WoW Hotfixes, September 1: Venomous Abyss Nerfs, Class Tuning

Nearly every class was tuned

Frost Death Knight took the largest damage package of September 1, Protection Paladin the biggest tank increase, and a separate pass over PvP cut healer throughput across the board along with two of the strongest defensive kits in the game. The Venomous Abyss also lost a large amount of health on Raid Finder. Warlock is the only class left untouched.

The changes come in two parts. The first applies wherever you play unless a change says otherwise. The second applies only in PvP combat and leaves dungeons and raids alone.

Class changes

These apply in both PvE and PvP unless the change itself says otherwise. Three of them are excluded from PvP combat, and say so.

Death Knight

Frost

Developer note: "We're aiming to increase Frost Death Knight's performance in single target and two target cleave scenarios."

• Howling Blast damage increased 15%.
• Obliterate damage increased 15%.
• Frost Strike damage increased 20%.
• Melee damage increased 10%.

Unholy

• Fixed an issue where Mastery: Dreadblade and Foul Infections did not boost the critical strike chance of Plague Erupt, which applies Virulent Plague.

Demon Hunter

Havoc

• All damage increased by 4%. This does not affect PvP combat.

Vengeance

• Demonic Wards reduces damage by 15% (was 12%).
• Void Reaver's Frailty reduces damage by 6% (was 5%).
• Fel Devastation healing increased 25%.

Druid

• Shred damage increased 10%.

Balance

• All ability damage increased by 4%. Does not affect PvP combat.

Feral

• All ability damage increased by 5%. Does not apply to PvP combat.
• Auto-attack damage increased 10%.
• Ferocious Bite increased 10%.

Restoration

• All healing increased by 4%.

Hunter

Beast Mastery

• All damage dealt by you and your pets increased by 7%.
• Resolved an issue with Wild Thrash regarding target bounding radius.

Survival

• All damage dealt by you and your pet increased by 7%. This increase is only 3% while engaged in PvP combat.

Mage

Fire

• All ability damage increased by 3%. Does not apply to PvP combat.

Frost

• All ability damage increased by 6%.

Monk

Mistweaver

• All healing done increased by 5%.
• Venomous Abyss 4-piece set bonus chance increased to 25% (was 20%).

Windwalker

• All ability damage increased by 4%. Does not affect PvP combat.

Paladin

Protection

Developer note: "We're adjusting Protection Paladin damage to help them keep up with other tanks, especially in dungeons."

• Blaze of Glory damage increased 150%.
• Consecration damage increased 30%.
• Divine Guidance increased 30%.

Priest

Discipline

• Shadow Mend mana cost reduced 20%.

Rogue

Assassination

• Fixed an issue where Caustic Spatter triggered from Nature damage sources outside the class.

Shaman

Farseer hero talents

• Fixed an issue where Natural Harmony increased Nature's Guardian healing by 20% instead of 10%.

PvP changes

Everything below applies only in PvP combat and changes nothing in dungeons or raids.

Two changes are not attached to any class. The Gladiator's Distinction set bonus now grants 5% primary stat for all healing specializations, down from 10%. The Training Grounds quest for casting an interrupt was also not granting credit; that is fixed, though you may need to abandon and re-accept the quest for it to apply.

Developer note: "Healers are able to top off targets too quickly in PvP, resulting in very long combat times. We're reducing the primary stat from the PvP trinket set bonus for all healer specializations to increase the pace of combat."

Demon Hunter in PvP

Devourer

• All ability damage increased by 5%.

Havoc

• Rain from Above now deals damage equal to 6% of max health per bolt (was 8%).

Druid in PvP

• Innervate grants 20% mana (was 25%).

Feral

Developer note: "We're increasing Feral's general damage, especially for Druid of the Claw, and nudging down their defensiveness to speed up the pace of combat for Feral."

• Ravage (Druid of the Claw) damage increased by 15%.
• Survival Instincts reduces damage taken by 40% (was 50%).

Restoration

Developer note: "We're increasing Restoration's overall healing while at the same time reducing the power of Swiftmend and some of their mana regeneration talents. The goal is to better balance Restoration's healing kit to not be so reliant on Swiftmend to top up allies."

• Potent Enchantments increases the duration of Incarnation: Tree of Life by 4 seconds (was 6 seconds).
• Reforestation grants Incarnation: Tree of Life for 8 seconds (was 10 seconds).
• Swiftmend healing reduced by 20%.
• Blossom Burst (Ancient of Lore PvP talent) costs 1.89% base mana (was free).
• Blossom Burst (Ancient of Lore PvP talent) now prioritizes applying Rejuvenation over Lifebloom.
• Mass Blooming (Ancient of Lore PvP talent) costs 3.5% base mana (was free).

Evoker in PvP

Devastation

Developer note: "The Devastation Flameshaper build is not being utilized much compared to Scalecommander. We're increasing the power of some Flameshaper focused spells to open up more options for them."

• Disintegrate triggers Consume Flame at 200% effectiveness (was 150%).
• Enkindle damage increased to 30% (was 20%).
• Expanded Lungs increases damage of Fire Breath's periodic by 40% (was 30%).

Preservation

• Mana regeneration is now reduced by 35% (was 30%).

Hunter in PvP

Beast Mastery

Developer note: "Beast Mastery's damage during burst windows is higher than we'd like in PvP, reducing some of the abilities that can contribute to this situation."

• Bloodshed damage reduced by 25%.
• Bestial Wrath initial damage reduced by 10%.
• Pack Leader: Stampede! damage reduced by 10%.

Mage in PvP

Developer note: "Mages have been extending the duration of PvP matches with frequent access to strong defensive abilities, so we're reducing the effectiveness of their barriers and the cooldown of Ice Block. Fire damage is also being reduced to bring them in line with other specializations."

• Improved Conjuration reduces the cooldown of Mirror Image by 15 sec.
• Winter's Protection reduces Ice Block cooldown by 15/30 sec. Tooltip in PvP will be updated in a later patch.

Arcane

• Prismatic Barrier absorb reduced by 25%.

Fire

• Blazing Barrier absorb reduced by 25%.
• All damage reduced by 3%.

Frost

• Ice Barrier absorb reduced by 25%.

Priest in PvP

Discipline

Developer note: "Discipline could use some help, particularly Voidweaver, so we're increasing some of its absorption and Atonement healing capabilities to bring them on par with other healers."

• Void Shield absorption increased by 15%.
• Power Word: Shield absorption increased by 15%.
• Atonement healing increased by 10%.

Rogue in PvP

Developer note: "Rogues' defensive potential improves in coordinated play and as ratings increase, with the predictive effect of Preemptive Maneuver standing out as being too rewarding, so it's being brought down to be more appropriate."

• Preemptive Maneuver now reduces damage taken by 25% while its effect is active (was 40%).

Assassination

• All ability damage reduced by 4%.

Shaman in PvP

Elemental

Developer note: "Elemental's Farseer hero talent tree is performing better than expected defensively, and its Stormbringer hero talent tree is performing below expectations offensively."

• Farseer: Natural Harmony now reduces the cooldown of Nature's Guardian by 10 seconds (was 15 seconds).
• Stormbringer: Tempest damage increased by 20%.
• Stormbringer: Natural Gift now increases Nature damage by 4% (was 2%).
• Stormbringer: Stormcaller now increases Nature spell critical strike damage by 10% (was 5%).

Enhancement

Developer note: "Enhancement is on the weaker side offensively, so we're increasing some of its sustained damage while also reducing its healing capabilities slightly."

• Healing Surge healing reduced by 20%.
• Stormstrike damage increased by 15%.
• Lava Lash damage increased by 15%.

Warrior in PvP

Developer note: "Arms and Fury Warriors provide strong group defensive utility through the Safeguard PvP talent, but the frequency of damage reduction prevented enemy teams from having a window of time to strike."

Arms

• Safeguard (PvP Talent) now increases the cooldown of Intervene by 20 seconds.

Fury

• Safeguard (PvP Talent) now increases the cooldown of Intervene by 20 seconds.

What stands out

Frost Death Knight received the largest package of the day, in the Classes section with no PvP exclusion, so it applies everywhere. Protection Paladin is the tank story, though the 150% figure applies to Blaze of Glory alone.

Three specialisations were tuned in opposite directions for PvE and PvP. Fire Mage gains 3% ability damage outside PvP and loses 3% inside it. Feral Druid and Beast Mastery Hunter are buffed generally and trimmed in PvP. Survival Hunter does it inside a single line, gaining 7% but only 3% in PvP combat.

Read as a whole, the PvP list is consistent: healing down, several melee profiles up, and two of the strongest defensive kits cut, with all three Mage barriers losing a quarter of their absorb and Preemptive Maneuver falling from 40% to 25%. That points toward shorter kill windows, which is what Blizzard's notes say it wants.

Solo Shuffle feels the healer side most directly, since round outcomes hinge on healer performance with no partner to compensate.

A trinket bonus applied to every healing specialisation does not move relative standings by itself; the per-spec changes layered on top of it do. Discipline Priest is the only healer improved in both lists.

Use the 3v3 list as the reference point to measure against rather than a verdict: the tuning went live on September 1, so ladder data needs several days before a shift is distinguishable from ordinary variance.

Delves, dungeons and raids

Delves

• Trinkets no longer drop as abundantly in Delves.

Dungeons and raids

Den of Nalorakk.

• Addressed an issue where interacting with Food Offering while mounted can cause it to no longer be interactable for a short period.

Murder Row.

• Addressed an issue where Xathuux the Annihilator's Axe Toss can sometimes inflict less damage than intended.

The Venomous Abyss, Nek'zali the Soulcoiler.

• Nek'zali's health reduced by 15% on Raid Finder difficulty.

The Venomous Abyss, Entombed Sentinels.

• Breath of Ula'tek and Blood of Ula'tek health reduced by 15% on Raid Finder difficulty.

The Venomous Abyss, Sszorak.

• Sszorak's health reduced by up to 10% for smaller raid sizes on Normal and Heroic difficulties.
• Reduced the number of players targeted by Raging Crosswinds on Normal and Heroic difficulties.

The Venomous Abyss, The Twin Fangs.

• Resolved an issue where immunities would prevent players from receiving additional applications of Eternal Venom beyond the death threshold on Mythic difficulty.
• Increased the number of applications before the target dies from Eternal Venom to 10 on Mythic difficulty.
• Increased the number of minimum targets to 4 for Ravenous Feast on Mythic difficulty.
• Vexhul and Ithraz health reduced by 20% on Raid Finder difficulty.
• Reduced the maximum health damage effect of Eternal Venom to 50% on Raid Finder difficulty.
• Resolved an issue where Protection Paladin's Mastery did not function correctly against Caustic Deluge or Eternal Venom.

The Venomous Abyss, The Coiled Altar.

• Coalesced Venom damage reduced by 15% on Mythic difficulty.
• Venom Rupture damage reduced by 10% on Mythic difficulty.
• Venom Rupture damage reduced by up to 15% on smaller group sizes on Heroic difficulty.
• Volatile Venom damage reduced by up to 15% on smaller group sizes on Raid Finder, Normal, and Heroic difficulties.
• Spiteful Soulcoiler health reduced by up to 10% on smaller group sizes on Heroic difficulty.
• Zul'jan's health reduced by up to 10% on smaller group sizes on Raid Finder, Normal, and Heroic difficulties.
• Wail of Terror cast time increased by up to 20% on smaller group sizes on Heroic difficulty.
• Reduced the minimum players needed to be hit by Guillotine and Grim Guillotine to avoid failure damage to 3 players on Raid Finder, Normal, and Heroic difficulties.

The Venomous Abyss, Ula'tek.

• Killing a Blightscale Wretch while outside of its Toxic Womb no longer triggers the Spectral Head to submerge.
• Adjusted the impact animation on a creature affected by the application of Revenge so their nameplate does not shift making interrupts more difficult.

Tidebound Grotto.

• Nymrissa Wavecaller and her murlocs' health reduced by up to 10% for lower group sizes on Normal, Heroic, and Mythic difficulties.
• Frost Orb initial and periodic damage reduced by up to 33% for lower group sizes on Normal and Heroic difficulty.
• Frost Orb initial and periodic damage reduced by up to 17% for lower group sizes on Mythic difficulty.
• Frost Orb aura duration reduced to 12 seconds (was 16 seconds).

Voidscar Arena.

• Updated visuals of Taz'Rah's Darkbloom orbs to better match their impact radius.

Items and quests

• Satchel of Corrosive Coins sold by Er'iyne is no longer unique.
• Fixed an issue that prevented Midnight World Quests from rewarding Adventurer Crests.

Next steps

Read the developer note for your specialisation before rebuilding anything; most of these changes are directional rather than structural.

To watch how the season responds, compare the EU 3v3 tier list and the US 3v3 tier list over the week, and track rating movement on the EU activity feed or the US activity feed.