World of Warcraft: Midnight · PTR Development Notes

Patch 12.1 “Curse of Ula’tek” Every class change from the first 12.1 PTR build, with the math worked out for every number, a cooldown-squish scorecard, and a reroll read.

Read this first. This is a first PTR build and values will change. Percentages are computed directly from Blizzard’s stated old → new values using (new - old) / old, so each line is exact. The “biggest buffs/nerfs” and reroll sections are an interpretation of the direction and size of those changes, not sims. Blizzard’s stated intent for most DPS specs is roughly net-neutral total damage with a flatter profile, so a big cooldown nerf does not always mean a real DPS loss.

The three structural changes

At a glance

336 change lines

Counts are every individual change line, tagged by gameplay direction. Most “nerf” lines are paired with a compensating steady-state buff on the same spec, which is why the totals lean green.

The cooldown-squish scorecard

redistribution, not loss

The headline is “DPS cooldowns nerfed,” but for these specs it is a redistribution: the burst window is cut and the budget is pushed into filler. Ranked by how hard the cooldown window was reduced. Net intent is ~flat.

This table lists only the specs that got the burst-to-steady treatment, not all classes. Hunter, Priest, Warlock and Warrior have no cooldown-squished spec this build. Every class and spec is in the full breakdown below.

SpecBurst window cutSteady-state buffNet read
Elemental ShamanAscendance Overload 75%→30% (-60%); bonus Lava Bursts 100%→50%; Feedback Loop R1 35%→10% (-71%); Fusion EB duration 100%→40%Chain Lightning +60%, Flame Shock +60%, Lava Burst +30%, Lightning Bolt +30%Hardest squish; AoE clearly up
Windwalker MonkCelestial Conduit -25%; Zenith Stomp -30%; Tigereye Brew 10/20%→5/10%; Weapon of Wind 10%→5%Tiger Palm +200%, Blackout Kick +50%, auto +30%, Dual Threat +30%, Temple Training 10%→30%Biggest filler rebuild; ~flat
Devourer DHMastery in Void Meta -66%; Void Ray 67%→40% (-40%); Impending Apoc 30%→20%All abilities +20%, Consume +60%Meta softer, outside much stronger
Prot PaladinAvenging Wrath down to +10%; Hammer of Light/Empyrean -33%; Divine Toll (Exaction) 150%→80%Judgment +100%, Consecration +100%, ShoR +150%, HotR +50%, Avenger’s Shield +30%Huge baseline shift + threat fix
Ret PaladinAvenging Wrath 20%→15%; Art of War 150%→80% (-47%); Divine Toll Judgment 100%→50%; Light Within R3 -25%Blade of Justice +40%, Templar Strike/Slash +50%, Judgment +50%, Hammer of Wrath +50%~Flat; rotation de-pressured
Fire MageFired Up R1 4%/12s → 2%/8s; R3 proc chance reducedFired Up R2 3/6%→5/10%, Pyroblast +15%, Flamestrike +15%Combustion value moved to filler
Unholy DKCommander of the Dead 15/30%→10/20% (-33%); Army ghoul damage -20%Necrotic Coil +20%, Graveyard +20%, Lesser Ghoul +10%~Flat + summon-density cleanup
Assassination RogueDeathmark 100%→75% (-25%); Kingsbane -15%All damage +3%, Shrouded Suffocation 20%→30%, Avulsion 20%→25%~Flat
Balance DruidAstral Power gen + free procs cut (Orbit Breaker 60%→50%, Touch the Cosmos 15%→12% / 20%→15%)All damage +4%, Starsurge/Starfall +10%, bigger spenders~Flat; rewards pooling AP
Frost MageHand of Frost R2 1/2%→0.5/1% (-50%, Hero-talent burst)All damage +4%~Flat, steadier
Devastation EvokerDragonrage no longer front-loads (Rising Fury reworked)Post-Dragonrage Unbound Flame (4 casts) extends the windowProfile change, ~flat

Biggest buffs & biggest nerfs

Grounded in the direction and size of the actual changes, separating genuine net gains/losses from the net-neutral redistributions above. A reading of the notes, not a sim.

Trending up

  1. Tanks, across the board. All six tank specs got defensives scaled to the +25% health change. Prot Paladin gained the most damage (Judgment/Consecration +100%, Shield of the Righteous +150%) plus +20% max HP on Ardent Defender; Prot Warrior got Ignore Pain +25%, Ravager +50%, Demolish 45s→30s. Clearest winners of the patch.
  2. Beast Mastery Hunter. The one DPS Blizzard says “felt weak” and buffed: Kill Command +20%, Cobra Shot +20%, Barbed Shot +25%, pet damage +100% (Razor Sharp), Beast Cleave 8s→10s. Only AoE cleave trimmed, so single-target is a real gain.
  3. Resto Druid. +6% all healing, Verdancy +40%, Flash of Clarity (+40% Regrowth), Swiftmend bonus, cheaper Rejuv/Regrowth/Lifebloom. Throughput and efficiency up.
  4. Elemental Shaman AoE. Single-target is a redistribution, but Chain Lightning +60% at 5 targets (Farseer) plus Flame Shock +60% is a big multi-target gain.
  5. Arms Warrior & Discipline Priest (minor). Arms: Ravager +50%, more frequent Demolish. Disc: Smite +40%, Flash Heal +25%.

Trending down

  1. Mistweaver Monk. The only spec with a blanket -3% all healing, plus Spinning Crane Kick -15% and Way of the Crane 340%→280%. Mastery +50% only helps if you stack Mastery. Net down.
  2. Burst-identity specs (squish risk). Net-neutral by design, but if the compensation is under-tuned these come out behind: Elemental (Ascendance Overload -60%), Windwalker (burst -25/30%), Devourer (meta scaling -66%), Fire (Combustion halved), Ret (Art of War -47%, Divine Toll -50%).
  3. Fatebound Rogues. Deal Fate extra-combo-point chance 100%→60% (-40%) hits Assa & Outlaw Fatebound.
  4. Dark Ranger Hunters. Black Arrow direct damage -40% and Withering Fire’s Black Arrow -40%.
  5. Frost Mage Hero-talent burst. Hand of Frost R2 halved (1/2% → 0.5/1%).
Untouched this build: Affliction & Demonology Warlock got no changes. Frost DK and Enhancement Shaman had no offensive changes (only a defensive/healing bump). If you main these, nothing here moves your damage.

Should you reroll?

if it goes live as-is

Short version: this is a redistribution patch on a first PTR build, so there is no free DPS reroll hiding in these notes and the numbers will change. Don’t reroll off one PTR build. By direction of travel:

Want a DPS that genuinely got stronger, not reshuffled? Beast Mastery Hunter is the cleanest pick - buffed because it was weak, no nerf to its own burst.
Healer main? Resto Druid is the trend-up healer. Disc/Holy/Pres are roughly neutral with QoL wins. Avoid rerolling to Mistweaver for output this build.
Hate spiky, feast-or-famine gameplay? That is the whole point of the patch. Elemental, Windwalker, Devourer, Fire, Retribution will feel much flatter for similar totals. Reroll for feel, not numbers.
Chasing big burst windows? Don’t reroll for this now - the on-use spikes are exactly what is being cut.
AoE / Mythic+ focused? Elemental Shaman (Chain Lightning +60% + 5 targets, Flame Shock +60%) and Shadow Priest (new Shadeburst AoE) picked up dedicated multi-target damage.
Reroll caveat: none of this is simmed. Net DPS depends on final coefficients, tier sets and encounter tuning this build does not lock in. Treat it as “which way the wind is blowing,” not a tier list.

Every change, by class

Click a class to expand its full transcription. Old → new and the computed change are shown for every numeric line; reworks, new talents and removals are tagged. Nothing is omitted.