Blizzard’s next patch will bring a considerable number of changes to class balance, primarily buffs. With balance so up in the air after the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands expansion changed so much, the changes are much desired.
Several classes are getting desperately needed buffs, such as a flat buff to the damage of Fury Warrior and Frost Mage. Other classes are seeing buffs to their damage as well, though some are seeing a much larger increase from these changes than others.
Assassination Rogues are seeing an increase to their damage in line with Fury Warriors. Just like their fellow melee DPS, Assassination Rogues are seeing an 8% increase to their damaging abilities with no change to any other abilities.
This should help the class, which is currently sitting near the bottom of the DPS charts. Between Outlaw and Subtlety, Assassination is a massively underperforming specialization for a rogue player to take. Many have simply abandoned the specialization entirely, much the same as there are few Survival hunters left due to the incredibly underwhelming damage that the specialization currently presents.
Frost Death Knights are also seeing a buff, but it’s a significantly smaller buff than the other classes we’ve discussed are seeing. Additionally, the change also only affects a single play-style rather than making an adjustment to the spec overall.
Frost Death Knights will be seeing a 2% buff to their damage, affecting all sources of damage and damaging abilities. However, this buff will only adjust the damage for Frost players that are using a two-handed weapon, rather than dual-wielding.
Blood Death Knights are seeing a buff to their survivability as well. Bone Shield will now grant armor equal to 70% of their Strength, a considerable increase over the previous 50% armor increase.
Monks are seeing a buff to their damage in line with the buff that Frost Death Knights are seeing. Windwalker and Brewmaster monks are both seeing a 2% increase to their damage, but only when using a two-handed weapon.
It’s unknown how effective these buffs are going to be, mostly set around increasing alternate styles of play. Frost Death Knights are still dominantly a dual-wielding spec, for example, with many finding a considerable decrease in damage when using a two-handed weapon.
Windwalker Monks, conversely, are currently among the top DPS specializations, so a buff was far from needed. It’s likely that this slight increase to damage will help make the top DPS class cement their spot even further.
