Forever reworks Classic's stats: hit and crit merge, new stats arrive

Blizzard’s Deep Dive panel described an itemization pass aimed at keeping Classic’s combat feel while broadening gearing choices. Spell, melee and ranged hit chance combine into a single stat, and the three crit chances do the same — Blizzard says this helps hybrid specs like Retribution Paladins and Enhancement Shaman, and also benefits Warriors, Hunters and Rogues improving tools such as Taunts, Poisons and Traps.

Weapon skill still works as before, but items grant less of it per piece so it’s no longer an automatic best-in-slot pick. Bonus healing gear now also grants a third as much bonus damage. New stats reduce the chance of being parried or dodged, and spellcaster-oriented weapons now roll spell damage and healing, giving casters their own version of a weapon upgrade path. Trinkets are moving toward more situational effects tied to specific environments or creature types.

Why it matters: it’s a rework of Classic’s gearing math, not just new loot, so old assumptions about what stats matter for a given spec may not carry over.

Tracked on everything we know.