World of Warcraft is a nearly 20-year-old game in 2024, and players have come to know the original game pretty well thanks to the release of WoW Classic in 2019. But with the release of the Season of Discovery late 2023, the original Azeroth was revamped with new Runes, items, Raids, and more through level-gated, time-gated content releases.
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WoW Season of Discovery: Best Professions For SoD
Of all professions in WoW, these combinations work best for making gold, providing utility, or enhancing personal power in SoD.
A completely different approach to the game than the No Changes approach to 2019’s WoW Classic, the Season of Discovery is rife with changes. But despite constant updates and releases, it can be difficult to find today’s WoW SoD patch notes – if official patch notes are released at all, that is.
This guide documents the major SoD updates starting with the release of Phase Two, and will be updated continuously as official SoD patch notes and Hotfixes release. Check back regularly to keep track of the WoW SoD patch notes and catch up if you have stepped away from the game for a while.
February 27, 2027 – WoW SoD Hotfix Notes
- High-Yield Radiation Bomb Changes
- Slow can now be removed with various snare removal abilities
- DoT damage is now Nature damage with a Poison effect
- Initial explosive damage works on enemies that are immune to slow, and now it always goes off when it hits
- Gnomeregan boss armor reduced slightly (about 10%)
- Class Changes
- Druid
- Lifebloom mana cost cut by 50%, and Nourish mana cost cut by 27%
- Living Seed heals for 50% Critical Heal on the planted seed, from 30%. Blooms from non-periodic healing now, too.
- Moonkin Form reduces Sunfire and Moonfire mana cost by 50%, and increases DoT damage of both abilities by 50%.
- Moonkin can cast non-healing Restoration spells (Remove Curse, Abolish Poison, Revive, etc) without breaking form.
- Fury of Stormrage fixed to be an Instant heal, and usable in all shapeshift forms
- Lacerate critical strikes can now trigger the Primal Fury effect
- While Fury of Stormrage is active, Nourish becomes an instant cast, and no longer breaks Moonkin Form
- Hunter
- 30% damage increase for Raptor Strike when wielding two of the same weapons removed from Dual Wield Specialization rune
- Mage
- Chronostatic Preservation no longer checks for Line of Sight or range on targets on the first cast
- Paladin
- Crusader Strike deals Holy damage instead of Physical Damage now, and ignores armor.
- Seal of Martyrdom no longer triggers the Art of War effect, which also can’t be triggered by other weapon procs like Frost Oil
- Rogue
- Redirect cooldown reduced to 10 seconds, and is on its own unique cooldown instead of the GCD
- Main Gauche now grants 3 Combo Points and costs a reduced 15 Energy
- Just A Flesh Wound now grants the Rogue 30% additional threat than before
- Shaman
- Two-Handed Mastery also grants 10% AP and spell hit chance when striking a target with a 2H weapon
- Shamanistic Rage fixed to grant 5% Max Mana per second
- Spirit of the Alpha gains the Loyal Beta effect, which increases the Shaman’s AP when cast on someone other than themselves
- Earth Shield mana cost reduced by 67% and has an increased total 9 charges. Base heal amount correctly scales with level (about a 50% increase at Level 40)
- Power Surge tooltip revised to more clearly define what the skill does.
- Ancestral Guidance cooldown reduced to 1 minute
- Warrior
- Rallying Cry now benefits an entire Raid instead of just a Party
- Druid
February 26, 2027 – WoW SoD Hotfix Notes
- Effect & Buff Fixes
- Hyperconductive Caster Set’s bonus now correctly enhances healing and damaging Rune abilities
- Chronostatic Preservation increased to 20 second duration
- Fixed issue causing Lesser Arcane Elixir to not be consumable
- Blood Moon Fixes
- The Drained of Blood debuff now removes debilitating effects on the player, like Frost Trap
- More Chained Spirit graveyards have been added to STV
- Kha’damu’s Blood Craze ability no longer increases his damage
- Class Changes
- Hunter
- Chimera Shot now does not extend the duration of Wyvern’s Sting, as intended
- Rogue
- Between the Eyes fixed to have a unique cooldown from other Ranged attacks
- Hunter
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WoW Season of Discovery: All Gnomeregan Quests
Gnomeregan is a max-level Raid in the Season of Discovery, but that doesn’t mean WoW SoD players can’t still pick up a plethora of quests.
February 21, 2027 – WoW SoD Hotfix Notes
- The Dismantle enchant (chance for dmg to Mechanicals) should proc more often for melee and casters alike
- Vendor prices for Ez-Thro and High-Yield Radiation Bombs reduced
- Elite and Dungeon quests grant additional experience
- Blood Moon Event Fixes
- Chained Spirits remain useable in STV for 30 minutes after the Blood Moon ends
- Additional Zandalari Emissary added (Durotar zeppelin tower)
- Class Changes
- Mage
- Spellfrost Bolt’s Critical Hit damage now correctly benefits from the Spell Power stat
- Rogue
- Preparation fixed to correctly reset all SoD-exclusive abilities (Quick Draw, Between the Eyes, Redirect)
- Shuriken Toss fixed to prevent Combo Point loss when talented into Seal Fate
- Shaman
- Stormstrike now triggers weapon procs correctly with offhand weapons (Windfury, Flurry, etc)\
- Healing Rain fixed to appear over individual players’ heads, not a variable area
- Warlock
- Haunt fixed to correctly increase Siphon Life damage
- Mage
February 20, 2024 – WoW SoD Blue Post
- Class Changes
- Druid
- Swipe now gains 10% AP as damage, but has had its Threat generation greatly reduced
- Beserk now causes Lacerate to hit 3 targets total
- Rip duration has been increased to 16 seconds
- Starfire cast after Starsurge now has its damage correctly increased by 80%
- Shaman
- Dual-Wield Specialization now gives 50% bonus Offhand damage
- Lava Lash deals 50% more damage if Flametongue Weapon is imbued on your Offhand
- Maelstrom Weapon proc chance is 50% increased if Windfury Weapon is imbued on your Main Hand weapon or 2H weapon.
- Mage
- Conjure Water (Rank 5) now creates a full stack of 10 Mage waters instead of 2
- Paladin
- Exorcism and Holy Shock mana cost is now reduced by 80% when Art of War is active
- Beacon of Light mana cost greatly reduced
- Priest
- Mind Spike and Void Plague damage has been increased by 10%
- Shadow Word: Death base damage has been reduced by 40%. Its Spellpower coefficient has been reduced to about 43% from about 64.5%
- Druid
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WoW Season of Discovery: Blood Moon PvP Event Guide
A Blood Moon rises over Stranglethorn Vale in the new chaotic WoW SoD Phase Two PvP event – go in prepared with this guide to the Blood Moon.
February 16, 2024 – WoW SoD Hotfix Patch Notes
- Blood Moon Event
- Warlocks and Hunters now automatically summon their last active pet after coming back to life
- Fixed issues causing Priests to resurrect earlier than intended while in Spirit of Redemption form
- Fixes Blood Coin turn-in bugs when affected by Mind Control or Subjugate Demon
- Blood for the Blood Loa stacks should no longer exceed the intended max of 255
- The Drained of Blood debuff now makes players immune to movement-impairing effects
- The Chosen of the Blood Loa (giant roaming boss) is now visible while dead
- Class Changes
- Druid
- Fixed an issue causing Starsurge to gain Crit Chance while the Lunar version is active. Now Starsurge only gains Crit Chance while Solar is active (as intended)
- Hunter
- Chimera Shot – Scorpid is now correctly resisted by Weapon Chain and other Disarm resistances
- Paladin
- Fixed high Seal of Righteousness spell ranks (4+) do less damage than Rank 3
- Priest
- Dispersion and Pain Suppression no longer prevent Priests from turning into a Spirit of Redemption
- Mind Spike stacks are now only built and consumed by individual Priests. Multiple Priests no longer consume other Priests’ stacks.
- Fixed issues causing Prayer of Mending to increase its healing output beyond normal via Spiritual Healing
- Shaman
- Dual Wield Specialization Rune effects are no longer lost upon equipping new weapons
- Decoy Totem Rune now has a correct range of 30 yards
- Stormstrike fixed to prevent dealing Offhand damage when no Offhand is equipped
- Warlock
- Subjugate Demon used against other Warlocks in Metamorphosis form has a reduced 10 second duration, with diminishing returns for multiple casts
- Druid
February 14, 2024 – WoW SoD Hotfix Notes
- Blood Moon Event
- Fixed issues that caused players to lose Blood stacks when leaving a party, and scoreboards are more responsive during the event
- All event participants receive a 30% HP boost
- Resurrecting via Chained Spirits during the event now refunds 100% Mana as well as HP
- More Zandalarian Emissaries have been added to areas that connect to STV (Ratchet, Tirisfal, Duskwood)
- Class Changes
- Druid
- Berserk now discounts the energy cost for Rune-based abilities correctly
- Starsurge visual should correctly only hit the target
- Eclipse fixed to reduce spell pushback correctly
- Savage Roar animation removed
- Paladin
- Guardian of the Light fixed to prevent its effect from being cancelled
- Priest
- Void Plague power reduced
- Renew fixed to prevent Priests from casting twice on the same target
- Shaman
- Power Surge gained during a Lava Burst, Lightning Bolt, or Chain Lightning is no longer consumed by casting those spells
- Warlock
- Fixed Fear interaction with Metamorphosis that prevented it from changing into Menace
- Corrected mana refund from Dance of the Wicked
- Druid
- Raid Tuning – Gnomeregan
- Electrocutioner 6000
- Players can’t get out of range or use LoS to prevent Static Arc from being cast
- Mechanical Menagerie
- Corrected behavior when resetting the fight while a boss is in self-repair mode
- Rig Wars
- Thermaplugg’s Safe now correctly spawns under one of the Bomb Dispensers after the fight
- Electrocutioner 6000
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WoW Classic: Season of Discovery Level Cap
Every Season of Discovery Phase will increase the max level Cap in SoD – starting at a relatively low 25, and eventually reaching lvl 60.
February 12, 2024 – WoW SoD Hotfix Patch Notes
- Lesser Arcane Elixir recipe changed to BoP
- Blood Moon event
- Players with the Drained of Blood buff are now immune and invisible to others for a duration upon reviving
- Drained of Blood buff reduced to 20 seconds, and now has a visual indicator
- A symbol now highlights the Zandalari Emissary, where players can opt out of the event while in STV
- Class Changes
- Druid
- Starsurge damage reduced by 35%, and spell damage bonus now matches other Instant spells
- Starsurge now causes the next Starfire cast to deal 66% more damage
- Fixed an issue that caused Enhanced Restoration to prevent buffs to Nourish from Rejuvenation and Regrowth
- Paladin
- Sheathe of Light proc fixed to trigger correctly from melee attacks
- Shaman
- Ravaging Tempest fixed to prevent it from losing its aura when specific bosses are killed
- Druid
- World Buff Fixes
- Battle for Ashenvale world buff fixed to work through Level 39
- Spark of Inspiration world buff fixed to increase Healing
- Quest fixes
- New Squall-breakers Potion from Rau Cliffrunner in Freewind Post for the quest “Calm Before The Storm”
- Battle for Ashenvale weekly quests Clear The Forest and Repelling Invaders now grant full XP and rep
- Reduced item requirements for the Shaman Rune quests Power of da Wind/Earth/Water
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WoW Season of Discovery: Best Healing Classes in SoD, Ranked
All five classes that can Heal in WoW SoD will work in the endgame, but ultimately, some are better than others thanks to utility and spell variety.
February 8 – WoW SoD Phase Two
- Phase Two of Season of Discovery launches
- Level cap raised from 25 to 40
- 50% XP buff from Levels 1 to 25
- New Raid: Gnomeregan
- New PvP Event: Blood Moon
- Six new Runes for every class in the Boots and Belt slot
- Class Skill books added to Dungeon loot tables
- New items and gear, especially from Gnomeregan
World of Warcraft
- Released
- November 23, 2004
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence (online interactions not rated)