Patch Notes
WoW Hotfixes September 23, 2026: Windwalker and Blightfall Fixes
Three hotfixes went live on September 23. Windwalker's PvP-only Celestial Conduit and Flurry Strikes adjustments from the day before were also applying outside PvP and now stop at PvP combat, Unholy's Blightfall no longer loses damage the longer a plague has been ticking, and Valeera can change talents again after a faction change.
What changed
Blizzard published three hotfixes on September 23, and two of them clean up after the September 22 tuning pass. Celestial Conduit and Flurry Strikes were adjusted for Windwalker in PvP combat only the day before, and those PvP values were also landing outside PvP; that has been corrected. Unholy's Blightfall no longer loses damage the longer a plague has been on the target. The third entry restores a Delves companion that stopped responding to talent changes after a faction change, and it asks the player for three steps before it takes effect.
Classes
Death Knight
Unholy
- Resolved an issue with Blightfall doing less damage as more time passes since the plague was applied.
Monk
Windwalker
- Fixed an issue that caused PvP adjustments to Windwalker's Celestial Conduit and Flurry Strikes to apply in PvE as well.
Delves
- Fixed issue where Valeera becomes unable to change talents and gain abilities after a faction change. Players experiencing this will need to enter a delve on the affected character, then leave the delve, and then log out to correct the issue.
Where Windwalker's PvP numbers apply now
The September 22 batch moved two Windwalker values in PvP combat only: Celestial Conduit damage increased by 50% in PvP combat, and Flurry Strikes damage reduced by 15% in PvP combat. Blizzard's note alongside them read: "We're decreasing the performance gap between Windwalker's hero talent trees as Shado-pan has been overperforming and Conduit of the Celestials has been underperforming."
Both of those adjustments were also reaching PvE, so a Windwalker clearing a dungeon or a raid was using arena tuning on two abilities. The September 23 entry puts them back inside PvP combat. The rated values themselves have not moved; what moved is where they stop.
The same boundary runs through the September 22 batch, where a long run of class entries carries the line "Does not apply to PvP combat". Those entries hold a PvE change away from rated play. This one is the reverse case, a PvP-scoped change that was reaching PvE, and how the two rulesets are kept apart is set out in PvP scaling.
Blightfall after the September 22 buff
The September 22 entry raised Unholy's Blightfall to 200% of the plague damage remaining, from 100%, and tagged the change "Does not apply to PvP combat". The buff was not paying out as written: the damage shrank the longer the plague had been applied before Blightfall consumed it, which is what the September 23 entry resolves. Because the September 22 change is scoped out of PvP combat, both it and this correction to it land in PvE content.
Getting Valeera working again
The Delves fix comes with a player-side step rather than applying on its own. Blizzard states that a character whose Valeera stopped changing talents and gaining abilities after a faction change needs to enter a delve on that character, leave the delve, and then log out, and that this corrects the issue. Characters that never hit the bug need nothing.
FAQ
What did Blizzard hotfix in World of Warcraft on September 23, 2026?
Three entries went live: an Unholy Death Knight fix for Blightfall losing damage as a plague aged, a Windwalker Monk fix stopping PvP-only adjustments to Celestial Conduit and Flurry Strikes from applying in PvE, and a Delves fix for Valeera being unable to change talents or gain abilities after a faction change.
Do the September 22 Windwalker PvP adjustments still apply in rated play?
Yes. Celestial Conduit is still up 50% in PvP combat and Flurry Strikes is still down 15% in PvP combat. The September 23 fix changed where those values stop, not the values themselves.
Why was Windwalker using PvP values outside of PvP?
Blizzard scoped both September 22 adjustments to PvP combat, but the scope was not holding, so the same numbers were also being applied in PvE. The September 23 entry confines them to PvP combat again.
Which specialisations does the September 23 batch touch?
Two: Unholy Death Knight and Windwalker Monk. No other class or specialisation appears in the September 23 section.
What did the September 22 batch change about Blightfall?
It raised Blightfall to 200% of the plague damage remaining, up from 100%, and marked the change as not applying to PvP combat.
Where does the Blightfall fix apply?
In PvE. The September 22 buff carries Blizzard's "Does not apply to PvP combat" line, so the buff and this correction to it both land in PvE content.
How do I fix Valeera if she stops changing talents after a faction change?
Blizzard's instruction is to enter a delve on the affected character, leave the delve, and then log out. That sequence corrects the issue on that character.
