Blizzard's Mage and Shaman class deep dive for World of Warcraft: Forever (WoW: Forever for short) went up on 7 October. Blizzard's post lists their ability and talent changes. The short version: every Mage gets Frostfire Bolt, a spell that counts as Fire and Frost, at level 40. Shaman totems with lasting buffs now last longer, and a new display tracks them.

The Mage is a spellcaster who fights with three schools of magic: Arcane, Fire and Frost. The Shaman is a class that places totems, objects it sets down that buff allies, heal and solve problems, and it can fight in melee, cast damage spells or heal. Blizzard says both classes may keep changing through the beta, the test version people can play before release. For the classes so far, see our pieces on the Hunter and Druid and the Priest and Warrior.

How do talents work in WoW: Forever?

Talents are upgrades you buy with points to shape a character inside their class, laid out in three trees for each class. Blizzard says they start at level 10 and keep a familiar structure. The one-point milestone talents at 11, 21 and 31 points stay, and a new one joins at 16 points. Blizzard calls these gold medal talents. The tables below list the ones the post names.

To change your talents, Legacy talents included, you visit a class trainer, the in-game teacher for your class, in one of the major cities. Dual Specialization, a second saved talent setup, opens at level 40.

What changes for Mages?

A Mage's three trees match its three schools. Blizzard says Arcane bends and burns Mana, the energy a caster spends on spells, for more damage. Fire lands heavy hits and big critical strikes, the extra-hard hits. Frost controls the fight. Here are the baseline changes, the ones every Mage gets.

Frostfire Bolt always uses the better of the Mage's Fire or Frost spell damage bonus. It also uses the weaker of the target's Fire or Frost resistance. Blizzard's own example pairs two talents, Ignite and Ice Shards. A critical Frostfire Bolt then deals 200% damage, plus another 40% of that as Ignite burn damage, for 280% in all. Blizzard says it built the spell to open up builds that mix Fire and Frost talents.

Blizzard didn't say what Comprehension's scrolls give you. It says players will find out on their adventures.

Blizzard says the Cone of Cold change is aimed at gold farmers and experience boosters. It says they kite, or lead around, big packs of monsters for easy gold and experience. Improved Blizzard is trimmed too: its slow now tops out at 40%, down from 65%. Blizzard says gold farmers and boosters widely used Frost Mages' area damage, damage that hits a whole group, to farm dungeons and disrupt the game's economy.

One more anti-farming rule reaches beyond Mages. Spells come in ranks, stronger versions you learn as you level. Arcane Concentration, a talent that can grant a free effect, now triggers less often from much lower-rank spells. Blizzard says farmers used cheap low-rank spells to fish for those free effects. It has made the same change to talents across many classes.

Mage milestone talents

Blizzard says this Arcane Blast is a redesign of the one from early expansions. The old one encouraged Mages to cast nothing else. This one wants you to build a stack, then cash it in with other spells.

Other Mage talents in the post include Heating Up, a new Fire talent that needs Pyroblast first. Direct critical hits from Fireball, Frostfire Bolt, Fire Blast and Scorch cut your next Pyroblast's cast time by 25%, stacking 3 times, down to 1.5 seconds. Blizzard says it borrows ideas from Hot Streak, a talent from early expansions. Fingers of Frost, new in Frost, gives your Chill effects, the slows from Frost spells, a chance to make your spells treat the target as Frozen.

Ignite now gives each Mage their own burn on a target. In Classic Era, the re-released original game, every Mage in a fight shared one. Winter's Chill and Improved Scorch now help only the Mage who casts them. Magic Attunement becomes baseline, and Blizzard lists no removed talents for Fire or Frost.

Our favourite is Frostfire Bolt, the new spell every Mage learns at level 40. It counts as Fire and Frost at once, so a Mage can mix both trees and feed one spell. And 280% on a critical strike, in Blizzard's Ignite and Ice Shards build, is our kind of maths.

What changes for Shaman?

A Shaman's three trees are Elemental Combat (spell damage), Enhancement (melee) and Restoration (healing). Weapon imbues are spells a Shaman casts on their own weapon. Here are the baseline changes, the ones every Shaman gets.

Call of the Spirits at level 30 and Call of the Ancestors at level 40 save a second and third totem set. Blizzard says a beta bug currently stops Totemic Recall from refunding any Mana. Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning also get less bonus from spell power, the stat that boosts spells, to match their faster casts.

Shaman milestone talents

Blizzard says Spirit Weapons lets Enhancement Shaman manage their threat now that their damage is competitive, and still serve as a temporary tank, the one taking the hits, in small groups. Rage of the Farseer borrows from Heroism and Bloodlust in early expansions, but it helps only the Shaman.

The post says Elemental Mastery is gone. Blizzard calls it a signature Elemental talent, especially in PvP (player versus player fights). It says Elemental damage couldn't be raised enough against the game's monsters while keeping it, without making the class much too strong in PvP. So the tree got new spells instead. Restoration loses Nature's Guidance. The beta has since moved this tree a long way from the post, Elemental Mastery included: see the comparison below.

Other Shaman talents in the post include Lightning Overload, new in Elemental Combat. It gives Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning a chance to cast a free second copy at half damage. Elemental Alacrity, formerly Lightning Mastery, moves up to row 3 and also speeds up Lava Burst. Blizzard says the old talent sat too deep for levelling Shaman and was twice as strong as similar ones.

In Enhancement, Maelstrom Weapon is a new talent where every melee attack has a chance to stack a charge that speeds up Lightning Bolt, until it can become instant. Mental Dexterity adds attack power, the stat behind melee damage, equal to a percentage of your Intellect, the stat behind a caster's Mana, and Mental Quickness does the same for spell damage and healing. Shield Specialization, Enhancing Totems, Two-Handed Axes and Maces, Weapon Mastery and Improved Weapon Totems become baseline.

Our favourite is Call of the Elements. Learn it at level 20, set four totems, one of each element, and one 3-second cast drops all four. Our reading: that rewards planning ahead, which is very Shaman.

Compared: the post against our talent calculator today

Our talent calculator is built from the beta's own game files, now Forever build 1.60.1.70450 of 16 October. That build moved the Shaman's Elemental Combat tree and several Mage talents away from the post, so the two now disagree in several places. Where they differ, we go by the beta's own files.

We refresh the calculator as new beta builds appear. The Mage class page and the Shaman class page show which of their abilities are new since Classic Era, the re-released original game.

Strengths and weaknesses

Blizzard describes each class's strengths and weaknesses.

• Mages deal the strongest and most varied ranged area damage of any class, and Polymorph is one of the best ways to take an enemy out of a fight. But they are very fragile and die easily if caught in melee.
• Shaman are among the sturdiest classes, with Mail armor and a shield. They can deal damage or heal, but they lack an effective way to take enemies out of a fight. Blizzard says they need allies to cover that and their survival.