[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":318},["ShallowReactive",2],{"site-settings":3,"article:\u002Fresources\u002Fbriefings\u002Fmidnight-class-tuning-september-22":16},{"id":4,"description":5,"email":6,"extension":7,"footerNote":8,"legalNotice":9,"locale":10,"meta":11,"name":12,"stem":13,"url":14,"__hash__":15},"settings\u002Fsettings.yml","Compare World of Warcraft realms by expansion, region, population and play style.","listings@realmlist.org","yml","An independent realm directory.","Not affiliated with Blizzard Entertainment.","en",{},"RealmList","settings","https:\u002F\u002Frealmlist.org","QXaYspLUSxnrVumL6oFir6PInhNsRw-yJchxEYSe1AU",{"id":17,"title":18,"author":19,"body":20,"category":290,"description":291,"draft":292,"extension":293,"featured":292,"meta":294,"navigation":295,"path":296,"publishedAt":297,"seo":298,"sitemap":299,"sources":302,"stem":309,"tags":310,"updatedAt":316,"__hash__":317},"articles\u002Fresources\u002Fbriefings\u002Fmidnight-class-tuning-september-22.md","Class Tuning Arrives September 22: a Wide Low-Performer Buff Pass, Hero Talent Parity, and a Heavy PvP Swing","RealmList Editorial",{"type":21,"value":22,"toc":282},"minimark",[23,41,44,49,67,81,106,110,113,214,217,221,224,265,269,276],[24,25,26,27,31,32,36,37,40],"p",{},"Blizzard posted its next Midnight tuning pass on September 18, and it goes live ",[28,29,30],"strong",{},"September 22"," — a two-working-day turnaround that is normal for hotfix-scale balance work, but notable in volume. This is not a small touch-up: the post covers seventeen specs in PvE and thirteen more in PvP, and its stated shape is explicit — ",[33,34,35],"em",{},"mostly targeted at low performers across Mythic+, Raid, and PvP",", plus a deliberate attempt to narrow ",[28,38,39],{},"hero talent disparity"," so that the less-picked tree in a pair becomes a real choice rather than a trap.",[24,42,43],{},"For Season 2 progression purposes, the timing matters: with 12.1.5 expected on the PTR path toward an early-October window, this is likely the last major balance snapshot of the current tier before the mid-season patch adds its one-boss raid and upgrade materials on top.",[45,46,48],"h2",{"id":47},"the-headline-pve-packages","The headline PvE packages",[24,50,51,54,55,58,59,62,63,66],{},[28,52,53],{},"Frost Death Knight"," gets the loudest single number in the post: ",[28,56,57],{},"Frostreaper damage up 100%",", plus 10% on Obliterate — both explicitly excluded from PvP. The developers' note is blunt about the reason: Frost has been lacking in single target and two-target cleave scenarios. ",[28,60,61],{},"Unholy"," is aimed at raid output, and includes a correction with a story attached: the ",[28,64,65],{},"Blightfall"," build is being returned to its pre-bugfix power (200% of remaining plague damage, up from 100%), explicitly undoing a nerf that had made the build non-viable.",[24,68,69,72,73,76,77,80],{},[28,70,71],{},"Blood"," is the most interesting tank change of the pass, because it is a nerf wrapped around buffs. San'layn Blood was dealing far more AoE damage than intended for a tank, so all ability and minion damage drops ",[28,74,75],{},"6%"," — but Death Strike gains ",[28,78,79],{},"25%"," damage (with reduced cleave through Deadly Reach), and Deathbringer receives six targeted buffs (Exterminate +25%, Reaper's Mark +20%, Wave of Souls +20%, plus talent value increases) that are designed to leave the hero tree at a small net positive in both AoE and single target.",[24,82,83,86,87,90,91,90,94,97,98,101,102,105],{},[28,84,85],{},"Augmentation Evoker"," receives what the notes call targeted adjustments to under-represented parts of its kit: ",[28,88,89],{},"Fire Breath +60%",", ",[28,92,93],{},"Upheaval +40%",[28,95,96],{},"Blistering Scales +100%"," and Eruption +15%. ",[28,99,100],{},"Devastation"," gets a broad Mythic+ AoE package (Azure Strike and Azure Sweep +50%, Unbound Flame +25%), and the developer note contains a rare public admission of internal tuning intent: the package is expected to buff ",[28,103,104],{},"Flameshaper more than Scalecommander",", because Scalecommander is outperforming it in most content.",[45,107,109],{"id":108},"hero-talent-parity-spec-by-spec","Hero talent parity, spec by spec",[24,111,112],{},"The stated goal of reducing hero talent disparity shows up as a consistent pattern across classes — the second-choice tree gets pulled up toward the popular one:",[114,115,116,132],"table",{},[117,118,119],"thead",{},[120,121,122,126,129],"tr",{},[123,124,125],"th",{},"Class \u002F spec",[123,127,128],{},"Underperforming tree",[123,130,131],{},"Key change",[133,134,135,149,162,175,188,201],"tbody",{},[120,136,137,141,146],{},[138,139,140],"td",{},"Retribution Paladin",[138,142,143],{},[28,144,145],{},"Templar",[138,147,148],{},"Hammer of Light +50% (PvE), explicitly pitched against Herald of the Sun",[120,150,151,154,159],{},[138,152,153],{},"Subtlety Rogue",[138,155,156],{},[28,157,158],{},"Trickster",[138,160,161],{},"Unseen Blade +50%, Coup de Grace +30%, \"performed well below Deathstalker\"",[120,163,164,167,172],{},[138,165,166],{},"Fury & Prot Warrior",[138,168,169],{},[28,170,171],{},"Mountain Thane",[138,173,174],{},"Lightning Strike and Ground Current +50% in both specs",[120,176,177,180,185],{},[138,178,179],{},"Windwalker Monk",[138,181,182],{},[28,183,184],{},"Conduit of the Celestials",[138,186,187],{},"Celestial Conduit +50%, while Shado-Pan's Flurry Strikes drop 15% in PvP",[120,189,190,193,198],{},[138,191,192],{},"Havoc & Vengeance DH",[138,194,195],{},[28,196,197],{},"Aldrachi Reaver",[138,199,200],{},"Art of the Glaive, Reaver's Glaive and Reaver's Mark all buffed for both specs",[120,202,203,206,211],{},[138,204,205],{},"Arms Warrior (PvP)",[138,207,208],{},[28,209,210],{},"Colossus",[138,212,213],{},"Practiced Strikes to +40%, Cut to the Bone to +30% — aimed at the post-Demolish window",[24,215,216],{},"Shadow Priest is the mirror image of this pattern: instead of a hero tree fix, it receives a single-target package (Mind Blast, Void Blast, Shadow Word: Death and the Mind Flay line all +15%) that the notes describe as neutral in multi-target situations, with Psychic Link trimmed from 25% to 20% to pay for it.",[45,218,220],{"id":219},"the-pvp-pass-is-unusually-aggressive","The PvP pass is unusually aggressive",[24,222,223],{},"The PvP section reads less like a nudge and more like a reaction to the current arena meta:",[225,226,227,234,240,250,256,262],"ul",{},[228,229,230,233],"li",{},[28,231,232],{},"Restoration Druid"," — the notes say burst healing and instant crowd control have \"limited counterplay\": Nature's Swiftness cooldown goes up 60 seconds through Call of Ohn'ahra (was 30), and Swiftmend healing drops 20%.",[228,235,236,239],{},[28,237,238],{},"Survival Hunter"," — the burst window is being taxed directly: Takedown hunter damage −10%, pet damage −15%, Moonlight Chakram −15%.",[228,241,242,245,246,249],{},[28,243,244],{},"Affliction Warlock"," — Agony damage ",[28,247,248],{},"+40%"," and Unstable Affliction +10%, a large buff aimed at making the spec viable in PvP.",[228,251,252,255],{},[28,253,254],{},"Fire Mage"," — Pyroclasm's PvP multiplier drops from 180% to 160%, with the note that burst remains too high even outside Combustion.",[228,257,258,261],{},[28,259,260],{},"Elemental Shaman"," gets a philosophy change rather than a number: more primary-target damage (Lightning Bolt +25%, Lava Burst +15%), less cleave, with the Voltaic Blaze \u002F Purging Flames combo specifically reduced.",[228,263,264],{},"Assassination Rogue (−4% all damage) and Outlaw (+5%) trade places in the same pass.",[45,266,268],{"id":267},"one-design-acknowledgment-worth-reading-twice","One design acknowledgment worth reading twice",[24,270,271,272,275],{},"The Discipline Priest change is the most candid systems note in the post. Atonement has been strong enough in raids that the spec cannot deliver proper healing in dungeon environments, so Blizzard is ",[28,273,274],{},"reintroducing a 40% Atonement healing bonus outside raid and battleground instances"," — and simultaneously removing the 40% bonus Atonement currently receives in PvP. Add a 20% Penance mana cost reduction, and this is effectively a statement that Discipline's dungeon healing has been unsolved since the Atonement model scaled up for raids, and that the fix required breaking the two contexts apart rather than tuning one number for both.",[277,278,279],"note",{},[24,280,281],{},"Accurate as of September 21, 2026. All values come from Blizzard's September 18 blue post; changes are hotfix-scheduled for September 22 and can be adjusted, delayed or partially reverted without a new post. Several entries carry explicit PvP exclusions that this summary preserves, but the post is long and class-specific — check the original thread for your spec before planning around a number. Nothing here affects the WoW: Forever beta or Classic-era versions of the game.",{"title":283,"searchDepth":284,"depth":284,"links":285},"",2,[286,287,288,289],{"id":47,"depth":284,"text":48},{"id":108,"depth":284,"text":109},{"id":219,"depth":284,"text":220},{"id":267,"depth":284,"text":268},"briefings","Blizzard's latest Midnight tuning post buffs Frost and Unholy Death Knights, Augmentation, Shadow and Trickster, restores Blood's Deathbringer after an aura nerf, and makes unusually blunt changes to PvP burst. Here is what actually moves.",false,"md",{},true,"\u002Fresources\u002Fbriefings\u002Fmidnight-class-tuning-september-22","2026-09-21",{"title":18,"description":291},{"loc":296,"changefreq":300,"priority":301},"daily",0.7,[303,306],{"label":304,"url":305},"Blizzard Forums — Class Tuning Incoming – September 22 (Linxy, September 18, 2026)","https:\u002F\u002Fus.forums.blizzard.com\u002Fen\u002Fwow\u002Ft\u002Fclass-tuning-incoming-september-22\u002F2354340",{"label":307,"url":308},"BlueTracker mirror — Class Tuning Incoming – September 22","https:\u002F\u002Fbluetracker.wowclassicui.com\u002Fpost\u002F1379","resources\u002Fbriefings\u002Fmidnight-class-tuning-september-22",[311,312,313,314,315],"Midnight","Class Tuning","PvE","PvP","Patch Notes",null,"ztQeAjGviVGd5chjZ36vk5qYnK43MbmakOpIaqVhnZ8",1789953196498]