WoW Dragonflight Patch Brings Massive Shaman, Paladin Buffs

The latest World of Warcraft: Dragonflight hotfix gives Shamans a particularly big boost, while Paladins and Death Knights have also gotten a boost.

Blizzard closed out the month of February with a display World of Warcraft: DragonflightShamans, Paladins, and Death Knights are all worshiped in the form of some useful basic ability buffs. WoW: Dragonflight Players should notice that Shamans put out a bit more DPS thanks to a particularly significant buff to Icefury, and the hotfix also addresses a handful of balance issues in PvP.

After several expansions that left many players frustrated due to long walks in the dreary Maw, countless “borrowed power” systems that required constant maintenance, and a few too many extra systems and currencies to keep track of, WoW Dragonflight it was a breath of fresh air. It has a smaller scale narrative, fewer systems to track and Dragonflightthe enjoyable journey of Dragonriding, this latest expansion seems designed for more casual players who are tired of Wowrecent years. Despite the well-received launch, there’s still a lot of work to be done as Blizzard continues its never-ending struggle to balance the game’s growing roster of classes.

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The February 28th hotfix has mostly been geared toward fans of underperforming classes, at least in PvE. WoW DragonflightElemental Shamans in particular have seen some major improvements, with Icefury receiving a whopping 80% damage increase along with spawning 14 Maelstrom instead of 8. The buffs don’t stop there for Elemental Shamans though, as Lightning Bolt , Lava Burst, Earth Shock, Frost Shock, and Elemental Blast have each seen their buffs up to 15%. Some of these changes only apply to PvE, but Icefury’s big change is global.

Although not such a big boost, WoW DragonflightProtection Paladins have received an impressive 30% damage increase on Hammer of Wrath and a 20% boost to the Greater Judgment bonus and Hammer of the Righteous. Last and certainly not least in terms of buffs, Blood Death Knights have received a 3% boost to all damage abilities. On the PvP side, Marksman Hunters shift their damage from Kill Shot to base rotation abilities. Most other classes saw only very minor changes in PvP, while Enhancement Shamans should have more consistent damage thanks to 20% buffs to Stormstrike and Windstrike.

The start of a new month also marks an update Wow‘s Trading Post, with a new set of rewards to earn and a new list of tasks to complete. Players who successfully earn 1000 Travel Points this month can get their hands on the Darkmoon Harlequin’s Bells Ensemble.

WoW Dragonflight Hotfix Notes February 28

Classes

• Knight
  • Fixed an issue where Greater Judgment was not doing the correct amount of damage after its recent boost.

Dungeons and Raids

• Mythic+
  • Azure Vault
    • Crackling Vortexes have been adjusted so that they no longer chase players.
  • Nokhud attack
    • Ohn’ahra now counts as a lower priority target for specific player healing spells.

Classes

• Death Knight
  • Blood
    • [With weekly restarts] All damaging abilities increased by 3%.
• Knight
  • Saint
    • [With weekly restarts] Light of Dawn healing increased by 10%.
  • PROTECTION
    • [With weekly restarts] Greater Judgment bonus on your next Holy Power ability against afflicted target increased to 40% (was 20%).
    • [With weekly restarts] Hammer of Wrath damage increased by 30%.
    • [With weekly restarts] Hammer of the Righteous damage increased by 20%.
• Shaman
  • Elementary
    • [With weekly restarts] Lightning Bolt damage increased by 10% for Elemental only. Not valid for PvP.
    • [With weekly restarts] Lava burst damage increased by 6% for Elemental only. Not valid for PvP.
    • [With weekly restarts] Earth Shock damage increased by 6%. Not valid for PvP. Not valid for PvP.
    • [With weekly restarts] Elemental Blast damage increased by 6% for Elemental only. Not valid for PvP. Not valid for PvP.
    • [With weekly restarts] Ice damage increased by 80%.
    • [With weekly restarts] Icefury causes Frost Shock to generate 14 Maelstrom (was 8).
    • [With weekly restarts] Frost Shock damage increased by 15% for Elemental only.
      • Developer Notes: These changes are aimed at improving Elemental single target damage. We also felt that Icefury should deal more damage so that the spell isn’t solely focused on the next Frost Shocks.

Player vs Player

• Items
  • [With weekly restarts] Gladiator’s Distinction Stamina provided by bonus increased by 40%
    • Developer Note: Our goal for PvP pacing is to be fast while allowing time for players to react. We continued to see that the overall PvP pace was faster than we’d like, especially as players have gained increased offensive power through gaining tier sets, so we’re adjusting the Stamina bonus from Gladiator’s Distinction to help address this issue.
• Classes
  • Hunter
    • [With weekly restarts] Improved Kill Shot now increases Kill Shot critical hit damage by 15% in PvP Combat (was 25%).
    • Shooting
      • [With weekly restarts] Razor Fragments now increases Kill Shot damage by 40% in PvP Combat (was 50%).
      • [With weekly restarts] Arcane Shot damage increased by 45% in PvP Combat (was 30%).
      • [With weekly restarts] Chimaera Shot damage increased by 45% in PvP Combat (was 30%).
        • Developer Notes: Kill Shot critical hits were particularly lethal to Hunters, so we’re reducing the value of Improved Kill Shot. Marksmanship will receive several other adjustments to shift its damage profile more in its base rotation.
  • Monk
    • Brewer
      • [With weekly restarts] Incendiary Breath (PvP Talent) now increases the Radius and Damage of Breath of Fire by 30% (was 100%).
        • Dev Notes: Incendiary Breath’s radius increase was hard to read as a player, and Brewmaster’s damage was higher than we’d like.
    • Windwalker
      • [With weekly restarts] Touch of Karma now redirects 105% of damage absorbed in PvP Combat (was 70%).
        • Dev Notes: Touch of Karma’s redirect damage should be a strong deterrent to targeting a Monk while active, and we think it was too weak in the past.
  • Trickster
    • Murder
      • [With weekly restarts] Hemotoxin (PvP Talent) healing reduction effect reduced to 30% (was 35%).
        • Developer Notes: We found the healing reduction effect from Hemotoxic to be very strong, especially since it is easy to maintain.
    • Out of the law
      • [With weekly restarts] Mission damage increased by 15% in PvP Combat.
        • Dev Notes: Outlaw was underperforming, so we’re increasing the damage of their finisher.
  • Shaman
    • Optimization
      • [With weekly restarts] Converging Storms increases Stormstrike damage by 10% per stack in PvP Combat (was 25%).
      • [With weekly restarts] Lava Lash damage increased by 15% in PvP Combat.
      • [With weekly restarts] Stormstrike damage increased by 50% in PvP Combat (increased by 30%).
      • [With weekly restarts] Wind damage increased by 50% in PvP Combat (increased by 30%).
        • Dev Notes: We are looking to increase the constant damage of Enhancement while reducing the high quality burst potential.
  • warrior
    • Mania
      • [With weekly restarts] Rampage damage increased by 15% in PvP combat.
      • [With weekly restarts] Execution damage increased by 10% in PvP. Weapon and protection damage unchanged.
        • Developer Notes: Fury Warriors’ offensive pressure was significantly lower than we’d like, so we’re increasing Rampage and Execute damage.

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is available on PC.

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Source: Blizzard