Skip to content

World of Warcraft Hotfixes: August 18, 2026

Official Blizzard notes

152 entries posted by Blizzard Entertainment for this date, shown in full.

Advertisement

August 18, 2026

152 entries

Source Hotfixes: October 15, 2026, by Blizzard Entertainment (worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com)

Classes

Death Knight

Class page

Blood

  • Deathbringer: Resolved an issue causing Echoing Fury to grnt Exterminate stacks on Reaper’s Mark casts.
  • San’layn: Visceral Strength now grants 6% strength (was 10%).
  • San’layn: Transfusion increases Dancing Rune Weapon damage by 5% (was 10%).

Frost

  • All ability and auto-attack damage increased by 9%.
  • Venomous Abyss 2-piece set bonus updated - Now grants 1% attack speed per stack (was 2%), and now increases Icy Death Torrent damage by 2% per stack (was 4%).

Demon Hunter

Class page

Devourer

  • All ability damage increased by 14%. Does not affect PvP combat.
  • Reap/Cull/Eradicate damage reduced by 12%.
  • Eradicate’s area-of-effect damage increased to 90% of base damage (was 85%).
  • Venomous Abyss 4-piece set bonus updated - Now generates 2 soul fragments (was 8 soul fragments) and increases Reap damage by 10% (was 20%).

Druid

Class page

Restoration

  • All healing increased by 4%. Does not affect PvP combat.
  • All damage increased by 20%. Does not affect PvP combat.

Hunter

Class page
  • Reduced the size of several Hydra creatures after they have been tamed.

Beast Mastery

  • Venomous Abyss 4-piece set bonus updated - Now causes Cobra Shot to benefit from Beast Cleave at 30% effectiveness per stack (was 20%) or strike your target for an additional 20% damage per stack (was 15%).

Mage

Class page

Arcane

  • All ability damage increased by 3%.
  • Venomous Abyss 2-piece set bonus updated - Arcane Missiles damage bonus reduced to 5% (was 20%).
  • Venomous Abyss 4-piece set bonus updated - Cumulative Power damage bonus per stack reduced to 3% (was 5%).

Monk

Class page

Mistweaver

  • All healing increased by 8%. Does not affect PvP combat.
  • Venomous Abyss 4-piece set bonus updated - Activation rate increased by 33%.

Paladin

Class page

Retribution

  • All ability damage increased by 6%. Does not affect PvP combat.

Priest

Class page

Discipline

  • All damage reduced by 30%. Does not affect PvP combat.
  • Oracle: Entropic Rift damage increased by 20%.
  • Oracle: Atonement now transfers 46% of damage into healing (was 32%). Does not affect PvP combat.
  • Oracle: Void Shield reflects 10% of damage (was 15%).

Holy

  • Enlightenment now regenerates mana 25% faster (was 10%).
  • Words of the Wise now increases the healing of Holy Word: Serenity and Holy Word: Sanctify by 40% (was 10%). Does not affect PvP combat.
  • Prompt Prognosis healing increased by 55%. Does not affect PvP combat.
  • Preventive Measures now increases Prayer of Mending healing by 40% (was 15%). Does not affect PvP combat.

Rogue

Class page

Assassination

  • All damage increased by 4%.

Subtlety

  • All damage increased by 6%.
  • The Venomous Abyss 4-set bonus has been updated - Effectiveness reduced to 60% (was 100%).
  • Shadow Dance now cancels when swapping talents.
  • Shadow Dance can no longer be cancelled manually.
  • Deathstalker: Lingering Darkness now cancels when swapping talents.
  • Deathstalker: Lingering Darkness now cancels when a raid encounter starts.
  • Deathstalker: Lingering Darkness now cancels when an M+ dungeon starts.

Shaman

Class page

Elemental

  • Corrected an issue where the Venomous Abyss 4-piece set bonus Overcharge! buff was sometimes not consumed when casting a Maelstrom spending ability.
  • All damage dealt increased by 5%.

Enhancement

  • All damage increased by 5%.

Warlock

Class page
  • Hellcaller: Fixed an issue where Blackened Soul would not function with mouse-over casting.

Affliction

  • Fixed an issue where Withering Bolt would not account for Wither.

Demonology

  • Burning Cleave (granted by Antoran Armaments) now strikes enemies in a circular area, rather than a cone. The tooltip for Burning Cleave will be updated in a future patch.
  • Venomous Abyss 2-piece set bonus updated - Wild Imps now Implode at 350% effectiveness to their main target (was 250%) and 315% effectiveness to other targets (was 225%).

Destruction

  • Fixed an issue where Conflagration of Chaos would not guarantee a Conflagrate or Shadowburn to critically strike.
  • Fixed an issue where Shadowburn would not apply its debuff after dealing damage to a Havoc target.

Warrior

Class page

Fury

  • All damage increased by 6%.
  • Venomous Abyss 4-piece set bonus updated - Bloodthirst damage increased by 10%, and during Recklessness, Bloodthirst increases the critical strike bonus of Recklessness by 3%, up to 6% (was 5%, up to 10%).

Protection

  • Mountain Thane: Fixed an issue that would sometimes disable the bonus Thunder Clap damage from Crashing Thunder.

Delves

  • The initial Ancient Golem in the Game Night variant of the Ring of Glory delve no longer attacks before being activated.
  • “Delve into the Earth” should no longer be blocked if selecting a combat roll for Brann failed to advance the quest while outside a delve.
  • Fixed an issue where Dundun's Favor would prevent Mislaid Curiosities from being looted by more than one party member.

Dungeons

  • The lockout for Mythic difficulty for Season 2 dungeons now resets daily.

The Blinding Vale

Instance page

Thorny Saptor

  • Hunting Leap visibility of ground visual improved.

Ziekket

Boss page
  • Lightbloom’s Essence periodic damage reduced by 25%.

Altar of Fangs

  • Added a way for players to return to the entrance from the chamber of Rav’i.
  • Hunting Leap visibility of ground visual improved.

Den of Nalorakk

Instance page
  • Barrel of Apples are now interactable without requiring opposable thumbs. Nature finds a way.

Warding Incense

  • Increased Versatility buff to 5% (was 3%).
  • Now benefits all allies in the instance.
  • Now persists through death.

Sentinel of Winter

Boss page
  • Rimeshatter soak area visual updated.

Spirit of Hunger

  • Insatiable Hunger debuff now limited to 5 stacks.

Kings’ Rest

Instance page
  • The Council of Tribes
  • Encounter now ends immediately after defeating Zanazal the Wise.

Dazar, The First King

  • Impaling Spear ground visual updated to improve visibility.

Shadow of Zul

NPC page
  • Dark Revelation now prefers non-tank players.

Ghostly Brute

  • Seismic Upheaval visual updated to improve visual clarity.

Honored Raptor

  • Hunting Leap visibility of ground visual improved.

Murder Row

Instance page
  • Reduced required enemy forces to 655 (was 690).
  • Removed the creature pack of a Corrupted Warlock and two Wrathguard Flayers before Xathuux the Annihilator.

Cantina event

  • Five Star Review duration increased to 5 minutes (was 4 minutes).
  • Food Missiles now targets specific locations around the room.

Felmaster Lucsei

  • Blade Dance now has a 2-second cast time, and impact damage reduced by 10%.

Ruby Life Pools

Instance page

Melidrussa Chillworn

Boss page
  • Hailburst cast time increased to 3 seconds (was 2 seconds).

Kyrakka and Erkhart Stormvein

Flaming Embers

  • Reduced radius of each ember to 5 yards (was 7 yards).
  • Reduced amount of randomness in the spawn pattern.
  • Kyrakka no longer immediately begins casting after she lands for the final phase of the encounter, allowing for her to be repositioned
  • Increased the movement speed of Kyrakka after she lands for the final phase of the encounter
  • Addressed an issue where Kyrakka could melee attack unexpected targets after landing for the final phase

Flashfrost Chillweaver

  • Ice Shield precast visual visibility improved.

Earthbound Guardian

  • Multiple applications of the Earthbound’s Imprint debuff can no longer overlap.

Temple of Sethraliss

Instance page

Avatar of Sethraliss

Boss page

Corrupted Guardian

NPC page
  • Corrupted Lifeforce time to soak increased to 6 seconds (was 4.5 seconds) and visibility improved.

Corruption

  • Reduced physical vulnerability to 250% (was 300%).
  • Increased periodic damage by 33%.

Tainted Strike

  • Reduced periodic damage by 50%.
  • Capped applications at 2.
  • Increased duration to 25 seconds.

Cleansed Lifeforce

  • The passive healing aura can no longer grow beyond 3 applications.
  • Slowed the tick rate of the passive healing to every 3 seconds (was every 2 seconds).

Faithless Tormentor

  • Reduced the size of the fixate visual over the head of the healer.
  • Fixed an issue where Faithless Tormentors could melee their fixate target from further than intended.

Essence Defiler

  • Defiling Taint is now displayed as a debuff on the Avatar’s unit frame.

Lightning Serpent

  • Multiple applications of the Lingering Storm debuff can no longer overlap.

Voidscar Arena

Instance page
  • Proof of Mastery and Proof of Endurance are now buffs.

Aegyra the Unyielding

  • Champion’s Spear health reduced by 15%.

Raj’kess the Spellstorm

  • Disruption Orb disruption cast time reduced to 13 seconds (was 15 seconds).

Items

  • Fixed an issue with Hunter's Ritual Stone providing more stats than intended.
  • Shirts collected from Free T-Shirt Day can now be sold to vendors.
  • Zatha'tek, Breath of Corruption may now be equipped in either weapon slot.
  • Aman'muso, Warlord's Vengeance may now be equipped in either weapon slot.
  • Preternatural Antivenom - fixed an issue preventing the healing effect from consistently triggering after the aura has been applied to an ally depending on the source of incoming damage.
  • Preyhunter's Trophy Stand cannot be used in areas where toys are restricted

Player versus Player

Training Grounds: Arenas

  • The damage of enemy game-controlled opponents has been reduced in Training Grounds: Arena.
  • Resolved an issue that prevented “Week 1 of 3: Gladiator's Distinction” quest credit from being earned in Training Grounds: Arenas.
  • Resolved an issue that could prevent quest credit for “Sparks of War: The Coiled Isle”.
  • The PvP trinket set bonus now increases primary stat by 20% for damage dealers and tanks (was 15%).

Demon Hunter

Class page

Devourer

  • Surrender to the Void now increases Fury generated by 60% (was 100%).

Druid

Class page

Restoration

  • All healing reduced by 5% in PvP combat.

Mage

Class page

Fire

  • Pyroblast damage increased by 10% in PvP combat.
  • Meteor damage decreased by 20% in PvP combat.
  • Comet Storm damage decreased by 20% in PvP combat.
  • Venomous Abyss 4-piece set bonus updated - Now decreases the cast time of Pyroblast and Flamestrike by 30% (was 10%) and increases Pyroclasm’s damage bonus by 5% (was 10%) in PvP combat.

Paladin

Class page

Holy

  • All healing decreased by 5% in PvP combat.
  • Judgment damage decreased by 30% in PvP combat.
  • Avenging Crusader now transfers 80% of damage done into healing in PvP combat (was 55%).

Retribution

  • All damage increased by 8% in PvP combat.
  • Final Verdict damage increased by 15% in PvP combat.
  • Hammer of Light damage increased by 25% in PvP combat.
  • Sacrifice of the Just now reduces Blessing of Sacrifice’s cooldown by 30 seconds in PvP combat (was 60 seconds).
  • Unbreakable Spirit reduces the cooldown of affected spells by 20% in PvP combat (was 30%).

Shaman

Class page

Restoration

  • All healing increased by 4% in PvP combat.
  • Storm Conduit now reduces the cooldown of affected spells by 2 seconds (was 4 seconds).
  • Storm Conduit now reduces the duration of interrupts on Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning by 40% (was 65%).
  • Farseer: Healing Wave, Healing Surge, and Chain Heal healing from Ancestors increased by 35% in PvP combat.
  • Farseer: Hydrobubble absorption increased by 35% in PvP combat.

Warlock

Class page

Destruction

  • Soul Fire damage reduced by 30% in PvP combat.

Professions

  • Fixed an issue where players were not receiving Tidal Spark Dust from quests such as “Trailing Xal'atath” and “Midnight: World Tour”.
  • Raised the base cap of Tidal Spark Dust to 3 (was 1).

Cooking

Quests

  • “Trailing Xal'atath” and “Midnight: World Tour” should now correctly award Tidal Spark Dust.
  • Fixed bug preventing the “Sparks of War” related quests from displaying Spark of Tides as a potential quest reward.
  • Fixed an issue that would prevent "Purging the Vaults" or "Vaults of Atal'Utek: A Toxic Tour" quests from being completed if you already had Codex of the Soulcoilers in your inventory.
  • For “A Grave Concern”, the Budget Friendly gravestone in the Silvermoon Delve hub is now available for anyone to use.

Classes in these notes

85 of the day's lines are scoped to a class: Paladin (11), Priest (10), Shaman (10), Mage (9), Rogue (9), Warlock (8), Demon Hunter (7), Death Knight (6), Druid (5), Warrior (4), Hunter (3) and Monk (3).

Named in these notes

Blizzard's notes for August 18, 2026 name 8 spells, 8 items, 1 achievement, 7 dungeons and raids, 8 bosses and 1 zone. Each opens its page here; the count is how many lines mention it.

Spells (8)

Items (8)

Achievements (1)

Dungeons and raids (7)

Bosses (8)

Zones (1)

The Spells in These Notes, as the Game Data Has Them

Each spell the notes name, read from the current game build: school, cast time, duration, the skill line that teaches it and its tooltip with amounts left out.

  • Meteor Named in 2 of these notes (Mage). Fire, instant. Taught through the Pet - Primal Fire Elemental skill line. Current tooltip: “Call down a molten meteor on your target, dealing damage to enemies of your target.”
  • Executioner Named in 1 of these notes (Warrior). Physical, 2 sec cast. Taught through the Enchanting skill line. Current tooltip: “Permanently enchant a melee weapon to occasionally grant you critical strike. Only one instance of this effect can be active at a time. Cannot be applied to items higher than level.”
  • Healing Surge Named in 1 of these notes (Shaman). Nature, 1.5 sec cast. Taught through the Shaman skill line. Current tooltip: “A quick surge of healing energy that restores of a friendly target's health. Consumes Stormweaver for increased cast speed and healing.”
  • Hunter's Ritual Stone Named in 1 of these notes. Physical, 2 sec cast. Taught through the Blacksmithing skill line.
  • Midnight Named in 1 of these notes. Physical, 1.5 sec cast. Taught through the Mounts skill line. Current tooltip: “Summons and dismisses Midnight.”
  • Serenity Named in 1 of these notes (Priest). Physical, 2.5 sec cast. Taught through the Blacksmithing skill line.
  • Subtlety Named in 1 of these notes (Rogue). Physical, 2 sec cast. Taught through the Enchanting skill line. Current tooltip: “Permanently enchant a cloak to decrease threat from all attacks and spells by 2%. Cannot be applied to items higher than level.”
  • Void Shield Named in 1 of these notes (Priest). Shadow, instant, lasts 30 sec. Taught through the Voidlord skill line. Current tooltip: “Encases the Voidlord in shadow energy, reducing physical damage taken for 30 sec. Each time the Voidlord is struck, a blast of Shadow damage is released, dealing Shadow damage and reducing the power of Void Shield by 20%. Auto-Cast: Use this ability when being attacked.”

The Items in These Notes, as the Game Data Has Them

Slot, type, item level, binding and stats of each item the notes name, from the current game build.

  • Preternatural Antivenom Trinket, item level 219, requires level 90. Bind on Pickup. Stats: Critical Strike. A vendor pays 49 gold26 silver for it.
  • Hearty Amani Cornucopia Consumable, item level 90, requires level 90. Bind on Pickup. A vendor pays 33 silver50 copper for it.
  • Hearty Feast of Knowledge Consumable, item level 90, requires level 90. Bind on Pickup. A vendor pays 33 silver50 copper for it.
  • Hearty Loa's Gathering Consumable, item level 90, requires level 90. Bind on Pickup. A vendor pays 33 silver50 copper for it.
  • Spark of Tides Trade Goods, item level 90. Bind on Pickup. Tooltip: “A unique crafting material imbued with cerulean water. Obtained through weekly quests or end-game activities, it is used to create the most powerful of equipment via professions.” A vendor pays 2 silver for it.
  • Budget Friendly Miscellaneous, item level 1. Bind on Pickup.
  • Preyhunter's Trophy Stand Miscellaneous, item level 1. Bind on Pickup.
  • Dundun's Favor Consumable, item level 1. Bind on Pickup.

The Instances and Bosses in These Notes

Advertisement

How this page is built

Every entry above is Blizzard Entertainment's own hotfix note, shown in full and in the order Blizzard posted it: nothing is summarised, paraphrased or added, and each date block links to the original article. The tracker reads Blizzard's official hotfix post every 30 minutes and keeps every date it has seen, so an older day stays here after it rolls off the article. Where a hotfix names a spell, item, boss, instance, zone, faction or achievement that has a page on this site, the name links to it; a name that could mean more than one record is left as plain text rather than guessed. A date with no hotfixes is simply absent.

Downloads

Background