The next round of WoW Dragonflight patch notes are here, as Blizzard drops details on the next World of Warcraft update coming on December 6 with the weekly maintenance patch. Among the changes revealed for the MMORPG are big buffs to threat generation for tanks, buffs to fire Mage, resto Shaman, Paladin, and Warrior. Meanwhile, assassination Rogue nerfs are on the table and Death Knight gets some heavy PvP nerfs in the first full weekly reset following the WoW Dragonflight release date.
WoW community manager ‘Kaivax’ shares the “slate of tuning adjustments to classes in Dragonflight,” which are scheduled to roll out as part of the regular weekly WoW maintenance on December 6. Chief among these is a hefty threat generation buffs – tank spec characters will now generate 650% additional threat, up from 550%. Blizzard says this is aimed to counter DPS players pulling enemies with their opening burst in dungeons, while still requiring tanks to actively engage enemies to hold threat over time.
Fire Mage sees a wide range of buffs to their abilities, while arms and prot Warriors will benefit from additional healing from their Fueled by Violence ability, though Brutal Vitality’s bonus to Ignore Pain has been halved, which is a notable nerf. Also hit hard is assassination Rogue’s Exsanguinate, which has had its cooldown increased from 45 seconds to a whopping three minutes, as Blizzard notes that the ability is “drastically overperforming its intended power level” and says it is considering how to adjust it in future patches.
There are also lots of WoW Dragonflight PvP balance changes heading our way that are also listed in the patch notes. Chief among these are hefty nerfs to the survivability of Death Knights, tweaks to Evoker to lower its burst from Fire Breath slightly and even out its consistent damage, and a reversion of the change to Rogue’s Echoing Reprimand damage from the previous update. Frost Mage also gets hit with a reduction to the effectiveness of Piercing Cold’s critical strike modifier to help reduce the impact of Glacial Spike crits.
WoW Dragonflight patch notes – December 6, 2022
Tank Specializations
- Tank-specialized characters now generate 650% additional threat (was 550%).
Demon Hunter
- The Hunt damage reduced by 10%.
- Fodder to the Flame proc rate no longer scales with Haste.
Druid
Restoration
- Regrowth healing decreased by 6%.
Hunter
- Steel Trap damage has been reduced by 20%.
- Explosive Shot damage has been increased by 15%.
- Barrage damage has been increased by 15%.
Marksmanship
- All damage increased by 10%.
- Heavy Ammo now causes Trick Shot ricochets to deal an additional 25% damage (was 10%).
Survival
- All damage increased by 5%.
Mage
Fire
- Flamestrike damage increased by 8%.
- Pyroblast damage increased by 5%.
- Fireball damage increased by 10%.
- Scorch damage increased by 10%.
- Ignite damage increased by 5%.
Rogue
Assassination
- Exsanguinate cooldown increased to 3 minutes (was 45 seconds) and bleed effect magnitude reduced to 80% (was 100%).
Monk
Brewmaster
- Brewmaster’s Balance now grants 45% increased stamina (was 30%).
Mistweaver
- Awakened Faeline Spinning Crane Kick now heals 3 nearby allies for 60% of the damage done (was 50%).
- Vivify heal to primary target increased by 20%.
- Peaceful Mending now increases healing received by Enveloping Mist and Renewing Mist by 15/30% (was 10/20%).
- Yu’lon’s Whisper now heals 5 targets (was 6), and healing increased by 15%.
Paladin
Protection
- Aegis of Light now grants 50% increased stamina (was 45%) and 30% increased armor (was 15%).
Shaman
Restoration
- All healing spells healing increased by 5%.
- Acid Rain damage increased by 50%.
Warlock
- Soul Leech now converts 3% of damage dealt to an absorb shield (was 6%).
Warrior
Arms
- Fueled by Violence now heals for 85% of the damage done by Deep Wounds (was 65%).
Protection
- Fueled by Violence now heals for 85% of the damage done by Deep Wounds (was 65%).
- Brutal Vitality now causes 15% of the damage you deal to add to your active Ignore Pain (was 30%).
WoW Dragonflight PvP balance – December 6
Death Knight
- Anti-Magic Shell absorption amount reduced by 25% in PvP combat.
- Will of the Necropolis damage reduction reduced by 50% in PvP in combat.
- Anti-Magic Barrier increase to Anti-Magic Shell duration and amount absorbed has been reduced by 50% in PvP combat.
- Abomination Limb will no longer pull individual enemy players more than once over its duration (was every 4 seconds).
- Improved Death Strike increase to Death Strike’s healing has been reduced by 50% in PvP combat.
Frost
- Death Strike’s healing increased based on recent damage is reduced by 50% if the damage was dealt by players or their pets.
Unholy
- Death Strike’s healing increased based on recent damage is reduced by 50% if the damage was dealt by players or their pets.
Druid
Restoration
- Budding Leaves is now 70% effective in PvP combat.
- Fixed an issue that caused Focused Growth’s buff to only apply to one Lifebloom at a time while using the Undergrowth talent.
Evoker
- Scarlet Adaptation’s cap is reduced by 30% in PvP combat.
- Fire Breath’s initial damage is reduced by 30% in PvP combat.
- Disintegrate and Pyre deal 15% increased damage in PvP combat.
Preservation
- Mana regeneration is reduced by an additional 10% in PvP combat.
Mage
Arcane
- Nether Precision is now 75% effective in PvP combat.
- Prodigious Savant is now 80% effective in PvP combat.
- Arcane Bombardment is now 65% effective in PvP combat.
Frost
- Piercing Cold is now 50% effective in PvP combat.
- Ice Lance damage increased by 20% in PvP combat.
- (PvP Talent) Snowdrift no longer has a cast time (was 1.5 seconds).
- (PvP Talent) Snowdrift’s cooldown reduced to 45 seconds (was 60 seconds).
Monk
Mistweaver
- Ancient Teachings of the Monastery now heals for 375% of damage done (was 240%) in PvP combat.
Rogue
- Echoing Reprimand damage is reduced by 30% in PvP combat.
Shaman
Enhancement
- Improved Maelstrom Weapon increases the damage and healing of spells by 8%/15% per stack of Maelstrom Weapon in PvP Combat (was 10%/20%).
- Raging Maelstrom increases the effectiveness of Maelstrom Weapon stacks by 3% in PvP Combat (was 5%).
- Stormstrike and Windstrike damage increased by 30% in PvP combat.
Elemental
- Magma Chamber effectiveness reduced by 50% in PvP combat.
Warlock
- Curse of Tongues reduces cast time by 10% in PvP combat (was 15%).
- Curse of Tongues applied through Amplify Curse reduces cast time by 20% in PvP Combat (was 35%).
Warrior
Arms
- Mortal Strike’s damage is no longer reduced by 30% in PvP combat.
- Sharpened Blades now increases critical strike damage by 5% (was 10%) in PvP combat.
- Martial Prowess now increases Mortal Strike’s damage by 15% per stack (was 30%) in PvP combat.
- Execute damage increased by 20% in PvP combat (Arms only).
- Rend damage reduced by 15% in PvP combat (Arms only).
Blizzar says it will “continue to keep an eye on class balance over the next week,” with additional adjustments planned for the following weekly maintenance patch ahead of PvP season one.
If you haven’t yet soared over to the Dragon Isles, check out our WoW Dragonflight review in progress to find out how the expansion breathes new life into World of Warcraft’s ever-ageing settings and systems. On that note, make sure you’re rocking the best WoW addons to maximise your gameplay and take a quick glance at our explainer for the WoW Dragonflights talents system to make sure you know what you’re doing. Or you could watch David Harbour play WoW Dragonflight, if that’s more your speed.