#1 - March 10, 2016, 10:22 a.m.
A new alpha build was deployed yesterday. Here's the details of all the updates:
- New Specializations Unlocked – 2 more additional specializations ready for testing. We’d love any and all feedback about gameplay, artifact quest line, abilities, etc.
- Frost Mage
- Assassination Rogue
- Class Status – We’re continuing to iterate on our class abilities and talents, based on testing and feedback. This build has many revisions scattered around the classes, but here are some highlights:
- Haste and Core Combat Abilities – We’ve taken a pass on core combat abilities, to ensure that Haste properly accelerates the pace of your rotation, and provides solid stat value. In many such cases, we made the ability’s cooldown slightly longer, but reduced by haste. (EDIT: *ALL* specs should now fall into either a 1.0sec GCD, or a 1.5sec GCD that is reduced by Haste. More clarification below.)
- Multi-target Ability Tuning – While overall tuning is still not done, we’ve adjusted the relative tuning of many multi-target abilities to make it more rewarding to switch to them in 3+ target situations. This primarily applies to abilities that you actively choose to use in place of single target abilities (such as swapping from Templar’s Verdict to Divine Storm), not multi-target abilities that you’d use anyway (such as Keg Smash).
- Demonology Warlock – Continued revision of talents and core rotation. Notably, Demonic Empowerment now buffs all pets, and Power Trip has been changed to a new effect.
- All Hunters – In order to ensure that Haste can properly affect them, all Hunter specs now have a 1.5sec GCD that is reduced by Haste. Ability cooldowns have been adjusted to ensure a consistent combat pace.
- Marksmanship Hunter– Some tweaks to the core rotation. Notably, Hunter’s Mark will trigger more often.
- Beast Mastery Hunter – Tweaks to the core rotation.
- Outlaw Rogues – Bribe adjusted and Sap returned. Roll the Bones tuning adjusted. Significant bugs fixed with Between the Eyes and Run Through damage.
- Enhancement Shaman – Tweaks to core rotation.
- Arms Warrior – Colossus Smash and Tactician revised. Many talents revised.
- Fury Warrior – Enrage’s duration is no longer reduced by haste. Some talents revised and abilities retuned.
- Artifact Trait Status – Many artifact traits have been revised in this build. The following artifacts have received the most changes in this build:
- General – We’re in the process of transitioning all artifacts to provide 1 ability (usually an active ability) baseline, and the rest through traits, instead of 2 baseline. Many of the previous procs are being moved into traits. This has been done on most, but not all artifacts.
- Marksmanship Hunter – Significant revision to many traits.
- Holy Paladin – Revision to several traits.
- Guardian Druid – Revision to several traits.
- Demonology Warlock – Revision to several traits.
- Destruction Warlock – Significant revision to many traits.
- Shadow Priest – Several traits revised.
- Elemental Shaman – Several traits revised.
- Enhancement Shaman – Several traits revised.
- Beast Mastery Hunter – Hati has a new model that varies based on selected artifact variant.
- Unholy Death Knight – Several traits revised.
- Arcane Mage – Significant revision to many traits.
- Heroic Dungeons – Heroic versions of the Legion dungeons will soon unlock for testing.
Clarification about haste and GCDs:
*ALL* specs should now fall into one of two categories of GCD:
- 1.0sec GCD, not reduced by Haste. Provides an extra-quick and bursty combat feel, such as on Rogues.
- 1.5sec GCD, reduced by Haste (to a min of 1.0sec). The standard GCD used by everyone else.
Since that's a consistent game-wide rule now, we no longer mention the fact that Haste reduces some specs' GCD in tooltips.
Thanks, and we look forward to your feedback!
Also, check out the design notes from the previous build, if you haven't already as well: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/17610751002