Class Changes in Patch 12.1 for September 22, 2026

Blood

Developers' Notes

San'layn deals too much area damage for a tank specialization. We're lowering the overall damage of Death Knight (Blood), buffing single-target Death Strike and weakening its damage to nearby targets. In addition, we're buffing Deathbringer.

• Damage of all abilities and minions reduced by 6%.
• Damage of Death Strike increased by 25%.
• Deadly Reach — Death Strike deals 60% damage to the 2 nearest enemies (was 75%).
• Deathbringer — damage of Exterminate increased by 25%.
• Deathbringer — damage of Reaper's Mark increased by 20%.
• Deathbringer — damage of Wave of Souls increased by 20%.
• Deathbringer — Bind in Darkness increases the damage of Blood Boil by 50% (was 30%).
• Deathbringer — Deathly Blows increases the damage of Death Strike by 20% (was 12%).
• Deathbringer — Swift and Painful increases Strength by 15% (was 10%).

Frost

Developers' Notes

Death Knight (Frost) lacks single-target and two-target damage, so we're buffing key abilities.

• Damage of Frostreaper increased by 100%. Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Obliterate increased by 10%. Does not affect PvP.

Unholy

Developers' Notes

We're increasing the damage of Death Knight (Unholy) in raids and want to bring the Blightfall build back into the rotation after recent bug fixes.

• Scourging — the disease burst triggers at 65%/100% effectiveness (was 50%/70%). Does not affect PvP.
• Blightfall deals 200% of disease damage (was 100%). Does not affect PvP.
• San'layn — Infliction of Sorrow increases the damage of Vampiric Strike bursts by 75% (was 30%).
• San'layn — Thrill of Blood increases the damage of Dread Plague by 20% (was 10%).
• San'layn — Frenzied Bloodthirst increases the damage of Death Coil and Death Strike by 5% per stack.

Devourer

Developers' Notes

These changes will primarily benefit Demon Hunter (Devourer) builds through Annihilator in raids and in single-target combat.

• Main-target damage of Collapsing Star increased by 25%. Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Consume and Devour increased by 8%. Does not affect PvP.

Havoc

Developers' Notes

Aldrachi Reaver has fallen noticeably behind its competitor, so we're buffing its damage. In addition, Broken Spirit will generate soul fragments more often to make it easier for Demon Hunter (Havoc) to generate Fury.

• Aldrachi Reaver — Art of the Glaive increases damage by 15% and 30% (was 10% and 20%).
• Aldrachi Reaver — damage of Reaver's Glaive increased by 25%.
• Aldrachi Reaver — Reaver's Mark increases damage by 7% (was 6%).
• Aldrachi Reaver — the chance for Broken Spirit to shatter a soul fragment increased to 20% (was 15%).

Vengeance

• Aldrachi Reaver — Art of the Glaive increases damage by 15% and 30% (was 10% and 20%).
• Aldrachi Reaver — damage of Reaver's Glaive increased by 30%.
• Aldrachi Reaver — Reaver's Mark increases damage by 8% (was 7%).

Hero Talents

• Pack Leader — damage of Bursting Growth increased by 15%. Does not affect PvP.

Feral

• Pack Leader — Patient Custodian increases bleed damage by 10% (was 8%). Does not affect PvP.

Restoration

• Effectiveness of all healing abilities increased by 4%. Does not affect PvP.
• Fixed a bug: Photosynthesis no longer triggers from other players' periodic healing effects.

Augmentation

Developers' Notes

We're buffing the parts of Evoker (Augmentation)'s toolkit that are currently used less than the rest.

• Damage of Eruption increased by 15%.
• Damage of Fire Breath increased by 60%.
• Damage of Upheaval increased by 40%.
• Damage of Blistering Scales increased by 100%.

Devastation

Developers' Notes

We're buffing Evoker (Devastation) in fights against groups of enemies in Mythic+ dungeons, making Unbound Flame more appealing and bringing Shattering Star up alongside the raid tier set. Flameshaper will receive a more noticeable boost than Scalecommander.

• Damage of Pyre increased by 10%. Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Unbound Flame increased by 25%. Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Fire Breath increased by 5%. Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Azure Strike increased by 50%. Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Azure Sweep increased by 50%. Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Shattering Star increased by 10%. Does not affect PvP.

Marksmanship

Developers' Notes

We're increasing the area damage of Hunter (Marksmanship).

• Trick Shots — ricochets deal 75% damage (was 60%).
• Damage of Volley increased by 10%.

Survival

Developers' Notes

Hunter (Survival)'s single-target damage will stay roughly the same, while its area damage will increase.

• Damage of Wildfire Bomb increased by 20%.
• The main-target damage bonus of Wildfire Bomb reduced to 50% (was 80%).

Developers' Notes

Changes for Mage (Fire) and Mage (Frost) are aimed primarily at Mythic+ dungeons.

Fire

• Damage of the periodic effect of Meteor increased by 100%. Does not affect PvP.
• Frostfire — Dualcasting Adept increases the damage of Flamestrike by 15% (was 10%).
• Sunfury — Burden of Power increases the damage of Flamestrike by 6% (was 3%).

Frost

• Damage of Frozen Orb increased by 15%.
• Damage of Comet Storm increased by 50%. Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Shatter from Frostbite to nearby enemies increased by 10%.
• Damage of the ice comet from Glacial Assault increased by 50%.

Mistweaver

• Effectiveness of all healing abilities increased by 5%. Does not affect PvP.
• Healing effectiveness of Vivify increased by 15%. Does not affect PvP.
• Healing effectiveness of Sheilun's Gift increased by 15%. Does not affect PvP.

Windwalker

• Melee auto-attack damage increased by 25%. Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Dual Threat increased by 20%. Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Rising Sun Kick increased by 8%. Does not affect PvP.

Protection

• Damage of all abilities increased by 6%. Does not affect PvP.

Retribution

Developers' Notes

Templar is behind Herald of the Sun, so we're bringing its damage up.

• Templar — damage of Hammer of Light increased by 50%. Does not affect PvP.
• Templar — damage of Empyrean Hammer increased by 12%.

Discipline

Developers' Notes

Atonement is too strong in raids. We're bringing back the healing bonus outside of raids and increasing it significantly so that Priest (Discipline) can shine in dungeons.

• Healing effectiveness of Atonement increased by 40% outside of raids and battlegrounds.
• Atonement no longer receives the 40% bonus in PvP.
• Mana cost of Penance reduced by 20%.

Shadow

Developers' Notes

Priest (Shadow) lacks single-target damage, while its multi-target damage will stay roughly the same.

• Damage of Mind Blast increased by 15%.
• Damage of Void Blast increased by 15%.
• Damage of Shadow Word: Death increased by 15%.
• Damage of Shadow Word: Madness increased by 15%. Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Mind Flay increased by 15%. Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Mind Flay: Insanity increased by 15%. Does not affect PvP.
• Psychic Link — direct damage deals 20% damage to all affected targets (was 25%). Does not affect PvP.
• Damage of Shadeburst reduced by 5%. Does not affect PvP.

Subtlety

Developers' Notes

Trickster is behind Deathstalker, so we're buffing its key abilities.

• Trickster — damage of Unseen Blade increased by 50%. Does not affect PvP.
• Trickster — damage of Coup de Grace increased by 30%. Does not affect PvP.

Developers' Notes

Mountain Thane is behind for Warrior (Fury) and Warrior (Protection), so we're buffing its damage in both specializations.

Fury

• Mountain Thane — damage of Lightning Strike increased by 50%.
• Mountain Thane — damage of Ground Current increased by 50%.

Protection

• Mountain Thane — damage of Lightning Strike increased by 50%.
• Mountain Thane — damage of Ground Current increased by 50%.