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World of Warcraft PTR update buffs Druid, Evoker, Monk, and Warrior

A WoW Dragonflight PTR update for patch 10.0.5 includes class tuning and accessibility features along with a new event and Nvidia Reflex support for the MMORPG

WoW Dragonflight PTR update - Alexstrasa in human form, wearing ornate golden armour

The WoW Dragonflight PTR update for January 13 includes a hefty amount of class tuning in its latest 10.0.5 patch notes that sees multiple classes receive buffs, along with some nice accessibility features, a new event, and a low latency mode courtesy of Nvidia Reflex support. The WoW Dragonflight 10.0.5 release date is later in January, with testing currently underway on the World of Warcraft PTR to hone in the next big patch for the Blizzard MMORPG.

The Storm’s Fury event is a world quest that takes place on the Dragon Isles. Once active, it lasts for four hours, with a cooldown between events. Players have to capture and defend four portals, keeping enemies away from them so that they can be closed. When all four have been shut at the same time, players will be able to engage the event boss. Successful completion rewards players with Essence of the Storm, Glowing Primalist Caches, and a few other handy resources and supplies.

In terms of class balance, there are some nice buffs to Feral and Restoration Druid, with the former seeing a fairly notable chunk of changes. Preservation Evoker gets some nice quality of life buffs focused around ensuring that Emerald Communion can be successfully cast to full effect. Brewmaster Monk gets some damage increases, while Arms and Fury Warriors both get a little love as well.

Those affected by WoW Dragonriding motion sickness or other sensitivities to its related visual effects will be pleased to hear that multiple options have been added to the accessibility panel to disable or tweak certain visual effects. This should make one of the most fun parts of WoW Dragonflight a little more pleasant for anyone who’s been struggling with such issues.

In addition to these changes, Wowhead reports that the WoW PTR update includes settings for new low latency modes. This includes support for Nvidia Reflex as well as a built-in version that can be used on other graphics cards. This is aimed at reducing system latency, which should hopefully make World of Warcraft feel more responsive than ever.

World of Warcraft 10.0.5 PTR patch notes – January 13

General

  • New event – The Storm’s Fury event is now available to test.
  • Fixed an issue that caused the Archivists’ Codex faction achievements to grant double achievement points. Players may see a drop in 20 points if they were maxed out with the Archivists’ Codex.

Druid

  • Feral – Taste for Blood changed to a single point node that increases Ferocious Bite damage by 5% per bleed on the target (was a 2-point node).
  • Feral – Sudden Ambush changed to a single point node that grants 6% chance per combo point spent to cause your next Shred or Rake to deal damage as though stealthed (was a 2-point node).
  • Feral – Tear Open Wounds now deals 70% of the Rip damage it consumes (was 60%).
  • Feral – Relentless Predator reduces the energy cost of Ferocious Bite by 40% (was 20%).
  • Feral – Rip and Tear: Tear damage increased to 15% of Rip damage (was 12%).
  • Feral – Lunar Inspiration damage increased by 66%.
  • Feral – Tear Open Wounds directly below Primal Wrath on row 3, with a connector to Pouncing Strikes.
  • Feral – Lunar Inspiration moved below and to the left of Sudden Ambush on row 6.
  • Restoration – Wild Synthesis now stacks up to 3 times (was 4) and decreases cast time and increases Mastery: Harmony benefit by 33% per stack (was 25%).
  • Restoration – Forest’s Flow now extends heal over time effects by 4 seconds (was 2 seconds).

WoW Dragonflight - a Dracthyr Evoker

Evoker

  • Preservation – Casting Echo directly after Living Flame or Spiritbloom will no longer consume the Echo.
  • Preservation – Emerald Communion will no longer cancel if the Evoker is disoriented or feared during the channel.
  • Preservation – Emerald Communion will now properly calculate its overhealing value (it would sometimes heal less than expected). In addition, its healing to allies can no longer critically heal.
  • Preservation – Emerald Communion now always prioritizes players over pets.
  • Preservation – Dream Projection (PvP Talent) healing reduced by 35%. Cooldown reduced to 60 seconds (was 90 seconds).
  • Preservation – Chrono Loop (PvP Talent) will now display as a large icon on unit frames and now has a more noticeable effect on the player.

Monk

  • Brewmaster – Resonant Fists damage reduced by 45%.
  • Brewmaster – Keg Smash damage increased by 10%.
  • Brewmaster – Tiger Palm damage increased by 20%.
  • Brewmaster – Blackout Kick damage increased by 20%.
  • Brewmaster – Spinning Crane Kick increased by 20%.
  • Brewmaster – Breath of Fire damage increased by 25%.
  • Windwalker – Faeline Stomp now correctly counts for Mastery: Combo Strikes.
  • Windwalker – Last Emperor’s Capacitor stacks are correctly removed on talent removal.
  • Windwalker – Glory of the Dawn is now correctly reduced by Storm, Earth & Fire.

Paladin

  • Class – Fixed an issue causing rank 1 Seal of Might to grant an incorrect amount of Mastery during Sentinel.
  • Holy – Empyrean Legacy and Avenging Crusader now display on the Personal Resource Bar.

Warrior

  • Arms – Battlelord now increases the damage of Overpower by 35% (was 25%).
  • Arms – Ignore Pain has been added to the Arms tree.
  • Fury – Duration of Avatar and Recklessness caused by Berserker’s Torment is now 8 seconds (was 4 seconds).

Creatures and NPCs

  • New rare enemies and NPCs can now be found in the elite areas of Nokhudon Hold, Imbu, Cobalt Assembly, Tyrhold, and the Primalist Future.
  • Some rare enemies that showed up on the zone maps outside the elite areas, have had their cadence changed to 1 spawned every 30 minutes (was 2 spawned every 2 hours). The health of these rares has been increased as well so players have more time to get to them before they are defeated.
  • The new elite area rares and the more scheduled rares have rewards on par with the the elite rares found in Obsidian Citadel or Brackenhide Hollow.
  • The newly trained Draenei, Lightforged Draenei, Orc, Tauren, and Highmountain Tauren that now specialize in rogue, mage, and priest classes are now located in major capital cities (Stormwind and Orgrimmar) and in their racial cities (Thunder Bluff and the Exodar). Additionally, a Tauren rogue can be found in the Rogue class hall.
  • Orc, Tauren, and Highmountain Tauren priest NPCs have been removed from 10.0.5, but will make their appearances in a future update.

Items and Rewards

  • Former new character starter equipment has been added back to vendors in Stormwind and Orgrimmar. Pay a visit to a local shop relevant to your armor type and see what they have in stock!
  • Polearms from Shadowlands and Dragonflight have been adjusted to sit lower on the player’s back when sheathed. We’ll be looking into adjusting additional polearms from previous expansions in a future update.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause some players to not be able to purchase the Explorer’s League Banner toy at Rank 19 with the Dragonscale Expedition.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause no options for Demon Hunters, Hunters, and Rogues on the quest Mysteries in Paper and Glass from Giera at Rank 25 with the Valdrakken Accord.

WoW Dragonflight PTR - Alexstraza in dragon form

PvP – Solo Shuffle

Several changes have been made to improve how our system handles players who leave matches:

  • Rating will be calculated per-round in games with leavers.
  • Matchmaking Value for each player in a match will be displayed on the scoreboard.
  • A warning prompt will display the penalties for leaving if a player attempts to leave a match.
  • Players who leave excessively will be subject to account review and suspensions, as abandoning matches repeatedly is a violation of the terms of service via exploiting functionality to the detriment of the game environment and the intended player experience.

Professions

  • Profession requirements for many transmog-eligible pieces have been adjusted or removed entirely. Most items that previously required a profession other than Engineering no longer have a requirement. Engineering items have had their skill requirement reduced to 1 of their appropriate expansion. Gnomish and Goblin engineering are no longer required to transmog any Engineering appearances. Acquisition method for all of these items remains unchanged.
  • Legacy leatherworking patterns for Heavy Scorpid gear that were lost to the Cataclysm can once again drop from Blackrock Orcs in the Burning Steppes.
  • Pattern: Raptor Hide Harness and Pattern: Raptor Hide Belt can now both be learned by players of either faction.
  • The legacy recipe for delicious Goldthorn Tea can once again be acquired by observant adventurers in Razorfen Downs.

User Interface and Accessibility

  • The icons for “find fish”, “find minerals”, and, “find herbs” have been updated on the minimap filter list.
  • Major Factions map icons are slightly reduced in size to improve map visibility.
  • The Dragonflight Great Vault now uses new art specific to Dragonflight.
  • Fixed an issue where the heal absorb bar did not display on Unit Frames.
  • Fixed an issue where the Flag Carrier Unit Frames did not appear in Capture the Flag battlegrounds.

Edit Mode

  • Added Equipment Durability in Edit Mode.
  • You can now use arrow keys to fine-tune the placement of elements in Edit Mode.

Talent Window

  • The Reset Talents button now lets you reset one tree at a time.
  • You can now copy someone’s build when inspecting their talents.
  • History nodes have a more visually distinct outline.
  • Hidden action bars are now shown when the talents pane or spellbook is open.
  • The “Missing from action bar” search now specifies talents that are on a hidden or disabled action bar, or on a different stance.
  • When UI Colorblind Mode is enabled under Accessibility options, a plus icon appears on all learnable nodes.
  • The loadout slash commands (/loadoutname, /loadoutindex, /specname, /specindex) are now localized.
  • Fixed an issue where talent tooltips were appearing above the PvP talents flyout.
  • Fixed an issue where unlearning a talent would clear active searches.

Dragonriding

  • Added tools to assist with Motion Sickness while Dragonriding have been added to the Options > Accessibility > General panel (under Dragonriding Motion Sickness).
  • Added tools to assist those with sensitivity to Dragonriding’s visual effects have been added to the Options > Accessibility > General panel.

Take a look at our WoW Dragonflight tier list for the best classes to use, along with our pick of the best WoW addons for Dragonflight to ensure you have the best experience possible while exploring the Dragon Isles. If you’ve yet to dive in, our WoW Dragonflight review should help you decide if it sounds like your thing.