Class deep dive: Hunter and Druid in WoW: Forever

With this article Blizzard started its series of class deep dives for WoW: Forever, beginning with Hunters and Druids. The approach for every class: keep the foundation from the original game, but make smart updates that give more choice and room to experiment.

How talents work in Forever

Talents start at level 10 and keep the familiar layout: the same number of rows and one-point milestone talents at 11, 21 and 31 points, plus a new milestone at 16 points.
Some talents are exactly as they were in patch 1.12, others are changed or improved.
Important buffs that used to come from talents, like Blessing of Kings and Improved Mark of the Wild, are now baseline.
You change talents (Legacy talents too) at a class trainer in a major city. Dual Specialization at level 40.
Everything can still change during the beta.

Hunter

Hunters stay the ranged class with a loyal companion, but with more freedom: Aimed Shot for everyone, traps in combat, stronger pets and new Foxes.

Baseline abilities

Aimed Shot is now learned by every Hunter at level 20.
Arcane Shot no longer shares a cooldown with Aimed Shot. Multi-Shot now does.
Disengage: twice the threat reduction.
Aspect of the Beast: now also gives melee Attack Power.
Traps can be used in combat, but their cooldown goes up to 30 seconds. Frost and Fire traps have separate cooldowns.
Scorpid Sting: lowers the target's chance to hit by 2% instead of lowering Strength and Agility.

Pets

Pets get stronger based on the Hunter's gear, but can no longer receive player buffs that raise their stats.
New pet family: Foxes, with Trickster's Dance (more dodge and attack speed for 12 seconds).
Every family can learn Bite or Claw (some both), and Dive or Dash.
Every family gets one unique ability:
Bat: Sonic Blast, damage plus slower spellcasting.
Bear: Swipe, hits 3 targets.
Bird of Prey (was Owl): Mine!, damage plus a disarm.
Boar: Charge, rushes in, roots the target and boosts the next attack.
Carrion Bird: Demoralizing Screech, area damage and less melee Attack Power for enemies.
Cat: Prowl, stealth and a stronger opening attack.
Crab: Pinch, damage and a slow.
Crocolisk: Dismember, damage and 50% less healing received.
Gorilla: Thunderstomp, area damage.
Hyena: Tendon Rip, slow plus a bleed.
Raptor: Savage Rend, a bleed.
Scorpid: Poison, stacking damage over time.
Spider: Web, roots the target with damage over time.
Tallstrider: Dust Cloud, lowers the target's armor.
Turtle: Shell Shield, less damage taken and slower attacks for 12 seconds.
Wind Serpent: Lightning Breath, a 20 yard ranged attack.
Wolf: Furious Howl, more melee Attack Power for the party.

Beast Mastery talents

Deadly Aspects (was Improved Aspect of the Hawk): melee attacks can also give attack speed while Aspect of the Beast is active, for melee builds.
Endurance Training: Thick Hide is merged into it, so it gives your pet health and armor.
Focused Fire (new): more damage for you and your pet while your pet is out.
Aspect of the Monkey: twice the dodge, and your pet gets half of it.
Pathfinding: moved up to row 2.
Unleashed Fury: a bit less pet damage, but it now also boosts your Hawks.
Improved Mend Pet: also makes Mend Pet cheaper.
Ferocity: smaller crit bonus for pets, but also works for Hawks.
Summon Hawk (new 16-point gold medal talent): instant damage and a Hawk that attacks your target for 18 seconds. Up to 2 Hawks at once. Shares a cooldown with Arcane Shot.
Intimidation: now requires Bestial Swiftness, and your pet's next attack gets 100% more crit chance.
Bestial Discipline: also lets you regenerate mana from Spirit while casting.
Removed: Improved Eyes of the Beast (now baseline) and Thick Hide (merged).

Marksmanship talents

Hawk Eye: moved up to row 1.
Lethal Attacks (was Lethal Shots): moved up to row 1, crit chance for all attacks.
Improved Stings (was Improved Serpent Sting): moved up to row 2. More Serpent Sting damage, a shorter Viper Sting cooldown and a longer Scorpid Sting.
Efficiency: moved down to row 2, bigger mana discount that now also covers Stings and melee abilities.
Careful Aim (new): melee and ranged Attack Power equal to 20% to 100% of your Intellect.
Rapid Killing (new): shorter Rapid Fire cooldown, and a kill (or a death with your Serpent Sting on it) makes your next Shot hit harder.
Improved Arcane Shot: up to 0.5 seconds extra cooldown reduction.
Lone Wolf (new 11-point gold medal talent): 20% more damage with all attacks while you have no pet out.
Trueshot Aura: moved up from row 7 to row 4, now the 21-point gold medal talent, with new lower ranks.
Mortal Shots: now requires Careful Aim.
Rapid Recuperation (new, requires Rapid Killing): mana regeneration from Spirit while casting after a Serpent Sting hit, even more during Rapid Killing.
Barrage: smaller bonus, but now works for Aimed Shot too, besides Multi-Shot and Volley.
Sniper Shot (new 31-point gold medal talent, requires Trueshot Aura): a 4 second cast with a 15 second cooldown that hits even harder than Aimed Shot, with a 45 yard range, and your next 3 Shots get 10 yards more range.
Removed: Improved Hunter's Mark and Aimed Shot (both baseline now).

Survival talents

Improved Tracking (new): replaces Monster Slaying and Humanoid Slaying. More damage against every creature type you are tracking.
Entrapment: now always triggers with your traps; more points give a longer duration instead of a bigger chance.
Savage Strikes (redesigned): 2% or 4% more melee damage for everything, instead of only Raptor Strike and Mongoose Bite.
Survivalist: moved up to row 2.
Improved Wing Clip: the full 20% chance with only 3 points.
Surefooted: moved up to row 3. Hit chance for all attacks, and shorter movement-impairing effects on you.
Survival Tactics (was Trap Mastery): also makes Feign Death more likely to succeed.
Predator's Edge (new): bigger melee crit bonus and more off-hand damage when dual wielding.
Counterattack: moved up to row 4 as the 16-point gold medal talent.
Resourcefulness (new): cheaper traps and melee abilities, and crits can let you regenerate mana while casting.
Expose Prey (new): attacks on your Hunter's Mark target can activate Mongoose Bite as if you dodged.
Survivalist's Discipline (new): lower cooldown on traps and Deterrence.
Strider Kick (new 21-point gold medal talent): an instant weapon strike that gives you 30% movement speed for 3 seconds.
Lightning Reflexes: less Agility, to make room for the new talents.
Lacerating Strikes (new 31-point gold medal talent): Mongoose Bite also makes the target bleed for 21 seconds, based on how hard it hit.
Removed: Wyvern Sting, Killer Instinct and Improved Feign Death (merged into Resourcefulness), Monster Slaying and Humanoid Slaying (merged into Improved Tracking).

Blizzard's view: Hunters are pure damage dealers who can use their pet as a tank solo and in small groups. They have the longest range of any class, but no ranged attacks within 8 yards, they can only place traps at their own feet and they have no stun or interrupt. The talents now let you go all in on ranged or on your pet, play without a pet, or dance between ranged and melee.

Druid

Druids stay the masters of versatility, and shapeshifting now feels a lot smoother: consumables, weapon procs, doors and racials all work in forms.

Shapeshifting

Potions and almost all consumables work in forms without breaking your form. Druids can also use Rage potions and Thistle Tea.
Exception: most Engineering bombs, but some new recipes do work in forms (SAF-T and EZ-Thro).
Weapon enchants and procs all work in forms, like weightstones, Crusader and Windfury Totem.
In Bear, Cat and Dire Bear Form your auto attack deals the damage per second of your equipped weapon, at an attack speed of 1.0 or 2.5 seconds depending on the form. Abilities that deal weapon damage use the same values.
Most doors and objects can be used without leaving your form.
Racial abilities work in forms, like Shadowmeld, War Stomp and Walk on Air.
Tiger's Fury is removed and replaced by the new Feral talent Shifting Power.

Feral abilities

Claw: much more damage, so you don't need a new talented combo builder.
Cower: twice the threat reduction.
Demoralizing Roar: about as strong as Demoralizing Shout, and identical at level 60.
Enrage: gives 10 Rage up front.
Frenzied Regeneration: heals for 100% of your max health over its duration, with enough Rage.
Growl: same cooldown as the Warrior's Taunt.
Lacerate (new, level 42): a bleed for 15 seconds that stacks 5 times. If it is already on the target, it also deals 10% weapon damage per stack. High threat.
Rake and Swipe scale better with Attack Power. Swipe is still Bear and Dire Bear only and hits 3 targets.
Shred: much more damage, needs less talent support.

Restoration abilities

Revive (new, level 12): an out of combat resurrection.
Regrowth: much cheaper, with the cost based more on the direct heal than on the heal over time.

Balance abilities

Barkskin: usable in forms.
Entangling Roots: castable indoors.
Hurricane: no cooldown.
Faerie Fire: castable in Bear, Cat and Dire Bear Form for free, with a 6 second cooldown.
Nature's Grasp: baseline for every Druid at level 10, usable in forms and indoors.
Thorns: gets stronger with the caster's spell power while they are around.
Wrath: much cheaper, with much lower damage to match.
Omen of Clarity: baseline at level 20, and Wrath never uses up Clearcasting.

Balance talents

Improved Wrath: also makes Wrath cheaper.
Genesis (new, row 1): more periodic damage and healing.
Moonglow: moved up from row 5 to row 2, cheaper damage spells, no longer affects heals.
Improved Moonfire: 2 points instead of 5 for the same effect.
Nature's Majesty (new, row 2): crit chance for all spells and melee attacks.
Nature's Reach: moved up to row 2, also hit chance, for all damage spells.
Improved Entangling Roots: moved down to row 3 and redesigned: much more damage and less chance that other damage breaks it early.
Nature's Splendor (new 11-point gold medal talent): longer Moonfire, Rejuvenation, Regrowth and Insect Swarm.
Insect Swarm (new 16-point gold medal talent): Nature damage over 12 seconds and a lower hit chance for the target.
Vengeance and Moonfury: now work for all damage spells.
Overgrowth (new, row 5): Entangling Roots on up to 3 targets at once.
Nature's Grace: lasts 3 seconds and gives spell haste and a shorter global cooldown.
Eclipse (new, row 5): Wrath makes your next 2 Starfires cast faster, up to 4 charges.
Moonkin Form: the party crit bonus now counts for all spells and attacks (and doesn't stack with Leader of the Pack), you can cast every non-healing spell, and Omen of Clarity procs twice as often.
Removed: Nature's Grasp, Improved Thorns and Omen of Clarity (baseline now), Natural Weapons (in Naturalist now), Natural Shapeshifter (moved to Restoration).

Feral talents

Ferocity: also works for Primal Bite.
Heart of the Wild: moved up from row 6 to row 1. Less Intellect and Strength, same Stamina in Bear Form.
Feral Swiftness: moved up to row 2. The Cat Form speed works indoors and the dodge works always.
Feral Instinct: no extra threat in Bear Form anymore, but more Swipe damage. Stealth bonus unchanged.
Brutal Impact: also lowers the cooldown of Bash.
Thick Hide (redesigned): extra armor in Bear, Cat, Dire Bear and Moonkin Form based on Defense skill from gear and buffs. Druid tanks now benefit from Defense gear like other tanks.
Savage Fury: moved up to row 3, also works for Shred, with a smaller bonus.
Feral Charge (11-point gold medal talent): now also has a Cat Form version with a 30 second cooldown, without interrupt or root.
Sharpened Claws: 2 points instead of 3.
Shredding Attacks (was Improved Shred): moved up to row 3, cheaper Shred and cheaper Lacerate.
Shifting Power (new 16-point gold medal talent, Cat): instantly gives 40 Energy for a lot of mana, 16 second cooldown that talents can lower. This brings back "powershifting" in a friendlier way.
Primal Bite (the other 16-point gold medal talent, Bear): a 20 Rage attack in Bear and Dire Bear Form for 100% weapon damage plus a bonus and very high threat. Chosen instead of Mangle. Requires Savage Fury.
Blood Frenzy: Primal Fury and Blood Frenzy combined in one 2-point talent.
Improved Shifting Power (new, row 5): Shifting Power cooldown down to 8 seconds.
Leader of the Pack (21-point gold medal talent): the crit bonus counts for all spells and attacks and doesn't stack with Moonkin Form.
Predatory Strikes (new, row 5): up to 20% more crit damage.
Natural Reaction (new, row 6, Bear): more dodge, and dodging can give 5 Rage.
Rend and Tear (new, row 6): more damage against bleeding targets.
Berserk (new 31-point gold medal talent): 15 seconds, 3 minute cooldown, in Bear, Cat or Dire Bear Form. Removes and blocks Fear, takes away the Primal Bite cooldown and makes it hit up to 3 targets, and gives 100% more crit chance to Cat Form combo abilities.
Removed: Feral Aggression (now baseline), Primal Fury (merged into Blood Frenzy), Feral Faerie Fire (baseline).

Restoration talents

Nature's Focus: moved up to row 1, protects all Arcane and Nature casts against interruption.
Furor: with 5 points you regenerate Energy outside Cat Form as if you were in it, but you lose it when you go Bear. That stops "bear-weaving"; Shifting Power brings the powershifting fun back.
Naturalist (was Improved Healing Touch): also more damage.
Subtlety: moved up to row 2, lowers the threat of all Arcane and Nature spells, 3 points for up to 30%.
Natural Shapeshifter: moved from Balance to row 2 of Restoration.
Reflection: a lot more mana regeneration while casting.
Gift of Nature: moved up to row 3.
Gift of the Earthmother (new 11-point gold medal talent): Rejuvenation, Swiftmend and Wild Growth have a 0.5 second shorter global cooldown.
Swiftmend: moved up to row 4 as the 16-point gold medal talent, and no longer eats your Rejuvenation or Regrowth.
Living Spirit (new, row 5): more Spirit.
Improved Tranquility: also up to 60% lower Tranquility cooldown.
Improved Regrowth: now requires Improved Rejuvenation.
Wild Growth (new 31-point gold medal talent): target any party or raid member and every member of their party (pets too) gets a heal over time that ticks every second for 7 seconds, strong at first and weaker each tick. 6 second cooldown, high mana cost.
Removed: Improved Mark of the Wild and Improved Enrage (baseline now), Insect Swarm (moved to Balance).

Blizzard's view: Druids can fill every role, but that costs utility. No snares, no silence or interrupt, and weaker crowd control. They heal mostly with heals over time that need planning, and they tank and deal damage fine but lack the extra tools of Rogues, Warriors or Mages.

What this means for Legends of Azeroth

Hunters: pick your pet with care now that every family has its own ability. Druids: no more breaking form for a potion, and with Wild Growth and Primal Bite you are ready for raids. Share your builds in the class forums!

Source: Blizzard Entertainment at https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-gb/news/24301515
Images: Blizzard Entertainment.