Welcome to what to expect in Season of Discovery Phase 1. In Phase 1 of Season of Discovery, the player level cap is 25. Players can use new spells through Rune system, take part in Blackfathom Deeps’ 10-player raid, Ashenvale zone-wide PVP event, and more. So, let’s talk about what you can expect between the lines of it all.

Level 25 Capped Content

In WOW Classic, the protagonist is the world. The fact that in Classic you start out almost as a nobody is quite charming. Every item, stat point, buff counts.

WOW Classic team recognizes this, which is the main reason they created level banded content for Season of Discovery. It allows them to focus on a part of the world that may sometimes be overlooked and then create new content around it.

The development team stated that parts of the world will not be unlocked. Although the level 25 cap can become a challenge when venturing into higher-level areas.

One interesting thing I saw is that the highest level cloth players actually got in Phase 1 was probably Mageweave Cloth. This will also be a challenge as level 38+ mobs drop it. I can even already see hordes of level 25 players looking for level 38-40+ monsters to farm Mageweave Cloth.

Especially in the later stages, the chance of a level 30 monster dropping Mageweave Cloth is less than that of an intermediate level 40 monster. So the challenges are real.

Things like this are a classic example of developers creating level banded content. It creates new environments for players to challenge themselves, think outside the environment, and find ways to pioneer things they’ve never done before. I’m personally very excited to see how far players will expand what they can do at level 25.

Also Read: Everything You Need To Know About WOW Classic SOD Phase 1!

Mounts In Season Of Discovery

Speaking of traveling around the world, it’s important to note that players’ mounts are not available until level 40. So you won’t be able to get a mount until Phase 2, unless you get a special mount from Ashenvale PVP event in the open world. However, keep in mind that these mounts are only available in Ashenvale area.

The cool thing about these mounts is that they are original unarmored mount models that were removed early in vanilla WoW. I remember the demand for these mounts was making a comeback in Classic. So to me, this is another recognition of the community from Classic team.

The two mounts are: Trainee’s Sentinel Nightsaber for Alliance, and Trainee’s Outrider Wolf for Horde.

Beyond that, in terms of transportation, we can see that Warlocks will become very popular among guilds once they reach level 20 and have their summon abilities ready. Especially since Mage can’t open portals for other players at that level.

Rune Engraving

During Season of Discovery, developers will introduce Rune Engraving. Players can venture into the open world and discover class-specific Runes. This can enhance your current abilities and spells, and in some cases, introduce entirely new ones!

Overall, Rune Engraving allows players to apply new abilities to their equipment. At level 25, we will have 3 slots: Chest, Legs, and Hands. But over time, other slots will be unlocked.

Some of them even provide faction-specific buffs, such as Horde getting Blessing of Kings, or Alliance getting Windfury. Therefore, players must discover Rune through exploration.

Blackfathom Deeps Raid

For Phase 1, the main endgame raid for level 25 players is Blackfathom Deeps. They will remix it into a 10-player raid with seven bosses, new loot, and a 3-day lockout, similar to Zul’Gurub.

In BFD, players will have access to a new world buff, Boon of Blackfathom. This increases the critical strike chance of your spells, melee, and ranged by 2%, attack power by 20, and movement speed by 20% for 2 hours.

The method of obtaining it looks similar to Head of Rend, Onyxia, Nefarian or Heart of Hakkar. When these heads are turned in, all players in the area will receive a special buff. We also got a sneak peek at some new loot drops. But again, this is always subject to change and has yet to be finalized.

Ashenvale PVP & Battlegrounds In SoD

There are two battlefields at level 25: Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin. There will be a new open world PVP event in Ashenvale. A PVP kill will trigger this event in the area.

A region-wide notification is sent out when the event begins, and it created a leader for each faction. Similar to Alterac Valley, battlefield leaders will set up smaller camps and outposts around the area.

To Alliance, these leaders are called Keepers of the Grove: Ceredwyn, Centrius, and Larodar. To Horde, these leaders are called Blademasters: Jubei, Moogul the Sly, and Tojara.

When the player is within 40 yards of Battlefield Lieutenant, the player will receive a buff called Battlefield Inspiration. And, when you’re within 40 yards of the faction leader, you’ll gain an even more powerful buff: Battlefield Genius.

Players who take part in the event can not only get WOW Classic SOD Gold but also gain reputation in Warsong Gulch faction: Silverwing Sentinels for Alliance and Warsong Outriders for Horde.

Each faction’s quartermaster will provide new noteworthy gear that contributes to a level 25 player’s BiS set. These are items that have been data mined so far, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will be implemented. So again, remember, nothing is final.

Wrapping Up

To wrap things up, I would say: Ultimately, you can do as much preparation and research as you can before launching. But the spirit of Season of Discovery is to explore, interact with the world, discover new things, try different Rune combinations with your class, and have fun. So try not to stress too much about which class to play, how quickly you need to reach level 25.

If you find that you are not satisfied with the first class you do, it is not too important to upgrade to level 25. So don’t feel pressured into being tied down to something. Just take your time and enjoy it!