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Author: Mezzy

Host and author of WoW Weekly podcast, guides and website. I have played WoW since classic, enjoy MMORPG’s and game design in general.

Dragonflight Season 4 Available on the PTR & Development Notes

Quote from: Blizzard

Arm yourself; Dragonflight Season 4 is available on the PTR.

Powerful rewards await in Season 4 to deliver the best of what the Dragonflight expansion offers. Jump into the new Mythic+ dungeon rotation, rally your forces for new challenges in raids, prepare for the new PvP season, and ready yourselves for The War Within.

Improved Dungeon Progression and New Rotations

Return to all eight Dragonflight dungeons for a refined and rewarding progression curve for Heroic, Mythic, and Mythic+ with better pacing and meaningful rewards.

  • Algeth’ar Academy
  • Brackenhide Hollow
  • Halls of Infusion
  • Neltharus
  • Ruby Life Pools
  • The Azure Vault
  • The Nokhud Offensive
  • Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr

The baseline Dawn of the Infinite will be more challenging and rewarding; however, it will not be included in the bi-weekly rotation. Additional details on the variety of adjustments to dungeons and their progression can be found in our previously published article.

Powerful New Rewards

Earn fresh rewards through PvE and PvP content, purchase them with a new currency—Antique Bronze Bullion, or through the new gear upgrade track—Awakened.

Complete all three Awakened Dragonflight raids on Normal difficulty to receive the Voyaging Wildering dynamic flying mount. Earn the new achievement title, The Awakened, for completing the Dragonriding Awakened raids on Heroic difficulty. Dedicated defenders can obtain the new Keystone Master mount, Infinite Armoredon, once the Dragonflight Keystone Master: Season 4 achievement is attained.

Also, those who complete the Dragonflight Awakened raids on Mythic difficulty are rewarded with Path Portals to the three raids:

All three raids will also drop a new tier token to exchange for new tier pieces with the appearance and bonus combination that players voted for.

Legendary items will drop as usual from raids, but players who have previously obtained them can purchase a Scale of Awakening to upgrade their items to the Season 4 ilvls (base is 502 and can be upgraded further through Crests and Flightstones).

A New PvP Season

Season 4 arrives with PvP rankings reset, new gear sets, mounts, titles, and more! Earn the Vicious Dreamtalon (Horde or Alliance version) for Rated Arena and Rated Battleground, and the Draconic Gladiator’s Drake for earning the Gladiator: Dragonflight Season 4 achievement.

The following titles and achievement rewards can be attained during Dragonflight Season 4:

  • The Draconic
    • Dragonflight Keystone Conqueror: Season 4 – Attain a Mythic+ Rating of 1500 during Dragonflight Season 4.
  • The Draconic Hero
    • Draconic Hero: Dragonflight Season 4 – End Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 4 with a Mythic+ Rating in the top 0.1% of all players in your region.
  • Northrend Racer
    • Northrend Racing Completionist: Gold – Obtain gold in all races in Northrend.
  • Awakened Hero
    • Heroic: Awakening the Dragonflight Raids – Complete all three Awakened raids on Heroic difficulty or higher in Dragonflight Season 4.
  • Draconic Gladiator
    • Draconic Gladiator: Dragonflight Season 4 – End Dragonflight PvP Season 4 in the top 0.1% of the 3v3 arena ladder.
  • Draconic Legend
    • Draconic Legend: Dragonflight Season 4 – End Dragonflight PvP Season 4 in the top 0.1% of the Solo Shuffle ladder.

Ahead of the Curve

For heroes working toward the Amirdrassil Feats of Strength, a reminder that you’ll need to obtain Ahead of the Curve: Fyrakk the Blazing before Season 4 begins, and the achievement is no longer available to earn.

Content Update Notes

Learn more details about Season 4 in our update notes.

We look forward to watching our heroes take on the challenge of Dragonflight Season 4.

See you in Azeroth!

Quote from: Blizzard

This Public Test Realm (PTR) is a testing environment for the content coming with the Dragonflight: Season 4 update.

Dragonflight: Season 4 Update Development Notes

SEASON 4 MYTHIC+ DUNGEONS

  • Season 4 brings back all eight Dragonflight dungeons to the Mythic+ rotation: Ruby Life Pools, Brackenhide Hollow, The Nokhud Offensive, Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr, Neltharus, The Azure Vault, Halls of Infusion, and Algeth’ar Academy.
  • DIFFICULTY CHANGES
    • One of the most notable changes players can look forward to is the removal of the timer for Mythic Keystone dungeons for what are currently 0 and 10. Players can run through these dungeons at their own pace without the need to watch the clock while still honing their skills.
    • Heroic difficulty and rewards will move up to roughly the current level of Mythic 0. These dungeons will remain available to queue into via Group Finder (default hotkey: “I”), though the item level requirement to queue will also go up accordingly.
    • Mythic 0 difficulty and rewards will move up to roughly the current level of Mythic 8-10 (this is a bit hand-wavy – numerically it’s close to M10 but not having a timer at all or affixes really offsets that quite a bit).
    • The existing Mythic+ system will pick up where that leaves off, such that a Mythic 5 in Season 4 is roughly equivalent in difficulty, rewards, and M+ Rating awarded, to a Mythic 15 today.
      • Normal
        • This difficulty is unchanged.
      • Heroic
        • The tuning and rewards of this difficulty are increasing to be equivalent to a baseline Mythic (Mythic 0) dungeon in the current system.
        • Mythic difficulty changes and mechanics will not be present in this difficulty.
        • This remains a queueable experience.
      • Mythic
        • The tuning and rewards of this difficulty are increasing to the equivalent of a +10 dungeon with affixes in the current system.
        • There are no timers, affixes, or limitations on changing specializations or talents while in the dungeon.
        • The goal is to create a mega-dungeon like difficulty for this experience. This difficulty should present a meaningful challenge and provide commensurate rewards without the pressures of the current Mythic+ system.
        • Mythic 0 is still on a weekly lockout under this model.
      • Mythic+
        • The Mythic+ system will have rewards up to level 10, with +2 starting from what would regularly be a +11 in the current Mythic+ system.
          • A +5 should be as hard as a +15 and +10 should be as hard as a +20 in the current Mythic+ system etc.
        • Affixes would slot in at +2, +5, and +10
          • +2 – Fortified/Tyrannical
          • +5 – Entangling / Incorporeal etc.
          • +10 – Bursting / Bolstering etc.
        • Dungeon ratings should be equivalent to what they represent in the current system.
        • There should be a smaller range of keystone levels to find groups for, and more meaningful progression between each level.
    • It’s important to note that the basic structure of dungeon rewards is not changing significantly, so what you would have earned for completing a Mythic 0 will be earnable in the Heroic difficulty dungeon instead. Here is a basic rundown of what you can expect:
  • Crest and Flightstone rewards are changing to match the same difficulty with only some minor adjustments.
    • Flightstone earnings for any given Mythic+ will match the equally challenging Mythic+ from previous seasons. This means that a Mythic +2 in Season 4 will give the same number of Flightstones as a Mythic +12 in Season 3 currently does. The rewards will continue to match difficulty, even if what we’re calling those difficulty changes.
    • Bonus Flightstone awards for increasing any party member’s Mythic+ score remain unchanged.
    • Whelpling Crests are no longer available from Mythic+ dungeons, as those difficulties no longer exist. Players can continue to collect Whelpling Crests from many outdoor sources.
    • Players will earn 10 Drake Crests on successful completion of a Mythic 0 dungeon, as there is no timer to beat.
    • Wyrm Crests will be available in Mythic +2 to Mythic +5 dungeons in the same quantities as existing Mythic+ dungeons.
    • Aspect Crests will be available in any Mythic difficulty from +6 and up, also in the same quantities as existing Mythic+ dungeons.

Dungeon Updates

The following are the most notable changes in each dungeon:

HALLS OF INFUSION

General

  • Dungeon checkpoint added after defeating Gulping Goliath.
  • Normalized the spawn rate of Crashing Tsunami during the gauntlet.
  • Containment Apparatus Containment Beam’s damage has been reduced by 42%
  • Primalist Galesinger
    • Wind Buffet has been removed.
    • Thunderstorm has been removed.
    • Now uses Thunderstrike – Inflicts Nature damage to all players within 7 yards of impact.
  • Primalist Earthshaker Rumbling Earth’s rim visual will no longer clip into the terrain.

Encounters

  • Watcher Irideus
    • Titanic Fist now has a visual during cast.
    • Power Overload now has a rim visual around afflicted player.
    • Power Field now gradually grows to its full size.
  • Khajin the Unyielding
    • Added rim visuals on Ice Boulders that will trigger Avalanche.
  • Primal Tsunami
    • Cast Away now occurs at 50% health (was 100% energy).

AZURE VAULT

General

  • Increased the timer of Azure Vault by 1 minute.
  • Crystal Fury
    • Piercing Shard now has a precast visual.
    • Piercing Shard ’s impact area has been reduced.
  • Conjured Lasher Mystic Vapors will now be cast less frequently.
  • Arcane Tender Erratic Growth’s cast time has been increased to 3.5 seconds (was 2.5 seconds).
  • Unstable Curator Heavy Tome will now be cast less frequently.
  • Drakonid Breaker
    • Shoulder Slam’s knock back has been removed.
    • Shoulder Slam now inflicts Physical damage and increases Physical damage taken by 10%.
    • Shoulder Slam will now be cast less frequently.

Encounters

  • Leymore
    • Erupting Fissures now follows current target player.
  • Azure Blade
    • Reduced the frequency of periodic damage from Overwhelming Energy to every 2.5 seconds (was every 2 seconds).
  • Umbrelskul
    • Oppressive Miasma removed in Mythic difficulty.
    • Crystalize now pulses Arcane damage while the crystal is shielded.
    • Crackling Vortex now has a larger movement radius.

BRACKENHIDE HOLLOW

General

  • Rotbow Stalker
    • Renamed to Rotbow Ranger
    • Shoot now has a recast of 6 seconds.
    • Diseased Meat renamed to Rotten Meat, and is now a Poison dispel.
  • Brackenhide Shaper
    • Summon Lashers has been removed.
    • Touch of Decay has been removed.
  • Stinkbreath
    • Violent Whirlwind ’s radius has been reduced to 6 yards (was 7 yards).
    • Stink Breath now locks facing after targeting a player.
    • Stink Breath now has a visual while casting.
  • Gutstabber Withering Poison has been removed.
  • Bracken Warscourge Bloody Bite has been removed.
  • Claw Fighter Bloody Bite has been removed.
  • Decay Speaker Rotchanting Totem has been removed.

Encounters

  • Hackclaw’s War-Band
    • Predatory Instincts’ Haste bonus has been reduced to 5% (was 10%).
    • Mark for Butchery’s damage frequency has been increased to 1 seconds (was 0.5 seconds).
    • Gash Frenzy’s damage reduced by 21%.
    • Gash Frenzy’s duration reduced to 15 seconds (was 45 seconds).

ALGETH’AR ACADEMY

General

  • Spellbound Scepter Arcane Rain has been removed.
  • Spectral Invoker Arcane Missiles’s damage has been reduced by 50%.

Encounters

  • Crawth
    • Firestorm ’s frequency has been reduced.
    • Savage Peck ’s initial and periodic damage has been reduced.
  • Echo of Doragosa
    • Unleash Energy added as the new Mythic mechanic.

NELTHARUS

General

  • Each Burning Chain can only be used once.
  • Burning Chain now stuns all enemies in it and increases their damage taken by 50% for 5 seconds.

Encounters

  • Chargath
    • Fiery Focus’s pulsing damage near the Chargath has been removed.
    • Fiery Focus’s now channels damage on current target.
    • Grounding Chain now persists on defeated player.
    • Grounding Chain now does a small knockback to the player when applied.
  • Warlord Sargha
    • Curse of the Dragon Hoard now stacks.
    • Curse of the Dragon Hoard duration reduced from to 30 seconds (was 5 minutes).
    • Azure Stone of Might has been removed.

THE NOKHUD OFFENSIVE

General

  • Nokhud Longbow
    • Multi-Shot has been removed.
    • Rain of Arrows will now be cast less frequently.
  • Nokhud Beastmaster Hunt Prey ’s damage bonus has been reduced by 25%.
  • Nokhud Thunderfist Storm Shock has been removed.
  • Primalist Stormspeaker Storm Bolt has been removed.

Encounters

  • Balakar Khan
    • Frequency of Stormwinds during intermission has been reduced to every 10 seconds (was every 6 seconds).

RUBY LIFE POOLS

General

  • Primal Terrasentry Stone Missiles has been removed.

Encounters

  • Kyrakka
    • Infernocore’s duration has been increased to 4 seconds (was 3 seconds).
    • Infernocore’s periodic damage has been reduced by 25%.

ULDAMAN: LEGACY OF TYR

Encounters

  • The Lost Dwarves
    • Fiery Surges’ s damage has been reduced by 50%.

DAWN OF THE INFINITE: HARD MODE

Dawn of the Infinite: Hard Mode is available for testing with updated tuning and rewards.

Hard mode does not have a timer and rewards a Hero track item. Hard mode is intended to be more challenging than a standard Mythic difficulty dungeon.

Hotfixes: March 26, 2024

Quote from: Blizzard

March 26, 2024

Classes

  • Priest
    • Holy
      • Resolved an issue causing Lightwell to be able to use its healing charges on allies that are in immunity effects such as Cyclone.
      • Resolved an issue causing Lightwell to sometimes despawn the Priest’s Shadowfiend when used.

World

  • Forbidden Reach
    • A Forbidden Hoard that was inadvertently inaccessible due to having fallen through the floor has been moved to an accessible spot.

Plunderstorm

  • Plunder contained in dropped piles of Plunder increased by 50% in Solos matches.
  • Reviving a teammate now takes 10 seconds (was 15 seconds).
  • Health Brew cooldown for a revived player reduced to 10 seconds (was 15 seconds).
  • Adjusted the in-match leveling curve to increase the rate at which you level up to 7. Decreased the rate at which you level to 8, 9, and 10.
    • Developers’ notes: Many games have ended with larger player-level differences than we’d prefer. Considering the many playstyles we’ve seen in Plunderstorm, we want to help narrow the gap later in the game.
  • Earthbreaker now grants the caster immunity to crowd control spells while casting.
  • Faeform no longer provides any damage reduction.
  • Hunter’s Chains’ missile now moves significantly faster.
  • Fire Whirl damage reduced by 20%.
    • Developers’ notes: we want to reign in Fire Whirl’s damage a bit more, so that it’s close to the performance of other offensive spells.
  • Rime Arrow cooldown increased at higher ranks, and now has a cooldown of 10/8.5/7/5.5 seconds (was 10/8/6/4 seconds).
    • Developers’ notes: Rime Arrow’s short cooldown made it a too-low-risk poke, often used to deny healing and chase fleeing targets. Increasing the cooldown at higher ranks will give targets more chances to act against Rime Arrow.

Hotfixes: March 21 2024 & Plunderstorm Adjustments

Quote from: Blizzard

Today, with hotfixes that are all now live, we’ve made the following adjustments to offensive and utility abilities in Plunderstorm:

  • Fire Whirl damage reduced by 20%.
    • Developers’ notes: we want to reign in Fire Whirl’s damage a bit more, so that it’s close to the performance of other offensive spells.
  • Faeform now provides a 50% damage reduction for the first 1 second you’re in Faeform (was 90%).
    • Developers’ notes: Faeform offered too much defense without providing for counterplay.
  • Rime Arrow cooldown increased at higher ranks, and now has a cooldown of 10/8.5/7/5.5 seconds (was 10/8/6/4 seconds).
    • Developers’ notes: Rime Arrow’s short cooldown made it a too-low-risk poke, often used to deny healing and chase fleeing targets. Increasing the cooldown at higher ranks will give targets more chances to act against Rime Arrow.

We’ll have all of the above, along with more updates to Plunderstorm in our next hotfixes update.

Quote from: Blizzard

Avast there!

After our changes yesterday to increase the amount of plunder you get in a match, we saw an unintended side-effect: players were leveling quicker in duos than expected! Plunder gold piles picked up in Plunderstorm contribute towards the overall amount of experience you gain during a match, especially thanks to a bug at level 3.

When leveling up in a match is too fast, some teams get ahead of others much quicker which can lead to less competition. Players hitting max level too early can remove the sense of power progression for the rest of a match, as well.

So this evening, we’ve deployed a hotfix to straighten that all out. We’ve lowered the overall amount of experience players are getting in Duos so that it’s more in line with the pace of leveling in Solos matches.

Keep on plunderin’!

Quote from: Blizzard

March 21, 2024

Plunderstorm

  • Player matchmaking ratings (MMR) have been adjusted so that players should find themselves in better matches with continued play.
  • Fixed a bug that caused plunder dropped by players on death to unintentionally despawn when the killed player left the match.
  • Players are now immune to knockbacks when standing near Da’kash Grimledger in the preparation area.
  • Adjusted experience gained when playing Duos and fixed a bug that was increasing experience gain at level 3.
  • Fire Whirl Movement speed bonus reduced to 70% across all ranks (was 140%).
    • Developers’ notes: Our goal is to balance Fire Whirl’s effectiveness relative to the performance of other offensive spells without detracting from the effectiveness of other utility spells.
  • Star Bomb cast time reduced to 2 seconds across all ranks (was 2.25 seconds).
    • Developers’ notes: We’d like to improve the effectiveness of this ability.
  • Toxic Smackerel cooldown reduced at ranks 1, 2, and 3. Rank 4 unchanged.
    • Developers’ note: This is intended to ensure this ability is more in-line with expected power at early levels.
  • Explosive Caltrops trap radius increased by 40%.
    • Developers’ notes: The traps placed by Explosive Caltrops are intended to counter close-range aggression, but this felt a bit inconsistent because the traps were smaller than intended.
  • Lightning Bulwark channel time increased to 2 seconds (was 1.25 seconds).
    • Developers’ notes: Our goal here is to extend the potential window for counter play opportunities.

Hotfixes: March 20 2024, More Plunder for the Plundering

Quote from: Blizzard

March 20, 2024

Dungeons

  • Afflicted cast time increased to 12 seconds (was 10 seconds).
  • Incorporeal now spawns closer to the group’s general location.
    • Developers’ notes: The changes above were originally intended for Dragonflight Season 4, but we decided we’d prefer to have players to experience them sooner.
  • Addressed an issue where Afflicted Cry’s debuff duration was increased by 2 seconds instead of its cast time.

Items

  • Fixed an issue that could cause raid bosses to not drop tier tokens as expected.
  • Fixed an issue where items from the Cache of Overblooming Treasures awarded from the Superbloom were dropping at a lower item level and upgrade track than intended.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented some mounts, such as the Auspicious Arborwyrm or the mounts associated with the Dragonflight achievement A World Awoken, from being accessible to players who previously earned them.
  • Fixed a bug that caused some gear to unintentionally become as powerful as it will be when Season 4 starts.
    • Developers’ notes: We’ve set these pieces back to their Season 3 item levels for the remainder of Season 3.

Transmogrification

  • Players can now view the Plunderlord’s Finery Transmog Set on their retail characters as they work towards earning all the pieces during the Plunderstorm event.

More Plunder for the Plundering

Quote from: Blizzard

Greetings fellow plunderers!

It’s been a great experience seeing the community having fun, posting about your wins, creating lists of the best builds, and taking to the forums with thoughtful feedback. We’ve been reading and listening very closely to a lot of feedback since we launched Plunderstorm, and the number one issue we’ve heard about is the Renown you earn.

We see that you care deeply about preserving the experience like we do, but you also feel that earning rewards should happen more quickly. And we agree.

With hotfixes that we’ve just made live to all regions, we’ve increased the amount of plunder that you’ll earn in a match of Plunderstorm, and the increases are nearly across the board:

  • Plunder dropped by other players significantly increased.*
  • Plunder from non-player enemies increased by 50%.
  • Plunder from golden chests doubled.
  • Top placement in a match now rewards 500 Plunder (was 100).

*Please note: when you die, you do not lose any of your own plunder. With this change, you’re now worth more plunder to others, depending on how much you’ve collected during the match.

We think the rewards available from Plunderstorm are super cool and our team couldn’t be more excited to see players flying around on the Polly Roger mount in Classic or running around with Captain Pepe by their side in Dragonflight.

We hope that this helps everyone get a bit further during their play and encourages everyone to have more piratey fun.

Please keep that feedback coming! We really appreciate it.

Twitch Drop: Get the Fathom Pet March 22!

Quote from: Blizzard

Avast ye landlubbers! With the release of the latest content update, players can take the plunge into Plunderstorm. Commemorate the occasion with new Twitch Drops! Watch any World of Warcraft stream on Twitch.tv from 22 March 17:00 GMT, until 5 April 18:00 BST to earn the Fathom pet.

Eligibility

To participate, you must link your Twitch account by visiting https://account.battle.net/connections. If you have changed your password or made any changes to your Twitch or Battle.net account, you will have to relink your accounts. When you relink, there will be a 7-day cooldown before you can relink a new Twitch account. After you’ve claimed your rewards on Twitch, please make sure you’re logging into the Battle.net region you’d like to receive the drop(s) on, as the first region you log into will be where your items will be delivered. It can take up to 24 hours to receive your reward(s) in game after claiming. Read our Frequently Asked Questions section for more information.

How do I Earn Twitch Drops?

Start Time: 22 March 17:00 GMT
End Time: 5 April  18:00 BST

Watch 4 hours of World of Warcraft content while these Twitch Drops are active on any channel to earn the Fathom pet.

A purple and gold crab with a crown on its head.
“Weighed down by all the loot he has plundered. He could share the burden he carries but it turns out he’s a little shellfish.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do I link my battle.net and Twitch accounts?
A. Sign into your Battle.net account at https://account.battle.net/connections and click the Connect link for Twitch, then follow the instructions to sign in and link your Twitch account to Battle.net.

Q. What devices can I use to earn and claim drops?
A. You can earn and claim drops using your PC/Mac web browser or on the Twitch app for Android or iOS. Twitch apps on game consoles, smart TVs, and other TV apps do not support drops.

Q. Do I need to watch the same channel the entire time to earn my drops?
A. You can earn progress towards a drop on any eligible channel in the World of Warcraft category on Twitch. You can, for example, watch half an hour on one channel and then switch to another channel without losing your progress. You cannot earn progress faster by watching more than one channel at a time.

Q. Will I receive my drop rewards in-game automatically?
A. To receive your rewards, you must claim the drop on the channel you’re watching or in the Drops Inventory menu on Twitch.

Q. Do Twitch Drop rewards expire?
A. Earned Twitch Drop rewards will expire seven (7) days after they’ve been claimed if a Battle.net account has not been linked.

Q. As a streamer, how do I get Twitch Drops on my channel?
A. All you need to do is ensure your Twitch and Battle.net accounts are linked and that you’ve opted into Drops (see Drops Streamer Home).

Q. What regions are eligible for these Twitch Drops?
A. Participating regions include North America, Latin America, Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Japan, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Dragonflight: Plunderstorm Content Update Notes

Quote from: Blizzard

PLUNDERSTORM

Get swept away in the Plunderstorm — a fun, new, limited-time, pirate-themed event of prodigious proportions lasting the next several weeks. Scour the map and try to be the last pirate standing while dashing across the Arathi Highlands to find abilities and upgrades while plundering loot just to survive! Players can earn cosmetics, pets, titles, and mounts as they progress through the reward track, including a majestic Plunderlord parrot mount, Bubbles the crab pet, swashbuckling cosmetics, and more. A victory is not required to claim the spoils of a well-fought fight. [LEARN MORE]

CLASSES

  • Macros that use the non-healer versions of dispels will now override the ability with the healer dispel variant if the player is in a healer specialization. This applies to Discipline, Holy Priest, Holy Paladin, Restoration Druid, and Restoration Shaman. Mistweaver Monk and Preservation Evoker already had this functionality.
  • Developer’s note: We’ve updated the power of many of the set bonuses that are returning for Season 4 to match the increased power of the rest of the new gear in Season 4. 
  • DEATH KNIGHT
    • Blood
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (2) Set Bonus: Heart Strike and Blood Boil damage increased by 20% (was 10%).
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (2) Set Bonus: Chance to gain Vampiric Blood increased to 10% (was 5%).
    • Frost
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (2) Set Bonus: The damage of your next Frostwyrm’s Fury is increased by 5% (was 4%). Stacks unchanged.
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (2) Set Bonus: The effectiveness of Frostywrm’s Fury increased to 30% (was 25%).
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (2) Set Bonus: Howling Blast damage increased to 20% (was 10%).
  • DRUID
    • Balance
      • Vault of the Incarnates (2) Set Bonus: Starsurge and Starfall increase the damage of your next Wrath or Starfire by 30%, stacking up to 3 times (was 20%).
      • Vault of the Incarnates (4) Set Bonus: When you enter Eclipse, your next Starsurge or Starfall costs 15 less Astral Power (was 5 less Astral Power) and deals 40% (was 20%) increased damage.
  • EVOKER
    • Landslide costs 1.4% base mana (was 2.8%).
    • Sleep Walk costs 1% base mana (was 2.4%).
    • Devastation
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (2) Set Bonus: Causes Disintegrate and Pyre to pierce enemies for 18% of damage done (was 12%).
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (4) Set Bonus: Increases Empower spell damage by 12% (was 8%).
    • Preservation
      • Vault of the Incarnates (2) Set Bonus: Increases the healing of Reversion by 50% (was 35%) for 8 seconds (was 6 seconds).
      • Vault of the Incarnates (4) Set Bonus: Increases healing and damage of Living Flame by 50% (was 20%).
      • Reversion critical heals now extend Reversion by 2 seconds regardless of Haste.
      • Emerald Communion will now give an error message and fail to cast if used while in Diamond Ice.
  • HUNTER
    • Survival
      • Vault of the Incarnates (2) Set Bonus: Mongoose Bite/Raptor Strike, Carve, and Butchery damage increased by 18% (was 12%).
      • Vault of the Incarnates (4) Set Bonus: Bonus damage to Mongoose Bite/Raptor Strike, Carve, and Butchery increased to 50% (was 40%).
  • MAGE
    • Fire
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (2) Set Bonus: Charring Embers now increases damage taken by 6% (was 5%) and lasts 2 additional seconds.
      • Added an activation overlay for Fury of the Sun King.
  • MONK
    • Mistweaver
      • New Talent: Dance of Chi-Ji – Your spells and abilities have a chance to make your next Spinning Crane Kick deal an additional 300% damage.
      • New Talent: Peer into Peace – 5% of your overhealing done onto targets with Soothing Mist is spread to 3 nearby injured allies. Soothing Mist now follows the target of your Enveloping Mist or Vivify and its channel time is increased by 4 seconds.
      • Resplendent Mist now causes Gust of Mists to have a 30% chance to do 75%/150% more healing (was 50%/100%).
      • Peaceful Mending is now a 1-point talent and increases the healing allies receive from Enveloping Mist and Renewing Mist by 40% while Soothing Mist is active (was 25% per point).
    • Windwalker
      • Vault of the Incarnates (2) Set Bonus: Fists of Fury now increases the damage dealt by your Rising Sun Kicks or Spinning Crane Kicks by 40% (was 30%).
      • Vault of the Incarnates (4) Set Bonus: Fists of Fury now instead enhances your next 3 Rising Sun Kicks or Spinning Crane Kicks and enhanced kicks increase the damage of your next Fists of Fury by 7% (was 5%) stacking up to 3 times.
  • PALADIN
    • Holy
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (2) Set Bonus: Increases Holy Shock’s critical healing by 80% (was 60%).
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (4) Set Bonus: Increases Holy Prism’s healing by 40% (was 80%).
        • Developer’s note: Holy Prism’s healing was increased baseline in Guardians of the Dream, so this bonus is being decreased with that in mind. This will still be an overall gain in power compared to Embers of Neltharion.
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (4) Set Bonus: Light’s Hammer healing increased by 20%.
    • Protection
      • Vault of the Incarnates (2) Set Bonus: Ally of the Light’s Versatility increased to 8% (was 6%).
      • Vault of the Incarnates (4) Set Bonus: Hammer of the Righteous, Blessed Hammer/Crusader Strike increases your Parry by 7% (was 5%).
  • PRIEST
    • Leap of Faith no longer interrupts spell casts from the ally it was used on.
    • Holy
      • Empyreal Blaze has been redesigned – Holy Word: Chastise causes your next 2 casts of Holy Fire to be instant, cost no mana, and incur no cooldown. Refreshing Holy Fire on a target now extends its duration by 7 seconds.
      • Pontifex has been redesigned – Flash Heal, Heal, Prayer of Healing, and Circle of Healing increase the healing done by your next Holy Word spell by 6% stacking up to 5 times. Lasts 30 seconds.
      • Lightwell has been redesigned – Creates a Holy Lightwell. Every second the Lightwell will attempt to heal a nearby party or raid member within 40 yards that is lower than 50% health and apply a Renew to them for 6 seconds. Lightwell lasts for 2 minutes or until it heals 15 times. Cooldown reduced by 3 seconds when you cast Holy Word: Serenity or Holy Word: Sanctify.
      • All healing done reduced by 7%.
      • Holy Fire mana cost reduced to 0.4% of base mana (was 1%).
      • Holy Word: Chastise mana cost reduced to 0.6% of base mana (was 2%).
      • Resonant Words now causes Holy Words to increase the healing done by your next Flash Heal, Heal, Prayer of Healing, or Circle of Healing by 20%/40%. Lasts 30 seconds.
      • Divine Word now increases the effectiveness of your next Holy Word spell by 30% (was 50%).
      • Casting Holy Word: Chastise with Divine Word active now increases damage dealt by 20% and refunds 15 seconds from the cooldown of Holy Word: Chastise instead of its previous effect.
      • Casting Holy Word: Sanctify with Divine Word active now blesses the target area and heals 5 targets (was 6). Healing done increased by 25%.
      • Casting Holy Word: Serenity with Divine Word active no longer increases the critical strike chance of Flash Heal, Heal, and Renew.
      • Healing Chorus now increases the healing of Circle of Healing by 5% stacking up to 20 times (was 2% stacking up to 50 times).
      • Prayerful Litany now heals for 100% more to the most injured ally it affects (was 30%).
      • Harmonious Apparatus has been renamed to Voice of Harmony and its icon has changed.
      • Voice of Harmony now causes Holy Nova to reduce the cooldown of Chastise in addition to Holy Fire.
      • Gales of Song is now a 1-point talent with the values of the previous 2-point version.
      • Orison now has a connection to Pontifex.
      • Divine Service now has a connection to Say Your Prayers.
      • Empowered Renew and Rapid Recovery have been removed.
      • The final 3 rows of the tree have been reorganized.
    • Shadow
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (2) Set Bonus: Increases the damage of Mind Blast by 40% when Shadowy Insight triggers (was 30%).
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (4) Set Bonus: Increases Devouring Plague damage by 18% (was 15%).
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (4) Set Bonus: Causes every 4 casts of Devouring Plague to increase Shadowy Apparition damage by 100% for 10 seconds (was 80%).
  • SHAMAN
    • Restoration
      • Vault of the Incarnates (2) Set Bonus: Healing Stream Totem now increases critical strike by 15% (was 10%).
      • Vault of the Incarnates (4) Set Bonus: Increases the effectiveness of critical heals to 220% (was 215%) instead of the usual 200%.
  • WARLOCK
    • Destruction
      • Vault of the Incarnates (2) Set Bonus: Consuming Soul Shards has a chance to grant you Chaos Maelstrom, increasing your critical strike chance by 15% for 10 seconds (was 10%).
      • Vault of the Incarnates (4) Set Bonus: Your critical strikes deal 212% (was 208%) damage instead of the usual 200%.
  • WARRIOR
    • Arms
      • Vault of the Incarnates (2) Set Bonus: Bonus damage to Mortal Strike and Cleave increased to 15% (was 10%). Critical Strike chance bonus unchanged.
      • Vault of the Incarnates (4) Set Bonus: Bonus damage and Critical Strike chance increased to 8% (was 5%).
    • Fury
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (2) Set Bonus: Bonus damage and Critical Strike chance to Rampage increased to 12% (was 10%).
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible (4) Set Bonus: Bonus damage increased to 30% (was 25%) and Critical Strike chance increased to 12% (was 10%) to Bloodthirst.

DUNGEONS AND RAIDS

  • ULDUAR TIMEWALKING
    • Fixed an issue where Liquid Pyrite was not properly restoring ammunition.
    • Fixed an issue where Burning Tar was incorrectly damaging players and vehicles that were far away.
    • Fixed an issue preventing Tar from properly slowing and damaging enemies.
    • Fixed an issue where Mimiron would jump the gun too quickly and attack players while remaining untargetable.
    • Fixed an issue where General Vezax’s Mark of the Faceless was doing too much damage.
    • Fixed an issue where various boss enemies were moving great distances when tanks were too close.
    • Fixed an issue where Yogg-Saron’s tentacles could spawn within the boss model.
  • If a player in a Follower Dungeon can cast Bloodlust/Heroism/Time Warp/Fury of the Aspects, the followers will no longer try to cast their version when they think it’s appropriate and instead leave the decision of when to cast up to the player.

ITEMS

  • Raid loot from Vault of the Incarnates and Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible have received several adjustments to align with changes made in Amirdrassil, the Dream’s Hope:
    • Class set tokens will drop at a ratio of 1:3 relative to non-token items.
    • All Very Rare items have a separate chance to drop in addition to a boss’s standard quantity of loot.
  • Developer’s note:  As we look ahead to Dragonflight Season 4, we are aiming to level the playing field for certain over- and underperforming raid trinkets. Further tuning can be expected before or shortly after the start of the season.
    • The following raid trinkets have been adjusted:
      • Conjured Chillglobe mana restore effect reduced by 70%.
      • Whispering Incarnate Icon’s infusion effects granted to allies reduced by 45%.
      • Ward of Faceless Ire cooldown reduced to 1 minute (was 2 minutes), absorb reduced by 35%, and damage reduced by 50%.
      • All remaining stacks of Enduring Dreadplate’s Hellsteel Plating that are not consumed by taking damage now rupture to release Rays of Anguish upon expiration.
      • Ominous Chromatic Essence shared alignment secondary stat reduced by 5%.
      • Blossom of Amirdrassil effects increased by 10%.
      • Fyrakk’s Tainted Rageheart absorb increased by 5%, lash damage reduced by 5%, and passive area-of-effect damage reduced by 20%.
    • The following dungeon trinkets have been significantly reworked:
      • Tome of Unstable Power
      • Umbrelskul’s Fractured Heart
      • Globe of Jagged Ice
      • Water’s Beating Heart
      • Granyth’s Enduring Scale
      • Inexorable Resonator
    • The following dungeon trinkets have been adjusted:
      • Kyrakka’s Searing Embers chance to trigger increased by 100%, damage reduced by 50%, and healing reduced by 40%. Additionally fixed an issue that could cause inconsistent proc behavior.
      • Miniature Singing Stones shield effect increased by 3%.
      • Mutated Magmammoth Scale chance to trigger now scales with Haste and damage reduced by 13%.
  • New glyphs have been added to transform the appearance of the recently updated Covenant abilities back to their old Covenant visuals. They can be purchased from the Covenant quartermasters.
  • In the Appearances collection, wrist appearances are now shown on the right wrist (was left wrist). This allows more one-sided appearances such as the Gothic Corsage to be visible in the collection pane.

PET BATTLES

  • Briarhorn Hatchling has been struck by the Curse of Flesh and is now properly Beast-type (was Mechanical-type).

PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER

  • BATTLEGROUND BLITZ BRAWL
  • Developer’s note: We’ve been happy to see the excitement around Battleground Blitz after its launch in Guardians of the Dream and after monitoring feedback and internal data, we are making some changes. We believe these changes will be healthy for the game mode and we want to ensure adequate time to observe feedback on them while Battleground Blitz is a brawl.
    In particular, we have not been happy with the low frequency of capture the flag maps due to the restriction of having the maps be only available with tanks. In 10.2.6, we are lifting that restriction and are introducing a new buff, Empowered Carrier, that will be applied to non-tank specializations if they pick up the flag in Warsong Gulch and Twin Peaks. Tanks will still only be matched up against other tanks, and this buff will only be applied if there are not any tanks in the match.
    Additionally, we’ve been overall happy with and have heard positive feedback around having an increased mount speed in Battleground Blitz. However, the 150% mount speed increase is slightly too fast for both the gameplay and character control experiences. We are adjusting the amount of increase on all maps, although having it slightly higher on the larger maps: Arathi Basin and Deepwind Gorge.
  • Eye of the Storm
    • Added a hidden effect that prevents fall damage to both teams for 10 seconds at the start of a match.
  • Warsong Gulch and Twin Peaks
    • New Buff: Empowered Carrier – Increases maximum health by 10% and movement speed by 30%. Additionally, Empowered Carrier provides 25% damage reduction for 4 seconds when stunned. Empowered Carrier is applied to non-tank specializations who pick up the flag on Warsong Gulch or Twin Peaks and won’t be applied if the match started with tanks in the match.
  • Swift Pursuit has had the following adjustments:
    • Increased mount speed is now 100% Arathi Basin and Deepwind Gorge (was 150%).
    • Increased mount speed is now 75% on all other maps (was 150%).
  • EVOKER
    • Preservation
      • Rewind heals for 50% of damage taken in the last 5 seconds in PvP combat (was 33%).

 

 

 

To view all content update notes, click here.

Shiver Me Timbers! Make Ready for the Incoming Plunderstorm!

Quote from: Blizzard

With the release of the 10.2.6 content update, players can get swept away in the Plunderstorm1— a fun, new, limited-time, pirate-themed event of prodigious proportions lasting the next several weeks. Scour the map and try to be the last pirate standing while dashing across the Arathi Highlands to find abilities, upgrades, and loot to plunder just to survive!

Set Sail for the Plunderstorm

Plunge into a challenging battle that earns excellent rewards for World of Warcraft® Modern and Classic progression realms. All you have to do is survive…and plunder. Can’t seem to stay in the realm of the living? No problem. Plunderers still gain progression that helps unlock new rewards.

Each match is 10-15 minutes long and has 60 players per match, with the winner being the last one standing. Level up and acquire new abilities and spells by killing creatures and enemies, looting chests, and avoiding the encroaching storm.

A Pirate’s Life for You

The Arathi Highlands is the backdrop for this pirating adventure, and you’ll have plenty of challenges to keep you busy.

Prepare to Plunder

Plunderstorm is perfect for pick-up and play! No expansion purchase is required, but a World of Warcraft Subscription or Game Time is needed to participate in a high-stakes, play-by-the-seat-your-pants match. This means that Classic players can also participate in a plethora of plundering fun by simply installing the modern (Live) World of Warcraft client:

  1. Launch the Battle.net desktop app.
  2. Click the World of Warcraft icon at the top. If the icon is missing, click on All Games and select the game from the list.
  3. On top of the Install button is a drop-down menu. Confirm that you wish to install World of Warcraft.
  4. Click Install.

Once you’re in modern WoW:

  1. Select Plunderstorm2 from the World of Warcraft game menu to get into the action.
  2. Create a new, ready-to-play character—player characters are unique to this event. You don’t need previous knowledge of races and classes to chart your course for mayhem.
  3. Choose between Solo or—to play with your Battle.net friends—make a group from the Plunderstorm character screen and select Duo. If queued for a Duo without a partner, you’ll be automatically matched with one. You can also access chat, customize characters, and see the queue from the Character Select Screen.
Action Bar and Abilities, Worthy Mates

Discover lootable spells, abilities, and upgrades as you plunder treasure chests and defeat enemies. Upon picking up, spells and abilities are automatically added to your Action Bar, with two slots dedicated to offensive skills and two for utilities such as leaps, speed boosts, and crowd-control.

Some abilities are more action-based and require good positioning and player targeting. Have fun discovering and experimenting with different combinations to find what works for you.

Upgrades to Your Spells and Abilities

Your spells and abilities can be upgraded by discovering higher-quality versions from treasure chests or finding the same ability elsewhere and stacking it to Rank 3 (epic). There are also plenty of plundering opportunities—various treasure chests with different rarities that harbor all types of abilities are stashed around the map. Always stay on the lookout for better loot and upgrades.

Spectating Spectre

Upon death, keep watching the match from the perspective of your teammates (if they’re still alive) or other players, including their loadout.

Rewards A-Plenty for Plundering Pirates

Players can earn cosmetics, pets, titles, and mounts as they progress through the reward track, including a majestic Plunderlord parrot mount, Bubbles the crab pet, swashbuckling cosmetics, and more. 3 A victory is not required to claim the spoils of a well-fought fight.

Perch on the shoulders of this parrot instead of him perching on yours!
Proper pirate fashion is a must for plundering!
There isn’t a better first mate on the high seas than Pirate Pepe!

10.2.6 Content Update Notes

Learn more details about Plunderstorm and the rest of the 10.2.6 Content Update in our update notes.

We look forward to seeing you drop from the skies to engage in pirate-themed mayhem. Also, stay tuned to worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/news for more information about a new Esports tournament to celebrate Plunderstorm’s launch!

We’ll see you in Azeroth and wherever the adventure takes you!

1 Requires World of Warcraft® Subscription or Game Time.
2Plunderstorm is accessed from the World of Warcraft® game menu but exists outside of player progression in World of Warcraft® and Wrath of the Lich King Classic™.
3Plunderstorm offers rewards for both World of Warcraft® and Wrath of the Lich King Classic™.