Blizzard has announced a broad WoW Midnight class tuning pass for the week of August 25. The changes are scheduled to arrive with weekly maintenance in each region, meaning North American players should see them on August 25 and European players on August 26. This is the next planned balance update after Blizzard reviewed the opening week of Curse of Ula’tek and Midnight Season 2.
Frost Death Knight receives a 6% increase to ability and melee damage, while Obliterate rises by 15%. Havoc Demon Hunter gains 3% damage, and Vengeance gets a 24% increase to the effectiveness of Mastery: Fel Blood. Blizzard says Frost DK has been below expectations, especially inside the Venomous Abyss raid.
Warlocks receive some of the largest numerical changes. Imp, Voidwalker, Sayaad, and Felhunter damage increases by 350%, while Affliction and Demonology gain several buffs to core spells and summoned demons. Destruction’s Rain of Fire damage rises by 30%. The large pet percentage does not automatically mean a 350% increase to total Warlock damage, because those pets are only one part of each specialization’s output.
Restoration Druid, Frost Mage, Brewmaster Monk, Retribution Paladin, and Protection Warrior are also included. Rejuvenation and Germination healing rise by 15%, Frost Mage’s Ice Barrier increases from 30% to 35% of maximum health outside PvP, and Brewmaster’s Celestial Brew absorbs 20% more. Retribution’s four-piece Divine Arbiter bonus gets a particularly large increase to make its rotational requirement more rewarding.
The numbers and maintenance timing are confirmed by Blizzard. It is reasonable to expect raid and Mythic+ rankings to move after the update, but that is an editorial inference: live results will also depend on gear, encounter design, talent choices, and later hotfixes. Blizzard: Class Tuning Incoming — August 25