From Blizzard’s hotfix posts
Class changes.
Every class and spec change Blizzard posts, and how each spec has done in battlegrounds since.
Affliction Warlock
- Unstable Affliction damage increased by 20%. Does not affect PvP combat.
Marksmanship Hunter
- Trick Shots now increases the ricochet damage of Aimed Shot and Rapid Fire by 85% (was 75%).
- Developers’ notes: These changes are intended to boost the area damage effectiveness of Marksmanship Hunters.
- Kill Shot damage increased by 40% in PvP combat.
- Dark Ranger: Black Arrow damage increased by 40% in PvP combat.
- Volley damage increased by 10%.
- Explosive Shot damage increased by 10%.
- Deathblow’s chance to be activated by Aimed Shot increased to 25% in PvP combat.
Since: 47.8% ▼ 2.1423 games · was 49.9%
Holy Paladin
- Divine Favor now reduces the mana cost of Holy Light by 50% in PvP combat (was 30%).
- Developers’ notes: Holy Paladin’s throughput has been underperforming and we’re decreasing the mana cost of Holy Light to promote casted healing.
- All healing increased by 5% in PvP combat.
Not enough games since yet53 of 100
Holy Priest
- Archon: Realized Potential now increases Flash Heal healing by 25% in PvP combat (was 20%).
- Prayer of Healing healing increased by 30% in PvP combat.
- Developers’ notes: These changes are aimed at further improving Archon’s viability in PvP with targeted increases to Prayer of Healing’s group healing and the power of proc effects from the tree.
- Archon: Resonant Energy now increases healing done by 4% per stack in PvP combat (was 2%).
- Archon: Empowered Surges now increases the healing of spells affected by Surge of Light by 10% in PvP combat (was 5%).
- Prayerful Litany now causes the primary target of Prayer of Healing to be healed for 75% more in PvP combat (was 125%).
Since: 44.0% ▼ 1.8141 games · was 45.8%
Frost Mage
- Frostfire: Isothermic Core’s Meteor damage increased by 20% in PvP combat.
- Frostfire: Duality’s Pyroblast damage increased by 20% in PvP combat.
- Developers’ notes: Frostfire has not been a competitive option for Frost Mages this season, so we’re increasing a few of its burst damage aspects to differentiate its damage profile from Spellslinger.
Since: 46.8% ▲ 4.9141 games · was 41.9%
Preservation Evoker
- Chronowarden: Reverberations now causes Verdant Embrace to heal for an additional 80% over 8 seconds in PvP combat (was 40%).
- Chronowarden: Chronal Dynamo increases the healing and damage of Living Flame by 80% when not an instant cast in PvP combat (was 50%).
Not enough games since yet93 of 100
Destruction Warlock
- Rain of Fire damage increased by 20%.
Since: 55.3% ▲ 7.8150 games · was 47.5%
Restoration Shaman
- Healing Stream Totem and Stormstream Totem healing increased by 20% in PvP combat.
Not enough games since yet87 of 100
Subtlety Rogue
- Trickster: Fazed now increases damage by 5% (was 7%).
- All ability damage reduced by 8%.
- Developers’ notes: The buff Subtlety received as compensation alongside changes in the 12.1.5 patch overshot expectations, so we’re rolling back a significant portion of that buff. In addition, the patch changes benefitted Trickster more than Deathstalker, so Trickster is receiving an additional smaller nerf.
Since: 51.4% ▲ 7.3249 games · was 44.1%
Assassination Rogue
- Deathstalker: Deathstalker’s Mark damage increased by 20% in PvP combat.
- Deathstalker: Darkest Night now increases the damage of the next Eviscerate by 15% in PvP combat (was 8%).
- Deathstalker: Hunt Them Down damage increased by 20% in PvP combat.
Since: 46.7% ▲ 4.8210 games · was 41.9%
Restoration Druid
- Improved Swiftmend increases Swiftmend healing by 40% (was 30%). Does not affect PvP combat.
- Verdancy healing increased by 60%. Does not affect PvP combat.
- Developer’s note: These changes are intended to help Restoration Druid deal with burst damage in dungeons, as they are behind other healers. They are performing well in raid settings, so we are targeting talents and abilities that are favored when healing a 5-person group.
- Regrowth healing increased by 10%. Does not affect PvP combat.
Fire Mage
- All damage done increased by 5%. Does not affect PvP combat.
- All damage reduced by 5% in PvP combat.
- Developers’ notes: Fire Mage has continued to overperform, so we’re decreasing its overall damage to bring it in line with expectations.
Since: 33.1% ▼ 14.6148 games · was 47.7%
Unholy Death Knight
- Developers’ notes: The last adjustments to San’layn did increase its viability, but the impact of Vampiric Strike has been higher than we would like.
- San’layn: Vampiric Strike damage reduced by 20% in PvP combat.
Since: 45.0% ▼ 3.6111 games · was 48.7%
Feral Druid
- All damage done increased by 5%. Does not affect PvP combat.
Mistweaver Monk
- Resolved an issue that caused the Mistline talent to sometimes not properly heal the lowest health target.
- Developers’ notes: Conduit of the Celestials has not been a competitive option for Mistweavers this season, so we’re increasing its consistent and burst healing.
- Conduit of the Celestials: Strength of the Black Ox absorb increased by 25% in PvP combat.
- Conduit of the Celestials: Celestial Conduit healing increased by 35% in PvP combat.
Not enough games since yet72 of 100
Devourer Demon Hunter
- Collapsing Star damage increased by 20% in PvP combat.
Not enough games since yet81 of 100
Affliction Warlock
- Fixed an issue where the Cooldown Manager would sometimes not display Summon Darkglare correctly.
Enhancement Shaman
- Resolved an issue causing Voltaic Blaze to not hit secondary targets when Ula'tek is the main target.
Holy Paladin
- Fixed an issue that caused Spreading the Word to place Cleanse on cooldown when casting Blessing of Protection.
WarlockAll specs
- Fixed issues that caused some warlock summons and Diabolic Occuli to sometimes incorrectly target enemies outside of combat. This corrects summons from Affliction's Shadows of Nath'reza, Demonology's Dominion of Argus, as well as Diabolist summons.
Not enough games since yet
Enhancement Shaman
- Resolved an issue causing Surging Elements to not appear on the Cooldown Manager.
Holy Priest
- Fixed an issue where Sanctified Ground applying to allies would interrupt channeled spells such as Divine Hymn.
All classes
- Conquest and Bloody Tokens are now uncapped.
- The Venomous Equipment Chest is now available for purchase from the conquest quartermaster, Irissa Bloodstar.
- The Spoils of War buff is now available – Conquest gains increased by 50% and Honor gains increased by 40% in Battlegrounds and Arenas.
Guardian Druid
- Fixed an issue causing Persistence to grant an incorrect amount of armor.
- Fixed an issue causing Rebirth in Bear Form to have an incorrect mana cost.
- Fixed an issue preventing the Bear Form version of Heart of the Wild from being cast.
Restoration Druid
- Fixed an issue where Nature's Bounty could cause Abundance to fall off the Druid early.
Death KnightAll specs
- Dark Simulacrum (PvP Talent) cooldown reduced to 15 seconds (was 20 seconds).
Frost 43.6%Unholy 48.9%
MonkAll specs
- Mighty Ox Kick (PvP Talent) cooldown reduced to 20 seconds (was 30 seconds).
Windwalker 49.0%Mistweaver 48.9%
Brewmaster Monk
- Developers’ notes: We’re finding Brewmasters’ death rates in dungeons is higher than we’d like, so we’re adjusting some rotational sources of damage reduction to help improve baseline durability.
- Quick Sip now purifies 8% of current Stagger amount each time you gain 3 seconds of Stagger duration (was 5%).
- Pretense of Instability grants 10% dodge for 8 seconds after drinking a Brew (was 5 seconds).
Not enough games since yet8 of 100
Subtlety Rogue
- Fazed now causes enemies to take 7% more damage (was 5%). Does not affect PvP combat.
- Coup de Grace damage increased by 10%. Does not affect PvP combat.
- Unseen Blade damage increased by 15%. Does not affect PvP combat.
- Developers’ notes: We’re buffing Trickster for Subtlety to reduce the performance gap between it and Deathstalker. We want Trickster to be a more viable alternative for players who prefer its gameplay and thematic identity.
Since: 46.7% ▼ 6.6797 games · was 53.3%
Mistweaver Monk
- Healing Sphere (PvP Talent) now allows maximum of 5 Healing Spheres to be active at a time (was 3).
- Developers’ notes: We’re making a few raid focused adjustments to Mistweaver with the aim of increasing their overall performance in that content.
- Enveloping Mist healing increased by 15%. Does not apply in PvP combat.
- Invigorating Mists healing increased by 15%.
- Healing Sphere (PvP Talent) healing increased by 100%.
Since: 48.9%225 games
Retribution Paladin
- Ultimate Retribution’s duration increased to 20 seconds (was 12 seconds).
Since: 49.6% ▲ 2.41,236 games · was 47.2%
WarlockAll specs
- Bloodstone now has a unique visual and updated sound effect.
- Bloodstone duration increased to 18 seconds (was 12 seconds).
- Bonds of Fel damage increased by 100%.
Affliction 48.5% ▲ 4.3Demonology 42.0%Destruction 50.2% ▲ 3.2
Blood Death Knight
- Price of Progress (PvP Talent) now causes the Death Knight to be unable to be slowed under 100% of normal speed (was 90%).
- Price of Progress (PvP Talent) now sacrifices 1% health every 1.5 seconds (was 1 second).
- Death Chain (PvP Talent) initial damage increased by 500%.
- Death Chain (PvP Talent) now affects 4 targets (was 3).
Not enough games since yet37 of 100
Havoc Demon Hunter
- Illidan’s Grasp damage increased by 50%.
Since: 43.6%282 games
Enhancement Shaman
- All ability and auto-attack damage increased by 4%. Does not affect PvP combat.
- Lava Lash damage increased by 35%. Does not affect PvP combat.
- Developers’ notes: We’re aiming to increase Enhancement Shaman’s throughput all around as they have been underperforming this season, while additionally increasing Lava Lash’s contribution to its overall breakdown.
Since: 43.4%182 games
Restoration Shaman
- Earthen Harmony now causes Earth Shield to reduce damage taken by 8% in PvP combat (was 5%).
- Earth Shield healing increased by 15% in PvP combat.
- Developers’ notes: We’re increasing the effectiveness of Earth Shield as its importance has felt lackluster and we would like its placement and management to influence gameplay to a higher degree for both Restoration Shamans and their opposition.
- Call of Al’Akir now increases the cooldown of Nature’s Swiftness by 20 seconds (was 30 seconds).
- Earthen Harmony now increases Earth Shield healing received by 200% based on its target’s missing health (was 150%).
Since: 45.2%259 games
Restoration Druid
- Ancient of Lore: Mass Blooming healing increased by 30%.
- Ancient of Lore: Mass Blooming is now affected by Wild Growth talents like Improved Wild Growth and Early Spring.
Since: 41.8% ▲ 5.9400 games · was 35.9%
Balance Druid
- Moon and Stars now displays as important on player nameplates.
- Moon and Stars radius increased by 60%.
- Tireless Pursuit duration increased to 6 seconds (was 3 seconds).
Since: 53.0% ▼ 2.0892 games · was 55.0%
Fire Mage
- Glass Cannon now increases the damage of Fireball, Scorch, and Ignite by 25% (was 20%).
- World in Flames now empowers Flamestrike to deal up to 75% more damage (was 50%).
Since: 41.5% ▼ 8.9533 games · was 50.4%
Demonology Warlock
- Call Fel Lord’s Fel Cleave damage increased by 150%.
Since: 42.0%100 games
Augmentation Evoker
- All spell and ability damage increased by 8% in PvP combat.
- Seismic Slam stuns enemies for 5 seconds (was 4 seconds).
Not enough games since yet23 of 100
RogueAll specs
- Thick as Thieves duration increased to 10 seconds (was 6 seconds).
- Death from Above now increases damage by 30% (was 15%).
Assassination 44.5% ·Subtlety 46.7% ▼ 6.6
PaladinAll specs
- Spellbreaker damage increased by 50%.
Holy 47.5%Retribution 49.6% ▲ 2.4
PriestAll specs
- Absolute Faith absorption increased by 113%.
- Improved Mass Dispel reduces the cooldown of Mass Dispel by 75 seconds (was 60 seconds).
Discipline 46.8% ▼ 6.6Holy 46.0% ▲ 3.0Shadow 45.4% ▼ 1.7
Unholy Death Knight
- Resolved an issue causing Augmentation Evoker Reattribution damage from plague erupt effects to be attributed to the Death Knight.
- Developers’ notes: A recent bug fix resulted in Blightfall dealing significantly more damage than we expected. Alongside this tuning change, we’re also making sure the damage is represented accurately when an Augmentation Evoker is present in the group.
- Blightfall now deals 100% of the remaining plague damage (was 200%).
Since: 48.9%352 games
Frost Mage
- Frost Bomb damage increased by 150%.
- Icy Feet now grants snare immunity for 4 seconds (was 3 seconds).
Since: 44.5% ▲ 4.1528 games · was 40.4%
Devourer Demon Hunter
- The Hunt initial damage increased by 10%. Does not affect PvP combat.
- Voidblade damage increased by 10%. Does not affect PvP combat.
- Consume/Devour damage increased by 8%. Does not affect PvP combat.
- Eradicate primary target damage increased by 8%. Does not affect PvP combat.
- Reap/Cull damage increased by 8%. Does not affect PvP combat.
- Collapsing Star primary target damage increased by 8%. Does not affect PvP combat.
- Developers’ notes: Many of Devourer’s single target damage sources are receiving buffs that will match their output more closely with our expectations.
Since: 55.0%222 games
Windwalker Monk
- Perpetual Paralysis (PvP Talent) spread range increased to 15 yards (was 10 yards).
- Perpetual Paralysis (PvP Talent) now prefers player targets.
- Perpetual Paralysis (PvP Talent) now spreads to 3 targets (was 2).
Since: 49.0%247 games
Vengeance Demon Hunter
- Illidan’s Grasp damage increased by 50%.
Not enough games since yet10 of 100
All classes
- Developers’ notes: With this pass, we’re buffing several underperforming PvP Talents to increase your breadth of options as you play.
Demon HunterAll specs
- Cover of Darkness now increases Darkness duration by 4 seconds (was 2 seconds).
Havoc 43.6%Devourer 55.0%
EvokerAll specs
- Dreamwalker’s Embrace damage i0ncreased by 140%.
Devastation 62.1%Preservation 62.8%
Outlaw Rogue
- All damage increased by 5% in PvP combat.
Not enough games since yet50 of 100
HunterAll specs
- Hunting Pack (PvP Talent) radius increased to 40 yards (was 30 yards).
Beast Mastery 41.9% ▲ 1.7Marksmanship 48.7% ▼ 2.7Survival 42.1%
Beast Mastery Hunter
- Dire Beast: Hawk (PvP Talent) damage increased by 500% and now deals Nature damage (was Physical).
Since: 41.9% ▲ 1.7444 games · was 40.2%
ShamanAll specs
- Electrocute damage increased by 100% and is now a rolling periodic.
Elemental 45.8%Enhancement 43.4%Restoration 45.2%
WarriorAll specs
- Dragon Charge damage increased by 300%.
Arms 42.4% ▼ 11.2Fury 49.9%
Frost Death Knight
- Death’s Cold Embrace (PvP Talent) now increases the damage of Remorseless Winter by 450% (was 400%).
Since: 43.6%259 games
Change lines are Blizzard’s, linked to the post they come from. Lines marked “PvE only” say they do not affect PvP combat. “Since” is the win rate in recorded Random Battlegrounds games from the day after a change to now, compared with the 14 days before it; it needs 100 games. It shows what happened after a change, not that the change caused it, and several changes can overlap.