World of Warcraft class nerfs and buffs arrive, with Windwalker Monks taking the worst of it

    
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OW MY FOOT

Don’t get too comfortable with those shiny new talent builds, World of Warcraft players. In the weeks leading up to Dragonflight’s official launch, Blizzard appears to be feverishly making last-minute adjustments to classes following the massive game revamp of Update 10.0.

Today sees a tuning patch arrive with the weekly reset with changes for several of World of Warcraft’s classes, and a lot of it isn’t great news (i.e., nerfs). Demon Hunters are seeing some of their abilities reduced in power, Hunters won’t have leech attached to Mend Pet or Exhilaration (not to mention Aimed Shot is getting a flat 15% DPS reduction), Priests will get healing decreases but damage increases, and Enhancement Shammys are seeing a 25% DPS dip.

It’s not all nerfs, though: Rogues and Elemental Shamans on the whole are being buffed in DPS, as are Warlocks.

The worst hit by the changes are Windwalker Monks, which see such drastic adjustments that Blizzard posted an explainer: “Windwalker Monks are dealing too much damage across the board. As a result, we’ve reduced the damage of most Chi spenders (Spinning Crane Kick and the recently improved Strike of the Windlord being the notable exceptions), reduced the throughput of major cooldowns, and reduced the effect of some powerful talents with the goal of preserving build parity after these changes.”

Activision-Blizzard is considered a controversial gaming company owing to a long string of scandals over the last few years, including the Blitzchung boycott, mass layoffs, labor disputes, and executive pay fiasco. In 2021, the company was sued by California for fostering a work environment rife with sexual harassment and discrimination, the disastrous corporate response to which compounded Blizzard’s ongoing pipeline issues and the widespread perception that its online games are in decline. Multiple state and federal agencies are investigating the company as employees unionize and call for Bobby Kotick’s resignation. As of 2022, the company is being acquired by no less than Microsoft.
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