Patch 7.2: New Artifact Traits

MMO Champion has published an extensive list of new Artifact Traits to be released in Patch 7.2. There appear to be four brand-new abilities for Restoration, including:

• Deep Rooted (Rank 1): Your Heal over Time effects automatically refresh when their target goes below 35% maximum health.
  This seems pretty similar to Cultivation. I suppose this would be useful in cases where you need to ignore your tank in favor of raid healing?
• Joy of Spring (Rank 1): Efflorescence’s healing increases by 0% every 2 sec.
  Presumably, this won’t be 0% in actuality.
• Eternal Restoration (Rank 1): Increases the duration of Essence of G’hanir by 1 sec (up to 8 additional seconds at Rank 8).
  Depending upon the eventual strength of Joy of Spring, this is probably going to be my favorite of the three new abilities.
• Infinite (Rank 1): Placeholder ability.

The full list of additional ranks — and speculation about what these changes may mean in terms of artifact progression — after the break.

Restoration View All Specs | Skip to Additional Thoughts

• Armor of the Ancients (Rank 7): Ironbark reduces all damage taken by the target by an additional 14%.
• Armor of the Ancients (Rank 8): Ironbark reduces all damage taken by the target by an additional 16%.
• Blessing of the World Tree (Rank 7): Increases healing done by Healing Touch and initial healing done by Regrowth by 23%.
• Blessing of the World Tree (Rank 8): Increases healing done by Healing Touch and initial healing done by Regrowth by 26%.
• Deep Rooted (Rank 1) New!: Your Heal over Time effects automatically refresh when their target goes below 35% maximum health.
• Essence of Nordrassil (Rank 7): Increases healing done by Efflorescence by 35%.
• Essence of Nordrassil (Rank 8): Increases healing done by Efflorescence by 40%.
• Eternal Restoration (Rank 1) New!: Increases the duration of Essence of G’hanir by 1 sec.
• Eternal Restoration (Rank 2): Increases the duration of Essence of G’hanir by 2 sec.
• Eternal Restoration (Rank 3): Increases the duration of Essence of G’hanir by 3 sec.
• Eternal Restoration (Rank 4): Increases the duration of Essence of G’hanir by 4 sec.
• Eternal Restoration (Rank 5): Increases the duration of Essence of G’hanir by 5 sec.
• Eternal Restoration (Rank 6): Increases the duration of Essence of G’hanir by 6 sec.
• Eternal Restoration (Rank 7): Increases the duration of Essence of G’hanir by 7 sec.
• Eternal Restoration (Rank 8): Increases the duration of Essence of G’hanir by 8 sec.
• Grovewalker (Rank 7): Increases all healing over time you do by 7%.
• Grovewalker (Rank 8): Increases all healing over time you do by 8%.
• Infinite (Rank 1) New!: Placeholder ability.
• Infusion of Nature (Rank 7): Reduces the mana cost of Wild Growth by 14%.
• Infusion of Nature (Rank 8): Reduces the mana cost of Wild Growth by 16%.
• Joy of Spring (Rank 1) New!: Efflorescence’s healing increases by 0% every 2 sec.
• Knowledge of the Ancients (Rank 7): Increases mana regeneration by 14%.
• Knowledge of the Ancients (Rank 8): Increases mana regeneration by 16%.
• Natural Mending (Rank 7): Increases healing done by Swiftmend by 70%.
• Natural Mending (Rank 8): Increases healing done by Swiftmend by 80%.
• Persistence (Rank 7): Increases the duration of Moonfire, Rejuvenation, and Sunfire by 7 sec.
• Persistence (Rank 8): Increases the duration of Moonfire, Rejuvenation, and Sunfire by 8 sec.
• Seeds of the World Tree (Rank 7): Living Seed heals for an additional 56% of the initial heal which planted it.
• Seeds of the World Tree (Rank 8): Living Seed heals for an additional 64% of the initial heal which planted it.

Additional Thoughts

It isn’t clear whether the abilities being granted additional ranks will be acquired by spending Artifact Power or being unlocked via new relics (which could, in theory, grant more than one rank to an ability). According to comments on MMO Champion, Blizzard previously stated in a Developer Q&A that, “they will refund all AP past 34 traits.” Doing so would allow players to prioritize higher ranks of existing abilities when respeccing their Artifact, but — as the new abilities would be purchased with the currency now available in game — would have the side effect of encouraging players to grind AP in anticipation of the patch, an activity which Blizzard has repeatedly stated they hope to discourage.

I’m most curious how these changes will affect the acquisition of our hidden artifact ability, G’Hanir’s Bloom, which currently requires players to first unlock every other artifact ability before it can be acquired. I can’t imagine they would “take away” this hard-earned +5% to healing until all twenty-nine new skills have been acquired, but it does feel a little inelegant to have a second, “gated” tier of abilities. One solution would be to make G’Hanir’s Bloom unlockable as soon as you have unlocked all other gold-framed abilities instead of requiring all other points to be purchased. There are currently three of these abilities — Power of the Archdruid, Dreamwalker, and Tranquil Mind — but I’m guessing that Joy of Spring and Deep Rooted might also fall into this category. However, if this causes me to lose access to G’Hanir’s Bloom, I’m going to be a very thorny Druid indeed.