Blizzard's first class deep dives: a new 16-point talent milestone, dual spec at 40, and trainers for respecs

Blizzard has started a class deep dive series for WoW Forever. Two are out: Hunter and Druid, then Priest and Warrior. The per-class notes are useful, but the shared framework at the top of both posts is the real news.

The talent system, officially

• Talents start at level 10, and keep the familiar structure, including the same number of rows.
• The one-point milestone talents stay at 11, 21 and 31 points, and there is a new 16-point milestone.
• Some talents are exactly as they were in patch 1.12, others are adjusted, and several key buffs that used to be talents are now baseline, including Blessing of Kings and Improved Mark of the Wild.
• To change talents, including Legacy talents, you visit a class trainer in a major city.
• Dual Specialisation unlocks at level 40.

The 16-point milestone is new ground: Classic had nothing between 11 and 21, and that gap is exactly where a second tree used to feel dead. It also lines up with what the files show, where the trees are 51-point trait trees with tier gates.

Dual spec at 40 confirms a system testers found in the interface weeks ago, and it answers the respec-cost argument in a way gold never could: by level 40 you carry two builds.

Hunter

• Aimed Shot is baseline at level 20.
• Traps can be used in combat, which is the single biggest change to how a Hunter plays.
• Pets scale with Hunter gear, get broader ability access and unique family abilities.
• Foxes are a new pet family, which the beta files also carry.
• Talent cleanup: Improved Eyes of the Beast and Improved Hunter’s Mark are baseline, Thick Hide is folded into Endurance Training, and Wyvern Sting, Killer Instinct and Improved Feign Death are merged into a new Resourcefulness talent. Monster Slaying and Humanoid Slaying become Improved Tracking.

Druid

The druid post leans on adaptable forms and nature magic, and lands in the middle of a week where testers have been arguing about whether the class is strong or unplayable. Build 70009 had already raised Wrath by about 50% and let heal-over-time spells crit.

Priest

• Fear Ward and Devouring Plague are available to every Priest at level 20, no longer race-locked.
• Divine Spirit is baseline at level 30, and Shadow Word: Death joins the class as a baseline ability at level 32.
• Racial Priest spells are refreshed.
• Talent cleanup: Unbreakable Will folds into Silent Resolve, Improved Power Word: Fortitude and Divine Spirit become baseline, and Force of Will is removed.

Fear Ward for everyone is the headline. In Classic it was a dwarf and draenei racial, and it decided raid composition.

Warrior

• Rage is more reliable, which is the official framing of the rage normalization testers have been measuring all month.
• Some utility becomes baseline, including Improved Shield Block and Improved Taunt.
• Every weapon specialisation talent is gone: Axe, Mace, Sword and Polearm, plus One-Handed Weapon Specialisation.

Removing weapon specialisations is a big simplification. In Classic those talents quietly decided which weapon you used for twenty levels.

The caveat Blizzard repeats

Both posts end the same way: class abilities and talents may continue to evolve throughout the beta and are subject to change. With the level cap going to 30 today, expect some of this to move again.

More deep dives are coming. A community manager confirmed in the thread that the team plans to cover every class, and that each one takes time to put together. Our class pages and the talent calculator are being checked against these posts.