Patch 9.2.5 is the second minor content patch of Shadowlands, announced on 31 January 2022.[1] It released on 31 May 2022.[2]
Achievements
All Covenant Sanctum feature achievements are now visible and count towards your character's total achievement points, regardless of which covenant your character currently belongs to. Nonetheless, all characters must belong to a Covenant to earn that Covenant's specific achievements.
All classes now generate more threat when in a tank specialization.
Developers' note: We've heard a lot of feedback about threat loss from the community (and our teammates) since the start of this season. Our design intent is that a tank who is actively directing their damage rotation at an enemy should be able to maintain threat on that enemy, but simple area of effect spells (like Consecrate or Death and Decay) alone should not be sufficient. We've analyzed this situation and feel that a small adjustment to tank threat modifiers should help maintain that balance for the remainder of the expansion.
Death Knight
Fixed an issue that caused Bone Shields consumed by [Tombstone] (Talent) to not reduce the cooldown of [Blood Tap] by the correct amount.
Hunter
Beast Mastery
All damage abilities and pet damage increased by 4%.
[Beast Cleave] now causes your pet to strike other targets for 100% of your pet's damage (was 90%).
Developers' notes: Beast Mastery has not received as much AoE benefit from its set bonus as other specializations and consequently has fallen behind. We're increasing the damage of their pets and Beast Cleave damage transfer to help their overall performance.
Developers' note: We feel that Arcane single target damage would benefit from an increase, but also want to offer some dispel protection for one of their critical rotational buffs in Clearcasting. This is a change that we will evaluate further going into Dragonflight as generally, we want magical buffs like these to be dispellable. In this case, we feel there is necessary to help this specialization in the short term.
Monk
Windwalker
[Rising Sun Kick] damage increased by 20%. This change does not apply to PvP.
[Fists of Fury] damage to primary target increased by 20%. This change does not apply to PvP.
[Blackout Kick] damage increased by 20%. This change does not apply to PvP.
[Tiger Palm] damage increased by 20%. This change does not apply to PvP.
Developers' note: As part of our ongoing balance efforts, we're taking a more aggressive approach towards improving Windwalker Monks' single-target damage, so that their performance is more competitive in raid situations where their unique strengths may not come to the forefront.
Rogue
Outlaw
[Between the Eyes] damage increased by 20%. This change does not apply to PvP.
[Pistol Shot] damage increased by 20%. This change does not apply to PvP.
[Sinister Strike] damage increased by 20%. This change does not apply to PvP.
[Blade Flurry] damage increased to 60% of single target damage (was 50%). This change does not apply to PvP.
Developers' note: Our intent with these changes is to improve Outlaw in both single target and 5-6 target cleave situations where Blade Flurry should shine. Outlaw isn't standing out enough in these moments and we hope these changes move us in the right direction. However, in PvP, Enduring Brawler and Recuperator have given Outlaw more survivability than intended and we've decided to reduce the max stack count as a result.
Warlock
Fixed an issue that caused [Scouring Tithe] (Kyrian Ability) to grant both the death and survive effects when used against certain enemies.
Destruction
(2) Set Bonus: Ritual of Ruin now lasts 30 seconds (was unlimited).
(4) Set Bonus: Summoning a Blasphemy no longer stuns enemies.
Developers' note: With these changes, we've set out to address a strategy of disengaging from the fight except in rare moments where the Warlock can setup huge burst through the set bonus. At the same time, we're trying to give adequate time for the Warlock to respond to Ritual of Ruin proc with a 30 second duration.
Warrior
Arms
[Mortal Strike] damage increased by 10%. This change does not apply to PvP.
[Overpower] damage increased by 10%. This change does not apply to PvP.
[Execute] and [Condemn] damage increased by 15%. This change does not apply to PvP.
Developers' note: These changes are intended to increase Arms single target performance while not affecting areas where they already excel.
Protection
[Execute] and [Condemn] damage increased by 15%. This change does not apply to PvP.
Cross-Faction Instances
Players are now able to directly invite members of the opposite faction to a party if you have a BattleTag or Real ID friendship, or if you are members of a cross-faction WoW Community.
Premade Groups in the Group Finder listings for Mythicdungeons, raids, or rated arena/RBGs are now open to applicants of both factions, though the group leader may choose to restrict the listing to same-faction applicants if they so choose.
WoW Communities now have the option to be cross-faction, while Guilds will remain single-faction.
With Cross-Faction Instances becoming available, the [Cryptic Hero: Shadowlands Season 3] achievement now requires a Mythic+ Rating in the top 0.1% of all players in your region.
New " [60] Sounds of Healing" quest added to unlock weapons as possible rewards from Zereth Mortis content. This quest can be picked up by defeating enemies in Zereth Mortis.
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused Blizzard Shop transmog cosmetics to temporarily disappear from your collection.
Fixed an issue where Jingles battle pet would display as "Unknown" when summoned and its wreath and candy cane accessories were the incorrect size in the Pet Journal.
Developers note: In general, damage output is outpacing survivability in PvP leading to a volatile gameplay experience. We're increasing the Stamina from the PvP trinket set bonus to reduce the effect of damage across the game.
[Cosmic Gladiator's Echoing Resolve] no longer triggers from or provides immunity to interrupt effects. The tooltip for this will be updated in a future patch.
Developers' note: While the tooltip explicitly mentions interrupts, we've heard the feedback loud and clear that this trinket is removing counterplay that players enjoy. We'll fix the tooltip in a future hotfix.
Death Knight
[Anti-Magic Zone]'s spell damage reduction increased to 50% (was 20%) in PvP combat.
[Gift of the Lich] (Necrolord Conduit) duration reduced by 33% in PvP combat.
Developers' note: Deathborne is one of the most impactful cooldowns in the game, but at the current scale of Conduits, it's regularly lasting 50+ seconds. We feel it's necessary to reign in that duration in PvP.
Monk
Mistweaver
Reduced cooldown on [Zen Focus Tea] (PvP Talent) to 30 seconds (was 45).
Developers' note: Mistweavers are having a difficult time responding to burst damage reliably, as they regularly have to open their primary school in order to catch up. Giving them more access to an interrupt protection is intended to let them respond to burst damage more reliably.
Priest
Discipline
[Blaze of Light] (PvP Talent) increases damage to Smite and Penance by 30% (was 15%).
Fixed an issue that reduced the value of [Power Word: Shield] critical strikes in PvP combat.
Developers' notes: We're looking to give Discipline more offensive options in PvP but also feel that [Power Word: Shield] has fallen off in terms of relative strength compared to other parts of the kit.
[Earth Shock] damage is no longer reduced by 10% in PvP combat.
Enhancement
[Chain Harvest] (Venthyr Ability) damage and healing reduced by 15% in PvP combat.
Restoration
[Earthen Wall Totem] (Talent) absorb is no longer reduced by 30% while in PvP combat.
Developers' note: For Shaman, we want to address some of the big swing moments created by [Vesper Totem] and [Chain Harvest], but compensate them with more sustained healing, damage and mitigation.
Warlock
[Demonic Embrace] now increases your Stamina by 20% (was 10%) in PvP combat.
New PvP Talent: [Shadowfall] – Gain the Nightfall talent with 100% increased chance to gain its effect. If you already have this talent, you may select another in the same row.
Demonology
Felguard's [Legion Strike] now reduces effectiveness of healing on the target by 25% in PvP combat (was 10%).
Developers' note: We've increased the mortal strike effect of Demonology's pet in PvP to help their effective damage.
[Battle Trance] (PvP Talent) now generates 3 rage (was 5) every 3 seconds for 18 seconds after using [Raging Blow] twice in a row on a target.
Developers' note: 9.2.5 comes with a bug fix where the PvP talent Battle Trance wasn't being activated by the Raging Blow replacement spell Crushing Blow from the Reckless Abandon talent. The above changes are intended to manage the effective buff Fury will be getting from that interaction.
Professions
Increased the experience points earned when crafting Specialized Armor and Jewelry for creating Runecarving items by 400%.
Quests
Blood Elves can start a quest to earn a new mount, weapon appearance, and the Blood Knight armor set for Blood Elf Paladins by speaking to Liadrin in Oribos. Requirements: Level 60 and Exalted with Silvermoon.
Patch 9.2.5
[Tower Ranger] criteria now requires 
[The Jailer's Gauntlet: Layer 4] (was Layer 8).
[60] 
Ion Hazzikostas 2022-01-31. Development Preview: Cross-Faction Instances. Blizzard Entertainment.
