WoW: Forever Beta’s Auto Shot and Wand Cast Time Cut Is a Bug, Fix Due Next Week
Blizzard confirms on its forums that Hunters and wand users are firing faster than intended in the WoW: Forever beta, with a hotfix targeted for the next build.
- Blizzard says on official forums the 0.5-second cast time before Auto Shot or wand use is not working correctly.
- The bug lets Hunters and wand users fire without the intended pause, making kiting easier.
- Blizzard says the fix is planned for an upcoming beta build, hopefully next week.
- Wowhead and Icy Veins independently confirmed the Blizzard forum post.
Blizzard has confirmed that Hunters and wand-wielders in the WoW: Forever beta are shooting faster than they should. In a post on the official beta forums, the studio said the shortened cast time preceding Auto Shot and wand casts is a bug, not a design choice, and that a fix is being held for an upcoming build.
Players reacted with a mix of amusement and mild dread, since the bug has been making ranged classes feel noticeably snappier than they’ll soon be allowed to feel:
The Missing Half-Second
Classic Hunters have always lived with a small tax on ranged damage: a brief wind-up before Auto Shot fires, and the same delay applies to wand use for casters. Blizzard explained on the forums that “We’ve been tracking an issue in the WoW Forever Beta where the 0.5-second cast time that precedes a Hunter’s auto-shot or the use of a wand is not functioning properly.”
The practical effect, per Blizzard, is straightforward. “Due to a bug, these auto-shots are currently incurring a much shorter cast time, which in practice means that Hunters and wand users don’t need to stop to shoot for as long as intended.” That shaves real time off every kite cycle, letting ranged attackers reposition and fire again faster than the class was designed to allow.
Why the Beta Went Quiet on It Until Now
The behavior wasn’t a secret inside the beta. Icy Veins had already flagged that “Blizzard have found a bug with auto-shoot which was allowing Hunters (and wanding) to be much better than intended, with a much shorter cast time”, framing it as a temporary high point for anyone testing a bow or a wand. The outlet’s read on the situation was blunt: Hunters were, in its words, having too good a time.
Wowhead’s own coverage tracked the same forum thread, noting that the studio had formally labeled the change a bug slated for correction rather than a stealth buff. Both outlets pointed back to the same Blizzard post as their source, which is the kind of paper trail that separates a confirmed bug from beta forum speculation.
Read also: WoW: Forever Beta: Tom Ellis Details Three Server Bugs Behind Sept. 17 Chaos
A Fix Timed for the Next Build
Blizzard did not commit to an exact patch date. The forum post said only that “This is something that we will fix in an upcoming Beta build, hopefully next week.” Given how WoW: Forever’s beta has cycled builds roughly weekly since launch, that timeline tracks with the cadence testers have already seen for other fixes.
For now, the shortened cast time is still live. Hunters leveling through early zones and wand-reliant casters, priests among them, are getting a temporary preview of a faster rotation that Blizzard intends to close off once the correct 0.5-second timing returns. Testers logging in this week are effectively working against a deadline nobody printed on a calendar.
Reported from
- Blizzard Entertainment (Official Forums)
- Icy Veins
- Wowhead
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