The Winners & Losers of Midnight: Tank Classes To Try, Avoid & Play

Summary

This video dives deep into the upcoming changes to tanking in World of Warcraft’s Midnight expansion. It covers the adjustments to key tank specs like Blood Death Knight, Vengeance Demon Hunter, Guardian Druid, Brewmaster Monk, Prot Paladin, and Prot Warrior, highlighting their strengths, challenges, and the new mechanics. With Blizzard's focus on reducing complexity and increasing tank survivability, players can expect smoother, less stressful gameplay. However, some specs will face trade-offs in resource management and defensive tools. The video explores these changes in detail, providing insights on how tanking will evolve in the new expansion.

Takeaways

• 😀 Tanks in Midnight's expansion are experiencing major changes, with gameplay shifting to focus on providing more time to react during dungeon runs, reducing stress and reliance on add-ons.
• 😀 Blood DKs are undergoing a redesign, losing older mechanics like Blood Tap and Bone Shield, but gaining new tools like Blood Mist and changes to Death Strike and Blood Boil for better resource management and defensive strength.
• 😀 Vengeance DH is transitioning to a more structured playstyle with Spirit Bomb as a mandatory mechanic, along with updates to Soul Cleave, Fracture, and new cooldowns to improve both damage and self-sustain.
• 😀 Guardian Druids are simplifying their gameplay by removing old mechanics like Tooth and Claws procs, while introducing new abilities like Sundering Roar and Red Moon to boost rage generation and single-target damage.
• 😀 Brewmasters' changes are focused on cleaning up mechanics like Stagger and adding some new abilities such as Jade Fire and Vital Flame, but some inconsistencies remain, like the awkward addition of a movement speed buff from Chugging Brew.
• 😀 Prot Paladins are being reworked to improve baseline tankiness by adjusting their mastery and removing old tools like Eye of Tier, but their loss of defensive options like Moment of Glory and Holy Shield leaves their survivability uncertain.
• 😀 Protection Warriors retain their strong core rework but lose some abilities like Thunderous Roar and Last Stand, though new talents like Champion's Spear and Mountain Thane provide exciting changes, improving mobility and defensive utility.
• 😀 There is a shift from random defensive procs to more reliable, predictable abilities across tank specs, allowing for smoother gameplay and easier planning of cooldown usage.
• 😀 The changes to tanks are designed to smooth out gameplay, making it more accessible and less stressful while still maintaining each spec’s unique identity and role in combat.
• 😀 Prot Paladins and Guardian Druids face a mixed bag of changes, with improvements in certain areas like resource management and defensive scaling but drawbacks like the removal of key abilities that could affect their overall effectiveness.

Q & A

What is the main change to tanking in the Midnight expansion?

The main change to tanking in Midnight is that tanks now have more time to react during dungeon encounters. This change reduces stress by giving tanks more room to handle mechanics, especially since they won't be relying on computational add-ons to track everything.

How does the Blood Death Knight's gameplay change in Midnight?

Blood Death Knights are seeing fewer abilities to manage, such as the removal of Blood Tap, Rune Tap, and Blood Drinker. While this results in some loss of advanced resource management, the spec is now simpler and more reliable with stronger core abilities like Death Strike hitting three targets and Bone Shield providing more consistent defense.

What is the impact of the removal of Bone Storm and Shattering Bone for Blood Death Knights?

The removal of Bone Storm and Shattering Bone may be missed by players who enjoyed the high-risk, high-reward gameplay these abilities provided. However, Blizzard believes that simplifying the spec and removing Bone Shield as a third resource will make the gameplay more accessible and less stressful overall.

What new ability does the Blood Death Knight gain to replace lost resources?

Blood Death Knight gains the new Blood Mist talent, which helps to make up for some of the lost damage and resources. Additionally, the ability Consumption has been revamped to be an empowered ability that increases damage reduction the longer it's charged.

What changes did the Vengeance Demon Hunter undergo in Midnight?

Vengeance Demon Hunters now have Spirit Bomb as a core ability, which is much stronger and has a cooldown, as opposed to its previous optional role. Other changes include the removal of the Felguard procs for massive damage, and the introduction of a more predictable defensive toolkit with changes to Demon Spikes and Fracture.

How does the Vengeance Demon Hunter's gameplay shift with Spirit Bomb and Soul Cleave?

Vengeance DH's gameplay now revolves around managing 5 soul fragments for each Spirit Bomb use, with a cooldown added for better pacing. Soul Cleave no longer requires soul fragments for healing, and it does bonus damage for each fragment consumed. This simplifies the gameplay and eliminates previous complexity.

What new abilities are introduced for the Guardian Druid in Midnight?

Guardian Druids gain new abilities like Sundering Roar, which increases the stack of Thrash and bursts damage when it expires, and Red Moon, which turns Moonfire into a strong DOT. Additionally, Mangle now has two charges, allowing for easier extension of Red Moon's uptime.

What are some key resource management changes for Guardian Druids?

Guardian Druids no longer rely on random procs for resource generation, making resource management more predictable. Frenzied Regeneration also now converts overhealing into shields, which enhances self-sustain. However, single-target damage remains a challenge due to low uptime on Red Moon.

How is the Brewmaster Monk's gameplay impacted by changes to Stagger and Blackout Combo?

Brewmaster Monks now have more intuitive Stagger mechanics with a stronger baseline. The Blackout Combo ability is simplified to only buff Keg Smash and Tiger Palm, removing its interaction with other abilities. These changes make the spec easier to understand for newer players while still offering depth for advanced players.

What new tools does the Protection Paladin gain in Midnight?

Protection Paladins now have an updated mastery that scales block chance for both melee and spell damage. While they lose some defensive abilities like Eye of Tyr and Moment of Glory, they gain a second charge of Guardian of Ancient Kings. However, this change doesn't drastically alter gameplay as it only provides one extra use per fight.

What changes were made to Protection Warriors in Midnight?

Protection Warriors lose Thunderous Roar and Avatar from the class tree but gain Champion Spear with a leap for AoE damage. Last Stand is removed but still exists in a talent form. Additionally, new abilities like Piercing Howl and Battlefield Commander add utility and enhance the spec's role in group play.

How does the Protection Warrior's defensive toolkit change in Midnight?

While some of the previous defensive tools like Last Stand are removed, the Protection Warrior now benefits from a stronger core defensive set, with Piercing Howl offering both a slow and movement speed buff to allies. The new shield slam talent also adds AoE damage, improving the spec’s overall effectiveness in both defense and offense.