Weapon-Based Racials Give Way in WoW Forever Beta

Blizzard is testing a substantial racial and class-mechanics update in World of Warcraft Forever, its subscription-based MMO, with the beta less than a week from wrapping up. The changes follow beta feedback, and MassivelyOP and GameSpot both report that several weapon-specialization racials have been replaced with bonuses that do not depend on a particular weapon.

The update is still being tested rather than confirmed as the final launch balance. Its racial adjustments range from altered cooldowns and movement bonuses to revised combat passives, while the class notes include fixes and mechanical changes. Earlier beta changes shaped by player feedback provide context for this late testing pass.

Racial and class adjustments

• Tauren: Endurance now grants 2% increased critical damage and healing. Plainsrunning adds 3% mounted movement speed, while Cultivation and War Stomp have shorter cooldowns.
• Dwarves, Humans and Orcs: Dwarf Mace Specialization becomes Earth Fury, granting 2% increased critical damage and healing; Find Treasure can also yield extra items from most chests. Human Sword Specialization becomes a 2% critical-strike bonus, while Orc Axe Specialization becomes a 1% bonus. Orc Blood Fury has a longer cooldown, and Shatter Curse now dispels Curses and Banes with less magic-damage reduction.
• Other races: Troll health regeneration rises to 20%; Night Elf Quickness stacks with other movement bonuses; Gnome Eureka! becomes an eight-second buff without charges; and Undead Touch of the Grave receives proc and cooldown adjustments. Skyborne abilities gain changes to haste, casting while moving, duration, cooldowns and spawn locations.
• Classes and systems: Wands and Hunter Auto Shot require 0.5 seconds standing still before firing. Hunters also get an Auto Attack/Auto Shot setting with gamepad support. The notes cover fixes across several classes, including Druid ability interactions, Hunter pets and talents, and a new Mage Frost Blast spell learned at level 24.
• New players: A new tutorial experience has been added.

The class examples are not a complete accounting of the update: the available detailed notes cut off during the Mage changes. The broader beta has also included earlier class adjustments, making this patch another set of changes for players to test rather than a final balance statement.

Stress test moves to October 21

Blizzard’s stress test was first scheduled for October 19, then moved to October 21, starting at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. MassivelyOP reports that the test is open to anyone interested in trying it. That gives players another opportunity to assess the racial changes and class interactions before the beta ends; the tested values are not confirmed as final.

The post Weapon-Based Racials Give Way in WoW Forever Beta appeared first on MMOs.com.