20.12.2023
451
What makes WoW Season of Discovery special? 4 main features
The Season of Discovery is yet another version of the Vanilla WoW and it seems to be the most mysterious so far. Before its release we didn't know much about it and entering this brand new kind of good old Azeroth became a real exploration with lots of discoveries made along the way.
In this blog post we'll tell you about 4 main features that make this flavour of WoW so special and why they are so cool. But first, let's talk a bit more about the game itself.
What is WoW Season of Discovery?
At this point we have so many versions of WoW that it's quite easy to get overwhelmed. Let's try defining the Season of Discovery to make it more obvious for newcomers and veteran players alike to see the difference.
First of all, SOD (short for Season of Discovery) is a Vanilla version of WoW. So its world exists in the pre Burning Crusade state with just Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms and all the original races and classes (no blood elves & draenei, no death knights, etc). So in this regard it's similar to the Classic Era servers and Hardcore ones.
What makes it different from them both is lots of new features that haven't ever been a part of the Vanilla WoW. We'll tell you about the most important of them below but so far it's enough to know that you'll have a brand new experience with SOD. It won't be just a repetition of what you've already had in the Classic Vanilla. And while your stakes won't be as high as in the Hardcore (your character doesn't die forever), you'll still find it very enjoyable.
Now let's see what makes SOD special. We'd say that the 4 essential distinctions are:
- Runes
- Temporary level cap
- New approach to raids
- New activities & items
Now let's take a look at them one by one.
Runes change classes drastically
If you've ever wondered whether a Warlock can become a tank, now you can actually try this idea out. With the help of runes your voidwalker pet becomes a living shield that is as effective as a regular tank player. That means that Warlocks now can tank at least in dungeons (and maybe even raids?).
If you've ever wondered if Mages could get a fourth spec that will let them try out the role of a healer, your wish is granted. Now Mages can heal allies in a manner quite similar to other healer specs.
Runes are special items that are applied to your gear that enhance your abilities in some way. With the help of them you can turn your class into something you've never thought it could be. Although the choice of new options is limited – you can't make your Rogue a healer, for example, or teach your Paladin to tame beasts – there are still enough of them to have some fun with absolutely crazy combinations. No other version of the game has ever had anything like this. And it makes you rediscover your favourite class in a most unexpected way which makes the gameplay in SOD so addictive.
Take a look at the current state of classes after the introduction of runes in this guide by Sarthe:
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Level cap is temporary
This change is definitely among the biggest ones since it makes the whole progression in the game different. First all characters are capped at level 25. Then they get an opportunity to level up further to 40. After that there's another temporary level cap of 50. And finally, you'll get the chance to raise 10 more levels and reach that good old 60 lvl.
Why does it matter? Because more zones and items, and parts of the game in general become involved. They become more used, more popular, and all those corners of the world that have been seen as WoW's analog of fly-over states since times immemorial now become relevant and meaningful. This helps you see not only your character in a new way but also the world that it travels around.
Low-level raids?
This is truly a mind-boggling thing to us. Low-level raids. Does it sound odd? Of course it does, cause we've never seen anything like that before. The only somewhat similar thing was one of the Blackrock dungeons that allowed teams of more than 5 people (but not more than 10). It was a Classic thing and since then no similar experiments have been carried out. But now the time to try something new has come.
Raids have been seen as an ultimate PvE challenge for way too long. It's easy to say why that is: making sure that a raid is balanced for low-level characters is a nightmare. And who will care to even play it? Too much effort for items that you'll change to better ones after completing quests in another zone. But what about fun?
In the Season of Discovery Blizzard have decided to give it a spin. They turned the Blackfathom Deeps dungeon into a raid. It still has 7 bosses and its interior is mostly intact but the monsters are more powerful and you can bring along up to 9 teammates. It's sure great to see a good old dungeon (that everyone – and we mean it – hate) turned into something different.
Since the temporary level cap is 25 in the first phase, going to the raid for items will make sense as there are no ways to get better gear yet. It looks like this design can actually work quite well!
Take a look at what the raid looks like and what its bosses are capable of in this video by Joardee:
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Brand new things
As if all those things were not enough, Blizzard decided to add even more new content. The most interesting one, in or view, is a huge open-world PvP scenario called "Battle for Ashenvale". As you can guess, it takes place in Ashenvale and it plays much like Alterac Valley. But yes, it's open-world, so everyone can join the fun. And if you don't want to participate, it's easy not to – just don't turn on the PvP mode.
Since the Blackfathom Deeps raid is also located in Ashenvale, it's easy to predict that this zone will become the main hub for 25-level characters in the first phase. That's where most fun will take place. And there are more fun items to make that zone special: low level mounts, for example. If you improve reputation with your side's Warsong Gulch faction, you'll be able to purchase a mount that you can use at 25 level. In other versions of Vanilla you can use your first mount not sooner than you reach level 40 – but here the rules change somewhat. Those special mounts increase you speed by 50% (which is below most other slow mounts with a 60% increase) and can only be used in Ashenvale.
Of course this activity couldn't be perfect at the release so several hotfixes have already been applied to it. See the current state of the Battle for Ashenvale in this video by Sarthe:
***
If you just like the gameplay of the Vanilla WoW and want to have more of that but with some fresh content, SOD should become a perfect choice for you. It's as good as Classic Era but it also delivers new experience. And if you need any help with powering up your character in this Season of Discovery, don't hesitate to turn to us for all kinds of assistance! We can do power leveling, gold deliveries, rune unlocking, and much more! Browse our catalog or get in touch with us to learn more or make orders.
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