Blizzard continues to refine the balance in World of Warcraft and brings several buffs for many classes on the upcoming Wednesday, April 16. However, some particularly popular specializations are facing adjustments.
What’s going on in WoW right now: Season 2 of The War Within has been running for over a month and the classes are gradually settling into a status quo. Many top players already have their best trinkets, weapons, and other armor pieces. The strength of the classes is now really coming to the fore.
Together with the new raid, the Liberation of Lorenhall, new dungeons have also entered the Mythic+ rotation and provide players with surprisingly much fun. In the dungeons, there are again some of the best trinkets in play.
On April 22 or 23, Patch 11.1.5 will release new content for WoW. Before that, however, Blizzard will once again tweak the class balance.
Buffs for (almost) everyone, Nerfs for Discipline and Demon Hunters
What changes on Wednesday: With the upcoming patch on April 15 or 16, nearly all classes will receive adjustments, and for most, these are buffs. These include some general “aura” buffs that simply make everything better, as well as very specific skills that will be improved.
The following specializations will receive a buff on Wednesday:
- Balance Druid (with specific nerfs included)
- Affliction Warlock
- Demonology Warlock
- Destruction Warlock
- Arcane Mage
- Fire Mage
- Brewmaster Monk
- Windwalker Monk
- Holy Paladin
- Retribution Paladin
- Holy Priest
- Enhancement Shaman
- Elemental Shaman
- Enhancement Shaman (only damage)
- Blood Death Knight
- Frost Death Knight
Most of these buffs are quite reasonable. Looking at the current DPS ranking for the Liberation of Lorenhall, most of the mentioned classes are struggling – with the exception of the Affliction Warlock. Here the buff will affect spells that contribute too little overall damage, but the specialization is already extremely strong.
The buff for the Retribution Paladin is also two-sided. While the class is weak in raids, it is, according to the analysis site Raider.IO, by far the most popular spec in Mythic+ dungeons, even across all roles. No class is played more frequently there.
The following specializations will receive a nerf:
- Vengeance Demon Hunter
- Guardian Druid
- Discipline Priest
- Unholy Death Knight
Unholy Death Knights are one of the strongest specs in the mythic raid. However, the nerf only affects one ability from the San’layn talent tree.
However, the situation is more interesting for Demon Hunters and Priests. Vengeance is, according to Raider.IO, the most popular tank spec in Mythic+ dungeons, and Discipline Priests make up almost 75% of healers starting from a key level of 16 and up (via Raider.IO).
They are also the strongest healer class in the mythic raid. Discipline Priests have just recently been adjusted several times. Therefore, the nerf is quite extensive here. You can find the complete patch notes on page 2.
The new patch will be released on April 16 in Europe. A week later, on April 23, the next interim update, Patch 11.1.5, will follow directly. This update will bring new content, but not everything promised: WoW Patch 11.1.5: Release date confirmed – 2 key features will come later
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