WoW Rookie: Changes for leveling players in Cataclysm
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The big boys and girls aren't the only ones getting new toys come Cataclysm. Players of all levels are getting new spells, abilities and mechanics that will change the way we level, all the way from 1 to 85. As Blizzard lets loose the first crop of class change details this week, WoW Rookie recaps the changes that will affect you most as a leveling player. It's a fairly short list this week -- shamans, warlocks and priests, as of press time for this post -- with the rest on tap for next week, after Blizzard has completed the first round of class info dumps.
New for leveling shaman
If you've wanted to level an enhancement shaman, Cataclysm sounds like the time to give it a whirl.
Adds Nethaera:
Resto shamans will get a boost to their toolkit, with a new direct healing spell in the earliest levels that will broaden their healing repertoire.
Game-wide changes to cleansing mechanics will affect shamans in a big way.
Cleansing Totem will be removed from the game, as we want dispels to be a decision for players, not something done mindlessly. To that end, all dispels will cost slightly more mana, and you will waste the spell if you cast it when there is nothing to remove. (Currently, the dispel is only cast when there is something to remove, which encourages spamming 'just in case.") We will balance PvE dispelling with this new model in mind.
For more extensive information on shaman changes ahead in Cataclysm, see our three-pronged analysis post.
New for leveling warlocks
No news yet on any leveling spells for warlocks in the coming expansion (besides fancy stuff beyond level 80, anyway -- not really WoW Rookie's target audience). Alas, no new demons, either, and nothing new on mounts. The hot news on the 'lock scene is the change to soul shard mechanics, which was initially announced at BlizzCon 2009.
This major change regarding Soul Shards was previously announced at BlizzCon 2009. Soul Shards will no longer be inventory items, but instead a new UI resource mechanic. Warlocks will have 3 Soul Shards that can be used during a fight and will not be able to gain additional shards during combat. Soul Shards will not be required outside of combat. Soul Burn will consume a Soul Shard resource, thereby allowing you to use the secondary effects of some spells. Soul Burn has no mana or health costs and is off the global cooldown. Planned secondary effects are outlined here.
Summon Demon + Soul Burn = summon the demon instantly.
Drain Life + Soul Burn = Reduces cast speed by 60%.
Demonic Circle + Soul Burn = Increases movement speed by 50% for 8 seconds after teleporting.
Unstable Affliction + Soul Burn = Instantly deals damage equal to 30% of its effect.
Soul Fire + Soul Burn = Instant cast.
Healthstone + Soul Burn = Increases total health by 20% for 8 seconds.
Searing Pain + Soul Burn = Increases the crit chance of Searing Pain by 100%, and subsequent Searing Pain spells by 50% for 6 seconds.
A significant list of ability and mechanics changes, plus new talents and talent changes, will usher in new spellcasting and pet options for Cataclysm-era warlocks. How much of it trickles down into the leveling range to affect our playstyles as we come up through the ranks remains to be seen. See our analysis of warlock changes for more extensive details about the spell and talent changes ahead.
New for leveling priests
Ready for priest changes? Their notes hit during the middle of the night. Like shamans, priests will be getting a new version of a single-target heal at low levels; also like shamans, they'll be affected by the changes made to cleansing. More exciting, healing will get a new "chakra"-style mechanic, and shadow priests will get to feel shadow priest-y at earlier levels than ever with a new mechanic to boost their damage.
Heal (available at level 16): While priests already have a spell called Heal, the existing version becomes obsolete at higher levels, which is something we intend to change in Cataclysm. Introduced at a low level, the "new" Heal spell will functionally work much like a down-ranked Greater Heal did in the past, adding more granularity to your direct-healing arsenal. If you need to heal someone a moderate amount and efficiency is an issue (making Flash Heal the incorrect spell for the job), then Heal is what you want to use. Heal is intended to be the priest's go-to direct-healing spell unless they need something bigger (Greater Heal) or faster (Flash Heal). We will be following a similar philosophy with all the healing classes.
Changes to Abilities and Mechanics
New Talents and Talent Changes
Mastery Passive Talent Tree Bonuses
Shadow
Spell damage
Spell Crit
Shadow Orbs
Shadow Orbs: Casting spells grants a chance for Shadow Orbs to be created that fly around you and increase your shadow damage. This will help lower-level characters feel more like "Shadow priests" before they obtain Shadowform.
We want to bring back Shadow Word: Death as an "execute" -- something you do when the target is at 25% health.
While we want to keep the priest's role as a well-rounded healer, we also want to make sure the class is a viable tank healer, which is something priests moved away from a little in Wrath of the Lich King. Greater Heal will probably be the tank-healing spell of choice, though we've also discussed giving Discipline a second shield so that they have a small shield to cast on lots of different targets, and a big, more expensive shield to cast on a tank or anyone else taking a ton of damage.
Divine Spirit and Prayer of Spirit will be removed from the game. As Spirit will be the primary mana-regeneration stat, we don't want it to vary as much between solo, small group, and raid play. Blessing of Kings and Mark of the Wild will not boost Spirit either.
Mana will be a bigger consideration for all healers. We aren't trying to make healing more painful; we're trying to make it more fun. When the cost of a spell isn't an issue, then casting the right spell for the job is less of an issue because you might as well just use your most powerful spell all of the time. We are, however, getting rid of the five-second rule, because we don't want to encourage standing around doing nothing. We're also going to cut back on the benefits of buffs such as Replenishment so priests (and all healers) don't feel as penalized when those buffs aren't available.
We want to make Holy a little bit more interesting to play. One new talent will push the Holy priest into an improved healing state when he or she casts Prayer of Healing, Heal, or Renew three times in a row. The empowered state varies depending on the heals cast.
Since the Shadow tree has a lot of passive damage-boosting abilities -- something we're trying to avoid in Cataclysm -- we will need to replace several of the tree's talents. One idea is to play off of the new Shadow Orbs mechanic (see Mastery section below), possibly allowing you to consume an orb to increase damage from Mind Blast or reduce Mind Spike's cast time.
The idea behind the Holy "cast three in a row" talent (it's called "Chakra") is that we've always positioned Holy as a versatile healer. This talent lets you shift into different modes. If you need to be a tank healer, cast three single target heals and your single-target healing is now better. Cast three area heals, and you can be a temporarily specialized group healer. We're going to try to play this mechanic up with a cool UI to try to get that "I'm almost in the zone" feel. We'll let it apply to as many types of spells as we can, perhaps even Smite for those times when nobody's taking damage.
Learn more about what's in the bubble for priests in Cataclysm.
Hold on tight -- more construction ahead
More class changes will be pouring in today and tomorrow, with paladins following a little behind the pack next week. Stay tuned to WoW.com's Guide to World of Warcraft: Cataclysm for all the latest class previews and news updates. We'll pick out more class change highlights that affect leveling players again, next week here on WoW Rookie.
Visit the WoW Rookie Guide for links to all our tips, tricks and how-to's.WoW Rookie walks you through all sort of new-player concerns, from game lingo for the beginner to joining your first guild as a mid-level player and on to what to do when you finally hit level 80.