The biggest Shadowlands update yet is out now

By Brandon RidgelyUS Editor

The biggest Shadowlands patch yet is here!

WoW Shadowlands update 9.0.5 introduces Valor Points and makes changes around legendary items and Covenants. The most important part, however, is a ton of balance changes bringing class buffs and nerfs.

Let's go over the class balance that's coming in the Shadowlands 9.0.5 update.

Patch Notes

WoW Shadowlands patch 9.0.5 is a massive update with nearly 8,000 words of patch notes, but the class changes are the real highlights.

Sylvanas Winderunner Jailer Anduin Wrynn
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PREPARE YOURSELF: Shadowlands 9.0.5 has over 8k words of patch notes

Here are all of the major buffs and nerfs in the upcoming Shadowlands 9.0.5 patch notes.

READ MORE: WoW Shadowlands Sanctum of Domination Guide: Bosses, Loot, Leaks & more

Classes

These class balance changes are coming in Shadowlands 9.0.5.

DEATH KNIGHT

  • Frost
    • Fixed an issue that caused Inexorable Assault (Talent) to consume Spell Reflection.
  • Unholy
    • Fixed an issue that caused Unholy Pact (Talent) to sometimes not hit large raid bosses.
  • Covenant Abilities
    • Shackle the Unworthy (Kyrian) damage increased by 15% and damage reduction debuff increased to 8% (was 5%).
    • Abomination Limb (Necrolord) now correctly deals damage and pulls in enemies while the Death Knight is crowd-controlled.
    • Abomination Limb (Necrolord) no longer pulls in enemies that are in Stealth.
    • Death’s Due (Night Fae) damage reduction debuff and Strength buff increased to 2% per stack (was 1%). Now stacks up to 4 times (was 8).

DEMON HUNTER

  • Havoc
    • Unbound Chaos (Talent) damage increased to 500% (was 300%).
  • Covenant Abilities
    • Elysian Decree (Kyrian) damage reduced by 10% for Vengeance Demon Hunters.
    • Fodder to the Flame (Necrolord) has been redesigned – Your damaging abilities have a chance to call forth a demon from the Theater of Pain for 25 seconds. Throw Glaive deals lethal damage to the demon, which explodes on death, dealing damage to nearby enemies and healing you for 30% of your maximum health. The explosion deals reduced damage beyond 5 targets.
    • The Hunt (Night Fae) damage decreased by 10% for Vengeance Demon Hunters.
    • Sinful Brand (Venthyr) damage decreased by 10% for Vengeance Demon Hunters.
  • Conduits
    • Repeat Decree (Kyrian) base damage now 15% (was 25%).
    • Fel Defender now affects Fel Devastation for Vengeance Demon Hunters (was Fiery Brand).
    • Demonic Parole will no longer engage creatures in combat when Imprison expires.

READ MORE: WoW Shadowlands Hotfixes: All of the Latest Patch Notes

DRUID

  • Restoration
    • Rejuvenation’s periodic healing increased by 12%.
    • Wild Growth healing increased by 7%.
  • Covenant Abilities
    • Adaptive Swarm (Necrolord) damage and healing increased by 25% and the effectiveness of periodic effects increased to 25% (was 20%). The effectiveness of periodic effects increased to 35% for Balance Druids.
  • Conduits
    • Endless Thirst (Venthyr) now increases your critical strike chance by .8% per stack at Rank 1 (was .5%).

HUNTER

Fixed an issue that allowed Hunters to avoid the Sated debuff when casting Primal Rage.

Fixed an issue that caused Feign Death to be cancelled when Hunters opened their map or used an emote.

  • Beast Mastery
    • Spitting Cobra (Talent) damage is increased by 260%.
  • Marksmanship
    • Fixed an issue where casting Volley (Talent) right after an Aimed Shot that benefitted from Trick Shots would sometimes not apply the Trick Shots effect.
  • Survival
    • Fixed an issue that caused Steel Trap (Talent) to be usable while Aspect of the Turtle was active.
  • Covenant Abilities
    • Fixed an issue where Resonating Arrow (Kyrian) could fail to be cast behind your character.
    • Death Chakram (Necrolord) damage increased by 15%.
    • Flayed Shot (Venthyr) duration increased to 18 seconds (was 14 seconds) and costs no Focus (was 10). Flayer’s Mark now also increases the damage of your next Kill Shot by 25%.
  • Conduits
    • Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the Markman’s Advantage buff to be removed when another player’s Hunter Mark was applied.
    • Fixed an issue that sometimes caused Brutal Projections to expire early.

READ MORE: WoW Shadowlands 9.1 Update: Patch Notes, Release Date, Sanctum of Domination & more

MAGE

  • Covenant Abilities
    • Radiant Spark (Kyrian) damage increased by 20%.
    • Deathborne (Necrolord) duration increased to 25 seconds (was 20 seconds) and Spell Power buff increased to 15% (was 10%).
    • Mirrors of Torment (Venthyr)
      • Arcane: Now grants a stack of Clearcasting when a mirror is consumed (was mana).
      • Fire: Fire Blast cooldown reduction increased to 6 seconds (was 4 seconds).

MONK

  • Mistweaver
    • Vivify now costs 3.8% mana (was 4.1%).
    • Renewing Mist now costs 1.8% mana (was 2.2%).
  • Windwalker
    • Xuen, the White Tiger is now vulnerable to Hibernate, Polymorph and Fear crowd-control effects.
    • Touch of Death is now affected by Mastery: Combo Strikes.
    • Fixed an issue that caused Storm, Earth and Fire’s cast to sometimes break nearby enemies’ Stealth.
    • Fixed an issue that caused Xuen, the White Tiger to be able to target enemies in Stealth.
    • Fixed an issue that caused Tiger Palm to grant an additional stack of Mark of the Crane when Storm, Earth and Fire is active.
    • Fixed an issue that allowed Mark of the Crane to be maintained permanently at maximum stacks while fighting a single target.
    • Fixed an issue that could prevent Storm, Earth, and Fire spirits from using Fists of Fury, Rising Sun Kick, and Whirling Dragon Punch (Talent).
    • Fixed an issue that allowed Storm, Earth and Fire spirits to continue channeling Fists of Fury after the Monk's Fists of Fury channel ended.
    • Fixed an issue that could cause Spinning Crane Kick's damage to not be properly increased by Mark of the Crane if targets die with the Monk's mark active.
  • Covenant Abilities
    • Fixed an issue that caused Faeline Stomp (Night Fae) to not deal damage when used to engage creatures in combat.
    • Fallen Order’s (Venthyr) fallen Tiger and Ox adepts have had their stats increased by 20%.

READ MORE: Everything You Need to Know About WoW Classic TBC

PALADIN

  • Holy
    • Holy Shock now costs 16% mana (was 14%).
  • Protection
    • Ardent Defender’s heal now has a visual effect.
  • Covenant Abilities
    • Vanquisher’s Hammer (Necrolord) now generates 1 Holy Power when used.
  • Conduits
    • The extra spells from Ringing Clarity (Kyrian) now have a longer delay between hits. Additionally, area-of-effect Judgment hits from Divine Toll are no longer reduced by 25% in PvP, and Judgment triggered from Ringing Clarity is reduced by 25% in PvP.
    • Virtuous Command no longer plays an attack animation when it triggers.
    • Fixed an issue that caused the additional Templar’s Verdict from Templar’s Vindication to not deal damage based on the initial Templar’s Verdict.

PRIEST

  • Discipline
    • Spirit Shell (Talent) now absorbs 80% of healing done (was 100%) and the absorption limit is now based on the caster’s Spell Power rather than maximum Health.
  • Holy
    • Divine Hymn increases healing taken by 4% (was 10%) for 15 seconds (was 8 seconds). Stacks up to 5 times (was no stacks).
  • Shadow
    • Mastery: Shadow Weaving no longer benefits multiple times from damage amplifying effects.
    • Shadowy Apparitions no longer causes targets to drop Stealth if they deal no damage.
  • Covenant Abilities
    • Fae Guardians (Night Fae) Guardian Faerie now grants 20% damage reduction (was 10%), and Wrathful Faerie will now automatically be sent to the closest enemy target if Fae Guardians is used while an ally is targeted.
    • Wrathful Faeries (Night Fae) now properly grant resources to the casting Priest when there are multiple Wrathful Faeries active on the target.
    • Mindgames (Venthyr) no longer reverses damage or healing from itself when reflected.
  • Conduits
    • Fae Fermata (Night Fae) Fae Guardians now leave a 80% effective copy of their benefit (was 60%) and can no longer be stacked on top of a Faerie for double benefit.

READ MORE: WoW Classic TBC Class Rankings

ROGUE

  • Assassination
    • Level 56: New Passive: Cut to the Chase – Envenom extends the duration of your Slice and Dice by up to 3 seconds per combo point spent.
    • Venomous Wounds now restores 8 Energy (was 7).
    • Slice and Dice (Rank 2) has been removed.
    • Fixed an issue that prevented Crimson Tempest (Talent) from triggering Alacrity (Talent).
    • Fixed an issue that allowed Poison Bomb (Talent) to deal damage to Sapped targets while not breaking the crowd-control.
  • Subtlety
    • Fixed an issue that caused Premeditation (Talent) to rarely not be applied when entering Stealth.
  • Covenant Abilities
    • Fixed an issue that caused Echoing Reprimand (Kyrian) to apply Find Weakness for non-Subtlety Rogues when cast from Stealth.
    • Serrated Bone Spike (Necrolord) initial damage increased by 300% and now grants 1 combo point plus 1 per active bone spike after it strikes the target.
    • Serrated Bone Spike (Necrolord) is now removed when the target leaves combat and no longer refunds a charge and gets removed when the target is healed to full.
    • Fixed an issue that prevented Serrated Bone Spike's (Necrolord) initial damage from dealing a critical strike.
    • Fixed an issue that prevented Serrated Bone Spike's (Necrolord) bleed debuff from being counted towards the Envenom damage bonus from Doomblade (Legendary Power).
    • Serrated Bone Spike’s (Necrolord) damage is now correctly increased by Assassinations’ Mastery: Potent Assassin.
    • Broadside (Outlaw Talent) now correctly causes Sepsis (Night Fae) to generate an additional combo point.
    • Flagellation (Venthyr) no longer costs Energy (was 20 Energy), duration reduced to 12 seconds (was 20 seconds), Haste is now granted immediately, and no longer has a second activation. Flagellation’s initial damage increased by 270%, additional damage from spending combo points increased by 160%, and deals damage 1 time upon use (was 3).
  • Conduits
    • Lashing Scars (Venthyr) now causes 4 additional lashes (was 2). This will allow the Rogue to start at 5% Haste upon activation.
    • Fixed an issue that caused the Count the Odds buff to be removed when any Roll the Bones enhancements expire.

SHAMAN

Chain Lightning damage increased by 35%.

Lightning Shield damage increased by 415%.

  • Elemental
    • Earth Shock damage increased by 30%.
    • Earthquake damage increased by 70%.
    • Lava Beam damage increased by 35%.
    • Lava Burst damage reduced by 10%.
  • Enhancement
    • Lava Lash damage increased by 40%.
    • Stormkeeper (Talent) now increases Chain Lightning by 300% (was 2 Lightning Bolts by 150%).
    • Stormbringer can now correctly trigger from Ice Strike (Talent) and Sundering (Talent).
    • Fixed an issue where Stormkeeper (Talent) and Maelstrom Weapon (Talent) were both increasing the damage of Chain Lightning at the same time.
  • Restoration
    • Lava Burst damage reduced by 10%.
    • Fixed an issue where Earthen Wall Totem (Talent) could absorb more damage than intended when an area damage spell hit multiple allies.
  • Covenant Abilities
    • Vesper Totem (Kyrian) damage and healing increased by 25%.
    • Fae Transfusion (Night Fae) damage increased by 25%, the healing from damage conversion increased to 60% (was 40%) and the heal radius increased to 20 yards (was 12 yards).
    • Primordial Wave’s (Necrolord) Enhancement Lightning Bolt effect now deals 150% damage (was 100%).
    • Fixed an issue that caused Primordial Wave (Necrolord) to not be usable on allies that are in Mercenary Mode.
    • Chain Harvest (Venthyr) the damage and healing increased by 15% for Elemental and Restoration Shaman.
    • Chain Harvest (Venthyr) will now light up on the Action Bar when players can cast it instantly through Maelstrom Weapon.

WARLOCK

Curse of Tongues now lasts 1 minute (was 30 seconds) and lasts 20 seconds against enemy players (was 12 seconds).

  • Affliction
    • Malefic Rapture no longer causes targets to drop Stealth if it deals no damage.
    • Seed of Corruption now properly deals damage and applies Corruption if the Warlock is crowd-controlled when the seed detonates.
  • Demonology
    • Summon Dreadstalkers, Demonic Tyrant, Vilefiend, Nether Portal demons, and Grimoire: Felguard will now listen to primary pet commands.
    • Call Dreadstalkers attack power increased by 10%, and Dreadbite and Dreadlash damage increased by 10%.
  • Destruction
    • Mastery: Chaotic Energies now properly increases the damage of Corruption.
  • Covenant Abilities
    • Scouring Tithe (Kyrian) now requires the Warlock to be facing its target.
    • Decimating Bolt (Necrolord) bonus damage from the target’s missing health increased to 100% (was 60%).
    • Impending Catastrophe (Venthyr) damage while moving towards its target has been increased by 10% and its explosion damage increased by 15%.
    • Impending Catastrophe (Venthyr) no longer damages Totems in its path to the target.

WARRIOR

Fixed an issue that allowed Intervene to be applied to targets under the effect of Cyclone.

  • Fury
    • Fixed an issue that prevented the Whirlwind buff to not be applied to the Warrior if Whirlwind was cast during Charge.
  • Protection
    • Damage of all abilities increased by 10%. Damage of Thunder Clap increased by an additional 10%.
  • Covenant Abilities
    • Conqueror’s Banner (Necrolord) has been redesigned – Brandish the Conqueror’s Banner, granting 400 Mastery and 30% increased movement speed to you and your 2 nearest allies and preventing movement speed from being reduced below 100%. The cooldown is now 2 minutes (was 3 minutes), duration is now 15 seconds (was 20 seconds), and the Rage generation is now 4 Rage per second for Arms and Protection, and 6 Rage per second for Fury.
  • Conduits
    • Veteran’s Repute (Necrolord) no longer causes Conqueror’s Banner to grant stacks of Glory.

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