- For the priest spells, see Dispel Magic or Mass Dispel.
- For the Doomguard ability, see Dispel Magic (doomguard ability).
Dispel refers to the general game mechanic of removing Buffs and Debuffs. All of these effects belong to a Dispel Type. Most dispel abilities remove effects from a specific dispel type, but in some cases they remove depending on a specific mechanic (for example, Luffa removes bleed effects).
For a list of dispel abilities for specific dispel types, see Curse, Disease, Magic, Poison, and Typeless.
Resists[]
Dispels can be resisted. In fact, there are two different types of resist-like effects:
- Resists (caused by spell hit and resistances)
- Fails (caused by what is commonly referred to as "dispel resistance")
Normal resists do only exist for offensive dispels and follow the same rule as any other spell. When a dispel is normally resisted, it does not remove any buffs.
Fails are treated differently. They are calculated per buff and can also occur when dispelling friendly targets. There is an innate chance that this happens (however, this might be a bug). In addition, dispel resistance can be used to increase the chance, such as from Silent Resolve. Due to fails being calculated separately for each buff, a dispel which would remove two buffs could eliminate one buff while retaining the other. On spell hit procs are not affected by fails. As such, a Dispel Magic (rank 2) can trigger a proc even though it fails at removing both buffs.
List of Player Abilities with the Dispel Mechanic[]
- Death Knight
- None.
- Druid
- Abolish Poison (Poison) Level 26
- Cure Poison (Poison) Level 14
- Remove Curse (Curse) Level 24
- Hunter
- Tranquilizing Shot (Magic & Enrage; only from enemy targets) Level 60
- Mage
- Remove Curse (Curse) Level 18
- Spellsteal (Magic; only from enemy targets) Level 70
- Paladin
- Priest
- Abolish Disease (Disease; Poison on self if improved through Body and Soul) Level 32
- Cure Disease (Disease) Level 14
- Dispel Magic (Magic; both from friendly and enemy targets) Level 18
- Mass Dispel (Magic; both from friendly and enemy targets; affects immunities) Level 70
- Rogue
- Shiv (Enrage; only from enemy targets) Level 70
- Shaman
- Cure Toxins (Poison and Disease) Level 16
- Cleanse Spirit (Poison, Disease, and Curse; talented) Level 40
- Cleansing Totem (Poison and Disease) Level 38
- Purge (Magic; only from enemy targets) Level 12
- Warlock
- Felhunter's Devour Magic (Magic; both from friendly and enemy targets) Level 30
- Doomguard's Dispel (Magic; both from friendly and enemy targets)
- Warrior
- Shield Slam (Magic; only from enemy targets) Level 40
- Shattering Throw (Immunities) Level 71
Note: Currently, all Poison, Disease, and Curse removing effects can only be cast on friendly targets. For Magic-removing effects, the possible targets are mentioned explicitly.
Cataclysm[]
In Cataclysm, dispels will be reorganized:
Dispels curses and offensive magic. (Can spec into dispelling defensive magic)
Dispels curses and poisons. (Can spec into dispelling defensive magic)
Dispels diseases and poisons. (Can spec into dispelling defensive magic)
Dispels diseases (outside of Shadowform), offensive magic, and defensive magic.
List of Player Talents that Counter the Dispel Mechanic[]
Note: The most common dispel-countering mechanic is dispel resistance; talents which provide it have a specific tag in this list. The remaining spells and talents have individual effects.
- Death Knight
- Virulence (Dispel resistance)
- Druid
- Improved Barkskin (Dispel resistance)
- Lifebloom
- Subtlety (Dispel resistance)
- Hunter
- Improved Stings (Dispel resistance)
- Noxious Stings
- Mage
- Arcane Subtlety (Dispel resistance)
- Paladin
- Guarded by the Light (Dispel resistance)
- Stoicism (Dispel resistance)
- Priest
- Shadow Affinity
- Silent Resolve (Dispel resistance)
- Vampiric Touch
- Rogue
- Vile Poisons (Dispel resistance)
- Shaman
- Healing Grace (Dispel resistance)
- Lava Flows
- Warlock
- Contagion (Dispel resistance)
- Haunt
- Unstable Affliction
- Warrior
- None.