World of Warcraft Dragonflight Patch 10.2.5 comes out on Jan. 16, and Blizzard has given us the patch notes. As usual, there are some nice and some not-very-nice things coming with the update.
A lot of quality-of-life features are being added with the patch that should make the game more accessible to newcomers and even veterans. However, there were almost no class changes. This means that classes that were powerful prior to the patch will remain at the top, but the those that weren’t very useful will remain just as useless.
The Biggest winners of WoW Dragonflight Patch 10.2.5
Follower Dungeons
WoW is taking a leaf from Final Fantasy XIV by letting NPCs fill party roles in dungeons. You can have up to four NPCs tag along to lead you through normal dungeons. So, if you are sick of waiting for a tank or a healer to finally fill that last slot, then you will probably love this QoL addition. Of course, anything harder than Normal difficulty still requires a group of at least five people, but at least Normal dungeons won’t be a problem anymore.
Dragonriding is now everywhere
After only being available in Dragon Isles, Dragonriding is now available all over Azeroth. Finally, you can soar through the skies at those sweet dragonriding speeds (albeit at only 664 percent maximum speed). You can also partake in Dragonriding Cups all over Azeroth; the first is the Outland Cup (from Jan. 18 – 31.). Regular flying is still a thing, if you don’t want to bother with dragonriding.
Dracthyr and Evokers
Instead of addressing classes that need a buff or a nerf, Blizzard is yet again buffing the new race and class combo. Dracthyr are becoming even better fliers, almost to the point where they don’t even need a Dragonriding mount. Additionally, Preservation Evokers are becoming even better healers. They can trigger Essence Burst from Reversion, the Grace period increases healing by an additional 5 percent, and timeless magic further reduces the mana cost of restorative abilities.
The biggest losers of WoW Dragonflight Patch 10.2.5
PvP
Unsurprisingly, PvP players will, yet again, feel left out. Other than a minor buff for Enchantment Shamans and Fury Warriors, PvP is still just as uninspiring as it was prior to this patch. I was really hoping to see more improvements in War Mode or Arenas, but I guess we will have to wait until the next patch (or expansion) rolls out.
Shadow Priests and Windwalker Monks
If you look over the patch notes, you’ll notice there is a nice section for Windwalker monks. Turns out, most of the notes there are about renaming abilities. The only thing that Windwalker monks get is a better dodge. As it stands, Windwalker Monks are a class that desperately needs a redesign.
Unlike them, Shadow Priests haven’t even been addressed in the patch notes. In our last DPS chart, we ranked Shadow Priests the lowest on the DPS charts, and, unfortunately, things won’t change for the better in patch 10.2.5. Shadow Priests are still going to be in the bottom tier DPS until Blizzard gives them a much-needed buff. At least Holy and Discipline priests are still decent.
