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WoW: Forever beta update: all changes of October 8

· by Davina Asaria

Blizzard put a new build on the WoW: Forever beta, and Community Manager Kaivax posted the full development notes. The big one: the City of Dalaran dungeon is now open for testing. Here is every change, sorted by topic.

The highlights

  • City of Dalaran dungeon now available to test. How to get attuned as Horde: https://legendsofazeroth.com/news/how-to-get-attuned-to-the-city-of-dalaran-dungeon-as-horde
  • About 20% more experience from killing mobs in dungeons, and a fix for the group experience penalty (see below).
  • Rage from taking damage fixed: Warriors and Druids get more Rage.
  • Discord Voice can now be used as voice chat in game.
  • Truthseeker's Bow now needs level 40.
  • Every beta player gets 16 Legacy Points to test the Legacy System.

Bug fixes

  • Classic looting is back: you can still click creatures that dropped no loot.
  • Visual effects on large creatures no longer flicker.
  • Fixed creature behaviour that could pull mobs from very far away.

Changes and updates

  • You can once again swap several weapons in the same global cooldown, for example with a macro from a two-handed weapon to sword and shield.
  • Dungeon experience: killing mobs in dungeons gives about 20% more experience.
  • Group experience fixed: until now, the experience for killing lower level mobs in a group was lowered based on the highest level player in the group. Now it works like Classic Era again: only your own level counts. Together with the 20% buff, Blizzard expects a big jump in dungeon experience for most players. If someone in the group is far above the mob's level, nobody gets experience, as before.

Cooldown Manager

  • Now supports all classes, racial abilities and trinkets. Consumables follow later.

Gamepad

  • New indicator for actions where you hold a button instead of pressing it.
  • Fixed inputs that could stop working after looting.
  • The map now opens with focus on the quest log, so you keep running unless you use the map cursor.
  • Better navigation through raid frames.
  • The gamepad action bar now works in Edit Mode, and its settings (like the compact action bar) moved from the options menu to Edit Mode. Set them again there, they are not copied over.
  • Edit Mode layouts are now saved per UI type.

Legacy System

  • All beta players get the Legacy Challenge completed, good for 16 Legacy Points to test the system.
  • The cheapest Legacy talent respec now costs 1 silver, and the price drops by one respec every hour. Beta only, like the class talent respecs.

Classes

Rage fixes for Warriors and Druids

  • Rage was based on the player's health instead of the health of a typical creature, so more Stamina meant less Rage. Fixed.
  • Extra damage from critical strikes and crushing blows was not counted correctly. Fixed.
  • Absorbs are now properly ignored, as if you had no absorb on.
  • Rage used to be balanced around 50% armor, which fits a tank but not a questing Warrior. It is now balanced around 20% to 40%, depending on level. Most Warriors and Druids get more Rage from taking damage.

Druid

  • Mana Potions work again in Bear, Dire Bear and Cat Form.
  • Critical strikes now give 100% more Rage (was 75%).
  • Thorns is back to its original base damage, with a spell power ratio of 6% (was 13.3%).
  • Cat Form no longer lowers your maximum health.
  • Bear and Dire Bear Form: 50% more threat (was 30%).
  • Fewer effects can change your look while shapeshifted, closer to Classic. Players need to see which form a Druid is in. Transforms with a real benefit still work, like Noggenfogger Elixir (so you can breathe underwater).
  • Demoralizing Roar now generates threat on everything it hits (it generated none).
  • Wrath ranks 1 to 5 adjusted, so every new rank is an upgrade.
  • Feral: Predatory Instincts is renamed Natural Instinct and now also gives spell healing equal to 12% or 25% of your Intellect. Shifting Power can no longer be used at full Energy. Thick Hide is now properly built in, which fixes gear swaps while shapeshifted.

Hunter

  • Disengage now really has double threat reduction (it was missed before).
  • Pets no longer heal themselves over and over at low health.
  • Beast Mastery: Unleashed Fury now really increases your pet's damage.
  • Marksmanship: Improved Concussive Shot triggers at the correct chance.
  • Survival: Improved Wing Clip triggers at the correct chance, and less often with much lower ranks. Expose Prey lasts 10 seconds (was 5). Entrapment has diminishing returns and only triggers when Frost Trap first goes off, not on every tick.

Mage

  • Impact can no longer trigger from Flamestrike's damage over time.
  • Frostbolt and Fireball ranks 1 to 5, and Arcane Missiles ranks 1 to 3, adjusted so every new rank is an upgrade.

Paladin

  • Retribution Aura now uses the Paladin's spell power instead of the target's. Its base damage is back to the original values (about 33% lower), with a spell power ratio of 6% (was 13.3%).
  • Protection: Reckoning can trigger at most once every 1.5 seconds. Seal of Fury no longer returns mana without the Improved Seal of Fury talent. Improved Seal of Fury and Shield Specialization no longer generate threat when they restore mana (tanking Paladins got too much threat from it).

Priest

  • Smite ranks 1 to 4, Lesser Heal ranks 1 to 3 and Heal ranks 1 to 2 adjusted, so every new rank is an upgrade.
  • Discipline: Penance got several changes to fit a strong spell with a cooldown. Its damage and healing were too high because it was treated as a 3 second channel instead of 2, now fixed. Its mana cost now always gives a clear efficiency edge over Heal and Greater Heal (rank 1 costs 50% more mana). Penance ranks 2 and 4 heal for more.

Shaman

  • Flametongue Totem now uses the attack speed of shapeshifted targets instead of their weapon speed.
  • Lightning Bolt ranks 1 to 5 adjusted, so every new rank is an upgrade.
  • Elemental: Elemental Focus is no longer triggered and used up straight away by Fire Nova.
  • Restoration: Water Shield's tooltip shows the correct mana, and no longer mentions a 15 second cooldown (it had none). Mana Tide Totem shows its visual again when it pulses.

Warlock

  • Your current pet is stunned while you summon a new one.
  • Shadow Bolt ranks 1 to 4 adjusted, so every new rank is an upgrade.
  • Demonology: Demonic Brand's pet damage only causes high threat when it is Shadow damage.

Warrior

  • Demoralizing Shout now generates threat on everything it hits (it generated none).
  • Arms: Deep Wounds is required again to reach Impale. Deep Wounds no longer scales with your off-hand Attack Power (it doesn't scale with Attack Power, but it is a rolling damage over time effect).
  • Protection: Last Stand gives the correct amount of health again.

Items

  • New armor set shoulders are shrunk to the right size.
  • Wolfshead Helm: now gives 5 extra Energy when you use Shifting Power. The Rage part stays the same.
  • Several dungeon quest rewards went from Rare to Uncommon, with stats to match.
  • Truthseeker's Bow (Greater Friend of the Library) now needs level 40, like the other two rewards of that quest. Our article about the library books: https://legendsofazeroth.com/news/new-level-30-reward-for-handing-in-25-library-books
  • Transformative Cocoon is now correctly a debuff.
  • The Revelation enchant buff stays when you shift into Ghost Wolf or a Druid form.
  • The Peace Tea recipe sells to vendors for 10 copper.
  • New vendor prices for enchanting items: Minor Wizard Oil 1s, Novice's Practice Wand 5c, Lesser Magic Wand 1s 10c, Greater Magic Wand 2s, Lesser Mystic Wand 4s 50c, Greater Mystic Wand 6s, Twisted Nether Wand 10s, Dreambough Wand 15s, Lesser Eternal Wand 20s, Greater Eternal Wand 25s.
  • Booty Bay Bruiser's Buckshot no longer knocks back.
  • The rewards of the new Gelkis and Magram quests in Desolace are retuned and will need level 35 in a coming hotfix: Abandoned Ferocity, Blade of the Magram Clan, Bludgeon of Betrayed Virtues, Centaur Spear, Ceremonial Centaur Blanket, Desert Crawler's Claw, Desperate Barrier, Greatstaff of the Necrokhans, Kolkar Hunter's Belt, Kolkar Marauder Chain, Scavenged Magram Armament, Soulsplatter Mace, Staff of Revelations, Thrice-Damned Effigy, Traitor's Finger and Wanderer's Broadsword. Most only got a power level fix, some got new stats.
  • Damage from Discolored Healing Potions no longer breaks crowd control.

PvP

  • Critical strikes in PvP no longer do less than normal.
  • The Shipwreck Cove capture point is in the right spot now.

Professions

  • Armor kits with Attack Power no longer give double Ranged Attack Power.
  • Enchant Weapon - Recovery now works for shapeshifted Druids.

Races

  • Undead: Will of the Forsaken now always works while asleep or charmed.

Quests

  • "Blood Tithe" can always be started again.
  • The Night Watchman's Torch only shows its glow on the torch bearer now.
  • The barbers in the capital cities have been sacked and replaced by local barbers. Blizzard expects no trouble from the goblin cartels.
  • Barrens: the Horn of Echeyakee is no longer used up during "Echeyakee", and "The Principal Source" has a map marker.
  • Desolace: the new Gelkis and Magram quests starting with "Valley of Bones" need level 35 (was 30).
  • Dun Morogh: moving or turning no longer cancels Far Sight during "Farsen's Watch".
  • Durotar: the Taillasher Eggs for "Break A Few Eggs" respawn faster and there are more of them. The Lazy Peons are even lazier, and the map marker now includes the secret northern peons.
  • Duskwood: Stitches is hostile again when he walks into Darkshire.
  • Excavation Site (Wetlands): you get your Titan Relic back for the follow-up quests "Earthen Echo" or "Prehistoric Prism".
  • Hillsbrad Foothills: during "Elixir of Pain" Stanley no longer gives experience; the quest gives it instead.
  • Loch Modan: fewer Dark Iron Ambushers at Miran's camp during "Resupplying the Excavation".
  • Mulgore: correct turn-in marker for "Grim Tidings", and in Gloomrise the creatures respawn more evenly and Gloomrise Hatchlings give fair experience.
  • Orgrimmar: Neeru Fireblade has a map marker and tooltip during "Hidden Enemies".
  • Redridge Mountains: faster respawns for the items in "Blackrock Blockade".
  • Rogue: map markers for "Plundering the Plunderers".
  • Shaman: "Storm, Earth, and Fire" is a lot easier: faster respawns, more Twisted Totem drops and more creatures that drop them (also Dustbelcher ogres in the Badlands for the Fire totem). The Eye of the Tempest for "Heed My Call" now drops for everyone.
  • Stonetalon Mountains: you can hand in to Jin'Zil again after someone finished "Jin'Zil's Forest Magic".
  • Teldrassil: Sethir the Ancient spawns more minions after a reset and respawns faster, and Sentinel Lynessa Duskblossom walks slower during "Escaping Ban'ethil".
  • Tirisfal Glades: quests and creatures around Shadowvale and Bandarion Keep are higher level now, so they no longer turn green before you get there.
  • Warrior: the Mausoleum Trigger for "Ulag the Cleaver" resets much faster.

User interface

  • Discord Voice: in the Audio settings you can now choose Discord Voice as voice chat, and the party leader's setting counts for the whole party.
  • When you post in the Group Finder you can pick a voice mode, and party members get a prompt to join that voice chat.
  • New look for the inspect window.
  • Updated combo points on the target frame and Personal Resource Display.
  • Quest types are shown as text in the quest log, tracker and quest dialogs, and the tracker shows quest level requirements.
  • Buffed stats are highlighted in the character panel again.
  • Character specific macros no longer show your general macros.
  • Clicking an earned Legacy Challenge opens the Legacy Challenge window.
  • View Talents is now in the target frame's right click menu, under Inspect.
  • Your character's level and class show on the left of the character panel.

Known issues

  • The new textures for the Skyborne Druid bear and travel forms are in. Cat form, several creatures on Zephras Isle and some mounts, pets and other creatures follow in a later build.
  • Hunters with the Ferocity talent don't see their pet's higher crit chance on the character sheet. Only a display bug.
  • Some icons in the professions window look broken.

What this means for Legends of Azeroth

Dungeons while leveling just became a lot more worth it, and our tanks get more Rage. With Discord Voice in game and View Talents in the right click menu, raid nights get easier too. Testing the beta? Share what you find in our Discord or on the forum.

Source: Blizzard's development notes on the official forums at https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/wow-forever-beta-development-notes-updated-october-8/2360696