Blizzard has outlined its current plans for Hunters and Druids in World of Warcraft: Forever, detailing baseline ability changes, redesigned talent trees and several new build options. The studio says the abilities and talents can still change during beta, but the deep dive offers the clearest look yet at how the two classes are intended to play.
For Hunters, the changes emphasize pets, ranged damage and a broader set of trap and melee choices. Druids are receiving changes aimed at making shapeshifting less restrictive, alongside new Feral tanking tools and expanded Balance and Restoration options.
Hunters gain in-combat traps and more pet choices
Aimed Shot is planned to become a baseline Hunter ability at level 20. Arcane Shot will no longer share its cooldown with Aimed Shot, while Multi-Shot will share that cooldown instead.
Traps will be usable in combat, although their cooldown is increasing to 30 seconds. Fire- and Frost-based traps will also use separate cooldowns, giving Hunters more room to use their control and damage tools in the same encounter.
Pets are set to scale their stats from the Hunter’s gear, but will no longer receive player buffs that increase their stats. Blizzard is also adding Foxes as a pet family. Their family ability, Trickster’s Dance, increases the pet’s dodge chance and attack speed for 12 seconds.
Every pet family will be able to learn Bite or Claw, and Dive or Dash, with each family retaining one unique ability. Those abilities range from the Bat’s spellcasting slow and the Crab’s movement slow to the Turtle’s defensive Shell Shield and the Wolf’s party melee Attack Power buff.
Talent trees open petless, ranged and melee routes
The revised Hunter trees include several new milestone talents and changed placements for existing choices.
- Marksmanship gains Lone Wolf as its 11-point milestone, increasing all Hunter attack damage by 20% while no pet is active. Its 31-point talent, Sniper Shot, has a four-second cast time and 15-second cooldown, deals more damage than Aimed Shot, and has a 45-yard base range. It also increases the range of the next three Shots by 10 yards.
- Beast Mastery gains Summon Hawk at 16 points. The ability deals instant damage and calls a Hawk to attack the current target for 18 seconds; up to two Hawks can be active. The tree also adds Focused Fire, which increases damage dealt by both Hunter and pet while the pet is active.
- Survival receives new melee and trap-oriented options, including Counterattack as the 16-point milestone, Strider Kick as the 21-point milestone and Lacerating Strikes at 31 points. Strider Kick is an instant weapon-damage attack that grants a short movement-speed increase, while Lacerating Strikes makes Mongoose Bite apply a bleed based on the hit’s damage.
Several prior talents are being consolidated or moved into baseline abilities. Aimed Shot and Improved Hunter’s Mark are listed as baseline, while Improved Tracking combines Monster Slaying and Humanoid Slaying. Blizzard also describes Resourcefulness as combining elements previously found in Wyvern Sting, Killer Instinct and Improved Feign Death.
Druids can do more without leaving form
The largest quality-of-life changes for Druids concern shapeshifting. Blizzard says potions and almost all similar consumables will be usable without cancelling a form, including Rage potions and Thistle Tea. Engineering bombs remain a notable exception, though the announcement points to certain new SAF-T and EZ-Thro recipes as usable while shapeshifted.
Weapon enchantments and procs—including effects such as weightstones, Crusader and Windfury Totem—are planned to function in forms. Most doors and objects can also be interacted with without shifting out, and racial abilities such as Shadowmeld, War Stomp and Walk on Air will be usable while shapeshifted.
Nature’s Grasp and Omen of Clarity are moving to baseline class abilities at levels 10 and 20 respectively. Nature’s Grasp will be usable indoors and while shapeshifted. Other planned base changes include Barkskin being usable in form, Faerie Fire becoming usable in Bear, Cat and Dire Bear Form, and Entangling Roots becoming castable indoors.
New tools for Feral, Balance and Restoration
Feral Druids are slated to receive Lacerate as a baseline ability at level 42. The Bear and Dire Bear attack applies a stacking bleed, deals additional weapon damage for each existing Lacerate stack and generates high threat. The change gives Druid tanks a dedicated threat tool, while Thick Hide is being redesigned so Defense-skill bonuses from gear and buffs provide armor value in several forms.
The Feral tree also introduces two 16-point talents:
- Shifting Power instantly grants 40 Energy at a significant Mana cost, with a stated 16-second cooldown before talent reductions.
- Primal Bite is a Bear- and Dire Bear-only, high-threat attack that costs 20 Rage and deals weapon damage plus a bonus.
Blizzard notes that Shifting Power and its follow-up talent, Improved Shifting Power, were not yet in beta at the time of the post and were planned for a following build. Shredding Attacks’ stated move within the tree was likewise not yet in beta.
Balance gains Insect Swarm as its 16-point milestone talent, applying a Nature damage-over-time effect that also reduces the target’s chance to hit. The tree’s 11-point talent, Nature’s Splendor, extends the duration of several periodic spells, while Eclipse can reduce the cast time of subsequent Starfire casts after casting Wrath.
For Restoration, Revive is planned as a new out-of-combat resurrection spell at level 12. The tree’s new 31-point talent, Wild Growth, places a seven-second heal-over-time effect on every member of a targeted player’s party, including pets. The effect begins stronger and declines each second; Blizzard lists a six-second cooldown and high Mana cost.
The Hunter and Druid designs remain beta work in progress. Blizzard says it will continue releasing class deep dives as WoW Forever beta development proceeds.
October 8 beta update
October 1's build added Shifting Power and Improved Shifting Power and removed Tiger's Fury and King of the Jungle. October 8 prevents Shifting Power at full Energy, fixes Mana Potions in forms, increases Bear and Dire Bear threat bonuses to 50%, and raises their critical-strike Rage bonus to 100%. The earlier future-tense descriptions above record the original deep dive, not features still waiting to enter beta.