The October 8 build opens the City of Dalaran, the new dungeon of the WoW Forever beta, and makes group leveling far more rewarding: dungeon monsters give about 20% more experience, and a player grouped with someone of a higher level is no longer penalized for it.
Two projects dominate the class changes. Blizzard fixes three bugs in how Rage is gained from taking damage, so Warrior and Druid tanks get more of it. Then the early ranks of ten caster spells are recalculated so that every new rank is an upgrade. Discipline Priests lose part of their Penance, and Paladins see their Retribution Aura go back to Vanilla damage.
Blizzard does not publish the new rank values. The before/after numbers quoted here come from foreverchanges.pro, which compares the game data from one build to the next. Three changes that site spotted in game, missing from the official notes, are flagged as such.
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Warrior
Net buffRage gained from taking hits was miscalculated in three ways, all against the player. The game used the Warrior’s own health instead of a reference creature’s: the more Stamina you wore, the less Rage you got. Incoming critical strikes and crushing blows were not counted at their real value. And a damage absorb skewed the result. Blizzard also admits it had tuned Rage around a Warrior with 50% armor, which suited a tank but not a questing Warrior: the reference is now 20 to 40% armor depending on level.
In Arms, Deep Wounds is required again to reach Impale, and loses a bug that let it scale with the attack power of the off-hand weapon.
Going up
- ▲Rage from damage taken: now based on a reference creature’s health instead of the player’s. Stamina gear no longer reduces the Rage you gain.Modified
- ▲Rage from damage taken: extra damage from incoming critical strikes and crushing blows now counts in full.Modified
- ▲Rage from damage taken: damage absorbs are ignored in the calculation, as if no shield were active.Modified
- ▲Rage tuning: balanced around 20 to 40% armor depending on level (instead of 50%), so questing Warriors are no longer penalized.Modified
- ▲Demoralizing Shout: generated no threat. It now puts some threat on every enemy hit.Modified
- ▲Protection – Last Stand: grants the correct amount of health on activation again.Modified
- ▲Arms – Spearing Strike: now dismounts its targets. Not in Blizzard’s notes, spotted in game by foreverchanges.pro.Modified
Going down
- ▼Arms – Deep Wounds: is a prerequisite for Impale again.Modified
- ▼Arms – Deep Wounds: no longer scales with your off-hand weapon’s attack power. The developers point out that the talent does not scale with attack power, but is a rolling bleed, unlike Classic.Modified
Paladin
Net nerfTank Paladins pay for this build. Retribution Aura loses about a third of its base damage and more than half of its spell power ratio. Reckoning gets a delay between two triggers. Mana restored while tanking no longer generates threat: the developers explain that a Paladin restoring enough Mana to sustain the fight was producing more threat than intended.
Going down
- ▼Retribution Aura: base damage back to Vanilla values, about 33% less (rank 2: 8 instead of 12), and spell power ratio reduced to 6% (was 13.3%).Modified
- ▼Protection – Reckoning: can only trigger once every 1.5 seconds.Modified
- ▼Seal of Fury: no longer restores Mana when the Improved Seal of Fury talent is not taken.Modified
- ▼Protection – Improved Seal of Fury and Shield Specialization: the Mana they restore no longer generates threat.Modified
Reworks and comfort
- ◆Retribution Aura: now uses the spell power of the casting Paladin, not that of the ally being struck.Modified
Hunter
BalancedNearly all of the Hunter’s changes in this build are fixes to talents that did not work as intended. Some help: Unleashed Fury finally increases pet damage, and Disengage removes twice as much threat. Others hurt, mostly in PvP: Entrapment gets diminishing returns (each new crowd control on the same target lasts less) and only triggers once per Frost Trap.
Going up
- ▲Disengage: its threat reduction was meant to be doubled, and the miss is fixed.Modified
- ▲Beast Mastery – Unleashed Fury: now actually increases your pet’s damage.Modified
- ▲Survival – Expose Prey: lasts 10 seconds (was 5).Modified
Going down
- ▼Pets: fixed a bug that made them regain health repeatedly when it was low.Modified
- ▼Survival – Improved Wing Clip: now has the correct chance to trigger, and a reduced chance when you use a rank of Wing Clip far below your level.Modified
- ▼Survival – Entrapment: now has diminishing returns.Modified
- ▼Survival – Entrapment: only triggers when Frost Trap first activates, no longer on every pulse of its area.Modified
Reworks and comfort
- ◆Marksmanship – Improved Concussive Shot: now has the correct chance to trigger.Modified
Priest
Net nerfDiscipline’s Penance was treated as a 3-second channel even though it only lasts 2, so it hit and healed like a longer spell. With the fix, rank 1 drops from 81 to 45 damage per bolt and from 184 to 134 healing, while costing 50% more Mana. Blizzard wants it to stay more Mana-efficient than the Heal family, no more. Ranks 2 and 4 heal a little more to compensate. The rest of the Priest follows the early-rank rework: small adjustments up or down depending on the spell.
Going up
- ▲Discipline – Penance: healing increased on ranks 2 and 4.Modified
Going down
- ▼Discipline – Penance: damage and healing reduced to match a 2-second channel. At rank 1: 45 damage or 134 healing per bolt (was 81 or 184), with 19% of spell power per bolt (was 28.5%).Modified
- ▼Discipline – Penance: rank 1 Mana cost increased by 50% (150 instead of 100). The other ranks are adjusted to keep a steady edge over Heal and Greater Heal.Modified
- ▼Smite: ranks 1 to 4 recalculated for a steady progression up to rank 5. They hit slightly softer (rank 4: 59 to 68 instead of 60 to 68).Modified
Reworks and comfort
- ◆Lesser Heal and Heal: ranks 1 to 3 of the first and 1 to 2 of the second recalculated. Lesser Heal gains about 15% (rank 3: 157 to 181 instead of 138 to 160), Heal loses about 8% (rank 2: 364 to 415 instead of 394 to 448).Modified
Shaman
BalancedOne real gain for the Shaman: Elemental Focus is no longer wasted by Fire Nova, which triggered and consumed it at the same time. Its Lightning Bolt follows the early-rank rework, and the rest fixes displays.
Going up
- ▲Elemental – Elemental Focus: is no longer triggered then immediately consumed by Fire Nova.Modified
Reworks and comfort
- ◆Lightning Bolt: ranks 1 to 5 recalculated so each new rank is better. Ranks 1 to 3 hit slightly softer, ranks 4 and 5 harder (rank 5: 79 to 90 instead of 71 to 80).Modified
- ◆Flametongue Totem: uses the attack speed of a shapeshifted target (a Druid in animal form, for example) instead of the speed of its weapon.Modified
- ◆Restoration – Water Shield: the buff tooltip now shows the Mana restored.Modified
- ◆Restoration – Water Shield: the tooltip no longer claims a 15-second cooldown. The spell never had one.Modified
- ◆Mana Tide Totem: its pulses are visible again.
Mage
BalancedThe Mage is the class most affected by the early-rank rework: three of its main spells are recalculated. Ranks 1 to 3 of Fireball and Frostbolt hit slightly softer, ranks 4 and 5 much harder. For a leveling Mage, the dip comes in the first levels and the gain shows up around level 20. In Fire, Impact no longer triggers on the periodic damage of Flamestrike.
Going up
- ▲Arcane Missiles: ranks 1 to 3 recalculated. Ranks 2 and 3 hit about 6% harder (rank 3: 49 per second instead of 46).Modified
Going down
- ▼Fire – Impact: can no longer trigger on the periodic damage of Flamestrike.Modified
Reworks and comfort
- ◆Fireball: ranks 1 to 5 recalculated. Ranks 1 to 3 hit slightly softer, ranks 4 and 5 harder (rank 5: 108 to 143 instead of 98 to 130).Modified
- ◆Frostbolt: ranks 1 to 5 recalculated. Ranks 1 to 3 hit slightly softer, ranks 4 and 5 harder (rank 5: 104 to 114 instead of 97 to 105).Modified
Warlock
Net nerfTwo small losses for the Warlock. The current demon is stunned while you summon another one, which ends free demon swaps in the middle of a fight. In Demonology, Demonic Brand only generates high threat on the demon’s Shadow damage. Shadow Bolt follows the early-rank rework, with almost no effect.
Going down
- ▼Demons: the current demon is now stunned while a new one is being summoned.Modified
- ▼Demonology – Demonic Brand: the demon’s bonus damage on the branded target only generates high threat when it deals Shadow damage.Modified
Reworks and comfort
- ◆Shadow Bolt: ranks 1 to 4 recalculated. Ranks 2 and 3 hit slightly softer, rank 4 slightly harder (58 to 66 instead of 57 to 64).Modified
Druid
Net buffBear Druids are the big winners of the build. They get the three Rage fixes described in the Warrior section, a threat bonus raised to 50% and double Rage on critical strikes. Cat Form no longer lowers maximum health, and Mana potions now work in every animal form.
On the losing side, Thorns goes back to Vanilla damage, and Wolfshead Helm only grants 5 Energy with Shifting Power, down from 20. Effects that replace a form’s appearance also become rarer: Blizzard wants a Druid’s form to stay readable in combat, and only keeps transformations that do something else, such as the water breathing of Noggenfogger Elixir.
Going up
- ▲Bear Form and Dire Bear Form: threat bonus raised to 50% (was 30%).Modified
- ▲Rage on critical strikes: a critical strike grants 100% more Rage (was 75%).Modified
- ▲Demoralizing Roar: generated no threat. It now puts some threat on every enemy hit.Modified
- ▲Cat Form: no longer reduces maximum health.Modified
- ▲Mana potions: usable in Cat, Bear and Dire Bear Form.Modified
- ▲Feral – Predatory Instincts: renamed Natural Instinct, and now also increases spell healing by 12/25% of Intellect.Modified
- ▲Feral – Thick Hide: now handled by the game code instead of a script. Changing gear while shapeshifted no longer drops its effect.Modified
- ▲Enchant Weapon – Recovery: now works for a shapeshifted Druid.Modified
Going down
- ▼Thorns: base damage back to Vanilla values (rank 3: 9 instead of 11), and spell power ratio reduced to 6% (was 13.3%).Modified
- ▼Wrath: ranks 1 to 5 recalculated for a steady progression up to rank 6. They hit slightly softer (rank 2: 21 to 24 instead of 25 to 28; rank 5: 46 to 52 instead of 47 to 53).Modified
- ▼Wolfshead Helm: now grants 5 extra Energy when Shifting Power is used, down from 20. The Rage part of the effect is unchanged.Modified
- ▼Furor: the Energy saved for Cat Form is lost when shifting into Bear or Dire Bear Form, and does not come back while you stay in it. Not in Blizzard’s notes, spotted in game by foreverchanges.pro.Modified
Reworks and comfort
- ◆Feral – Shifting Power: can no longer be used while Energy is already full.Modified
- ◆Form appearances: effects that override the look of an animal form are closer to Classic. Only those with another use, such as Noggenfogger Elixir, still change it.Modified
General changes
Dungeon experience jumps. Dungeon monsters give about 20% more, and Blizzard returns to the Classic calculation for groups: until now, killing a low-level monster in a group penalized everyone based on the highest-level member. From now on, only each player’s own level matters. The developers believe these two changes together « will dramatically increase experience earned in dungeons for most players ». A party member far above the monster’s level still blocks experience for the whole group, as intended.
Rewards from several dungeon quests drop from Rare to Uncommon, with their stats lowered to match. Between October 1 and 8, Blizzard also shipped three small hotfixes (October 3, 5 and 6) that did not touch talents, spells or items.
New
- ▲City of Dalaran: new dungeon, open for testing. It brings a five-piece cloth armor set, the Purple Sorcerer’s Garb.New
- ▲Dungeon experience: dungeon monsters give about 20% more experience.Modified
- ▲Group experience: the experience penalty on low-level monsters is calculated for each player based on their own level, as in Classic Era.Modified
- ▲Weapon swaps: you can once again swap several weapons within the same global cooldown, for example from a two-handed weapon to a sword and shield with a macro.Modified
- ▲Cooldown Manager: now supports every class, racial abilities and trinkets. Consumables will follow in a later patch.Modified
- ▲Legacy: every beta player is granted the completed Legacy Challenge, worth 16 Legacy Points to test the system. The cheapest re-spec costs 1 silver and the price drops one step per hour, during the beta only.Modified
- ▲Enchanting: crafted oils and wands sell to vendors at a normal price again, from 5 copper for the Novice’s Practice Wand to 25 silver for the Greater Eternal Wand.Modified
- ▲Revelation enchant: its buff is no longer removed when shifting into Ghost Wolf or a Druid form.Modified
- ▲Discolored Healing Potions: their damage no longer breaks crowd control effects.Modified
- ▲Undead race – Will of the Forsaken: can once again be used while asleep or charmed.Modified
- ▲Spirit healer resurrection: costs 25% durability, down from 50%. Not in Blizzard’s notes, spotted in game by foreverchanges.pro.Modified
Going down
- ▼Dungeon quest rewards: several drop from Rare to Uncommon quality, with lower stats.Modified
- ▼Truthseeker’s Bow: now requires level 40, like the two other rewards of the Greater Friend of the Library quest chain.Modified
- ▼Booty Bay Bruiser’s Buckshot: no longer knocks the target back.Modified
- ▼Gelkis and Magram quests in Desolace: the chain starting with « Valley of Bones » requires level 35 (was 30). Its sixteen rewards are retuned and will also require level 35 after an upcoming hotfix.Modified
- ▼Armor Kits: those granting attack power no longer grant twice that value as ranged attack power.Modified
Fixes and comfort
- ◆PvP: critical strikes against players are no longer reduced. The Shipwreck Cove capture point is back in the right place.Modified
- ◆Loot: as in Classic, you can once again interact with a creature that dropped nothing. Visual effects on large creatures no longer flicker, and a behavior that could pull monsters from very far away is fixed.
- ◆Items: Transformative Cocoon is correctly a debuff, the shoulders of the new armor sets are back to a normal size, and the Peace Tea recipe sells for 10 copper.
- ◆Gamepad: new indicator for hold actions, a map that opens on the quest log so you can keep running, a gamepad action bar you can set up in Edit Mode, and Edit Mode layouts saved per UI type. Gamepad action bar settings have to be set again in Edit Mode.
- ◆Interface: voice chat can run through Discord for the whole party based on the leader’s setting, Group Finder offers a voice mode, and the inspect window is redone. The quest log shows quest types and level requirements, the character pane shows level and class, and right-clicking a portrait offers View Talents.
- ◆Quests: faster respawns and better drop rates on about twenty quests, from the Barrens to Teldrassil. Quests and creatures around Shadowvale and Bandarion Keep, in Tirisfal Glades, gain a few levels so they are no longer green when you get there. Stitches is hostile again as he walks into Darkshire.
- ◆Barbershops: the barbers of the capital cities are replaced by local barbers. Blizzard says it anticipates « no fallout from this among the goblin cartels ».
Three known issues come with this build. Skyborne Druid Cat Form, some creatures on Zephras Isle and a few mounts and pets are still waiting for their new textures. Hunters who took Ferocity do not see their pet’s critical strike chance go up on the character sheet, but only the display is wrong. Some icons in the Professions window look broken. The full list is at the end of the official notes.
Build summaryOctober 1 removed talents. October 8 mostly repairs what did not work: tank Rage, silent Hunter talents, wrong tooltips. The two real power cuts land on Penance, fixed from a bug that made it hit like a longer spell, and on Retribution Aura, back to its Vanilla values.
The recalculated ranks change how casters level more than their endgame: a Mage or a Shaman hits a little softer in the first levels, then harder from ranks 4 and 5 onward. The official launch is still set for November 4, 2026. Every talent is detailed in the talent calculator.
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