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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.

Patch 10.1.5 PTR Development Notes 16 May 2023

Quote from: Blizzard

TIME RIFTS

The time streams have become a bit more unstable with recent events and as the boundaries between the timelines weaken, minions from other timelines have begun making their way into Azeroth. Players will join together to take on Time Rifts, push back against the waves of minions, and plug the hole to set the timeways straight again.

CLASSES

  • Developers’ note: We are updating player totems and pets that are immune to buffs and debuffs to now only be immune to buffs. This is primarily a PvP change to allow damage over time effects to apply to totems so that all specializations have reasonable means to damage them.
  • DRUID
    • Nature’s Vigil duration is now 15 seconds (was 30 seconds).
      • Developers’ Note: We are reducing the effectiveness of group healing from DPS from damage-to-healing conversion sources. The abilities affected are Vampiric Embrace, Nature’s Vigil, and Ancestral Guidance. While we want hybrid DPS to be able to contribute healing to the group, these spells have become powerful enough to temporarily alleviate a healer’s role without interrupting the hybrid’s DPS rotation. The Nature’s Vigil change above will be coming in a future PTR build.
    • Balance
      • Developers’ note: The following changes are working toward providing more build diversity for Balance Druids, though we’re happy with the current builds and want them to remain popular. We’d like Stellar Flare to be a competitive option against a small number of targets, so we’re reducing the duration of Astral Smolder to make Stellar Flare or Wild Mushrooms more competitive at maintaining Waning Twilight. We’re equalizing New Moon and Fury of Elune a bit and easing up on the importance of entering Eclipse with a Nature’s Grace change. Since many of these tweaks involve pulling back the power of current popular options, we’re increasing Balance’s damage across the board to compensate.
      • All spell damage dealt increased by 5%.
      • Waning Twilight damage and healing increased to 10% (was 8%).
      • Astral Smolder duration is now 4 seconds (was 8 seconds).
      • Wild Surges bonus to Wrath and Starfire critical strike chance reduced to 12% (was 15%).
      • Warrior of Elune now starts its cooldown as soon as it’s activated, but the bonuses to your next 3 Starfires must be used within 25 seconds.
      • Lunar Shrapnel has been redesigned – Starfall deals 20% increased damage and is now a 1 point talent.
      • Umbral Intensity increases damage dealt by Wrath by 20% per point (was 10%) and the damage Starfire deals to nearby targets increased by 15% per point (was 10%).
      • Nature’s Grace now only triggers after an Eclipse ends, not when extending an Eclipse with Celestial Alignment.
      • Fury of Elune damage reduced by 10%.
      • Radiant Moonlight Fury of Elune cooldown reduction is now 15 seconds (was 20 seconds).
      • New Moon damage increased by 100%.
      • Half Moon damage increased by 45%.
      • Full Moon damage increased by 15%.
      • Orbit Breaker’s Full Moon power is now 60% (was 80%).
      • The Primordial Arcanic Pulsar tracking buff now counts up to 100, instead of 15 (this is a cosmetic change only).
    • Guardian
      • Lunar Beam radius increased to 8 yards (was 5 yards).
      • Lunar Beam now grants 15% Mastery on cast.
      • Pulverize and Rend and Tear/Untamed Savagery nodes switched positions.
      • Connections added from Incarnation/Convoke node to Raze and Rage of the Sleeper nodes.
  • EVOKER
    • Emerald Blossom’s flower now grows immediately on cast and heals after 1.5 seconds (was 2 seconds).
    • Augmentation
      • Pupil of Alexstrazsa now only launches 1 additional Living Flame when Leaping Flames is active (previously, it was casting an extra Living Flame for every Leaping Flames charge).
      • New Talent: Dream of Spring – Emerald Blossom no longer has a cooldown, deals 35% increased healing, and increases the duration of your active Ebon Might effects by 1 second, but costs 3 Essence. Emerald Blossom will now benefit from and consume Essence Burst.
        • Developer’s Note: In a future PTR update, Dream of Spring will be moved to be a choice node with Prolong Life.
      • Activate Weyrnstone is now usable while moving.
      • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible Set Bonus has been implemented:
        • 2-Set Bonus: Ebon Might increases the damage of your empower spells by 30%.
        • 4-Set Bonus: Ebon Might grants an additional 1% primary stat to each ally.
        • Developer’s Notes: Augmentation’s set bonus for Vault of the Incarnates will be added in a future PTR update.
    • Preservation
      • Life-Giver’s Flame now heals up to 5 injured targets, split evenly amongst them (was 1 injured target). Range increased to 40 yards (was 25 yards).
  • PALADIN
    • Holy
      • New Talent: Blessed Light – Glimmer of Light’s healing and damage is increased by 10%, but it can only affect 1 target at a time.
      • Divine Revelations has been redesigned – While empowered by Infusion of Light, Flash of Light heals for an additional 20%, and Holy Light or Judgment refund 1% of your maximum mana.
      • Tyr’s Deliverance now also increases the healing of Holy Shock by 25%.
      • Boundless Salvation now also triggers from Holy Shock to extend the duration of Tyr’s Deliverance by 2.5 seconds.
      • Boundless Salvation’s tooltip has been updated to be more succinct.
      • Daybreak now triggers Glimmer of Light for 150% value and no longer costs Mana.
      • Avenging Wrath: Might now increases critical strike chance by 15% (was 20%).
      • Avenging Wrath now increases healing and damage by 15% (was 20%).
      • Avenging Crusader now transfers 400% of damage dealt (was 500%).
      • Touch of Light healing increased by 700%.
      • Crusader Strike cooldown increased by 30% (was 50%).
      • Infusion of Light now causes Flash of Light to cost 70% less mana (was 30%) and causes Holy Light to generate 2 Holy Power (was 1).
      • Hand of Divinity now reduces the mana cost of Holy Light by 100%.
      • Shield of the Righteous damage increased by 30% and now reduces the cooldown of Crusader Strike by 2 seconds.
      • Shield of the Righteous now obeys the global cooldown and no longer increases Armor.
      • Fixed an issue that caused Holy Shock’s cooldown to not scale with Haste.
  • PRIEST
    • Shadow
      • The duration of Vampiric Embrace is now 12 seconds (was 15 seconds).
      • Developers’ Note: We are reducing the effectiveness of group healing from DPS from damage-to-healing conversion sources. The abilities affected are Vampiric Embrace, Nature’s Vigil, and Ancestral Guidance. While we want hybrid DPS to be able to contribute healing to the group, these spells have become powerful enough to temporarily alleviate a healer’s role without interrupting the hybrid’s DPS rotation.
  • ROGUE
    • Outlaw
      • Grand Melee, one of the buffs granted by Roll the Bones, has been redesigned – Blade Flurry deals 10% additional damage to nearby enemies, including your primary target.
  • SHAMAN
    • Brimming with Life now increases your maximum health by 8% at all times (was while Reincarnation is off cooldown).
      • Developers’ note: This talent change should allow Shaman to use their Reincarnation ability without worrying about their health being lower for subsequent pulls or the rest of a dungeon where the lower maximum health might be a liability.
    • Ancestral Guidance now only converts single target damaging abilities into healing (was all damage abilities). The conversion of healing spells into healing has been unchanged.
      • Developers’ Note: We are reducing the effectiveness of group healing from DPS from damage-to-healing conversion sources. The abilities affected are Vampiric Embrace, Nature’s Vigil, and Ancestral Guidance. While we want hybrid DPS to be able to contribute healing to the group, these spells have become powerful enough to temporarily alleviate a healer’s role without interrupting the hybrid’s DPS rotation.
      • Ancestral Guidance is a powerful hybrid tool, but it was providing too much healing to your party when combined with big bursts of area damage. Abilities such as Primordial Wave that change your single target damage spell into something that hits multiple targets will be adjusted to only work from the initial Lightning Bolt or Lava Burst cast, any subsequent targets will not count as damage dealt to convert to healing.
    • Elemental
      • Earthquake’s tooltip now states that multiple Earthquakes can overlap.
        • Developers’ note: This is not a change in functionality, only a clarification on the spell’s tooltip.

ITEMS AND REWARDS

  • PROFESSIONS
    • Cooking
      • Roland, your befriended Recipe Rat, will now train a player’s other characters the recipes for Deviously Deviled Eggs and Charitable Cheddar without needing to locate him again in Zskera Vaults or Zaralek Cavern.

PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER

  • EVOKER
    • Augmentation
      • New PvP Talent: Born in Flame – Ebon Might causes your Living Flame to become instant cast while it is active.

USER INTERFACE AND ACCESSIBILITY

  • Action bar icons have updated animations for:
    • Cooldowns
  • Action bar icons now show a cast bar while casting or channeling, and a green targeting circle when placing a targeted ability.
  • Arena unit frames have been updated:
    • Arena frames will always show debuffs.
    • Arena frames will now show loss of control debuffs in a larger icon next to the unit frame.

Hotfixes: May 16, 2023

Quote from: Blizzard

May 16, 2023

Achievements

  • Dragonflight Season 2 Master can again be completed by reaching 2000 Mythic+ score.
  • Fixed an issue where players were not getting credit for Still Standing in Fire despite dying to Ire of Fyrakk.

Dungeons and Raids

  • Mythic+
    • Halls of Infusion
      • Falling through the pipes of the Auxiliary Drainage increases movement and swim speed by 200% until entering combat.
    • Neltharion’s Lair
      • Ularogg
        • Fixed an issue that caused Falling Debris to strike players multiple times.
    • Neltharus
      • Warlord Sargha
        • Reduced the total number of Dragon Eruptions during Magma Shield.
        • Warlord Sargha no longer generates energy while under the effects of Backdraft.
    • Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
      • Bromach
        • Shocking Quake damage reduced by 20%.
      • Sentinel Talondras
        • Earthen Shards prefers not to target the same player with consecutive casts.
    • Vortex Pinnacle
      • Slipstreams that spawn after defeating Ertan and Altairus now grant players 100% movement speed until enter entering combat.
      • Altairus
        • Biting Cold damage reduced by 25%.
        • Twisting Winds damage reduced by 25%.

Professions

  • Mining/Herbalism
    • Fixed a bug that caused Zaralek Glowdust and Zaralek Glowbur to not propagate while mounted.

Quests

  • Fixed an issue where Fyrakk would not appear during Fyrakk Assaults despite the Fyrakk’s Fury bar being full.
  • Fixed an issue which could cause players in the to not get credit for killing Captain Reykal during “Researchers Under Fire.”

Hotfixes: May 15 2023, Evoker Legendary

Quote from: Blizzard

May 15, 2023

Achievements

  • Fixed an issue causing the Eggscellent Eggsecution to not grant achievement points.

Classes

  • Death Knight
    • Frost
      • [With weekly restarts] All ability damage increased by 3%.
      • [With weekly restarts] Obliterate damage increased by 5%.
      • [With weekly restarts] Frost Strike damage increased by 6%.
      • [With weekly restarts] Howling Blast damage increased by 6%.
      • [With weekly restarts] Remorseless Winter damage increased by 8%.
      • [With weekly restarts] Frost Fever damage increased by 12%.
  • Demon Hunter
    • Havoc
      • [With weekly restarts] Chaos Strike/Annihilation damage increased by 10%.
      • [With weekly restarts] First Blood (Talent) damage bonus to first enemy struck increased to 95% (was 75%).
      • [With weekly restarts] Inner Demon (Talent) damage increased by 30%.
    • Vengeance
      • Fixed an issue that prevented Fiery Brand’s damage reduction effect from applying to its primary target.
  • Druid
    • Balance
      • [With weekly restarts] Vault of the Incarnates (4) Set bonus tuning: Entering Eclipse makes your next Starsurge or Starfall cost 10 less Astral Power (was 5) and deal 25% increased damage (was 20%).
    • Restoration
      • Rejuvenation now costs 11% base mana (was 12%).
  • Hunter
    • Beast Mastery
      • [With weekly restarts] Aberrus (4) Set bonus cooldown reduction for Bestial Wrath increased to 2 seconds (was 1 second).
      • [With weekly restarts] Kill Cleave now strikes nearby enemies for 80% of the damage (was 60%).
      • [With weekly restarts] Beast Cleave now causes your pet to strike nearby targets for 40/80% of the damage (was 35/75%).
  • Mage
    • Frost
      • [With weekly restarts] All ability damage increased by 4%.
  • Paladin
    • Holy
      • Fixed an issue causing Holy Prism to sometimes fail to grant Holy Power despite having the class 4-Set equipped.
  • Shaman
    • Elemental
      • [With weekly restarts] All ability damage increased by 2%.
      • [With weekly restarts] Vault of the Incarnates (2) set bonus now grants 3% damage, stacking 3 times (was 5%, stacking up to 5 times).
  • Warlock
    • Affliction
      • [With weekly restarts] All ability damage done increased by 3%.

Dungeons and Raids

  • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible
    • The Vigilant Steward, Zskarn
      • [With weekly restarts] Fixed an issue that would cause Zskarn’s ability use to be inconsistent.
      • [With weekly restarts] Fixed an issue causing Blast Wave to knock back pets.
    • Magmorax
      • Magma Puddles are no longer affected by Spirit of Redemption.
    • Scalecommander Sarkareth
      • Players are now unable to be struck by Motes of Oblivion for a short duration after leaving the Emptiness Between Stars.
  • Mythic+
    • Brackenhide Hollow
      • Claw Fighter’s Vicious Clawmangle inflicts damage less often.
      • Toxic Trap damage reduced by 25%.
      • Ragestorm has a range indicator visual.
      • Treemouth
        • Treemouth’s health reduced by 10%.
        • Grasping Vines casting animation has been updated to better indicate that a player should stand in the area on Mythic+ difficulty.
        • Increased the cooldown of Grasping Vines and Consume.
        • Treemouth no longer moves or casts spells while consuming a player.
        • The draw in effect of Grasping Vines has been reduced.
        • Gushing Ooze cast time increased to 2.5 seconds (was 2 seconds).
    • Freehold
      • Blacktooth Knuckleduster’s Shattering Bellow damage reduced by 10%.
    • Halls of Infusion
      • Containment Apparatus’ Containment Beam damage reduced by 15%.
      • Falling through the pipes of the Auxiliary Drainage increases movement and swim speed by 200% until entering combat.
      • Crashing Tsunami damage reduced by 20%.
      • Crashing Tsunami move 20% slower.
      • The initial area indicator for Crashing Tsunami spawns better matches its area of effect.
      • The safe spot provided by pillars in the Infusion Chamber extends further behind the pillar.
      • Refreshing Tides is now interruptible.
    • Neltharion’s Lair
      • Mightstone Breakers’ Avalanche now has a visual to indicate the impact area.
      • Dargrul the Underking
        • Flame Gout occurs every 5 seconds (was 3 seconds).
        • Flame Gout damage reduced by 15%.
        • Magmabreaker damage reduced by 15%.
    • Neltharus
      • Warlord Sargha
        • Breaking the Magma Shield within 2 seconds of it being cast will no longer cause Dragon’s Eruption to continue throughout the fight.
    • Vortex Pinnacle
      • Asaad, Caliph of Zephyrs
        • Improved the precast visual effects Static Cling.

Enemies and NPCs

  • Class set items sold by Norzko the Proud can now be refunded after purchase.
  • Fixed an issue where Forgemasters at Suffusion Camps could get stuck evading.

Items and Rewards

  • Fixed an issue where Ominous Chromatic Essence can forget the player’s chosen alignment in certain conditions.
  • Fixed an issue where Mark of Draconic Mastery was not awarded upon unlocking Dragonflight Season 2 Master while in a Mythic+ instance.

Mounts

  • Ottuks and Aurelids are now properly classified by their movement types when filtering mounts in the Mount Journal.

Player versus Player

  • Classes
    • Death Knight
      • Frost
        • Developers’ notes: Frost Death Knights have been on our radar as underperforming, but still effective in the right situations. We’re reducing their burst damage alongside their game-wide damage increases with the goal of a healthier overall damage profile.
        • [With weekly restarts] Pillar of Frost now increases Strength by 15% in PvP Combat (was 25%).
      • Unholy
        • Developers’ notes: We’ve been monitoring our changes to Reanimation and have felt its damage is too high relative to how much control Death Knight’s have over enemies’ positioning.
        • [With weekly restarts] Reanimation’s explosion now deals 15% of the targets health in Shadow damage (was 20%).
        • [With weekly restarts] Allied players can no longer see the explosion ring visual for Reanimation.
        • [With weekly restarts] Reanimation’s stun debuff is now using the correct spell icon.
    • Demon Hunter
      • Havoc
        • Developers’ notes: Our goal with Rain from Above is for it to have situational offensive and defensive usage. With recent increases to its damage, we’re seeing it used for offense more often than intended, so we’re bringing its damage down.
        • [With weekly restarts] Rain from Above (PvP Talent) Fel Lance damage reduced to 8% of target’s max health (was 10%).
    • Mage
      • Fire
        • Fixed an issue that caused Glass Cannon to not increase the damage of Ignite.
      • Frost
        • Fixed an issue that caused Frost Bomb to not grant a charge of Flurry when dispelled.
    • Monk
      • [With weekly restarts] Strength of Spirit now increases the healing of Expel Harm by up to 50% based on your missing health in PvP Combat (was 100%).
      • Windwalker
        • Developers’ notes: Expel Harm’s healing was dramatically increased with Season 2. We’re happy with the base healing of the spell, but modifiers from Reverse Harm and Strength of Spirit are making it more powerful than we intended.
        • [With weekly restarts] Reverse Harm now increases the healing done by Expel Harm by 30% (was 60%).
    • Priest
      • Holy
        • Developers’ notes: Holy Priests have continued to underperform in PvP, so we’re buffing several of their primary healing spells.
        • [With weekly restarts] Renew healing increased by 34% in PvP Combat (was 22%).
        • [With weekly restarts] Flash Heal healing increased by 52% in PvP Combat (was 40%).
        • [With weekly restarts] Heal healing increased by 57% in PvP Combat (was 43%).
        • [With weekly restarts] Holy Word: Sanctify healing increased by 10% in PvP Combat.
        • [With weekly restarts] Holy Word: Serenity healing increased by 25% in PvP Combat (was 15%).
    • Shaman
      • Enhancement, Elemental
      • Developers’ notes: The healing contribution from Earth Shield for the hybrid Shaman specs is above our target in PvP after recent buffs to the spell.
      • [With weekly restarts] Earth Shield healing reduced by 30% in PvP Combat for Enhancement and Elemental.
    • Warlock
      • [With weekly restarts] Call Observer now has 8% of the Warlock’s health (down from 20%).
      • Destruction
        • Developers’ notes: Destruction’s sustained DPS in PvP especially with instant casts is higher than we’d like. We feel Chaos Bolt is in a good state, so we’re targeting other areas of the kit to bring down their DPS.
        • [With weekly restarts] Incinerate damage reduced by 10% in PvP Combat.
        • [With weekly restarts] Shadowburn damage increased by 45% in PvP Combat (was 65%).
    • Warrior
      • Arms
        • Developers’ notes: We feel Arms Warrior’s burst window has been more effective than we would like in PvP. We’re shifting their damage profile slightly to increase their consistent pressure but decrease their burst damage.
        • [With weekly restarts] Sharpen Blade cooldown increased to 30 seconds and duration decreased by 2 seconds.
        • [With weekly restarts] Skullsplitter now causes expired bleeds to deal 65% damage (was 100%) in PvP Combat.
        • [With weekly restarts] Deep Wounds damage increased by 15% in PvP Combat.
        • [With weekly restarts] Rend no longer deals 15% reduced damage in PvP Combat.
        • [With weekly restarts] Fueled by Violence now heals for 70% (was 85%) of damage dealt by Deep Wounds in PvP Combat.

Evoker Legendary

Quote from: Blizzard

Here’s a bit of info on how this works:

Once Scalecommander Sarkareth has been defeated for the first time on Mythic difficulty, the Cracked Titan Gem item that begins a Legendary weapon questline for Evokers will have a chance to drop from Scalecommander Sarkareth on all difficulties after the weekly reset in the region that he’s been defeated in. The item will be very rare on Raid Finder difficulty (when available) and slightly increases in drop rate with each difficulty.

Hotfixes: May 12 2023, Dragonflight Season 2 Master Achievement

Quote from: Blizzard

May 12, 2023

Achievements

  • Fixed an issue where Every Door Everywhere All At Once was not always properly being rewarded. If you re-enter the vault with all doors open in that vault, you should now receive credit.

Classes

  • Demon Hunter
    • Developer’s notes: We’ve been monitoring feedback about the default behavior of Fiery Brand as well as Fiery Brands cast via the new Set bonus. As a result, we’ve added a highlight to Fracture/Shear when the Set proc is available to cast, and will be retaining the behavior that Set casts include the remaining duration when applied to a target with an existing Fiery Brand.
    • Vengeance
      • Adds a highlight to Shear/Fracture when Recrimination is available.
      • Recrimination is no longer able to stack.
  • Druid
    • Guardian
      • Fixed an issue causing Rage of the Sleeper to fail to increase Thrash periodic damage.
    • Restoration
      • Rejuvenation now costs 11% base mana (was 12%).
  • Mage
    • Arcane
      • The mana requirement to increase the spell damage bonus on the 4-Set Bonus now properly scales within Timewalking dungeons.
      • Time Anomaly Arcane Surges no longer overwrite active Arcane Overloads.
  • Paladin
    • Retribution
      • Fixed an issue that caused the Heartfire Sentinel’s Authority 4-Set to consume 2 charges of Hammer of Wrath while talented into Vanguard’s Momentum.
      • Hammer of Wrath’s additional targets provided by Heartfire Sentinel’s Authority 4-Set now ignores targets that are not in combat with the Paladin or are under the effects of crowd control that breaks on damage.
  • Priest
    • Fixed an issue causing Rhapsody to not stack until Holy Nova is cast after starting a Mythic+ dungeon.
  • Rogue
    • Fixed an issue that caused Sepsis’ buff that enables use of a Stealth skill to be cancelled by Deathmark when copying Garrote.
    • Fixed an issue that caused Sepsis’ buff that enables use of a Stealth skill to be cancelled by Ambush when a Blindside proc was available.

Dungeons and Raids

  • Mythic+
    • Freehold
      • Fixed an issue where Sharkpuncher’s Ripper Punch could target pets.
    • Neltharion’s Lair
      • Naraxas
        • Fixed an issue that allowed Hurling Rocks to pierce player immunity effects.
        • Hurling Rocks will no longer increase in frequency as the encounter progresses.
    • Neltharus
      • Warlord Sargha
        • Curse of the Dragon Hoard damage reduced by 20%.
        • Curse of the Dragon Hoard no longer stacks.
        • Magical Implements can now be used while moving.
        • Seismic Boots are no longer found in gold piles.
        • The Dragon’s Eruption missile travel time increased to 3.5 seconds (was 3 seconds).
    • Vortex Pinnacle
      • Grand Vizier Ertan
        • Fixed an issue that allowed Storm’s Edge to be interrupted.
        • Storm’s Edge damage reduced by 15%.
      • Asaad, Caliph of Zephyrs
        • The health of Skyfall Nova has been reduced by 20%.
        • The damage of Chain Lightning has been reduced by 10%.

Items and Rewards

  • Fixed an issue where Pillar of the Elder Flame’s cooldown would not reset upon ending an encounter.

Player versus Player

  • Classes
    • Mage
      • Fixed an issue that caused Time Manipulation to not reduce the cooldown of Snowdrift.

Professions

  • Recipes purchased with Ponzo’s Cream and Glimmerogg Timeshare Vouchers are now Bind on Pickup as intended.
  • The recipe for Heat-Resistant Rescue Ring is no longer Bind on Pickup.
    • Develpers’ notes: We do not take increasing restrictions on an item’s tradability lightly, however it is important to maintain consistency between professions and across various froms of content. Although we have lightened our recipe tradability rules with Dragonflight, items purchased from content unlocks or with special currencies tend to remain soulbound. Separately, the Heat-Resistant Rescue Ring from Fishing was made soulbound by mistake and has been corrected.

Dragonflight Season 2 Master Achievement

Quote from: Blizzard
It should be safe to earn the achievement now and collect your reward. Anyone who’s earned the achievement prior to this fix will earn their reward early next week.

Dragonflight Fractures in Time PTR Development Notes & Datamining

Quote from: Blizzard

NEW EVOKER SPECIALIZATION: AUGMENTATION

Emberthal and Ebyssian are working together to release the Black dragonflight essence that had been siphoned from the Dracthyr during their long stasis, unlocking memories and powers forgotten to them. All Evokers now can choose to explore Azeroth as a new specialization: Augmentation.

Augmentation is a Damage Dealer role that uses the essence of the Black and Bronze dragonflights to amplify the abilities of nearby allies. Their playstyle centers on empowering allies to increase their damage output, and using the Evoker’s direct damage spells to improve these empowerments’ effects. Augmentation’s core capabilities will feel familiar to Evoker players, such as spending Essence, casting empower spells, and using their mobility to navigate the battlefield. However, the specialization also introduces many new tools for the Evoker to manipulate the environment in their favor, and assist their allies.

The quest “The 5th Essence” is available for Evokers to try out their new specialization and what it means to the dracthyr at large. The quest is still under development and will be updated on the PTR through the weeks to come.

Augmentation has a fully playable talent tree, and many new spells for players to enjoy. A few spells are highlighted below, but see our web article for more information, and check out Augmentation on the PTR starting today!

  • Ebon Might – Increase your 4 nearest allies’ primary stat by a percentage of your own, and cause your Eruption to deal more damage for 10 seconds. Your other spells extend the duration of these effects. 1.5 second cast, 30 seconds cooldown.
  • Upheaval – Gather earthen power beneath your enemy’s feet and send them hurtling upwards, dealing Volcanic damage to them and nearby enemies. Empowering expands the area of effect. 2.5 second empower, 40 second cooldown.
  • Breath of Eons – Fly to the targeted location, exposing Temporal Wounds on enemies in your path for 10 seconds. Temporal Wounds accumulate a portion of damage dealt by your allies, and then critically strike the enemy for that amount. 1.5 minute cooldown. Replaces Deep Breath.
  • Draconic Attunements (Passive) – Learn to attune yourself to the essence of the Black or Bronze dragonflights:
    • Black Attunement grants you and your 4 nearest allies increased maximum health.
    • Bronze Attunement grants you and your 4 nearest allies increased movement speed.

THE WARLOCK CLASS EXPANDS TO NEW RACES

The Warlock class will become available to Night Elves, Draenei, Lightforged Draenei, Pandaren, Kul Tiran, Tauren, Highmountain Tauren, Mag’har Orcs, and Zandalari Trolls.

Warlocks will also be able to undertake a new quest line starting with the quest “Beginning Impositions” which will unlock a new imp pet customization. Players will also be able to visit the Barbershop to customize their pets.

  • Developers’ note: Warlock glyphs are now on-use Grimoires to unlock pet customizations. Grimoires can be learned on the PTR this week, but selecting the appearance of your pets in the Barbershop will be available in a future PTR update.

CHARACTERS

  • Added 5 new fur colors for Worgen.
  • All restrictions for unlocking Allied Races have been removed, with the exception of a level requirement.
  • All Allied Races can now be unlocked once you have a level 40 character on your account (was level 50).
  • Newly created Allied Race characters will now be directed to Chromie, not the warboard.
  • Characters now learn the appropriate mount riding skill upon reaching the appropriate level without needing to visit a mount trainer:
    • Level 10 – Apprentice Riding
    • Level 20 – Journeyman Riding
    • Level 30 – Expert Riding
    • Level 40 – Master Riding
      • Developers’ note: Riding trainers will still exist in the world, but you will be unable to purchase riding skills from them.
  • Characters that reach level 30 will receive the quest “Time to Fly” and be awarded with a flying mount, Harbor Gryphon for Alliance characters and Scarlet Pterrordax for Horde characters.

CLASSES

  • DRUID
    • Guardian
      • Innate Resolve has been redesigned – Frenzied Regeneration’s healing is increased by a value based on your missing health. Frenzied Regeneration has 1 additional charge.
      • Raze no longer replaces Maul.
      • Front of the Pack has been removed.
      • Dream of Cenarius moved into row 2 from row 9.
      • Galactic Guardian moved into row 6 from row 9.
      • Flashing Claws moved to row 9 from row 8.
      • Scintillating Moonlight moved to row 9 from row 8.
      • Soul of the Forest position adjusted on row 6.
  • MAGE
    • Take a look at the developer’s notes in the Mage feedback thread.
    • All ability damage increased by 15%.
    • Invisibility is now learned by all specializations at level 16.
    • Incanter’s Flow now replaces Invisibility in the Class tree.
    • Shifting Power has been moved to Incanter’s Flow previous location.
    • Rune of Power and Meteor have been removed.
    • New Talent: Ice Cold – Ice Block now reduces all damage taken by 70% for 6 seconds but no longer grants Immunity, prevents movement, attacks, or casting spells. Does not incur the Global Cooldown.
      • Ice Cold is located on Shifting Power’s previous location on the talent tree.
    • New Talent: Mass Barrier – Cast Prismatic/Blazing/Ice Barrier (based on your specialization) on yourself and 3 nearby allies. 2 minute cooldown.
      • Mass Barrier is located as a choice node with Mass Invisibility.
    • New Talent: Mass Invisibility – You and your allies within 40 yards instantly become invisible for 10 seconds. Taking any action will cancel the effect. Does not affect allies in combat.
      • Mass Invisibility located as a choice node with Mass Barrier.
      • Developers’ note: The PvP Talent for Arcane will be updated in a future PTR build.
    • Accumulate Shielding is now a 1 rank talent (was 2). Barrier cooldowns now recharge 30% faster while the shield persists at rank 1.
    • Accumulate Shielding now connects to the Time Anomaly/Temporal Warp choice node.
    • Time Manipulation is now a 1 rank talent (was 2). Now reduces the cooldown of your loss of control abilities by 2 seconds at rank 1.
    • Time Manipulation now connects to the Time Anomaly/Temporal Warp choice node.
    • Displacement now heals the caster for 20% of their maximum health when returning to the Blink location.
    • Winter’s Protection now reduces the cooldown of Ice Block by 30 seconds per rank.
    • Displacement is now located after Flow of Time.
    • Greater Invisibility now replaces Invisibility when talented and is located below Temporal Velocity.
    • Arcane
      • Arcane Power has been removed.
      • Arcane Surge duration has been increased by 3 seconds and now increases spell damage by 35% (was 10%).
      • New Talent: Concentrated Power – Clearcasting makes your next Arcane Missiles channel 20% faster or causes your next Arcane Explosion to echo for 40% damage.
      • Orb Barrage has been redesigned – Arcane Barrage has a 10% chance per Arcane Charge consumed to launch an Arcane Orb in front of you.
      • Clearcasting no longer makes Arcane Missiles channel time faster.
      • Arcane Barrage is now learned baseline at level 11.
      • Clearcasting is now learned baseline at level 12.
      • Reverberate is no longer a choice node with Nether Tempest and is located directly after Arcane Missiles.
      • Siphon Storm no longer grants Arcane Charges and now halves Evocation’s channel time.
      • Nether Tempest now connects to Chrono Shift and Supernova in the Arcane tree.
      • Improved Prismatic Barrier reduces magic damage taken by 10% (was 5%) and reduces harmful Magic effect durations by 15% (was 10%).
      • Improved Prismatic Barrier no longer connects to Touch of the Magi.
      • Arcing Cleave no longer connects to Touch of the Magi.
  • MONK
    • New Talent: Yu’lon’s Grace – Find resilience in the flow of chi in battle, gaining a magic absorb shield for 2% of your max health every 2 seconds in combat, stacking up to 20%.
      • Yu’lon’s Grace is located as a choice node with Diffuse Magic.
    • New Talent: Dance of the Wind – Your Dodge chance is increased by 10%.
      • Dance of the Wind is located as a choice node with Dampen Harm.
  • PALADIN
    • Take a look at the developer’s notes in the Paladin feedback thread.
    • Holy
      • Blessing of Freedom is now granted by default for Holy Paladins.
      • Echoing Blessings is now located on the class tree for Holy Paladins.
      • The specialization tree has seen layout adjustments:
        • New talent nodes.
        • Glimmer of Light has moved to row 2 (was row 10).
        • Power of the Silver Hand has moved to row 6 (was row 8).
        • Tower of Radiance has moved to row 7 (was row 6).
        • Commanding Light is now a 1 point node.
        • Divine Glimpse is now a 1 point node.
        • Sanctified Wrath, Divine Protection, Holy Light, Divine Insight, and Bestow Faith removed.
      • Holy Light is now learned baseline at level 11.
      • Divine Protection is now learned baseline at level 26.
      • Glimmer of Light healing increased by 500% and damage increased by 1000%.
      • Glimmer of Light’s healing and damage is now reduced per active Glimmer of Light. Now capped at 3 targets.
      • Glimmer of Light’s aura no longer appears on the personal resource display.
      • Holy Shock healing reduced by 15% and cooldown increased to 8.5 seconds (was 7.5 seconds).
      • Holy Shock no longer has an increased chance to critically strike.
      • Judgment now generates 1 Holy Power and costs 12% base mana (was 3%).
      • Barrier of Faith costs 12% base mana (was 16%) and initial absorb increased by 66%.
      • Hammer of Wrath cooldown increased by 100% and damage increased by 80%.
      • Tyr’s Deliverance healing increased by 40% and now has a 40 yard range (was 20 yards).
      • New Talent: Beacon of the Lightbringer – Mastery: Lightbringer now increases your healing based on the target’s proximity to either you or your Beacon of Light, whichever is closer.
      • New Talent: Light’s Conviction – Holy Shock now has 2 charges.
      • New Talent: Holy Infusion – Crusader Strike generates 1 additional Holy Power and deals 25% more damage.
      • New Talent: Glistening Radiance – Spending Holy Power has a 15% chance to trigger Glimmer of Light’s healing and damage.
      • New Talent: Overflowing Light – 50% of Glimmer of Light’s overhealing is converted into an absorb shield. The shield amount cannot exceed 15% of your max health.
      • New Talent: Light’s Protection – Your Holy Power spenders have a 20% chance to reduce the damage your allies with Glimmer of Light take by 8% for 4 seconds.
      • New Talent: Righteous Judgment – Judgment has a 50% chance to cast Consecration at the target’s location. The limit on Consecration does not apply to this effect.
      • New Talent: Hand of Divinity – Call upon the Light, causing your next 2 Holy Lights to heal 80% more and be instant cast.
      • New Talent: Shining Righteousness – Shield of the Righteous deals damage to its first target struck. Every 5 Shields of the Righteous make your next Word of Glory or Light of Dawn free.
      • New Talent: Daybreak – Absorb the power from within your active Glimmer of Lights, activating their healing and damage at 100% value and then granting mana per Glimmer of Light consumed.
      • New Talent: Rising Sunlight – After casting Daybreak, your next 3 Holy Shocks cast 2 additional times.
      • New Talent: Glorious Dawn – Holy Shock has a 10% chance to refund a charge on cast, increasing based on how many Glimmer of Lights you have active.
      • Illumination has been redesigned – Glimmer of Light can affect 5 additional targets.
      • Awakening has been redesigned – When you spend Holy Power, gain Awakening. At 8/16 stacks of Awakening, your next Judgment deals 30% increased damage, will critically strike, and activates Avenging Wrath for 10 seconds.
      • Divine Glimpse has been redesigned – Holy Shock, Judgment, and Crusader Strike have a 5% increased critical strike chance.
      • Veneration has been redesigned – Hammer of Wrath heals up to 5 injured allies for 500% of the damage done, split evenly among them. Flash of Light, Holy Light, and Judgment critical strikes reset the cooldown of Hammer of Wrath and make it usable on any target, regardless of their health.
      • Greater Judgment has been redesigned – Judgment deems the targets unworthy, preventing damage dealt by the target.
      • Rule of Law and Sanctified Wrath have been removed.
      • Light of Dawn healing decreased by 10%.
      • Crusader Strike’s cooldown increased by 50%.
      • Divine Favor’s cooldown reduced to 30 seconds.
      • Unending Light has moved to row 4.
      • Tirion’s Devotion now reduces the cooldown of Lay on Hands by 1.5 seconds per Holy Power spent (was 1 second).
      • Divine Revelations now refunds 2% base mana (was 1%) and increases the healing of Flash of Light by 20%.
      • Power of the Silver Hand may now additionally trigger from Judgment.
      • Relentless Inquisitor rank 2 now causes the Haste effect to stack up to 6 times (was 5).
      • Boundless Salvation causes Flash of Light to extend the duration of Tyr’s Deliverance by 5 seconds (was 2.5 seconds). Holy Light now extends Tyr’s Deliverance by 10 seconds (was 5 seconds).
      • Tirion’s Devotion’s icon has changed.
      • Infusion of Light no longer highlights the spells it effects on the action bar.
  • PRIEST
    • Holy
      • Searing Light has been removed.
      • Burning Vehemence has moved to Searing Light’s position in the talent tree and is now a 1-point talent.
      • New Talent: Epiphany – Your Holy Words have a 13%/25% chance to reset the cooldown of Prayer of Mending.
      • Epiphany has moved to Burning Vehemence’s previous position in the talent tree.
      • Holy Word: Sanctify and Prayer of Healing have swapped positions in the talent tree.

ITEMS AND REWARDS

  • Inert Phoenix Ash is now found on both varieties of fire elementals in the area it drops in (was only one type), and at a significantly increased drop rate.
  • Garrison Hearthstone and Dalaran Hearthstone are now toys.
  • Improved Exile’s Reach item rewards.
  • PROFESSIONS
    • Frozen Runes can now be found along the walls of Naxxramas for players interested in crafting legacy Frost Resist patterns.

PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER

  • PALADIN
    • Aura of Reckoning (PvP Talent) has been removed.
  • PRIEST
    • Shadow
      • Mind Trauma now grants 4% Haste per stack (was 3%) and can now stack up to 6 times (was 8).
      • Mind Trauma now also works with Mind Spike and Void Torrent. It grants 1 stack of its effect when casting Mind Spike and 3 stacks of its effect when fully channeling a Void Torrent.

QUESTS

  • WHELP DAYCARE
    • The dragons have more eggs than they can handle, so they’ve called in the crew at the Little Scales Daycare to help. The crew quickly finds itself overwhelmed, and so asks the player (as a great friend of the dragons) for help.
    • Guide five dragon whelps as they grow and learn. Teach the whelps (and players) about the dragon flights.
  • CHROMIE TIME
    • Chromie will now teach you what Chromie Time is, suggest timelines to choose, and share the opening cinematics.
    • The maximum level in Chromie Time is now 61 (was level 60).
    • Chromie Time expansion restrictions have been removed.
  • “The Dragon Isles Await!” now provides an item that lets you teleport to your capital city to begin your journey to the Dragon Isles immediately.
  • Dragonflight, Shadowlands, and Battle for Azeroth dungeon quests are now also available inside their respective dungeons.
  • Both Exile’s Reach and Battle for Azeroth now have campaigns to make it easier to track progress and pick up where you left off.
  • The quest line into Mechagon now starts at level 30 (was level 50).
  • Alliance players can now enter Nazjatar after completing “A Nation Divided” (was “Unlocking the World”).
  • Available starter zone quest lines and Battle for Azeroth side quests now display on the zone map.
  • Introduction to the capital cities after leaving Exile’s Reach has been improved.

USER INTERFACE AND ACCESSIBILITY

  • TRACKING APPEARANCES
    • You can now track uncollected transmog appearances by Shift clicking it in the Collections pane.
    • This adds it to your Objective Tracker. Click the icon to supertrack it, just like you would for a quest.
    • Currently, you can only track appearances sourced from vendors, dungeons, and raids. Hold down Shift to see which appearances can be tracked.
    • For appearances that have multiple items, press Tab to cycle through them and Shift click to track the currently selected one.
    • Click on a tracked item in the Objective Tracker to open its location on the map.
    • For appearances that come from dungeons and raids, click on a boss name in the Objective Tracker to open the Dungeon or Raid Journal.
  • Action bar icons have updated animations for:
    • Spell procs
    • Interrupted casts
  • Group Loot roll toast plays a new animation when you roll Need for your main specialization.
  • Arena unit frames have been updated:
    • Arena frames now use the compact unit frames style.
    • Edit Mode includes settings for width, height, and border and allows you to preview different arena sizes (2v2, 3v3, 5v5).
    • Arena frame settings have been added under Options > Interface > Arena Enemy Frames.
    • PvP trinket status has been added to the right of the enemy’s frame.
    • An icon indicating the enemy’s specialization is now shown during the pre-match phase. Pre-match frames can’t be used for targeting and don’t show power bars.
    • Character tooltips now show the player’s specialization.
  • An animated glow has been added to better highlight needed roles for Rated Solo Shuffle.
  • Text-to-Speech now has options for Item Loot, Currency, and Money Loot chat messages.

Datamining

It looks like a large amount of mounts might be adjusted to have the option to become dragonriding mounts!

We’ll also be getting new ancient patterns for Naxxrammas and a new mount!

Hotfixes: May 11, 2023

Quote from: Blizzard

May 11, 2023

Classes

  • Paladin
    • Holy
      • Fixed an issue causing Light’s Hammer to damage too frequently with the 4-Set equipped.
      • Holy Prism and Light’s Hammer now grant a shield when cast with Fading Light’s Blessing of Dusk.
    • Retribution
      • Fixed an issue that prevented Hammer of Wrath from correctly striking additional enemies when Heartfire Sentinel’s Authority 4-Set is equipped.
  • Priest
    • Holy
      • Fixed an issue where Inspired Word would be granted without having the Holy 4-Set bonus.
  • Rogue
    • Fixed an issue that prevented Nightstalker’s damage bonus from applying in its intended circumstances.

Dungeons and Raids

  • Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible
    • Amalgamation Chamber
      • After a soft reset, the door from Amalgamation Chamber to Experiments of Dracthyr will now properly open if you have defeated the Amalgamation.
      • Adjusted the damage of Umbral Detonation and Blistering Twilight to scale appropriately with group size on Normal and Heroic Difficulties.
    • Scalecommander Sarkareth
      • Adjusted the damage of Echoing Howl to scale appropriately with group size.
        • Developers’ notes: We discovered an issue that was causing the total damage Echoing Howl was doing to all players was scaling too high in larger raid sizes and too low in smaller raid sizes. This change works to even out the damage and make the difficulty more consistent across all raid sizes.
  • Mythic+
    • Developers’ notes: We have been closely monitoring live data and player feedback since the launch of Dragonflight season 2. Based on this, we’ve made a number of targeted adjustments to outlier bosses as well as reduced some of the timers that we feel better reflect the difficulty of certain dungeons.
    • The time to complete The Underrot has been reduced to 30 minutes (was 32 minutes).
    • The time to complete Freehold has been reduced to 30 minutes (was 31 minutes).
    • The time to complete Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr has been reduced to 35 minutes (was 38 minutes).
    • Brackenhide Hollow
      • Decatriarch Wratheye
        • Decaying Strength will be cast more consistently.
        • Decaying Strength now only increases Physical damage done.
        • Decaystrike can be cast while moving.
        • Decaystrike absorbs 30% less healing.
        • Rotburst Totem health reduced by 25%.
        • Withering Rot damage reduced by 20%.
        • Withering Rot reduces damage done by 2% per stack (was 5%).
      • Treemouth
        • Consume absorbs 25% less damage.
    • Freehold
      • Alliance characters trying to access Kul Tiras to enter Freehold should no longer be teleported back to Stormwind.
    • Halls of Infusion
      • Fixed an issue that allowed Containment Apparatus’ Containment Beam to target pets.
    • Neltharion’s Lair
      • Naraxas
        • Toxic Retch damage reduced by 30%.
        • Hurling Rocks damage reduced by 20%.
      • Dargrul the Underking
        • Increased the cast time of Magma Wave to 2.5 seconds (was .25 seconds).
        • Lava Geysers now persist for 60 seconds (Was infinite).
        • Flame Gout occurs every 3 seconds (was 2.5 seconds).
    • Vortex Pinnacle
      • Slipstreams that spawn after defeating Ertan and Altairus now grant players 100% movement speed until enter entering combat.
      • Altairus
        • Biting Cold damage reduced by 25%.

Enemies and NPCs

  • Fixed an issue where Primal Nightflames could stop players from eating at Suffusion Camps just by looking at them.

Items and Rewards

  • Fixed an issue where stacks from Neltharion’s Call to Dominance would reset at the start and end of Mythic+ encounters.
  • Fixed an issue where Voice of the Silent Star stacks would be canceled immediately upon entering or leaving combat through Mythic+ dungeons.

Player versus Player

  • Battlegrounds
    • Ashran
      • Resolved an issue with capturing the Risen Spirits during events in Ashran.
    • Classes
      • Hunter
        • Marksmanship
          • Aimed Shot should no longer rarely deal half damage in PvP situations.
      • Warlock
        • Demonology
          • Eye of the Observer from Call Observer can now only trigger a Laserbeam once per second per enemy.

Professions

  • Crafting orders for Undulating Sporecloak should now be viewable and completable.

Quests

  • During the cave dive “Successful Interventions” Mr. Sunflower will be far more welcoming.
  • Cast Off Shells in the world quest “Shell Corporation” should now only be lootable by the player who feeds a Redolent Whelk a Succulent Looking Deepcap.

Scenarios

  • Horrific Visions
    • Fixed an issue where Sanity was being drained too quickly in Horrific Visions.

Bolster Your Allies with the Augmentation Evoker Specialization

Quote from: Blizzard

Emberthal and Ebyssian are working together to release the Black dragonflight essence that had been siphoned from the Dracthyr during their long stasis, unlocking memories and powers forgotten to them.

The result of their efforts will be felt by all Dracthyr Evokers as they’ll gain access to a brand-new Specialization: Augmentation, available immediately with the release of the Fractures in Time Update!

What is the Augmentation Spec?

Augmentation is a new Damage Dealer role with a twist: they use the essence of the Black and Bronze dragonflights to amplify the abilities of nearby allies. The playstyle for this new specialization involves empowering your allies with a variety of beneficial effects. Some can be cast directly on your allies, while others are tied to using your damage-dealing abilities effectively.

Augmentation Evokers deliver their damage in a wholly unique way. They act as force multipliers, increasing their group’s capabilities (and damage output) significantly.

Augmenting Allies

Certain Augmentation abilities (see some examples below) buff either your whole party or specific members. Many of these have smart or proximity-based automatic targeting, enabling you to maintain focus on the battlefield and enemy selection. You will still be able to target specific party members if you desire; however, there is plenty of freedom to bolster your allies as you see fit.

Like the other Evoker specs, Augmentation makes use of familiar capabilities like spending Essence, using your mobility to navigate the battlefield effectively, and making use of empowered spells.

Upheaval in action!

The Power of Black and Bronze

These sample abilities for Augmentation should give you an idea of what each aspect of magic brings to the table. Black dragonflight magic focuses on raw power increases and forceful outbursts of earthen might. Bronze dragonflight magic is all about bending time, changing fate, and shifting timelines to tremendous effect.

Ebon Might

  • 1.5 second cast, 30 second cooldown.
  • Increase your 4 nearest allies’ primary stat by a percentage of your own, and cause your Eruption to deal more damage for 10 sec. Some of your other spells extend the duration of these effects.

Eruption

  • 2 second cast. Costs 3 Essence. Replaces Disintegrate.
  • Cause a violent eruption beneath an enemy’s feet, dealing Volcanic damage split between them and nearby enemies. Increases the duration of your active Ebon Might effects.

Upheaval

  • 2.5 second empower, 40 second cooldown.
  • Gather earthen power beneath your enemy’s feet and send them hurtling upwards, dealing Volcanic damage to them and nearby enemies. Empowering expands the area of effect. Increases the duration of your active Ebon Might effects.

Breath of Eons

  • 1.5 minute cooldown. Replaces Deep Breath.
  • Fly to the targeted location, exposing Temporal Wounds on enemies in your path for 10 sec. Temporal Wounds accumulate a portion of damage dealt by your allies, and then critically strike the enemy for that amount at the end of the duration. Increases the duration of your active Ebon Might effects.

A Great Display of Talent

With access to a brand-new spec tree, Augmentation Evokers can choose to further specialize in Bronze or Black magic, as well as discover new ways to power up their allies.

Draconic Attunements (Passive)

  • Learn to attune yourself to the essence of the Black or Bronze dragonflights:
    • Black Attunement grants you and your 4 nearest allies increased maximum health.
    • Bronze Attunement grants you and your 4 nearest allies increased movement speed.

Blistering Scales

  • Protect an ally with explosive dragonscales, increasing their Armor by a percentage of your own. Melee attacks against them cause a scale to explode, dealing Volcanic damage to enemies near them.

Bestow Weyrnstone

  • Conjure a pair of Weyrnstones, one for your target ally and one for yourself. A weyrnstone can be activated by the bearer to transport them to the other Weyrnstone’s location if they are within 100 yds.

Expand Your Horizons

Augmentation Evokers offers a unique opportunity to delve into a playstyle never seen before in World of Warcraft. While we’re still working on some aspects of this new paradigm (like introducing some new combat log hooks so that addons and community websites can effectively measure your performance, for example), we hope you’ve enjoyed this early look at it. We’ll see you in the Dragon Isles!