Blizzard is making a major change to the WoW Dragonflight meta on April 11 and 12, as the four-DPS strategy that’s been starting to permeate throughout Mythic+ dungeons might be gone as quickly as it burst on the scene. With the next weekly reset, several specs are being nerfed in PvE content, but no nerf will be bigger (or more welcome, for some players), than a targeted hit to Protection Paladins.
In high Mythic+ keys, as well as the most recent Mythic Dungeon International global finals, four-DPS compositions have emerged, particularly with durable damage specs alongside a Protection Paladin at the Tank role. Prot Paladins have had success as a replacement for dedicated healers, particularly due to the strength of Hand of the Protector, which increases the healing done by Word of Glory up to a maximum of 250 percent based on the target’s missing HP. When servers reset on April 11, that number will be slashed down to only 100 percent—a direct 150 percent nerf, and it could be enough to fend off the spec’s foundational popularity in four-DPS M+ compositions.
Earlier this week, players from the guild “Twitch Primeates” completed a four-DPS run of the Court of Stars at keystone level +28, which registered as one of the top-50 Mythic+ runs completed so far this season. Runs like that should start to occur at a slower rate, if not at all, for the remainder of the season with these upcoming nerfs in mind.
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In addition to Blizzard nerfing Protection Paladins, efforts are being made to buff certain healing specs, including Preservation Evokers and Discipline Priests, who are currently the second- and third-most popular healing specs in Mythic+ runs, according to WoW stats site Raider.io. The combination of buffs to popular healing options and nerfs to the linchpin of the four-DPS strategy could incentivize players to return to more standard team comps in the near future.
Other specs on the chopping block include two Hunter specs, Survival and Beast Mastery, the latter of which is having all of the damage dealt by its pets reduced by three percent. This season, BM has been a reliable option in both raids and dungeons and by striking pets’ abilities, the spec could fall down the DPS ladder.
These changes will go live next week when WoW servers complete their weekly resets. The nerfs will hit live servers in North America on Tuesday, April 11, and in Europe on April 12.
