Fiery New Mounts

Patch 5.3 PTR: Fiery new mounts

The good folks over at Wowhead have been very busy indeed datamining away in the recent patch 5.3 PTR update, and discovered two new mounts, as yet un-named. They're referring to them as "Pegasus" mounts, likely because they're flying horses, makes sense after all.

Given that we know very little about them, apart from what they look like, it stands to reason that we also don't know quite where they come from. It should be noted, though that they're in the two colors that neatly align with those of the game's factions. Perhaps a clue?

This suggests that the mount is faction-specific, so, again purely speculating, this might indicate one of several sources. Faction-specific mounts could come from the battle.net store, where buying one item nets you two, such as existing pets. Or, it could be another, similar reward, such as the Spectral Gryphon or Spectral Wind Rider awarded for a successful Scroll of Resurrection. Failing that, and looking a little more on the bright side, it could be a reputation reward available in recolors for both factions.

World of Warcraft Patch 5.3 PTR Patch Notes

Hot off the presses tonight is the patch 5.3 PTR Patch Notes. Right off the bat to quell any rumors -- there is no indication of when the PTR will be active (other than soon), or when this patch is going to drop.

Some of the highlights of this patch thus far include:

• Gold Rush, a new battleground.
• Shado-Pan, a new arena.
• Major PvP changes. Largest in quite a while.
• Battle of the High Seas, Blood in the Snow, Dark Heart of Pandaria, The Secrets of Emberdeep -- four, yes not one, not two, not three, but four new scenarios.
• Heroic difficulty for scenarios added, awards valor and a chance at Raid Finder quality items.
• You can now duel with your pets in dungeons and raids.
• Bonus rolls have a progressively better chance at awarding loot if you've used them and they turn up nothing.
• We can now pick a loot specalization that's different than our current spec for LFR, Bonus Rolls, and Pandarian quests.

The full patch notes after the break.

Blizzard Entertainment

World of Warcraft PTR Patch 5.3

General

• Please note: During the 5.3 PTR, not all the content listed may not be available for testing or may only be available during a limited testing window. Keep an eye on ourPTR Discussion forum for details.
• New Battleground: Gold Rush
  • In the new Battleground situated in the Valley of the Four Winds, the Alliance and Horde continue their war for Pandaria's precious resources. While the two factions battle for control over mines, they must also protect their own resources from being stolen and turned against them!
• New Arena: Shado-Pan
  • Gladiator hopefuls have a new location to test their mettle amidst the Kun-Lai mountain tops, in the training grounds of the powerful Shado-Pan. Players must make use of the looming tiger statues and fenced platforms to gain an advantage that will bring victory and glory!
• New Scenario: Battle on the High Seas
  • Help your faction fend off enemy forces in the midst of a battle for naval supremacy on the High Seas.
• New Scenario: Blood in the Snow
  • An agent of Zandalar has infiltrated Dun Morogh and rallied the Frostmane trolls. At Varian's request, Moira will lead her personal guard against them once the king's champions have stopped the magical storm protecting Shimmer Ridge.
• New Scenario: Dark Heart of Pandaria
  • Goblin engineers have been excavating in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms to find a mysterious artifact, but all they've found is trouble; you have been personally called upon by the Warchief to aid them in their hour of need.
• New Scenario: The Secrets of Emberdeep
  • Infiltrate the Emberdeep Caverns and assist the Gob Squad in investigating a recent disappearance in Durotar.
• Heroic Scenarios
  • A heroic difficulty for Scenarios have been added and are designed to provide challenging content for small groups of well-seasoned adventurers. Completing a Heroic Scenario awards Valor points, and a chance to obtain Raid Finder quality items.

Classes

Death Knight

• More information coming soon.

Druid

General

• Mark of the Wild had its mana cost reduced to 5%, down from 10%.
• Symbiosis: Intimidating Roar had its cooldown increased to 90 seconds, up from 60 seconds.

Hunter

• More information coming soon.

Mage

General

• Arcane Brilliance had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 4%.
• Dalaran Brilliance had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 4%.

Monk

General

• Spear Hand Strike now locks a spell school out for 4 seconds, down from 5 seconds.

Windwalker

• Legacy of the Emperor had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 6%.
• Legacy of the White Tiger had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 6%.

Paladin

General

• Blessing of Kings had its mana cost reduced to 5%, down from 22.3%.
• Blessing of Might had its mana cost reduced to 5%, down from 22.3%.

Priest

General

• Power Word: Fortitude had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 4.4%.

Rogue

• More information coming soon.

Shaman

• More information coming soon.

Warlock

General

• Dark Intent had its mana cost reduced to 1%, down from 4%.

Warrior

Talents

• Vigilance now resets the cooldown on Taunt in addition to its current effects.

Quests

• More information coming soon.

Creatures

• Oondasta
  • Shiny Pile of Refuse now has a chance to contain a Primal Egg, and a number of Dinosaur Bones.
  • Spitfire Beam no longer increases in damage with each jump, deals a flat 200,000 damage(up from 150,000 damage), and jumps to 99 targets (up from 20 targets).

Pet Battles

• Dueling for Pet Battles are now available in all dungeons and raids. Enjoy!

Raids, Dungeons, and Scenarios

Loot Specialization

• Players can now choose to receive loot for a specialization that's different from their current class role. This feature could be accessed by right-clicking on the character portrait and selecting the option from the drop-down list. Loot specialization is available for bonus rolls, Raid Finder, and Pandarian quest rewards.

Raids

• Bonus Roll
  • Protection for bad luck streaks have been added to bonus rolls. Each bonus roll that does not provide loot has a progressively better chance to award loot to the player.
• Serpentshrine Cavern
  • For the Fathom-Lord Karathress encounter, Cataclysmic Bolt now deals 10% of the target's maximum health plus 500 damage, down from 50% of target's maximum health, the stun effect is now a Stun mechanic, and can target any player instead of only characters with mana.
  • Lady Vashj
    • Coilfang Strider's Panic ability now activates every 4 seconds, up from every 2 seconds.
    • Shock Blast's stun effect is now a Stun mechanic.
    • Tainted Elementals now despawn after 20 seconds, up from 15 seconds.
• Tempest Keep
  • For the High Astromancer Solarian encounter, Nether Scryer's Domination spell now has a 2 second cast time, up from instant cast, and can be silenced.
  • For the Void Reaver encounter, the radius for Arcane Orb has been reduced to 15 yards, down from 20 yards.
• Throne of Thunder
  • Amani'shi Beast Shaman no longer casts Chain Lightning while mounted on Amani Warbears.

PvP

• Additional information and explanation for the reasoning behind PvP changes will be available very soon.
• All characters now have a base Resilience of 65%.
• Resilience has been removed from most PvP gear.
• Season 13 Tyrannical gear had their item levels increased to ilevel 496, up from ilevel 493.
• Season 13 Tyrannical Elite gear had their item levels decreased to ilevel 496, down from ilevel 512.
• Battlegrounds, Rated Battlegrounds, and Arenas now have an ilevel cap. All gear will be scaled down to ilevel 496.

Battlegrounds

• More information coming soon.

Professions

• Herbalists of low skill can now pick herbs in Pandaria for a small amount of usable material. The yield an herbalist will be able to harvest from each node is determined by skill level.
• Miners of low skill can now mine mineral deposits in Pandaria for a small amount of usable material. The yield a miner will be able to harvest from each node is determined by skill level.

Items

• The Voidbinders are back in capital cities and shrines.
  • PvE Item Upgrades
    • Items upgradable by Valor now require 250 Valor to upgrade per 4 item levels, for a total of 500 Valor for 8 item levels per item. This is retroactive to all items that use Valor.
    • Items upgradable by Justice now require 750 Justice to upgrade per 8 item levels, for a total of 750 Justice for 8 item levels per item. This is retroactive to all items that use Justice.
  • PvP Item Upgrades
    • Malevolent Gladiator's Conquest (Season 12) items that have upgrades available are still upgradable at their original costs.
    • Dreadful Gladiator's Honor (Season 12) items that have upgrades available are still upgradable at their original costs.
    • No other PvP items are upgradable.
• Unclaimed Black Market Containers are now available on the Black Market Auction House. What's inside? It's a mystery! When opened, the container has a chance to contain any item that can be available on the BMAH.
• Courageous Primal Diamond had its clearcasting effect renamed to "Lucidity" to differentiate it from other spells with that name.

Throne of Thunder: Last Stand of the Zandalari Raid Finder bosses in 5 seconds

The first wing of Throne of Thunder Raid Finder has opened this week, so it's time to slay a few bosses. Maybe you're ready to queue up right this second. In fact, with the staggered release schedule, you're probably very ready. No time to read through our full guides, or need a short explanation ready for other players? Here's a quick reference perfect for copy and pasting into chat, because we love you.

Jin'rokh the Breaker

Tanks have a swap, watch out for the Static Wound debuff and be ready to taunt. Everyone else stand in the pools unless they're electrified, step out and stack near the boss during Lightning Storm. If you're targeted by the Focused Lightning, run away, and don't electrify the pools.

Horridon

One tank on the boss, the other on adds -- switch after each door so Triple Puncture doesn't stack too high. The adds cast debuffs, so healers be ready to dispel. Stay away from Horridon's head and tail. Kill Dinomancer adds first and stay out of stuff on the ground. Click the Orb of Command when it appears. After the door phase, War-God Jalak will spawn. Off-tank and burn him, continue on the boss.

Council of Elders

Tanks focus on swapping Frost King Malakk before reaching 15 stacks of Frigid Assault. Prioritize killing adds: Loa Spirits and Living Sands. If there are no adds, DPS the empowered boss -- it'll be big and purple. Priestess: interrupt Wrath of the Loa, kill spirits. Frost King: stack on the player with Frostbite. Kazra'jin: avoid charges, use damage-reduction cooldowns on Overload. Sul: interrupt Sand Bolt, kill adds, don't stand in Quicksand.

25-mans have higher Thunderforged drop rate than 10-mans

The new Thunderforged loot designation -- much like the affix Raid Finder -- was introduced into Patch 5.2 for a number of reasons by Blizzard. While the affix does stay certain pieces from disenchantable execution on farm bosses, players largely regarded Thunderforged items as another attempt to help 25-man raiding guilds stay afloat. The developers didn't want to go back to late Wrath of the Lich King model of completely higher loot in 25mans, so instead Thunderforged items can drop in both sized raids. However, the drop rate in 25-mans would be higher than that of 10-mans.

"How frequent is more frequent?" players would ask, especially when given the chance to chat with the developers about patch 5.2. Ghostcrawler deflected the question on TotemSpot's interview, preferring to let players figure out the drop rates themselves.

Fortunately for us, WoWProgress has analyzed the loot drops using its database of characters, guilds, and bosses killed this first week of Patch 5.2. Looking at loot gains from Jin'rokh the Breaker, specifically:
11.7% of the 10-man loot equipped by characters was Thunderforged
25.7% of the 25-man loot equipped by characters was Thunderforged
Even figuring in disenchanted items, WoWProgress figures the drop rates to be approximately 10% for 10-man and 25% for 25-man. From personal anecdote, my 25-man raiding guild saw usually one but sometimes two Thunderforged drops per boss in addition to four to five regular mode drops. Tier pieces, of course, will never drop as Thunderforged.

Updated Patch 5.2

World of Warcraft Patch 5.2

• General
  • New Daily Quest Hub: Isle of Thunder.
    • Here players can join the assault to conquer the Thunder King's island stronghold, unlock new questlines and daily quest hubs, participate in special events, earn the right to visit the fabled Treasure Room, lay claim to an arsenal of powerful Mogu artifacts for their faction, and more.
    • Each faction's finest are spearheading the assault: the Kirin-Tor Offensive led by Jaina Proudmoore and the Sunreaver Onslaught led by Lor'themar Theron. Earning reputation with these new factions offers heroes the opportunity to receive new quests and reputation rewards, including powerful items and an intimidating new mount.
    • After both the Alliance and the Horde have eked out a foothold on the isle, players can choose to perform quests that are PvE or PvP focused. PvP quests will direct players against opposing faction NPCs, but slaying opposing players will grant credit as well.
    • As the heroes conquer the Isle, they will unlock the powerful Thunder Forge, which will allow Blacksmiths to forge mighty raid-worthy items, as well as classic weapons from the past.
    • Heroes can join the war effort and find transportation to Isle of Thunder by visiting the Shado-Pan Garrison in Townlong Steppes on the western shores of Pandaria. The Isle of Thunder will be unlocked progressively based on each based on each realms' participation in the war effort; initially only some of the Isle’s features will be unlocked. Future unlocked content will include the Stormsea Landing and the outdoor raid boss, Nalak, the Storm Lord.
    • Heroes fortunate enough to acquire a “Key to the Palace of Lei Shen” can bring it to the Shado-Pan on the Isle of Thunder and use it to infiltrate the fabled treasure vaults of the first emperor. Heroes are tasked with grabbing as much loot as they can within five minutes. Larger chests will have the most loot, including special keys that can be used at the end of the run for a chance at epic gear and other major rewards. Keys are awarded from rare bosses, hidden chests around the island, and from award satchels obtained by completing daily quests.
  • New Raid: Throne of Thunder
    • Lei Shen, the Thunder King, has returned to wreak his vengeance on Pandaria. It falls to the heroes of the Alliance and the Horde to stop the newly resurrected tyrant and his Zandalari allies in the massive new raid: Throne of Thunder.
    • Throne of Thunder is a sprawling citadel housing 12 new raid encounters, and players that defeat Lei Shen in Heroic mode can earn the opportunity to face an additional 13th foe.
    • The Raid Finder version of the Throne of Thunder is divided into 4 different sections, Last Stand of the Zandalari, Forgotten Depths, Halls of Flesh-Shaping, and Pinnacle of Storms.
    • Join the Shado-Pan Assault in their singular drive to see Lei Shen defeated once and for all, and gain access to impressive Valor reward items. Reputation with this faction can be earned only within the Throne of Thunder raid dungeon.
    • Ao Pye at Niuzao Temple in Towlong Steppes is offering to sell Shado-Pan Assault faction gear to adventurers for Valor points. Another NPC will also be selling those items in or near the entrance to the Throne of Thunder on Isle of Thunder.
  • The Legendary Quest Continues:
    • Wrathion is determined to know the origin and source of Mogu power, and Azeroth's mightiest heroes will aid the Black Prince in finding out what it is. The search for information will take players into the depths of the Thunder King's Palace, and pit them against trials of perseverance and skill. Along the way, they'll unlock the secrets to a new legendary metagem, the Crown of the Heavens.
    • Players seeking to re-acquire previous Legendary quest rewards (such as gems for Sha-touched weapons) can now speak with the Blacktalon Quartermaster, the surly-looking Pandaren standing in the first floor of the Tavern in the Mists.
  • New World Bosses: Nalak, the Storm Lord and Oondasta
    • Nalak, the Storm Lord
      • After the Isle of Thunder has been conquered, the gate guardian of the Thunder King's citadel will appear: Nalak, the Storm Lord. Players will frequently have the opportunity to test their mettle against him.
    • Oondasta
      • Found in a place that has been lost in time, the great devilsaur lord Oondasta has been outfitted for battle with weaponry and armor by the Zandalari, and awaits players brave enough (or foolhardy enough) to seek him out on the mysterious Isle of Giants found in the seas north of Kun-Lai Summit.
  • Taking Over The Farm
    • Players that have grown attached to working the land at Sunsong Ranch can now acquire the farm from Farmer Yoon via a quest. The farmhouse becomes a rest point like an Inn, where the player can bind and instantly log out. Work orders will pour into the farm from factions across Pandaria, and completing a work order will earn a reputation boost with the issuing faction.
    • The option to take over the farm is available to characters that are exalted with the Tillers and have unlocked all 16 farm plots.
  • New World Boss System
    • All world bosses (Sha of Anger, Galleon, Nalak the Storm Lord, and Oondasta) are now Tap to Faction. This new system offers every eligible player of the same faction that engages a boss the chance to earn loot. Under the new system, players will only be able to earn loot from each world boss once per week.
       

• Classes
  • General
    • Area Damage Cap: The area damage cap is now 20 targets (was 10). This means area of effect damage spells now reach their maximum damage when striking 20 targets. If more than 20 targets are struck, then the total damage done is spread evenly over the actual number of targets present.
  • Death Knight
    • Death Siphon now heals for 150% of the damage dealt (was 100%).
    • Conversion now costs 5 Runic Power plus 5 per second thereafter, down from 10 Runic Power plus 10 per second.
    • Death Knights now maintain the same health percentage when switching into and out of Blood Presence.
    • Blood Plague now deals 15% more damage.
    • Frost Fever now deals 15% more damage.
    • Strangulate's cooldown has been reduced to 60 seconds (was 2 minutes).
    • Asphyxiate's cooldown has been reduced to 30 seconds (was 1 minute).
    • Blood Parasite now summons Bloodworms with 15% of the Death Knight's health (was 18%) and Blood Burst now heals for 25% per stack of Blood Gorged (was 30% per stack).
    • Frost
      • Howling Blast now deals 8% more damage to the primary target. Damage to other enemies in the area-of-effect remains unchanged.
      • Icy Talons now increases attack speed by 25% (was 20%).
      • Might of the Frozen Wastes now increases melee damage by 15% (was 10%).
    • Unholy
      • Reaping now also applies to Icy Touch.
      • Summon Gargoyle no longer costs Runic Power.
      • Gargoyle Strike now also deals Shadow damage, in addition to Nature damage.
      • Ebon Plaguebringer now causes Plague Strike to inflict Frost Fever, in addition to its other effects.
      • Scourge Strike now deals 3.8% more damage.
    • Frost and Unholy Tier-14 2-piece set bonus has been reduced to 4% (was 10%) increased damage on Frost Strike, Obliterate, and Scourge Strike.
  • Druid
    • Cyclone now has a 20-second cooldown for Feral Druids.
    • Symbiosis
      • Dispersion now has a 3-minute cooldown for Druids (was 2 minutes).
      • Shattering Blow now has a 1.5-second cast time to align correctly with the Warrior version of this ability.
    • Displacer Beast has been redesigned. It now triggers Cat Form and grants 50% increased movement speed for 4 seconds after teleporting, and no longer activates Prowl.
    • The healing granted by Cenarion Ward when a target takes damage has been increased by 100%.
    • Frenzied Regeneration now scales 10% more efficiently with attack power.
    • Maim had its damage increased by 100%.
    • Tooth and Claw now scales 10% more efficiently.
    • Mastery: Nature's Guardian now provides 20% more armor per Mastery rating.
    • Rejuvenation now costs approximately 9% less mana.
    • Revive and Mark of the Wild now cost 55% less mana.
    • Faerie Swarm can now snare more than one target at a time.
    • Mass Entanglement now has a 30-second cooldown (was 2 minutes).
    • Typhoon now has a 30-second cooldown (was 20 seconds).
    • The Treants summoned by Force of Nature now deal more damage and healing, and the Force of Nature tooltip will report the capabilities of these summoned pets.
    • Soul of the Forest
      • Balance: Now generates 40 Lunar or Solar energy upon leaving Eclipse.
      • Feral: Unchanged.
      • Guardian: Generates 3 additional Rage per Mangle.
      • Restoration: Now grants 75% Haste on the next spell cast after the Druid casts Swiftmend.
    • Nature's Vigil now has a 90-second cooldown (was 3 minutes), and now increases damage and healing done by 10% (was 20%).
    • Glyph of Cyclone now increases the range of Cyclone by 5 yards (was 4 yards).
    • Wrath damage has been increased by 9%.
    • Balance
      • Starfire damage has been increased by 9%.
      • Starsurge damage has been increased by 9%.
      • Starfall will no longer strike targets that are affected by crowd control effects.
    • Guardian
      • Thick Hide now reduces critical strike chance from all types of attacks made against the Guardian Druid, instead of just melee.
    • Restoration
      • Naturalist: This new passive learned at level 10 by Restoration Druids increases all healing done by the Druid by 10%.
      • Wild Mushrooms will now each gain 25% of the overhealing performed by the Druid’s Rejuvenation effects, up to a maximum of 33% of the Druid’s health in bonus healing, and growing larger as they do so. When Wild Mushroom: Bloom is cast, this bonus healing will be divided evenly amongst targets in the area-of-effect.
    • Feral Druid PvP Gloves now also increases the duration of Bear Hug by 1 second.
    • Feral Druid PvP 2-piece increase to movement speed by 15% while outdoors for Druids in Bear Form, Cat Form, or Travel Form no longer stacks with the Druid talent Feline Swiftness.
    • Feral Druid PvP 4-piece bonus also causes successful interrupts with Skull Bash to reset the cooldown of Enrage.
  • Hunter
    • Targeting for Glaive Toss and Powershot has been improved. These abilities will now always hit the primary target and are much more responsive about which secondary targets they hit.
    • Aimed Shot cast time has been reduced to 2.5 seconds (was 2.9 seconds).
    • Bestial Wrath may now be activated when there is no line of sight to the Hunter's pet.
    • Dismiss pet now has a cast time of 3 seconds (was 2 seconds).
    • Powershot now cancels Camouflage when the cast begins.
    • Silencing Shot now has a 24-second cooldown (was 20 seconds).
    • Stampede now has a range of 40 yards (was 30 yards).
    • Steady Shot now deals 20% more damage.
    • Binding Shot no longer has a Focus cost.
    • Wyvern Sting no longer has a Focus cost, and its cooldown is now 45 seconds (was 60 seconds).
    • Glyph of Marked for Death has been removed and its effects are now baseline.
    • The Fetch ability from Glyph of Fetch no longer requires a target. When activated, the pet will automatically choose a nearby corpse to loot.
    • New Glyph: Glyph of Liberation. This glyph now causes Disengage to heal the Hunter for 5% of maximum health when used.
    • Beast Mastery
      • Beast Cleave now causes the pet to strike all other nearby targets for 50% damage (was 30%).
    • Marksmanship
      • Aimed Shot now deals 10% more damage and cast time has been reduced to 2.5 seconds (was 2.9 seconds).
      • Chimera Shot now deals 25% more damage and heals the Hunter for 5% (was 3%) of their total health.
    • Survival
      • Black Arrow now deals 10% more damage.
      • Explosive Shot now deals 10% more damage.
  • Mage
    • Invocation now removes Evocation's cooldown, and reduces its channeling time and duration by 50%. A completed Evocation now grants 15% increased damage for 1 minute after an Evocation is completed,instead of 25% increased damage for 40 seconds. Passive mana regeneration is reduced by 50% only while Invoker's Energy is active.
    • Glyph of Evocation now causes the Invocation talent to restore 10% (was 20%) health after completing an Evocation.
    • Greater invisibility now has a 90-second cooldown (was 2.5 minutes).
    • Frostbolt cast by Mirror Images now deals 50% more damage.
    • Glyph of Fire Blast has been replaced with Glyph of Inferno Blast. Glyph of Inferno Blast causes damage-over-time effects spread by Inferno Blast to spread to 1 additional target.
    • Blazing Speed is now a level-15 talent, replacing Scorch.
    • Flameglow, a new talent is available at level 30 and replaces Blazing Speed. The passive ability encases the Mage in fiery energy, absorbing damage from each attack made against the Mage equal to 20% of their spellpower, up to a maximum of 30% of the attack.
    • Ice Floes now has a 45-second cooldown (was 1 minute) and its duration has been increased to 15 seconds (was 10 seconds).
    • Incanter's Ward can now be removed by magic dispels.
    • Ring of Frost cast instantly through Presence of Mind now has a 2-second arming period before the Freeze effect is activated against targets in the area of effect. The 2-second arming period can be reduced by Haste.
    • Temporal Ripples from Temporal Shield can no longer be dispelled.
    • Deep Freeze now stuns the target for 5 seconds (was 4 seconds).
    • Rune of Power increases the Mage's mana regeneration by 75% (was 100%) while standing inside the rune.
    • Glyph of Deep Freeze now removes it from global cooldown but also reduces its duration by 1 second.
    • Mage PvP 2-piece bonus now requires Counterspell to successfully interrupt a spell before applying the 4 second cooldown reduction to Counterspell.
    • Arcane
      • For Arcane Mages, Evocation now restores 40% (was 60%) of total mana over 6 seconds, and consumes all Arcane Charges. For each Arcane Charge consumed, the total amount of mana regenerated is increased by 10%, up to a maximum of 80% over 6 seconds. Evocation remains the same for Fire and Frost.
      • Arcane Blast's damage has been reduced by 22.9% and mana cost has been increased to 1.66667% of base mana (was 1.5%).
      • Arcane Missile's damage has been reduced by 22.1%.
      • Arcane Barrage's damage has been reduced by 16.1%.
      • Arcane Charges now stacks up to 4 times (was 6), increases damage by 50% (was 25%), and increases mana cost by 150% (was 75%).
    • Fire
      • Pyroblast has its direct damage reduced by 10%.
      • Scorch is no longer a talent and is now available to all Fire Mages.
    • Frost
      • Fingers of Frost now has a 15% (was 12%) chance to activate from Frostbolt, Frostfire Bolt and Frozen Orb, and a 5% (was 4%) chance to activate from Blizzard.
      • Glyph of Ice Lance now causes Ice Lance to deal 50% damage to 1 additional target, up from 40%.
      • Frostbolt now deals 32% more damage.
      • Water Elemental
        • Freeze no longer does damage and only provides Fingers of Frost on a successful freeze.
  • Monk
    • New Level-60 Talent: Ring of Peace
      • Ring of Peace forms an 8 yard sanctuary around a friendly target for 8 seconds, disabling enemy player auto-attacks in PvP, and causing all enemies (both players and NPCs) in the area of effect to be disarmed for the duration. In addition, enemies that cast a damaging spell while within the area of effect will be silenced for 3 seconds. The ability has a 45-second cooldown.
    • New Windwalker and Brewmaster ability added at level 30: Nimble Brew
      • Nimble Brew removes all stun, fear, and root effects, and reduces the duration of those effects if they are reapplied by 60% for 6 seconds. It has a 2-minute cooldown.
    • Chi Wave now does 100% more damage and 14% less healing, and no longer costs Chi, and has a 15-second cooldown.
    • Zen Sphere now has a limit of 2 (was 1), detonates when either the recipient reaches 35% health or the Zen Sphere is dispelled, no longer costs Chi, and has a 10-second cooldown. Its periodic damage has been increased by 22%, periodic healing has been reduced by 61%, and its detonation healing has been reduced by 62%.
    • Chi Burst now does 380% more damage, 69% more healing, no longer costs Chi, and has a 30-second cooldown.
    • Deadly Reach has been removed.
    • Path of Blossoms has been removed.
    • Glyph of Path of Blossoms is now Glyph of Paralysis. This glyph causes the Monk's Paralysis ability to remove all damage-over-time effects on the target.
    • Paralysis is now a physical, non-magical effect, can no longer be dispelled, grounded or reflected, and its base range has been increased to 20 yards. The paralysis effect lasts 40 seconds (was 30 seconds) for non-player targets, 4 seconds when used against other players, and lasts 50% (was 200%) longer when used from behind a target.
    • Spear Hand Strike, used on a target that's facing the Monk silences them for 2 seconds (was 4 seconds).
    • Tiger's Lust and Touch of Karma no longer have a Chi cost.
    • Tiger's Lust can no longer be used on targets that have other temporary speed increases active.
    • Charging Ox Wave now has a 30-second cooldown (was 60 seconds).
    • Dampen Harm can now be used while stunned, and its cooldown will now begin when used, not when the effect ends.
    • Healing Elixirs now heals the Monk for 15% of maximum health (was 10%).
    • Chi Torpedo now deals 15% more damage.
    • Healing Spheres now have a duration of 1 minute. Healing Spheres generated by Mastery: Gift of the Serpent have a duration of 30 seconds.
    • Xuen will now fixate on the Monk’s original target for Brewmasters.
    • Mistweaver
      • Jab now costs 8% (was 4%) of base mana to use.
      • The Glyphed version of Uplift now costs 16% of base mana (was 6.6%) to cast.
      • Life Cocoon can no longer be dispelled.
      • Zen Focus, the 4-piece Mistweaver set bonus, is now more responsive.
      • It is no longer possible to use Thunder Focus Tea while silenced.
      • Renewing Mist had its mana cost reduced by 10%.
      • Soothing Mists now generates chi more consistently and average generation rate is slightly higher.
      • Summon Jade Serpent Statue no longer costs mana.
      • Healing Spheres will now heal for 50% of their original value if they expire without being picked up. This healing will factor in relevant Mastery.
      • Eminence now heals for 25% of the damage done (was 50%).
      • Serpent's Zeal no longer stacks and heals for 25% of the damage that had been dealt.
      • Teachings of the Monastery now provides additional benefits.
        • Tiger Palm damage increased by 100%.
        • Crackling Jade Lightning damage increased by 100%.
        • Blackout Kick now hits 4 additional nearby targets for 50% damage.
      • Muscle Memory is a new passive ability for Mistweaver Monks. Successful Jabs and Spinning Crane Kicks which damages at least 3 enemies cause Muscle Memory. Muscle Memory causes the Monk's next Tiger Palm or Blackout Kick to deal 150% more damage and restore 4% mana.
    • Windwalker
      • New Level-75 Ability: Storm, Earth and Fire
        • The Windwalker can summon up to 2 elemental duplicates that mirror damaging abilities that the Monk uses while they are active. For each spirit summoned, the Monk's damage is reduced: 1 spirit causes the Monk and the spirit to deal 60% of the Monk's normal damage, while 2 spirits will cause the Monk and both active spirits to deal 45% of the Monk's normal damage. Each spirit lasts until the ability is canceled, that spirit's target dies or otherwise becomes unavailable, or they're killed (they can be targeted and have 10% of the Monk's health).
          • When using Fist of Fury, the stun effect will only apply from the Monk (not the spirits).
      • Spinning Fire Blossoms’ damage has been adjusted to scale from weapon damage rather than attack power.
      • Combo Breaker is now a passive ability granted at level 15 that grants a 12% chance to make the Monk's next Blackout Kick or Tiger Palm cost no Chi.
      • New Mastery: Bottled Fury
        • Bottled Fury increases the damage bonus provided by Tigereye Brew by .2% per Mastery per stack.
      • Brewing: Tigereye Brew now gains 1 charge after spending 3 Chi (was 4 Chi), increases damage by 1% per stack (was 2%), can stack to 20 but only 10 charges can be consumed per activation, and a user interface alert displays upon reaching 10 charges. Stacks of Tigereye Brew are cleared at the start of a raid encounter. This ability is improved by Bottled Fury.
      • Rising Sun Kick now causes the Monk's abilities to inflict an additional 10% damage (was 15%) on the target.
    • Brewmaster
      • Black Ox Statue
        • The damage requirement to activate Sanctuary of the Ox has been increased by 100%.  The spell tooltip has been updated to reflect the change.
      • Elusive Brew now has a 6-second cooldown (was 9 seconds).
      • Mastery: Elusive Brawler now provides 25% more Stagger per Mastery rating.
    • Windwalker Monk PvP 2-piece bonus now also increases the range of Keg Smash.
  • Paladin
    • Avenging Wrath now has a cooldown of 2 minutes for Retribution Paladins (was 3 minutes). The cooldown remains unchanged for Holy and Protection Paladins.
    • Light's Hammer now also applies a 50% snare for 2 seconds to targets that take damage from the area of effect.
    • Hand of Purity now reduces all incoming damage by 10% in addition to its other effects.
    • Eternal Flame's periodic heal now provides 100% more healing when self-cast.
    • Judgment now costs 5% of base mana.
    • Repentance now has a cast time of 1.7 seconds (was 1.5 seconds).
    • Sacred Shield’s periodic effect can no longer be dispelled. Each individual absorb effect can be dispelled instead.
    • Seal of Righteousness now causes melee attacks to deal 9% damage (was 6%) to targets in the area-of-effect.
    • Selfless Healer now boosts Flash of Light by 20/40/60% (was 33/66/100%).
    • Glyph of Blessed Life no longer requires Seal of Insight to be active.
    • Glyph of Templar's Verdict can also activate from Exorcism.
    • Holy
      • Blinding Light now has a 1.8-second cast time for Holy Paladins. It remains instant cast for Retribution and Protection.
      • Holy 4-piece PvP set bonus now grants Holy Power when casting Flash of Light, instead of Word of Glory.
    • Protection
      • The base damage of Consecration has been increased by 789%, and it now scales less efficiently with attack power by approximately 11%.
      • Grand Crusader now has a chance to activate when the Paladin doges or parries a melee attack in addition to having a 12% chance (was 20%) to activate from Crusader Strike or Hammer of the Righteous.
    • Retribution
      • Seal of Justice now causes melee attacks to deal an additional 20% (was 16%) as Holy damage.
      • Sword of Light now increases Flash of Light by 100% (was 30%) and increases the Paladin's damage with two-handed melee weapons by 15% (was 10%).
      • Absolve is a new passive ability for Retribution Paladins. Absolve removes all harmful magic effects when Hard of Sacrifice is cast on a party member.
      • Retribution 2-piece PvP set bonus now grants 1000 PvP power (was 800).
      • Tier-14 Retribution 4-piece set bonus has been changed to increase damage on all Seals and Judgment by 10%.
  • Priest
    • The amount of healing done by Flash Heal, Binding Heal, Renew, and Prayer of Mending have been reduced by 20%.
    • Spiritual Healing is a new passive ability obtained by Discipline and Holy Priests at level 10. This ability increases the amount of healing done by Flash Heal, Binding Heal, Renew, and Prayer of Mending by 25%. For Holy and Discipline Priests, there is no decrease to the amount of healing done by those four spells.
    • Evangelism's stacking effect now also increases the healing of Penance.
    • Halo will no longer hit enemies that are in stealth.
    • Angelic Bulwark can no longer be dispelled.
    • Dominate Mind now has a 1.8-second cast time (was 2.5 seconds).
    • Angelic Feather now has a 6 second duration (was 4 seconds).
    • Focused Will is now a passive for Holy Priests, as well as Discipline Priests.
    • Power Word: Solace has been replaced with a new talent: Solace & Insanity
      • For Holy and Discipline, Power Word: Solace replaces Holy Fire. It deals the same damage, and interacts with other spells and abilities in the same manner but does not trigger Atonement, is instant, costs no mana, and restores 1% of maximum mana on each cast. Damage dealt by Power Word: Solace will heal a nearby friendly player within 40 yards of the target for 100% of the damage dealt (50% when healing the Priest).
      • For Shadow, this ability causes Mind Flay to gain the Insanity effect on a target affected by Devouring Plague. Insanity increases the damage of Mind Flay by 33% per Shadow Orb consumed.
    • Glyph of Mind Spike only works from Mind Spikes that aren't instant casts from Surge of Darkness.
    • Glyph of Desperation has been replaced with Glyph of Binding Heal. Pain Suppression and Guardian Spirit can now always be cast while stunned.
    • New Glyph: Glyph of Binding Heal applies Binding Heal a third nearby friendly target, but costs 35% more mana.
    • Glyph of Inner Focus has been replaced with Glyph of Weakened Soul. Casting Inner Focus now always grants 5 seconds of immunity to silences, interrupts, and dispels.
    • New Glyph: Glyph of Weakened Soul reduces the duration of Weakened Soul by 2 seconds.
    • Holy Fire is now an instant cast ability.
    • Glyph of Holy Fire has been redesigned. It now increases the range of Holy Fire, Smite, and Power Word: Solace by 10 yards.
    • Power Infusion now increases the Priest's damage by 5% in addition to current effects.
    • Phantasm no longer makes the Priest untargetable by ranged attacks, and the movement impairing immunity effect is now 5 seconds (was 3 seconds).
    • Psyfiend belonging to an individual Priest will no longer cast Psychic Horror on the same target twice.
    • Discipline
      • Mastery: Shield Discipline now also increases all healing done by a lesser amount, but the bonus provided by Mastery has been reduced by 36%.
      • Penance damage and healing has been increased by 20%, now a cooldown of 9 seconds (was 10 seconds), and has a range of 40 yards for both friendly and hostile targets (was 40 yards for friendly and 30 yards for hostile targets).
      • Focused Will now reduce damage taken by 15% per stack, with a limit of 2 stacks.
      • Spirit Shell can no longer be dispelled and now provides an absorb shield equal to the average healing and absorb of the triggering spell, including criticals and Divine Aegis.
      • Rapture now reduces the cost of Power Word: Shield by 25% and provides mana equal to 150% (was 200%) of the Priest's Spirit, but no longer benefits from Spirit provided by short-duration bonuses.
      • Divine Aegis now causes critical heals to apply an absorb shield on the target for 100% of the amount healed instead of healing for twice as much. In addition, it grants Power Word: Shield a chance equal to the Priest's critical chance for the shield to absorb twice as much damage.
    • Shadow
      • Dispersion now belongs to the Shadow spell school.
      • Shadowform now increases the Priest's Shadow damage by 25% (was 20%).
    • The 2-piece Holy/Discipline PvP set bonus has been replaced by the now the previous 4-piece set bonus.
    • The 4-piece Holy/Discipline PvP set bonus has been redesigned. It now reduces the cooldown of Chakra by 25 seconds. When Spirit Shell is active, the mana cost of Flash Heal is reduced by 50%.
    • Tier-14 Holy/Discipline 4-piece set bonus now reduces the cooldown of Penance by 3 seconds (was 4 seconds).
  • Rogue
    • Preparation is now a baseline ability learned at level 68 and no longer resets the cooldown on Cloak of Shadows.
    • Versatility has been removed.
    • New Level 90 Talent: Marked for Death
      • Marks a target and instantly generates 5 combo points. When that target dies, Marked for Death's cooldown is reset. This talent has a 1-minute cooldown.
    • New Level 60 Talent: Cloak and Dagger
      • Ambush, Garrote, and Cheap Shot now have a 30-yard range, and will cause the Rogue to teleport behind the target.
    • Burst of Speed now costs 30 Energy (was 50 Energy), can be used in Stealth, and always grants increased movement speed in addition to breaking snare effects, but no longer breaks root effects.
    • Shuriken Toss now causes the Rogue to throw ranged shurikens coated in Lethal Poison and auto-attack at 75% damage (was 80%) for up to 10 seconds if the enemy is farther than 10 yards away.
    • Deadly Throw can now interrupt spellcasting when used at 3, 4 and 5 combo points, and upon interrupt prevents any spell in that school from being cast for 4, 5 and 6 seconds respectively, instead of 5 combo points and 6 seconds.
    • Blind now has a cooldown of 2 minutes (was 1.5 minutes).
    • Cloak of Shadows now has a cooldown of 1 minute (was 2 minutes).
    • Smoke Bomb now reduces damage taken by allies in the area of effect by 20%, in addition to current effects.
    • Nerve Strike now reduces the effectiveness of healing provided by the target by 10% (was from 25%).
    • Shadow Focus now reduces ability energy costs by 75% while stealthed (was 100%).
    • PvP set bonuses have been changed:
      • Vigor is now the 4-piece set bonus and increases maximum energy by 30 (was 10).
      • Deadly Brew is now the 2-piece set bonus and its effects remain unchanged.
    • Assassination
      • Dispatch now deals 15% more damage.
      • Envenom now deals 20% more damage.
    • Combat
      • Vitality now increases attack power by 30% (was 25%).
      • Blade Flurry has been changed. It now strikes up to 4 additional nearby targets for 40% of normal damage.
    • Subtlety
      • Sanguinary Vein now increases the damage the target takes by 20% (was 16%).
  • Shaman
    • Chain Lightning will now deal the same damage to subsequent targets as it does to the first.
    • Lava Beam's damage now increases with jumps. Each jump increases the damage by 10%.
    • Elemental Mastery now has a 90-second cooldown (was 2 minutes).
    • Shamanistic Rage is now available to Elemental Shaman as well as Enhancement Shaman.
    • Conductivity no longer requires that the target be within the area of effect of Healing Rain.
    • Healing Rain had its mana cost reduced by 15%.
    • Ancestral Swiftness now increases spell haste by 5% and melee haste by 10%, instead of 5% each.
    • Glyph of Purge now adds a 6-second cooldown to Purge.
    • Stone Bulwark Totem now absorbs 25% more damage.
    • Primal Earth Elemental and Primal Fire Elemental now deal 20% more damage.
    • Elemental Blast now has a chance to increase the caster's Agility for Enhancement Shaman.
    • Glyph of Flame has been redesigned. This glyph now causes the Shaman to heal for 30% of the damage dealt by Flame Shock.
    • Unleashed Fury Flametongue now increases Lightning Bolt damage by 20% (was 30%), and Lava Burst damage by 10%.
    • Flame Shock's duration has been increased by 25%.
    • Lava Burst base damage has been reduced by 33% but now always deals a critical strike. When cast on targets affected by Flame Shock, it now deals 50% more damage.
    • Totemic Restoration no longer allows the Shaman to instantly destroy a totem to obtain a full 50% refund on cooldown. Any totems that have been destroyed or replaced behave as if the totem had been active for at least 1 second.
    • When summoned, the Stone Bulwark Totem has health equal to 10% of the casting Shaman's health.
    • The talent Nature's Guardian now preserves the player's health percentage when its maximum health boosting effect expires.
    • Ancestral Guidance now copies 60% (was 40%) of the amount healed.
    • Conductivity now shares 30% (was 20%) of the healing received from Healing Wave, Greater Healing Wave, or Healing Surge.
    • Elemental
      • Elemental Focus now increases the Shaman's spell damage by 15% (was 10%).
      • Shamanism now increases the damage of Lightning Bolt by 70% (was 50%).
    • Enhancement
      • Mental Quickness now lowers the cost of shocks by 90% (still lowers the cost of other "beneficial, instant, damaging and totem spells” by 75%).
      • Spirit walk now has a 1-minute cooldown (was 2 minutes).
  • Warlock
    • Fel Armor now reduces damage taken by 10%, instead of increasing the Warlock’s armor.
    • Blood Fear has been replaced by Blood Horror. Blood Horror costs 5% health, has 1 charge, and lasts 60 seconds with a 30-second cooldown. While Blood Horror is active, melee attacks that strike the Warlock will cause the attacker to be horrified for 4 seconds.
    • Burning Rush now also prevents movement-impairing effects from reducing the Warlock’s movement speed below 100% of normal, in addition to its other effects.
    • The Imp ability Blood Pact has been removed.
    • Dark Intent now increases Stamina in addition to Spell Power.
    • Immolate now deals 15% more damage.
    • Shadow Bolt now deals 15% more damage.
    • Soul Leech now provides an absorption shield instead of healing.
    • Sacrificial Pact now requires the pet to sacrifice 25% of its health to activate (was 50%).
    • Kil'jaeden's Cunning is now a passive talent, and its activated ability has been removed.
    • The passive damage from Archimonde's Vengeance no longer has a visual effect.
    • Grimoire of Sacrifice now increases the damage of abilities by 15% (was 25%) for Destruction Warlocks and 25% (was 50%) for Affliction Warlocks. In addition, it now provides the spell Whiplash instead of Seduction when a Succubus is sacrificed.
    • Glyph of Burning Embers has been removed and its effects are now baseline for Destruction Warlocks.
    • Glyph of Soul Shards has been removed and its effects are now baseline for Affliction Warlocks.
    • New Glyph: Glyph of Ember Tap. This glyph increases the healing gained from Ember Tap by 33%, but the health is restored over 10 seconds.
    • New Glyph: Glyph of Drain Life. This glyph increases the healing gained from Drain Life by 30%.
    • Glyph of Unstable Affliction has been redesigned. This glyph now reduces the cast time of Unstable Affliction by 25%.
    • Affliction
      • Haunt now causes the target to receive an additional 30% damage (was 25%) from Warlock's spells.
      • Unstable Affliction’s backlash effect is now always a critical hit and deals approximately 15% more damage.
    • Demonology
      • Chaos Wave now has a new visual.
      • Hand of Gul'dan now deals 15% more damage.
      • Shadowflame now deals 15% more damage.
      • Soul Fire now deals 22% more damage.
      • Touch of Chaos now deals 15% more damage.
      • Wild Imp's Firebolt now deals 15% more damage.
    • Destruction
      • Conflagrate now deals 15% more damage.
      • Fire and Brimstone now has a radius of 10 yards (was 15 yards).
      • Incinerate now deals 10% more damage.
  • Warrior
    • The benefit of Haste from items and consumables has been increased by 50% for all Warriors.
    • Bladestorm now provides immunity to disarm while active.
    • Defensive Stance now reduces damage by 15% (was 25%).
    • Execute now deals 15% less damage.
    • Shockwave now has a 40-second cooldown (was 20 seconds), and striking 3 or more targets will reduce its cooldown by 20 seconds.
    • Second Wind now generates 15 rage (was 20 rage) over 10 seconds.
    • Warbringer now reduces the target's movement by 50% for 15 seconds (8 seconds in PvP), in addition to its other effects. The 3-second stun/knockdown is now in the diminishing returns category for stuns (same as Shockwave and Storm Bolt), and not the proc stun diminishing returns category.
    • Shield Barrier now scales approximately 10% less efficiently with attack power.
    • Storm Bolt now deals 125% weapon damage (was 100%).
    • Enraged Regeneration now costs 30 Rage (was 60 Rage).
    • Deadly Calm has been removed from the game.
    • Glyph of Incite no longer activates from Deadly Calm, and now activates from Demoralizing Shout instead.
    • Glyph of Overpower is now Glyph of Die by the Sword. It increases the duration of Die by the Sword whenever Overpower or Wild Strike are used.
    • Glyph of Death from Above no longer increases the damage dealt by Heroic Leap.
    • Impending Victory will now heal the Warrior for 15% of maximum health when they have not slain an enemy (was 10%).
    • Arms
      • Taste for Blood has been redesigned. It now causes the Warrior to gain 2 stacks of Overpower (maximum of 5 stacks) when Mortal Strike deals damage, 1 stack when the target dodges, and no longer interacts with Heroic Strike. It now requires level 20 (used to require level 50).
      • Slam now deals 220% weapon damage (was 190%) and now costs 20 rage (was 30 rage).
      • Deep Wounds damage has been increased by 100% for Arms Warriors.
      • Whirlwind now costs 20 rage (was 30) for Arms Warriors. The cost is unchanged for Fury Warriors.
      • Overpower now costs 10 rage and reduces Mortal Strike's remaining cooldown by 0.5 seconds.
      • Sudden Death now has a 10% (was 20%) chance to activate from auto attacks or Opportunity Strike. In addition, using Execute makes Overpower free for 10 seconds.
    • Fury
      • Bloodsurge now reduces the Rage cost of Wild Strike by 30 (was 20), and its duration has been increased to 15 seconds (was 10 seconds).
    • Protection
      • The base damage of Shield Slam and Revenge has been increased by 150%, but these abilities now scale approximately 10% less efficiently with attack power.
      • Unwavering Sentinel now improves the damage reduction of Defensive Stance by 10% for Protection Warriors.
         

• Quests
  • Warlocks can now undertake a solo adventure that culminates with the ability to change the color of their Fire spells to appear Fel green. The quest begins for those Warlocks determined or fortunate enough to have laid their hands on the fabled Codex of Xerrath.
  • Upon reaching level 20 and level 60, characters will automatically receive a new quest directing them to visit the racial riding trainer and mount vendors.
     

• Creatures
  • Zandalari forces have begun scouting the shores of Pandaria, searching for the perfect invasion point.  The Zandalari can be found in Krasarang Wilds, Dread Wastes, Townlong Steppes, Jade Forest, and Kun-Lai Summit.  Zandalari Scouts can be handled by 1 or 2 players, while elite Zandalari Warbringers will likely require a full party of 5 heroes. Defeat Warbringers to gain special drops, including crafting materials, reputation gains, an achievement, and even the chance to get one of three new rare mounts!
  • Galleon now respawns much more frequently, but players can only receive loot from him once per week.
  • Fite spectral porcupine fite! Three new spectral porcupine spirit beasts have appeared across Pandaria as tamable beasts, though taming them may provide quite a challenge.
  • Direhorns have been added as a tamable species for Hunters that have learned the required skill. Aspiring Direhorn owners should seek out clues regarding these auspicious beasts.
     

• Pet Battles
  • Many new Battle Pets and Battle Pet abilities have been added.
  • Players may now participate in pet battle duels while in the Throne of Thunder instance.
  • Master Trainers in Northrend, Cataclysm, and Courageous Yon will no longer field pets with higher than intended stats.
  • Brilliant Kaliri, Jade Tentacle, Tirisfal Batling, Firefly, Jade Crane Chick, Gilnean Raven, and Shore Crawler are no longer available in multiple breeds.
  • Reflection has been replaced with Deflection, an ability that always attempts to go first and causes the pet to avoid all attacks for that round.
  • Anubisath Idol: Sandstorm and Deflection have swapped ability positions.
  • Thunderbolt has been redesigned. It is now a powerful team-damage spell.
  • Mr. Bigglesworth's Prowl has been replaced with a new ability, Ice Barrier, which blocks two attacks.
  • Fluxfire Feline's Wind-Up has been replaced with a new ability, Flux, which deals damage to the enemy team.
  • The Tuskarr Kite has a new set of abilities that's more appropriate for a Tuskarr Kite.
  • Pets that had been affected by a crowd-control ability will now be granted Resilience, making them immune to crowd control for a short while.
  • Volcano's damage has been reduced by 15%.
  • Ice Tomb, Elementium Bolt, and Stun Seed's damage has been reduced by 25%.
  • Geyser's damage has been reduced by 12.5%.
  • Conflagrate's base damage has been increased by 20% and its bonus damage has been reduced by 60%.
  • Siphon Life now heals for a flat amount instead of a percentage of the damage that had been dealt.
  • Arcane Explosion’s damage to back-line pets has been increased by 20%.
  • Supercharge now provides a 125% damage bonus, down from 150%, and lasts for 1 round.
  • Frost Shock now properly chills targets for 2 rounds (was 4 rounds).
  • Deep Freeze now has a cooldown of 4 rounds (was 3 rounds).
  • Ghostly Bite's damage has been reduced by 20%.
  • Ghostly Skull: Ghostly Bite and Siphon Life have swapped ability positions.
  • Call Darkness now lasts for 5 rounds (was 9 rounds).
  • Blocking abilities that last for 2 turns like Decoy, now have a cooldown of 8 rounds.
  • Feign Death now has a cooldown of 8 rounds (was 5 rounds).
  • Prowl now lasts for 2 rounds (was 1 round).
  • Crystal Overload now lasts for 2 rounds (was 1 round).
  • Focus Chi now lasts for 1 round.
  • Sprite Darter Hatchling and Nether Faerie Dragon: Evanescence and Arcane Blast have swapped ability positions.
  • Nether Roach is now a real roach and can now survive the apocalypse.
  • Battle Pet Bandages now stack to 25 and are Bind to Account.
  • Battle-Stones now have a chance to be awarded from PvP Pet Battles.
  • Pets whose color schemes change each time they are summoned have returned. Older pets with this behavior now have it back, as well as some newcomers.
  • Level capped players will now have a chance to earn Lesser Charms of Good Fortune after winning a pet battle versus a pet within 5 levels of the highest level pet on their team. Higher-level pets will offer a better chance to earn a charm.
  • Winning a pet battle versus a team within 5 levels of the player's highest-level pet will now award player experience.
  • Fleeing a pet battle will no longer despawn the pet that was being battled, but doing so will now inflict some damage on the fleeing pet battle team.
  • Disconnecting from a pet battle will once again respawn the pets you were fighting.
  • Elite Battle Pets have been added to the game world. These rare pets will spawn alone against an entire team. The Beasts of Fable taming quest will now become available from Gentle San or Sara Finkleswitch once Aki the Chosen has been defeated.
     

• Raids, Dungeons and Scenarios
  • Throne of Thunder raid bosses in Normal and Heroic difficulties have a chance of dropping items with the Thunderforged designation. Thunderforged items are 6 item levels higher than their Normal or Heroic counterparts and will drop more frequently in 25-player raids. For a more in-depth look at this change, check out this discussion thread.
  • To encourage Raid Finder groups to persevere, each time an Raid Finder group wipes on a boss fight all players in the group receives a stacking buff that increases health, damage dealt, and healing done by 5% (up to a maximum of 10 stacks). This buff is cleared once the boss has been killed.
  • Satchels obtained via the Raid Finder now have a chance to contain additional rewards, including: consumables, Spirits of Harmony, rare pets or mounts, and Raid Finder versions of Normal and Heroic difficulty zone drops that were previously unavailable from Raid Finder encounters!
  • You can now earn bonus reputation for your first dungeon and scenario of the day. You can select which reputation you choose to champion by selecting it from the reputation panel on the character screen. When you queue for a dungeon or scenario, the UI will remind you which reputation you are championing and allow you to change the reputation from there. (You cannot change that reputation once you are in the dungeon or scenario.)
  • On Normal and Heroic mode, zone-wide auras have been activated in Mogu’shan Vaults, Heart of Fear, and Terrace of Endless Spring, reducing the health and damage of all enemies therein by 10%. A NPC near the entrance within each zone explains this, and offers to deactivate the buff for the benefit of brave/foolhardy adventurers.
  • All players who have defeated Will of the Emperor, Grand Empress Shek’zeer, and/or Sha of Fear prior to the release of Patch 5.2 will receive a Feat of Strength, “Ahead of the Curve,” to mark their accomplishments.
  • Elders Lin and Liao in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms now offer Mogu Runes of Fate in exchange for Lesser Charms of Good Fortune. Mogu Runes of Fate allow for a bonus loot roll for Throne of Thunder raid bosses, Nalak the Storm Lord, and Oondasta.
  • The maximum number of Elder Charms of Good Fortune a character can hold has been increased to 20 (was 10).
  • The chance of getting personal loot in Raid Finder and the chance of a successful bonus roll in Raid Finder have been greatly increased for the following raids, Mogu'shan Vaults, Heart of Fear, and Terrace of Endless Spring.
  • Lorewalker Cho has two new tales to tell: Dagger in the Dark and A Little Patience. Though his mystical story-weaving magic (and well, the Dungeon Finder), both Alliance and Horde characters are now able run these previously faction-specific Scenarios.
  • Level 90 players that use Dungeon Finder to look for a random Dungeon or Scenario will receive additional bonus Valor Points upon completing specific Dungeons or Scenarios.
    • Dungeons
      • Siege of Niuzao Temple: 5 bonus Valor Points
      • Scholomance: 10 bonus Valor Points
      • Shadow-Pan Monastery: 15 bonus Valor Points
    • Scenarios
      • Brewmoon Festival, Greenstone Village, A Little Patience, and Theramore’s Fall: 5 bonus Valor Points.
  • Heroic Pandaria dungeons now award 100 Justice Points per boss. Gold drops for those bosses have also been changed from a static 50 gold to a 40-60 gold range. Less gold will drop in groups consisting of fewer than 5 players.
  • Scenarios now award 50 Justice Points (was 25).
  • Sunwell Plateau
    • The Kalecgos encounter in The Sunwell can now be completed by a single player.
       

• PvP
  • Season 13 has begun! With the start of the new season, Tyranical and Tyranical Elite gear are now available for purchase.
  • Tyrannical Primal Diamond is now available for purchase with Conquest Points. This new PvP-oriented metagem offers PvP Power and Resilience.
  • Characters who have earned over 27,000 Conquest points during Season 13 will gain access to new vendors that sell Conquest PvP gear for Honor. These vendors can be found near existing Pandaria PvP vendors.
  • Mists of Pandaria Season 12 Malevolent Gladiator’s PvP gear can now be purchased with Honor Points instead of Conquest Points, including weapons.
  • All newly purchased Season 12 Malevolent Gladiator’s armor, off-hands and shields will have an item level of 476 (was 483). Existing Malevolent items are unaffected.
  • Balance, Feral, Windwalker, Retribution, Shadow, Enhancement and Elemental now gain 25% of the bonus healing provided by PvP Power (was 0). Dedicated healers will continue to gain 50% of the bonus healing, and no bonus damage, from PvP Power.
  • PvP trinkets that clear loss-of-control effects will now also clear these effects from the player's pet as well.
  • For casters and healers, PvP Power is now split evenly between main-hand and off-hand in a manner similar to a dual-wield melee class. This change is retroactive, affecting Season 12 Malevolent and Malevolent Elite items. There should be no net change for any character already using a main-hand/off-hand combination.
  • Season 13 caster weapons now cost 2250 Conquest Points (was 2500 in Season 12) and shields/off-hands cost 1250 (was 1000), to reflect the increased value of the off-hand slot for classes that use it in this manner. This change is not retroactive and applies only to Season 13 items.
  • Characters that have attained requisite title levels (Centurion, Knight-Captain, Grand Marshal, High Warlord, etc.) through the Rated Battleground system will be able to purchase old PvP items requiring those titles.
     

• Battlegrounds
  • Players in low-level Battlegrounds will have their effective level raised to the maximum level allowed in that Battleground bracket. Players' base stats and spells are scaled accordingly, and are treated as the same level when determining hits, misses, and critical effect chance.
  • Rated Battlegrounds now award Conquest to the losing team based on their final score. The losing team can earn up to 200 Conquest Points from a very close match.
  • Players can obtain a new title "Khan", by completing the following Battleground achievements: Master of the Battle for Gilneas, Master of Twin Peaks, Master of Temple of Kotmogu, Master of Isle of Conquest, and Master of Silvershard Mines.
     

• Professions
  • Archeology
    • Mantid Archaeology has been added. Players will be able to uncover common and rare Mantid artifacts.
    • Players can purchase a Mantid Artifact Sonic Locator to focus exclusively on Mantid digsites.
    • The Lorewalker’s Map now randomizes all digsites in Pandaria, rather than just 1.
    • Updates have been made to the “museum” at the Seat of Knowledge.
  • Blacksmithing
    • New raid and PvP blacksmithing plans have been added, and can be acquired through daily research of Lightning Steel Ingots.
    • Seasoned Blacksmiths will be able to find a way to create Lightning Steel Ingots once their realm has unlocked the Thunderforges on the Isle of Thunder. These ingots will allow blacksmiths to recreate powerful weapons from the past, updated for Mists of Pandaria.  These power weapons will be bind-on-equip and making them will take a significant amount of dedication.
    • For blacksmiths who have lapsed in their trade (i.e., haven’t practiced blacksmithing since the Burning Crusade), there is a (not necessarily cost efficient) way to catch-up. Blacksmiths at your faction’s shrines in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms will be able to teach you training plans for crafting common household items using Ghost Iron.
  • Fishing
    • The chance to fish up Flying Tiger Gourami, Spinefish Alpha and Mimic Octopus has been increased.
    • Reputation gains from bringing rare Pandarian fish for Nat Pagle to examine has been increased.
    • Players with a high fishing skill have a chance to fish up new pets. The Pet Journal has clues on where these elusive pets could be found.
    • Fish of the Day: On any given day, there is a location in Pandaria teeming with a type of Pandaren fishing pool.
    • Ben of the Booming Voice, located near the Halfhill Market area will inform players what the “Fish of the Day” is and mark the location on their map.
  • Jewelcrafting
    • Jewelcrafters may find the designs for Serpent’s Heart and uncut Primal Diamonds during the course of their adventures (world drops).
    • Serpent’s Heart is a daily cooldown that consumes several Serpent’s Eyes to create a random rare quality Pandaren gem.  In addition, there is a small chance that a player will discover the design for the Sapphire Cub or Jade Owl.
    • The design for uncut Primal Diamonds requires Spirits of Harmony and large quantities of uncommon gems.
  • Leatherworking
    • New raid and PvP patterns have been added. Leatherworkers can acquire these new patterns via the daily Magnificence of Leather or Magnificence of Scales cooldown.
    • Patterns for Magnificence of Leather and Magnificence of Scales could be found via world drops. These patterns allow the leatherworker to create Magnificent Hides more economically and share a daily cooldown.
    • A new 36 slot leather bag (Magnificent Hide Pack) can now be created through Leatherworking.
  • Tailoring
    • New raid and PvP patterns have been added, and tailors can acquire these new patterns via the daily Imperial Silk cooldown.
       

• Items
  • General
    • Transmogrification rules have been broadened for several weapon types.
      • Two-handed axes, maces, and swords can be Transmogrified to each other.
      • One-handed axes, maces, and swords can be Transmogrified to each other.
      • Staves and polearms can be transmogrified to each other.
    • The ethereals that offered to upgrade items using Valor or Justice Points have departed Azeroth for the moment. They may yet return in a future patch.
    • The cost of Valor Point gear introduced in patch 5.0 has been reduced by 50%.
    • The cost of Valor Point gear introduced in patch 5.1 has been reduced by 25%.
    • Skyshards are now Bind on Account.
    • Adventurers can now upgrade old heirlooms by turning in the item and paying Justice Points or Darkmoon Prize Tickets, converting them into versions that provide benefits up to level 85. Note, the upgrade process will remove all enhancements on the heirloom.
  • Item Enhancements
    • Dancing Steel now has a 15% increased chance to activate.
       

• Sunsong Ranch
  • Seed bags have been added that allow planting of crops 4 plots at a time.
  • Yoon's Mailbox has been renamed to Sunsong Ranch Mailbox.
  • The yield from special crops has been improved to make farming them competitive with gathering these items out in the world.
  • Running the Master Plow across underground Virmen will cause them to pop out of the ground at 30% health and stunned.
  • Wild Crops will now occur less often.
     

• UI
  • The Reputation panel on the character screen will now let players know which reputations they have purchased and used Grand Commendations for.
  • There is now an option to show absorb effects (such as Power Word: Shield) on player, target, party and raid frames. This feature is currently enabled if you turn on the predictive healing option. Unlike predictive healing, absorb effects will display for enemy targets.
     

• Bug Fixes
  • Classes
    • Druid
      • It is no longer possible for a weaker application of Living Seed to overwrite a stronger one.
    • Paladin
      • It is no longer possible to refresh Inquisition to a lower duration.
    • Mage
      • The cooldown of Cauterize will now properly reset upon entering an Arena.
    • Warlock
      • Grimoire of Service now describes its special abilities on the tooltip.
      • Demonic Circle: Teleport now correctly shares the same cooldown when in Metamorphosis.