Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Here are the notes and updates for World of Warcraft Patch 9.1.5

Buckle up.

Jerome Heath

Published: Nov 2, 2021 01:30 am

Blizzard Entertainment has big plans for World of Warcraft.

Achievements

Fixed an issue where the Flying Festivities achievement would not be granted after collecting the Wreath-A-Rang toy
The following changes have been made to Mecha-Done:
- Vinyl: Triumph of Gnomeregan – Now a guaranteed drop from the Hard Mode version of the Reclamation Rig event
- Vinyl: Battle for Gnomeregan – Drop rate increased from all hologram bosses
- Blueprint: Holographic Digitalization Relay – Drop rate increased from all hologram bosses
- Blueprint: Emergency Rocket Chicken – OOX-Fleetfoot/MG respawns faster and no longer despawns if not killed by the end of its path. OOX-Fleetfoot/MG now has a Vignette star that pings the minimap when he races by if you are eligible to loot OOX-Avenger/MG
- Paint Vial: Lemonade Steel – Drop rate of Exothermic Evaporator Coil increased. Duration of rain reduced, but the spawn rate of Oxidized Leachates during rain is drastically increased (700 percent faster). Oxidized Leachbeast now has significantly more chances to spawn during rain
- “Playtime’s Over” and “Battle Tested” – Both of these quests are now always offered as follow-ups to “Toys of Destruction” (was one, chosen randomly)
- Available in Eight Colors – This Achievement is now account-wide and grants all color options for the X-995 Mechanocat mount to all characters on your account

Allied races

Fixed an issue with the facial bone structure on Dark Iron Dwarves
Fixed an issue where the questline for unlocking Mag’har Orcs couldn’t be completed if the character didn’t start the Battle for Azeroth campaign
New character customization options for Highmountain Tauren, Lightforged Draenei, Nightborne, and Void Elves
Lightforged Draenei Paladins now have a unique class mount – the Lightforged Ruinstrider
The dungeon quests for unlocking Kul Tiran humans, Mechagnomes, and Dark Iron Dwarves are no longer required. After accepting the dungeon quest, speak to the NPC again to choose to skip the quest
Fixed an issue with the mouths on several male Nightborne face options

Art

Added weather effects in Stormwind and Orgrimmar

Classes

Some area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond five or eight targets. Abilities affected are listed in their class sections
Characters that have unlocked flying in Shadowlands can now fly while in spirit form

Death Knight

The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond five targets:
- Abomination Limb (Necrolord ability)
- Frostscythe (Frost)
The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond eight targets:
- Sacrificial Pact
- Consumption (Blood)
- Bonestorm (Blood)
- Bursting Sores (Unholy)
- Reanimated Shambler (Runecarving Power)
- Shackle the Unworthy (Kyrian ability) damage reduced by 10 percent, but now has a 100 percent chance to spread to nearby enemies when triggered (was 50 percent)
- Abomination’s Frenzy (Necrolord Runecarving Power) now applies its 10 percent damage increase to all enemies damaged by Abomination Limb (was enemies pulled by Abomination Limb)
- Withering Ground (Night Fae Conduit) effect increased by 50 percent
- Impenetrable Gloom (Venthyr Conduit) damage effect increased by 50 percent

Blood

Consumption (talent) now deals 60 percent more damage
Debilitating Malady (Conduit) effect increased by 600 percent

Demon Hunter

The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond five targets:
- Blade Dance (Havoc)
- Glaive Tempest (Havoc)
- Soul Cleave (Vengeance)
- Spirit Bomb (Vengeance) – previously was soft-capped at 20 targets
The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond eight targets:
- Fel Barrage (Havoc)
- Sinful Brand (Venthyr ability) cooldown has been reduced to 45 seconds (was one minute)
- Blind Faith (Kyrian Runecarving Power) now grants one percent Versatility (was one percent mastery) and 10 Fury when a Lesser Soul Fragment is consumed while Blind Faith is active

Havoc

Dancing with Fate (Conduit) damage effect increased by 300 percent

Druid

Discover four new Travel Form appearances with two color variations each
The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond five targets:
- Swipe
- Brutal Slash (Feral)
- The Well-Honed Instincts conduit is now categorized for all specs (was Guardian only)
- Adaptive Swarm (Necrolord ability) jump range has been increased to 50 yards (was 25 yards) and will now jump to a friendly target if it expires on a friendly target and there are no valid hostile targets within 50 yards

Feral

Adaptive Swarm (Necrolord ability) will now gain a damage bonus for its initial duration when cast during Tiger’s Fury
Fixed an issue that prevented certain ranks of the Carnivorous Instinct conduit from improving auto-attack and periodic damage while Tiger’s Fury’s damage bonus is active
Fixed an issue that prevented the Carnivorous Instinct conduit from affecting the damage over time of Thrash and Feral Frenzy

Restoration

Efflorescence now has a new visual. For those who enjoy the previous visual, Glyph of the Wild Mushroom is available to return the spell to its fungi appearance

Hunter

Aquilons, Corspeflies, and Gromits are now tameable as pets
The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond five targets:
- Beast Cleave (Beast Mastery)
- Multi-Shot (Beast Mastery and Marksmanship)
- Explosive Shot (Marksmanship)
- Carve (Survival)
- Butchery (Survival)
- Soulforge Embers (Runecarving Power)
The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond eight targets:
- Barrage (Beast Mastery and Marksmanship)
- Death Chakram (Necrolord ability) now also increases all physical damage done by you and your pet to the targets damaged by 10 percent for 10 seconds
- Flayed Shot (Venthyr ability) now deals an additional hit of damage when cast. This damage also has 15 percent chance (increased with Empowered Release Conduit) to reset the cooldown of Kill Shot
- Revive Pet cast time reduced to three seconds (was four seconds)
- Freezing Trap now removes active Murder of Crows debuffs on the target when it is applied

Marksmanship

Fixed an issue that caused Marksman’s Advantage (Conduit) to remove stealth from targets when Hunter’s Mark was cast
Fixed an issue that caused a player’s Marksman’s Advantage (Conduit) to be removed from targets when another Hunter applied Hunter’s Mark with the Marksman’s Advantage conduit

Survival

Fixed an issue that caused Coordinated Assault to require line-of-sight to your Hunter pet
Fixed an issue that caused Steel Trap (talent) to not activate if the Hunter is out of line-of-sight of the trap when it lands
Fixed an issue that allowed Chakram (talent) and Wildfire Bomb to deal damage to targets that were immune to area-of-effect damage

Mage

The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond five targets:
- Glacial Fragments (Runecarving Power)
The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond eight targets:
- Arcane Echo (Arcane)
- Frozen Orb (Frost)
Gift of the Lich (Necrolord Conduit) effect increased by 100 percent

Frost

Fixed an issue that was causing Frostbolts from Deathborne (Necrolord ability) to incorrectly target enemies that were in breakable crowd-control

Monk

The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and now deal reduced damage beyond five targets:
- Spinning Crane Kick
- Rushing Jade Wind (Brewmaster)
- Fists of Fury (Windwalker)
- Rushing Jade Wind (Windwalker)
Chi Burst (talent) now deals reduced healing beyond six targets
Fallen Order (Venthyr ability) now spawns an equal amount of off-spec Adepts (was random) and Adepts now apply Mystic Touch to their targets
Ox Adepts now throw a Fallen Brew at the Monk after spawning, granting the Monk an absorb shield for 10 percent of the Monk’s maximum health for eight seconds.
- Tiger Adept’s Tiger Palm damage increased by 200 percent
- Tiger Adepts now cast Spinning Crane Kick if there are more than one enemy within range
- While Tiger Adepts are active, the Monk and their allies gain five percent movement speed, stacking with other movement speed increasing effects such as the Monk’s Windwalking
Way of the Fae (Night Fae Conduit) effect increased by 100 percent

Mistweaver

Crane Adept’s Enveloping Mist from Fallen Order (Venthyr ability) no longer gains cooldown reduction from the Monk’s Haste
Crane Adepts from Fallen Order (Venthyr ability) now cast Enveloping Mist twice when summoned

Windwalker

Spinning Crane Kick (rank two) now increases Spinning Crane Kick’s damage by 18 percent (was 15 percent) for each unique target struck with Blackout Kick, Tiger Palm and Rising Sun Kick in the last 20 seconds. Stacks up to five times (was six)
Tiger Adepts attacks from Fallen Order (Venthyr ability) now count towards your recently attacked Spinning Crane Kick bonus
Crane Adepts from Fallen Order (Venthyr ability) now prefer to heal the Monk over other friendly targets

Paladin

The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond five targets
- Divine Storm (Retribution)
Vanquisher’s Hammer (Necrolord ability) now increases the effectiveness of the free Holy Power spender by 25 percent
Righteous Might (Necrolord Conduit) damage effect increased by 400 percent and healing effect reduced by 50 percent
Blessing of Seasons (Night Fae ability): Blessing of Spring now increases healing done by 15 percent (was 10 percent) and healing received by 30 percent (was 20 percent). Blessing of Winter now reduces the hostile target’s attack speed and movement speed by five percent per stack (was three percent) and its damage has been increased by 40 percent

Priest

Festering Transfusion (Necrolord Conduit) damage and healing effect increased by 100 percent
Divine Star (talent) and Halo (talent) now deal reduced healing beyond six targets
Halo (talent) healing reduced by 20 percent
Divine Star (talent) heal cap is now independent on the outgoing and return trips

Discipline

Divine Star (talent) damage increased by 40 percent
Contrition (talent) healing increased by 15 percent
Shadow Covenant (talent) healing increased by 10 percent, mana cost reduced by 10 percent, and duration lowered to seven seconds (was nine seconds)

Holy

Divine Star (talent) damage increased by 40 percent

Shadow

Surrender to Madness duration increased to 30 seconds (was 25 seconds)
Psychic Link (talent) deals 60 percent of Mind Blast’s damage (was 50 percent)

Rogue

The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond five targets:
- Secret Technique (Subtlety)
The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond eight targets:
- Fan of Knives (Assassination)
- Crimson Tempest (Assassination)
- Black Powder (Subtlety)
- Shuriken Storm (Subtlety)
Toxic Onslaught (Runecarving Power) has been slightly redesigned – When Sepsis expires on your target, you are granted two of the following effects for 10 seconds: Shadow Blades, Adrenaline Rush, or Vendetta is applied to your current target. Bonuses granted are those that are not available to your spec, eg. An Assassination Rogue will gain Adrenaline Rush and Shadow Blades
Septic Shock (Night Fae Conduit) effect increased by 50 percent

Outlaw

Dreadblades (talent) initial strike deals 26 pecent more damage and now immediately fills your Combo Points in addition to its current effects

Shaman

The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond five targets:
- Storm Elemental’s Eye of the Storm (Elemental)
Elysian Dirge (Kyrian Conduit) effect increased by 50 percent

Restoration

Spirit Link Totem’s tooltip has been updated to better match its functionality. No functional change has been made to Spirit Link Totem

Warlock

The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond eight targets:
- Felguard’s Felstorm (Demonology)

Impending Catastrophe (Venthyr ability) chaotic anima cloud width has been increased 60 percent, now deals a tick of its periodic damage on impact and will more accurately apply its damage-over-time effect to hostile targets
Decimating Bolt (Necrolord ability) cast time reduced to two seconds (was 2.5 seconds)
Scouring Tithe (Kyrian ability) instant and periodic damage increased by 20 percent and cast time reduced to 1.5 seconds (was two seconds)
Languishing Soul Detritus (Kyrian Runecarving Power) critical strike chance bonus increased to 45 percent (was 40 percent) and now also grants the Warlock a 33 percent movement speed buff and a 15 percent critical strike chance increase when Scouring Tithe (Kyrian ability) expires

Arms

Nether Portal (talent) cooldown reduced to 2.5 minutes (was three minutes).

Warrior

The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond five targets:
- Whirlwind
- Cleave (Arms)
- Ravager (Arms)
- Dreadnaught (Arms)
- Ravager (Protection)
The following area-of-effect abilities are no longer maximum target capped and instead deal reduced damage beyond eight targets:
- Bladestorm (Arms and Fury)
Harrowing Punishment (Venthyr Conduit) effect increased by 50 pecent
Impending Victory (talent) cooldown reduced to 25 seconds (was 30 seconds) and now heals for 40 percent of your max health (was 30 percent)

Arms

Warbreaker (talent) now extends the duration of Colossus Smash if it was applied by Enduring Blow (Runecarving Power)
Merciless Bonegrinder (Conduit) effect increased by 100 percent

Fury

Hack and Slash (Conduit) increased by 50 percent

Protection

Sinful Surge (Venthyr Runecarving Power) now extends the duration of Avatar (talent) by 2.5 seconds when Condemn (Venthyr ability) is cast (was Last Stand duration extended by three seconds)

Covenants

Players who reach 80 Renown with any Covenant will be able to freely switch among any of the four Covenants without cooldown or restriction. In addition, cosmetic rewards that have been earned from a Covenant with which the player has reached 80 Renown may be used even if that character is currently a member of a different one. Both the Covenant switching and the use of cosmetic rewards will also apply to alts once the Renown threshold is reached on any character. Example: A player with a Night Fae Druid at Renown 80 can use appropriate Night Fae cosmetics on their Rogue, even if the Rogue is a member of the Necrolords
Conduit Energy has been removed and Conduits can now be freely swappable without any restrictions
Reaching 80 Renown no longer requires completing the Shadowlands Covenant Campaign
Unlocking your third Soulbind on any character allows alternate characters joining that same Covenant to start a quest that will immediately unlock their second and third Soulbind
New Covenant toys to discover

Night Fae

New Soulshapes to collect
New Crittershapes – Due to their tiny appearances, they are only usable in rested areas
Option to Soulshape and Crittershape into randomly collected appearances

Sanctums

Adventures

Maw missions unlocked by maximum adventurer level appear more often and are gated by fewer requirements

Anima conductor

Enhancement buffs now persist past daily reset and work as a buff within all non-instance zones in Shadowlands
Players who have built and upgraded their covenant’s Anima Conductors will now receive Grateful Offerings from all covenant Callings, based on the highest level of Anima Conductor they’ve upgraded
Anima can now be channeled to all unlocked locations each day (was one each day)

Redeemed souls

All players will now have the 20 Redeemed Souls version of the weekly quest “Return Lost Souls” regardless of Renown level
Added a repeatable quest to gather 20 additional Redeemed Souls for players looking to progress their Covenant Sanctum faster
Rescuing Souls within Torghast, Tower of the Damned now earn credit for “Return Lost Souls”

Kyrian: Path of Ascension

There is no longer a cost to enter the Path of Ascension. Medallions of Service are now only used in Ascension Crafting
A baseline 20 percent buff, Progressive Power, has been activated for all soulbinds in Path of Ascension. This buff is active by default, but can be turned off via the Brazier of Progressive Power in the arena
Drop rates for all Path of Ascension crafting components have been increased by 10 percent
Soul Mirror Shards now have a chance to drop from Mawsworn Kyrian in the Maw

Night Fae: Queen’s Conservatory

All seeds now stack to 200 (was 20)
All previous locations that award uncommon quality seeds now award rare quality seeds

Venthyr: Ember Court

Players can now use their influence with guests to help their friends or alternate characters
- Once you’ve completed the Best Friend quest for a Guest, that Guest will offer a quest inside your Ember Court scenario to all other players who visit
- These “Friend of a Friend” quests unlock a permanent 30 percent increase to friendship gains with that Guest, so invite a player or two to your next Ember Court and start the introductions to help them make friends faster
- Alternate characters on your account will also be offered these quests inside their own Ember Court scenario
Temel now sells a new favor item: The Party Herald’s Party Hat
- This bind-on-account item can be sent to alternate characters, and permanently increases reputation gains with the Ember Court by 30 percent for any character that uses it
- This item also gives Temel a new, fancier party hat and gives you an option to ask Temel to put the hat on you inside the scenario
You will now receive a confirmation prompt when you queue for the scenario if one of your current Guests has not RSVPed (and therefore would not attend if you start the scenario)

Transportation network

The Oribos portal destination has been updated to a new location in Oribos

Soulbinds

Necrolord

Warlock’s Soulstone can no longer be applied to players that have Forgeborne Reveries (Bonesmith Heirmir) active

Dungeons and raids

Timewalking

Timewalking vendors now appear on the minimap in their respective zones

**New: Legion Timewalking**

This event will run for two weeks the first time it runs within the game and then will resume a regular one week schedule for subsequent bonus events
Timewalking Dungeons: Black Rook Hold, Eye of Azshara, Darkheart Thicket, Vault of the Wardens, Neltharion’s Lair, and Court of Stars

Timewalking Mage Tower

Now that Legion Timewalking has arrived, with it comes a wondrous way to return to the moments of heroism from the past: Azeroth’s champions will be able to enter the Mage Tower again. The original seven different Challenges (grouped by your specialization’s role) will be available to try repeatedly, for the duration of Legion Timewalking
Each Challenge comprises a series of solo encounters that must be completely survived to earn rewards, and in Legion Timewalking, they will not require that you have an Artifact, or even that you originally played Legion
Success in a Mage Tower challenge will now award a Legion-themed armor set for your class. There’s also a new achievement for the most well-rounded champions of the Kirin Tor. Players who complete all seven of the Challenges on different characters across their Battle.net account will be rewarded with a unique flying mount: the Soaring Spelltome. Additionally, Guardian druids who complete The Highlord’s Return challenge will also receive a new fel variant of the “werebear” form
The weekly bonus events schedule has been adjusted and now Timewalking dungeon events will occur every three weeks (was alternating every third or fourth week)
Defeating Timewalking raid bosses will now also provide credit towards the Timewalking weekly quests, “A Burning Path Through Time,” “A Frozen Path Through Time,” and “A Shattered Path Through Time”
The list of available dungeons during Timewalking holidays has been adjusted:

The Burning Crusade

New
The Blood Furnace
The Botanica
The Underbog

Removed
The Arcatraz
The Black Morass
The Slave Pens

Wrath of the Lich King

New

Azjol-Nerub
The Forge of Souls
Utgarde Keep

Removed

Ahn’kahet: The Old Kingdom
Pit of Saron
Utgarde Pinnacle

Cataclysm

New

Blackrock Caverns

Removed

Grim Batol

Mists of Pandaria

New

Scholomance

Removed

Siege of Niuzao Temple

Warlords of Draenor

New

Grimrail Depot

Removed

Iron Docks

Timeworn keystones

While Legion Timewalking is active, players can speak to Ta’hsup in Oribos to acquire a Timeworn Keystone, allowing access to max-level, Mythic+ difficulty for the six Legion dungeons
Legion Mythic+ dungeons accessed in this way have their own set of affixes, reward loot of the same item level as Shadowlands Mythic+ dungeons, and count toward weekly Great Vault reward options
- Items acquired from Legion Mythic+ dungeons can be upgraded with Valor points, but will not appear in the Great Vault
New Infernal affix – Infernal Beacons can be found near some bosses. Activating a Beacon or engaging a nearby boss will trigger a Legion invasion. Available on Legion Timeworn Keystone level 10 or higher

Mythic+

Affixes

Bolster now has a 20 second duration (was permanent)
Necrotic Wound duration now lasts six seconds (was nine seconds)
Raging damage bonus is now 50 percent (was 75 percent)

Legacy raids

The following encounters have been adjusted to be less challenging:

Antorus, The Burning Throne

Antoran High Command
Eonar the Life-Binder
Varimathras
Coven of Shivarra
Aggramar

Tomb of Sargeras

The Desolate Host
Fallen Avatar
Kil’Jaeden

The Nighthold

Gul’dan

Trial of Valor

Helya

All cooldowns of two minutes or longer now reset at the end of raid encounters or when starting a Mythic+ dungeon (was three minutes or longer cooldowns). This does not apply to Shaman’s Reincarnation or Warlock’s Ritual of Doom
Legacy loot rules are now in place for Battle for Azeroth raids and dungeons. These encounters will now drop a fixed quantity of class-agnostic loot, regardless of group size
The prompt to enter into the Timewalking Campaign random dungeon queue for all expansions will now occur after five minutes in the queue (was 15 minutes)

Mythic+

Affixes

Healing specializations can now correctly select the Tormented anima power, Tiny Dancing Shoes

Island Expeditions and Warfront

You are now able to set sail on a Normal, Heroic, or Mythic Island Expedition alone or with a party of up to three players. Speak with Captain Rez’okun in Dazar’alor (Horde) or Flynn Fairwind in Boralus (Alliance) to begin your solo seafaring voyage
Lowered the amount of players required to queue for Normal Battle for Stromgarde and Battle for Darkshore Warfronts to five (was 15)

Items and rewards

Newly created characters now start with new armor. The old armor will be available to obtain in a future update
- Pandaren, Goblin, Worgen, Allied Races, Death Knights, Demon Hunters, and Monks will be keeping their original unique armor
Fixed an issue where Feast of Gluttonous Hedonism and Surprisingly Palatable Feast could not be consumed in Timewalking dungeons
Players now only need to complete the achievement Breaching the Tomb on one character per account to begin the Legion class mount quests on the Broken Shore. Each character must still complete their class hall campaign, complete quests, and recruit their final order hall champion
Show off your complete transmog outfit to chat or online by easily sharing a link to it from the Dressing Room. Players will be able to mouse-over these items to see how they can be collected, if they’ve already collected the appearance, or if it’s an appearance that is accessible to the character viewing it
The transmogrification appearance of cosmetic items is now learned when the item is used
Heirloom Scouting Maps that instantly explore all areas and grant all viable flight paths to your alternate character are now available for all expansions (was only Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms)
Increased the drop rate of Shards of Domination
Significantly increased the amount of Soul Cinders awarded from Layers eight to 12, Maw Assaults, Tormentors of Torghast, and Command Table missions
Duchess Mynx in Korthia now sells versions of Korthian Armaments that create a piece of gear for specific slots
Acquirer Ta’gosh in the Oribos Hall of Curiosities now sells a Gateway Control Shard that lets you activate the nearest Demonic Gateway
- Au’Dara the Heirloom broker located in Oribos next to the Flight Master sells the following bind-on-account items:
- Eternal Heirloom Armor Casing and Eternal Heirloom Scabbard – A new rank of heirloom gear has been added and all heirloom gear is now usable in Shadowlands
- Broker Mark of Distinction – Characters who reach 80 Renown can purchase this item and use it on an alternate character to instantly grant the alternate character up to Renown 40. Cannot be used above 40 Renown
- Traveler’s Anima Cache – Allows Anima to be taken to new covenants or sent to alternate characters
- Valorous Equipment Chest – Contains one piece of item level 210 Mythic 0 gear. The chest can only be purchased with Valor by a character with a 1500 or higher Mythic+ Rating
- Unchained Equipment Chest – Contains one piece of item level 220 unranked PvP gear. The chest can only be purchased with Conquest by a character with a 1600 or higher rating in any PvP bracket
- Timebound Ruminations – Set an Adventures companion to level 30. Requires one companion to reach level 40. Cannot be used on companions level 30 and above
Six new cosmetic boots are available in the Trial of Style world event. These new boots have a unique look for races that don’t normally wear shoes and can be purchased with Trial of Style Tokens

Korthia and the Maw

The Oribos minimap now displays the portal to Korthia
Unlock access to additional fast travel options from Ve’nari’s Refuge to Perdition Hold and Desmotaeron within the Maw
Completing quests from Archivist Roh-Suir will provide access to an Anima Diverter within Korthia where Anima can be directly deposited

Korthia and the Maw

The Research Reports (item upgrades) and Treatise items (bonus drops in 9.0 content) are now available for purchase account wide if a character on their account has reached the appropriate reputation tier
Players at tier six can now purchase the item “Research Report: Relic Examination Techniques,” a new bind-on-account item they can send to an alt to increase the reputation granted by Relics and Relic Fragments by 50 percent
The quest “Relic Efficiency” offered at tier four now also increases the average number of Relics that will show up as bonus drops from rares and treasures as well as how many relics show up on daily quests or in weekly reward chests. This is in addition to the current reward of a 20 percent chance to receive double the normal Relic Fragment drops from rares and treasures
Added two new quests, “Relic Clues” at tier three which starts the bonus at an initial 10 percent chance at double Relic Fragments, and “Relic Hunter” at tier five that will set the final chance for double relics at 40 percent. Both of these new quests will also increase the average number of relics you will see as bonus drops, on daily quests or in weekly reward chests
Korthia rares now have a chance to drop Relics on repeat kills (was a daily lockout for a chance at Relics)
More Relic carrying enemies can be found in Korthia with the All-Seeing Crystal
Trained Gromit now locates more relic caches

Korthia Rifts

A new weekly quest, “Lost Research,” will be available to characters at tier four with the Archivists’ Codex or on alts with a tier four character on the account. This new quest will direct players into the Korthian Rift and reward a large amount of Archivists’ Codex reputation and Cataloged Research
Enemies in Korthian Rifts now drop stolen Relic Fragments and a chance at Relics

Pet battles

Flawless and family-specific Battle-Training Stones now provide a flat 2,000 experience (was the amount required to gain one level)
Fel-Touched Battle-Training Stones now provide a flat 10,000 experience (was the amount required to gain five levels)
Ultimate Battle-Training Stones now cost 35 Polished Pet Charms (was 60)
Battling wild pets with a team of comparable-level pets now provides double experience. Pets on your team are eligible for this bonus if no pet on your team is more than two levels higher than any pet in the wild team
The experience penalty for a pet dying has been reduced to 50 percent (was 100 percent). Pets still need to be active for at least one round to be eligible to earn experience from a battle.
All pet experience earned in battles is increased by 50 percent
- To compensate, the Pet Battle Bonus Event buff Sign of the Critter has been reduced to 100 percent (was 200 percent). The net effect of this is that pet experience gained during the Pet Battle Bonus Event will remain unchanged from current values

PvP

Lower item-level PvP gear will now scale to a higher item-level in PvP situations than before. This should reduce the power level gap so that new characters can feel that they’re able to compete in Battlegrounds and Arenas more readily. This change will not affect high item-level PvP gear
Additional PvP ranks and item level ranks have been added to provide a more granular upgrade path for players climbing up the ranks

New Rating	Rated PvP Ranks	Item level	iLvl in PvP
	Rank one unranked	220	233
1,000	Rank two combatant I	226	239
1,200	Rank three combatant II	229	242
1,400	Rank four challenger I	233	246
1,600	Rank five challenger II	236	249
1,800	Rank six rival I	239	252
1,950	Rank seven rival II	242	255
2,100	Rank eight duelist	246	259
2,400	Rank nine elite	249	259

Unrated PvP Step	Item level	iLvl in PvP
Vendor	177	213
Step one	184	216
Step two	190	220
Step three (Renown 44)	197	223
Step four	203	226
Step five (Renown 59)	210	229
Step six	216	233

The Honor cost to upgrade Unrated gear reduced by around 25 percent, and the Conquest cost to upgrade Rated gear has been adjusted to spread across the new ranks

Covenants

Fleshcraft (Necrolord ability) now absorbs up to 30 percent of max Health while in PvP combat (was 40 percent)
When a Battleground or Arena match begins, any Fleshcraft absorb value exceeding 30 percent of max health is reduced to equal 30 percent of max health

Battlegrounds and Brawls

Fixed an issue that prevented Horde from winning Isle of Conquest with reinforcements from destroying an Alliance gate
Fixed an issue in Temple of Hotmogu where the Orb of Power would not respawn when passed to a player with an immunity active

Death Knight

Death Coil damage increased by 30 percent in PvP combat
Abomination Limb (Necrolord ability) no longer interrupts the Death Knight’s channeling abilities and no longer pulls stealthed enemies

Frost

Frost Strike damage increased by 30 percent in PvP combat

Unholy

Virulent Plague damage increased by 30 percent in PvP combat

Adaptive Swarm’s (Necrolord ability) bonus to periodic healing effects reduced to 20 percent in PvP combat (was 25 percent)

Druid

Feral

Strength of the Wild (PvP talent) now increases Regrowth’s initial heal critical chance on allies by 30 percent (was 100 percent)

Guardian

Grove Protection (PvP talent) radius significantly increased

Restoration

Keeper of the Grove (PvP talent) now protects the Druid from all harm while Tranquility is channeled (was prevents Tranquility from being interrupted)

Hunter

Mend Pet can no longer be removed by spells that remove magic effects
Fixed an issue that caused Feign Death with Craven Stratagem (Runecarving Power) to not remove Murder of Crows on the Feign Death’d Hunter

Beast Mastery

Bestial Wrath increases damage dealt by 20 percent in PvP combat (was 25 percent)
Fixed an issue where Burrow Attack’s (Exotic ability) cooldown was unintentionally reduced by Kindred Beasts (PvP talent)

Marksmanship

Arcane Shot now deals 30 percent additional damage in PvP combat (was 20 percent)
Aimed Shot now deals 15 percent additional damage in PvP combat (was 10 percent)
Rapid Fire now deals 10 percent additional damage in PvP combat

Mage

Fixed an issue where Mana Gem could not be used in rated battlegrounds and rated arenas
Triune Ward (Runecarving Power) now provides 35 percent barrier effectiveness in PvP combat (was 50 percent)

Arcane

Arcane Power can no longer be dispelled
Arcane Power, Icy Veins, Dark Soul: Misery, and Dark Soul: Instability will no longer be able to be dispelled. While many similar buffs (like Avenging Wrath) already cannot be dispelled, those of Mage and Warlock could still be removed because of their direct magical fantasy. Blizzard found that the intended impact and play-vs.-counterplay of these abilities are undermined when their effects are frequently removed via dispel

Fire

Fixed an issue that caused Ring of Fire (PvP talent) to sometimes fail to apply to targets running through the ring

Frost

Icy Veins can no longer be dispelled

Monk

Bonedust Brew (Necrolord ability) now deals 33 percent less damage in PvP combat

Windwalker

Dance of Chi’ji (talent) procs now cause your next Spinning Crane Kick to deal 150 percent damage in PvP combat (was 200 percent)

Windwalker

Fixed an issue that prevented Wind Waker (PvP talent) from correctly applying to allies

Priest

Holy

Heal healing increased by 35 percent in PvP combat (was 20 percent)
Flash Heal healing increased by 30 percent in PvP combat (was 15 percent)
Renew healing increased by 15 percent in PvP combat

Shaman

Unleash Shield’s (PvP talent) Earth Shield effect now roots targets for four seconds (was three seconds) and the Lightning Shield effect now knocks back enemies 33 percent farther

Paladin

Auras are no longer removed when leaving battlegrounds or arenas

Rogue

Subtlety

Fixed an issue where the target of Shadowy Duel (PvP talent) would become invisible if the Rogue is under the effects of a Paladin’s Blessing of Protection when starting the duel

Warlock

Affliction

Dark Soul: Misery (talent) can no longer be dispelled
Death Bolt (PvP talent) now deals 50 percent of remaining damage over time (was 40 percent) and can no longer critically strike. Additionally, the spell now reaches the target faster
Rapid Contagion (PvP talent) duration is now 20 seconds (was 15 seconds)
Dark Soul: Misery (talent) can no longer be dispelled

Destruction

Dark Soul: Misery (talent) can no longer be dispelled
Bonds of Fel (PvP talent) has been slightly redesigned – No longer snares the target and no longer splits damage with pets and guardians
Dark Soul: Instability (talent) can no longer be dispelled

Warrior

Elysian Might’s (Kyrian Runecarving Power) Critical Strike damage bonus reduced to 15 percent in PvP Combat (was 25 percent)

Professions

Mining ore drop rates across all zones, including Elethium Ore, increased by 20 percent
Callous Hide and Heavy Callous Hide drop rate increased by 20 percent
Jewelcrafting Essence drop rate increased by 10 percent
Lightless Silk drop rate has been increased by 20 percent

Quests

Fixed an issue where Chief Murgut would not spawn during the Ashenvale quest “King of the Foulweald”
Alternate characters on an account can now choose to skip the introductory Shadowlands questline that takes place in the Maw by speaking to High Inquisitor Whitemane or Nazgrim after accepting the quest “Shadowlands: A Chilling Summons”. Please note that to enable the skip, you will need to have logged into a level 60 character who has completed the Maw introduction
- For those who have already begun the introductory Shadowlands questline, Jaina Proudmoore in the Forlorn Respite cave will offer to skip the rest of the introduction after the quest “A Flight From Darkness” is completed and before leaving the cave

Runecarving

The Runecarver will now offer to destroy an existing legendary item and return all of the Soul Ash or Soul Cinders that were spent to create the item
The drop rates of Runecarving recipes found in dungeons have been increased to 100 percent on all difficulties

Threads of Fate

Tal-Inara now offers a Torghast, Tower of the Damned daily quest for experience and Soul Ash
Tal-Inara now offers a PvP Battlegrounds daily quest for experience and gear
Threads of Fate Bonus Objectives are now significantly shorter and award Renown
Threads of Fate Zone Objectives now reward higher item level gear and anima

Torghast, Tower of the Damned

Repeatedly completing Wings now awards the full amount of Soul Ash (up from 20 percent after the first clear)
Repeatedly completing Wings now awards the full amount of Soul Cinders (up from none after the first clear)

User interface and accessibility

Gold, Silver, and Copper now have new icons
The unread mail icon on the Character Select screen has returned
Updated the requirements to participate in the newcomer guide system, players can now opt-in after completing 3,000 quests and reaching max-level
Improved gamepad compatibility, including support for touchpad and gyro
Mythic+ and PvP Ratings can now be shared through a chat link with shift-click
Item Upgrade UI has been reworked

User interface and accessibility

Accounts now require an attached Battle.net Authenticator to post custom text when listing a group for Dungeons, Raids, or Rated PvP activities. All players may still search for and join others’ groups
Search now allows a numeric range (i.e. search “5-9” finds M+ key levels from five to nine)
Autofill group finder information based on the creator’s keystone. The information can still be manually entered
Group creators can now set a minimum Mythic+ or PvP rating requirement for applicants
Group creators can now select a playstyle to set expectations for their group
PvP Rating will now display when browsing for Rated PvP entries and in the applicant window
Group creators are now able to browse listings
PvP categories now use the player’s PvP item level instead of their regular item level

Improved chat reporting feedback

Added confirmations for players who report misbehavior in chat, as well as for those who are likely to be reported
When you report a player for verbal harassment or other disruptive chat in-game, we will notify you when action is taken against the player
When we notice that your behavior has moderately changed for the worse, we will send you a warning message so that you can modify your behavior before receiving a penalty
In cases where acutely inappropriate behavior is observed, the system may skip warning the player and take action immediately
/ignore now blocks all characters on the ignored player’s WoW account. Text-to-Speech settings saved on server and added an option to also save the settings account-wide
Option to add voice transcription output to any chat frame and change the font color
The size of the cursor can now be increased in the Accessibility menu
Summon Random Favorite Mounts will now summon a random mount if no mounts are favorited
Added a flying mount filter in the Mount Collection
New Transmogrifier cursor icon

New default backpack bag icon
New character customization options will be marked by a “NEW” tag in character creation and the Barbershop
The Adventure Guide loot pane now separates normal loot from bonus loot to indicate that they don’t compete with each other as drops
The “PvP talent is available” help tip will now only appear in War Mode and PvP instances
Enemy and boss dialogue options have been added to Text to Speech settings.
A help tip has been added to highlight the Reagent Bank.
You can now access the Recruit A Friend pane by typing /raf
A shorter alternative command has been added for Ready Check: /rc
A shorter alternative command has been added for Countdown: /cd [seconds]
Several emotes have been adjusted:
Drool, cough, burp, fart, whistle, spit, and moon no longer change when used while targeting a player
Pounce and groan have been adjusted when used while targeting a player.
Four new emotes have been added – Huzzah, magnificent, impressed, and wince

WoW Companion app

Warlords of Draenor missions are now accessible for players who have unlocked the Warlords of Draenor Garrison and Command Table in game. Players can send followers on Command Table missions, view follower information, and equip follower items from the app

Dot Esports is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy

Author

Jerome Heath

Senior editor at Dot Esports. Jerome has been in and around the gaming industry for the last eight years, and he's not going anywhere anytime soon.