WoW Classic Season of Discovery Survival Guide (What's new in WoW Classic's Season of Discovery?)

The WoW Classic Season of Discovery will be the second seasonal patch for WoW Classic, introducing an entirely new content timeline combined with a fresh start for everyone playing. Below is a short list of the major changes made for the Season of Discovery.

• Brand new Instanced and World content including the redesigned Blackfathom Deeps 10-player raid and the Battle for Ashenvale World PvP event.
• Rune Engravings: Unique item enchantment that can be affixed to your Gloves, Chest, Pants Belts, Cloak, Rings, Helmets, Bracers, and Boots that will completely redefine the way you play many of your favorite Classes and Specializations.
• There is no longer a debuff limit on enemies.
• Meeting Stones at dungeons are now Summoning Stones, just as they are on all later versions of WoW.

• New 20 player version of Blackwing Lair with three optional difficulty affixes associated with the dragon flights.
• Updated rewards on the Tarnished Undermine Real vendor.
• Zul'Gurub now scales for 10 to 20 players and features reworked loot.
• Completely reworked Tier 2 sets
• New boss added to the Demon Fall Canyon dungeon.
• Several Rune discoveries have been simplified, many runes are now purchasable from Pix Xizzix in Booty Bay.
• New class quests added with epic rewards like Dream Eater
• All PvP ranks are now able to be achieved.
• Brand new 20-player raid instance featuring Prince Thunderaan, The Crystal Vale.

• New daily quest hubs focused around the Blackrock Eruption occurring in Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge.
• New currency from 5-man dungeon bosses, Tarnished Undermine Real which can be used to purchase crafting materials and items.
• New Alliance exclusive version of Warchief's Blessing in the form of Might of Stormwind.
• Three new difficulty levels for Molten Core a new, additional 11th boss.
• Two new Rune Engraving Slots; Cloak and Rings.
• New profession recipes to discover for many of Classics end game reputations like the Argent Dawn, Thorium Brotherhood, Hydraxian Waterlords, and Timbermaw Hold.
• New 20 player version of the classic raid, Molten Core.
• New rewards for the Blood Moon event in Stranglethorn Vale for level 60 characters.
• Reworked world bosses Azuregos and Doom Lord Kazzak to be instanced content, scaling from 20 to 40 players and on a twice-weekly reset timer.
• 150% increased experience gained from level 1-50.
• 50% increased experience gained from level 50-60.
• Nightmare Incursions reworked to be daily quest hubs.
• Up to rank 10 PvP rewards now available.
• Epic Mounts.
• Utility Runes that grant class agnostic benefits like bonuses to Weapon Skills, Hit Rating or even the ability to swap Class specific Racial abilities.
• Reworked Dungeon rewards for Blackrock Depths, Blackrock Spire, Scholomance, Dire Maul, Stratholme, and the new Season of Discovery exclusive dungeon Demon Fall Canyon.
• Three new Rogue poisons.

Phase 5 begins September 26th, 2024.

There are massive class changes in Season of Discovery largely thanks to the Rune Engraving system which is the major feature of this season.

Rune Engravings are augments you are able to place on your Gloves, Chest, Pants, Belts, Bracers, Helmets, Cloaks, Rings and Boots that will allow you access to new abilities, make current abilities stronger or just complete rework the way an ability functions. Rune Engravings are specific to item slots, certain engravings can only go on your Gloves, others on your Pants or Chest, while this does somewhat limit customization it allows for a much easier to balance experience. Some of the most notable added Rune Engravings are Metamorphosis for Warlocks allowing them the ability to tank with their new found Demon form. Regeneration for Mages allowing them to apply a buff to their allies transferring damage dealt from the Mage to be converted into healing for anyone currently with the buff. And last but certainly not least Just a Flesh Wound for Rogues which will enable them also to be able to tank due to the added critical damage avoidance and massive increase in threat generation. These examples merely scratch the surface of what is going to be a completely new way to play Classic World of Warcraft so make sure to checkout our guides below on how to best utilize runes for every class and specialization.

As mentioned above, the meta is expected to shift significantly in raids for the Season of Discovery. If you want to read more about the new raid meta and how classes are performing, check out our tier lists linked below.