World of Warcraft Midnight’s March 31 tuning will pump Shadow Priest and buff Arms Warrior, Blizzard says

Blizzard published a detailed class-tuning post that will take effect with the March 31 reset, targeting weaker specs after the first days of Mythic raiding and Mythic+ runs. The update adjusts six classes (seven specs) in PvE and makes broader changes across PvP, where eight classes and 15 specializations will see tweaks.

The biggest single change is for Shadow Priest: Shadow Word: Death will have its damage increased by 80% to improve execute-range performance, while several other Priest abilities are being shifted to favor multi-target damage. Arms Warrior also receives notable increases to Execute and Overpower. Blizzard posted the full breakdown on its forums in the class tuning incoming – March 31 thread. These adjustments follow Blizzard’s March 24 tuning pass that nudged a small set of specs in advance of Mythic raid and Mythic+ activity.

Patch Notes

Below are Blizzard’s posted notes for the tuning pass that will go live with the March 31 reset. The list covers both PvE and PvP adjustments and includes developer commentary where provided.

Classes

• Death Knight
  • Frost
    • All damage dealt increased by 4%. Not applied to PvP combat.
• Druid
  • Feral
    • All damage dealt increased by 3%. Not applied to PvP combat.
    • Frantic Frenzy damage reduced by 8%. Not applied to PvP combat.
      • Developers’ notes: Our intention here is to improve Feral damage in raids, without increasing their damage in M+, which is already competitive.
• Hunter
  • Beast Mastery
    • All damage dealt increased by 4%. Not Applied to PvP combat.
  • Survival
    • All damage dealt increased by 4%.
• Mage
  • Arcane
    • Burden of Power now increases Arcane Blast damage by 25% (was 5%) and Arcane Pulse damage by 15% (was 5%).
      • Developers’ notes: Arcane Sunfury is a bit farther behind our expectations in single target damage.
• Priest
  • Shadow
    • Developers’ notes: Shadow Word: Death has been lacking in damage, even in execute range, so we’re significantly increasing its damage to correct this. To increase damage in multi-target situations, we’re targeting some AoE-only sources and shifting some power from some single target sources of damage to Shadowy Apparition damage.
    • Shadow Word: Death damage increased by 80%.
    • Mind Blast and Void Blast damage reduced by 10%.
    • Shadow Apparition and Void Apparition damage increased by 35%.
    • Spectral Horrors now increases Shadowy Apparition damage against targets affected by Shadow Word: Madness by 30% (was 50%).
    • Psychic Link causes direct damage spells to inflicts 25% of their damage on all targets afflicted by Vampiric Touch (was 20%).
    • Void Spike from Things from Beyond now deals 25% additional damage to secondary targets.
    • Mind Sear from Void Lashers now deals 25% additional damage.
• Warrior
  • Arms
    • Developers’ notes: Arms single target damage remains lower than intended, particularly Execute.
    • Execute damage increased by 20%. Does not affect PvP.
    • Overpower damage increased by 10%. Does not affect PvP.

Player versus Player

• Hunter
  • Marksmanship
    • Developers’ notes: Marksmanship is a burst outlier, so we’re reducing the power of Aimed Shot and increasing sustained damage from other primary damage sources to keep it feeling powerful, while reducing the peaks of its burst.
    • Aimed Shot damage reduced by 10% in PvP combat.
    • Kill Shot and Black Arrow damage increased by 15% in PvP combat.
    • Rapid Fire damage increased by 15% in PvP combat.
• Druid
  • Restoration
    • Developers’ notes: A substantial buff is needed to help Restoration, who have been struggling to keep up in healing throughput as well as defensively.
    • All healing increased by 8% in PvP combat.
    • Regrowth healing increased by 40% in PvP combat.
    • Swiftmend healing increased by 25% in PvP combat.
    • Barkskin now reduced damage taken by 30% in PvP combat (was 20%).
• Mage
  • Arcane
    • Developers’ notes: Arcanosphere damage has fallen behind other sources in Midnight. We’re also buffing Sunfury in all gameplay (above) to make it more competitive with Spellslinger.
    • Arcanosphere damage increased by 250%.
  • Fire
    • Developers’ notes: Fire Mage has strong burst during Combustion which has gotten a bit too strong. We’re aiming to reduce power in this window by adjusting talents that are propping up damage during Combustion and otherwise are looking to keep sustained damage in a similar state.
    • Each stack of Fired Up now increases Fire damage by 2% in PvP combat (was 4%).
    • Burn It All now increases spell damage by 5% during Combustion in PvP combat (was 10%).
• Monk
  • Mistweaver
    • Developers’ notes: Mistweavers have continued to be a step above other healers this season, with strong sustained healing in addition to having strong cooldowns more frequently than other healers. These adjustments target some of those cooldowns.
      ** All healing reduced by 4% in PvP combat.*
    • Conduit of the Celestials: Heart of the Jade Serpent now causes Thunder Focus Tea to increase the recovery rate of Renewing Mist, Rising Sun Kick, Life Cocoon, and Thunder Focus Tea by 30% for 8 seconds in PvP combat (was 75%).
    • Conduit of the Celestials: Celestial Conduit healing reduced by 50% in PvP combat.
  • Windwalker
    • Developers’ notes: We feel that Windwalkers’ burst windows are too difficult to react to, so we’re reducing the damage of Zenith Stomp and Rushing Wind Kick while adding some damage to Fists of Fury which has felt less impactful this season. Additionally, it’s not uncommon to die through Touch of Karma, so we’re increasing the amount of damage it absorbs to increase its effectiveness as a survival tool.
    • Rising Sun Kick damage reduced by 5% in PvP combat.
    • Rushing Wind Kick damage reduced by 10% in PvP combat.
    • Fists of Fury damage increased by 15% in PVP combat.
    • Touch of Karma now absorbs 20% more damage in PvP combat.
• Paladin
  • Developers’ notes: We’re looking to reduce burst damage to targets at low health for all Paladin specializations, which is mainly caused by Vengeful Wrath. Additionally, Blessing of Spellwarding has been a powerful spell since it was introduced with few counters and works against most specializations which can feel oppressive to play against. We’re reducing its duration in PvP so that it can remain a powerful defensive.
  • Vengeful Wrath now increases Hammer of Wrath damage by up to 20% based on the target’s health (was 50%).
  • Blessing of Spellwarding duration reduced to 6 seconds in PvP combat (was 10 seconds).
  • Holy
    • Developers’ notes: After recent tuning and the general Paladin changes here, Holy is in a good spot. This increase of the power of a major source of healing from Herald of the Sun should shore up the viability of the hero tree.
    • Herald of the Sun: Eternal Flame healing increased by 20% in PvP combat.
  • Protection
    • All damage reduced by 10% in PvP Combat.
  • Retribution
    • Developers’ notes: We’re looking to add more punch to finishers from Ret which have felt weak this season, so we’re increasing the damage of Final Verdict to achieve that. We’re also increasing the damage of Dawnlight to increase the viability of the Herald of the Sun hero talents.
    • Templar’s Verdict and Final Verdict damage increased by 25% in PvP Combat.
    • Herald of the Sun: Dawnlight damage increased by 30% in PvP Combat.
• Rogue
  • Subtlety
    • Developers’ notes: Subtlety has continued to be a strong asset to a team, with its frequent burst and strong crowd control. We’re bringing down some of its potential burst with these changes to keep their power level more in line relative to their overall kit.
    • Death Perception effects now increase finisher damage by 3% each in PvP combat (was 5%).
    • Replicating Shadows bonus damage for Shadow Clones reduced to 5% in PvP combat (was 15%).
• Shaman
  • Developers’ notes: We’re increasing the damage of some Shaman PvP talents that have fallen behind other sources of damage. We’d like Lightning Lasso to feel worth fully channeling and trying to interrupt and for Electrocute to be a noticeable effect when Purging enemies.
  • Lightning Lasso damage increased by 450%.
  • Electrocute damage increased by 35%.
  • Elemental
    • Farseer: All Ancestor healing increased by 20% in PvP combat.
  • Enhancement
    • Developers’ notes: We feel Enhancement is in a good place after last week’s tuning. Enhancement has outlier burst potential with Tempest, so we’re toning down, so that it’s easier to react to its burst.
    • Stormbringer: Tempest damage reduced by 15% in PvP combat.
  • Restoration
    • Developers’ notes: We’re targeting a buff to Farseer this week. Its healing has fallen behind, and we’re aiming to increase its viability compared to Totemic.
    • Farseer: All Ancestor healing increased by 20% in PvP combat.
    • Farseer: Elemental Reverb now increases Riptide healing by 25% in PvP combat (was 10%).
• Warrior
  • Arms
    • Developers’ notes: Arms can sometimes struggle to connect, so we’re making a change to Battle Stance to help with mobility against slow and root effects. Additionally, we’re increasing the power of Ignore Pain so that it feels more worthwhile to use when trying to survive.
    • Battle Stance now reduces the duration of movement impairment effects by 25% in PvP Combat (was 10%).
    • Ignore Pain absorption increased by 20% in PvP combat.
  • Fury
    • Developers’ notes: Damage is in a good state for Mountain Thane, but there is some potential for burst from Bloodthirst that we’re looking to reign in. We’re also increasing the damage from Execute to increase the viability of the Slayer hero talents.
    • Execute damage increased by 20% in PvP combat.
    • Mountain Thane: Burst of Power now increases the damage of Bloodthirst by 15% (was 35%).

If you raid or play Mythic+, watch for how these numbers shift your class performance after the March 31 reset; PvP players should expect the PvP changes to alter matchup dynamics once they arrive.

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World of Warcraft: Midnight

Developed by Blizzard Entertainment

The second of three announced expansions of the Worldsoul Saga.

Introducing Housing!
Before you put down roots in your own cozy corner of Azeroth later this year, jump into our virtual tour for an early glimpse at the customization options that await you.

Explore New and Reimagined Zones
The battle between the Light and the Void spans across four zones as you discover new allies and confront ancient enemies.
- Silvermoon City
- Eversong
- Zul'Aman
- Harandar
- Voidstorm

New Features and Improvements
As the Void invasion descends upon Quel'Thalas, an array of new features add more depth and improvements to our evolving world.
- Prey
- Devourer Demon Hunter
- Haranir
- Dungeons and Raids
- New and Returning Player Experience
- Transmog Updates

• Genre: Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
• Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac
• Modes: Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)
• Release: 2026-03-02
• Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Official Site