Blizzard Entertainment is unleashing a major wave of balance changes to World of Warcraft with the game’s next weekly reset. Several classes will see their power levels altered later this week. A series of class changes were announced last night, with some of the game’s top specializations (specs) set to receive buffs and nerfs when WoW’s servers reset on April 5.
The class specialization set to receive the most impactful set of changes is Fire Mage, whose players will see the damage of their core abilities—Fireball, Fire Blast, and Pyroblast—increased by 20 percent, 10 percent, and 6 percent, respectively. Additionally, the two-piece tier set bonus that Fire Mages receive will extend the duration of Combustion from two seconds to four seconds with the upcoming reset. According to WoW stats tracking site WarcraftLogs, Fire Mage is the second-weakest DPS spec in Mythic-level Sepulcher of the First Ones raids through the first four weeks of the raid’s availability.
Another class receiving an extensive power increase with the upcoming reset is Windwalker Monk, which will see some of its core damage-focused abilities buffed. Rising Sun Kick, Tiger Palm, Blackout Kick, and Fist of the White Tiger will all have their damage output buffed by 10 percent upon server reset. “While Windwalker Monks shine in multitarget situations, we’re seeing their performance fall behind in single target scenarios, even after acquiring endgame gear,” Blizzard said in a developer update regarding the April 5 reset. “As a result, we’re targeting specific abilities with the goal of improving their single target output.”
Beyond Windwalker Monk and Fire Mage, other classes receiving buffs this week will be Retribution Paladin and Assassination Rogue, who are seeing minor buffs to certain damage-dealing abilities.
The only specs receiving nerfs in PvE gameplay will be Guardian Druid and Demonology Warlock. Guardian Druids will have the healing bonus from their four-piece tier set nerfed by 35 percent, while Demonology Warlocks will see their Demonic Commander drain three percent less HP from other demons via Demonic Consumption. According to WarcraftLogs, Demonology Warlock is the strongest and second-most popular class among Mythic raiders in this patch.
PvP-focused nerfs are also being dished out to Guardian Druid and Holy Priest with the upcoming reset.
The next round of class changes will go live in World of Warcraft this upcoming week upon servers resetting. Players in North America will see these changes go live on April 5, while European players can play with these changes on April 6.
Published: Apr 3, 2022 04:20 pm