The patch is "focused on improving systems, rewards, Covenant and Legendary tuning, and bug fixes. Valor Points are now earnable in Mythic Keystone dungeons, and Valor can be used to upgrade new Mythic Keystone gear rewards. Changes to Covenants and Legendaries are intended to provide more gameplay options for crafting and utilizing Legendary items in specific situations, and to make sure that more players feel that the Covenant that suits their aesthetic, narrative, or other preferences for their character also feels more viable for their preferred playstyle."[1]
Developers' note: Phalanxes still feel underpowered relative to Halberdiers, so giving them some additional durability to allow them to fill the tank role before players have maxed out their roster.
Necrolord Covenant Companions
Fixed an issue where Bonesmith Heirmir Serrated Shoulder Blades weren't inflicting damage back to the enemy.
Maldraxxus Plaguesinger's Plague Song has been redesigned – Plague Song now deals damage to ranged enemies every round.
Developers' note: We fixed a few issues where some Necrolord Covenant Companions weren't dealing damage reliably. Additionally, a few companions have received an improvement that fits with their purpose.
Blisswing's damage reduction now correctly applies to enemies.
Yira'liya[sic] health increased by 16% and spell effectiveness increased by 50%.
Duskleaf health increased by 20% and spell effectiveness increased by 25%.
Lloth'wellyn health increased by 33% and ability damage increased by 25%.
Developers' note: A few Night Fae Covenant Companions were not as well established in their different roles as we hoped, to address this we've improved many abilities and decreased some Companions' overall fragility.
Developers' note: We're generally happy with how the changes to Venthyr in the 9.0.2 landed, but wanted to offer some additional help for players using Nightblades to fill out their compositions.
Characters[]
Undead cloaks will now be as tattered as the forsaken wearing them.
[Abomination Limb] (Necrolord) no longer pulls in enemies that are in Stealth.
[Death's Due] (Night Fae) damage reduction debuff and Strength buff increased to 2% per stack (was 1%). Now stacks up to 4 times (was 8).
Demon Hunter[]
Havoc
[Unbound Chaos] (Talent) damage increased to 500% (was 300%).
Covenant Abilities
[Elysian Decree] (Kyrian) damage reduced by 10% for Vengeance Demon Hunters.
[Fodder to the Flame] (Necrolord) has been redesigned – Your damaging abilities have a chance to call forth a demon from the Theater of Pain for 25 seconds. [Throw Glaive] deals lethal damage to the demon, which explodes on death, dealing damage to nearby enemies and healing you for 30% of your maximum health. The explosion deals reduced damage beyond 5 targets.
[The Hunt] (Night Fae) damage decreased by 10% for Vengeance Demon Hunters.
[Sinful Brand] (Venthyr) damage decreased by 10% for Vengeance Demon Hunters.
[Adaptive Swarm] (Necrolord) damage and healing increased by 25% and the effectiveness of periodic effects increased to 25% (was 20%). The effectiveness of periodic effects increased to 35% for Balance Druids.
Conduits
[Endless Thirst] (Venthyr) now increases your critical strike chance by .8% per stack at Rank 1 (was .5%).
Hunter[]
Fixed an issue that allowed Hunters to avoid the Sated debuff when casting [Primal Rage].
Fixed an issue that caused [Feign Death] to be cancelled when Hunters opened their map or used an emote.
Fixed an issue where casting [Volley] (Talent) right after an [Aimed Shot] that benefitted[sic] from [Trick Shots] would sometimes not apply the Trick Shots effect.
[Flayed Shot] (Venthyr) duration increased to 18 seconds (was 14 seconds) and costs no Focus (was 10). Flayer's Mark now also increases the damage of your next [Kill Shot] by 25%.
Conduits
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the Markman's Advantage buff to be removed when another player's Hunter Mark was applied.
Fixed an issue that could cause [Spinning Crane Kick]'s damage to not be properly increased by Mark of the Crane if targets die with the Monk's mark active.
Covenant Abilities
Fixed an issue that caused [Faeline Stomp] (Night Fae) to not deal damage when used to engage creatures in combat.
[Fallen Order]'s (Venthyr) fallen Tiger and Ox adepts have had their stats increased by 20%.
The extra spells from [Ringing Clarity] (Kyrian) now have a longer delay between hits. Additionally, area-of-effect Judgment hits from [Divine Toll] are no longer reduced by 25% in PvP, and Judgment triggered from Ringing Clarity is reduced by 33% in PvP.
[Virtuous Command] no longer plays an attack animation when it triggers.
[Spirit Shell] (Talent) now absorbs 80% of healing done (was 100%) and the absorption limit is now based on the caster's Spell Power rather than maximum Health.
Holy
[Divine Hymn] increases healing taken by 4% (was 10%) for 15 seconds (was 8 seconds). Stacks up to 5 times (was no stacks).
[Shadowy Apparitions] no longer causes targets to drop Stealth if they deal no damage.
Covenant Abilities
[Fae Guardians] (Night Fae) Guardian Faerie now grants 20% damage reduction (was 10%), and Wrathful Faerie will now automatically be sent to the closest enemy target if Fae Guardians is used while an ally is targeted.
Wrathful Faeries (Night Fae) now properly grant resources to the casting Priest when there are multiple Wrathful Faeries active on the target.
[Mindgames] (Venthyr) no longer reverses damage or healing from itself when reflected.
Conduits
[Fae Fermata] (Night Fae) Fae Guardians now leave a 80% effective copy of their benefit (was 60%) and can no longer be stacked on top of a Faerie for double benefit.
Rogue[]
Assassination
Level 56: New Passive: [Cut to the Chase] – Envenom extends the duration of your [Slice and Dice] by up to 3 seconds per combo point spent.
[Serrated Bone Spike] (Necrolord) initial damage increased by 300% and now grants 1 combo point plus 1 per active bone spike after it strikes the target.
[Serrated Bone Spike] (Necrolord) is now removed when the target leaves combat and no longer refunds a charge and gets removed when the target is healed to full.
Fixed an issue that prevented [Serrated Bone Spike]'s (Necrolord) initial damage from dealing a critical strike.
Fixed an issue that prevented [Serrated Bone Spike]'s (Necrolord) bleed debuff from being counted towards the [Envenom] damage bonus from [Doomblade] (Legendary Power).
Fixed an issue that prevented critical strikes with [Serrated Bone Spike]'s (Necrolord) initial damage from generating an additional combo point with [Seal Fate].
[Broadside] (Outlaw Talent) now correctly causes [Sepsis] (Night Fae) to generate an additional combo point.
[Flagellation] (Venthyr) no longer costs Energy (was 20 Energy), duration reduced to 12 seconds (was 20 seconds), Haste is now granted immediately, and no longer has a second activation. Flagellation's initial damage increased by 270%, additional damage from spending combo points increased by 160%, and deals damage 1 time upon use (was 3).
Conduits
[Lashing Scars] (Venthyr) now causes 4 additional lashes (was 2). This will allow the Rogue to start at 5% Haste upon activation.
Fixed an issue where [Earthen Wall Totem] (Talent) could absorb more damage than intended when an area damage spell hit multiple allies.
Covenant Abilities
[Vesper Totem] (Kyrian) damage and healing increased by 25%.
[Fae Transfusion] (Night Fae) damage increased by 25%, the healing from damage conversion increased to 60% (was 40%) and the heal radius increased to 20 yards (was 12 yards).
Fixed an issue that allowed [Intervene] to be applied to targets under the effect of [Cyclone].
Fury
Fixed an issue that prevented the [Whirlwind] buff to not be applied to the Warrior if Whirlwind was cast during [Charge].
Protection
Damage of all abilities increased by 10%. Damage of [Thunder Clap] increased by an additional 10%.
Covenant Abilities
[Conqueror's Banner] (Necrolord) has been redesigned – Brandish the Conqueror's Banner, granting 400 Mastery and 30% increased movement speed to you and your 2 nearest allies and preventing movement speed from being reduced below 100%. The cooldown is now 2 minutes (was 3 minutes), duration is now 15 seconds (was 20 seconds), and the Rage generation is now 4 Rage per second for Arms and Protection, and 6 Rage per second for Fury.
Conduits
[Veteran's Repute] (Necrolord) no longer causes Conqueror's Banner to grant stacks of Glory.
Covenants[]
Necrolord[]
Covenant Ability
[Fleshcraft] has been redesigned – Form a shield of flesh and bone over 3 seconds (was 4 seconds) that absorbs damage equal to 40% of your maximum health for 2 minutes. While channeling, your damage taken is reduced by 20%. Passive effect – Moving near an enemy's corpse consumes their essence to reduce Fleshcraft's cooldown by 1 second.
The slime creatures within the Plaguefall dungeon will now grant their buffs when their corpses are consumed by Fleshcraft's passive effect (was when Fleshcraft was used on their corpses).
[Resourceful Fleshcrafting] (Bonesmith Heirmir) has been redesigned – When Fleshcraft's passive effect consumes a corpse, the cooldown of Fleshcraft is reduced by an additional 1 second.
Anima Conductor: Flowing Power – House of Rituals
Skelton Command now summons a skeleton when Fleshcraft's passive effect consumes a corpse. This effect has a 5 second cooldown between summoning skeletons.
Night Fae[]
Spirits within The Queen's Conservatory are eager to return to life and will now automatically provide players with their reward without having to speak to them first.
Soulbinds
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused players to die through [Podtender] (Dreamweaver) if the lethal blow had a large overkill.
With the closing of the Alliance Hall of Fame, cross-realm Mythic Castle Nathria will be available for all players starting on the next raid lockout for each region.
Anima Cage's[sic] now persist for 1 minute after activation (was 45 seconds). While active, Sinfall Boon is applied to players when any enemy is slain nearby (was certain enemy types) and duration increased to 75 seconds (was 60 seconds).
Moved one of the Anima Cages away from a patrolling Chamber Sentinel.
Xira the Underhanded has been disabled on Mythic difficulty and removed from the Dungeon Journal.
Mythic Keystone Dungeons
The formula for determining the level of the first [Mythic Keystone] players receive each week has been adjusted.
Previously, players would always receive a Keystone 1 level below the highest they'd completed so far in Season 1.
After this change, if you finish a Mythic Keystone dungeon in time during the week, the next week's Great Vault will contain a Keystone of that same level.
For example, if your highest Mythic Keystone completion during week one is a +15 that you completed in time, you will get another +15 Keystone from the Great Vault to start week two. If you run that +15 during week two and fail to meet the timer, however, and complete no other +15 (or higher) Mythic Keystone dungeons the rest of week two, you will receive a +14 Keystone from the Great Vault to start week three.
Gear acquired from [Mythic Keystone] dungeons are now upgradable with Valor, a new currency that is earned from completing Mythic Keystone dungeons and covenant Callings. The weekly Valor cap will start at 5000 Valor earnable in the first week, and will increase by 750 Valor each week. There will be a maximum of 1500 Valor a character can hold at a time. Gear that dropped before the patch is unable to be upgraded.
200 Item Level: Initial item upgrade level.
207 Item Level: Requires the Keystone Explorer achievement – Earned by completing all eight Shadowlands dungeons at Mythic 5 or higher, within the time limit.
213 Item Level: Requires the Shadowlands Keystone Conqueror achievement – Earned by completing all Shadowlands dungeons at Mythic 10 or higher, within the time limit.
220 Item Level: Requires the Shadowlands Keystone Master achievement – Earned by completing all Shadowlands dungeons at Mythic 15 or higher, within the time limit.
Completing a Mythic Keystone dungeon after the timer has ended will now reward a second item. The item level of the second item will be slightly lower (e.g. finishing a Mythic 7 Keystone dungeon, but not completing the timer now rewards the party with a 200 iLvl item and a 197 iLvl item.
The Great Vault raid loot requirements is now defeat 3/6/9 raid bosses (was 3/7/10).
Once players reach 40 Renown with their Covenant, the weekly quest to gather 1000 Anima will now award you with 1500 gold.
Once players have recruited the maximum amount of Souls for their Covenant, your weekly quest to rescue Souls from the Maw will now award you with 500 Anima.
[Frenzyzband] now reduces the cooldown of Berserk by .3 seconds per combo point-generating ability (was .2 seconds). During [Berserk], combo point-generating abilities cause the target to bleed for 150% of their damage (was 100%).
[Shaohao's Might] now causes [Tiger Palm] to have a 40% chance (was 10%) to deal 300% of normal damage (was 250%) and reduce the remaining cooldown of your Brews by 2 additional seconds (was 1 second).
[Maraad's Dying Breath]'s healing bonus to [Light of the Martyr] no longer increases self-damage taken. Additionally, Maraad's Dying Breath now causes all Light of the Martyr self-damage to be dealt over 5 seconds
Protection
[The Ardent Protector's Sanctum] has been redesigned – When [Ardent Defender] saves you from death, it restores 40% additional health. When Ardent Defender expires without saving you from death, its remaining cooldown is reduced by 40% (was 60 seconds).
Fixed an issue with The Ardent Protector's Sanctum that caused Ardent Defender casts to put nearby Protection Paladin's Ardent Defender on cooldown.
Deepwind Gorge side-capture point flags now spawn 14 seconds after the battleground has begun, and the central flag spawns 18 seconds after the battleground has begun (was immediately at start).
Fixed an issue that caused Battle Flags to not be usable in Wintergrasp or Ashran Battlegrounds.
Seething Shore has temporarily been removed from the Rated Battleground rotation while we investigate an issue with its starting area.
Players below max level will now earn 30% less [Honor] from battlegrounds. This should not affect how many experience points are awarded from battlegrounds.
The rating system has been adjusted to increase 2v2 ratings relative to other brackets. The effects of this change will be gradual over the remainder of the season but persist next season.
[Demon Armor] (PvP Talent) increases Armor by 160% (was 90%).
Affliction
Fixed an issue where [Rapid Contagion] (PvP Talent) could be used while under the effects of crowd control abilities.
Warrior[]
[Barbarian] (PvP talent) no longer resets the cooldown of all [Heroic Leap] charges when used with Leaper (Legendary Effect).
Arms
Fixed an issue that caused [War Banner] (PvP Talent) to expire early if there were multiple War Banners active.
[Exploiter] (Legendary Effect) will grant 25% bonus [Mortal Strike] damage per stack while in combat with enemy players (was 50%). For Venthyr Warriors using [Condemn], it will grant 18% bonus Mortal Strike damage per stack while in combat with enemy players (was 36%).
Protection
Fixed an issue that caused [Overwatch] (PvP Talent) to be incorrectly consumed by reflected damage procs and area of effect spells.
The Maw[]
A new account-wide unlock has been added to Ve'nari that reveals teleport nodes on all the long walkable chains in Torghast so you can quickly cross the chains and no longer have to face your fear of heights.
Reduced the health and amount of Anima Devourers required for Stage 1 of the Winged Soul Eaters Hunt.
Torghast, Tower of the Damned[]
A brief description of each wing is now available before embarking on any given Torghast run.
To better increase your odds of success, a recommended item level will now be displayed when selecting which Layer difficulty to attempt.
Reduced the amount of enemies on multiple floors.
Anima Powers[]
Kyrian[]
[Parliament Stone] increases speed by 50% (was 30%) and now also increases dodge chance by 25%. Can be obtained 1 time (was 2).
Necrolord[]
New Anima Power: [Desolate Chitin] (Uncommon) – Fleshcraft absorbs 50% more damage. Can be obtained 3 times.
[Malevolent Stitching] increases your primary stat by 20% (was 8%) and is now Uncommon rarity (was Rare). Can be obtained 1 time (was 3).
New Anima Power: [Frigid Wildseed] (Epic) – Activating [Soulshape] stuns enemies within 12 yards of the departure and destination location for 6 seconds. Can be obtained 1 time.
New Anima Power: [Ethereal Wildseed] (Uncommon) – Soulshape and Flicker heal you for 20% of your maximum health. Can be obtained 2 times.
[Gnarled Key] reduces [Door of Shadows] cast time by 20% (was 10%) and reduces its cooldown by 6 seconds per stack (was 3 seconds). Stacks up to 5 times (was 10).
Death Knight[]
New Anima Power: [Entropic Pool] (Epic) – Dealing damage with [Death and Decay] increases damage you deal to the target by 2%. This effect stacks.
[Monstrous Concoction] has been redesigned – Now increases damage and attack speed for you and all your minions by 10% for 8 seconds whenever you cast [Death Coil].
[Exterminator] has been redesigned – Now gives 2 additional max charges of Death Grip and killing a Mawrat resets all charges. Stacks 2 times.
[Unbreakable Cuffs] now also increases Physical and Frost damage you deal to affected enemies by 15% and no longer increases the duration of [Chains of Ice].
Blood-Tinged Poker now increases [Sacrificial Pact] damage by 400% (was 300%) and reduces [Raise Dead]'s cooldown to 20 seconds (was 25 seconds).
[Lich Robes] now reduces the cooldown of [Lichborne] by 4 seconds (was 10 seconds) per 10 Runic Power spent (was using [Death Strike]). Stacks 2 times (was 3).
[Seeker's Rage] now increases the damage of your Demon Blades, Demon's Bite, or Shear by 2% per stack (was 20%) when destroying an Ashen Phylactery, and the effect is no longer consumed when casting Demon Blades, Demon's Bite, or Shear.
[Ragehoof] now reduces the cooldown of Metamorphosis by 6 seconds when killing a Mawrat (was extends the duration).
Fixed an issue that caused [Fogged Crystal] and Amplifying Crystal to sometimes remain active once [Misdirection] has expired.
Mage[]
New Anima Power: [Gravity Dynamo] (Epic) – Knocking, Rooting, or Incapacitating enemies grants you 50% extra damage to fire, arcane, and frost spells for 8 seconds.
[Dimensional Blade] now refreshes your [Blink] cooldown when blinking through an enemy, and blinking through Mawrats will kill them instantly (was blinking through a Mawrat will instantly kill it and grant 3 charges of [Blink]).
Malevolence (Venthyr) now causes [Mirrors of Torment]'s cooldown to reset if the target dies while afflicted (was: Mirror damage had to be the killing blow).
New Anima Power: [Dark Technique] (Rare) – Enemies affected by [Mind Bomb] or [Psychic Scream] suffer 5% of your health in damage every 1 second. This damage cannot break Mind Bomb or Psychic Scream.
New Anima Power: [Voidwraith Signet] (Rare) – Killing an enemy with [Shadow Word: Death] summons a Voidwraith guardian for 1 minute that casts Void Flay, dealing 100% additional damage against enemies that are above 50% health.
New Anima Power: [Pure Elemental Core] (Rare) – Increases the duration of your [Fire Elemental] or [Storm Elemental]) by 50% for Elemental. Increases the duration of Feral Spirits by 100% for Enhancement. When you drop [Spirit Link Totem], immediately heal all allies for 15% of their maximum Health, and harm all enemies in the radius for 15% of their max Health for Restoration. Stacks up to 2 times.
[Deathseer Choker] damage and healing per totem increased by 10% (was 5%).
[Heart of the Deathseer] has been redesigned – [Chain Lightning] hits 3 additional targets and damage increases by 20% per jump for Elemental and Restoration. [Lava Lash] now spreads [Flame Shock] to 5 nearby targets, and Lava Lash damage is increased by 500% for Enhancement.
[Bottled Shadow] duration increased to 30 seconds (was 15 seconds).
[Visage of Lethality] has been redesigned – When you are struck in melee by an auto-attack, you fear all nearby enemies for 8 seconds. The effect can happen once every 45 seconds.
[Repulsive Pennant] now deals damage to all enemies within 15 yards of you every 3 seconds while [Conqueror's Banner] is active. Can be obtained 2 times (was 3).
New Anima Power: [Thorium Hairpin] (Uncommon) – [Whirlwind] generates 10 Rage for Arms and Protection, and 4 additional Rage for Fury. Can be obtained 3 times.
New Anima Power: [Ancient Rubble] (Common) – [Heroic Leap] shatters the ground where you land, dealing Physical damage over 10 seconds to enemies within 16 yards. Can be obtained 4 times.
Changed the expansion select button action to a tap and added a button to switch expansions in the menu.
Developers' note: We received feedback that players were having trouble remembering the expansion switch tutorial so we simplified the action and added a second way to switch expansions.
Clarified the region and character select flow.
Developers' note: We changed the flow based on feedback to help clarify and resolve the wrong region being selected versus having no characters in a region.
Fixed an issue where news articles didn't show content when the phone's language did not match the article's language.
Fixed an issue with duplicate Missions and Callings.
Various updates to Adventures.
References[]
^9.0.5 Update Notes. Blizzard Entertainment (2021-03-04). Retrieved on 2021-03-04.