Revitalizing A Two-Decade-Old Game: WoW Classic Season Of Exploration Aims To Bring Back the Element of Surprise
Experience the revival of WoW Classic with Season of Discovery as Blizzard unveils exciting updates that will rejuvenate this iconic 20-year-old game
Surprises are non-existent in World of Warcraft Classic, and that's expected given it's nearly two decades old. Despite the original version of WoW being overshadowed by subsequent updates, especially the 2010 Cataclysm expansion, players continued to play the "vanilla" version through unofficial private servers prior to Blizzard's official re-release in 2019. Consequently, players' extensive knowledge of the original era of WoW, accumulated over two decades, significantly impacted how they approached the release of Classic in 2019.
All the quests had been completed time and time again, all the items found. Battling the game's once-formidable raid bosses became as simple as watching a 30-second encounter guide on YouTube, and solving a confusing quest was as easy as downloading a comprehensive quest-mod or searching for an NPC's name on Wowhead. Players knew which talent specializations were best and what each class excelled at. The game was one giant math problem that millions of players already knew every answer to.
WoW Classic's new seasonal servers are looking to change all that. Called Season of Discovery, the game's new season sounds like it will turn the classic MMO on its head. Classes will be able to learn powerful new abilities by exploring the game's open world and acquiring runes, some of which allow classes to try out new roles, like tanking, that many have never had access to. New items are being added. Players will only be able to reach level 25 initially, before later updates allow for further progression. There will be a new level-25 raid, a reworked version of the game's Blackfathom Deeps dungeon, reimagined for 10 players. There's even a new open-world PvP event where players of the Horde and Alliance can battle it out in Ashenvale for new buffs and rewards.
It's a significant adjustment for players who have grown used to playing a game that has remained largely unchanged for the past two decades. In an interview with Our Website, members of the WoW Classic Season of Discovery team discussed the process of revitalizing a 20-year-old game, how the season aims to enhance WoW Classic's existing strengths, and the potential impact of Season of Discovery on WoW Classic's future.
Runes will bestow potent new abilities for each class. For years, especially following the launch of WoW Classic in 2019, players have eagerly anticipated the concept of "Classic Plus." The exact definition of Classic Plus varies depending on who you ask, but it often involves the idea of Blizzard returning to WoW Classic and continuing to evolve it as an ongoing game rather than leaving it static. For many players, this entails rebalancing classes and adding new content, without progressing the game to an expansion that raises the level cap or introduces a whole new world or continent for exploration, as was the case in 2007 with the introduction of the game's first expansion, The Burning Crusade.
Excitement for Classic Plus was at its peak leading up to BlizzCon 2023, but instead of an official announcement, players got Season of Discovery. Despite not being exactly what they wanted, it has been well-received and even dubbed an unofficial "Classic Plus beta" by some content creators. Blizzard even acknowledged the idea of Classic Plus in its announcement, with senior game producer Josh Greenfield saying the new season was "everything we love about Classic, PLUS so much more." In the months leading up to the announcement, associate production director Clayton Stone noted the community's growing enthusiasm for the idea of Classic Plus, and expressed confidence that Season of Discovery was delivering on players' desires for a fresh and innovative experience within the Classic space.
One of WoW's original dungeons, Blackfathom Deeps, is a 10-player raid in Season of Discovery.
This does put Season of Discovery in a bit of a strange situation. Blizzard has already teased the idea of completing scrapped content that never made its way into the original game, like the Karazhan Crypts, as part of Season of Discovery. That content wouldn't appear in the standard, non-seasonal servers Blizzard refers to as Classic Era, at least at first. But just because Season of Discovery's new additions are technically seasonal doesn't mean that some of the new additions will go away forever once the season ends, according to lead software engineer Ana Resendez.
Resendez noted that players' perceptions and experiences in the system do not limit them to only one chance to enjoy the Season of Discovery. He mentioned that the team will consider feedback for future seasons, providing the opportunity to test and implement popular features in new seasons or environments.
The Season of Discovery introduces a new rune system, allowing players to acquire runes as they explore the world and engrave them onto specific armor slots. These runes can be freely swapped in and out when not in combat, with some being easier to find than others. While most of the initial level 1-25 secrets are expected to be uncovered shortly after the launch, there are hints that some features are well-hidden. It is worth noting that Blizzard opted not to have a public test realm period for Season of Discovery in order to preserve its mysteries.
"Some are very complex, and others are more straightforward," Stone explained. "There's no one-size-fits-all approach. Some require a creative and collaborative approach with other players."
Many of the new abilities players will acquire are drawn from later expansions in WoW's history, but have been adjusted to better align with the pace of WoW Classic's combat. In contrast to modern WoW, WoW Classic does not rigidly enforce roles such as tank, healer, or DPS, allowing players to freely experiment with different talents and runes. Not every class or role will be suitable for every situation, as Resendez illustrated with the example of Rogue tanks. As a result, players will be responsible for developing and refining these new roles for classes that have not previously had them, Resendez explained. In terms of the game world itself, Resendez stated that players can anticipate enemies to be more challenging to accommodate for the increase in player power, although Blizzard is not giving enemies new abilities.
Acquiring some runes will be easy, while others will require collaboration between players. Azeroth itself is a significant aspect of what makes WoW Classic stand out from its subsequent expansions. Players have a vast world to explore and adventure through, as opposed to just a few zones comprising a smaller continent in later expansions. The experience of exploring the wide-open world goes hand-in-hand with encountering players of the opposing faction and the emergent gameplay that arises from those encounters.
In a new PvP event taking place in the open world, Blizzard is using the Season of Discovery as an opportunity to implement something it has never done before in the history of WoW: faction population restrictions. These restrictions will ensure neither faction on a PvP server gains a significant majority. If one faction's population starts to surpass the other, Blizzard will temporarily prevent the ability to create characters on the server of that faction.
"We've been listening for a long time from the community…that having balanced factions is meaningful," Stone said. "It creates really cool gameplay out in the open world especially, and it's something that players want to engage with. When we look back to Classic 2019's launch and how it evolved, because of the way players choose which servers they want to play on, a lot of people want to play on PvP realms but they don't want to lose. They look at which realm has the faction dominance that they want to play on and they end up just choosing that realm. And they get to play on a PvP realm without really any of the challenges that come from playing on a balanced faction PvP realm."
This time around, Stone chose not to provide specific details on how Blizzard would address server balance. Instead, he expressed hope that players would trust the team's methods in ensuring faction balance and assured that adjustments would be made if necessary for a smooth experience.
While players are aware of some of the runes and new content available at the initial launch of Season of Discovery on November 30, they are unsure of how to obtain the runes or what to expect. The upcoming content phases, which will increase the game's level cap and introduce more new content, remain a mystery. Additionally, the WoW Classic team will be actively working to balance a 20-year-old game that has been dramatically changed by new abilities and raid encounters.
Stone expressed his anticipation for the evolving dynamics as the season progresses, as the level cap is raised and new phases are introduced. He also highlighted the potential changes in player engagement and content experiences based on the runes discovered, noting the excitement in observing how players use and expand their toolkits with these discoveries.
Editor's P/S
As a hard fan of World of Warcraft, I am thrilled about the upcoming Season of Discovery. Blizzard is taking a bold step in revitalizing the classic game by introducing new abilities, items, and raids. This will shake up the stale meta and give players a reason to explore the world again. I am particularly excited about the new runes, which will allow classes to try out new roles. This will add a lot of flexibility to the game and make it more fun to experiment with different builds.
Overall, I think Season of Discovery is a great way to keep WoW Classic fresh and exciting. It shows that Blizzard is still committed to the game and is willing to make changes to keep it relevant. I can't wait to see what the future holds for WoW Classic, and I am hopeful that Blizzard will continue to support it for many years to come.
