Top Five Classes for PvP in 10.1

The first class PvP improvement is the Hunter, with patch 10.1 seeking to improve the build of variety. We found defensive talents like Survival Tactics and Roar of Sacrifice in almost any hunter loadout, which enhances their survivability but stifles gameplay options.

• Patch 10.1 moves Roar of Sacrifice into the class talent tree, which shares a node with Hunter's Avoidance, which is reasonably easy to challenge. This frees up a PvP talent slot for all three hunter specs to utilize together with the revamped PVP options.
• All Hunters gain access to the revamped defensive talent of Interlope, which allows you to misdirect the following three hostile spells to your pet within 10 seconds as long as that pet is within 20 yards of a friendly target.
• Marksmanship Hunters gain access to Ranger's Finesse which has been updated. Casting Aim Shot builds stacks of Finesse. You can spend three stacks on a volley to increase its duration and radius by 50% or on a bursting shot to make it more effective and keep enemies at bay.
• Survival Hunters gain access to stick Sticky Tar Bombs which instantly disarm your target. After a moment, the Tar Bomb explodes, disarming all nearby foes found near the explosion, which allows for better control capabilities.
• All three hunters also gain a decent tier set focused on dealing damage from a safe range which is extremely important for every spec, even for Survival. All three tiers and bonuses also focus on instant cast abilities, allowing specs like Marksmanship to maintain more mobility.

Death Knight in 10.1

The class of Death Knight has also seen new improvements in patch 10.1, which will impact their defensive group utility and overall damage output.

• First, both specs of Frost and Unholy are gaining decent tier set bonuses, increasing the output of Frost Obliterating, Shadow Diseases, and Armies of Undeath.
• Death Knights are renowned as an anti-caster class capable of reducing magic damage through various absorbs while shutting down Mages and Warlocks with crippling silences.
• Though Death Knights are not as effective against physical damage while their Ironclad armor provides partial protection, most Warriors Rogues and Feral Druid bleeds can eventually wear down their defenses.
• The new PVP town of Bloodforged Armor allows them to momentarily fortify themselves, increasing their survivability against physical ailments after using a Death Strike. And while the defensive buff is relatively short, Death Strike could mean the world between surviving a fatal blow or falling in combat.
• Death Knights also gain additional group utility with a reward version of the spell Warden which allows you to place an anti-magic shell on a friendly target, shielding them from any danger, beat a powerful all-consuming Chaos Bolt or a crowd control effect like Mages Polymorphs, Warlock Fears or Hunter's Freezing Trap. Unholy Death Knights become a master summoner of undead minions in a bad Sand Point one with the revamped talent of Reanimation, which spawns zombies that slowly March towards your target. Once they're close enough, they explode after a three-second delay, stunning all targets for 3 seconds while dealing 20 of the maximum health in damage. These zombies can no longer be stopped by the enemy Target, but they can be evaded if you move out of their explosion range. Most athletes can easily lock you down with Frosty disorients stuns and crippling slowing effects.

Evoker in 10.1

Next, we have the class of evoker, which naturally gains additional group value in patch 10.1. With season 2, every class sees adjustments to their crowd control capabilities, with most control effects losing out on base duration.

• Stun, disorients, and incapacitation effects are reduced to 3, 4, and 6 seconds at the longest. The Evoker's talent of Oppressing Roar shatters your target's resolve making them 50 more vulnerable to crack control effects which allows for an obvious synergy between evokers and a control class like Rogues, Mages, Hunters, Warlocks, and many others, which helps increase the Evoker's overall group viability.
• Besides this, Evokers also gain additional group utility with time-stop immunity gaining a shorter cooldown. The talent of the Dream Catcher removes the cooldown from Sleep Walk, which allows Evokers to gain a spammable sleep effect that can be used to control enemy targets aggressively.
• We also see the return of Divide and Conquer, which has been redesigned. Deep breath forms curtains of fire that prevent a line of sight for 6 seconds, creating more control on the battlefield. These firewalls can be breached though enemies will take heavy damage when they pass through them, allowing for better zone denial.

Monk in 10.1

Next, we see continued improvements for the class of Monk, starting with significant updates for the spec of wind walker. Windwalker monks often find themselves playing the talent of Turbo Fists in all situations, which stifle building variety. This talent has been adjusted.

• Fist of Fury will passively cleave to all Targets for 90% of the damage you deal to your primary target within PVP, significantly increasing its baseline output. Turbo Fists will still retain its slowing and defensive properties, becoming more situational rather than a mandatory choice. Windwalkers also gain a new PVP Talent of storm Spirit strikes, cleaving additional targets with Fists of Fury summons a Storm Spirit to assist you in combat. The Spirit will focus on a secondary target mimicking 25% of all damage you deal to that Target, significantly increasing your cleave capabilities.
• Next, even more, updates are coming to the healing Mistweaver monk, which has gained more control buff protection and group utility. Like Windwalker, Mistweavers rely on certain PVP towns in all types of situations, precisely the talent of Chrysalis, which reduces the cooldown of Life Cocoon. Chrysalis is being moved into the spec talent tree, making it easier to reach while freeing up a PvP talent slot.
• New PVP talents have also been added in patch 10.1, with the talent of Fae Accord empowering the Mistweaver play style, reducing a cooldown on a Faeline Stomp down to 10 seconds, and granting it additional movement reductions. Dome of Mist creates a dispell protection for any allies affected by Enveloping Mist, which allows you to retain consistent recovery.
• And finally, we have Zen Spheres. The Mistweaver can place two spheres, one for the ally and one for the enemy. Allies with a Sphere of Hope gain 15 percent additional healing from the Mistweaver monk. Enemies afflicted by Sphere of Despair deal 10 percent less damage to the Mistweaver and become more vulnerable to all damage sources.

Shaman in 10.1

The final class that has seen improvements for the PVP in patch 10.1 is the Totemic Shaman, with all three specs gaining powerful tier set bonuses focused around Stormkeeper gameplay for Elemental, Sundering increase as Enhancement, and empowering Healing Rain as Restoration. Initially, the rest of the tier set could be better for PvP, as using Healing Rain in rated content like Arenas and Battlegrounds is uncommon.

• The new PVP talent of Rain Dance makes Healing Rain cast instantly becoming 20 percent more effective while extracting 30 less mana from the Shaman, making it far more usable.
• Shamans gained a new PvP talent of Burrow, which is accessible by all three play styles. Burrow allows you to descend on the ground for a short moment, becoming immune to nearly all damage and attacks, increasing your movement speed by 50 percent for a handful of seconds. When Burrow ends back to the surface, spiking all targets above you, knocking them up into the air while dealing moderate physical damage. This talent gains obvious defensive value, which allows shamans to remove themselves from danger momentarily or chased after enemy targets. The Burrow knock-up effect can be used offensively and defensively, with the physical damage modified by a handful of talents.
• Elemental shamans become the masters of lava and lightning with the new Volcanic Surge talent. Volcanic Surge replaces Lava Surge, where Flame Shocks can empower your next lightning spell, reducing its cast time by up to 50 percent. This play style creates a trade-off where Shamans sacrifice a good portion of their mobility while drawing additional power from the elements around them.
• Enhancement gains a new talent of Stormweaver which allows them to use the Maelstrom Weapon stacks more aggressively. Usually, most Enhancement Shamans will hold the primary resource of Maelstrom in PvP, saving it in case they ever require healing and only using it offensively when they are far from danger. Stormweaver talent forces you to spend Maelstrom aggressively. Each stack of Maelstrom generates a stack of Stormweaver. Stormweaver works just like Maelstrom but only towards your healing effects in a way you gain double the Maelstrom value, which allows you to unleash the elements more freely without losing out on its defensive uses in combat.

Final Thoughts

And for now, this will be the complete list of classes receiving some of the most significant improvements for PvP in patch 10.1. Each of you will find your class to own. Feel free to check out our Arena boost section for coaching or rating boost to gain new knowledge about PvP.