WoW Forever enemies can still parry you from behind, so give them a little more room
Blizzard knows about it. The October 8 build did not fix it.
If you have been playing a melee on the WoW Forever beta and were wondering why you are getting parried while standing right behind a mob, it is not your positioning. Blizzard has confirmed that enemies can parry and block attacks from behind if you are standing close to them.
Until it gets fixed, taking one small step back is enough to avoid it.
Behind the Target Should Mean No Parries
In original WoW, creatures can only parry and block attacks that come from the front. It has worked that way since Patch 1.3 back in 2005. That is why melee DPS stand behind a boss while the tank faces it away from the group. Dodges can still happen from any angle, but parries and blocks should not.
So when a mob parries your Sinister Strike while you are basically glued to its back, something is clearly wrong. Blizzard confirmed exactly that in the October 1 beta development notes, where the issue appears in the list of new known bugs.
The Fix Is a Little More Space
Blizzard says you can avoid the problem by… well, not standing too close to your target. There is no exact distance in the notes, so do not go looking for a magic number. Stay behind the mob, but at the edge of your melee range rather than right inside its hitbox.
Rogues, Warriors, Feral Druids, Retribution Paladins, and every other melee spec will feel this the most, since their damage depends on hitting from behind. Tanks attacking from the front are not affected by this bug. In Classic, a parry also speeds up the enemy’s next swing, so if WoW Forever keeps that rule, stray parries can mean extra damage on your tank.
Still on the List After the October 8 Build
The October 8 build included a long list of fixes and the new City of Dalaran dungeon, but this bug is not one of the fixes. It is also still open on Blizzard's running Known Issues post, and Blizzard has not given a date for the fix.
Known Issues - New to this build
Chaining Spells together does not play the precast spell effects and sounds of the next cast until the first cast finishes.
For example: When you cast Fireball and cast another Fireball right away, you finish your Fireball cast, your hands won’t glow or make the crackling sound of the new Fireball you’re casting, and then once your hand comes down from the first Fireball cast, you then begin the precast animation of the next Fireball spell.
Enemies can Parry and Block from behind if the player is close to them. Until this is fixed, it can be avoided by not being too close to targets.
The size of the total installation of WoW: Forever is larger than intended. We’re working to reduce it in a future Beta update.
Switching to or from Gamepad UI mode resets the active edit mode layout to the default preset.
Scroll of Liminal Passage does not function correctly.
Dwarf player-characters do not have updated splash sounds in water. This is fixed in a later build.
Eureka does not affect every Damaging Spell or Healing Spell for some classes. This is fixed in a later build.
Multiple debuffs like Faerie Fire and Demoralizing Shout don’t cause threat.
Mages who learn Research can be prevented from accessing it.
Warriors’ Dual Wield Specialization is granting both your Main hand and Off-hand 2/4/6/8/10% hit chance. It should only be granted to your Off-hand.
Retribution Aura uses the target’s spell power instead of the Paladin’s.
The Taillasher Eggs for the quest “Break A Few Eggs” do not respawn as quickly as intended. This will be fixed in a later build.
Anduin Wrynn - and many other children – unintentionally have hats. We’re in the process of removing them, but they keep giggling and running away, so this is going to take a while.
The beta is available until October 21, and WoW Forever launches on November 4, so there is still time for this to be fixed. So for now, it is probably wise to simply treat it as a beta bug, not a new combat rule, and remember that everything on the beta is subject to change!
If you have been blaming your own positioning for those parries, you can stop. Just take one step back…
For more WoW Forever news, head over to our WoW Forever news hub.