New WoW patch neuters Brann Tank with "fun detected fun removed" approach

March 11’s WoW update is bringing with it some changes to Tank Brann, and it’s being met with a significant amount of hostility by the community. Tank Brann is getting nerfed in a significant way, which, according to many members of the community, means instead of all three forms of the Delve companion — Tank, Healer, and DPS — there will only be one option, and that’s being generous - the Healer form. These changes don’t address any of the issues with Delves, and only serve to make them more frustrating.

There were already issues with the DPS version of Brann, and now that the Tank version is being nerfed severely in WoW, there isn’t much hope for some members of the community. Instead, it’s right back to Healer Brann. Even that doesn’t feel good to some, and the Delve players don’t feel served positively by these changes. Some have even gone as far as to say it’s a “fun police” change.

Comment byu/AedionMorris from discussion inwow

Expand Post

Fans are frustrated with Tank Brann nerfs in WoW, arguing it makes things worse, not better

The upcoming changes for Tank Brann in WoW hit later this morning, March 11, 2025, and one thing is pretty clear - fans are not excited about it. He’s going to take way more damage, his heal-over-time is going to have a cooldown on it, and he has less health than before. That’s only part of the list. Here’s what’s getting nerfed:

Comment byu/AedionMorris from discussion inwow

Expand Post

Tank Brann Boomstick Blitz damage reduced by 35%.
Tank Brann Boomstick Blitz deals reduced damage beyond 8 targets.
Tank Brann Electro-Charged Pistol damage reduced by 35%
Tank Brann Pistol Shot reduced by 15%.
Tank Brann receives 60% increased damage.
Tank Brann maximum health has been reduced by 20%.
Bronzebeard’s Brown Bear melee auto attack damage has been reduced by 80%
Bronzebeard’s Brown Bear second stomp damage reduced by 25%
Bronzebeard’s Brown Bear third stomp damage reduced by 35%.
Bronzebeard’s Brown Bear stomp damage deals reduced damage beyond 8 targets.
Pinged Augment Chip now grants 4%/6%/8%/10% maximum health with respects to its rank.
Pinged Augment Chip now causes Brann to lose all threat if the bot hits him.
Pinged Augment Chip fixate debuff will now have a large icon display.

As you might imagine, this has upset the community a great deal. Between Reddit and the Blizzard forums, players feel like it’s a “Fun Detected” type of nerf instead of one that makes sense for the overall health and well-being of the game. The notion of nerfing the stronger of the two forms instead of buffing the “weaker” one didn’t make sense to many WoW players, as they read over the incoming Tank Brann nerfs.

So now, Healers, who relied on Tank Brann to take hits for them in Season 2 Delves, don’t even feel like they have that to utilize. The “Healer Brann” doesn’t work for them either, since they are healers in the first place.

All this does, according to many players, is make the game far more frustrating instead of keeping the mini-dungeons fun. It doesn’t sound like the tank form is going to be useful, and DPS already felt useless, so most players are going to have to shift to the Healer Brann.

Comment byu/AedionMorris from discussion inwow

Expand Post

A 60% increase in incoming damage, paired with a 20% decrease in overall Health doesn’t feel like a really good idea. Now personally, as a Ret Paladin main, I focus on using Heal Brann, because I’m capable of soloing most content in the game relatively easily. However, not everyone plays a Ret Paladin, a Death Knight, or something else tanky and powerful. There’s a huge amount of the population that this decision is going to hurt.

Blizzard did say they would keep an eye on these changes and see how they go down, but I already see that a sizable amount of the community is pretty frustrated by them before they even get implemented. When you combine these changes with Brann’s already weak AI in WoW, this is a recipe for disaster.

Brann often stands right in the way of line attacks, stands directly in AOE, and anything else that could harm him. When you add in the increased damage he’ll now take, he’s just going to keep dying over and over again, no matter what form he’s in.

Instead of nerfs, Blizzard could add more NPCs to assist, such as Johnny Awesome, a fan-favorite NPC who appears in some of the Delve-related quests. They could make Brann’s AI more likely to avoid things, or give players the ability to ping him to move.

Additionally, Brann’s survivability shouldn’t be nerfed to the ground. We will have to see what Blizzard’s response is, but it’s clear that WoW’s Tank Brann nerfs aren’t very popular, and the grind for Season 2 Delve rewards is going to feel even longer.

Check out our other WoW guides and features

Edited by Adarsh J Kumar