If you've been following along with our coverage so far, then a lot of this information may not be new, as almost everything here has already been covered in various content creator interviews:
Psybear
IGN
MrGM
MarcelionOnline
Kexman
Devourer Demon Hunter
Devourer is a mid-ranged DPS spec, though some talents will allow it to dart in and out of melee.
Void Metamorphosis is energy based, sustained by collecting void fragments using Reap to stay in meta as long as possible.
Void Ray is a 25-yard ranged attack, the Devourer version of Eye Beam.
Collapsing Star is the main ability used in Meta, growing stronger each time it is used.
The Fel-Scarred hero talent tree has been renamed Scarred, to encompass void as well as fel.
Void Elf Demon Hunter will be unlocked through a short questline during the Midnight pre-patch. Devourer will also be available in pre-patch, with no unlock requirement.
Devourer don't use fel, so everything will be purple.
Regarding the race/class combo imbalance, Paul Kubit also mentioned that the World Soul Saga isn't over yet, which sounds like there may be something planned for the Horde in a future update.
For those of you who are Horde players in the audience like myself, you'll notice that introduces a little bit of an imbalance. The void elves are ready to jump into a particular new class, and this is lore-appropriate for what we're doing this time -- The Worldsoul Saga is not over yet, there will be new opportunities for other race/class combinations that make sense with the story as we tell it, so keep your eyes peeled."
Talents
Blizzard showed off a preview of the new column of Hero Talents, as well as Preservation and Devourer Apex Talents. Apex talents have four ranks meant for the 4 extra specialization talent points gained while leveling in Midnight, though players aren't required to use them and may put those points elsewhere in the spec tree instead.
A picture of the Unholy Talent Tree is also previewed, which features some new talent placement, implying that some type of rework may be coming.
Preservation Evoker Apex Talents
Merithra's Blessing (Rank 1/1): Essence abilities have a chance to infuse your next Reversion with the power of the Green Dragonflight, upgrading it to Merithra's Blessing:Merithra's Blessing: Spring a bloom of life from your target, healing them and up to 5 other allies within 30 yards for 2,906. Blooms may heal your primary target multiple times if no nearby injured allies are present.
Merithra's Blessing (Rank 2/2): Reversion projects allies, reversing 4% of all damage taken and healing them instead.
Merithra's Blessing (Rank 1/1): Dream Breath's instant healing is increased by 200% and Dream Breath has a 100% chance to grant Merithra's Blessing.
Devourer Demon Hunter Apex Talents
Midnight (Rank 1/1): Collapsing Star always critically strikes.
Midnight (Rank 2/2): All Cosmic damage dealt. increased by 6%, Collapsing Star's critical strike damage is increased by 100% of your critical strike chance.
Midnight (Rank 1/1): Entering Void Metamorphosis causes your soul to erupt, generating 10 lesser soul fragments and granting immediate access to Collapsing Star.
Prey
Opt-in Hunting system that allows players to pursue powerful targets across Azeroth.
Story-wise, it's a secret initiative led by Astalor Bloodsworn in Murder Row.
While out in the world, your target may ambush you unexpectedly.
You might be looking for clues, doing world quests, or just AFK. Its meant to be unpredictable and keep players on their toes.
There are three difficulty levels, which include introduces Torments which might fixate or fear players. We all start at normal, which allows other open world players to join in on the fight. Hard and Nightmare are 1v1 though, with no escape.
Rewards include cosmetic mounts, transmogs, etc.
Prey will be tied to the World track in the Great Vault, allowing players to earn up to heroic-tier weekly rewards, as another avenue for solo players to get gear.
Activities, Reputation, and Renown
The Silvermoon Court is the Silvermoon Renown, where you'll "balance your reputation with the four military groups within Silvermoon".
In Zul'Aman, players will harvest resources for the Loa of Abundance in a fast-paced, timed collectathon. Doesn't actually require you to have specific professions, but may reward you for it. Although thematic to Zul'Aman, "abundance caves" are present throughout all four zones.
The Haranti Tribe is the Harandar renown, where there are lore-based "Legends of the Haranir" cave painting exploration portions.
The Voidstorm rep is the Stormaerian Assault, a Void Elf reputation which includes a world event protecting their "Singularity Anchor" from waves of attacks.
Dragonflight Leveling Experience
Exile's Reach will lead players directly into Dragonflight & the Waking Shores, featuring Wrathion, Khadgar, etc.
The Dragonflight experience has been majorly updated to provide a smoother leveling experience as well. Zaralek Caverns and the Emerald Dream will be folded into the leveling campaign, and after each of the major area zone campaigns are completed, players will be sent into the associated story mode raid to see how it resolves.
Returning Players
Returning players who feel a little lost can instead go through the Returning Player Experience, which takes them across a short story, gives them new set of gear, adds tutorials for things like interrupting and skyriding, etc.
There's also a recap that takes players through the entirety of The War Within in a much quicker format. New players will level from 70-80 this way, but anyone who wants a refresher can do it as well.
These will all be available in Patch 11.2.7, before the launch of Midnight.
PvP
The Slayer's Rise 40v40 battleground will setup a conflict between two powerful dominar in the Voidstorm. It starts with a wild 40v40 brawl over advantages in the middle of the map, leading to each side pushing a lane toward the enemy base and trying to defeat their dominar. Along the way, you can branch off to side objectives.
The area will also be accessible in the open world for non-instanced PvP. There are regular quests there as well, but you'll want to keep war mode on to get the most out of it.
Training Grounds - Expanded Comp Stomp
PvP can be hard to get into, so a new on-ramp is being created to give players the opportunity to team up against AI opponents in popular battle grounds.
Damage Meters, Nameplates, and Boss Mods
Default nameplates don't currently give all the information players would want, and the team wants to improve player ability to see and customize buffs, and other information.
Built-in boss mods will call out important lethal tasks, like things that will wipe you. You shouldn't need an addon or guide to tell you about high priority interrupts.
There will also be DBM/Bigwigs-like timelines for critical boss abilities coming up, alerts when targeted by specific abilities, and the like.
Damage Meters are the single most popular add-on in WoW, and will finally be added to the base UI. Players shouldn't need an external tool to figure out how much they're contributing. These meters will be "server-side authoritative" properly tracking players no matter how far they are or what phase they're in.
Transmog
Transmog is the real endgame of WoW, so nearly 15 years after its first introduction it will finally see an overhaul!
Instead of mogging specific items, it will now be done by slot, meaning the appearance will be retained when swapping gear. You'll still pay a gold cost to do it, but should be doing that much less often.
Players will be able to unlock and save many outfits, which can be tied to specific situations like entering your home, a town, a dungeon, raid, changing specialization, etc - automatically changing your appearance as appropriate.
Alpha Start Date
No specific date, but Alpha will start in just a few weeks! Beta will be soon to follow, and Midnight launch is planned for early 2026!
