Stats and combat
- Hit and crit are combined. Spell, melee and ranged hit chance count as one stat, and the same goes for critical strike chance. Gear with “hit” helps every kind of attack.
- Bonus healing gives some spell damage. Healing gear also adds one third as much bonus damage, which makes healers less helpless while leveling.
- Weapon skill is smaller on items. Gear gives less weapon skill per item than in Classic.
- Fights take a bit longer. Blizzard expects an ordinary enemy to take about 10 to 15 seconds to kill when you play alone.
Item changes
- Every dungeon drop was reviewed, and hundreds of new drops were added.
- Unique dungeon boss items are now blue quality.
- Hundreds of new drops from rare enemies, and better world-drop epics.
- Trinkets with situational effects. Some depend on where you are (woods, mountains or desert) or on what you’re fighting.
- Classic quest rewards got additions. For example, the Mor’ladim quest in Duskwood still offers the two-handed sword and now also a ring for casters.
Transmog
Transmog is optional. A transmogrifier in some cities lets you set up outfits, or turn the whole system off. Choosing the Classic look turns transmog off automatically, but you still collect appearances in the background.
How appearances are collected:
| Item | Who gets the appearance |
|---|---|
| Poor and Common items | You, as soon as you loot them, without binding them |
| Uncommon and Rare dungeon items (bind on pickup) | Everyone in the group who could use it |
| Epic raid drops | Only the player who receives the item |
- You can only transmog within the same armor type (plate to plate, cloth to cloth).
- High-level appearances unlock for your low-level characters at level 60.
- Cosmetic-only items will be rare.
- You can still hide your helm and cloak, and you’ll still see other players’ choices.
Buffs that became baseline
Divine Spirit, Blessing of Kings and Improved Mark of the Wild are now standard class buffs, so you no longer need specific talents for them. See what changed from Classic for every class change.