WoW September 1 hotfixes nerf Venomous Abyss bosses and adjust PvP healing

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Blizzard’s September 1 hotfixes for World of Warcraft make another pass at class balance, PvP pacing, and The Venomous Abyss raid. The biggest PvE changes are aimed at making several raid encounters less punishing, especially on Raid Finder and for smaller groups on Normal and Heroic.

The Venomous Abyss saw health reductions across multiple bosses, including Nek’zali the Soulcoiler, the Entombed Sentinels, Sszorak, and The Twin Fangs on Raid Finder. Sszorak’s health now scales down by up to 10% for smaller raid sizes on Normal and Heroic, while Raging Crosswinds targets fewer players. The Coiled Altar also got several damage and scaling reductions, including lower Coalesced Venom and Venom Rupture damage.

  • Frost Death Knights got a clear single-target bump, with Howling Blast’s main target damage, Obliterate, Frost Strike, and melee damage all increased.
  • Havoc Demon Hunters, Balance Druids, Feral Druids, Fire and Frost Mages, Windwalker Monks, Beast Mastery Hunters, and Survival Hunters all received damage buffs, though several don’t apply in PvP.
  • Vengeance Demon Hunters got stronger mitigation through Demonic Wards and Void Reaver, plus more healing from Fel Devastation.
  • Restoration Druids and Mistweaver Monks received healing increases, while Discipline Priests got a cheaper Shadow Mend.
  • Protection Paladins got dungeon-focused damage buffs to Blaze of Glory, Consecration, and Divine Guidance.
  • Delves now drop trinkets less often.

PvP is also getting a wider tuning pass. The Gladiator’s Distinction trinket set bonus now gives healer specs 5% primary stat instead of 10%, with Blizzard saying healers were topping players off too quickly and dragging out fights.

Several specs were adjusted around that goal. Mage barriers were reduced by 25% in PvP, Fire Mage damage was lowered, and Ice Block cooldown reduction talents were toned down. Beast Mastery Hunters had burst tools reduced, including Bloodshed and Bestial Wrath’s initial damage. Feral Druids gained more Ravage damage but lost some defensive strength from Survival Instincts.

There are also smaller fixes across the game. Midnight World Quests should now properly reward Adventurer Crests, the Training Grounds interrupt quest should grant credit after a reset or re-accept, and the Satchel of Corrosive Coins sold by Er’iyne is no longer unique.

Further reading: Official World of Warcraft hotfixes