The Dungeons and Dragons: World of Warcraft gameplay expansion release date is approaching quickly and the team behind the book just offered another in-depth preview full of new details about the subclasses that are included.
Dungeons and Dragons Teases New Flavor and Mechanics for World of Warcraft Subclasses
Dungeons and Dragons players are going to have a ton of exciting choices during character creation for World of Warcraft adventures and campaigns. The extensive new gameplay expansion explains how to bring all WoW classes and every specialization to life at the tabletop.
Although many of the classes and specializations map to existing D&D subclasses, there are nine new or updated subclasses for players to check out, as well. These subclasses were announced earlier, but a new update offers some additional details about the flavor of each subclass and how its mechanics will work.
Here is a breakdown of the biggest new insights from the latest extensive Dungeons and Dragons: World of Warcraft gameplay expansion preview:
- Oath of the Ebon Blade (Death Knight)
- The Oath of the Ebon Blade subclass adjusts some features in the core Paladin class from the Player’s Handbook. For example, Death Coil replaces Lay on Hands with a pool of dice that can be used to deal damage to enemies or restore Hit Points to Undead, and Runic Smite replaces Paladin’s Smite by swapping the Divine Smite spell with Rune Strike, which deals Necrotic damage instead of Radiant.
- Their Runeforging feature grants their primary weapon a rune that bestows a unique ability according to the Death Knight’s specialization: Blood, which manipulates life energy; Frost, which calls upon the forces of winter to slow and shatter foes; or Unholy, which curses and debilitates opponents. When they need to make a hit count, Runic Power allows them to expend a use of Channel Divinity to gain an additional benefit after landing a Rune Strike.
- As the Death Knight levels up and slays the foes of Azeroth, they’ll use Runic Mastery to activate a powerful once per day ability from the rune on their primary weapon. At their peak, the Death Knight can use a Bonus action to activate their Aspect of the Horsemen, which allows them to gain the benefits of runes outside their specialization.
- Demon Hunter (Demon Hunter)
- The Demon Hunter subclass, like the Oath of the Ebon Blade subclass, modifies some of the features in the core class—in this case, Ranger. For example, the Demon Hunter’s Spellcasting Focus is an Arcane Focus (rather than a Druidic Focus) to reflect the nature of the class’ relationship with magic, the Void Warrior option has been added to the Fighting Style feature to allow for Warlock cantrips (rather than Druidic Warrior’s Druid cantrips), and the Ranger’s Feral Senses were replaced with the Demon Hunter’s Improved Spectral Sight to better see through illusions.
- Demon Hunters harvest the energy of souls to fuel some of their abilities using the Soul Fragments feature. When a nearby enemy dies, a Demon Hunter can collect that soul fragment. Then, later, the Demon Hunter can cast certain spells with those fragments or use the Soul Cleave trait to emit a whirlwind of soul energy that damages nearby enemies and restores Hit Points. With Spectral Sight, even the initiate Demon Hunter has 10 feet of Blindsight.
- Demon Hunters that have slain many Burning Legion hosts and continued to master the arcane arts will gain the Torment feature, which heightens the power of Hunter’s Mark and keeps a marked target’s focus on the hunter. As the Demon Hunter continues its training, they will use Illidari Knowledge to use soul fragments to cast additional spells, including Counterspell and a new ranged attack spell.
- As a Demon Hunter hones their skill further, they always start combat with at least one soul fragment and Soul Cleave deals more damage. Once a Demon Hunter reaches the height of their power, no demon or voidwalker or undead pest can escape their Improved Spectral Sight feature and its 30 feet of Truesight.
- Warrior of Mystic Brews (Monk)
- Warriors of Mystic Brews gain proficiency in Performance to reflect their skill in passing themselves off as nonsensical or erratic, as well as proficiency in Brewer’s Supplies to prepare them for a future in magical beverage-making. At this same time, these Monks also learn their signature Drunken Technique, which grants them additional speed when they use Patient Defense and allows them to make an Unarmed Strike as part of the same Bonus action.
- Warriors of Mystic Brews will use the Mystic Brew feature to create potions they can drink that will grant them damage Resistances, a pool of dice that can be used to boost their own healing, or the ability to conjure a Cone of flame. As their skill as a brewer heightens, they can learn new Mystic Brew options, including recipes that bestow luck and improve mobility.
- Once they’ve fully honed their craft, this Monk uses Master Brewer to mix two recipes into one drink. Then, they’ll use Intoxicated Frenzy to charge throughout a room and attack everybody within reach, knocking them Prone on a hit.
- Oath of the Holy (Paladin)
- Once they take their oath, a Holy Paladin will use Oath of the Holy Spells to heal many allies at once, protect their friends from death, and cleanse an ally of a debilitating effect or harmful spell. Additionally, the Beacon of Light feature uses Channel Divinity to wrap an ally with holy energy that restores half as many Hit Points to that ally whenever the Paladin heals anybody else.
- As the Paladin slays evildoers and rescues the innocent, they will develop a Lightbringer’s Aura to boost their healing abilities even further. Whenever the Holy Paladin heals creatures within its Aura of Protection, the Lightbringer’s Aura will grant them additional Hit Points. Later, with Infusion of Light, the Paladin can restore its own pool of Lay on Hands points by dealing Radiant damage to enemies—in essence, siphoning the power of life from the agents of Evil and delivering it into the hands of the Good (or at least, the Good enough).
- At the apotheosis of their divine power, the Oath of the Holy Paladin can use their Holy Deliverance feature to boost their Aura of Protection. The aura now emanates sunlight (vampires beware), and Bloodied allies that start their turn in the aura regain Hit Points.
- Discipline Domain (Priest)
- The Discipline Domain is a Cleric subclass. Right from the start, Discipline Priests gain access to Discipline Domain spells that will help them shield allies and devastate enemies. Further reinforcing the Discipline Priest’s dedication to balance, their Channel Divinity option Holy Bolt can damage an enemy and heal an ally at the same time. They’ll also use Atonement to grant a temporary blessing to any creature they heal with a spell; then, when they deal damage to a creature, those blessed allies will regain Hit Points! This allows the Discipline Priest to bring multiple party members back from 0 Hit Points without having to cast a spell like Mass Healing Word—instead, they can impose balance upon the universe by damaging enemies and healing allies at the same time.
- As these Priests further hone their practice, they’ll bestow creatures blessed by Atonement with a Luminous Barrier. This magical ward grants Temporary Hit Points and bestows Resistance to all damage while the creature has those Temporary Hit Points.
- At the pinnacle of their power, a Discipline Priest can send their Holy Bolt to several enemies at once (healing an equal number of allies in the process, of course), and they can teleport immediately before firing the bolts.
- Shadow Domain (Priest)
- The Shadow Domain is also a Cleric subclass. Once a Priest has embraced the darkness, they gain access to Shadow Domain Spells (including several new entries) that prepare them to twist minds, drain life, and call upon forces dangerously close to the Old Gods. A Shadow Priest initiate can also use their Channel Divinity to take on a Shadowform, which allows them to Hide more easily and empowers their spells that deal Psychic or Necrotic damage. And with Devouring Plague, they can siphon health from creatures who fail a saving throw.
- As they themselves fall deeper and deeper into shadow, the Shadow Priest will be able to take a Reaction that disperses themselves into shadowy energy as a defense mechanism. This Dispersion lasts 1 round, and when it ends, the Shadow Priest can expend Hit Point Dice to regain a massive amount of Hit Points. They can also Fly up to 40 feet, so when they reform into a corporeal champion of Azeroth, they can be out of melee range of the creature that attacked them.
- At the height of the Shadow Priest’s power, their Shadowform will also restore Hit Points to nearby creatures when they deal Necrotic or Psychic damage to enemies.
- Swashbuckler (Rogue)
- Early on in their journey, the Swashbuckler will use Fancy Footwork to evade Opportunity Attacks from creatures they’ve already attacked that turn. When they enter battle, their Rakish Audacity will add a boost to their Initiative, and they can use Sneak Attack when darting into the backlines to solo an enemy mage or archer.
- As the Swashbuckler duels their way into becoming a master of their craft, their Panache will add new options to their Cunning Strike repertoire, allowing them to goad opponents into attacking them (before Dashing away with Cunning Action!) or Charm creatures for a short time. Leveling up further, the Swashbuckler will add more options with Dashing Strikes, which can invigorate allies or parry enemy strikes.
- Swashbucklers at the top of their game will use the Master Duelist feature to make an additional attack against a target they just hit with a Sneak Attack.
- Path of the Spiritual Guardian (Shaman)
- Once they begin their training, the Path of the Spiritual Guardian Shaman will summon Spiritual Protectors to Distract, Hinder, or Strike the opponent on a hit. As the Shaman continues their adventures in Azeroth, their Spirit Shield will protect nearby allies from harm.
- At higher levels, the Spiritual Guardian Shaman can use Consult the Spirits to cast certain Divination spells without needing Material components. They may ask the spirits for advice about the party’s latest scheme or rely on them to spy on a nearby location.
- With their final ability, Spirits’ Fury, this Shaman can make an additional attack when they land a powerful blow, becoming a relentless force of destruction on the battlefield.
- Path of the Elements (Shaman)
- A Shaman who has just begun to walk the Path of the Elements will call upon the forces of nature with Raging Elements. While a rage is active, they can use a Bonus action to summon powers of ice, lava, or lightning. These powers build on each other, with Icefury empowering the next instance of Fire damage, Lava Burst empowering the next instance of Lightning damage, and so on. This encourages the Shaman to create balance amongst the chaos by moving from one damage type to another.
- At higher levels, a Path of the Elements Shaman will use Echo of the Elements to cast certain utility elemental spells by expending a use of Rage. Then, the Primordial Bond feature will cause the elemental magic surging from the Shaman’s rage to bestow a protective effect.
- In time, the Elemental Overload feature completes their evolution: their Raging Elements options now reduce enemy damage, deal lasting damage, or damage nearby enemies.
That’s a ton of information to absorb, but it seems like Dungeons and Dragons is going all out when it comes to bringing all the flavor of World of Warcraft’s classes and specializations to the tabletop.
Be sure to check back soon for lots more Dungeons and Dragons news as the World of Warcraft gameplay expansion release date approaches.
Dungeons and Dragons is available now at local game shops and digitally through D&D Beyond, Roll20, and similar online services. The Dungeons and Dragons: World of Warcraft gameplay expansion releases on November 17, 2026.
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