Selected Witchcraft Changes Between the PTR and Season 7 Launch
Season 7's launch reference increased several Witchcraft damage values, slowed Firebat Servants' interval and reduced Hex of Whispers' Fortify reward. The changes did not all move in the same direction.
This historical comparison uses the marked revisions in Blizzard's January 14, 2025 Season of Witchcraft announcement, ahead of the January 21 launch. It covers six selected powers, not the whole seasonal catalogue or subsequent hotfix history. For every power's effect and family, use the complete 24-power reference.
The Marked Damage, Timing and Resource Changes
The announcement displayed retained launch values beside crossed-out earlier text. Read each change with its trigger: a larger listed damage value is not automatically more sustained damage, and Fortify is a separate defensive effect.
| Power | Earlier marked value | Launch-reference value |
|---|---|---|
| Firebat Servants | Every 2 seconds; 15% total Fire damage over one attack | Every 3 seconds; 20% total Fire damage over one attack |
| Abyssal Resonance | 300% Shadow damage | 400% Shadow damage per explosion triggered by 250 Resource spent |
| Vengeful Spirit | 500% damage | 750% damage; the listed appearance interval remained 19 seconds |
| Aura of Lament | 1 Primary Resource per affected enemy each second | 3 Primary Resource per affected enemy each second |
| Hex of Whispers: rank 7 | 60% Fortify on the return bounce | 15% Fortify on the return bounce; removes crowd control and negative status effects |
| Poison Frog Servant | The fragment “to 400%” was crossed out | 150% Poison damage over 3 seconds in the retained description |
Poison Frog needs special care: the deleted fragment alone does not establish a complete earlier scalar damage value. The reliable launch reading is 150% over three seconds; it does not support a claim that the power was buffed to 400%.
Firebats and Abyssal Resonance: Timing Changes the Reading
Firebat Servants combined a longer interval with higher listed damage per attack. Calling that an unconditional sustained-damage buff would require more than comparing 15% with 20%. The higher-rank effect still stunned an enemy for three seconds after five Firebat hits.
Abyssal Resonance triggered its explosion after 250 Resource spent. Each explosion triggered within 10 seconds of the previous one increased size and damage by 130%, stacking up to three times. The rank-10 effect made the third explosion pull enemies toward the player before detonating.
The relevant planning question was therefore whether resource spending could keep successive explosions inside that ten-second window. It was not a fixed explosion every ten seconds, and the trigger did not use a 21-second window.
Vengeful Spirit and Aura of Lament: Know What Sustains the Effect
Vengeful Spirit, a Psyche power, appeared every 19 seconds and took damage in place of the player while active. The announcement left its active duration as an unspecified variable, so it does not establish permanent protection.
At rank 5, depletion of the spirit's Life triggered a rush toward up to eight enemies, dealing 2,000 Shadow damage. That was a conditional depletion effect, not a second guaranteed attack on every appearance.
Aura of Lament afflicted the first enemy struck, slowing it and nearby enemies by 70%. Each enemy inside the aura supplied the listed Primary Resource per second. If the initial enemy died, the aura passed to another nearby enemy while retaining its duration.
Only one enemy could be afflicted at a time, and the application could occur only once every 30 seconds. The three-resource value therefore should not be read as unrestricted independent auras on every enemy hit.
Growth and Decay: Separate the Bounce Reward from the Frog's Death Effect
Hex of Whispers primed no more than once every five seconds. Damage afflicted an enemy; the next damage triggered its Shadow effect, after which it could jump to another enemy up to six times. At rank 7, the return after bouncing onto six enemies granted 15% Fortify and removed crowd control and negative status effects.
Poison Frog Servant attacked and poisoned enemies over three seconds. On death, it exploded for Poison damage with an automatic Critical Strike; the announcement did not supply a resolved numerical explosion value. At rank 5, its attacks pulled enemies toward it and Taunted them for one second.
Those are different conditions: the rank-5 pull belongs to the frog's attacks, while the guaranteed Critical Strike belongs to its death explosion. Neither turns the deleted 400% fragment into a verified launch damage value.
Cover: Blizzard's official Vengeful Spirit gameplay illustration from the Season 7 announcement. It shows the effect's appearance, not a measured damage result.
