The September 29 Midnight 12.1.5 PTR notes include bug fixes for Evoker, Hunter, Mage, Shaman and Warrior, along with some buffs. Augmentation's Melt Armor damage is up 100%, and Protection Warrior's Practiced Strikes now also cuts Execute and Revenge Rage costs by 10. The largest single change is the Melt Armor buff.
Evoker changes in the 12.1.5 PTR
Augmentation's Chronowarden hero tree now scales with your secondary stat: both Temporality and Temporal Burst have their duration increased by Mastery: Timewalker. Scalecommander's Melt Armor damage is increased by 100%.
Preservation gets one tuning change and two fixes. Consume Flame no longer double dips from healing increases on the target. Extending Fire Breath with Double-time could previously cause Life-Giver's Flame to stop healing, and Afterimage was causing Deep Breath to sometimes cast Living Flame on the Evoker — both are fixed.
In PvP, Preservation's Merithra's Blessing is now considered an Arcane spell and can be cast while locked out of Nature.
Hunter changes in the 12.1.5 PTR
Hunter changes this build are all fixes. Marksmanship's Explosive Shot no longer automatically selects and fires at a nearby target when you press it with nothing selected. Dark Ranger's Umbral Reach now generates Trick Shots when Bleak Powder hits exactly 2 targets.
Survival gets two fixes tied to Aspect of the Eagle: Strike as One bonus damage from Raptor Swipe (Rank 3) now works properly while Aspect of the Eagle is active, and Raptor Swipe's range is back to its intended value during that window.
Mage changes in the 12.1.5 PTR
Frost is the only Mage spec touched, and only through fixes. A Splitting Ice Frostbolt now uses the same search radius for its second target as other spells. Shatter no longer fails when two Ice Lances are airborne at once — previously, if the first benefited from Fingers of Frost and the second did not, neither got the benefit, and the same bug could occur with Thermal Void. Crystalline Refraction no longer fails to generate Fingers of Frost when you interrupt Ray of Frost by casting Ray of Frost.
Shaman changes in the 12.1.5 PTR
Enhancement's Static Accumulation could stop Maelstrom Weapon stacks from generating automatically if it was activated at certain points during Ascendance or Doom Winds; that is fixed.
Restoration gets one behaviour change and one fix. Extending Riptide through Swelling Tides now extends Riptide's timer instead of resetting it. Nature's Swiftness and Ancestral Swiftness now properly make Healing Rain instant cast.
Warrior changes in the 12.1.5 PTR
Protection's Colossus hero tree is the focus. Practiced Strikes gains an additional effect: Execute and Revenge Rage costs are reduced by 10. The developers' note explains that Colossus is meant to express a Warrior's innate prowess and skill, and for Protection that shows up as more efficient Rage use, giving the spec better access to Revenge and Execute for a more distinctive rotation and stronger threat tools. Those Colossus changes were already active in the previous week's PTR build.
What else changed in the September 29 notes
Monk's Transcendence: Transfer can no longer be used while silenced if you are talented into Transcendence: Linked Spirits. Rogue picked up visuals rather than numbers: Assassination's Mutilate has an updated weapon trail, Crimson Tempest has an updated animation and weapon trail, and Subtlety's Shadow Blades has updated cast and weapon visuals. On the interface side, Trading Post preview settings such as "Combat Animation" now remember your choice when you swap between items.
If you want the character ready for the patch without doing the leveling yourself, a Midnight Leveling Boost covers that part.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Protection Warrior getting bigger changes later?
The September 15 notes said the Execute changes were not sufficient to meet the developers' goals and that the scope of changes needed is better suited to a major update, with further Protection work refocused on 12.2 and 13.0.
Did the September 15 notes change Evoker or Priest cooldowns?
Yes. Preservation's Merithra's Blessing duration was reduced to 30 seconds from 1 minute, and Discipline Priest's Master the Darkness duration was reduced to 30 seconds from 1 minute.
What did the September 15 notes do to Warrior’s Execute?
Those notes said Execute would no longer consume additional Rage for additional damage, and listed a 100% Execute damage increase alongside a 30% Execute damage increase. — For the wider picture on the specs above, see the Shaman guide and the tank tier list.
