World of Warcraft's Season of Discovery launched on November 30 as the next seasonal instance after Season of Mastery. Being presented as Classic+ at BlizzCon, and received as such by the community, it features new activities, abilities, and enemies to conquer. In this article, we’ll explore what SoD’s Phase 1 brought to the table and speculate on the next Phase launch date.
The
reception of Season of Discovery has been positive. Even more than that, in a
poll conducted on their official YouTube channel, 41% of over 60,000
respondents voiced that Season of Discovery was their main WoW game.
If you
played on fan-created (non-official) WoW servers, you might be familiar with
directions like Ascension Classless WoW, that features multiple game modes, new
enemies and dungeons, and allows to create new custom classes resulting in a
renewed experience in WoW Classic. Season of Discovery takes the best of these
custom features, without warping the feel of Classic too much, but still adding
new features, some never seen before.
All classes
in SoD receive new talents and skills, some of which we know from other WoW
expansions.
In SoD,
classes become more flexible. So a Shaman or Warlock can take on the role of a
tank. Mages can become healers. Paladins receive a taunt skill so that they can
now also fully tank.
There will
be runes that can be put into the chest, gloves, and legs in the first phase.
Runes grant new skills and can be exchanged at any time. The rune system will
allow for more hybrid specs.
Only a
small percentage of players have collected all 12 Runes for their class,
highlighting the challenge and depth of the game mode.
Warlocks,
Shamans, Rogues, and Mages were the most popular classes in Season of Discovery
of Phase 1, mainly due to new roles and reimagined gameplay.
The changes
aim to shake up the meta — and they were successful at that.
When Does
Phase 2 of SoD Start?
First Phase
began on November 30. According to the WoW Classic 2024 Classic Roadmap, Phase
2 will be released in “Winter”. The Roadmap says Phase 2 will start after the
Ruby Sanctum Raid for WoW Classic WotLK, which will be released on January 11,
2024.
However,
the WoW SoD Phase 2 release date has not yet been announced by Blizzard. It is
officially confirmed that a phase should run for at least a month but no longer
than 3-4 months. The next SoD phase will therefore start at the beginning of
January at the earliest and in April 2024 at the latest.
We expect Phase 2 to begin in mid-January at the earliest. However, the second season of Diablo 4 ends on January 23, 2024. The third season is expected to begin on the same day or a few days later. If Blizzard doesn’t want to let the start of SoD Phase 2 collide with Diablo 4, that could even push the start of Phase 2 until February.
What’s New in SoD Phase 2?
Blizzard
has revealed little about SoD Phase 2 so far. The following details are already
known:
- The level cap will be increased to level 40.
- Gnomeregan
will be a raid instance in SoD Phase 2. Automatic Crowd Pummeler will be an item
in Gnomeregan.
- New runes
will be added.
- The
professions level cap will be increased, likely to level 225 (Expert).
- The
Stranglethorn Fishing Tournament will begin with SoD Phase 2.
Will
Stranglethorn Vale be the new PvP event in Phase 2?
Because Stranglethorn
Vale (STV for short) was the main PvP hub for 30+ in the original Classic, it’s
suspected is rumored to become a PvP region in Phase 2, similar to Ashenvale in
Phase 1. However, this has not yet been officially confirmed by Blizzard. This
assumption is based on a hint in the “What’s Next” video released on November
30, 2023.
We could
also get Arathi Highlands which was another PvP zone for 30+ levels — though,
less known for that in the original Classic. Still, since Warsong Gulch was the
first Battleground, and we had Ashenvale as the PvP hub in Phase 1, following that
logic we could get Arathi Highlands since Arathi Basin was the next BG for
levels 30 and higher.
How Many
Stages Are There in Season of Discovery?
In the
Season of Discovery, a minimum of 4 phases is confirmed:
Phase 1: With a maximum level of 25.
Phase 2:
- Starting in
Winter 2024, likely January or February
- Maximum
level of 40
- New runes
- New PvP
event
- Gnomeregan
Raid
Phase 3:
- Starting in
Spring 2024
- Maximum
level of 50
- New runes
- New raid
Phase 4:
- Starting in
Summer 2024
- Maximum
level of 60
- New runes
- End-game
activities
Level 60
will be the maximum level again. It has not been officially confirmed whether
there will be multiple phases of content updates for level 60. However, we
think it is very likely that we will see staggered raids at level 60 in SoD.
What
Happens to SoD Characters After the Season Ends?
What
happens to seasonal characters after the Season of Discovery ends is not yet
known. What is being discussed is whether these characters will migrate to a
permanent era realm that will be opened specifically for SoD characters. The
SoD rules will continue to apply here.
It is
difficult for SoD characters to migrate to the existing era servers after the
season has ended. Since skills, talents, and items differ, existing Classic
servers will not be compatible. If Blizzard decided to take this step, they
would need to remove all season-specific items from transferred characters.
However, it
is officially confirmed that all seasonal characters will find a permanent
place after the season is over.