Beta wrapped

Talents
Forever
Wrapped

36 days of beta and 801,807 different builds. Here is what changed as people played.

The beta in numbers

36 days of theorycraft

0different builds made
about 22,272 new ones a day, every one its own set of talents
0went all 51 points
38% of all the builds made
0shared builds opened
links opened from Discord, Reddit and everywhere else
0builds saved
kept on a device to come back to

Counted by the site itself from 18 Sep, when its own counter started, to 23 Oct when the servers closed.

The classes

Shaman came out on top

More than 200,000 of you opened a class during the beta, about three each.

ClassOpened itCame directSaved or sharedBuilds savedSpec split
1Shaman80K people51K2.3K7,76280K people·7,762 savedEnhancementEnh 55%ElementalEle 27%RestorationResto 18%
2Paladin73K people44K2.1K6,45073K people·6,450 savedRetributionRet 43%ProtectionProt 33%HolyHoly 24%
3=Warrior71K people50K2.0K5,89671K people·5,896 savedProtectionProt 41%FuryFury 33%ArmsArms 26%
3=Druid70K people44K2.1K6,50670K people·6,506 savedFeral CombatFeral 46%BalanceBalance 28%RestorationResto 25%
3=Warlock68K people42K2.1K7,51968K people·7,519 savedDemonologyDemo 38%AfflictionAffli 36%DestructionDestro 22%
6Priest70K people43K1.9K6,27570K people·6,275 savedShadowShadow 46%DisciplineDisc 36%HolyHoly 18%
7Hunter66K people40K1.8K5,33666K people·5,336 savedSurvivalSurv 48%MarksmanshipMM 26%Beast MasteryBM 25%
8=Mage61K people38K1.4K4,66361K people·4,663 savedFrostFrost 37%FireFire 33%ArcaneArcane 29%
8=Rogue59K people36K1.5K4,27859K people·4,278 savedSubtletySub 40%CombatCombat 31%AssassinationAssa 28%
Together you made the 801,807 builds. An = means too close to call.
How this was countedThe order uses all four counts together. People are counted by Google Analytics so anyone with a blocker is missing. Came direct skips visits that started on the home page since it opens on Warrior. Specs only count builds with 41 or more points.
Every day of the beta

Everyone rebuilt after the 15 Oct build

Different builds made each day. The day after that build was the busiest of all, 56,157.

Opening weekend1 Oct buildDay after the 15 Oct buildSep 18Oct 1Oct 16Oct 23
Read the 15 Oct patch notes for your classWarriorPaladinHunterRoguePriestShamanMageWarlockDruid
What time it was

Busiest at 2 pm, never really quiet

Every change to a build, by hour of the day in Central time.

12am
3am
6am
9am
12pm
2 pm
3pm
6pm
9pm
The patches that moved people

The 15 Oct build reshuffled four classes

How many of each class's builds picked the spec, before and after the patch.

Priest
15 Oct build
Shadow40%→57%
of Priest builds, the week before and after
15 OctBefore betaLast week
Dark Inspiration and a 30 second Vampiric Embrace
Shaman
15 Oct build
Elemental25%→35%
of Shaman builds, the week before and after
15 OctBefore betaLast week
the new Elemental Mastery and a reshuffled tree
Mage
15 Oct build
Arcane26%→35%
of Mage builds, the week before and after
15 OctBefore betaLast week
Arcane Wrath and a 1.5 second Arcane Blast
Warlock
15 Oct build
Affliction32%→39%
of Warlock builds, the week before and after
15 OctBefore betaLast week
Grim Reach in place of Malediction
Warrior
2 Oct hotfix
Fury29%→39%
of Warrior builds, the week before and after
2 OctBefore betaLast week
the hotfix that reshaped Fury
Hunter and Rogue
no talent changes
Steadyall beta
no spec moved more than 4 points in any week
Before betaLast week
Survival and Subtlety led every week.
What the patches did to builds

Made a build early? Check it again

Builds made the week before a class's last patch, and how many that patch broke. Hunter and Rogue never changed.

Paladin24 Sep · Crusade and Improved Holy Strike removed
0broke
Mage20 Oct · Piercing Ice removed, Elemental Precision cut
0broke
Shaman15 Oct · Elemental tree reshuffled
0broke
Priest15 Oct · Discipline tree reshuffled
0broke
Warlock15 Oct · Malediction became Grim Reach
0broke
Druid1 Oct · King of the Jungle removed
0broke
Warrior8 Oct · Impale now needs Deep Wounds
0broke
Same talent, new row

Move a talent and other specs follow

The 15 Oct build moved these talents to a new row, and other specs followed.

Missile BarrageMage Arcane ▲ row 4 to 1
27% → 65%of Frost builds took it
Mental StrengthPriest Discipline ▲ row 4 to 2
13% → 74%of Shadow builds took it
Tidal FocusShaman Restoration ▲ row 2 to 1
45% → 81%of Elemental builds took it
Improved Power Word: ShieldPriest Discipline ▼ row 2 to 3
86% → 28%of Shadow builds took it
Totemic FocusShaman Restoration ▼ row 1 to 2
44% → 18%of Enhancement builds took it
The arguments

Nine coin flips

Each spec split almost down the middle on these.

builds = 31 or more points in that tree
Warrior
Lingering Rage
49% of Fury builds take it
Paladin
Consecrated Ground
46% of Holy builds take it
Hunter
Pathfinding
47% of Beast Mastery builds take it
Rogue
Setup
49% of Subtlety builds take it
Priest
Silent Resolve
51% of Discipline builds take it
Shaman
Restorative Totems
57% of Restoration builds take it
Mage
Frost Channeling
45% of Frost builds take it
Warlock
Cataclysm
51% of Destruction builds take it
Druid
Shifting Power
49% of Feral Combat builds take it
No patch needed

Players changed their minds on their own

No patch touched these talents. Before beta, then the last week.

builds = 31 or more points in that tree
Improved Cone of ColdMage Frost
31% → 60%of Frost builds took it
Improved Thunder ClapWarrior Protection
55% → 79%of Protection builds took it
Improved Ghost WolfShaman Enhancement
62% → 85%of Enhancement builds took it
Pursuit of JusticePaladin Retribution
71% → 86%of Retribution builds took it
and the ones that fell out of favour
Improved Shadow BoltWarlock Destruction
42% → 21%of Destruction builds took it
DeterrenceHunter Survival
76% → 55%of Survival builds took it
Improved Lightning ShieldShaman Enhancement
28% → 9%of Enhancement builds took it
How 51 points got spent

Most builds split their points

Only 7% of the last week's builds put 41 or more points into one tree.

41 or more in one treeSplit over two treesAll three, 5 or more in each
How the last week's builds split their pointsMost common
Shaman
33/7/11
Druid
9/42/0
Hunter
31/20/0
Rogue
18/33/0
Warlock
30/21/0
Warrior
17/34/0
Paladin
23/0/28
Mage
0/29/22
Priest
31/20/0
Leveling plans

Level one way, play another

A spec's share of builds planned while leveling, around level 30, then at 60.

Priest
Discipline53%→36%
of Priest builds, leveling then at 60
Mage
Fire17%→34%
of Mage builds, leveling then at 60
Hunter
Survival33%→49%
of Hunter builds, leveling then at 60
Warlock
Destruction14%→23%
of Warlock builds, leveling then at 60
Shaman
Enhancement63%→55%
of Shaman builds, leveling then at 60
Warrior
Fury26%→33%
of Warrior builds, leveling then at 60
The #1 build per class

Where the beta landed

Each class's #1 on Popular builds, 25 Oct. Ranked by shares, saves and opens, near-identical builds grouped.

Warrior7/5/39
Arms7
52
Fury5
5
Prot39
255331232121351
shared 82 · saved 227 · opened 1,511 across 91 near-identical builds
Open this build ↗
Paladin8/8/35
Holy8
53
Prot8
53
Ret35
522513121331321
shared 105 · saved 233 · opened 2,499 across 144 near-identical builds
Open this build ↗
Hunter5/11/35
BM5
5
MM11
551
Survival35
5232325222151
shared 342 · saved 488 · opened 5,575 across 210 near-identical builds
Open this build ↗
Rogue38/11/2
Assassin38
5313155152151
Combat11
3233
Sub2
2
shared 96 · saved 244 · opened 1,784 across 157 near-identical builds
Open this build ↗
Priest14/0/37
Disc14
5513
Holy0
Shadow37
55221251312251
shared 30 · saved 105 · opened 399 across 132 near-identical builds
Open this build ↗
The #1 build per class

And the other four

Tap a build to open it in the calculator.

Shaman18/33/0
Elem18
53532
Enhance33
5232315112251
Resto0
shared 69 · saved 216 · opened 1,968 across 81 near-identical builds
Open this build ↗
Mage47/4/0
Arcane47
255122522312231531
Fire4
13
Frost0
shared 49 · saved 146 · opened 848 across 34 near-identical builds
Open this build ↗
Warlock35/11/0
Afflic35
55323521351
Demo11
5231
Destro0
shared 153 · saved 425 · opened 4,072 across 92 near-identical builds
Open this build ↗
Druid11/5/35
Balance11
5321
Feral5
5
Resto35
553513113251
shared 211 · saved 623 · opened 5,653 across 62 near-identical builds
Open this build ↗
Thank you

See you on 4 November

The beta servers closed at 2 pm Central on 23 Oct and the next day you still made 21,683 different builds. Every talent on the site comes from the last beta build.

Plan your launch build
What the last beta build changed for your classWarriorPaladinHunterRoguePriestShamanMageWarlockDruid

The first Wrapped, from the week before beta

TALENTS FOREVERthe beta, 18 Sep to 23 Oct 2026 · every number from builds made on the site