ForeverDB

Class tuning on November 10: tougher Hunter pets and Voidwalkers, Affliction's DoTs, and Enhancement stats

Hunter, Shaman and Warlock talent tree paintings from the WoW Forever client

· ForeverDB

Blizzard plans hotfixes for Tuesday 10 November. Hunter pets and Warlock Voidwalkers should be as durable as tanks again, Affliction's damage-over-time spells should stay worth casting alongside Wrack, and Strength should become Enhancement Shaman's strongest stat.

On 6 November, Community Manager Kaivax posted on the US forums that Blizzard has spotted a few class problems in WoW: Forever and plans to fix them with hotfixes on Tuesday 10 November. Three things are named: Hunter pet and Warlock Voidwalker durability, Affliction Warlock damage-over-time spells, and which stats Enhancement Shaman should want on their gear.

None of this is live yet. Blizzard says it is still investigating and plans to release the hotfixes on Tuesday. The exact numbers aren't given, so they can't be checked against the game files until the changes land.

Now that players around the world are leveling up in WoW: Forever, we’ve identified a few class issues that we feel need some immediate changes. Today, we’re still investigating these issues and working through them with a plan to release hotfixes on Tuesday, November 10 to address: Kaivax, Community Manager

Hunter pets and Warlock Voidwalkers

Both pets are meant to hold threat and take hits while you level or group up. Blizzard says they aren't tough enough right now and will raise their stats so they tank about as well as in Classic Era. This matters most for Hunters leading with a pet and for Warlocks who rely on the Voidwalker to soak damage.

We’ve seen that Hunter pets and Warlock Voidwalkers are not as durable as tanks as we would like them to be. Our intent is for their effectiveness to be relatively the same as in Classic Era. We will adjust their stats as necessary to accomplish this. Kaivax, Community Manager

Pet stats are set on Blizzard's servers, so the game files can't show the change either way until the hotfix is out.

Affliction Warlock: keep casting your DoTs

Players found that just channelling Wrack over and over beat weaving in damage-over-time spells like Siphon Life, Corruption and Bane of Agony. Blizzard wants those to stay worth casting alongside Wrack, and says it will do this without changing Affliction's overall damage.

Affliction Warlock reports indicate that always channeling Wrack is superior to also casting damage-over-time abilities like Siphon Life, Corruption, and Bane of Agony. We will make adjustments to make sure those are always worthwhile to cast combined with Wrack, without affecting Affliction Warlocks’ total damage output. Kaivax, Community Manager

Enhancement Shaman: grab Strength and Attack Power

Enhancement Shaman are currently better off with Intellect and Spell Power than with Strength and Attack Power, which pushes them towards caster gear meant for Mages and Warlocks. Blizzard plans to make Strength their strongest stat so that doesn't happen. There's a direct note for anyone levelling one now.

Enhancement Shamans are finding that Intellect and Spellpower are superior stats compared to Strength and Attack Power. We plan to make changes so that Strength is always their strongest stat, and Enhancement Shamans will not prefer gear intended for Mages and Warlocks. Ideally, Enhancement’s best items have Strength or Attack Power, along with some Intellect and/or Spell Power. Kaivax, Community Manager

Blizzard's advice for levelling Enhancement Shaman: "Enhancement Shaman players who are leveling up will want to collect Strength and Attack Power gear from now on."

What happens next

Blizzard says more issues may turn up over the weekend, and it will keep players posted. Balance changes are planned for Tuesday, with more on later Tuesdays if needed.

We may find new issues over the weekend, and we will keep you updated. Our plan is to make class balance changes on Tuesday, and then on future Tuesdays if necessary. Thank you very much for your feedback! Kaivax, Community Manager

Sources

Explore next