What is different
Steamwheedle Mercs keeps the 1.12 game and changes what makes it tedious or lopsided: every class got new talents and spells, gear and professions were extended, and a long list of quality of life changes takes out the grind. This page lists what changed. The in-game talent tooltips and the Talent Calculator always show the exact current numbers.
Mercenaries
The Steamwheedle Consultant Agency goblins hire out persistent party members. Give them a role, spec, gear and orders, and bring them to dungeons and raids. They know the major fights of Blackrock Depths up to Naxxramas, and their bond level grows with use. They stay out of PvP and battlegrounds.
Battlebots
Battlegrounds are filled up with bots to the team size, and the bots leave room for real players. Each bot has a gear tier and a skill tier, shown under its name, and they play the objectives. Alterac Valley bots follow lanes, group up before the commanders and retake lost towers.
Transmogrification
Gear you loot or earn from quests goes into an account wardrobe shared by all your characters. Visit a Transmogrifier in a capital city, Theramore, Booty Bay or Gadgetzan to change how your equipment looks while it keeps its stats.
Auction house bot
All three auction houses are stocked with materials, consumables, bags, recipes and gear at vanilla style prices. The bot also buys player listings that are priced fairly.
Personal loot
Dungeon and raid bosses roll their loot for each group member, filtered for your armor type, so there are no more rolls for gear you cannot use.
Gear and class sets
Tier 1, 2 and 3 class sets for every class, off-spec epics from Blackwing Lair and the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, upgrade items and new gear in the first dungeons.
Professions and fishing
Leveling armor sets from the crafting trainers, new enchants for rings and necklaces, 24 cooking recipes and cheaper materials. Fishing has trophy fish, daily quests, treasure crates and angler gear.
Guild bank and materials bank
A guild bank with six tabs and rights per rank, and a materials bank without slot limits for trade goods. Bankers stand in the banks of the six capital cities.
Class passives
Every talent tree has three extra passives, learned at 5, 10 and 15 points spent in the tree and removed when the points move away. The 20 point Nature resistance talents let Nature spells reach creatures that are immune to Nature.