Ultimate Class Guide to WoW 11.0.5 Patch: Winners and Loosers

The 11.0.5 patch in World of Warcraft's "The War Within" brings significant changes across all classes and specs, with major updates for Hunters, Rogues, Shamans, Death Knights, Druids, Mages, and Warlocks. This guide explores these changes in detail, helping you understand the evolving meta and optimize your gameplay in Mythic+ dungeons. Who are the winner, the loosers and everything in between.

Overview of Patch 11.0.5 Changes

Patch 11.0.5 introduces numerous changes to balance classes and enhance player experience. Major updates include buffs, nerfs, and talent reworks, with several classes receiving substantial modifications.

Detailed Class and Spec Changes

Hunter Class and Spec Changes

Hunters have seen significant updates in this patch, affecting all three specs: Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, and Survival.

  • Beast Mastery Hunter: Redesigned Cobra Shot with new talents like Cobra Senses, Serpentine Rhythm, and Barbed Shot adjustments to improve rotation flexibility.

  • Marksmanship Hunter: Introduction of Dark Ranger talent, enhancing Kill Shot synergy.

  • Survival Hunter: Buffs targeting AoE and single-target capabilities, with improved synergy between bleeds and abilities like Kill Shot and Butchery.

Rogue Class and Spec Changes

Rogues received notable updates, impacting Assassination, Outlaw, and Subtlety specs.

  • Assassination Rogue: Longer duration for Master Assassin, improving burst potential.

  • Outlaw Rogue: Quality of life improvements with Crackshot and Blade Flurry.

  • Subtlety Rogue: Symbols of Death gains two additional charges, significantly enhancing uptime and DPS.

Shaman Class and Spec Changes

Shamans have extensive changes, particularly affecting Elemental, Enhancement, and Restoration specs.

  • Elemental Shaman: Mixed changes with buffs to Ascendance and nerfs to Flash of Lightning, impacting the farseer build.

  • Enhancement Shaman: Strong buffs, including a shorter cooldown on Ascendance and passive wolves, enhancing overall performance.

  • Restoration Shaman: New talents like Coalescing Water and improvements to High Tide enhance healing capabilities.

Death Knight Class and Spec Changes

Death Knights received significant updates, especially for Frost, Blood, and Unholy specs.

  • Blood Death Knight: Adjustments focus on improving flexibility and performance.

  • Frost Death Knight: Buffs to single-target damage solidify Frost DK as a top DPS choice.

  • Unholy Death Knight: Minor tweaks maintain strong AoE and single-target damage.

Druid Class and Spec Changes

Druids received updates, especially for Balance and Restoration specs.

  • Balance Druid: Buffs to talents and abilities like Celestial Alignment enhance AoE potential.

  • Restoration Druid: Improvements to healing capabilities with Omen of Clarity now baseline.

  • Feral and Guardian Druids: Minimal changes, maintaining current roles.

Mage Class and Spec Changes

Mages have experienced a range of adjustments across Arcane, Fire, and Frost specs.

  • Arcane Mage: Nerfs, particularly impacting the Spell Slinger build.

  • Fire Mage: Mixed changes with overall damage reduction but specific talent buffs.

  • Frost Mage: Buffs to Frostfire abilities improve damage potential.

Warlock Class and Spec Changes

Warlocks have seen important updates, particularly affecting Destruction and Demonology specs.

  • Destruction Warlock: Adjustments to encourage more use of Chaos Bolt over Rain of Fire.

  • Demonology Warlock: Some talent changes offer a net neutral or small gain.

  • Affliction Warlock: No significant changes in this patch.

Tier List: Winners, Good Changes, Neutral/No Changes, Losers

Winners

  • Survival Hunter

  • Enhancement Shaman

  • Subtlety Rogue

  • Frost Death Knight

  • Protection Paladin

Good Changes

  • Balance Druid

  • Beast Mastery Hunter

  • Marksman Hunter

  • Restoration Shaman

  • Demonology Warlock

Neutral/No Changes

  • Unholy Death Knight

  • Assassination Rogue

  • Outlaw Rogue

  • Restoration Druid

  • Feral and Guardian Druids

  • Fire Mage

  • Affliction Warlock

Losers

  • Arcane Mage

  • Elemental Shaman

  • Havoc Demon Hunter

  • Brewmaster Monk

  • Holy Priest

Previous
Previous

Complete Guide to Unlocking the Coldflame Tempest Mount in WoW Patch 11.0.5

Next
Next

M+ Overview Before Patch 11.0.5 - notable shifts and trends