Gnomes in WoW Forever have just received the sort of beta adjustment that usually arrives shortly after players collectively ask, “Wait, this racial does how much?”
The latest Forever beta build contains a substantial datamined nerf to Eureka!, the new Gnome racial that reduces the resource cost of your next three abilities while also increasing their damage, or healing where appropriate. Depending on the class, Eureka! previously reduced Energy, Rage or Mana costs by anywhere from 15% to a frankly enormous 50%.
The new build brings almost all of that down to the same number: 10%.
That is a serious reduction, particularly for Gnome Mages and Warlocks, which appear to be going from a 50% Mana reduction to just 10%. Before anyone begins writing an angry letter to Ironforge, however, there is an important caveat: these changes are currently datamined from the beta and have not been presented as final launch tuning.
Eureka! Was Extremely Strong for Some Classes
According to the latest WoW Forever datamining, Eureka! has several class-specific versions because Gnomes can use different resource systems.
Rogues previously received a 20% Energy cost reduction on their next three damaging abilities. Warriors received a 40% Rage reduction. Mage and Warlock versions reduced Mana costs by a massive 50%, while the Priest version reduced the cost of its next three damaging or healing abilities by 15%.
All of those resource reductions now appear to be moving to 10%.
The accompanying 10% damage bonus remains in the datamined versions, and the Priest version still appears to provide its 10% damage or healing bonus. So Eureka! is not disappearing. It is simply being dragged rather enthusiastically back toward the rest of the racial ability field.
The Mage Version Was Probably the Biggest Problem
A 50% reduction to the Mana cost of three abilities is not a small racial perk, especially in a game where resource management is deliberately more important than it is in modern WoW.
Forever is already encouraging players to experiment with strange class interactions. We have seen that with the Coldflame Saber and the possible Battle Mage setup, where unusual itemization suddenly makes an unconventional Mage playstyle worth investigating.
Add an extremely powerful racial resource discount on top and race choice begins to move from flavour into something much more uncomfortable.
That matters because one of the more interesting parts of Forever is its expanded set of race and class combinations. As we explain in our complete guide to what is changing in WoW Forever, players will have combinations such as Gnome Priests alongside the traditional Gnome Mage and Warlock options. Racial abilities therefore affect more classes than they did in original Classic.
This Is Exactly What the Beta Is Supposed to Catch
There is also something reassuringly normal about this change.
Forever’s beta exists partly to discover which ideas look reasonable on a design document and become slightly ridiculous once thousands of players start trying to break them. That is why Blizzard has temporarily reduced talent respec costs to just 1 silver: players are supposed to test builds aggressively while class systems are still moving.
Eureka! appears to be another example of that process.
A 50% Mana reduction sounds exciting. It also sounds considerably more exciting if you are the Gnome casting the spells than if you are balancing every other race against it.
Moving everything toward 10% creates a much more consistent racial. Rogues lose half of their Energy discount. Warriors lose three quarters of their Rage reduction. Mage and Warlock lose four fifths of their Mana discount. Priests receive the smallest reduction, moving from 15% to 10%.
Do Not Choose Your Forever Race From Beta Numbers
This is also why players should be careful about choosing a Forever character based on current racial mathematics.
Our WoW Forever beginner’s guide recommends choosing a class and ruleset you actually want to play rather than building your entire character around whatever looks strongest during beta. The same principle applies to race.
Numbers this large can change overnight. Eureka! looked extremely powerful yesterday. Today, its resource component has been dramatically reduced in the game files. It could change again before launch.
The racial itself remains interesting. Three cheaper abilities with a 10% damage bonus can still matter when used at the right moment.
It just no longer looks like Gnomes discovered a secret fourth resource called “almost free.”
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