World of Warcraft’s next expansion, The War Within, will expand on the existing talent system and introduce Hero talents to deepen your gameplay. Hero talents work pretty similarly to talents, but there are still several differences you need to learn.
Hero talents will be one of the core systems in The War Within. This is all still in early development, and they could change when the expansion finally comes.
Here’s how Hero talents will work in The War Within.
What are Hero talents in WoW The War Within?
Hero talents are the next gameplay system featured in the upcoming The War Within expansion that will award you new ability bonuses and spells. This system is meant to give your class additional depth and options and allow for further class specialization.
This is a feature Blizzard intends to keep around, with the devs already calling it an evergreen feature. In simple terms, Blizzard plans to expand and improve this feature with every next expansion, even after The War Within.
Hero Talents and Talent Trees in The War Within explained
Hero Talents and their talent trees may seem complicated because it’s a new system that will be introduced in The War Within. But they can be summarized as follows:
- Each class will have three new Hero trees, but only two will be available per specialization.
- Each talent tree will start with a keystone talent that introduces the core mechanics and purpose of the tree.
- Each talent tree ends with a capstone talent that either adds new power or builds on the theme of the talent tree.
- You can freely swap between these two Hero trees, but you will have only one active.
- Your Hero tree will be separate from your talent tree, essentially building upon the already-existing system.
- The system will automatically unlock at level 71, most likely when the expansion comes out.
- You will earn one talent point per level from level 71 to 80, which means you will get every talent in the tree by level 80.
- Respeccing these talents should be easy, working similarly to the current talent tree system.
- There will also be starter builds available to players, and you can also save your builds.
- Abilities from Hero talents will have new visual effects.
- You can still use the same gear.
Example of Hero talents in WoW The War Within
The example Blizzard showcased at BlizzCon 2023 was for Warriors. Essentially, Warriors will have three Hero specializations—Mountain Thane, Slayer, and Colossus. But not all Warrior specs can choose any of these Hero specializations:
- Fury can choose between Slayer and Mountain Thane
- Arms can be Colossus and Slayer
- Protection can be a Mountain Thane or Colossus.
In a recent blog post, the devs assembled mockups of what a talent tree would look like for four classes. For a Mountain Thane Warrior, who specializes in Fury and Protection, their talent tree may look something like this:
| Talent tree row | Abilities |
|---|---|
| Mountain Thane Keystone | – Lightning Strikes: Damaging enemies with Thunder Clap, Revenge, Raging Blow, or Execute has a 10 percent chance to strike one with a lightning bolt, dealing moderate Nature damage. Lightning Strikes occur 50 percent more often during Avatar. |
| Mountain Thane Row One | – Call of Thunder: The Stormstrike damage or Nature damage your abilities deal is increased by 5 percent. Stormstrike damage ignores Armor. Thunder Clap damage increased by 50 percent. For Fury only, Thunder Clap generates five Rage and Improved Whirlwind, and Meat Cleaver now improves Thunder Clap and Whirlwind. – Ground Current: Lightning Strikes will also deal low amounts of Nature damage to enemies near their target. This damage is reduced beyond five targets. – Strength of the Mountain: Shield Slam damage increased by 20 percent. Bloodthirst and Rampage damage increased by 10 percent. |
| Mountain Thane Row Two | – Thunder Blast: Shield Slam and Bloodthirst have a 20 percent chance to grant you Thunder Blast, stacking up to two charges. Thunder Blast causes your next Thunder Clap to become a Thunder Blast that deals Stormstrike damage. – Choice Node: Choose between Storm Bolts and Storm Shield — Storm Bolts: Storm Bolt also hits one additional nearby target, stunning them for two seconds. —Storm Shield: Intervening with a target grants them a shield for five seconds that absorbs magic damage equal to three times your Armor. –Choice Node: Choose between Flashing Skies and Valarjar Training —Flashing Skies: The chance for Lightning Strikes to critically strike is increased by five percent, and their critical strike damage is increased by 10 percent. —Valarjar Training: Lightning Strikes reduce the cooldown of Ravager by 0.5 seconds. |
| Mountain Thane Row Three | – Choice Node: Choose between Steadfast as the Peaks and Keep Your Feet on the Ground —Steadfast as the Peaks: Victory Rush increases your maximum health by 10 percent for five seconds. —Keep Your Feet on the Ground: Thunder Blast reduces the damage you take by four percent for five seconds. – Choice Node: Choose between Gathering Clouds and Thorim’s Might —Gathering Clouds: Your attacks trigger Lightning Strikes 15 percent more often. Thorim’s Might: Lightning Strikes generate three Rage. Revenge, Raging Blow, and Execute damage increased by 15 percent. – Burst of Power: Lightning Strikes have a 20 percent chance to make your next two Shield Slams or Bloodthirsts have no cooldown. |
| Mountain Thane Capstone | – Avatar of the Storm: Casting Avatar grants you two charges of Thunder Blast and resets the cooldown of Thunder Clap. While Avatar is inactive, Lightning Strikes have a 10 percent chance to grant you Avatar for four seconds. |
Hero Talents and the Talent Trees enhance your abilities and skills while offering much more. But they can be complicated, especially when choosing between the two ‘choice nodes.’
List of all Hero talents in WoW The War Within
| Class | Hero talents |
| Druid | Druid of the Claw (Guardian and Feral) Windstalker (Restoration and Feral) Keeper of the Grove (Balance and Restoration) Elune’s Chosen (Guardian and Balance) |
| Evoker | Scalecommander (Augmentation and Devastation) Choronowarden (Preservation and Augmentation) Ruby Adept (Devastation and Preservation) |
| Paladin | Herald of the Sun (Retribution and Holy) Lightsmith (Holy and Protection) Templar (Retribution and Protection) |
| Rogue | Fatebound Rogue (Assassination and Outlaw) Death Stalker (Assassination and Subtlety) Trickster (Outlaw and Subtlety) |
| Warlock | Soul Harvester (Affliction and Demonology) Hellcaller (Destruction and Affliction) Diabolist (Demonology and Destruction) |
| Warrior | Mountain Thane (Fury and Protection) Slayer (Fury and Arms) Colossus (Protection and Arms) |
When are Hero Talents coming to WoW?
Hero talents are the core gameplay feature that will launch with The War Within, the expansion coming right after Dragonflight. This new expansion is set to release in 2024, and unfortunately, Blizzard didn’t reveal a time window or a specific date for when players can expect this exciting expansion.
According to Blizzard’s roadmap from December 2023, The War Within should release between summer and fall, and Hero talents will be available once the expansion drops.
We will update this guide as more information on Hero Talents and Talents Trees is released. But this is everything we know about Hero Talents and trees so far.
