Lore
TLDR version: Many class tuning changes for this build (and subsequent builds) are not likely to appear directly via datamining. Tooltip values for spells should still show their new amounts properly in-game, but many of these changes are being done in a way that's less apparent through datamining.
For more clarity on why: we're getting to the point of the PTR development cycle where we're starting to make heavy changes intended for overall performance balance between classes. In the past, this would have been done by changing each affected spell individually, which can be a slow process. To allow for more rapid iteration during the PTR process, we're instead those putting changes into a passive aura for each spec. That means only 1 "spell" needs to be modified, instead of several, which allows us to make more adjustments in total per build.
Once the PTR cycle is concluded, these adjustments will most likely be moved from that passive aura into the baseline spells, but in the meantime, please be aware that what's seen via datamining may not immediately show all of the actual changes that have taken place.
Just to clarify: the buffs being mentioned here are visible both on PTR and also in client data. The very reason for this post was to help point players toward them, because they are not in the usual place. Knowledgeable players/sites can see and analyze the changes just as much as ever, and we wanted to make sure they would notice and disseminate this information just as much as always. So the purpose of this post the opposite of a "lack of transparency."
The current state of the patch is open and visible at all times on the PTR for players to see and compare against live. But we recognize that players won't (or can't) individually test every spell in every build to see if its damage changed. So we're going further by trying to make sure important changes are noticed, to facilitate informed feedback in advance of full notes on the final patch.
Further to the point of transparency: one other change that is visible both on PTR and in client data, but may not be obvious, is a reduction to the rage provided by autoattacks in Bear Form. This is an intentional change for the purpose of spec balance across tanks, which we will continue to monitor on PTR.
Incidentally--Imp/Succubus/Voidwalker/Felhunter/Felguard all deal 20% more damage. Most of that was datamined normally, but in particular, the increase to Felguard's attack power likely was not (simply because it's something that happens server-side).
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I can think of one other thing worth calling attention to for feedback/testing that may have been missed: Mark of the Ancient Priestess and Mark of the Distant Army should do noticeably more healing/damage and be more worth using. Some of the stat-based neck enchants were also increased, but that will be clear in tooltips. Hidden Satyr scales correctly with gear now as well, and may be slightly weaker, but for the most part the other enchants were buffed to roughly its level.
Wanted to drop a note in here based on the other post I just made:
https://us.battle.net/forums/en/wow/topic/20752555112#1 As I mentioned earlier in this thread, this build has some fairly substantial buffs for Shadow in it. As of this moment, it looks like all that's been discovered so far (aside from the Void Bolt DoT extension going to 3 seconds) is a 10% reduction to Voidform's damage bonus. Which is probably not what you were expecting.
So, here's what's missing: a 25% flat damage increase to
Mind Blast,
Mind Flay,
Void Bolt,
Shadow Word: Pain,
Vampiric Touch,
,
Shadow Word: Void,
Shadow Crash,
Void Eruption,
Mind Spike,
,
Shadowy Apparitions, and
Void Torrent.
End result should be a pretty substantial across-the-board damage increase in this build, with the effects being slightly more noticeable outside of Voidform.
As I mentioned in the thread I linked above, we're planning to iterate on these numbers pretty rapidly, but I wanted to make sure you guys were aware of the less-apparent changes.
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