WoW The War Within: Hero talents explained

Hero Talents add a new layer of customization on top of Dragonflight's revamped talent trees.

The keyart for the upcoming wow expansion the war within
Image via Blizzard Entertainment

World of Warcraft’s next expansion, The War Within, expands the talent system introduced in Dragonflight by adding Hero talents on top. They work similarly to talents, but aim to give you deeper customization and let you live out your true class fantasy.

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Hero talents are a core system in WoW: The War Within. They’re still in development and could change when the expansion finally launches on Aug 26. Here’s how Hero talents work in The War Within

What are Hero talents in WoW The War Within?

Screenshot showing how Hero talents will look like in the next expansion.
This is how these talents will fit with the existing talent system. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Hero talents are a new gameplay system featured in the upcoming The War Within expansion that lets you unlock new abilities and spells. This system is meant to give your class additional depth and further specialization.

Hero Talents are a feature Blizzard intends to keep around, with the devs already calling it evergreen. In simple terms, Blizzard wants to expand and improve this feature with every next expansion, even after The War Within.

Hero Talents and Talent Trees in The War Within explained

A hero talent tree in WoW The War Within
The keystone talent is at the top, and the capstone is at the bottom. Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Each WoW class gets three Hero Talent trees in The War Within, but each specialization can only choose between two. The Hero trees are lore-inspired and are strongly linked to the themes of the specializations that can choose them.

For example, for Priests, the Voidweaver tree is only available to those with Shadow and Discipline specializations, the Oracle tree is only available to Holy and DIscipline, and the Archon tree is only available to Holy and Shadow.

  • Each Hero tree starts with a keystone talent that gives you a powerful ability. It underlines the core purpose and gameplay systems intended for that tree.
  • Each talent tree ends with a capstone talent that’s very impactful and rounds out the new playstyle.
  • You can freely swap between Hero trees, but you can have only one active.
  • Hero trees are separate from talent trees, and essentially build upon the already-existing system. 
  • The system automatically unlocks when you hit level 71 in the new expansion.
  • You earn one talent point per level from level 71 to 80, which means you get every talent in the tree by level 80.
  • Respeccing should be easy, and will work similarly to the current talent tree system.
  • There will also be starter builds available to players, and you can also save your builds.
  • Abilities from Hero talents will have new visual effects.
  • You can still use the same gear.

List of all Hero talent trees in WoW The War Within

ClassHero talents
Demon HunterAldrachi Reaver (Havoc and Vengeance)
Fel-Scarred (Havoc and Vengeance)
DruidDruid of the Claw (Guardian and Feral)
Windstalker (Restoration and Feral)
Keeper of the Grove (Balance and Restoration)
Elune’s Chosen (Guardian and Balance)
Death KnightDeathbringer (Blood and Frost)
Rider of the Apocalypse (Frost and Unholy)
San’layn (Unholy and Blood)
EvokerScalecommander (Augmentation and Devastation)
Choronowarden (Preservation and Augmentation)
Ruby Adept (Devastation and Preservation)
HunterDark Ranger (Beast Mastery and Marksmanship)
Pack Leader (Beast Mastery and Survival)
Sentinel (Marksmanship and Survival)
MageFrostfire (Fire and Frost)
Spellslinger (Arcane and Frost)
Sunfury (Arcane and Fire)
MonkConduit of the Celestials (Mistweaver and Windwalker)
Master of Harmony (Brewmaster and Mistweaver)
Shado-Pan (Brewmaster and Windwalker)
ShamanFarseer (Elemental and Restoration)
Stormbringer (Elemental and Enhancement)
Totemic (Enhancement and Restoration)
PaladinHerald of the Sun (Retribution and Holy)
Lightsmith (Holy and Protection)
Templar (Retribution and Protection)
RogueFatebound Rogue (Assassination and Outlaw)
Death Stalker (Assassination and Subtlety)
Trickster (Outlaw and Subtlety)
PriestArchon (Holy and Shadow)
Oracle (Discipline and Holy)
Voidweaver (Discipline and Shadow)
WarlockSoul Harvester (Affliction and Demonology)
Hellcaller (Destruction and Affliction)
Diabolist (Demonology and Destruction)
WarriorMountain Thane (Fury and Protection)
Slayer (Fury and Arms)
Colossus (Protection and Arms)

When are Hero Talents coming to WoW?

Hero talents are the core gameplay feature that will launch with The War Within, set to release on 26 Aug 2024. You can also play a few days early, from Aug 22, if you purchase early access to WoW: TWW. We’ll update this article if there are any major system changes to Hero Talents upon release.

Author
Image of Hayley Andrews
Hayley Andrews
Hayley Andrews is a staff writer for Dot Esports with a dual degree in business and human resource management. After discovering her passion for creative writing and gaming, she now writes about MOBAs, MMOs, and cozy games.
Author
Image of Izabela Tomakic
Izabela Tomakic
Staff Writer & World of Warcraft lead. Izabela has a long history with writing and games like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Fortnite, and The Sims. Before finding her home at Dot Esports in 2021, Izabela was an English teacher and a freelancer at Hotspawn, GGRecon, and Gameranx. In her free time, you’ll find her writing novels, wandering Azeroth, or inting on Summoner’s Rift.