World of Warcraft: Forever has received a substantial pre-launch balance update that increases damage across classes and raises the health of higher-level creatures. The developers say the changes followed lessons from beta testing, where sticking closely to Classic-era power limits was restricting class design.
In a post on the official WoW forums, the team said that keeping each class within those limits meant new features had to come at the expense of existing abilities. Some familiar skills consequently felt weak, while other design possibilities were left unexplored. The developers said they had increased class damage over the past two weeks and adjusted enemy health to create more room for tuning.
The update also includes changes aimed at making classes feel distinct rather than numerically identical. The developers said their goal is for every class to be valuable to groups, with memorable moments built around mastering its particular strengths.
Tank threat generation has been increased to offset the removal of Blessing of Salvation. Defensive Stance now provides Warriors with an 80% threat increase, up from 30%, while the threat bonus for Druids in Bear Form has risen from 50% to 115%. Paladins have also received threat-generation buffs.
Rogues have gained Shank, an off-hand ability that generates energy and works differently for each specialization. Combat Rogues gain more energy, Subtlety Rogues can generate additional combo points, and Assassination Rogues can use it to make enemies more vulnerable to their poisons.
The developers said they do not expect major tuning changes before raids open next month, apart from fixes for bugs or serious outliers. They plan a larger balance review after players have progressed beyond level 30 and taken part in a broader range of content.
Sources: PC Gamer.