After eight months, Blizzard has finally released new World of Warcraft content via a major update, Patch 9.1. The stale metagame in both PvP and PvE prompted Blizzard to shake it up with lots of class changes.
Mage, Paladin, and Rogue, the trifecta of the most popular classes since the release of Shadowlands, were nerfed significantly across the board. Mages had their damage reduced after having too much burst during certain phases in PvE and one-shot potential in PvP. On top of that, one of the most annoying abilities to deal with as an opponent in Kleptomania, which allowed the Mages to steal buffs from their opponents and set up a huge burst phase in PvP without counterplay, was nerfed. Blizzard moved the spell only to Arcane.
Paladins had too much damage output for a healer in both PvE and PvP and took a huge damage hit across the board. Multiple abilities, passives, and talents got their damage cut out after Paladins were able to output more damage than a DPS in certain instances. While they did get some compensation buffs in increased healing potential, the damage nerf will force them out of being the default healer.
Rogues were too oppressive, and there were many moments through the expansion where they were one-shotting their opponents in PvP. While the nerfs won’t impact their PvE performance too much, it will be felt in PvP after many talents got nerfed or reworked to promote a healthy playstyle, which doesn’t rely on instantly killing targets.
Demon Hunters alongside Warlocks got significant buffs in both PvP and PvE. With them, an unusual candidate in Warriors received multiple buffs as well. While the first two classes were quite underrepresented since they didn’t provide as much utility as other classes, the last one has been quite popular in PvP.
Warriors have a lot of viable compositions due to their flexibility with talents. They provide a lot of utility, so it’s unclear why Blizzard decided to give them buffs to perhaps become even more oppressive. One of the most impactful PvP talents added is Warbringer, which emits a shockwave that roots enemies in a 10-yard cone for two seconds. This talent will remove a lot of counterplays against Warriors for casters, who are squishy and can be blown up in seconds.
With the Arena World Championship season 2 on the horizon, we could get to see new compositions make a name for themselves with the new gear, sockets, and talents. Underrepresented classes might finally get their time to shine after sitting on the bench since the release of Shadowlands.
Patch 9.1 is live on the servers.
