With BlizzCon drawing to a close, there's a huge amount of Battle for Azeroth information coming in from the panels, interviews, and floor demos. I thought it would be fun to put together a quick overview of changes and features that affect Druids. If you know of anything I missed, you can leave a comment below or tweet @PrestonDvorak. I'll update this post as-needed when I discover something new.

Want even more BlizzCon information? Check out all my BlizzCon coverage.

Table of Contents

• Allied Races (sub-races)
• Mark of the Wild, other raid buffs, are coming back
• Other spell updates and additions

Allied Races (sub-races)

One of the most exciting things coming with Battle for Azeroth is Allied Races (or sub-races). These races will be unlocked through questlines, and once you've unlocked them, you can create a new character using the race or use the race change service to change an existing character.

In addition to the new race models, it was confirmed during the Q&A portion of the Gameplay and Systems panel that each of the races will also be receiving new, unique shapeshift models.

Highmountain Tauren

Highmountain Tauren Models

Highmountain Tauren are confirmed for Druids based on the World of Warcraft site and will be available to the Horde

The Highmountain Tauren are from Highmountain on the Broken Isles. They're descendants of Huln Highmountain who fought during the War of the Ancients. During the war, Huln rescued Eche'ro, a powerful moose beloved by Malorne. In honor of Huln's bravery, Cenarius blessed him with the Horns of Eche'ro, giving him and his descendants the moose-like horns that set them apart from other Tauren. After returning home, Huln used the Hammer of Khaz'goroth to banish Deathwing and the black dragon flight from the land, freeing their slaves. To honor their savior, the tribes renamed the area Highmountain.

Racials, Highmountain Tauren

Some racials from the BlizzCon floor demo were posted on Imgur. Many of them do similar things to current Tauren racials, but in different, more thematically appropriate ways.

• Rugged Tenacity - Reduces damage taken by 330 (presumably scales with level).
• Waste Not, Want Not - You have a chance to loot additional fish and meat.
• Pride of Ironhorn - Mining skill increased by 15 and mining speed increased.
• Mountaineer - Versatility increased by 1%.
• Bull Rush - Charge forward for 1 second, knocking enemies down for 1.5 seconds.

Zandalari Trolls

Zandalari Troll Models

Zandalari Trolls aren't yet confirmed to be available as Druids, but I expect they will be due to their close ties with the Wild Gods and dinosaurs of their homeland. The only reason Zandalari Trolls may not be available to Horde Druids is there are currently no Alliance Allied Races available to Druids, and Blizzard tries to keep race/class combinations relatively balanced.

The Zandalari are the original troll species and have been around for thousands of years. They're considered to be the most intellectual and spiritual of the troll species. They live in democratic societies where they worship the Ioa, powerful animal Wild Gods. In more recent history, they recruited heroes to help fight Hakkar and the trolls he controlled in Zul'Gurub. During the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, they fought against the Gurubashi trolls in Zul'drak that had once again fallen under the control of Hakkar. When the mists around Pandaria disappeared, the Zandalari attempted to take it as their new home continent, even rekindling an old alliance with the Mogu by resurrecting Lei Shen, the Thunder King.

Mark of the Wild, other raid buffs, are coming back

Wowhead reported from the floor demos that many of the class-specific raid buffs that were removed with Legion are making a comeback in Battle for Azeroth! This includes Mark of the Wild for Druids. In the demo, the buff increases Versatility by 3%, but of course, this is subject to change as the game is still in heavy development. I'm personally very excited to see raid buffs coming back, it's a small feature that makes me feel like I'm bringing something unique to my group. While Versatility isn't the most exciting thing, I feel it's thematically appropriate for Druids at the very least.

Other spell updates and additions

In addition to the raid buffs, other spell changes and additions were spotted in the Battle for Azeroth floor demos.

• Soothe - added back to the game, allows you to dispel enrage effects from enemies. 
• Hibernate - added back to the game, allows you to put Dragonkin or Beasts to sleep for 40-seconds.
• Ironfur - now lasts 7-seconds, up from 6-seconds.
• Frenzied Regeneration - Now heals for 25% maximum health over 5-seconds, instead of healing for 50% of damage taken in the last 5-seconds over 3-seconds.

That's all for now! Check back for more BlizzCon related articles over the course of the week.

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