World of Warcraft Classic is expanding. The developers have introduced “Classic+” – new abilities, new content, and new raids.
Although the big announcement for World of Warcraft Classic will be the (re) release of the Cataclysm expansion, another announcement was somewhat “under the radar.” With the “Season of Discovery,” WoW Classic has essentially announced what fans have been wishing for years: Classic+. There is new content in Classic and an interesting, creative way to play the game.
The Season of Discovery brings several new content to the game.
New abilities for all classes
One particularly exciting concept is the new glyphs that can be applied to equipment. These glyphs change your class and give it new abilities. These abilities are likely to inspire the boldest “what if…” fantasies of fans, as they allow for completely new play styles that were never possible before. A few examples:
- Mages can become healers and learn healing spells through glyphs.
- Rogues and shamans can become genuine tanks, while warlocks can transform into a demon and function as a tank as well.
- Paladins finally get a taunt. Shamans can also tank.
However, many of the glyph abilities have already existed at some point in World of Warcraft. The goal was to select only abilities that thematically and visually fit into the game and to make adjustments if the abilities were too complex.
Secrets and hideouts everywhere
A key aspect of gameplay in the Season of Discovery is supposed to be the “outdoor content,” that is, the game content in the open world. Small puzzles, new NPCs, or treasures should be hidden everywhere. For example, you can find the new glyphs.
Although this content is new, it is meant to feel like it has always been part of the old world. One should wonder: “Did this NPC stand here in 2004?”
What’s exciting is that there will be no beta phase. The aim is for the community not to know everything in advance and to have to exchange ideas to find the hidden glyphs and other innovations. Simply “googling a guide” will not be possible at least in the first few days.
You can see the entire presentation here – it starts at around 11:00 minutes:
Level cap and level raids
Another unique feature is that the level cap at the beginning of the season is 25 and will then increase further in subsequent phases. This goes hand in hand with a new endgame feature: level-up raids.
The first raid is the “Blackfathom Deeps.” The former dungeon is being converted into a 10-player raid. Not only do the bosses scale up, but all bosses have been redesigned from the ground up. They have new abilities, require new strategies, and drop new loot. They are meant to feel like a proper raid at maximum level – just at level 25.
World PvP and the battle for Ashenvale
Since level 25 is the maximum in the first phase and the raid is located in Ashenvale, the area will also be expanded with a new PvP event. Similar to Alterac Valley, there is a major NPC boss for both factions. A priestess of Elune for the alliance and an oracle for the horde. Both will be reinforced by additional mini-bosses in smaller camps.
Whoever succeeds in taking down the enemy boss will earn reputation with the Warsong Gulch, where some of the best rewards for level 25 can be found. Additionally, there is a mount that can already be used at level 25 – but only in Ashenvale – to travel faster through the area.
Even more raids and new areas
As the level cap increases, Blizzard will also bring further content and even more dungeons converted to raids. At the end of the presentation, there was a little surprise as well. Because in screenshots humorously marked “Do not show to the public,” there was an image of the catacombs under Karazhan. These already existed in Classic, but there was nothing special there. It appears that the developers want to build a “brand new” raid there as well – or at least PvE activities in the open world.
When does it go live? The Season of Discovery starts on November 30, so still this month!
Is there more to come? Whether this is a one-time experiment remains to be seen. What is clear is that Blizzard is evidently investing significantly more resources in Classic than in previous years. Designing new bosses with fresh mechanics and even wanting to turn previously unused locations into dungeons is likely to bring a lot of fresh air to Classic and make the Season of Discovery one of the boldest and most creative innovations in Classic.
No matter how you look at it, the Season of Discovery is basically “Classic+.” And if Blizzard should succeed with this, it is quite likely that this concept will be expanded further.
What do you think of what has been announced?
