Sign inSeason of Discovery
Season of Discovery is a seasonal version of World of Warcraft Classic that launched on November 30, 2023. It took the original game and changed it: players hunt for hidden runes that give their class new abilities, such as warlock tanks and mage healers, and the level cap rose in steps from 25 to 60 over eight phases with reworked raids at each step. It was the first time Blizzard added large amounts of new content to the Classic game, and it served as a testing ground for ideas that later fed into World of Warcraft: Forever.
Announcement and design
Holly Longdale, executive producer of World of Warcraft, announced Season of Discovery at BlizzCon in November 2023. It followed Season of Mastery as Classic's second seasonal realm type. Blizzard's pitch was that players would explore Azeroth to find secret abilities that change how their class plays, making roles such as tanking warlocks and healing mages possible.
The central system is runes. Each class has a set of hidden runes scattered around the world, and each rune grants a new ability or effect. To preserve the sense of discovery, Blizzard did not run a public test realm before launch, so players had to find the runes themselves.
Instead of opening the whole game at once, the season capped levels at 25 and raised the cap in steps, with a new raid at each cap. The first raid was a reworked 10-player version of the dungeon Blackfathom Deeps, and players at the cap also had a new world PvP event, the Battle for Ashenvale.
Phases
| Phase | Date | Level cap | Main raids and content |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 30, 2023 | 25 | Blackfathom Deeps (10 players), runes, Battle for Ashenvale |
| 2 | February 8, 2024 | 40 | Gnomeregan (10 players), Blood Moon event |
| 3 | April 4, 2024 | 50 | The Temple of Atal'Hakkar (20 players), Nightmare Incursions |
| 4 | July 11, 2024 | 60 | Molten Core, Onyxia's Lair, Demon Fall Canyon |
| 5 | September 26, 2024 | 60 | Zul'Gurub, Blackwing Lair, Crystal Vale |
| 6 | November 21, 2024 | 60 | Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, Nightmare Grove |
| 7 | January 28, 2025 | 60 | Naxxramas, Karazhan Crypts |
| 8 | April 8, 2025 | 60 | Scarlet Enclave raid and New Avalon |
The original game's raids were reworked for the season, often with flexible group sizes, such as 10 to 20 players for Zul'Gurub and 20 to 40 for Blackwing Lair. Phases came roughly every three months.
Phase 8 added the Scarlet Enclave, a raid and outdoor zone about the Scarlet Crusade and its takeover by a new Grand Crusader, along with a long questline for the Ashbringer.
The end of development
Season of Discovery was first planned to end with Naxxramas in Phase 7. In March 2025 Blizzard announced an additional Phase 8, and said it would not close the realms. Active development ended with Phase 8, and the realms remain open and playable.
Influence on Forever
When Blizzard announced World of Warcraft: Forever in September 2026, it named Season of Discovery among the projects that shaped it. Several Season of Discovery features carried over into Forever, including the Cozy Sleeping Bag, a portable rested area; the Chronoboon Displacer; library books collected for rewards; and comprehension scrolls, which in Forever became a mage ability.
Sources
- World of Warcraft Classic: Season of Discovery Announced at BlizzCon, Blizzard Entertainment, November 3, 2023
- Season of Discovery, Warcraft Wiki (phases, dates and raid sizes)
- In Development: Season of Discovery Phase 4, Blizzard Entertainment, June 2024
- Season of Discovery Phase 8 Goes Live Beginning April 8, Blizzard Entertainment
- World of Warcraft Classic Season of Discovery Isn't Ending in Phase 7, Game Rant, March 4, 2025
- Season of Discovery Will Have 7 Phases; SoD Realms Will Not Be Shut Down, Warcraft Tavern
- World of Warcraft Classic, Wikipedia
- World of Warcraft: Forever, Wikipedia
- World of Warcraft: Forever, Warcraft Wiki (features carried over from Season of Discovery)
Categories: Game History
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