PM
Why are you laughing? It's true, after all, or have you forgotten how much they did last patch?
Compare this with patch 3.1. They did some much that time, they gave everyone single player of every class a free respec. What they've announced so far for 4.1 doesn't come anywhere close...
Zato Mar 1st 2011 7:00PM
"Glyph of Raise Ally is now Glyph of Death Gate, and makes Death Gate cast 60% faster."
Umm, for that times when you just reallllly want a faster port to train? Seriously? Silliest thing I've seen in awhile.
N-train Mar 1st 2011 7:36PM
It's not like the other minor glyphs are really all that better. Sure Blood tap and Deaths Embrace have their usefulness in tanking and pvp respectively, but its not like these minor glyphs are game changing. Horn of winter gets overridden by shamans, path of frost only makes it so *you* might not die when you use it and kill everyone else in your raid.
In an unrelated note, it really seems you can't go 5 steps without seeing a massive RIFT ad, huh? I went onto wowhead to check what the other minor glyphs were, and like WoWpedia and MMOchamp, the whole site is covered in it.
razion Mar 1st 2011 9:25PM
If I told you Death Gate could be the new Bubble-Hearth, would you be more ecstatic for the glyph then?