Blizzard offers the first previews for World of Warcraft's new 'Hero Talents' in The War Within

Promotional screenshot for World of Warcraft: The War Within.

What you need to know

• Blizzard has recently uploaded a preview of the new Hero Talents system that will be implemented in World of Warcraft's upcoming expansion, World of Warcraft: The War Within.
• Hero Talents are talent trees that will be added on top of each Class' Specialization Talent tree to give them new abilities and playstyles. 
• Four Hero Talent trees have been revealed in this preview: Mountain Thane (Warrior), San'Layn (Death Knight), Chronowarden (Evoker), and Lightsmith (Paladin).
• World of Warcraft: The War Within is scheduled to release sometime in 2024 on PC.

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Blizzard Entertainment has recently shown off a preview (which can be found on the official World of Warcraft website) of the new Hero Talents system that will be added to World of Warcraft's tenth upcoming expansion, World of Warcraft: The War Within. Hero Talents are self-contained talent trees that will be added to every class's specialization talent tree and grant them new abilities and passive traits to strengthen them in combat.

Each Class will receive three different Hero Talent trees, each of which can accessed by two of a Class' Specialization. The only exceptions are Druids, which gets access to four Hero Talent trees, and Demon Hunters, which gets only two.

Electrify your enemies as a Mountain Thane Warrior (Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Drain the blood of your enemies to heal your allies with the San'Layn Hero Talents for Death Knight (Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Manipulate time to achieve victory with Chronowarden Evokers (Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Craft weapons and armor made of Light to shield allies and smite foes as a Lightsmith Paladin (Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Hero Talent trees are unlocked when a player reaches Lv.71 in The War Within. When a player chooses which Hero Talent tree to go for their Class' Specialization, they will activate a tree's starting talent node to obtain a new ability and gain one talent point to activate another.

A player gains a new talent point to spend on Hero Talents per level from Lv.71 to Lv.80, allowing them to activate every talent node by the time they reach Lv.80. However, some nodes have two separate abilities that players will need to decide which one to take depending on their preferred playstyle and Class Specialization.

Hero Talent trees can be swapped anytime, much like Class Specialization talent trees. In addition, you can save your Hero Talent builds alongside all your other talents in the Class Specialization menu.

Do you have the talent to be a hero in The War Within?

Death Knights that can suck the blood of enemies to heal allies? Paladins forging weapons mid-combat? Evokers that use time magic to reverse foes' damage to save the party? These new Hero Talents sound insane and fun to use on paper, and we can imagine how powerful they will be when put into practice when World of Warcraft: The War Within launches in 2024 for PC.

Stay tuned for more info on this upcoming PC title, as Blizzard promises to share more gameplay details on The War Within and showcase more Hero Talent trees in the coming months.