WoTLK NDA lifted and beta patch notes up

[Daffyd]

Current beta patch notes...

 World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King: Beta

     

Welcome to the World of Warcraft: Wrath of  the Lich King Beta Test. The list below contains information on the  current available content for testing and general information. This  information is subject to change. Alpha testers should note that your  characters have been temporarily locked out. In a few weeks time, we  will unlock these characters and you will be able to continue to level  them. Please visit the Beta forums to submit feedback and discuss the expansion development with others.  [/li][/list]    General  

[/li][li]The continent of Northrend is now  available! To travel there, visit one of four transportation masters in  either Orgrimmar, Undercity, Stormwind Harbor,or Menethil Harbor.[/li][li]The floating magical city of Dalaran is now available![/li][li]The Barber Shop has been implemented and you can now visit one  of the Barber Shops in the major cities to change your appearance.[/li][li]The all new Achievement System has been implemented.[/li][li]Transportation between Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra can be found at the Tuskarr villages in those zones.[/li][li]The level cap is currently set to 77.[/li][li]Hit Rating, Critical Strike Rating, and Haste Rating now modify both melee attacks and spells.[/li][li]Spellpower:

• All items and effects which  grant bonuses to spell damage and spell healing are being consolidated  into a single stat, Spellpower. This stat will appear with the same  values found on items which grant "increased spell damage and healing"  such as on typical Mage and Warlock itemization.
• For classes which do not heal, they should see no change in the character sheet other than new tooltip wording.
• Healing  characters will see their bonus healing numbers on the character sheet  decrease, however, all healing spells have been modified to receive  more benefit from spellpower than they received from bonus healing,  with a net effect of no change to the amount healed by their spells.  Some talents have had to be rebalanced to accommodate this change, but  the amount healed will remain roughly the same. In addition, some  talents will provide only healing spell power.

 [/li][li]NPC Transportation Locations

• Horde:
  • Undercity to Vengeance Landing (Howling Fjord)
  • Orgrimmar to Warsong Hold (Borean Tundra)
         
• Alliance:
  • Menethil Harbor to Valgarde (Howling Fjord)
  • Stormwind Harbor to Valiance Keep (Borean Tundra)

    [/size][/font][/li][/list]      Known Issues  

[/li][li]The current patch notes are incomplete, but will be more progressively more comprehensive in each patch.[/size][/font][/li][/list]    World Environment Zones    

[/li][li]The following zones are available for  testing: Howling Fjord, Borean Tundra, Dragonblight, and Grizzly Hills,  Sholazar Basin, and Zul'Drak.[/li][/list]    Dungeons  

[/li][li]The following dungeons are available for testing:

• Howling Fjord: Utgarde Keep (70-72)
• Borean Tundra: The Nexus (70-72)
• Dragonblight: Azjol-Nerub (72-74)
• Grizzly Hills: Drak'Tharon Keep (74-76)
• Storm Peaks: The Halls of Stone (77-79)

 [/size][/font][/li][/list]      Classes  

[/li][li]All Classes are available for play.  Spells and talents will be available for testing past 70.[/li][li]The Death Knight Hero class is now available for play.

• Death Knights will now start with 0 talent points at level 55.
• Creating a new Death Knight will start you at level 55 in Eastern Plaguelands.
• The  Death Knight start zone, Acherus, the Ebon Hold, is fully implemented  and is located in the Eastern area of Eastern Plaguelands.

 [/size][/font][/li][/list]    Druid  

[/li][li]Brambles (Balance): Now increases the  damage done by your Treants, and also damage caused from your Treants  and Barkskin has a 5/10/15% chance to Daze the target for 3 sec.[/li][li]Celestial Focus (Balance): The stun proc now works with Starfall.[/li][li]Entangling Roots: Can now be used indoors.[/li][li]Faerie Fire (Feral): Now an 11-point talent, down from being a 21-point talent.[/li][li]Feral Charge (Feral) is now a 21-point talent, up from being a 11-point talent.[/li][li]Feral Charge (Feral): Can now be used in Cat form.[/li][li]Feral Instinct (Feral) no longer increases threat generated in  Bear form, but now increases damage done by your Swipe ability by  5/10/15%.[/li][li]Focused Starlight (Balance): Now also works with Starfall.[/li][li]Force of Nature (Balance): Cooldown reduced to 2 minutes, down from 3.[/li][li]Hurricane: No longer has a cooldown (was 1 minute).[/li][li]Improved Faerie Fire (Feral): Now also works with spell hit, in addition to ranged and melee hit %.[/li][li]Improved Mark of the Wild (Restoration): Now a 2-point talent, down from a 5-point talent.[/li][li]Improved Tranquility (Restoration): Now also reduces the cooldown of your Tranquility spell by 25/50%.[/li][li]Mangle (Feral): Now increases the damage done by Maul in addition to Shred.[/li][li]Moonglow (Balance): Now also works with Starfall.[/li][li]Moonkin Form (Balance) no longer increases your attack power  or causes you to regenerate mana off melee attacks, but now has a  chance to cause you to instantly regenerate 2% of your total mana every  time you critically hit with a spell.[/li][li]Nature's Focus (Restoration): Now a 3 point talent, down  from a 5-point talent. Also moved to Tier 1, up from Tier 2. Now also  includes Nourish.[/li][li]Nature's Grace (Balance): Now also reduces the global cooldown of your Wrath spell by 50% while in effect.[/li][li]Nature's Grasp (Balance): Can now be used and can proc indoors.[/li][li]Nature's Reach (Balance): Now also reduces threat generated by Balance spells by 15/30%.[/li][li]New Spell: Revive - Returns the spirit to the body, restoring  a dead target to life with health and mana. Cannot be cast when in  combat. (Ranks 1-7 added)[/li][li]Omen of Clarity (Restoration): Now a passive spell. Now also  works for spells (healing and damage). Proc rate is roughly 6% with a  10 second internal cooldown.[/li][li]Primal Tenacity (Feral) now reduces damage while stunned by 5/10/15%, and reduces the duration of fear effects by 5/10/15%.[/li][li]Remove Curse can now be used in Tree of Life form.[/li][li]Soothe Animal can now be used on Dragonkin as well as Beasts.[/li][li]Soothe Animal is now instant cast.[/li][li]Subtlety (Restoration): Now a 3-point talent, down from a  5-point talent. Also moved to Tier 2, up from Tier 3. Also now only  reduced threat for Restoration spells, and reduces the chance that your  healing over time spells (Lifebloom, Regrowth and Rejuvenation) will be  dispelled, rather than all Druid spells. Threat management for Balance  can now be found in the Balance tree, within Nature's Reach.[/li][li]Survival of the Fittest (Feral): Increased to 2/4/6%, up from 1/2/3%.[/li][li]The mana regeneration penalty when in Bear Form, Dire Bear Form and Cat Form has been removed.[/li][li]Tranquil Spirit (Restoration) now also includes Nourish.[/li][li]Tree of Life (Restoration): 30% snare penalty has been removed.[/li][li]Tree of Life (Restoration): Can now cast Dispel Curse.[/li][li]Tree of Life (Restoration): You can now cast all Restoration  spells (Healing Touch) in the form, but Tree of Life now only reduces  the mana cost of your healing over time spells (Rejuvenation,  Lifebloom, Regrowth and Flourish) by 20%.[/li][li]Vengeance (Balance): Now also works with Starfall.[/li][/list]    Hunter  

[/li][li]All pet families now have one unique ability. New abilities have been added for families such as bears and sporebats.[/li][li]Aspects now no longer cost mana.[/li][li]Avoidance, Dash / Dive and Cobra Reflexes are now pet talents instead of pet skills.[/li][li]Bite now has no cooldown, does the same damage and costs the same Focus as Claw, so works as a Focus dump.[/li][li]Clever Traps (Survival) has been renamed "Trap Mastery."[/li][li]Concussive Barrage (Marksmanship) - Can now proc from Volley attacks.[/li][li]Deterrence (Survival) - Cooldown reduced to 3 minutes, and now  also increases your chance to resist spells by 60%. Now has a new spell  effect.[/li][li]Every hunter pet can learn Growl, Cower and either Bite or Claw (never both).[/li][li]Hunter pets can now learn talents in one of three trees  depending on family. Pets gain talent points starting at level 20 and  earn an extra talent point every 4 levels.[/li][li]If a hunter tames a pet that is more than five levels  beneath than the hunter's level, then the pet jumps to five levels  beneath than the hunter's level.[/li][li]Improved Feign Death (Survival): Now also reduces damage taken during Feign Death by 15/30%.[/li][li]Loyalty, Training Points and the hunter Beast Training button  no longer exist. Hunter pets can now learn all skills at their level.  They will get new ranks automatically as they gain levels.[/li][li]Master Tactician (Survival) - Chance to proc increased to 10%, up from 6%.[/li][li]Monster Slaying (Survival) and Humanoid Slaying (Survival) has been combined into "Improved Tracking".[/li][li]New Talent - Improved Tracking (Survival) - Increases all damage done to targets that are being tracked 1/2/3/4/5%.[/li][li]Steady Shot now uses ammo. In result, its bonus damage has  been slightly reduced. Players can notice a damage increase based upon  what ammo they use.[/li][li]Surefooted (Survival) now reduces the duration of movement impairing effects by 10/20/30% (instead of resist % chance).[/li][li]Trap Mastery (Survival) has been removed.[/li][/list]    Mage  

[/li][li]Arcane Focus (Arcane) is now 3 ranks and increases chance to hit and reduces mana cost of Arcane spells by 1/2/3%.[/li][li]Counterspell now costs 9% of base mana.[/li][li]Frost Armor, Ice Armor, Mage Armor and Molten Armor are no longer Magic effects and cannot be dispelled.[/li][li]Invisibility now makes the caster invisible after 3 seconds, reduced from 5 seconds.[/li][li]Magic Attunement (Arcane) now also increases the range of your Arcane spells by 3/6 yards.[/li][li]Polymorph now costs 12% of base mana.[/li][li]Portal spells now cost 18% of base mana.[/li][li]Prismatic Cloak (Arcane) now also reduces the fade time of Invisibility by 1/2 seconds.[/li][li]Slow Fall now costs 6% of base mana.[/li][li]Teleport spells now cost 9% of base mana.[/li][/list]    Paladin  

[/li][li]All Auras now affect all party and raid members within the area of effect.[/li][li]Anticipation (Protection) moved to tier 1, now increases chance to dodge by 1/2/3/4/5%.[/li][li]Avenger's Shield (Protection) cast time reduced to .5 seconds, duration increased to 10 seconds.[/li][li]Avenging Wrath no longer causes Forebearance, damage increase reduced to 20%, now increases healing done by 20%.[/li][li]Blessing of Freedom renamed Hand of Freedom. Only one Hand  spell can be on the target per paladin at any one time. Now costs 6% of  base mana.[/li][li]Blessing of Light and Greater Blessing of Light removed. Their effects have been folded into all relevant abilities.[/li][li]Blessing of Protection renamed Hand of Protection. Only one  Hand spell can be on the target per paladin at any one time. All ranks  now cost 6% of base mana.[/li][li]Blessing of Sacrifice renamed Hand of Sacrifice, is now only  1 rank and transfers 20% of the damage taken to the caster, duration  reduced to 12 seconds, cooldown increased to 2 minutes. Only one Hand  spell can be on the target per paladin at any one time. Now costs 6% of  base mana.[/li][li]Blessing of Salvation renamed Hand of Salvation, now reduces  total threat on the target by 2% per second for 10 seconds while also  reducing all damage and healing done by 10%. Only one Hand spell can be  on the target per paladin at any one time. Now costs 6% of base mana.[/li][li]Conviction (Retribution) now increases critical chance with all spells and melee attacks.[/li][li]Divine Intellect (Holy) moved to tier 2, increases total Intellect by 3/6/9/12/15%.[/li][li]Divine Intervention cooldown reduced to 20 minutes.[/li][li]Divine Protection and Divine Shield now cost 3% of base mana.[/li][li]Divine Purpose (Retribution) now reduces chance to be hit by spells and ranged attacks by 1/2/3%.[/li][li]Divine Strength (Holy) moved to tier 1 in the Protection tree.[/li][li]Greater Blessing of Salvation removed.[/li][li]Hammer of Justice now costs 3% of base mana.[/li][li]Hammer of Wrath is now considered a Retribution spell, moved  from Holy, mana cost reduced, missile speed increased, now usable on  targets below 35% health.[/li][li]Healing Light (Holy) moved to tier 2.[/li][li]Holy Shield (Protection) cooldown reduced to 8 seconds.[/li][li]Holy Shock (Holy) range changed to 20/40 yards when used on enemies/friends respectively, cooldown reduced to 6 seconds.[/li][li]Holy Wrath is now instant cast, causes a 3 second stun, cooldown reduced to 30 seconds, radius reduced to 10 yards.[/li][li]Illumination (Holy) moved to tier 3.[/li][li]Improved Concentration Aura (Protection) moved to the Holy tree.[/li][li]Improved Concentration Aura moved from the Protection tree to tier 4 in the Holy tree.[/li][li]Improved Devotion Aura (Protection) moved to tier 4, reduced  to 3 ranks, now increases armor of Devotion Aura by 17/34/50% and  increases all healing done to units affected by Devotion Aura by  1/2/3%.[/li][li]Improved Hammer of Justice (Protection) now reduces cooldwon by 10/20/30 secs.[/li][li]Improved Righteous Fury (Protection) threat bonus folded into base spell, talent still reduces all damage taken by 2/4/6%.[/li][li]Improved Sanctity Aura (Retribution) renamed Sanctified  Retribution, now causes all units affected by Retribution Aura to cause  2% more damage.[/li][li]Improved Seal of Righteousness (Holy) moved to tier 1,  renamed XXX, now affects Seal of Righteousness, Seal of Vengeance and  Seal of Corruption.[/li][li]Improved Seal of the Crusader (Retribution) renamed Heart of the Crusader and the effects now apply to all Judgement spells.[/li][li]Judgement of Justice will no longer prevent Fear effects, only prevent NPCs from fleeing (e.g. at low health).[/li][li]Lay on Hands no longer drains all mana, cooldown reduced to 20 minutes.[/li][li]Pure of Heart (Holy) reduced to 2 ranks, now reduces duration of Curse and Disease effects by 25/50%.[/li][li]Redoubt (Protection) moved to tier 2.[/li][li]Repentance (Retribution) mana cost changed to 9% of base,  duration increased to 1 minute (10 second PvP duration), now usable  against Demons, Dragonkin, Giants, Humanoids and Undead.[/li][li]Retribution Aura damage increased and now gains damage based on Holy spell power.[/li][li]Righteous Fury now increases threat caused by Holy damage by 90%.[/li][li]Sanctified Light (Holy) now also increases the critical chance of Holy Shock.[/li][li]Sanctity Aura (Retribution) removed.[/li][li]Seal of Justice/Judgement reduced to 1 rank with all the  effects of the previous rank 2, the Judgement effect no longer prevents  Fear.[/li][li]Seal of the Crusader has been removed. The effects of Judgement of the Crusader have been folded into all relevant abilities.[/li][li]Seal of Vengeance damage over time effect duration increased to 18 seconds.[/li][li]Spiritual Focus (Holy) moved to tier 1.[/li][li]Stoicism (Protection) moved to tier 2, now reduces duration of  Stun effects by 10/20/30% and reduces chance your spells will be  resisted by 10/20/30%.[/li][li]Toughness (Protection) moved to tier 3.[/li][li]Turn Undead (ranks 1 and 2) removed. Turn Evil now granted at level 24, mana cost changed to 9% of base.[/li][li]Unyielding Faith (Holy) moved to tier 2.[/li][/list]    Priest  

[/li][li]Circle of Healing (Holy): Now works on  any targets in the caster's raid, and is now a "smart" heal and chooses  the lowest health targets to heal first within it's range. Also now has  a 6 second cooldown. Also no longer will heal summoned Snakes from  Hunter's Snake Trap.[/li][li]Enlightenment (Discipline): Now also gives 1% spell damage and 1% heal per point.[/li][li]Focused Will (Discipline): Now increases healing effects on you by 3/4/5%, down from 4/7/10%.[/li][li]Force of Will (Discipline): This talent now increases your  spell damage by a flat amount, rather than increasing your spells by a  %. (Now increases school %, rather than selected spells damage %). In  other words, your spell damage gained from this talent is now reflected  on your character sheet, rather than the skill tool-tips.[/li][li]Holy Fire: Cast time reduced to to 2 seconds, down from 3.5.  Damage increased roughly 60%. Duration for the damage over time effect  reduced to 7 seconds, down from 10. Holy Fire now has a 10 second  cooldown.[/li][li]Improved Inner Fire (Discipline) - Now also increases the bonus healing on your Inner Fire spell by 10/20/30%.[/li][li]Improved Shadow Word: Pain (Shadow) - Now increases damage  done by your Shadow Word: Pain by 5/10%, but no longer increases the  duration of your Shadow Word: Pain.[/li][li]Levitate now costs 3% of base mana.[/li][li]Lightwell (Holy): Cast time reduced to .5 sec, down from 1.5  sec. Charges increased to 10, up from 5. Now breaks from any attack  that hits you for 30% or more of your total health. Cooldown reduced to  3 minutes, down from 5.[/li][li]Mind Control now has only one rank and costs 12% of base mana.[/li][li]Mind Soothe now has only one rank, costs 6% of base mana and has no max target level.[/li][li]Mind Vision now costs 3% of base mana.[/li][li]New Talent: Improved Spirit Tap (Shadow) - Gives you a 50/100%  chance to gain a 50% bonus to your Spirit after gaining a critical  effect chance from your Mind Blast or Shadow Word: Death spells. For  the duration, your mana will regenreate at a 25% rate while casting.  Lasts 8 sec.[/li][li]New Talent: Twin Faiths (Discipline) - Increases your damage and healing by 1/2/3/4/5%.[/li][li]Pain Suppression (Discipline): Cooldown increased to 3 minutes, up from 2.[/li][li]Power Infusion (Discipline): Cooldown reduced to 2 minutes, down from 3.[/li][li]Psychic Scream now costs 15% of base mana.[/li][li]Searing Light (Holy): Now also increases the damage of your Holy Nova and Penance spells.[/li][li]Shackle Undead now costs 9% of base mana.[/li][li]Shadow Focus (Shadow): Now a 3 point talent, down from 5. Now also reduces the mana cost of your Shadow spells by 2/4/6%.[/li][li]Shadow Resilience (Shadow): Now reduces physical damage taken  by 2/4%, but no longer reduces the chance to be critically hit by  spells.[/li][li]Shadowform (Shadow): Now has an innate 30% threat reduction. Now has a shapeshift UI.[/li][li]Silent Resolve (Discipline): Now a 3 point talent, down from 5 points.[/li][li]Spirit Tap (Shadow) - Talent reduced to 3 points, down from 5. Now also leads into "Improved Spirit Tap"[/li][li]Wand Specialization (Discipline) has been removed.[/li][/list]    Rogue  

[/li][li]Blade Twisting (Combat) now cause all damaging melee attacks to have a 10% chance to daze for 4/8 seconds.[/li][li]Deadened Nerves (Assassination) now reduces all damage taken by 1/2/3/4/5%.[/li][li]Fleet Footed (Assassination) now reduces duration of movement impairing effects by 25/50% rather than increasing resist chance.[/li][li]Gouge is now only 1 rank and causes damage based on attack power.[/li][li]Kick is now only 1 rank and no longer causes damage.[/li][li]Nerves of Steel (Combat) now reduces the duration of all Stun and Fear effects by 15/30%.[/li][li]Pick Lock and Disarm Trap no longer require Thieve's Tools.[/li][li]Premeditation (Subtlety) duration increased to 20 seconds.[/li][li]Riposte (Combat) now slows the target's melee attacks by 20% instead of disarming them.[/li][li]Setup (Subtlety) chance to gain a combo point increased to 33/66/100%.[/li][li]Vanish no longer requires the reagent Flash Powder.[/li][li]Vile Poisons (Assassination) reduced to 3 ranks, now increases  damage of poisons and Eviscerate by 7/14/20% and increases dispel  resistance by 10/20/30%.[/li][/list]    Shaman  

[/li][li]All totems are now considered on the "Physical" school, and no longer magical spells.[/li][li]Ancestral Knowledge (Enhancement): Now increases your  Intellect by 2/4/6%, instead of increasing your total Mana by  2/4/6/8/10%.[/li][li]Call of Flame (Elemental): Now also increases the damage of your Lava Burst spell by 2/4/6%.[/li][li]Call of Thunder (Elemental) now also increases the critical strike chance of your Thunder spell.[/li][li]Concussion (Elemental) now increases the damage of your Thunder and Lava Burst spells.[/li][li]Convection (Elemental) is now a 3-point talent, down from a 5-point talent. Now lowers the mana cost of Thunder and Lava Burst.[/li][li]Earth's Grasp (Elemental) is now a tier-1 talent, up from tier-2.[/li][li]Elemental Detestation (Elemental) is now a tier-2 talent, up from tier-4.[/li][li]Elemental Focus (Restoration): Now also can proc off Lesser  Healing Wave and Healing Wave, and can be used on all healing spells.[/li][li]Elemental Fury (Elemental) now requires Elemental Focus as a pre-requisite[/li][li]Elemental Precision (Elemental): Chance to hit reduced to  1/2/3% from 2/4/6%, but threat reduction increased to 10/20/30% up from  4/7/10%.[/li][li]Enhancing (Enhancement) Totems is now a Tier 1 talent, up from Tier-2.[/li][li]Flametongue Totem is now a flat spell damage totem. All ranks have been modified.[/li][li]Frostbrand's snare effect has been increased to 50%, up from 25%.[/li][li]Ghost Wolf's mana cost is now 13% base.[/li][li]Grace of Air Totem has been removed. (Agility has been rolled over into Strength of Earth Totem)[/li][li]Improved Fire Totems (Elemental) is now (again) Improved Fire  Nova Totem. It now has a 50/100% chance to stun all targets for 2 sec.[/li][li]Improved Lightning Shield (Enhancement) is now Elemental Shields, and is in Tier-1.[/li][li]New ranks have been added of Water Shield, starting at level 20. (Level 20, 27, 34, 41, 48, 55, 62, 69)[/li][li]New Spell: Earthliving Weapon - Imbue the Shaman's weapon with  earthen life. Increases healing done by x and each heal has a 20%  chance to proc Earthliving on the target, healing an additionaly over  12 sec. Lasts 30 minutes.[/li][li]New Talent: Cleanse Spirit (Restoration) - Cleanse the  spirit of a friendly target, removing 1 poison effect, 1 disease  effect, and 1 curse effect.[/li][li]New Talent: Elemental Shields (Enhancement): Increases the  damage done by your Lightning Shield orbs by 5/10/15%, increases the  amount of mana gained from your Mana Shield orbs by 5/10/15% and  increases the amount of healing done by your Earth Shield orbs by  5/10/15%.[/li][li]New Talent: Mental Dexterity (Enhancement) - Increases your Attack Power by 33/66/100% of your Intellect.[/li][li]Rockbiter ranks 5 through 9 have been removed. Windfury Weapon is intended to replace Rockbiter at level 30.[/li][li]Shapeshifting will no longer cancel Water Walking.[/li][li]Shield Specialization (Enhancement) - Now a 2-point talent,  and increases the chance to block with attacks by 10/20%, and increases  the amount blocked by 5/10%.[/li][li]Stoneskin Totem now increases armor instead of reducing physical damage.[/li][li]Storm Reach (Elemental): Now also increases the radius of your Thunder spell by 10/20%.[/li][li]Strength of Earth Totem now also increases agility.[/li][li]Tranquil Air Totem has been removed. (Threat is being  addressed by modifications to the base threat of players and/or "baked"  into tanking abilities.)[/li][li]Unleashed Rage is now raid wide.[/li][li]Windfury Totem is now a flat 20% melee haste totem. All ranks have been modified.[/li][li]Windwall Totem has been removed.[/li][li]Wrath of Air is now a flat 10% spell haste totem.[/li][/list]    Warlock  

[/li][li]Aftermath (Destruction) - Now a 2-point talent, down from 5.[/li][li]All demon abilities and spells will automatically be learned as pets gain levels. Demon Master trainers will be removed.[/li][li]Blood Pact now works raid-wide (not just in party).[/li][li]Cataclysm (Destruction) - Now also increases your chance to hit with Destruction spells by 1% per point.[/li][li]Curse of Recklessness will no longer prevent Fear effects, only prevent NPCs from fleeing (e.g. at low health).[/li][li]Dark Pact: Tooltip updated to be more consistent with other similar effects.[/li][li]Demon Armor - Now increases healing done by spells and effects by 20%, but no longer has in-combat health regeneration.[/li][li]Demon Skin, Demon Armor and Fel Armor are no longer Magic effects and cannot be dispelled.[/li][li]Fel Armor - Now increases your spell damage equal to 30% of  your total Spirit, but no longer increases healing done by spells and  effects by 20%.[/li][li]Fel Stamina (Demonology) has been merged with Fel Intellect into Fel Vitality.[/li][li]Howl of Terror now costs 15% of base mana.[/li][li]Improved Curse of Weakness (Affliction) is now "Frailty" -  Increases the amount of attack power reduced by your Curse of Weakness  spell by 10/20%, and increases the amount of armor reduced by your  Curse of Recklessness by 10/20%.[/li][li]Improved Enslave Demon (Demonology) is now a Tier 5 talent, up from Tier 4.[/li][li]Improved Lash of Pain (Destruction) and Improved Firebolt (Destruction) have been merged into one talent, Demonic Power.[/li][li]Improved Shadow Bolt (Destruction) - Now increases damage by  your next Shadow damage spells by 3/6/9/12/15%, down from  4/8/12/16/20%.[/li][li]Mana Feed: Tooltip updated to be more consistent with other similar effects.[/li][li]Master Demonologist – Felguard (Demonology) - Now increases  all damage by 1/2/3/4/5%, and reduces all damage done to you by  1/2/3/4/5%.[/li][li]Master Demonologist – Imp (Demonology) - Now increases Fire  damage by 1/2/3/4/5%, and critical hit chance with Fire spells by  1/2/3/4/5%.[/li][li]Master Demonologist – Succubus (Demonology) - Now increases  Shadow damage by 1/2/3/4/5%, and critical hit chance with Shadow spells  by 1/2/3/4/5%.[/li][li]Master Demonologist (Demonology) - Most effects have been altered.[/li][li]New Talent: Demonic Empowerment (Demonology) - Grants your Summoned Demon power for a short time.[/li][li]New Talent: Eradication (Affliction) - Your Corruption, Siphon  Life and Curse of Agony ticks have a 5/10/15% chance to increase your  spell haste by 20% for 8 sec. This effect has a 10 second cooldown.[/li][li]New Talent: Molten Core (Destruction) - Your Shadow spells  and damage over time effects have a 5/10/15% chance to increase the  damage of your Fire spells by 10% for 6 sec.[/li][li]Pyroclasm (Destruction) - Now also includes Conflagrate.[/li][li]Shadowfury (Destruction) - Can now be cast while moving. Stun duration increased to 3 seconds, up from 2.[/li][li]Soul Link (Demonology) is now an 11-point talent (used to be a  31-point talent), but the 5% bonus damage from this talent has been  removed. In addition, the damage absorbed by Soul Link is now 15%, down  from 20%.[/li][li]Soul Siphon (Affliction): Now also increases the damage of your Drain Soul.[/li][li]Suppression (Affliction) is now a 3-point talent, down from 5.  Now increases your chance to hit with Affliction spells by 1/2/3%, down  from 1/2/3/4/5%.[/li][li]Unstable Affliction (Affliction): Silence effect reduced to 3 seconds, down from 5.[/li][/list]    Warrior  

[/li][li]Anticipation (Protection) now increases chance to dodge by 1/2/3/4/5%, moved to tier 2.[/li][li]Challenging Shout cooldown reduced to 3 minutes.[/li][li]Death Wish (Fury) no longer makes you immune to Fear effects.[/li][li]Death Wish and Sweeping Strikes have swapped locations in their respective talent trees.[/li][li]Defensive Stance now increases threat by 45%.[/li][li]Defiance (Protection) removed, replaced by Incite and moved to a new location on tier 2.[/li][li]Hamstring now only has one rank and no longer causes damage.[/li][li]Improved Bloodrage (Protection) now increases rage generation of both the instant and over-time effects by 25/50%.[/li][li]Improved Disarm (Protection) now reduces the cooldown of  Disarm and Shield Break by 5/10/15 seconds and increases damage taken  by disarmed targets by 4/7/10%.[/li][li]Improved Shield Block (Protection) now has 2 ranks and  reduces cooldown of Shield Block by 5/10 secs. It no longer increases  the number of blocks.[/li][li]Iron Will (Arms) now has only 3 ranks, reducing the duration of Stun and Charm effects by 10/20/30%.[/li][li]Last Stand (Protection) cooldown reduced to 6 minutes.[/li][li]Mace Specialization (Arms) can no longer trigger more than once per 6 seconds.[/li][li]Mocking Blow now only has one rank and causes weapon damage, cooldown reduced to 1 min and can now be used in Defensive Stance.[/li][li]Overpower now only has one rank and no longer causes any bonus damage (i.e. weapon damage only).[/li][li]Poleaxe Specialization (Arms) now also increases critical damage done by Axes and Polearms by 1/2/3/4/5%.[/li][li]Pummel now only has one rank and no longer causes damage.[/li][li]Shield Bash now only has one rank and will cause damage based on a % of AP.[/li][li]Shield Block now increases chance to block and amount blocked by 100% for the next attack. Cooldown increased to 30 seconds.[/li][li]Shield Slam is now available to all warriors, starting at level 40.[/li][li]Shield Specialization (Protection) moved to Tier 1, now increases rage by 2 on a successful block.[/li][li]Sword Specialization (Arms) can no longer trigger more than once per 6 seconds.[/li][li]Toughness (Protection) moved to tier 3.[/li][/list]    Professions  

[/li][li]The following tradeskills are available  to train up to 425: First Aid, Herbalism, Mining, Skinning, Enchanting,  and Leatherworking.[/li][/list]    User Interface  

[/li][li]The /cower emote now has an animation.[/li][li]Macros and key bindings are now saved server-side so there is  no longer a need to reconfigure them when logging in using another  computer.[/li][li]Shift-clicking to loot mail: You can now hold Shift and click  on mail in your inbox to automatically loot any items and gold without  opening the mail. This default behavior can be changed via Auto Loot  Mail in the Interface Options (Controls).[/li][li]Combat Log Changes:

• The combat log now  differentiates between a spell failure due to resistance and spell  failure due to missing the target. Where once both events reported as a  resist; a spell missing the target is now reported as a miss.
• Overhealing is now reported in the combat log.
• When  a source of damage is entirely prevented (by a shield block, a full  resist, or a damage shield like Power Word:Shield, the prevented amount  will now be displayed.

[/li][/list]  [/font][/li][/list]

[Splishy]

Meh, will read later...

[Daffyd]

Impressions after reading the druid section:

We'll be seeing a lot more moonkins.  The spellpower change means leather healing gear and moonkin gear are the same so healers can respec moonkin without having to regear totally.  Balance tree has had a lot of important fixes, the biggest one is improved FF now gives +hit to the entire raid instead of just casters and without having to spec into resto for subtlety you actually have enough points to get it withuot gimping yourself.  OOC being a passive clearcasting proc for melee and casting now means you probably want that too.  Oh yes, and no cooldown on Hurricane makes moonkins able to join the AoE properly instead of once a minute and roots indoors gives them a melee CC usable in 5 mans.

Feral is shaping up to be a PvP killler with pounce, reduced damage while stunned, reduced fear durations, and the ability to daze and snare.

Not much about resto but it's still looking like the strongest PvE tree of the three, expecially with the ability to go moonkin in the same gear.

[Arekh]

Impressions after reading the hunter section:

Hmm.

[Daffyd]

Blessing of salvation is gone and replaced with a 20% reduction in your total threat over 10 seconds (during which time you do reduced damage and healing).  Apparently there are changes afoot in how threat works but paladins will be able to target DPS who are struggling with being threat limited and give them some more headroom.  Interesting.

[Sylantar]

Circle of Healing (Holy): Now works on any targets in the caster's raid, and is now a "smart" heal and chooses the lowest health targets to heal first within it's range. Also now has a 6 second cooldown.

6 sec cooldown ffs

kyranthe is most p1ssed off

[Buadhachan]

"Clever Traps (Survival) has been renamed "Trap Mastery."
Trap Mastery (Survival) has been removed."

Alright then...

Removing the mana cost of aspects - so what - I don't think I have ever switched aspects fast enough to see much more than a dip in my mana bar.

"Every hunter pet can learn Growl, Cower and either Bite or Claw (never both)."

I'm guessing they want a more varied cast of pets.

"If a hunter tames a pet that is more than five levels beneath than the hunter's level, then the pet jumps to five levels beneath than the hunter's level."

As long as they get the talentpoints that comes with it, great.

"Improved Feign Death (Survival): Now also reduces damage taken during Feign Death by 15/30%."

If you're being beaten to a pulp and have to use feign death, you're dead anyway if you continue to take damage - it just takes 1 second longer.

"Loyalty, Training Points and the hunter Beast Training button no longer exist. Hunter pets can now learn all skills at their level. They will get new ranks automatically as they gain levels."

This will be interesting.

"Steady Shot now uses ammo. In result, its bonus damage has been slightly reduced. Players can notice a damage increase based upon what ammo they use."

Meh.

[Daffyd]

"Improved Feign Death (Survival): Now also reduces damage taken during Feign Death by 15/30%."

If you're being beaten to a pulp and have to use feign death, you're dead anyway if you continue to take damage - it just takes 1 second longer.

1 second in the arena is the difference between the heal landing or you dying first.  This is a PvP buff.

Mish: T6 geared priests were just spamming CoH as once you get past a certain gear point it's the most efficient spell they have.  It turned them into AoE healing monsters pushing shamans out of their niche.

[Sylantar]

1 second in the arena is the difference between the heal landing or you dying first.  This is a PvP buff.

Mish: T6 geared priests were just spamming CoH as once you get past a certain gear point it's the most efficient spell they have.  It turned them into AoE healing monsters pushing shamans out of their niche.

it was also the main spell that meant priests could do efficient raid healing according to the raiding priest i speak to for advice, she is fully T6 and it is the only way she is able to keep up with the other healers in the raid as most priest heals are long casting and while your waiting for a big heal to cast the person dies. i just think it's a nerf for the sake of it and i'm not particularily happy about it. won't make any difference it's just my opinion.

[Splishy]

It's also a set of beta patch notes - I wouldn't read *too* much into any of it at this stage.

[rox0r]

Aww no go on, start the wailing and thrashing of arms at beta patch notes it's always hilarious watching people threaten to quit the game over something that hasn't even happened yet.

[Daffyd]

it was also the main spell that meant priests could do efficient raid healing according to the raiding priest i speak to for advice, she is fully T6 and it is the only way she is able to keep up with the other healers in the raid as most priest heals are long casting and while your waiting for a big heal to cast the person dies. i just think it's a nerf for the sake of it and i'm not particularily happy about it. won't make any difference it's just my opinion.
 

WoTLK ability list for priests

Mark of divinity applies 30% of total healing done by the priest to the target.and lasts 30 minutes.  Imagine how powerful that will be if you're assigned to raid healing and you cast that on the tank.  Now imagine CoH spamming while that's on the tank, the other healers might as well go home.

Tank in the shiz?  It's a 3 minute cooldown so can't be spammed but Guardian spirit is a 10 second HoT that is absorbed if the tank takes what would be a killing blow instead of the tank dying.  It's cheat death but castable on someone else!

Priests are going to be incredibly powerful healers in WoTLK with both healing and incomparabale utility, they just won't be single button spammers.

The patch notes are not only beta but have to be read and understood in the context of the new talents and abilities to make sense.  The salvation change would be a huge nerf to pala raid desirability if we didn't know there were changes being made to threat and tranquil air is also out.

[Daffyd]

Talent calc is updated with all classes and limited profession details are available.

Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Enchanting, Engineering, Herbalism, Inscription, Jewelcrafting, Leatherworking, Mining, Skinning, Tailoring, Runeforging.

Anyone wondering if I'm just grabbing all of this off mmo-champion.com would be correct

[edit]Expertise on bracers is likely to be a very popular DPS enchant, "Socket One-Handed Weapon" looks very interesting for blacksmiths too.  Whether that's going to be a blacksmith only thing or whether they can do it for other people's weapons remains to be seen.  I'm suspecting the former, same as enchanters and their rings.[/edit]

[Faphnir]

Looking at the new Priest talent trees, you still have to decide between having Improved Divine Spirit from the Discipline tree and the top level talent from the Holy tree (Giardian Spirit), but some of the earlier talents in the Discipline tree have been tweaked to make them a bit more useful as a healer. I roughed up this as a possible build.

I've only had a brief look at the Warlock trees, but it looks like they have a noticeable change in play style (raid wise). No Demonic Sacrifice 20 point talent means they will no longer be their own mana battery (Felhunter sacrifice basically meant you regenerated you mana as fast as you could spend it - except chain casting Seed of Corruption, that would drain it   ). It looks like this has been replaced with Master Demonologist (although it's 25 point talent), and, as it looks like the Destruction tree is boosting Fire damage and reducing Shadow damage, they will have to develop a spell-cycle that is more than just a spamming Shadowbolt. Time will tell, it's barely into Beta  

[Daffyd]

I'm praying they don't change the shaman talent tree too much.  For enhancement we lost 3% +hit from talents but gained 2 amazing PvP buffs.  Deep enhancement has a talent to make shifting to ghost wolf remove snares (a la travel form) and a talent that reduces the cast time of your next lava burst (new spell), chain lightning, or lightning bolt by 20% (stacking up to 5 times) when you score a melee crit.  The ghost wolf change is instead of the original plan which was to have shamanistic rage make you immune to CC (big red kitty for shamans) but I guess that was overpowered.  This change is a chunky buff against mages though, currently a single cone of cold is enough to take a melee shaman out of play.

[Mordwin]

Well, let's hope there isn't a repeat of BC for feral's (many abilities still look a bit front-loaded and scaling may still be an issue, time for them to get it sorted yet though)... Still, the tree and new abilities look interesting and there are some nice changes for PvP viability.

Not sure which other chars I'll be levelling up (Shadow Priest and Warlock are my other two 70s, with poor Mordwin stuck at 66 and my Rogue at 61), so not looked at other stuff much yet.

[Choleric]

Counterspell now costs 9% of base mana.

Just to make sure I'm understanding this right, is this 9% of the total mana pool or of what you have remaining?  The answer to this question will make these new mana costs either a great improvement or a serious problem.

I also have a question regarding the Achievement System, like umm... what is it?

All-in-all, a good read (thanks for linking it, seriously I would be so far behind) but a hell of a lot of reading for something that is absolutely guarenteed to change (several times) before release.  So long as it improves the game, I couldn't give a monkey's - the spell power change is way overdue and will save people a loooot of time, five thumbs up for that one.

[Sessander]

Socket One-Handed Weapon

I knew that BS finally gonna be worth doing.  

[Arekh]

I especially like our (current) 51pts beast mastery talent:

"Beast Mastery" - You master the art of Beast training, teaching you the ability to tame Exotic pets and increasing your total amount of Pet Skill Points by 5.

I thought it was a fake or a joke, but then again... it would be my cup of tea. Somehow. Gief giraffes!

Edit: of course the key here is 5 more points for pets, but somehow I like the talent.

[Faphnir]

Just to make sure I'm understanding this right, is this 9% of the total mana pool or of what you have remaining?  The answer to this question will make these new mana costs either a great improvement or a serious problem.

I've always understood "base mana" to be what your mana pool is naked (i.e. without any bonus's from equipment). WoWWiki says this.