Mage news

On the third podcast episode, the designers talked about whether tanks should need their own talent build for dungeons. Josh Greenfield said dual spec turns on at level 40 for now, that the team is discussing the right level, and half-jokingly floated level thirty. Nothing is decided. An earlier unlock would let you keep a second build for dungeons, such as a tank build, next to the one you quest with.

The spell damage and spell healing tooltips on the character sheet now say that ranks well under your level benefit less from those stats. Such spells also have a lower chance to trigger effects like Frostbite and Omen of Clarity. The developers' example: at level 60, rank 1 Frostbolt has a 0% chance to trigger Frostbite, so you choose between a cheap, quick slow and a shot at Frostbite. Healers who cast low ranks to save mana and avoid overhealing will now heal for less with them.

You start out with a weapon and some coins, and each race's starting area now has added quests to find. Cooks can light a fire and build a camp that other players can add to. The Skyborne quests open with an introduction to their culture, new story quests tell how the Forsaken came to have Paladins, and the Wetlands get more quests. On the travel route between the Wetlands and Darkshore, a new stop lets you get off in Hillsbrad.

The class posts cover Frostfire Bolt and other mixes of Mage schools, simpler totems and longer weapon imbues for Shaman, and updated talents for Rogue and Warlock. On the podcast, designers Rowan Ryder, Jay Hartman and Josh Greenfield talk about leveling through dungeons and through quests. The recap also links the posts on the Skyborne look and Standard-Definition models, the 15 against 15 Darkspear Islands battleground, and how PvP progression works. The rest is not about Forever's game: the Zul'Aman release for BCCA, a Twitch drop, a mount, transmog bundles and a student art contest.

Penance now costs more mana, 150 instead of 100 at rank 1, and deals less damage and healing. The Warrior talent that widened Battle Shout and Demoralizing Shout now covers every Shout and also cuts their Rage cost by up to 25%; a talent that raised maximum Rage by 30 is gone, and the off-hand talent swaps its hit bonus for more off-hand damage and Rage. Druids get Natural Instinct in place of Predatory Instincts, and Bear Form now forfeits the Energy you would get back on returning to Cat Form and stops it building. Low ranks of Wrath, Fireball, Frostbolt, Smite, Lightning Bolt and Shadow Bolt get new damage ranges, some higher and some lower.

Party XP now follows the Classic Era rule: each player's share depends on their own level, not on the highest level in the group, and Blizzard expects the two XP changes together to speed up dungeon leveling a lot. Rage from damage taken no longer drops as you add Stamina gear, now counts crits and crushing blows, ignores absorbs, and is tuned for 20% to 40% armor instead of 50%. All beta characters get the full 16 Legacy Points, the Cooldown Manager now covers every class, racials and trinkets, and crits in PvP are no longer weakened. Known issues include broken icons in the Professions window and a pet crit display bug for Hunters with Ferocity.

Mages learn Frostfire Bolt at level 40, and new talents include Arcane Blast, Missile Barrage, Heating Up, Ice Lance and Fingers of Frost. Cone of Cold lasts less and Improved Blizzard slows less, to curb farming by gold sellers and boosters. Shaman buff totems now last 5 minutes and can be summoned as a set, recalled or moved, and weapon imbues last 60 minutes and stack with oils and stones. Blizzard added the removal of Elemental Mastery and Nature's Guidance to the post after it went up, and says Totemic Recall doesn't refund mana in the beta yet.

Honor comes from kills, battlegrounds and PvP quests; Rank Points come from battlegrounds and PvP quests, and holiday-week battlegrounds give more of both. Honor rates are now closer across maps, so Alterac Valley is no longer the obvious choice. Honor buys a blue set; each epic piece is an upgrade of the blue one using an Emboldened Seal, and seals unlock by rank, from bracers and belt at rank 8 to weapons at rank 14. Specs that lacked PvP gear get it, such as Shaman healer, melee and caster sets, and the PvP tab of your character pane shows your rank and what you can buy.

Library books found around the world unlock quests, and 20 of them open the Greater Friend of the Library quest, with a choice of two rings. One of them, Field Researcher's Loop, was limited to Rogues and is now open to every class. A Wowhead reader shared which books an Alliance player can collect to reach 20, and with the level cap now at 30 some of them should be easier to get.

Moonkin Form now raises party crit by 3%, not stacking with Leader of the Pack, and Druids get Shifting Power, which turns mana into 40 Energy. One Hunter shot now lets the 3 shots after it reach 10 yards farther, and its own range goes up to 45 yd. The Fire talent Hot Streak is renamed Heating Up, Holy Shield's block bonus rises to 30% from 20%, and Disease Cleansing Totem lasts 300 sec instead of 120. Some Warrior lines don't match Blizzard's notes for the same build: the datamine still shows Unbridled Wrath giving more Rage with two-handed weapons.

Druids lose Tiger's Fury, every form now ignores Disarm, and Feral gets Shifting Power, which turns mana into 40 Energy. Holy Shield's block bonus rises to 30% from 20% while Redoubt drops, Combustion goes back to 3 charges, and Warriors get 75% more Rage from crits with basic attacks, though Blizzard's separate Warrior post from the same day gives a higher figure. Beyond classes, dungeon quests give 50% less bonus experience, the Honor cap goes up to 25,000, most PvP gear costs about 50% more, and each creature can be skinned once. Blizzard's known issues list for the build includes enemies parrying from behind at close range and Dual Wield Specialization adding hit to both hands.

Most players unlock it when a first character hits level 25. There are sixty-five challenges in six groups: classes, professions, PvP, adventure, dungeons and raids. Each character can spend up to 16 points at launch in three trees, Professions, Adventure and Resourcefulness, on perks such as cheaper vendors, more rested experience or unlocking talents 5 levels sooner. One character alone can earn up to 29 points, so alts are optional; points also unlock four rewards (a toy rifle, a bear cub pet, a tabard and a mount), and Hardcore will get 12 challenges of its own.