World of Warcraft: Forever has outlined its first set of class updates, detailing changes planned for Warriors, Shamans and Rogues. The official overview focuses on adjustments intended to preserve each class’s familiar identity while adding reworked talents and quality-of-life tools.
Warriors
Protection Warriors will receive several changes to Rage generation and mobility. Rage gained while dealing damage will generate consistently over time based on weapon speed, while Rage from incoming attacks will be calculated from damage attempted before mitigation. That means increasing defensive value will no longer reduce Rage generation from damage taken.
Protection will also be able to use Thunder Clap in Defensive Stance, while the Vanguard talent allows Charge in that stance. Shield Wall, Retaliation and Recklessness will no longer share a cooldown. The overview also notes new Revenge-related talents intended to raise Protection damage.
For Arms, Weapon Master combines the former weapon-specialization talents into a single passive, so changing to a newly acquired weapon will not require a new talent build. Arms also gains Spearing Strike, a low-damage attack that dismounts players and deals bonus damage to giants and dragons.
October 1 update: Whirlwind now strikes with both weapons without Raging Blows. The talent instead reduces Cleave and Whirlwind costs by 3 Rage. The dated beta notes also substantially revise the Fury tree, so the original class overview is not a current talent map.
Shamans
Restoration Shamans will gain three call spells that each summon a customizable set of four totems at once. Players can configure the totems assigned to each call through a totem bar, allowing separate setups for different situations. Totemic Projection will move active totems during a fight.
Restoration also gains Riptide, an instant heal with a healing-over-time effect. Casting Chain Heal on a target affected by Riptide increases the effectiveness of the heals.
Elemental Shamans receive the same totem-bar and Totemic Projection tools, and their totems will last five minutes rather than two. Fire Nova becomes a spell that damages enemies near the Shaman’s active Fire Totem. Elemental also gains Lava Burst, which deals increased damage when the target is affected by Flame Shock, and Lightning Overload, giving Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning a chance to immediately cast again at no cost for half damage.
Rogues
Rogue Energy will regenerate continuously, a change intended to make the resource’s recovery more predictable.
Subtlety remains centered on opening from stealth, but the overview says the specialization will have more options after that opening sequence. Rupture and Garrote are set to play a larger role in its damage rotation, while the Cutthroat talent permits Ambush outside of stealth.
Assassination’s Mutilate will strike with both weapons, increasing opportunities to critically hit and trigger Seal Fate. The specialization also gains Venom, a finishing move that increases poison damage and the chance for poison weapons to trigger.
Combat’s separate weapon-specialization talents are being consolidated into Hack and Slash, which works regardless of equipped weapon type. The change is intended to let Combat Rogues use an upgraded weapon without needing to respec for its weapon category.
The video is the first in a three-part class series. The next installment will cover Hunters, Paladins and Mages.