Legion Class Preview Series: Warrior
Welcome to our World of Warcraft: Legion class preview series. In this entry, we’re exploring the Warrior—to find out what’s in store for a different class, check out the overview.
We continue our early look at class and specialization design with the Warrior. In these blogs, we’ll be exploring class identity, discussing Legion’s new designs, and presenting core combat abilities for each specialization—laying the foundation upon which talents and Artifacts will build further. With that in mind, let’s delve into what it means to be a Warrior in World of Warcraft.
Warriors are the quintessential fearless fighters on the battlefield, and their pure martial prowess inspires courage in allies and despair in enemies. Experts in all manner of melee weaponry and possessing incredible physical strength and skill, Warriors are perfectly suited to serve as frontline combatants and battlefield commanders.
Warriors are thematically informed by our own history, dating back to ancient clashes when close-quarters, shield-and-sword combat was the backbone of battlefield strategy. Warriors in WoW are steeped in this tradition, with each specialization filling distinct niches.
One notable goal we have for Warriors in Legion is to significantly expand their customizability through talents, especially for Arms and Fury. If the below core abilities seem sparse, it’s to leave room for more from talents than ever before. Both specs now have five rows of core throughput talents (mostly different between Arms and Fury, too), with a strong mix of active rotational abilities, passives, procs, cooldowns, and other interesting effects. You’ll find old favorites like Overpower, Heroic Strike, and Opportunity Strikes, returning classics like Avatar, Dragon Roar, and Storm Bolt, along with a host of brand new talents. We look forward to seeing the combinations that you put together.
Arms
Across culture and kingdom, men and women who demonstrate great physical aptitude are transformed into mighty warriors through tests of strength, endurance, and fighting capability. Their friendships are forged not in the classroom, tavern, or workshop, but in the dueling pits and on the arena floor. As a childhood of sparring defines a warrior’s destiny, so too does one’s choice of weapon determine their role on the battlefield. Arms warriors gravitate toward two-handed weapons instinctively. It’s more than a matter of preference—it speaks to the character of the wielder. Arms warriors are patient in a fight, waiting to capitalize on moments when an opponent is left exposed. Two-handed weapons allow them to deliver devastating, overpowering blows, fully exploiting their enemies’ weaknesses.
“Arms warriors are patient in a fight, waiting to capitalize on moments when an opponent is left exposed.”
Gameplay
The defining character traits of Arms Warriors already mesh well with their gameplay, but there’s room for more flavor. In Legion we’ve opened up a wider variety of potential gameplay styles based on your talent choices, as discussed above. We also replaced their Mastery with Colossal Might, which increases the effectiveness of Colossus Smash, playing into their theme more directly. As before, Arms Warrior Rage generation comes from auto-attacks.
Here’s a basic look at the core combat abilities for Arms Warriors:
- Mortal Strike
- 20 Rage, Melee Range, Instant, 6 sec cooldown
- A vicious strike that deals strong Physical damage and reduces the effectiveness of healing on the target for 10 sec.
- Slam
- 15 Rage, Melee Range, Instant
- Slam an opponent, causing moderate Physical damage.
- Colossus Smash
- Melee Range, Instant, 45 sec cooldown
- Smashes the enemy’s armor, dealing massive Physical damage, and increasing damage you deal to them by 20% for 6 sec.
- Execute
- 10 Rage, Melee Range, Instant
- Attempt to finish off a foe, causing strong Physical damage to the target, and consuming up to 30 additional Rage to deal up to massive additional damage. Only usable on enemies that have less than 20% health.
- Tactician
- Passive
- Slam, Whirlwind, and Execute have a 20% chance per target hit to reset the cooldown on Colossus Smash.
- Mastery: Colossal Might
- Increases the damage of your Colossus Smash by 50%, and causes it to increase damage taken by an additional 50%.
Additionally, to give you an idea of how some talents may build upon this, here’s an example of one of their Arms-specific talents:
- Titanic Might
- Passive
- Increases the duration of Colossus Smash by 200%, but halves its effectiveness.
Fury
On the battlefield and in the arena, the most feared combatants are often the furious berserkers who lust for battle and thirst for blood. Through a lifetime of training and sparring, these merciless warriors have become masters of carnage—often wielding a weapon in each hand to maximize the destruction. Even without the protection of a shield, the fury warrior leaves little opportunity for an opponent to strike without suffering grievous wounds in return—delivered in a whirlwind of blades that dooms anyone its wake. Brute force becomes a breathtaking display when fury warriors relentlessly dive into the fray.
“Brute force becomes a breathtaking display when fury warriors relentlessly dive into the fray.“
Gameplay
Fury is a thematically grandiose take on the classic warrior archetype, and in Legion we want the gameplay to convey this better. To help deliver on the fantasy of a relentless death-dealer, we’ve bolstered their gameplay around quickly building Rage and then going wild with Rampage. In particular, Enrage is now considerably more powerful, doubling your attack speed (and thus Rage generation, since the majority of Rage is still generated by auto-attacks), along with increasing damage based on Mastery. Similar to Arms, a multitude of talent options will expand your combat abilities in a wide variety of ways.
Here’s a basic look at the core combat abilities for Fury Warriors:
- Bloodthirst
- Melee Range, Instant, 4.5 sec cooldown
- Attack the target in a bloodthirsty craze, dealing moderate Physical damage, generating 10 Rage, and restoring 5% of your health.
- Bloodthirst has an additional 40% chance to be a critical strike.
- Enrage
- Passive
- Bloodthirst critical strikes or activating Berserker Rage will Enrage you, increasing attack speed by 100% and damage taken by 30% for 6 sec.
- Raging Blow
- 10 Rage, Melee Range, Instant
- A mighty blow with both weapons that deals a total of strong Physical damage.
- Only usable while Enraged.
- Rampage
- 50 Rage, Melee Range, Instant
- Unleash a series of 5 brutal strikes over 2 sec for a total of massive Physical damage.
- Rampage always deals damage as if you were Enraged.
- Execute
- 30 Rage, Melee Range, Instant
- Attempt to finish off a foe, causing a total of massive damage Physical damage. Only usable on enemies that have less than 20% health.
- Mastery: Unshackled Fury
- Increases damage done while Enraged by 28% (with Mastery from typical gear).
Additionally, to give you an idea of how some talents may build upon this, here’s an example of one of their Fury-specific talents:
- Frenzy
- 15 Rage, Melee Range, Instant
- Furiously slash at the target, dealing moderate Physical damage, and increasing your Haste by 5% for 10 sec. Stacks up to 5 times.
Protection
Like their counterparts, protection warriors are virtually bred for physical dominance, having been raised in the art of close-quarters combat—but their measured approach to battle is what distinguishes them from their comrades-in-arms. They demonstrate an uncanny knack for blade and shield, nullifying an opponent’s advances and creating opportunities for counterattacks. For the protection warrior, being the toughest soldier on the front means nothing if allies are left vulnerable to the enemy’s attack. Stalwart defenders are integral to the success of any military campaign—the protection warrior seeks to be an unbreakable wall.
“For the protection warrior, being the toughest soldier on the front means nothing if allies are left vulnerable to the enemy’s attack.“
Gameplay
Protection gameplay ties strongly to Warrior lore and exemplifies the very foundation of the tank role in the game, so we’re primarily focused on fine-tuning their mechanics. Shield Block and Shield Barrier in particular often created a trap choice for players. We’ve replaced Shield Barrier with a new ability, Ignore Pain, which massively reduces damage taken (up to a cap based on maximum health) and functions as your primary defensive Rage-spender. It doesn’t compete as much with Shield Block, and thus provides you with distinct tools in your arsenal to apply to different situations. In terms of Rage, Protection Warriors now primarily generate Rage through taking damage, supplemented by a baseline Rage income from ability usage. This plays well with Ignore Pain as their primary Rage-spender; it’s most useful when you’re taking a lot of damage, which is also when you’ll have a lot of Rage to use on it.
Here’s a basic look at the core combat abilities for Protection Warriors:
- Offensive
- Devastate
- Melee Range, Instant
- A direct strike, dealing moderate Physical damage.
- Devastate has a 30% chance to reset the cooldown of Shield Slam.
- Revenge
- Melee Range, Instant, 9 sec cooldown
- Swing in a wide arc, dealing strong damage to all enemies in front of you.
- Generates 4 Rage.
- Your successful dodges and parries reset the cooldown of Revenge (cannot occur more than once every 3 sec).
- Deep Wounds
- Passive
- Your Devastate and Revenge cause the target to bleed for strong Physical damage over 15 sec.
- This effect is cancelled if the target reaches full health.
- Thunder Clap
- Instant, 6 sec cooldown
- Blasts all enemies within 8 yards for moderate damage and reduces their movement speed by 50% for 10 sec.
- Shield Slam
- Melee Range, Instant, 9 sec cooldown
- Slam the target with your shield, causing strong Physical damage.
- Generates 6 Rage.
- Heroic Strike
- 30 Rage, Melee Range, Instant
- Instantly deals moderate Physical damage.
- This ability is not on the global cooldown.
- Devastate
- Defensive
- Shield Block
- 10 Rage, Instant, 12 sec recharge, 2 charges
- Raise your shield, blocking every melee attack against you for 6 sec. These blocks can be critical blocks.
- Shield Slam deals 30% additional damage while Shield Block is active.
- Ignore Pain
- 40 Rage, Instant
- Fight through the pain, ignoring 90% of the next massive amount (based on maximum health) of damage you take.
- Spell Reflection
- Instant, 25 sec cooldown
- Raise your shield, reflecting spells cast on you and reducing magical damage taken by 30%. Lasts 5 sec or until a spell is reflected.
- Mastery: Critical Block
- Increases your chance to block by 10% (with Mastery from typical gear) and your chance to critically block by 30% (with Mastery from typical gear).
- Also increases your attack power by 20% (with Mastery from typical gear).
- Shield Block
Additionally, to give you an idea of how some talents may build upon this, here’s an example of one of their Protection-specific talents:
- Shield Discipline
- Passive
- Shield Slam extends the duration of Shield Block by 2 sec.
- Shield Block increases the damage of Shield Slam by an additional 30%.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this early preview of our approach to Warrior class and specialization design in World of Warcraft: Legion. We’ll continue our series later today with a look at Monks and Druids.
Legion Class Preview Series: Monk
Welcome to our World of Warcraft: Legion class preview series. In this entry, we’re exploring the Monk—to find out what’s in store for a different class, check out the overview.
We continue our early look at class and specialization design with the Monk. In these blogs, we’ll be exploring class identity, discussing Legion’s new designs, and presenting core combat abilities for each specialization—laying out the foundation upon which talents and Artifacts will build further. With that in mind, let’s delve into what it means to be a Monk in World of Warcraft.
Monks were introduced in Mists of Pandaria, and their story is woven directly into the expansion’s rich and vibrant lore. Monks bring a unique martial arts style to any fight, and harness an exotic form of magical energy that’s unfamiliar to those who practice other arcane arts. They seek spiritual balance in life and in combat, and as dangerous as Monks can be on the battlefield, they’re rarely looking to pick a fight without just cause. They view the world through a different lens, finding power through serenity and inner peace—then expressing it through artful combat techniques and powers that mend life. Perhaps most surprisingly, Monks are also adept at producing powerful brews they consume to aid them in battle.
In Legion, we’re focusing on making sure Monk abilities and gameplay better match the class’s vivid backstory. We’re also looking at abilities that already lend themselves well to the Monk’s character, but whose mechanics are in need of polish.
Brewmaster
The brewmaster is a quirky character, though dangerous when underestimated. Brewmasters may seem to struggle with balance as they chug their concoctions in the middle of a fight, but this unpredictable behavior is far from foolhardiness. Most opponents barely have time to process the erratic nature of the brewmaster’s fighting tactics before they find themselves laid low—possibly the result of a keg smash to the head. When an opponent actually manages to land an attack, it’s often unclear how much the brewmaster feels it . . . if at all.
“The brewmaster is a quirky character, though dangerous when underestimated.”
Gameplay
The gameplay for Brewmasters hasn’t quite fit their archetypes to this point. Rather than being the tricky martial artists, staggering around with an evasiveness that frustrates their opponent while being a little squishy when taking an unmitigated blow, Brewmasters have been more focused around large absorption shields and clutch self-healing. Our new design approach is to get more gameplay depth out of their strong, thematic abilities. Instead of Chi as a resource, which had little depth for Brewmasters, we’re switching to charges on Brew abilities that other abilities still interact with.
Here’s a basic look at the core defensive and offensive combat abilities for Brewmaster Monks:
- Defensive
- Ironskin Brew
- Instant, 20 sec recharge, 3 charges
- Increases your Stagger amount by an additional 60% for 6 sec.
- Shares charges with Purifying Brew.
- Purifying Brew
- Instant, 20 sec recharge, 3 charges
- Instantly purifies all of your staggered damage.
- Shares charges with Ironskin Brew.
- Gift of the Ox
- Passive
- When you take damage, you have a chance to summon a Healing Sphere visible only to you. Moving through this Healing Sphere will heal you for 25% of your maximum health.
- This chance is increased the lower health you are.
- Mastery: Elusive Brawler
- Each time you are hit by a melee attack, you gain 20% (with Mastery from typical gear) Dodge, until your next successful Dodge.
- Also increases your attack power by 20% (with Mastery from typical gear).
- Ironskin Brew
- Offensive
- Keg Smash
- 40 Energy, 15 yd range, Instant, 8 sec cooldown
- Smash a keg of brew on the target, dealing strong damage to all enemies within 8 yds and reducing their movement speed by 50% for 15 sec.
- Reduces the remaining cooldown on your Brews by 4 sec.
- Tiger Palm
- 50 Energy, Melee Range, Instant
- Attack with the palm of your hand, dealing minor damage.
- Reduces the remaining cooldown on your Brews by 1 sec.
- Blackout Strike
- Melee Range, Instant, 3 sec cooldown
- Thwack the enemy with your weapon, dealing moderate Physical damage.
- Shares cooldown with Breath of Fire.
- Breath of Fire
- Instant, 3 sec cooldown
- Targets in front of the caster take minor Fire damage. If affected by Keg Smash, they will also burn for minor Fire damage over 8 sec.
- Shares cooldown with Blackout Kick.
- Keg Smash
Additionally, to give you an idea of how some talents may build upon this, here’s an example of one of their Brewmaster-specific talents:
- Elusive Dance
- Passive
- Purifying Brew also grants up to 15% Dodge for 6 sec, based on the level of Stagger damage purified.
Mistweaver
Mistweavers are unique among those who heal. The energies they channel are mysterious, oftentimes misunderstood by commoners—who rarely travel beyond the borders of their homelands—as some form of folk medicine. But those who weave the mists wield the power of life’s essence, using a mixture of preventative and restorative spells to mend their allies’ wounds. The inner tranquility that guides mistweavers allows them to sustain their healing for long periods of time, and gives them the strength to care for multiple injured allies.
“…those who weave the mists wield the power of life’s essence, using a mixture of preventative and restorative spells to mend their allies’ wounds.”
Gameplay
Our goal with Mistweaver Monks is to accentuate the existing characteristics that define them, and resolve some core gameplay issues. In simple terms, this means we’ve redesigned their abilities so that you can directly use the spells you want rather than having to set up an excessive amount of other abilities first.
The most prominent example of this was Renewing Mist, which served primarily as a setup for Uplift; we’ve reworked Renewing Mist to stand on its own, and replaced Uplift with a couple of new spells: Vivify and Essence Font. In addition, a new passive Soothing Mist mechanic gives Mistweavers a unique healing style with variable efficiency, over which you have more direct control.
We’re also focusing Mistweavers solely on healing, rather than supporting a type of mixed attack-healing gameplay that felt awkward and ultimately didn’t live up to our goals for the spec—it was unintuitive, and chiefly useful as a mana management tool. Lastly, Mistweavers will now use Mana, not Chi, as a resource, since it reduced choices and restricted gameplay in many situations.
Here’s a basic look at the core combat healing abilities for Mistweaver Monks:
- Mastery: Gust of Mists
- Your targeted heals also cause a gust of healing mists, instantly healing the target for a minor amount (increasing with Mastery from gear).
- Soothing Mist
- Passive
- Your Effuse, Enveloping Mist, and Vivify also trigger Soothing Mist.
- After casting these spells, you continue to channel healing mists into the target, healing them for a minor amount every 0.5 sec, until you take any other action.
- Developer Comments
- Need efficient healing? Cast any heal and let Soothing Mist continue to provide free healing as long as you feel comfortable!
- Need high-throughput healing? Cast any heal and move onto the next target in need of healing, without spending time on Soothing Mist.
- For Mistweavers, it’s OK to have open global cooldowns between heals—Soothing Mist fills these gaps.
- Effuse
- 1.8% Mana, 40 yd range, 1.5 sec cast
- A fast and efficient spell, healing the target for a minor amount.
- Enveloping Mist
- 6.0% Mana, 40 yd range, 2 sec cast
- Wrap the target in healing mists, healing them for a huge amount over 6 sec, and increasing healing received from your spells by 30%.
- Renewing Mist
- 3.5% Mana, Instant, 6 sec cooldown
- You surround the target with healing mists, restoring a huge amount of health over 20 sec.
- If Renewing Mist causes any overhealing, it will travel to the most injured ally within 20 yds.
- When Renewing Mist heals, it has a 4% chance to increase the healing of your next Vivify by 50%.
- Essence Font
- 8.0% Mana, 40 yd range, Channeled
- Unleash a rapid twirl of healing bolts at up to 6 allies within 25 yds, every 1 sec for 3 sec.
- Each bolt heals the target for a moderate amount, plus an additional moderate amount over 8 sec.
- Vivify
- 5.0% Mana, 40 yd range, 1.5 sec cast
- Cause a surge of invigorating mists around the target, healing them and their 2 nearest injured allies for a moderate amount.
Additionally, to give you an idea of how some talents may build upon this, here’s an example of one of their Mistweaver-specific talents:
- Mistwalk
- 40 yd range, Instant, 20 sec recharge, 2 charges
- Instantly dash to an ally, and heal them for a large amount.
Windwalker
Among monks, none have mastered the martial arts as the windwalkers have, and few across Azeroth can fight with their grace. Windwalkers possess unparalleled physical finesse, and are capable of overwhelming their enemies with a dizzying flurry of punches and kicks. Their skill comes primarily from a lifetime of intense training and discipline, but the power they exhibit is shrouded in more mysticism than meets the untrained eye. The combination of their peak physical conditioning, state of inner calm, and leveraging of mystical chi makes windwalker monks a true force to be reckoned with.
“Windwalkers possess unparalleled physical finesse, and are capable of overwhelming their enemies with a dizzying flurry of punches and kicks.”
Gameplay
Similar to Brewmasters, here we focused on getting more depth out of less complexity. Windwalkers’ new Mastery, Combo Strikes, encourages mixing a variety of abilities, which provides a constant gameplay hook that influences every ability they use and draws inspiration from classic fighting games. In addition, we’ve polished Storm, Earth, and Fire to remove some cumbersome mechanics. Windwalkers still use a combination of Energy and Chi, along with a heavy dose of short cooldowns.
Here’s a basic look at the core combat abilities for Windwalker Monks:
- Mastery: Combo Strikes
- Your abilities deal 25% (with Mastery from typical gear) more damage when they are not a repeat of the previous ability.
- Tiger Palm
- 50 Energy, Melee Range, Instant
- Attack with the palm of your hand, dealing minor damage and generating 2 Chi.
- Tiger Palm has an 8% chance to make your next Blackout Kick cost no Chi.
- Blackout Kick
- 1 Chi, Melee Range, Instant
- Kick with a blast of Chi energy, dealing moderate Physical damage.
- Rising Sun Kick
- 2 Chi, Melee Range, Instant, 8 sec cooldown
- You kick upwards, dealing strong damage, and reducing the effectiveness of healing on the target for 10 sec.
- Fists of Fury
- 3 Chi, Melee Range, Channeled, 20 sec cooldown
- Pummel all targets in front of you, dealing massive damage over 4 sec. Deals reduced damage to secondary targets.
- Can be channeled while moving.
- Spinning Crane Kick
- 1 Chi, Channeled
- You spin while kicking in the air, dealing moderate damage over 1.5 sec to enemies within 8 yds.
- Storm, Earth, and Fire
- Split into 3 elemental spirits, suited to attacking 3 or more enemies. Each spirit deals 50% of normal damage and healing.
- The Monk directly controls the Storm spirit, while Earth and Fire spirits mimic the Monk’s attacks on different nearby enemies.
- Lasts until toggled off, or either Earth or Fire are destroyed.
- Developer Comment: Now a simple toggle—no targeting necessary! Spirits will automatically seek out nearby enemies to attack while you attack your target.
Additionally, to give you an idea of how some talents may build upon this, here’s an example of one of their Windwalker-specific talents:
- Hit Combo
- Passive
- Each successive attack that triggers Combo Strikes in a row grants 1% increased damage, stacking up to 10 times.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this early preview of our approach to Monk class and specialization design in World of Warcraft: Legion. We’ll continue our series later today with a look at Druids.