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WoW Forever new talents and abilities

Looking for the new talent effects that can change your rotation, role or build? This page highlights the most useful WoW Forever talent-tree additions and explains what they do in play.

Important distinction: this is a reference for talent-tree additions, not a complete list of trainer-learned spells or every class ability. Use each class calculator for the full tree, and check the updates and sources pages for data status.

Five talent changes that affect how classes play

New talents by class

The class sections below list talents marked NEW in the current beta data. Open a talent name for its rank details, or use the class calculator to see how it fits into the surrounding talent trees.

⚔️ Warrior

Try Protection first: Vanguard lets you Charge while in Defensive Stance, Bastion adds damage while your shield is up, and Master of Defense turns dodges and parries into Rage. Fury gets quality of life too: Boundless Rage raises your rage cap, and Raging Blows lets Whirlwind swing with your off-hand as well.

• ✦ Spearing Strike. A brutal attack that deals 40% weapon damage. Deals an additional 80% weapon damage against Giants, Dragonkin, and mounted targets. Mounted targets are dismounted.
• ✦ Bloodthrill. Your melee attacks against targets afflicted by your Rend have a 10% chance to activate your Overpower ability for 1 attack on your current target. Lasts 6 sec.
• ✦ Weaponmaster. Gives your melee weapon attacks a benefit depending on the weapon. Axe/Polearm: Increases your critical strike chance by 5%. Mace/Staff: Your attacks ignore 15% of your target's armor. Sword: Your successful melee attacks have a 5% chance to trigger an extra attack on the target.
• ✦ Boundless Rage. Increases your maximum Rage by 30.
• ✦ Raging Blows. Causes your Whirlwind to also strike with your off-hand weapon, and reduces the Rage cost of your Cleave ability by 2.
• ✦ Precision. Improves your chance to hit by 3%.
• ✦ Master of Defense. Grants you a 100% chance to generate 5 Rage when you Dodge or Parry while a shield is equipped.
• ✦ Vanguard. Your Charge ability is now usable while in Defensive Stance.
• ✦ Bastion. Increases all damage you deal by 10% while a shield is equipped.
• ✦ Focused Rage. Reduces the Rage cost of your offensive abilities by 3.

✨ Paladin

The Holy capstone Light's Vigil marks a target, and your next Holy Shock on them has no cooldown: it heals their party or damages enemies and refunds most of the mana. Protection gets Templar's Bulwark, a shield worth your full health bar for 8 seconds. Retribution's Crusade is a quiet always-on damage boost, stronger against demons and undead, and the capstone Twist of Light lets you swap seals and still land the replaced seal's effect with your next swing.

• ✦ Improved Holy Strike. Reduces the cooldown of your Holy Strike ability by 2 sec.
• ✦ Voice of Truth. Grants you immunity to Silence and Interrupt effects. Lasts 6 sec.
• ✦ Reverence. Allows 30% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.
• ✦ Purifying Power. Reduces the mana cost of your Cleanse and Purify spells by 20% and reduces the cooldown of your Exorcism and Holy Wrath spells by 33%.
• ✦ Infusion of Light. Your Holy Shock and Flash of Light critical hits reduce the cast time of your next Holy Light cast within 15 sec by 1 sec.
• ✦ Divine Precision. Improves your chance to hit with Holy spells by 18%.
• ✦ Consecrated Ground. Gives your Holy spells 10% increased damage against the first 4 enemies that enter your Consecration.
• ✦ Light's Vigil. Applies Light's Vigil to the target for 30 sec. Your next Holy Shock cast on them triggers no cooldown and causes friendly targets to heal their party for 325 to 343, or enemy targets to suffer 175 to 189 Holy damage and refund 75% of Light's Vigil's Mana cost. You may only have 1 Light's Vigil active per Paladin, per party.
• ✦ Improved Seal of Fury. When Seal of Fury's shield is fully absorbed, restore 60 Mana, increased by 15% per level the attacker is above you, up to 45%.
• ✦ Sacred Duty. Increases your total Stamina by 4% and reduces the cooldown of your Divine Shield, Divine Protection, and Templar's Bulwark spells by 60 sec.
• ✦ Swift Judgement. Finishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.
• ✦ Templar's Bulwark. When activated, this ability grants you an absorb shield equal to 100% of your maximum health for 8 sec. Applies Forbearance for 1 min. Cannot be cast while Forbearance is active.
• ✦ Iron Creed. Increases the threat generated by your Holy Strike ability 25%. While Righteous Fury is active, Holy Strike also reduces your damage taken by 10% for 6 sec.
• ✦ Holy Conduit. Reduces the mana cost of your Consecration, Holy Wrath, Exorcism, and Hammer of Wrath spells by 40%.
• ✦ Sanctified Judgement. Gives your Judgement ability a 100% chance to return 60% of the Mana cost of the judged seal.
• ✦ Sacred Arbiter. Increases the damage of your Holy Strike ability by 10% and causes it to refresh all Judgement effects on the target.
• ✦ Crusade. Increases all damage dealt by 2%. Increased by an additional 2% against Demon and Undead targets.
• ✦ Champion of the Light. Increases your spell damage and healing by up to 100% of your Intellect.
• ✦ Instrument of Law. Reduces the cast time of your Hammer of Wrath by 1 sec, and reduces all threat you generate by 20% while Righteous Fury is not active.
• ✦ Twist of Light. When you replace your Seal of Command, Seal of Righteousness, Seal of Fury, or Seal of Justice with a different Seal, gain an Echo. Your next melee attack applies the replaced Seal's effects, consuming the Echo.

🏹 Hunter

Summon Hawk is a new button: the hawk dive-bombs your target for 18 seconds, but it shares a cooldown with Arcane Shot, so you trade one for the other. Marksmanship rewards the killing blow: Rapid Killing makes your next Shot hit harder after a kill, and Rapid Recuperation keeps your mana flowing while you cast. Survival even gets a real melee kick in Strider Kick, and Resourcefulness cuts the mana cost of traps.

• ✦ Focused Fire. Increases all damage you and your pet deal by 2% while your pet is active.
• ✦ Summon Hawk. Command a hawk to dive-bomb your targeted enemy, dealing 32 Physical damage and continuing its assault for 18 sec. Only 2 hawks can be active at once. Summon Hawk shares its cooldown with Arcane Shot.
• ✦ Careful Aim. Increases your Attack Power by 100% of your Intellect.
• ✦ Rapid Killing. Reduces the cooldown on your Rapid Fire ability by 2 min. In addition, when you kill a non-trivial enemy or it dies while afflicted by your Serpent Sting, you gain Rapid Killing, increasing the damage of your next Shot ability within 20 sec by 20%.
• ✦ Lone Wolf. You deal 20% increased damage with all attacks while you do not have an active pet.
• ✦ Rapid Recuperation. Hitting a target with your Serpent Sting ability grants you 50% and consuming Rapid Killing grants you 100% of your Mana regeneration while casting for the next 15 sec.
• ✦ Improved Tracking. While tracking Beasts, Demons, Dragonkin, Elementals, Giants, Humanoids, or Undead, all damage you deal to the tracked creature type is increased by 5%.
• ✦ Survival Tactics. Increases your chance to hit with your Trap and Feign Death abilities by 10%.
• ✦ Predator's Edge. Increases your melee critical strike damage by 30% and your offhand weapon damage by 50%.
• ✦ Resourcefulness. Reduces the mana cost of your Trap abilities and melee abilities by 60%. In addition, your critical strikes have a 60% chance to allow 50% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting for 30 sec.
• ✦ Expose Prey. Your attacks against targets with Hunter's Mark have a 10% chance to activate your Mongoose Bite for 5 sec.
• ✦ Survivalist's Discipline. Reduces the cooldown of your Trap and Deterrence abilities by 40%.
• ✦ Strider Kick. A powerful kick that deals 100% melee weapon damage.
• ✦ Lacerating Strikes. Your Mongoose Bite also causes the target to Bleed for damage over 21 sec equal to 40% of the damage done by Mongoose Bite.

🗡️ Rogue

Mutilate strikes with both weapons at once for two combo points and hits 20% harder on poisoned targets, which pairs well with the Venom finisher that boosts all your poison damage. Subtlety's new finishers change your priorities: Quietus adds damage against targets below 35% health, Cutthroat can let Ambush fire without stealth, and Thousand Cuts makes Rupture ticks discount your next Hemorrhage or Backstab. Dirty Deeds also frees Garrote from the behind-the-target rule.

• ✦ Mutilate. Instantly attacks with both weapons for 75% weapon damage plus an additional 13 with each weapon. Damage increased by 20% against Poisoned targets. Awards 2 Combo Points.
• ✦ Venom. Finishing move that increases the damage of your Poisons by 30% and your chance to apply Poisons by 10%. Lasts longer per combo point: 1 point : 9 seconds 2 points: 12 seconds 3 points: 15 seconds 4 points: 18 seconds 5 points: 21 seconds
• ✦ Flawless Execution. Reduces the Energy cost of your Eviscerate ability by 10.
• ✦ Hack and Slash. Gives your melee weapon attacks a benefit depending on the weapon. Axe/Sword: Your successful melee attacks have a 5% chance to trigger an extra attack on the target. Dagger/Fist: Increases your critical strike chance by 5%. Mace: Your attacks ignore 15% of your target's armor.
• ✦ Dirty Tricks. Reduces the Energy cost of your Sap and Blind abilities by 50%.
• ✦ Improved Distract. Increases the radius of your Distract ability by 5 yds, and further reduces the Stealth detection of distracted enemies as though they were an additional 2 levels lower.
• ✦ Quietus. Your Sinister Strike, Ghostly Strike, and Hemorrhage abilities cause 10% more damage against targets below 35% health.
• ✦ Cutthroat. Your Backstab has a 15% chance to cause your next Ambush within 10 sec to not require Stealth.
• ✦ Thousand Cuts. When your Rupture ability deals periodic damage, the Energy cost of your next Hemorrhage or Backstab ability within 10 sec is reduced by 3, stacking up to 5 times.

🙏 Priest

Penance is a 2-second channel that either damages an enemy or heals an ally, so Discipline finally has a damage button that doubles as healing. Divine Aegis turns your critical heals into small shields, Binding Heal heals you and your target together, and Prayer of Mending bounces between party members each time its heal lands. Shadow gets Devouring Contagion: enemies that die with your Devouring Plague active spread it to someone nearby.

• ✦ Power in Light. Your Smite and Penance spells deal 10% increased damage to targets afflicted with your Holy Fire.
• ✦ Twin Disciplines. Increases the damage and healing of your instant cast spells by 5%.
• ✦ Holy Precision. Improves your chance to hit with Holy spells by 18%.
• ✦ Soul Warding. Reduces the cooldown on your Power Word: Shield spell by 4 sec and reduces its mana cost by 15%.
• ✦ Penance. Launches a volley of holy light at the target, causing 81 Holy damage to an enemy, or 184 healing to an ally, instantly and every 1 sec for 2 sec.
• ✦ Renewed Hope. Your heals from Flash Heal, Binding Heal, Lesser Heal, Heal, Greater Heal, and Penance gain 10% increased critical strike chance when cast on targets with Weakened Soul, and reduce the remaining duration of Weakened Soul on their target by 5 sec.
• ✦ Divine Aegis. Your critical heals create a protective shield on the target, absorbing 15% of the amount healed. Lasts 12 sec.
• ✦ Binding Heal. Heals a friendly target and the caster for 236 to 284. Low threat.
• ✦ Litany of Light. When you cast a healing spell, gain Mana equal to 10% of the base cost of the spell if your previous heal was a different spell.
• ✦ Prayer of Mending. Places a spell on the target that heals them for 172 the next time they take damage or receive non-periodic healing. When the heal occurs, Prayer of Mending jumps to a party or raid member within 20 yards. Jumps up to 5 times and lasts 30 sec after each jump. This spell can only be placed on one target at a time per caster.
• ✦ Improved Mind Flay. Your Mind Flay now deals 20% more damage, gains 10 yards increased range, but slows the target's movement speed by 20%.
• ✦ Devouring Contagion. Reduces the mana cost of your Devouring Plague by 50%. Targets that die while Devouring Plague it is active spreads it, jumping to a nearby enemy within 10 yards for the remaining duration.
• ✦ Early Demise. Increases Shadow Word: Death's critical strike chance on targets at or below 20% health by 30%.

🌩️ Shaman

Lava Burst deals 20% more damage when Flame Shock is already on the target, so keeping it up is the whole Elemental game. Lightning Overload can fire a second, free copy of your Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning at half damage. Enhancement builds Maelstrom Weapon stacks with melee hits to make Lightning Bolt nearly instant, and Rage of the Farseer is a 30% attack-and-cast-speed cooldown for burn phases. Restoration gets Riptide: an instant heal plus a heal-over-time that also boosts your Chain Heal on that target.

• ✦ Lightning Overload. Gives your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells a 10% chance to cast a second, similar spell on the same target at no additional cost that causes half damage and no threat.
• ✦ Earthbound. Your Earthbind Totem Immobilizes nearby targets for 5 sec when cast.
• ✦ Lava Burst. You hurl molten lava at the target, dealing 106 to 134 Fire damage. If your Flame Shock is on the target, Lava Burst deals 20% increased damage.
• ✦ Mental Dexterity. Increases your Attack Power by an amount equal to 100% of your Intellect.
• ✦ Shamanistic Focus. Reduces the mana cost of your Shock and Lightning Shield spells by 45%.
• ✦ Mental Quickness. Increases your spell damage and healing by up to 30% of your Intellect.
• ✦ Improved Stormstrike. When you Stormstrike, you have a 100% chance to gain 50% mana regeneration while casting spells for 15 sec, and Stormstrike's cooldown has a 100% chance to reset each time you Dodge or Parry.
• ✦ Maelstrom Weapon. When you deal damage with a melee attack, you have a chance to reduce the cast time and Mana cost of your next Lightning Bolt spell by 20%. Stacks up to 5 times. Lasts 30 sec.
• ✦ Rage of the Farseer. Increases your melee attack speed and spell casting speed by 30% for 25 sec.
• ✦ Mindfulness. Allows 50% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.
• ✦ Water Shield. The caster is surrounded by 3 globes of water. When a spell, melee, or ranged attack hits the caster or when one of the caster's healing spells gets a critical result, 2% of maximum mana is restored to the caster, expending one water globe. Only one globe will activate every few seconds. Lasts 10 min. Only one Elemental Shield can be active on the Shaman at any one time.
• ✦ Riptide. Heals a friendly target for 485 to 533, an additional 445 over 15 sec, and increases the effectiveness of your Chain Heal casts directly on that target by 25%.

🔮 Mage

Hot Streak rewards Fire crits: each crit with Fireball, Frostfire Bolt, Fire Blast or Scorch cuts your Pyroblast cast time, stacking up to three times. Missile Barrage can make your next Arcane Missiles fast and free after your nukes. Fingers of Frost makes your next spells count as if the target were Frozen, which is exactly when Ice Lance hits for triple damage. Arcane Blast itself is new: each cast raises your other spells' damage while making itself pricier, so it becomes a ramp-up game.

• ✦ Arcane Geometry. Increases the range of your Arcane spells by 6 yards.
• ✦ Arcane Blast. Blasts the target with energy, dealing 57 to 65 Arcane damage. Each time you cast Arcane Blast, the damage of all your other spells is increased by 10% and the mana cost of Arcane Blast is increased by 175%. Effect stacks up to 4 times and lasts 8 sec or until any other damage spell is cast.
• ✦ Missile Barrage. Gives your Arcane Blast spell a 40% chance, and your Fireball, Frostbolt, and Frostfire Bolt spells a 20% chance to reduce the channeled duration of your next Arcane Missiles spell by 50%, reduce the Mana cost by 100%, and missiles fire every 0.5 sec.
• ✦ Hot Streak. Your non-periodic critical strikes with Fireball, Frostfire Bolt, Fire Blast, and Scorch grant Hot Streak for 15 sec. Hot Streak reduces the cast time of Pyroblast by 25%, stacking up to 3 times.
• ✦ Ice Lance. Deals 28 to 32 Frost damage to an enemy target. Deals 300% increased damage to Frozen targets.
• ✦ Fingers of Frost. Gives your Chill effects a 15% chance to grant you the Fingers of Frost effect, which treats your next 2 spells cast as if the target were Frozen. Lasts 15 sec.

😈 Warlock

Pandemic lets your damage-over-time spells crit harder, and Wrack is a channeled spell that also makes the target take more damage from your other dots. Soul Siphon rewards stacking effects: your drains hit harder for every other Affliction spell on the target. Demonology's Demonic Pact lets you keep the Demonic Sacrifice buff while a different demon is out, so you no longer choose between the buff and the pet. Destruction gets Bane of Havoc, which splashes a share of everything you do onto a second target.

• ✦ Malediction. Increases all periodic damage done by your Warlock spells by 5%.
• ✦ Soul Harvesting. You gain Soul Harvest for 10 sec if a victim is killed while afflicted with your Drain Soul. Soul Harvest allows your Mana to regenerate at 100% of normal speed while you are casting spells, and grants a 100% increase to your Mana regeneration.
• ✦ Improved Drains. Increases health drained or damage done by your Drain Life, Drain Soul, and Wrack spells by 20%.
• ✦ Pandemic. Increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Corruption, Bane of Agony, Bane of Doom, Drain Soul, Drain Life, Siphon Life, and Wrack spells by 100%.
• ✦ Malevolence. Increases the critical effect chance of your Shadow spells by 5%.
• ✦ Soul Siphon. Increases the damage done or health drained by your Drain Life, Drain Soul, and Wrack spells by 12% per each of your other Affliction effects active on the target, up to a maximum increase of 36%.
• ✦ Wrack. Tears the target apart from within, dealing 36 Shadow damage every 1 sec and increasing the damage they take from your other Shadow damage over time effects by 10%. Lasts 6 sec.
• ✦ Demonic Aegis. Increases the effectiveness of your Demon Skin and Demon Armor spells by 30%.
• ✦ Demonic Energies. You heal your pet for 15% of all spell damage you deal. When you gain Mana from Life Tap, your summoned demon gains 100% of the Mana you gain.
• ✦ Decimation. Reduces the cooldown of your Soul Fire spell by 90%. When you cast Shadow Bolt or Searing Pain on an enemy below 35% health, they deal 6% increased damage, and for the next 10 sec your Soul Fire spell has its cast time reduced by 40% and costs no Soul Shards.
• ✦ Demonic Brand. Your Searing Pain generates 50% less threat and brands the target for 10 sec. Your pet's next 6 attacks against the target generate high threat and deal 65 to 68 Fire or Shadow damage based on the pet.
• ✦ Improved Felhunter. Increases the Attack Power reduction of your Felhunter's Tainted Blood, the healing of its Devour Magic, and the detection level of its Paranoia by 30%, and reduces the cooldown of its Spell Lock by 6 sec.
• ✦ Demonic Knowledge. Increases your spell damage and your Demon pet's spell damage by up to 100% of your level while you have a summoned Demon pet active.
• ✦ Demonic Pact. Your Demonic Sacrifice effect is no longer cancelled by summoning a different Demon pet. Resummoning the sacrificed pet will still cancel the effect.
• ✦ Molten Skin. Reduces all damage taken by 10%.
• ✦ Bane of Havoc. Afflicts the target for 5 min, causing 15% of all damage done by the Warlock to other targets to also be dealt to the cursed target. Bane of Havoc is limited to 1 target, and only one Bane per Warlock can be active on any one target.
• ✦ Fire and Brimstone. Increases the critical strike chance of your Conflagrate spell by 25%.
• ✦ Shadow and Flame. Hitting an enemy with Conflagrate increases all Shadow damage you deal by 10% for 20 sec, and hitting an enemy with Shadowburn increases all Fire damage you deal by 10% for 20 sec. In addition, Conflagrate has a 100% chance not to consume Immolate, and Shadowburn has a 100% chance to instantly refund a Soul Shard.
• ✦ Incinerate. Deals 99 to 113 Fire damage to your target and an additional 25% damage if the target is afflicted by Immolate.

🌿 Druid

Eclipse rewards casting Wrath: each one shortens your next Starfire casts and the charges stack, so you weave them deliberately. Feral's Mangle is a straightforward bear-form strike, and Berserk turns it into a 15-second rampage: it hits three targets, loses its cooldown, and your combo builders crit. Restoration's Wild Growth heals the target's whole party over 7 seconds, strongest at the start, and Gift of the Earthmother shortens the global cooldown on your main heal-over-time spells.

• ✦ Genesis. Increases the periodic damage and healing done by your spells and abilities by 5%.
• ✦ Nature's Majesty. Increases your critical strike chance with spells and melee attacks by 4%.
• ✦ Nature's Splendor. Increases the duration of your Moonfire and Rejuvenation spells by 3 sec, your Regrowth spell by 6 sec, and your Insect Swarm spell by 2 sec.
• ✦ Overgrowth. Increases the maximum number of targets you may have affected by Entangling Roots by 2.
• ✦ Eclipse. Your Wrath spell reduces the cast time of your next 2 Starfire spells by 0.50 sec. Stores up to 4 charges. Lasts 15 sec.
• ✦ Mangle. Mangle the target for 100% normal damage plus 26.
• ✦ Predatory Instincts. Increases the critical strike damage bonus of your melee abilities by 20%.
• ✦ King of the Jungle. Tiger's Fury now instantly grants you 60 Energy.
• ✦ Natural Reaction. Increases your dodge chance by 5%, and gives you a 100% chance to gain 5 Rage each time you dodge.
• ✦ Rend and Tear. Increases damage done by your melee abilities on Bleeding targets by 10%.
• ✦ Berserk. Causes your Mangle ability to strike up to 3 targets, removes its cooldown, and increases the critical strike chance of your Combo Point-generating abilities by 100%. Clears and grants immunity to Fear effects for the duration. Lasts 15 sec.
• ✦ Gift of the Earthmother. Reduces the global cooldown by 0.5 seconds on your Rejuvenation, Swiftmend, and Wild Growth spells.
• ✦ Living Spirit. Increases your Spirit by 15%.
• ✦ Wild Growth. Heals the target and their party for 336 over 7 sec. Party members must be within 43 yards of target. The amount healed is applied quickly at first, and slows down as Wild Growth reaches its full duration.

How to test new WoW Forever talent effects

The fastest way to understand a new talent is to see its prerequisites and place it in a real build:

1. Open your class calculator.
2. Open the class page's talent reference and find the NEW label.
3. Read the full ranks, row and prerequisites before adding the talent.
4. Save the build and send the link to your guild or group.

New talent FAQs