World of Warcraft: Forever Update Gives Tauren a Major Speed Boost
Blizzard has rebalanced racial abilities just one week before the game's release.
Unexpected Changes Before Launch
Players of World of Warcraft: Forever who prioritise statistical advantages when selecting their character have been surprised by Blizzard’s latest decision. Just one week before the official release, developers implemented significant adjustments to racial abilities and passive effects. While maintaining balance has always been a priority, these new changes grant certain races a clear advantage, which will radically alter the meta-game for future PvP battles and raids.
The Phenomenal Speed of the Tauren
The most striking change concerns the Tauren race. Blizzard has decided to buff the unique passive ability 'Plainsrunning.' While this ability previously allowed players to move 30% faster than others, the new update increases this figure to 60%. This means that Tauren can reach the same speeds during sustained running as the game's expensive mounts. This decision serves as an interesting response to long-standing player jokes that Tauren appeared to move slower than other races due to their large size.
Other Racial Adjustments
The changes were not limited to the Tauren. For instance, developers reduced the critical strike chance for Orcs, but in return, increased the damage dealt by their pets, providing a significant boost for Warlock and Hunter classes. Additionally, the effectiveness of the 'Read Leyline' ability for the new Skyborne race has been reduced, as it previously restored health and mana too quickly. While the ability remains useful, it is no longer powerful enough to disrupt the game's balance.
What This Means for Players
Implementing such fundamental changes just before release is a bold move by Blizzard. Although the company plans to balance WoW: Forever regularly, these types of racial advantages form the foundation of the game, and altering them later may cause community dissatisfaction. For players looking forward to this project, it is important to realise that character selection now dictates playstyle more than ever, rather than just visual aesthetics. When the servers open next week, we will see how these decisions manifest in actual gameplay.