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Warlords of Draenor: Dodge, Parry, Hit and Expertise and their loss

Matthew Rossi
Updated ·4 min read
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Well, we finally have a concrete sense of how we're going to function in a world without hit, expertise, dodge or parry on our gear, thanks to the Warlords of Draenor alpha notes. So far, it looks rather interestingly painless.

First up, dodge and parry as stats on gear are gone and the amount of dodge and parry we get for agility and strength, respectively, will be reduced by 25%. Active mitigation is in, avoidance is out. You can still get some small amounts of dodge or parry from class-specific effects (Riposte, for instance, has been reworked to give 100% parry after a critical strike until you parry an attack, and it can stack up to 2 times, meaning you can have two parries in a row before you lose the 100% parry from Riposte) but in general, you won't be able or willing to gear for those stats anymore.

As for hit and expertise, their removal leads to the change in design to balance out how we hit things. Against monsters and such up to three levels higher (including bosses, who as skull level are always three levels higher) you'll have 100% chance to hit, 3% chance to be parried, and 0% chance to be dodged. This means that you'll still want to be standing behind them if at all possible. Tank classes, however, will have an extra 3% parry reduction baked into their tanking specializations, meaning that they will have 100% chance to hit and 0% chance to be parried or dodged. They can stand up front.

Dual-wield classes (rogues, enhancement shamans, frost DK's, fury warriors, potentially windwalker monks) will have an additional 17% chance to miss with no way to improve it in order to balance their DPS out against 2h users.

For the complete list of the removed/changed abilities that once granted hit or expertise or which now reduce chance to be parried, the full list is behind the jump.


Warlords of Draenor Alpha Patch Notes
Active mitigation has worked very well as a tanking model. So, moving forward we want to keep the amount of Dodge and Parry on tanks on the low side. This helps prevent encounters from causing very spiky damage on tanks, which generally isn't much fun. Dodge and Parry gains from Strength and Agility are being reduced to help accomplish this. Additionally, items in Warlords of Draenor will not have Dodge or Parry on them as a stat. Some Dodge and Parry can still be gained through class-specific effects. Hit and Expertise Removal

Hit and Expertise were not fun stats. They acted to remove a penalty, instead of making you stronger. Most players treated Hit/Expertise caps as mandatory (rightfully so), with failure to reach those caps as a trap of sorts. After adjusting, gemming, and reforging gear to meet that cap, players could then go after the actual damage-increasing stats. We decided to remove Hit and Expertise, and make it so you don't need them. We still want melee specializations to attack creatures from behind when possible, so non-tanking specializations will have a 3% chance to be parried that cannot be eliminated.

  • The amount of Dodge gained per point of Agility has been reduced by 25%.

  • The amount of Parry gained per point of Strength has been reduced by 25%.

  • General

    • All players now have a 100% chance to hit, 0% chance to be dodged, 3% chance to be parried, and 0% chance to glance, when fighting creatures up to 3 levels higher (bosses included).

      • Tank specializations receive an additional 3% reduction in chance to be parried, so tank attacks have a 0% chance to be parried vs. creatures up to 3 levels higher.

      • Creatures 4+ levels higher than you still have a chance to avoid your attacks in various ways, so as to discourage you from attempting to fight enemies that are much stronger than you.

      • Dual Wielding still imposes a 17% chance to miss, so as to balance it with two-handed weapon use.

    • Hit and Expertise bonuses on all items and item enhancements (gems, enchants, etc.) have been converted into Critical Strike, Haste, or Mastery.

  • Death Knight

    • Veteran of the Third War now also reduces the chance for attacks to be parried by 3%.

  • Druid

    • Balance of Power has been removed.

    • Nature's Focus no longer increases the chance to hit with Moonfire and Wrath.

    • Thick Hide now also reduces the chance for attacks to be parried by 3%.

  • Monk

    • Stance of the Wise Serpent no longer increases Hit or Expertise.

    • Stance of the Sturdy Ox now also reduces the chance for attacks to be parried by 3%.

  • Priest

    • Divine Fury has been removed.

    • Spiritual Precision has been removed.

  • Paladin

    • Holy Insight no longer increases the chance to hit with spells.

    • Sanctuary now also reduces the chance for attacks to be parried by 3%.

  • Shaman

    • Elemental Precision has been removed.

    • Spiritual Insight no longer increases the chance to hit with Lightning Bolt, Lava Burst, Hex, or Flame Shock.

  • Warrior

    • Unwavering Sentinel now also reduces the chance for attacks to be parried by 3%.