WoW Forever talents: new 16-point talents and every capstone

What each talent does

The descriptions are the beta client's own tooltips (build 1.60.1.70205). Two talents have no tooltip text in the client yet, Summon Hawk and Prayer of Mending: theirs comes from the client's spell data. Blizzard's notes have since announced changes to a few talents, and each class guide follows them.

Warrior

• Spearing Strike (Arms, 16 points): A brutal attack that deals 40% weapon damage, plus an additional 80% weapon damage against Giants, Dragonkin, and mounted targets.
• Mortal Strike (Arms, 31 points): A vicious strike that deals weapon damage plus 85 and wounds the target, reducing the effectiveness of any healing by 50% for 10 sec.
• Raging Blows (Fury, 16 points): Causes your Whirlwind to also strike with your Off Hand weapon, and reduces the Rage cost of your Cleave ability by 2.
• Bloodthirst (Fury, 31 points): Instantly attack the target causing damage equal to 35% of your Attack Power plus 30 and increasing your movement speed by 10% for 10 sec.
• Vanguard (Protection, 16 points): Your Charge ability is now usable while in Defensive Stance.
• Shield Slam (Protection, 31 points): Slam the target with your shield, causing 421 to 439 damage, increased by your Block Value, and has a 50% chance of dispelling 1 magic effect on the target. Causes a very high amount of threat.

Warrior talents · Warrior guide

Paladin

• Divine Favor (Holy, 16 points): When activated, gives your next Flash of Light, Holy Light, or Holy Shock spell a 100% critical effect chance.
• Light's Vigil (Holy, 31 points): Applies Light's Vigil to the target for 30 sec. Your next Holy Shock cast on them triggers no cooldown and causes enemy targets to suffer 175 to 189 Holy damage and refund 75% of Light's Vigil's Mana cost, or allied targets to heal their party for 315 to 333. You may only have one Light's Vigil active per party.
• Swift Judgement (Protection, 16 points): Finishes the remaining cooldown on your Judgement ability and reduces the Mana cost of your next Judgement by 100%.
• Holy Shield (Protection, 31 points): Increases chance to block by 30% for 10 sec, and deals 110 Holy damage for each attack blocked while active. Damage caused by Holy Shield causes 20% additional threat. Each block expends a charge. 4 charges.
• Sacred Arbiter (Retribution, 16 points): Increases the damage of your Holy Strike ability by 20% and causes it to refresh all Judgement effects on the target.
• Twist of Light (Retribution, 31 points): Reduces the Mana cost of your Seal spells by 20%, and when you replace your Seal of Command, Seal of Righteousness, Seal of Fury, or Seal of Justice with a different Seal, you gain an Echo of that Seal. Your next melee attack applies the replaced Seal's effects, consuming the Echo.

Paladin talents · Paladin guide

Hunter

• Summon Hawk (Beast Mastery, 16 points): A hawk dive-bombs your target for 32 Physical damage plus 5% of your Ranged Attack Power, then keeps attacking for 18 sec; up to 2 hawks can be active at once. Instant, 80 Mana, shares Arcane Shot's 6-second cooldown.
• Bestial Wrath (Beast Mastery, 31 points): Send your pet into a rage causing 50% additional damage for 18 sec. While enraged, the beast does not feel pity or remorse or fear and it cannot be stopped unless killed.
• Trueshot Aura (Marksmanship, 16 points): Increases the Ranged Attack Power of party members within 45 yds by 30.
• Sniper Shot (Marksmanship, 31 points): A long-range shot that deals ranged damage plus 160 and increases the range of your next 3 Shots by 10 yards for 10 sec.
• Counterattack (Survival, 16 points): A strike that becomes active after parrying an opponent's attack. This attack deals 50% weapon damage plus 26 and immobilizes the target for 5 sec. Counterattack cannot be blocked, dodged, or parried.
• Lacerating Strikes (Survival, 31 points): Your Mongoose Bite also causes the target to Bleed for damage equal to 40% of the damage done by Mongoose Bite over 21 sec.

Hunter talents · Hunter guide

Rogue

• Cold Blood (Assassination, 16 points): When activated, increases the critical strike chance of your next Sinister Strike, Backstab, Ambush, Eviscerate, or Mutilate by 100%.
• Venom (Assassination, 31 points): Finishing move that increases the damage of your Poisons by 30% and your chance to apply Poisons by 10%. Lasts longer per combo point: 9 sec with 1 point, 12 sec with 2, 15 sec with 3, 18 sec with 4 and 21 sec with 5.
• Flawless Execution (Combat, 16 points): Reduces the Energy cost of your Eviscerate ability by 10.
• Adrenaline Rush (Combat, 31 points): Increases your Energy regeneration rate by 100% for 15 sec.
• Premeditation (Subtlety, 16 points): Adds 2 Combo Points to your target. You must add to or use those combo points within 20 sec or the combo points are lost.
• Thousand Cuts (Subtlety, 31 points): When your Rupture ability deals periodic damage, the Energy cost of your next Hemorrhage or Backstab ability within 10 sec is reduced by 3, stacking up to 5 times.

Rogue talents · Rogue guide

Priest

• Soul Warding (Discipline, 16 points): Reduces the cooldown on your Power Word: Shield spell by 4 sec and reduces its mana cost by 15%.
• Power Infusion (Discipline, 31 points): Infuses the target with power, increasing their spell damage and healing done by 20% for 15 sec.
• Binding Heal (Holy, 16 points): Heals a friendly target and the caster for 223 to 271. Low threat.
• Prayer of Mending (Holy, 31 points): A heal that triggers when the target next takes damage or receives non-periodic healing, then jumps to another party or raid member. Instant, 40 yards, 10-second cooldown; the client gives no amounts.
• Vampiric Embrace (Shadow, 16 points): Afflicts your target with Shadow energy that causes all party members to be healed for 20% of any Shadow spell damage you deal for 30 sec.
• Shadowform (Shadow, 31 points): Assume Shadowform, increasing your Shadow damage by 10%, reducing the Mana cost of all Shadow spells by 50%, increasing the critical strike damage bonus of your Shadow spells by 100%, and reducing Physical damage taken by you by 15%. However, you may not cast healing spells while in this form.

Priest talents · Priest guide

Shaman

• Call of Thunder (Elemental, 16 points): Increases the critical strike chance of your Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells by 3%.
• Lava Burst (Elemental, 31 points): You hurl molten lava at the target, dealing 143 to 185 Fire damage. If your Flame Shock is on the target, Lava Burst deals 20% increased damage.
• Stormstrike (Enhancement, 16 points): Instantly strike for normal weapon damage and increase the damage you deal to the target with your next Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, or Earth Shock spell by 20% for 12 sec.
• Rage of the Farseer (Enhancement, 31 points): Increases your attack speed by 30% for 25 sec.
• Mana Tide Totem (Restoration, 16 points): Summons a Mana Tide Totem with 5 health at the feet of the caster for 12 sec that restores 88 mana every 3 seconds to group members within 30 yards.
• Riptide (Restoration, 31 points): Heals a friendly target for 456 to 504, an additional 445 over 15 sec, and increases the effectiveness of your Chain Heal casts directly on that target by 25%.

Shaman talents · Shaman guide

Mage

• Missile Barrage (Arcane, 16 points): Gives your Arcane Blast spell a 40% chance, and your Fireball, Frostbolt, and Frostfire Bolt spells a 20% chance to reduce the channeled duration of your next Arcane Missiles spell by 50%, reduce the Mana cost by 100%, and missiles fire every 0.5 sec.
• Arcane Power (Arcane, 31 points): For the next 15 sec, your spells deal 30% more damage while costing 30% more mana to cast.
• Heating Up (Fire, 16 points): Non-periodic critical strikes with Fireball, Frostfire Bolt, Fire Blast, and Scorch reduce the cast time of your next Pyroblast cast within 20 sec by 25%, stacking up to 3 times.
• Combustion (Fire, 31 points): When activated, this spell causes each of your Fire damage spell hits to increase your critical strike chance with Fire damage spells by 10%. This effect lasts until you have caused 3 non-periodic critical strikes with Fire spells.
• Ice Block (Frost, 16 points): You become encased in a block of ice, protecting you from all physical attacks and spells for 10 sec, but during that time you cannot attack, move, or cast spells.
• Ice Barrier (Frost, 31 points): Instantly shields you, absorbing 431 damage. Lasts 1 min. While the shield holds, your spellcasts will not be interrupted or delayed from taking damage.

Mage talents · Mage guide

Warlock

• Curse of Exhaustion (Affliction, 16 points): Reduces the target's movement speed by 30% for 12 sec. Only one Curse per Warlock can be active on any one target.
• Wrack (Affliction, 31 points): Tears the target apart from within, inflicting 36 Shadow damage every 1 sec and increasing the damage they take from your other Shadow damage over time effects by 10% for 6 sec.
• Fel Domination (Demonology, 16 points): Your next Imp, Voidwalker, Succubus, Incubus, or Felhunter Summon spell has its casting time reduced by 5.5 sec and its Mana cost reduced by 50%.
• Demonic Pact (Demonology, 31 points): Your Demonic Sacrifice effect is no longer cancelled by summoning a different Demon pet. Resummoning the sacrificed pet will still cancel the effect.
• Conflagrate (Destruction, 16 points): Ignites a target that is already afflicted by your Immolate spell, dealing 84 to 106 Fire damage and consuming your Immolate effect.
• Incinerate (Destruction, 31 points): Deals 90 to 104 Fire damage to your target and an additional 25% damage if the target is afflicted by Immolate.

Warlock talents · Warlock guide

Druid

• Insect Swarm (Balance, 16 points): The enemy target is swarmed by insects, decreasing their chance to hit with attacks by 2% and causing 48 Nature damage over 12 sec.
• Moonkin Form (Balance, 31 points): Shapeshift into Moonkin Form, increasing Omen of Clarity's chance to trigger by 100%, Armor contribution from items by 360%, and all party members within 45 yards have their Critical Strike chance increased by 3%, exclusive with Leader of the Pack. Also protects the caster from Polymorph effects and prevents the use of healing spells. The act of shapeshifting frees the caster of Polymorph and Movement Impairing effects.
• Primal Bite (Feral Combat, 16 points): Bite the target, dealing 100% normal damage plus 26 and generating a high amount of threat.
• Berserk (Feral Combat, 31 points): Requires Cat Form, Bear Form or Dire Bear Form. Causes your Primal Bite ability to strike up to 3 targets, removes its cooldown, and increases the critical strike chance of your Combo Point-generating abilities by 100%. Clears and grants immunity to Fear effects for the duration. Lasts 15 sec.
• Swiftmend (Restoration, 16 points): Instantly heals a target with an active Rejuvenation or Regrowth effect for an amount equal to the full duration of the periodic effect of one of those spells.
• Wild Growth (Restoration, 31 points): Heals the target and their party for 280 over 7 sec. Party members must be within 43.5 yards of target. The amount healed is applied quickly at first, and slows down as Wild Growth reaches its full duration.

Druid talents · Druid guide

What moved, and what is new

The new 16-point row takes in talents that were 31-point capstones in the original trees: Trueshot Aura, Stormstrike, Mana Tide Totem and Swiftmend. Other former capstones drop to the 21-point row, such as Holy Shock, Repentance, Spirit of Redemption and Leader of the Pack.

Many 31-point talents are still the familiar ones: Mortal Strike, Bloodthirst, Shield Slam, Arcane Power, Shadowform, Bestial Wrath and Moonkin Form among them. Others bring in abilities from later expansions, such as Lava Burst, Riptide, Wild Growth and Berserk, and some are names the original trees never had, like Light's Vigil, Twist of Light, Rage of the Farseer and Sniper Shot. These are beta values, and Blizzard is still tuning classes build by build.

The level 30 build already changes several of them. Feral's 16-point row gains Shifting Power, a new talent that replaces King of the Jungle and Tiger's Fury: in Cat Form, it instantly converts 55% of base Mana into 40 Energy. Fire's Hot Streak is renamed Heating Up, Combustion returns to 3 charges, and Marksmanship's Sniper Shot now reaches 45 yards and adds 10 yards to your next three shots.

Planning a build

During the beta, a respec costs 1 silver if you haven't reset recently, so testers can try several builds; after a first reset the price climbs, then drops back after an hour. Outside the game, our talent planner has every class's three trees, with the milestones and the ranks from the client, and a Legacy planner for the account-wide perks. The Legacy challenges guide explains how to earn Legacy points, and our beta guide covers the latest class changes.

Each class also has its own guide, with every new talent and spell in the beta: Warrior, Paladin, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Shaman, Mage, Warlock and Druid.