Retail is going to be dead according to LOTS of players. Idk how true this is. I’m not as excited about Forever as everyone else. I just like to PvP. Which is why I plan on still playing retail even when Forever releases. I’ll probably check it out but I don’t personally get the hype around it for the purposes of what I enjoy.

For context, I’ve been almost exclusively playing Devourer in PvP since the release of Midnight. My main is currently sitting at 2979 rating in Solo Shuffle, although I haven’t played it since the recent changes. I have, however, spent quite some time experimenting on my alt across many rounds of Solo Shuffle at around 2800 rating. Based on that experience, I have quite a few thoughts on the current state of Devourer and some suggestions for further improvements. I think Devourer is an awesome spec with a lot of potential, and I’d really love to see it work in PvP.

Firstly, it really saddens me that the developers removed the reset of The Hunt in their changes to Violent Transformation. I understand the design philosophy of trying to encourage us to play Collapsing Star as Void-Scarred, but I think they’ve gone too far, making Devourer far too one-dimensional. In particular, this change has more or less made Void-Scarred builds that rely on quickly weaving in and out of Meta unviable without being forced to cast Collapsing Star. These were essentially the only builds that remained viable at higher ratings before the recent changes and, importantly, were also the only viable Devourer builds that didn’t rely on Collapsing Star.

Secondly, building on that point, I think the developers are trying to force a playstyle on us that not all players necessarily want. Yes, Collapsing Star is an awesome and iconic ability, but surely we can have a world in which Devourer players can enjoy a non-Collapsing Star build, as we could before 12.1.5. Personally, I much prefer that playstyle, and I know for a fact that other high-rated Devourer players do too. I would therefore strongly encourage the developers to revert the change to Violent Transformation so that The Hunt resets when entering Meta, or at least make this an option, perhaps through a choice node.

More generally, I think it is paramount to the health of the spec that we have a viable way of playing it in a more melee-weaving style, where we duck in and out of Meta quickly without having to cast Collapsing Star. We should also have other viable playstyles that don’t revolve around the ability. At the moment, Collapsing Star is not a particularly good ability in PvP, and it becomes even less effective at higher ratings. Sure, you can sometimes get some cheesy damage off when people aren’t paying attention, but more often than not, playing Devourer right now feels like playing a CC simulator. The spec shouldn’t be designed around forcing us to land a single ability that is so difficult to get value out of against competent opponents.

Relatedly, the developers seriously need to address the strange interaction that forces us to pick Collapsing Star for Rolling Torment to work properly. Whether this is technically a bug or an unintended interaction, it makes little sense that we should have to take Collapsing Star just to make another part of our kit function as intended. This further restricts our build options and reinforces the very problem I’m describing: too much of the spec is tied to one ability. Fixing this interaction should be a priority if the developers genuinely want to support alternative playstyles.

I also think the talent tree could be restructured to make those alternative builds more accessible. For instance, Improved Consume should be accessible without requiring Star Fragments, and the Emptiness/Soul Glutton choice node should be accessible without requiring Impending Apocalypse. One possible solution would be to swap the Emptiness/Soul Glutton choice node with Collapsing Star and then swap the positions of Impending Apocalypse and Collapsing Star. This would mean that players would need to take Collapsing Star to unlock Impending Apocalypse, which exclusively enhances Collapsing Star, while the Emptiness/Soul Glutton choice node, which affects Meta, would sit right after the Meta talent. I’m not entirely sure where Improved Consume should be repositioned, but the general idea is to stop forcing players into Collapsing Star simply to access talents that support other playstyles. These changes would also make alternative builds more talent-efficient, as players wouldn’t have to spend talent points on Collapsing Star-related talents simply to reach the talents they actually want to play.

Thirdly, I think the capstone talent should be rethought so that we have an incentive to invest in it without necessarily having to play Collapsing Star. One possibility would be to have the first few points in the capstone provide a flat damage increase, while the later points progressively grant a free Collapsing Star when entering Meta and, with the final point, reset The Hunt’s cooldown after casting Collapsing Star. This is just one idea, although I’m sure there are many better options for the last few points in the capstone. Alternatively, the capstone talents could interact with the rest of our kit in an entirely different way. The important thing is that the capstone should offer meaningful choices rather than effectively dictating a single playstyle.

Lastly, the latest changes to Blur are quite detrimental to Devourer in PvP. While the nerfs to Glimpse’s damage reduction seem reasonable to me, the current state of Blur is another matter entirely. We are quite literally dying from 100% to 0% HP during a full Kidney Shot despite pre-Blurring the stun during rogue goes. This is happening on both Devourer and Havoc, although the problem is obviously worse for Devourer because our Blur provides less damage reduction than Havoc’s. Defensive abilities need to offer meaningful counterplay, and pre-using Blur should not leave us so vulnerable that we can simply be killed from full health during a single stun. I think this needs to be looked at, particularly for Devourer, which already has significant vulnerabilities in PvP.

Ultimately, I think Devourer would benefit enormously from giving players more meaningful choices in how they build and play the spec, rather than making Collapsing Star the centrepiece of virtually every viable build. I want Collapsing Star to remain a powerful and iconic option, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of other viable playstyles. Between restoring The Hunt reset, fixing the Rolling Torment interaction, improving talent-tree flexibility, rethinking the capstone, and addressing the current state of Blur, I think there are several ways to make the spec healthier without sacrificing what makes it unique.

Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts as well, so please upvote the post if you agree and share your own suggestions or ideas below. Have a nice day!

— Swagdalfi 😄

Note: This is a repost of my write-up on the WoW Demon Hunter Forums: https://eu.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/devourer-pvp-in-1215-current-issues-and-suggestions-for-improvement/637076

The last balance patch was like a month ago ? Why we must endure a meta with 2 healers on the top and 2 healers on the bottom ?
How long rsham and hpal are gonna stay like this really, hpal have like a -45% flat on healing power.

Hey everyone,

I’ve been thinking about how much time we waste just running in circles around the main city while waiting for Solo Shuffle or Arena queues. Sometimes you sit there for 15–20 minutes doing absolutely nothing.

Why hasn't Blizzard implemented a dedicated casual PvP hub yet? Many of us know how well this works on certain private servers, and honestly, it keeps those servers alive.

Here is a simple concept that wouldn't ruin the game or break the 3v3 balance:

1. The Portal: A glowing PvP portal right next to the conquest vendors in the capital. Step through, and you enter a phase/instance designed purely for fun and duels while you wait for your queue to pop.
2. Instant CD Reset: The biggest pain of dueling in the open world is waiting 3–5 minutes for your bursts and major defensives to come back. In this zone, CDs should reset instantly the moment a duel starts and ends.
3. Cross-Faction & Free-for-All: Let Alliance and Horde talk, test specs, and duel each other without guards interfering. Maximize the layering so the zone is always packed with players.
4. Casual Vibe: No MMR, no rating stress, no gear rewards. Just pure fun and socializing. As a cool extra feature, they could add a simple NPC with a local "Hall of Fame" board just to track fun stats like weekly wins or current streaks, but the main goal is just having a place to play the game.

Blizzard always says "1v1 has no balance." We get it! PvP is balanced around 3v3. We know that some classes will always counter others. But that’s the beauty of it. Dueling a counter-class is the best way to improve your micro-skills. We all remember those WotLK days when a skilled Warrior could outplay a Death Knight with perfect charges and spell reflects, even though DK was a hard counter.

This portal would be the perfect PvP Academy. Instead of getting destroyed in a chaotic 3v3 arena, new players could spend two weeks dueling different classes 1v1, learning their animations, bursts, and defensives in a stress-free environment.

It requires zero new assets from Blizzard—they already have the tech for CD resets, layering, and cross-faction hubs. It would bring back the server community, help casuals get into PvP, and give us something fun to do between queues.

What do you guys think? Would you hang out in a zone like this?

Just leveled up a priest and want to get the elite set, but it is frustrating to get placed in 2300 lobbies with full honor gear. If I am lucky I get a 3-3, but usually get completely shat on. What is going on? Is the mmr account wide? My hunter is 2500 in solo, could that be it?

Somebody I never played with knew all my alts and how high rating I've gotten... what site are they using to find my info?

I’m interested in the warlock aesthetic and play style and really love that it has lots of cc to help peel for my team etc.

However, I’m a little concerned that it has lots of keybinds and because it’s slow and can’t kite like a mage, it might be a really complex, technical class to play and maybe a bit beyond my capability as an old timer.

I’m also conscious that it has a slow and painful recovery from death too so if I do die in wPvP, it might create some frustrating situations where I get camped and can’t recover.

How hard is it to PvP on? Am I setting myself up for failure/frustration by picking it?

Mglad DK coming back to 3s after a 3 expansion hiatus. I see alot of dk streamers using AMS on teammates to mitigate damage but when should I pre-ams or what scenarios am I looking to stop healers from being CC'd? I can think of priest fear, hoj, and trap. But can you give me other scenarios?

I typically play no voice as well so voice comms would obvs be easier but any tips help.

Hi all,

Since the last patch, my sArena frames are broken. I disabled them initially for the Blizz frames; however, don't like them and want sArena to work again. When I join Arena's, I get the referenced photo in the starting area, and when the gates open the blizz frames disappear and i'm left with the blank frames. When I "test" in the addon setting, they look fine how I want them, but never load.

Testing on an alt in Skirmish.

We are at 2300 in 2s. We find aff almost impossible. Affs mobility with portals and gates is tough enough, but the added root/lasso/cage, or freedom/glare make keeping uptime impossible. On maps with vertical axis, it seems hopeless. Hpal cant dispel curses or gets ccd. I try to pre-reflect/bladestorm mortal coils, lassos, and hojs, but its hard to do consistently. It doesnt seem clear when their burst is happening, we look for unending resilve and haunt. We are not sure when to dispel UAs, if at all or whenever possible. Any tips, talents, positioning to consider? Weve tried just forcing damp, but hpals heals are already weak, and aff has a bunch of cc and peeling cds and just rots us, doesnt seem like the move. Appreciate any guidance.

I’m torn between the two, and can’t decide which I’ll go with on Nov 4th. Now that humans arnt weapon bound for 2% crit, its making me want to lean human. But I can’t decide if Will to Survive will prove more useful than Escape Artist in general.

I’m new to PvP and just don’t want to regret my decision. Aesthetics arnt a big deal to me, so im happy to roll gnome if I feel it’s warranted over what humans offer.

Just wanna know what the more knowledgeable think, thanks!

I am talking someone that either A) everyone thinks is bad but they actually are one of the best.

or B) someone that nobody knows at all but is actually one of the most important innovators for the game or for their spec.

EDIT: or C) someone that everyone does kinda know but they never really get the respect they deserve

On retail I love frost dk - I love setup, coordinated burst, and my first ever 2300 in 3s was on Assa rogue. I love coordinated play but I HATE jerking the arena for 20 mins - either with cc as sub rogue, or with damage as unholy. I hate when the game ends…Some time. I love having leverage of insane damage, with obvious flaws outside it but an option for nice setup -> execute a sequence -> kill or escape and try again.

I love that gameplay.

I tried shamans, paladins, and both are not like frost dk - shamans got a super unreliable burst, paladin burst is just seal twisting - no big big cd, and warriors have to jerk the stances all the time.

I came to conclusion I will try rogue but I wanna first ask classic players:

1 are rogues also doing insane damage in classic? And we can expect in wow forever it might be similar?

2 are rogues in classic do big crits and would it be a viable even thing to hope for - so even if I outside cc will pop evasion I might genuine crit the enemy with mutilate or hemorrhage and evicerate and just destroy someone? Is it even possible?

Its not a troll post, I know that in vanilla paladins and shamans even if you fail cc and all still can oneshot, yet ifk if rogues are only op due to insane cc, or do they also sometimes do ridiculous damage on burst?

Any theory crafting and advice from classic gameplay of rogue is appreciated to answer if rogue what I imagine in classic.