Blizzard has revealed a major round of class tuning changes for the World of Warcraft: Midnight pre-patch (12.0.1), set to go live with the February 17 weekly reset.
The adjustments target outlier specs across PvE and PvP, but the biggest headline is a dramatic increase to healer damage scaling, which could rise by as much as 58% at higher levels.
These changes arrive just weeks before the Midnight expansion launches on March 2, making this one of the most impactful balance passes of the pre-expansion cycle.
Healer Damage Buffed Across the Board
One of Blizzard’s main goals with this tuning pass is improving healer performance in solo and open-world content.
Many healer specs have been underperforming in damage output, and Blizzard is addressing this with scaling buffs and mana adjustments.
Highlights include:
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Healers gain roughly +1% damage per level, scaling up to around +58% at level 90
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Reduced mana costs for several healing abilities
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Improved scaling for hybrid damage spells
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Better solo gameplay potential
Affected specs include:
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Restoration Druid
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Restoration Shaman
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Holy Priest
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Holy Paladin
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Mistweaver Monk
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Preservation Evoker
This shift should make leveling, world content, and solo play far more fluid for healing classes.
Major DPS Nerfs to Top Performers
Several high-performing DPS specs are being toned down to maintain balance heading into Midnight.
Notable nerfs include:
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Arms Warrior – Overpower bonus reduced significantly and hero talent tuning
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Frost Mage – Reductions to Shatter, Blizzard, Frostbolt, and Frozen Orb
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Unholy Death Knight – Plague damage reduced along with key AoE abilities
These changes aim to prevent dominant specs from overshadowing others in both PvE and PvP.
Buffs for Underperforming DPS Specs
While some classes are being nerfed, others are receiving significant buffs.
Examples include:
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Shadow Priest – Voidform damage increased
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Destruction Warlock – Core spell damage increased
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Balance and Feral Druids – Overall damage boost
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Havoc Demon Hunter – Overall damage increased
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Devastation Evoker – Major boost to Disintegrate damage (bug fix included)
The goal is to bring more specs into competitive viability before Midnight launches.
PvP Adjustments Included
Blizzard is also making PvP-specific tuning changes to reduce burst damage and improve match balance.
Examples:
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Devourer Demon Hunter damage increased
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Fire Mage damage reduced
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Arms Warrior Slam damage heavily reduced to prevent one-shot scenarios
These adjustments aim to stabilize PvP ahead of the expansion.
Why This Tuning Pass Matters
Pre-expansion balance passes often shape the early expansion meta. This round of tuning suggests Blizzard wants:
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Stronger healer solo performance
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More balanced DPS output
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Fewer extreme outliers in PvP
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A healthier class ecosystem at launch
With Midnight just weeks away, this may be one of the final large-scale tuning updates before release.
Final Thoughts
The February 17 reset will bring one of the most significant class balance updates of the Midnight pre-expansion period. Healers are receiving long-requested damage improvements, while top-performing DPS specs are being adjusted to keep gameplay balanced.
Players across all roles should review the upcoming changes carefully before the reset goes live.
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