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Category: Warcraft

Hotfixes: October 31, 2022, Class Tuning Incoming 2 November, Dragonflight Main Theme Released

This week’s hotfixes start with a focus on class fixes, the UI and a couple of other things. Additionally Blizzard has announced a large set of class tuning changes coming with the weekly reset this week.

Blizzard has also released the main musical theme of Dragonflight for players to already listen to.

Quote from: Blizzard

October 31, 2022

Classes

  • Death Knight
    • Frost
      • Fixed an issue where Remorseless Winter was incorrectly adding stacks of Icy Talons.
    • Unholy
      • Fixed an issue where the Raise Dead ghoul would despawn when changing instances.
      • Fixed an issue with Ghoulish Frenzy granting 6% damage during Dark Transformation instead of the intended 5%.
  • Demon Hunter
    • Vengeance
      • Fixed some issues that caused Sigil of Misery (2 minute cooldown) and Sigil of Silence (1 min cooldown) to have incorrect cooldown values, especially when talented into Concentrated Sigils or Precise Sigils.
      • Fixed an issue when talented into Precise Sigils that caused Sigil casts to put enemies in combat immediately instead of upon Sigil activation.
  • Druid
    • Balance
      • Fixed an issue where Lycara’s Teachings was not granting Mastery while in Moonkin Form.
  • Mage
    • Fixed an issue with Displacement not working if Arcane Momentum was learned.
    • Frost
      • Fixed an issue that caused Mirrors of Torment procs to not reset the cooldown of Flurry.
  • Paladin
    • Fixed an issue that allowed the Shadowlands version of Divine Resonance to stack with the talented version.
  • Rogue
    • Reduced the level of learning Crippling Poison to level 10 and Wound Poison to level 23 so they always precede talents that affect them.
    • Assassination, Subtlety
      • Fixed an issue that caused the Fan of Knives and Shuriken Storm animations to not display properly on Tauren and Highmountain Tauren rogues.
  • Shaman
    • Elemental, Restoration
      • Fixed an issue that allowed Nature’s Swiftness and Stormkeeper to modify more spell casts than intended while both are active on the Shaman.
  • Warlock
    • Fixed an issue where Incinerate was registering as Shadow Bolt.
    • Fixed and issue where players were counted for Sweet Souls’ secondary heal even when not in party or raid group.
    • Fixed an issue where Soul Link was not granting its Stamina increase while Grimoire of Sacrifice was active.
    • Demonology
      • Demonic Strength now correctly increases Felguard’s Felstorm damage.
  • Warrior
    • Fixed an issue where Shattering Throw was not removing immunities.
    • Protection
      • Fixed an issue where Fueled by Violence was not healing as intended.
      • Fixed an issue where Execute would be on cooldown when talented into Improved Execute.

Player versus Player

  • Paladin
    • Fixed an issue that caused Aura of Reckoning’s Avenging Wrath effect to cost mana and not extend the duration of existing Avenging Crusader buffs.

Torghast, Tower of the Damned

  • Fixed an issue where the Box of Many Things was displaying all rows unlocked despite the character not meeting the requirements.

User Interface and Accessibility

  • Locked targets will no longer be cleared when the enemy soft target is defeated with Action Targeting enabled.
  • Fixed an issue where Press and Hold Casting was not consistently working with mouseover casting.
  • Moved the default location of the zone map (Shift+M).
  • The Start a Group button has returned to its proper location in the Custom Premade Group Finder.

Wrath of the Lich King Classic

  • Fixed an issue where Beaming Earthsiege Diamond was also increasing current mana by 2% instead of only maximum mana.

Class Tuning Incoming 2 November

Quote from: Blizzard

With scheduled weekly maintenance in each region, we’ll make the following adjustments to classes in the Dragonflight Pre-expansion Patch:

Demon Hunter

  • Havoc
    • Chaos Strike and Annihilation damage reduced by 5%.
    • First Blood damage bonus reduced to 75% of attack power (was 85%).
    • Inner Demon damage increased by 25%.
    • Inner Demon (Talent) – Fixed a bug that prevented Inner Demon damage from being increased by Havoc’s Mastery and Demon Soul effects.

Hunter

  • Beast Mastery
    • War Orders now grants Barbed Shot a 25/50% chance to reset the cooldown of Kill Command (was 50/100%)
    • Healing done to your pets from Mend Pet or Exhilaration no longer grants any healing to the Hunters from Leech.
  • Marksmanship
    • Corrected an issue where Chimaera Shot had two chances to proc the Lethal Shots talent.
    • Reduced Damage of Aimed Shot by 15%.

Monk

  • Windwalker
    • Fists of Fury damage reduced by 20%.
    • Rising Sun Kick damage reduced by 20%.
    • Blackout Kick damage reduced by 10%.
    • Storm, Earth, and Fire damage transfer reduced by 6.66(repeating, of course)%.
    • Serenity causes the Monk to deal 15% increased damage (was 20%).
    • Invoke Xuen duration reduced to 20 seconds (was 24 seconds).
    • Shadowboxing Treads increases Blackout Kick damage by 10% (was 20%).
    • Teachings of the Monastery now causes Blackout Kick to have a 12% chance to reset the remaining cooldown on Rising Sun Kick (was 15%).
    • Fury of Xuen haste bonus has been reduced to 5% (was 8%).
    • Whirling Dragon Punch damage reduced by 10%.
    • Forbidden Technique now causes Touch of Death to deal 20% increased damage (was 40%) in addition to its current effects.
    • Rushing Jade Wind damage reduced by 10%.
    • Xuen’s Battlegear now causes Rising Sun Kick critical strikes to reduce the cooldown of Fists of Fury by 4 seconds (was 5) and when Fists of Fury ends, the critical strike chance of Rising Sun Kick is now increased by 40% (was 50%).
      • Developers’ notes: Windwalker Monks are dealing too much damage across the board. As a result, we’ve reduced the damage of most Chi spenders (Spinning Crane Kick and the recently improved Strike of the Windlord being the notable exceptions), reduced the throughput of major cooldowns (Storm, Earth, and Fire, Serenity, and Invoke Xuen), and reduced the effect of some powerful talents with the goal of preserving build parity after these changes.

Priest

  • Crystalline Reflection reflects 6%/12% of damage absorbed (was 10%/20%).
  • Mindgames damage reduced by 25% for Shadow and Holy.
  • Mindgames damage reduced by 50% for Discipline.
  • Discipline
    • Power Word: Radiance applies Atonement at 50% duration (was 60%).
    • Power Word: Radiance healing increased by 30%.
    • Ultimate Radiance increases the healing of Power Word: Radiance by 100% (was 150%).
    • Evangelism cooldown increased to 3 minutes (was 1.5 minutes).
    • Light’s Wrath damage increased by 25%.
    • Light’s Wrath gains 6% damage per ally affected by Atonement (was 10%).
  • Holy
    • Renew healing reduced by 5%.
    • Prayer of Mending healing reduced by 5%.
    • Flash Heal healing reduced by 5%.
    • Heal healing reduced by 5%.
    • Prayer of Healing healing reduced by 5%.
    • Holy Word: Sanctify healing reduced by 5%.
    • Holy Word: Serenity healing reduced by 5%.
    • Circle of Healing healing reduced by 5%.
    • Cosmic Ripple healing reduced by 5%.
    • Divine Hymn healing reduced by 5%.
    • Divine Word: Sanctuary healing reduced by 5%.
    • Holy Word: Salvation healing reduced by 5%.
  • Shadow
    • Shadow Word: Pain damage increased by 10%.
    • Mind Blast damage increased by 10%.
    • Inescapable Torment damage increased by 10%.
    • Shadow Word: Death damage increased by 10%.
    • Vampiric Touch damage increased by 10%.
    • Mind Spike damage increased by 10%.
    • Mind Flay damage increased by 10%.
    • Devouring Plague damage increased by 10%.
    • Mind Sear damage increased by 10%.
    • Shadowy Apparition damage increased by 10%.
    • Void Torrent damage increased by 10%.
    • Shadow Crash damage increased by 10%.
    • Idol of N’zoth’s Echoing Void damage increased by 10%.
    • Idol of Yogg-Saron’s Thing from Beyond Void Spike damage increased by 10%.
    • Dark Void damage increased by 10%.
    • Unfurling Darkness damage increased by 10%.
    • Void Eruption damage increased by 10%.
    • Void Bolt damage increased by 10%.
    • Void Tendril’s Mind Flay damage increased by 10%.
    • Void Lasher’s Mind Sear damage increased by 10%.

Rogue

  • Ambush damage increased by 20%.
  • Rupture damage increased by 5%.
  • Assassination
    • Garrote damage increased by 5%.
    • Mutilate damage increased by 5%.
    • Deathmark damage increased by 15%.
    • Amplifying Poison – Mutilate damage bonus increased to 35% (was 30%).
    • Scent of Blood maximum Agility bonus increased to 24% (was 15%).
  • Subtlety
    • Backstab damage increased by 5%.
    • Eviscerate damage increased by 5%.
    • Shadowstrike damage increased by 5%.
    • Gloomblade damage increased by 5%.
    • Secret Technique damage increased by 5%.
    • Deepening Shadows cooldown reduction per combo point spent increased to 0.7 seconds (was 0.6 seconds).

Shaman

  • Elemental
    • Lightning Bolt damage increased by 10%.
    • Chain Lightning damage increased by 10%.
    • Lava Burst damage increased by 18%.
    • Flame Shock damage increased by 10%.
    • Frost Shock damage increased by 10%.
    • Elemental Blast damage increased by 10%.
    • Lava Beam damage increased by 10%.
    • Earthquake damage increased by 10%.
    • Earth Shock damage increased by 10%.
    • Icefury damage increased by 10%.
    • Liquid Magma Totem damage increased by 10%.
    • Fire Blast damage increased by 10%.
    • Primal Fire Elemental’s Meteor damage increased by 10%.
    • Primal Fire Elemental’s Immolate damage increased by 10%.
  • Enhancement
    • All damage dealt reduced by 25%.

Warlock

  • Affliction
    • Fixed an issue where your Malefic Affliction would be removed if another Warlock applied Malefic Affliction.
    • Vile Taint now applies Curse of Exhaustion with a 6 second duration (was 12 seconds).
    • Sacrolash’s Dark Strike now extends Curses by 0.2/0.4 seconds (was 0.5/1.0 seconds).
  • Demonology
    • Implosion damage increased by 25%.
    • Bilescourge Bombers’ damage increased by 20%.
    • Hand of Gul’dan damage increased by 35%.
    • Guillotine’s Fel Explosion damage increased by 25%.
    • Guillotine’s Fel Explosion radius is now 8 yards (was 4 yards).
    • Vilefiend damage increased by 20%.
    • Grimoire: Felguard damage increased by 20%.
    • Annihilan Training now increases the damage of Felguard by 20% (was 10%).
    • Wild Imps now have a 15/30% chance to become an Imp Gang Boss (was 5/10%).
    • Imp Gang Bosses now deal 50% increased damage (was 20%).
    • Pit Lord (from Gul’dan’s Ambition) damage increased by 25%.
    • Demonic Tyrant’s Demonfire damage increased by 10%.
  • Destruction
    • Rolling Havoc now lasts 6 seconds (was 5 seconds).
    • Madness of the Azj’Aqir now lasts 5 seconds (was 4 seconds).

Step Foot into the Dragon Isles with the Sounds of Dragonflight

Quote from: Blizzard

With the release of Dragonflight, a new composition of the main title, “The Isles Awaken,” carries you on an auditory adventure through the Dragon Isles.

Composed by: Jake Lefkowitz, Glenn Stafford, and David Arkenstone and includes classic World of Warcraft themes by Jason Hayes.

Music Director: Derek Duke

Dragonflight Twitch Drops: Earn Rewards Watching and Supporting Creators

Quote from: Blizzard

As we get ever closer to the launch of Dragonflight, we want to keep the spirit of epic adventure going with Twitch drops, along with a new way for you to support your favorite streamers. There are many opportunities to earn unique rewards, and all roads lead to the Dragon Isles. Here’s what you can expect:

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.


Twitch Drops

Twitch Drop #1

Start Time: November 15th, 10:00 a.m. PST

End Time: November 17th, 11:59 p.m. PST

Watch at least four hours of WoW: Dragonflight content while this Twitch Drop is active to earn the serpentine Dragon Kite pet.

A Vulpera clad in mail armor stands with the Dragon Kite pet floating above.

Twitch Drop #2

Start Time: November 28th, 10:00 a.m. PST

End Time: November 30th, 11:59 p.m. PST

Watch at least four hours of WoW: Dragonflight content while this Twitch Drop is active to earn the fearsome Feldrake mount.

A goblin rides the Feldrake, a flying mount with a sickly fel green color, soaring over mountains.

Twitch Drop #3

Start Time: December 13th, 10:00 a.m. PST

End Time: December 28th, 11:59 p.m. PST

Watch at least two hours of WoW: Dragonflight content of select World of Warcraft channels while this Twitch Drop is active to earn the festive Perpetual Purple Firework toy.

A female human shoots out the Perpetual Purple Fireworks into the night sky.


Support a Streamer

From November 28 at 10:00 a.m. PST until December 12 at 11:59 p.m. PST, you can also show your support for your favorite WoW creators by gifting an eligible creator’s channel two Twitch subscriptions. Doing so will award you the adorable Ichabod harvest golem pet.

Ichabod the harvest golem pet stands on a field with a puzzled look.


Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do I link my battle.net and Twitch account?

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 7 days after they’ve been claimed if a Battle.net account has not been linked. The Support a Streamer Twitch Drop item (Ichabod) will expire on January 1st, 2023.

Q. As a streamer, how do I get Twitch Drops on my channel?

A. All you need to do is make sure your Twitch and Battle.net accounts are linked, and that you’re 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, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Hotfixes 28 October 2022, Beta Mythic+ Testing – October 28th-31st

Today’s hotfix list includes fixes for Rated Solo Shuffle properly giving progress towards the great vault and the vicious mount, more class fixes and covenant abilities working in all season 4 Mythic+ dungeons!

On the beta side of things 3 more dungeons have been enabled for Mythic+ testing: Nokhud Offensive, Court of Stars and Shadowmoon Burial Grounds!

Quote from: Blizzard

OCTOBER 28, 2022

Classes

  • Druid
    • Balance
      • Full Moon correctly returns to New Moon when Radiant Moonlight isn’t talented.
      • Elune’s Guidance now correctly reduces the cost of Starsurge and Starfall with and without Orbital Strike talented.
      • Fixed an issue where Solstice would not be granted from a Celestial Alignment given by Primordial Arcanic Pulsar.
      • Fixed an issue where Umbral Embrace was not being consumed with Wrath cast by Convoke the Spirits.
      • Fixed an issue where Starfall wouldn’t trigger Primordial Arcanic Pulsar’s Celestial Alignment effect when Orbital Strike was talented.
    • Restoration
      • Fixed an issue that caused Budding Leaves to not affect Lifebloom after it had been extended by Verdant Infusion or Flourish.
      • Fixed an issue that caused Grove Tending to not be extended by Verdant Infusion or Flourish.
  • Rogue
    • Subtlety
      • Fixed an issue that could cause Inevitability to cause Eviscerate and Shadowstrike to deal more damage than intended.
  • Warlock
    • Fixed and issue where Inquisitor’s Gaze could pull enemies out of combat.
    • Affliction
      • Decimating Bolt (Necrolord Ability) and Shard of Annihilation now correctly increase the damage of one Drain Soul.
    • Demonology
      • Guillotine can no longer be used when Demonic Strength is active.

Dungeons and Raids

  • Shadowlands Legendaries and Covenant Abilities and powers once again function correctly in all Season 4 Mythic dungeons.

Player versus Player

  • Rated Solo Shuffle
    • Fixed an issue that prevented rating gained from Solo Shuffle to affect your ability to upgrade gear.
    • Fixed an issue that could cause Rated Solo Shuffle first win of the day rewards to not be rewarded at level 60.
    • Fixed an issue that prevented Rated Solo Shuffle from providing progress towards the Great Vault and progress towards Vicious mounts while above 1000 rating.

Beta Mythic+ Testing – October 28th-31st

Quote from: Blizzard

Greetings!

The weekend is upon us and we’ll once again have Dragonflight Mythic+ available for testing. The test period will begin Friday Oct 28th at 16:00 PDT (19:00 EDT, 01:00 CEST), and end Monday October 31st at 16:00 PDT (19:00 EDT, 01:00 CEST). Please note that the test period may be adjusted in the event of technical difficulties.

Key updates from last week:

  • The Nokhud Offensive, Court of Stars, and Shadowmoon Burial Grounds are now available on Mythic+
  • We’re experimenting with a change where the Thundering affix grants enemies a small health increase, but also grants a much more powerful bonus to players.
  • Various tuning and bug fixes

During the test period you’ll be able to acquire and customize Mythic Keystones by talking to the Keystone Vendor in Stormwind or Orgrimmar, and the nearby Dungeon Teleports NPC will assist you with transportation.

We look forward to hearing your feedback!

Hotfixes: October 27, 2022, Rated Solo Shuffle Update

The second batch of hotfixes this week has a something for everyone; quests, UI fixes, classes and more! Blizzard has also posted an update for solo shuffle. Those that leave a solo shuffle game early will receive a full 6 loss penalty!

Quote from: Blizzard

October 27, 2022

Achievements

  • The achievements for the Season 4 Fated Raids were prematurely moved out of the Dungeon & Raid category, as they are still earnable. They are once again visible.

Classes

  • Shaman
    • Enhancement
      • Fixed an issue where some unintended spells could grant a stack of Maelstrom Weapon.

Covenants

  • Kyrian
    • Path of Ascension
      • Fixed an issue where Splinterbark Nightmare’s melee was consuming charges of Drustbloom Embrace.

Creatures and NPCs

  • Fixed an issue where the gold dragon frame was missing on Elite enemy and World Boss nameplates.

Quests

  • Fixed an issue where “The Sunken Vault” could not be completed.
  • You can once again communicate with the following NPCs:
    • Arluin during the quests “Or Against Us” and “If Words Don’t Work…”
    • Runecarver during the quest “The Weak Link.”
    • Lord Herne during the quest “Meet the Queen.”
  • Falstad Wildhammer should now correctly offer and accept quests during the “Blood in the Water” quest line.

User Interface and Accessibility

  • Fixed an issue where melee attacks could not be canceled by pressing the Esc key when Action Targeting is enabled.
  • The stance bar is no longer centered when closing Edit Mode after moving the bar.
  • Spells are once again visible on the action bar when moved around while the Always Show action bar setting is disabled.
  • The Group Finder eye icon will once again stay searching and visible after a loading screen occurs.
  • Fixed an issue where party frames were missing in Arena when Raid Style Party Frames is enabled.
  • The Reagent Bag slot has been removed and will return when Dragonflight launches.

Rated Solo Shuffle Update

Quote from: Blizzard

Thank you for your continued feedback on Rated Solo Shuffle. As mentioned in the original post, we want to disincentivize players from leaving their match, punish them appropriately, and have minimal impact on players who did not leave.

After an update we intend to make next week, players who leave a Rated Solo Shuffle match will now lose personal rating equivalent to losing all 6 rounds within a match, while the remaining players will not have a change in their rating.

Additionally, we will increase the duration of the deserter penalty on repeat leavers.

We’ll continue to monitor feedback and player behavior in Rated Solo Shuffle. Thanks again!

Hotfixes: October 26, 2022, Dragonflight Beta Development Notes

Last night we got our first batch of hotfixes for 10.0! The main focus was on classes and quests but it also included fixes for loot item levels.

On the Beta side of things we got this week’s development notes. While they are not enabled yet, the Crafting Order system will soon be testable!

Quote from: Blizzard

October 26, 2022

  • Classes
  • Druid
    • Fixed an issue where Ashamane’s Guidance, Ursoc’s Guidance, and Cenarius’ Guidance could stack with Celestial Spirits (Runecarving Power).
    • Feral
      • Freedom of the Herd (PvP Talent) now reduces the cooldown of Stampeding Roar by 15 seconds (was 60 seconds).
  • Hunter
    • Survival
      • Fixed an issue where Fury of the Eagle (Talent) was causing more damage from Wild Spirits than intended.
  • Priest
    • Fixed an issue where sometimes Mind Sear couldn’t be used above 50 Insanity.
  • Dungeons and Raids
    • Fixed an issue where Fated raid gear were dropping at an incorrect item level.
    • Fixed an issue where Mythic and Mythic+ dungeon weapons were dropping at an incorrect item level.
  • Quests
    • Fixed an issue in “The Hunter of Heroes” scenario where Vigfus could not be defeated.
    • Horde Warriors are once again able to complete the quest “What’s Your Specialty.”
    • Draenei Rogues should now be able to complete “Rescue the Survivors!” through the use of Gift of the Naaru.

Dragonflight Beta Development Notes

Quote from: Blizzard

This week’s Beta update includes the following additions. With this update, the Crafting Orders system is not yet fully enabled. It will become available for testing with Beta hotfixes soon.

PROFESSIONS

  • Crafting Orders
    • We are happy to introduce the final addition to revamped professions – Crafting Orders. This is a new system which allows everyone to send orders to have specific items crafted for them, including epic soulbound equipment. Once a crafter fulfills an order, it will be sent to the customer in the mail.
    • Crafting Orders will be initially accessible on the Tyrhold realm only, and will be enabled on the Valdrakken realm at a later date.
    • You will find that the Crafting Order Clerks standing on the overlook above The Artisan’s Market in Valdrakken will now accept your crafting orders. Should you wish to try sending a crafting order, speak with one of them. You will be able to browse for an item you wish to order, customize it as you see fit, write a (courteous) message, and post the order. By default, your order will be public, allowing any appropriately knowledgeable crafter on your realm to fulfill it. You can also choose to send a guild order or a personal order to someone in particular with the right profession.
    • For all the crafters out there, this is now your chance to begin filling orders. Find any crafting table for your profession in the Dragon Isles (there are many within the Artisan’s Market in Valdrakken), and either right click the table or open your recipes manually. You will find that the Crafting Orders tab along the bottom of your recipe is accessible. From there, you can search or browse public, guild, and any personal orders you may have received. Once you’ve claimed the order, you can provide any missing reagents, craft the item in question, fill out a (courteous) message back to your customer and complete the order, collecting your commission.
    • We are looking forward to your thoughts and feedback, particularly how understandable and convenient you find the experience. Happy ordering and crafting!

QUESTS

  • Removed the ability for players who have not started Threads of Fate to access the system.
    • Developers’ notes: The goal with Threads of Fate was to help alleviate the linear path of Shadowlands for alts as it was the only way for players to level from 50 to 60. Now that Shadowlands has been moved into Chromie time and Chromie Time’s level cap has been increased to 60, players have a multitude of methods to reach level 60. Players currently in Threads of fate can continue through it, but the option will not be available for any new characters.
    • We do not have plans to do similar removals with Dragonflight’s Adventure Mode in future expansions. Threads of Fate is a choice to use in Shadowlands and irreversibly changes a player’s character once it is chosen. It previously created two different experiences of Shadowlands, which would double to four with both of the level up and Threads of Fate being accessible within Chromie time. Adventure Mode in Dragonflight is an overlay to the level up experience and is always on once it is earned regardless of decisions the player makes.

Rated Solo Shuffle Update

Quote from: Blizzard

Greetings combatants! Thank you to everyone who has been active in participating and providing feedback on Rated Solo Shuffle throughout the Dragonflight Beta. Going into Dragonflight and Season 1, we want to consolidate and provide information about this game mode, for clarity and to address some of the questions we’ve seen on the forums and social media.

What is Rated Solo Shuffle?

Rated Solo Shuffle is the rated version of the Solo Shuffle Brawl that was introduced in Eternity’s End. Introducing the game mode playable as a Brawl first allowed us to gather valuable data and information to improve and refine the game mode before attaching a rating to it.

The Solo Shuffle Brawl will be rotated out of the unrated tab and put into the normal brawl rotation. You will be able to queue up for Rated Solo Shuffle in the Rated PvP tab in the Group Finder UI. To queue up, you’ll need to meet a minimum required PvP item level, similar to queueing up for Heroic Dungeons.

Additionally, cross-faction is enabled for Rated Solo Shuffle, so Horde and Alliance can match together and play against each other.

Will rating be based on Class specializations?

Yes! Observing data from the Solo Shuffle brawl, rated arena matches, and reading community feedback, we felt it was important to have a player’s rating be tied to a specialization rather than class for this game mode. Unique to this Rated game mode, players will have a rating tracked for each of their character’s specializations.

Players will select which of their specializations to queue with, and participate in specialization-based ladders and end of season rewards. This will allow players to try new class specializations in arena without the pressure of performing as well as they would on their main specialization (e.g. a Discipline Priest wanting to try Shadow).

Also coming in Season 1, players will be able to see where they rank against others of their specialization in Solo Shuffle on the official World of Warcraft website.

What Rewards can I earn?

Just like in Rated Battlegrounds and Arenas, you’ll earn seasonal rewards and achievements, credit towards Vicious mounts, weekly great vault progress, and Conquest with rewards being based on the highest rating amongst all of a player’s specializations. Players will earn all seasonal titles and achievements that they would normally in Rated Arenas, with the exception of Gladiator and its associated reward. We felt it was important to keep it as a unique reward to Rated Arenas.

We recognize that some class specializations may perform better than others in Solo Shuffle, as well as having different total representation within the game mode. Because of this, we’re introducing a new and unique end-of-season title for the top 0.1% of each specialization in Solo Shuffle. For Dragonflight Season 1, this will be Crimson Soloist. We’ve seen community feedback around the title and are evaluating it.

How is rating calculated for each match?

During the Dragonflight Beta, we received feedback on wanting to better understand how rating is calculated. There’s a lot of math and calculation that goes on in the back end, but effectively the Solo Shuffle match is calculating 6 matches of arena into one.

When a player enters a match, we determine the expected performance of players in the match based on player matchmaking rating (MMR). We take all the rounds into account, considering who was on each side and who won, so it matters which specific rounds the player wins, and not just the total number of rounds won, in calculating impact on MMR.

We are discussing ways to improve the transparency of how ratings-change calculations can occur. Compared to the live game, Beta realms have a relatively low population, and consequently a much wider spread of ratings and matchmaking values in each match. We expect matches on live realms to include players with ratings and matchmaking values that are closer together.

What happens if another player in my game leaves before it ends?

A topic we’ve discussed internally and seen feedback on with the Brawl and on Beta is: what happens if a player leaves the match before all the rounds end? We want to disincentivize players from leaving their match, punish them appropriately, and have minimal impact on players who did not leave. The leaver will receive a Deserter debuff that will increase in penalty for each consecutive offense.


Please continue to share your thoughts with us here in our forums or @WarcraftDevs on Twitter. We will schedule a ‘Play with the Blues’ event in the next few weeks, focusing on Solo Shuffle and general PvP on Beta, so keep an eye out for that. Until then, enjoy the Dragonflight pre-patch, and we’ll see you in the arena!