Hello everyone! Here are the notes for Midnight Alpha week 3:
CHARACTER LEVEL
Developers’ notes: With each phase, we encourage players to make a new template character and avoid using their previous characters as they could potentially be in a broken state. After making a new template character, make sure to talk to Questzertauren and he will prepare you for any available content.- Level 83 Character Template
- Maximum Level: 88
ZONE
STORY AND QUESTS
- Level-up Campaign
- Local Stories
HOUSING
- What’s New in Alpha Week 3
Due to performance concerns, we’ve had to disallow decorations with lights from being used outside. We’re going to spend some time trying to optimize exterior light decorations and hope to re-enable them post-launch. - Your House Chest now has a Catalog feature where you can see all possible decor in the game and see its 3d model.
- Room placement costs have had a first pass and are now enforced. If you’re currently above the limit, it won’t automatically downsize you, but you won’t be able to place more until you’re under the limit.
- Lowered the placement costs on some plants, trees, shrubs, etc to allow for more greenery.
- There’s also a test vendor near the dye stations who will sell all the dye (though dyes are currently not working at the moment…).
Fixed Issues - Players can no longer steal each other’s houses. Whole bunch of rogues out here…
Known Issues - Dyes are currently not working.
- If the front door to your house appears to be uninteractible, keybind the “Interact” key and use it to enter your home. This will be fixed in a future build.
- There is a persistent lua error when you are editing your home, if you’d like to hide these lua errors type /console scriptErrors 0 in the chat window and press enter to turn off lua error displays.
DUNGEONS
- The Blinding Vale
- Enemy health increased slightly in Normal and Heroic dungeons.
Developers’ notes: Normal and Heroic dungeon encounter durations were very short, so we’ve increased the health of enemies slightly to compensate. The pace of dungeon encounters on these difficulties should now feel more appropriate for their respective difficulty.
DELVES
- The Grudge Pit
- The Gulf of Memory
CLASS SETS
- Developers’ notes: Greetings! As class sets come online on alpha realms, we wanted to make players aware of our design philosophy for this season. We are keeping class sets fairly simple as specializations have undergone a lot of changes in Midnight, with an explicit goal of avoiding extra auras to track. They should still be impactful and exciting, so please let us know if any sets feel like they are missing the mark by posting feedback on the forums. Thank you!
Frost Death Knight
2-set bonus: Empower Rune Weapon increases the damage of your next Obliterate by 20% or Frostscythe by 20%. - 4-set bonus: Empower Rune Weapon recharges 20% faster and Pillar of Frost causes your next Empower Rune Weapon to ignore its cooldown.
Unholy Death Knight - 2-set bonus: Dread Plague damage increased by 20% and Virulent Plague damage increased by 20%.
- 4-set bonus: Consuming Sudden Doom reduces the cooldown of Putrefy by 1.5 seconds.
Augmentation Evoker - 2-set bonus: Eruption damage increased by 15% and extends Ebon Might by an additional 0.5 seconds.
- 4-set bonus: While Ebon Might is active, empower spells deal 20% more damage and cool down 20% faster.
Preservation Evoker - 2-set bonus: Verdant Embrace healing increased by 20% and cooldown reduced by 2 seconds.
- 4-set bonus: Verdant Embrace grows an Emerald Blossom on your target at 100% effectiveness.
Mistweaver Monk - 2-set bonus: Renewing Mist healing is increased by 20%.
- 4-set bonus: Casting Thunder Focus Tea applies a Renewing Mist for 20 seconds onto a nearby ally.
Windwalker Monk - 2-set bonus: Strike of the Windlord and Whirling Dragon Punch’s damage is increased by 30%.
- 4-set bonus: The cooldowns of Strike of the Windlord and Whirling Dragon Punch are reduced by 5 seconds.
Holy Paladin - 2-set bonus: Holy Shock’s healing is increased by 15%.
- 4-set bonus: Holy Shock transfers an additional 20% healing into your Beacon of Light.
Retribution Paladin - 2-set bonus: Expurgation deals 20% increased damage.
- 4-set bonus: Final Verdict/Templar’s Verdict applies Expurgation at 50% effectiveness, while Divine Storm applies it at 25% effectiveness.
Shadow Priest - 2-set bonus: Shadow Word: Madness damage increased by 10% and Insanity cost reduced by 5.
- 4-set bonus: Shadowy Apparitions and Void Apparitions damage increased by 40%.
CLASSES
- The following taunt and pet taunts have been updated to have a minimum 6 second duration and increase threat generation by 800% (was 400%). All tank taunt spell tooltips updated to reflect that threat generation is increased for the duration of the taunt.
Challenging Shout - Dark Command
- Dark Whisper
- Death Grip
- Disrupting Shout
- Final Stand
- Force of Nature
- Growl
- Growl (pet)
- Hand of Reckoning
- Provoke
- Seethe
- Suffering
- Taunt
- Torment
DEATH KNIGHT - Unholy
Developers’ notes: We’re iterating on Putrefy to make it more satisfying to press and refining the talents it interacts with. Alongside these updates, we’re introducing new effects that add variety and shake up the rotation, creating more dynamic moment-to-moment gameplay. Another focus for this update is the San’layn Hero Talent Tree. We’d like San’layn to maintain its mechanical identity through Infliction of Sorrow, while having it integrate more seamlessly with the current iteration of Unholy Death Knight. Our current approach will be more tuning focused, aiming to strengthen the synergy between the Apex Talents and the San’layn Hero Talent Tree. - New Talent: Soul Reaper – Rupture the soul of your enemy, dealing Shadowfrost damage and causing the foe to take 20% increased damage from your plagues and minions for 8 seconds. Only usable on enemies below 35% maximum health. 1 Rune. 15 second cooldown.
- Apex Talents: Forbidden Knowledge has been updated – Necrotic Coil and Graveyard now incurs 1 second of Global Cooldown (was 0.75 seconds).
- Putrefy has been updated – Command your oldest Lesser Ghoul to leap and strike the enemy for Shadow damage, then have them explode for Shadow damage to nearby enemies. Putrefy no longer has a delay, now has 1 charge (was 2), and a 30 second cooldown (was 15 seconds).
- Putrid Echoes has been updated – Putrefy deals 20% increased damage and gains 1 additional charge.
- Blightburst has been redesigned – The explosion effect of Putrefy extends the duration of your plagues by 4 seconds and deals 100% of the damage they would deal over that time instantly.
Developers’ notes: We’re moving away from Putrefy’s disease consumption mechanic due to how anti synergistic it becomes to use during San’layn cooldown windows.
Reanimation secondary effect has been redesigned – Putrefy decays 1 additional Lesser Ghoul during Dark Transformation.
Outbreak now applies Dread Plague and Virulent Plague for 24 seconds.
Harbinger of Doom now has an additional effect – Consuming Sudden Doom reduces the cooldown of Putrefy by 5 seconds. Class 4-set bonus will be updated.
Unholy Devotion has been updated – Putrefy causes up to 2 other Lesser Ghouls under your command to go on an unholy frenzy, increasing their attack speed by 100% for 3 seconds and extending their duration for the same amount.
Reaping has been updated – Putrefy resets Soul Reaper’s cooldown and allows it to be used on any target. Moved to gate 3, replacing Blighted.
Dark Transformation has been updated – Now lasts for 12 seconds (was 15 seconds). Runic Power spenders now extend its duration by 0.5 seconds (was 1 second).
Festering Scythe has been updated – Festering Strike now follows up with a Festering Scythe that costs no Runes. Grants Lesser Ghoul charges for Scourge Strike. No longer casts automatically and is now a combo spell.
Festering Strike now causes your next 2-3 Scourge Strikes to summon a Lesser Ghoul (was 3-4).
Runic Power spenders now increase the duration of your Plagues by 1.5 seconds.
Sudden Doom now reduces the Runic Power cost of abilities by 20 (was 30).
The update that introduces maximum durations to Dread Plague and Virulent Plague has been reverted.
Blighted has been removed.
DEMON HUNTER - Vengeance
Apex Talents: Untethered Rage
Soul Cleave and Spirit Bomb have a chance per soul fragment consumed to grant Untethered Rage, allowing Metamorphosis to be cast without incurring its cooldown and lasting 10 seconds. - Soul Cleave and Spirit Bomb can consume an additional soul fragment and deal an additional 5%/10% damage for each consumed.
- Each cast of Soul Cleave and Spirit Bomb that does not grant Untethered Rage instead applies a stack of Seething Anger. Seething Anger grants 1% Agility and increases your chance to gain Untethered Rage. Lasts 12 seconds and cannot be refreshed after gaining Untethered Rage.
Vengeful Beast now also affects Fracture and increases listed ability damage by 20% (was 30%).
DRUID - Hero Talents
Wildstalker
New Talent: Green Thumb – The rate at which Bloodseeker Vines/Symbiotic Blooms grow is increased by 20%. - New Talent: Rampancy – Bloodseeker Vines/Symbiotic Blooms have a 20% chance to trigger Bursting Growth every 2 seconds at 100% effectiveness.
- New Talent: Patient Custodian – Your Bleeds and other damage over time/heal over time effects are 6% more effective.
- Bursting Growth has changed position.
Guardian - Apex Talents: Wild Guardian
After Berserk or Incarnation: Guardian of Ursoc ends, you gain access to Wild Guardian.
Wild Guardian: Spirits of the wild come to your aid, causing your next 2 casts of Ironfur, Maul, and Frenzied Regeneration to be echoed at 50% effectiveness.
Mastery increased by 3%/6%. Wild Guardian’s echoes of your abilities are now cast at 100%/150% effectiveness.
Wild Guardian’s echoes of your abilities are empowered with additional effects:
- Ironfur: Absorbs damage.
- Frenzied Regeneration: Grants Dream of Cenarius.
- Maul: Deals 50% additional Nature damage over 12 seconds.
Lunar Beam now applies a damage over time effect to its primary target and its area affect damage is capped at 5 targets.
Restoration - Developers’ notes: As a result of recent changes, too much healing became concentrated into Soul of the Forest, and not enough from Swiftmend’s initial heal. We’re rebalancing some of that into healing value into Swiftmend’s initial heal. We’re also removing Wildwood Roots so that Regrowth’s cast time is higher, which is necessary in order to keep Regrowth’s healing feel bursty.
- New Talent: Improved Swiftmend – Swiftmend healing increased by 30%.
- Swiftmend healing increased by 10%.
- Everbloom’s Blooming Frenzy causes Lifebloom to bloom 5 times (was 8).
- Nature’s Swiftness increases the healing of Regrowth by 60% (was 100%).
- Soul of the Forest increases the healing of Regrowth or Rejuvenation by 60% (was 100%).
- Intensity, Abundance, and Improved Swiftmend have changed positions in the talent tree.
- Wildwood Roots has been removed.
EVOKER - Preservation
Call of Ysera increases Living Flame healing by 30% (was 50%) and Dream Breath by 20% (was 25%). - Fluttering Seedlings healing increased by 100%.
MONK - Mistweaver
New Talent: Tranquil Tea – Consuming Mana Tea generates 1 cloud of mist for Sheilun’s Gift. - Gust of Mist has been redesigned – Now only triggers from Chi-Ji, Renewing Mist, Enveloping Mist, and Crane Style. Healing increased by 100%.
PALADIN - Holy
Seraphic Barrier has been redesigned – Now causes Word of Glory and Light of Dawn to convert 15% of their healing into an absorb shield instead. - Liberation no longer scales with Haste.
- Breaking Dawn no longer increases radius of Light of Dawn.
- Light of Dawn radius increased to 40 yards (was 15).
- Light of Dawn visual effect has been updated.
- Beacon of the Savior now jumps to targets below 30% health.
- Beacon of the Savior absorb now triggers every 8 seconds (was 5 seconds).
- Crusader’s Might now reduces the cooldown of Judgment by 3 seconds (was 1 second). Talent location has changed.
- Judgment cooldown reduced by 20%.
- Holy Shock cooldown reduced by 2 seconds.
- Avenging Crusader now reduces the cooldown of Judgment by 40% (was 60%) and transfers 150% of damage done into healing (was 260%).
- Holy Prism now generates 3 Holy Power.
- Shield of the Righteous now reduces the cooldown of Holy Shock by 4 seconds (was 1.5 seconds).
- Shield of the Righteous now grants 0.5% mana and only grants its cooldown reduction and mana if it hits a target.
Retribution - Expurgation tooltip updated – Your Blade of Justice causes the target to burn for Holy damage over 9 seconds. When reapplied, any remaining damage is added to the new effect.
PRIEST - Hero Talents
Voidweaver
Void Empowerment now causes you to gain Shadowy Insight (was Mind Devourer).
ROGUE - Subtlety
Apex Talents: Ancient Arts
Damaging attacks that expend Shadow Techniques to generate combo points have a 15% chance per stack expended to create a Shadow Clone that repeats the attack for 50% of normal damage as Shadow. - Shadow damage increased by 5%/10%. Shadow Clones have a 50%/100% chance to trigger Shadow Techniques’ effect.
- After attacks that generate combo points, if 5 or more stacks of Shadow Techniques remain, your next damaging finishing move will expend them to generate combo points up to your max.
Shuriken Tornado now increases Shuriken Storm cost by 60% in addition to its previous effect.
SHAMAN - Hero Talents
Farseer
New Talent: Ancestral Influence – Your Intellect is increased by 1% for each Ancestor active. - New Talent: Windspeaker – The cast times of Healing Wave, Healing Surge, Chain Heal, and Lava Burst are reduced by 10%.
- New Talent: Mystic Knowledge – For 8 seconds after casting Ancestral Swiftness, the recharge rate of Riptide is increased by 30%. Increases the chance for Lava Surge to occur by 20%.
- Elemental Reverb increases Lava Burst damage by 10% (was 20%).
- Elemental
Ancestors now last 8 seconds (was 6 seconds). - Offering from Beyond now reduces the cooldown of Stormkeeper by 3 seconds when an Ancestor is called (was reduces the cooldown of Fire/Storm Elemental by 5 seconds).
Totemic - New Talent: Totemic Momentum – Reduces the cooldown of Healing Stream Totem by 3 seconds.
- New Talent: Primal Catalyst – Healing Stream Totem and Stormstream Totem healing has a 20% chance to apply Earthliving to allies it heals.
Class - New Talent: Spiritual Awakening – Mastery increased by 3%.
- New Talent: Instinctive Imbuements – Water/Lightning Shield increases your primary stat 3%. Casting Water/Lightning Shield also applies Earth Shield to yourself and any weapon imbuements if known.
- Winds of Al’Akir has been redesigned – Increases your movement speed by 5% and the movement speed bonus of Ghost Wolf by an additional 5%.
- Nature’s Fury is now a 2-point talent, increasing Nature critical strike chance by 2% per rank.
- Some talents have changed positions in the talent tree.
Elemental - Apex Talents: Feedback Loop
Elemental Overload damage increased by 35%. - Spell critical strike chance increased by 5%/10%. Elemental Fury increases spell critical strike damage by an additional 25%/50%.
- Elemental Overloads have a 25% chance to cause an additional Elemental Overload. This can only occur once per cast.
New Talent: Call of Fire – Ascendance summons your Fire Elemental when used.
New Talent: Crackling Fury – Voltaic Blaze’s cooldown is reduced by 3 seconds/6 seconds and its Nature damage is increased by 50%/100%.
New Talent: Path of the Seer – Intellect increased by 3%.
New Talent: Amped Up – Haste increased by 3%.
New Talent: Flames of the Firelord – Flame Shock damage increased by 100%.
Storm Frenzy has been redesigned – Now reduces the cast time of Lightning Bolt, Tempest, and Chain Lightning by 15%.
Elemental Unity now increases damage dealt by 6% (was 10%).
Flames of the Cauldron now reduces the cooldown of Flame Shock and Voltaic Blaze by 2 seconds (was 1.5 seconds).
Power of the Maelstrom’s chance to trigger reduced to 40% (was 60%).
Ascendance now replaces Fire Elemental when talented.
Lava Burst damage is now increased by its critical strike chance.
Lava Burst damage reduced by 20%.
Voltaic Blaze damage increased by 100%.
Restoration - Lava Burst damage is now increased by its critical strike chance.
- Chain Heal mana cost reduced by 10%.
WARLOCK - Class
Developers’ notes: Similar to last week’s build, most of these talents are not yet implemented (NYI) but will be in a future build. We are including them to gather feedback as they are implemented. - New Talent: Pact of the Satyr – Increases your Haste by 3%.
- New Talent: Pact of the Annihilan – Increases your Critical Strike chance by 2%.
- New Talent: Pact of the Nathrezim – Increases your Leech by 2%.
- New Talent: Pact of the Eredar – Increases Intellect by 3%.
- New Talent: Empowered Healthstone – Healthstones now restore 30% health and have 1 additional charge.
- New Talent: Empowered Drain Life – Drain Life now heals for 700% of damage dealt and now grants Soul Leech equal to 10% of damage dealt.
- New Talent: Fortified Soul – Soul Leech now grants shields up to 15% of your maximum health.
- New Talent: Oppressive Darkness – Reduces the cooldown of Shadowfury by 15 seconds and increases its radius by 2 yards. Reduces the cooldown of Howl of Terror by 10 seconds and it now fears 5 additional enemies.
- Infernal Beneficiary has been redesigned – Healing done by Drain Life also heals your primary demon at 100% effectiveness.
- Improved Mortal has been redesigned – Increases the range of Mortal Coil by 10 yards and the amount it heals by 5%.
- Several talent positions and connections have been updated.
- The following talents have been removed:
Shared Vitality - Darkfury
Affliction - Developers’ notes: We have removed the maximum stack count of Unstable Affliction to avoid situations where casting Unstable Affliction could result in a wasted Soul Shard. Additionally, we are improving the feel of Dark Harvest by modifying it to immediately start its channel.
- Unstable Affliction no longer has a maximum stack count.
- Dark Harvest no longer has a cast time.
Destruction - Developers’ notes: We are improving Soul Fire to make it more appealing as a capstone option against Dimensional Rift. We want Soul Fire to be a rewarding spell that requires knowing when to plant and cast it, giving players the ability to optimize it by casting it as soon as possible after coming off cooldown.
- Soul Fire damage increased by 400%.
- Soul Fire cast time is now 3.5 seconds (was 4 seconds).
WARRIOR - Arms
Apex Talents: Master of Warfare
Overpower has a chance to upgrade Slam to Heroic Strike.
Heroic Strike: Deftly strikes an opponent, causing high Physical damage and grants you a stack of Master of Warfare, allowing your attacks to penetrate 3% armor for 30 seconds. Multiple applications of this effect may overlap.
Each stack of Master of Warfare increases Mortal Strike and Cleave damage by 5%/10% and critical strike damage by 5%/10%.
When a stack of Master of Warfare fades, the cooldown of Colossus Smash is reduced by 5 seconds.
Fury - Apex Talents: Rampaging Berserker
During Recklessness critical strikes fuel your thirst for blood, granting you a stack of Rampaging Berserker. Rampaging Berserker increases your Strength by 1% per stack and lasts for 20 seconds after Recklessness ends. - Rampage’s Rage cost is reduced by 15/30 and Rampage damage is increased by 10%/20% during Recklessness.
- Rampage extends the duration of Rampaging Berserker by 2 seconds.
Protection - Apex Talents: Phalanx
Shield Slam critical strikes unleash a wave of force, dealing Physical damage to all enemies in front of you and reducing the damage they deal to you by 5% for 5 seconds. - Damage dealt by Thunder Clap and Phalanx’ wave of force is increased by 10%/20%.
- While Shield Block is active Shield Slam deals 10% additional damage and has a 20% increased chance to critically strike.
PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER
- PALADIN
Holy
All healing reduced by 20% in PvP combat.
SHAMAN - Restoration
All healing reduced by 20% in PvP combat.
USER INTERFACE AND ACCESSIBILITY
- COOLDOWN MANAGER
Some damage over time spells can carry over some of their remaining duration when they are refreshed. When their remaining duration is in a state that all of it will be carried over when refreshed, this is called being in “pandemic range.”
When a Essential or Utility Cooldown element in the Cooldown Manager enters pandemic range, a red box appears around it. - Players can manually add a Sound notification when an Essential or Utility Cooldown element in the Cooldown Manager enters pandemic range. This setting can be accessed via Advanced Cooldown Settings > right clicking a spell and creating a New Alert > selecting “Pandemic” under the When category.
Cooldown Manager setups for different specs are still in progress, so Essential elements for all spells with pandemic may not be available.
ADDON SECURITY CHANGES - Loosened restrictions on addon communication and chat to allow addons to communicate when not in an encounter or an active M+/PvP match.
- Loosened restrictions on addon access to ability cooldown information to allow access when not in combat or an active M+/PvP match.
- Adjusted addon access to buff & debuff information to match the restrictions on ability cooldowns.
- Added several new APIs to allow unit frame addons to show health and power values more accurately.
- Improved the ability for addons to format secret values into strings (more improvements to come).
A “Sort By” option has been added to the Filter dropdown in the House Chest.
Currencies can now be used directly as reagents when fulfilling crafting orders.
