Blizzard is not quite done making class balance adjustments ahead of the launch of World of Warcraft: Midnight, as the developers confirmed some nerfs are coming for the Unholy Death Knight on February 24. Although the popular Death Knight specialization will see its defense taken down a bit, World of Warcraft stated some defensive buffs will also be made for classes like the Mage and the Priest.
The tuning pass will take place just a few days before World of Warcraft: Midnight enters its early access window for users who pre-purchased the Midnight Epic Edition. As the 11th expansion of Blizzard's long-running MMORPG, Midnight will take players to updated versions of Silvermoon City, Eversong Woods, and Zul'aman. These zones were first introduced in The Burning Crusade expansion. Along with the return to Quel'thalas, Midnight will also introduce new zones like Harandar, the underground home of the bat-like Haranir. The Haranir, in turn, will be a playable Allied Race that World of Warcraft players can unlock after completing specific Midnight quests.
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Blizzard Makes One Final Round of Pre-Midnight Class Tuning
One week after World of Warcraft released one of its last patches before Midnight's launch, Blizzard stated that another round of class balance changes is heading to live servers on Tuesday, February 24, following a brief period of server maintenance. The Unholy Death Knight, one of the bulkiest melee DPS specializations in World of Warcraft as of this writing, will see its defensive capabilities adjusted. The Famine effect from Rune of the Apocalypse, a Death Knight-exclusive weapon enchantment, will see its damage reduction debuff toned down from 5% to 1%. While they can still hold their own in a fight, the Unholy Death Knight will be taking some extra damage going into Midnight.
However, Unholy Death Knights are not the only specialization receiving some adjustments with the February 24 patch. The Windwalker Monk specialization, a melee DPS alternative to the potent Brewmaster Monk, will see buffs to its Calming Presence and Martial Instincts talents. Calming Presence will reduce all damage taken by 6%, up from 3%, while the Avoidance portion of Martial Instincts will be increased by 3% per talent point, up from 2%. The physical damage increase granted by Martial Instincts remains unchanged.
Two of WoW's squishiest spell casters will also see some key defensive spells buffed. Although the Mage class is already known for having the highest raw damage output going into World of Warcraft: Midnight, it will also be taking slightly less damage than before. The Arcane Warding talent will soon reduce magic damage taken by 4% per point, up from 2%. Additionally, the mage's barrier spells, such as Prismatic Barrier and Ice Barrier, will absorb 5% extra damage than before, based on the caster's maximum HP. Along with the Mage buffs, the Priest class received three defensive buffs. Angelic Bulwark will soon absorb damage equal to 25% of the Priest's max health, up from 15%, giving them extra time to recover from taking heavy damage. Plus, the Spell Warding talent will reduce magic damage taken by 3% per point, up from 2%, and the Strength of Soul talent will increase the priest's Stamina stat by 6% rather than 4%.
More Class Changes to Come After Midnight's Launch
Given that World of Warcraft made another statistic and item level "squish" with the Midnight pre-patch, any adjustments to the damage players must be considered carefully. Even though World of Warcraft has an ambitious 2026 roadmap lined up for Midnight and its Classic game modes, further adjustments to class balance are still dependent on player feedback and developer observations. However, time will tell what other specializations will be buffed or nerfed going into Midnight's first raid tier in the coming weeks.
World of Warcraft: Midnight Class Tuning Update Notes (February 24, 2026)
Death Knight
-
Unholy
- Rune of the Apocalypse Famine effect now reduces the damage the target deals to caster by 1% (was 5%).
Mage
- Arcane Warding now reduces magic damage taken by 4/8% (was 2/4%).
- All Mage Barrier spells absorb an additional 5% maximum health.
Monk
-
Windwalker
- Calming Presence now decreases damage taken by 6% (was 3%).
- Martial Instincts now increases Avoidance by 3/6% (was 2/4%).
Priest
- Angelic Bulwark now absorbs damage equal to 25% of your maximum health (was 15%).
- Spell Warding now reduces magic damage taken by 3%/6% (was 2%/4%). Not applied to PvP combat.
- Strength of Soul now increases Stamina by 6% (was 4%). Not applied to PvP combat.
World of Warcraft
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