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Class deep dive: Priest and Warrior in WoW: Forever

· by Davina Asaria

The second class deep dive is about Priests and Warriors: one draws on Light and Shadow, healing and protection, the other on weapons, Rage, stances and momentum on the battlefield.

How talents work in Forever

  • Talents start at level 10, with one-point milestone talents at 11, 21 and 31 points, plus a new milestone at 16 points.
  • 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.

Priest

Fear Ward and Devouring Plague are now for every Priest, Divine Spirit and Shadow Word: Death become baseline, and every race gets reworked racial spells.

The Priest talent trees (image: Blizzard Entertainment)
The Priest talent trees (image: Blizzard Entertainment)

Baseline abilities

  • Fear Ward and Devouring Plague are available to every Priest at level 20, no matter the race.
  • Racial spells: every race has two of its own, all re-evaluated, and Gnome Priests get theirs:
  • Gnome: Confounding Flash (level 10, confuses up to 5 nearby enemies for 3 seconds, broken by damage, 0.5 second cast, 2 minute cooldown) and Contingency Plan (level 20, a 30 second ward on an ally; if they drop below 35% health they instantly get an absorb shield and a heal over time, stacks with Renew and Power Word: Shield, 5 minute cooldown).
  • Dwarf: Desperate Prayer (unchanged) and Chastise (level 20, damages and roots a Humanoid for 2 seconds, instant, 2 minute cooldown).
  • Human: Divine Grace (level 10, an instant heal on an ally below 50% health that also removes Weakened Soul, not on yourself, 5 minute cooldown) and Feedback (unchanged).
  • Night Elf: Starshards (level 10, much more damage but a 30 second cooldown) and Elune's Grace (level 20, melee and ranged attacks are 50% less likely to hit you for 15 seconds or until 3 attacks miss, 5 minute cooldown).
  • Troll: Hex of Weakness and Shadowguard (both unchanged).
  • Undead: Touch of Weakness (unchanged) and Dark Sacrifice (level 20, trade your own health for mana over time, more with Spirit).
  • Fade: twice the threat reduction.
  • Prayer of Healing: now heals the party of your target and their pets, instead of your own party.
  • Shadow Word: Death (baseline at level 32): instant Shadow damage, but if the target survives you take 10% of your max health. 15 second cooldown.
  • Divine Spirit: baseline at level 30.
  • Renew: Renews from several Priests can now be on the same target.

Discipline talents

  • Power in Light (new, row 1): Smite and Penance hit harder on targets with your Holy Fire.
  • Wand Specialization: full effect with 2 points.
  • Twin Disciplines (new, row 1): more damage and healing from instant spells.
  • Silent Resolve: also shortens stuns, fears and silences on you.
  • Holy Precision: up to 18% more hit chance with Holy spells, so healers don't need hit gear.
  • Improved Power Word: Shield: a bit more per point.
  • Mental Agility: moved up to row 3, 3 points for the same effect, and also works for Smite and Holy Fire.
  • Meditation: a lot more mana from Spirit while casting.
  • Improved Inner Fire: more armor and more charges.
  • Mental Strength: a bigger Intellect percentage instead of a mana percentage.
  • Soul Warding (new 16-point gold medal talent): lower cooldown and mana cost for Power Word: Shield. Requires Improved Power Word: Shield.
  • Improved Mana Burn: a shorter cast.
  • Penance (new 21-point gold medal talent): a 2 second channel with a 12 second cooldown that damages an enemy or heals an ally every second.
  • Renewed Hope (new, requires Soul Warding): Flash Heal, Binding Heal, Lesser Heal, Heal, Greater Heal and Penance crit more often on targets with Weakened Soul, and every heal shortens Weakened Soul.
  • Divine Aegis: critical heals leave an absorb shield for 12 seconds based on the heal. Doesn't stack.
  • Removed: Unbreakable Will (merged into Silent Resolve), Improved Power Word: Fortitude and Divine Spirit (baseline), Force of Will.

Holy talents

  • Twilight Focus (was Healing Focus): pushback protection on all casts, 3 points instead of 2.
  • Blessed Recovery: also triggers on any hit for more than 30% of your max health.
  • Inspiration: triggers on all direct critical heals.
  • Improved Healing: also cheaper Penance and Prayer of Mending.
  • Searing Light (redesigned): a smaller boost to all Holy damage, and Holy Fire damage can make your next Holy Nova free.
  • Binding Heal (new 16-point gold medal talent): heals you and your target at the same time. 1.5 second cast, no cooldown, as good as Flash Heal even if you need no healing yourself.
  • Litany of Light (new): refunds part of the mana of a heal if it is a different spell than your previous heal.
  • Spiritual Guidance: the spell damage bonus is now about one third of the healing bonus.
  • Spiritual Healing: full effect with 3 points.
  • Prayer of Mending (new 31-point gold medal talent, requires Spirit of Redemption): 10 second cooldown. Heals the target the next time they take damage or get a direct heal, then jumps to another party or raid member within 20 yards, up to 5 heals in total. One per target.
  • Removed: Improved Prayer of Healing and Lightwell.

Shadow talents

  • Shadow Focus: moved up to row 1, more hit chance with Shadow spells.
  • Shadow Affinity: a bit more threat reduction.
  • Shadow Reach: moved up to row 2, 2 points for the same effect.
  • Improved Psychic Scream: now requires Blackout.
  • Improved Mind Flay (new, row 3): more damage and range for Mind Flay, but a weaker slow.
  • Vampiric Embrace: moved to row 3 as the 16-point gold medal talent, lasts 30 seconds with a 1 minute cooldown.
  • Shadow Weaving: only helps the Priest who applied it, with a somewhat smaller bonus.
  • Silence: no longer requires Improved Psychic Scream.
  • Devouring Contagion (new, row 5): cheaper Devouring Plague, and when a target dies with it, it jumps to an enemy within 5 yards with the time it had left.
  • Early Demise (new, row 6): more crit chance for Shadow Word: Death on targets below 20% health.
  • Shadowform: you can cast every non-healing spell in it, Shadow spells cost 50% less mana and get 100% more crit damage, but the flat Shadow damage bonus is lower.
  • Removed: Improved Vampiric Embrace.

Blizzard's view: Priests stay the most versatile healers, with both heals over time and direct heals, plus absorb shields that no one else has. Discipline leans even more into Power Word: Shield. They wear cloth and have few escapes, so they lean on their friends. Shadow Priests deal strong damage over time, but have less utility than a Warlock.

Warrior

Rage becomes more reliable, important tools become baseline and every specialization gets a sharper role.

The Warrior talent trees (image: Blizzard Entertainment)
The Warrior talent trees (image: Blizzard Entertainment)

Blizzard first said there are bugs with Rage generation on the beta. They are looking for the cause, which may take a couple of weeks.

Baseline abilities

  • Rage from taking damage: the original formula, but armor is now ignored, as if you always had 50% damage reduction. Wearing armor no longer lowers your Rage, and absorbs like Power Word: Shield don't either.
  • Rage from dealing damage: fully normalized to your weapon speed. Critical strikes give 75% more Rage again.
  • Tactical Mastery (level 14): keep 10 Rage when you change stances, more with Arms talents.
  • Victory Rush (level 20): after killing a worthwhile enemy you have 20 seconds to use an instant attack that heals you for 10% of your max health. 30 second cooldown.
  • Recklessness, Retaliation and Shield Wall no longer share a cooldown. Retaliation and Shield Wall have a 15 minute cooldown.
  • Rend and Thunder Clap scale much better with Attack Power. Thunder Clap works in Defensive Stance, has a 6 second cooldown and less threat to match.
  • Battle Shout: less Attack Power, because both factions now have Shaman and Paladin buffs, but the Improved Battle Shout bonus is built in.
  • Sunder Armor: usable even with a stronger Expose Armor on the target, and its threat scales with Attack Power.

Arms talents

  • Improved Tactical Mastery (was Tactical Mastery): 3 more Rage kept per point, up to 25.
  • Improved Overpower: moved up to row 2.
  • Anger Management: clearer tooltip, same effect.
  • Spearing Strike (new 16-point gold medal talent): a 15 Rage instant attack with a 20 second cooldown that dismounts the target. Double damage against mounted targets, Dragons and Giants.
  • Bloodthrill (new, row 5): main hand hits on targets with your Rend can activate Overpower for 6 seconds.
  • Weaponmaster (new, row 5): all weapon specializations in one talent. Axes and polearms give crit chance, maces and staves ignore armor, swords can give an extra attack.
  • Improved Slam: moved from Fury to row 6 of Arms, 2 points: shorter cooldown, global cooldown and cast time, and Slam no longer resets your swing.
  • Removed: Axe, Mace, Sword and Polearm Specialization (now in Weaponmaster).

Fury talents

  • Booming Voice: longer shouts are now baseline.
  • Iron Will: moved from Protection, shortens stuns instead of resisting them.
  • Unbridled Rage: bigger chance, and 2 Rage with a two-handed weapon.
  • Improved Cleave: cheaper Cleave instead of more damage.
  • Blood Craze: also triggers on hits for more than 20% of your max health and on Bloodthirst.
  • Boundless Rage (new, row 3): more maximum Rage.
  • Dual Wield Specialization: also more off-hand hit chance.
  • Raging Blows (new 16-point gold medal talent): Whirlwind hits with both weapons when dual wielding, and Cleave gets cheaper.
  • Enrage (redesigned): can trigger from any damage taken.
  • Precision (new, row 5): more hit chance.
  • Death Wish: now increases all damage taken while active, instead of lowering armor and resistances.
  • Flurry: 5% less total attack speed.
  • Bloodthirst: no longer heals, gives 10% movement speed for 10 seconds instead, with a higher base damage and less Attack Power scaling.
  • Removed: Improved Demoralizing Shout and Improved Battle Shout (baseline now).

Protection talents

  • Shield Specialization: blocks can give 5 Rage instead of 1.
  • Anticipation: twice the Defense per point.
  • Improved Bloodrage: more Rage up front and over time.
  • Master of Defense (new, row 3, requires Shield Specialization): dodges and parries with a shield can give 5 Rage.
  • Improved Revenge (redesigned): more Revenge damage instead of a stun chance.
  • Defiance: the extra threat in Defensive Stance needs a shield.
  • Improved Disarm: a shorter cooldown instead of a longer disarm.
  • Vanguard (new 16-point gold medal talent): Charge works in Defensive Stance.
  • Improved Shield Wall (redesigned): a much shorter Shield Wall cooldown.
  • Bastion (new, row 5): more damage with a shield.
  • Focused Rage (new, row 6): cheaper offensive abilities.
  • Shield Slam: scales better with block value.
  • Removed: Improved Shield Block and Improved Taunt (baseline), One-Handed Weapon Specialization.

Blizzard's view: Warriors stay the masters of melee, as tank or damage dealer, with unmatched sustained damage on multiple melee targets and unique buffs and debuffs. Their weak spot: few ways to recover once they take too much damage.

What this means for Legends of Azeroth

Our Priests can finally Fear Ward without being a Dwarf, and Prayer of Mending and Binding Heal will be big in raids. Warriors: Rage from damage no longer drops with better armor, and Vanguard lets tanks charge in Defensive Stance. Share your builds in the class forums!

Source: Blizzard Entertainment at https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-gb/news/24301514
Images: Blizzard Entertainment.