Summary
World of Warcraft ClassicSeason of Discovery is officially done releasing new content, though the servers will remain open indefinitely. Despite rumors of a ninth phase,World of Warcraftis shifting development away from Season of Discovery in favor of its nextClassicproject.
Season of Discovery isWorld of Warcraft’s ongoingClassicexperiment in which it adds new surprises to the old-school game, ranging from class-altering Runes and secret quests to completely original dungeons and raids. Phase 8 marked the first content update composed of of all-new content never seen inClassicbefore, but since the update, fans have been uncertain ifWoWClassic Season of Discovery was finished, or if a Phase 9 was in development.
Now,World of Warcrafthas officially broken its silence on the subject – and the result is bittersweet. In a recent Blizzard forum post,World of Warcraft Classicgame producer Josh “Aggrend” Greenfield confirmed that Season of Discovery will no longer be receiving new content. He explained thatPhase 7 was supposed to be the end ofWoW ClassicSeason of Discovery, but that they took a risk in order to create Phase 8 and the Scarlet Enclave raid. That said, Phase 8 was their last hurrah, with development power now being moved to other places in order to “make the most impact on the long-term future ofWoW Classic.”
World of Warcraft Classic: Season of Discovery is Over
Though Season of Discovery is essentially over, the servers won’t be going anywhere. Greenfield explained the realms themselves will be evergreen, and that he hopes to let players enjoy the Season of Discovery sandboxalongside other forms ofClassic WoWindefinitely.
Greenfield also confirmed the team is working on their “next major project in the originalWoWdesign space,” and hinted at “big plans and big ambitions for this type of ‘found photographs’ content” like Season of Discovery. This could mean Blizzard is working on a Season of Discovery-esque version ofThe Burning Crusade, or even a bolder “Classic+” revamp along the lines of TurtleWoW, a popularprivate server that makes significant changes toClassic WoW. Fans will have to wait as theClassicdevs “take the time [they] need to get in the proverbial kitchen and ‘cook’, iterate on, and shape” what they learned from Season of Discovery before they reveal their next “truly exciting” project.
In the meantime, Season of Discovery is offering some exciting prospects of its own right now. Gamers who defeat Balnazzar, the first boss of the Scarlet Enclave, or who have already beaten him before June 30 will earn a free Level 85 Character Boost forWoW Classic’s progression realms ahead ofMists of Pandaria’s launch. To help facilitate this, starting June 3, all players will receive a permanent 5% damage, health, and healing boost in the Scarlet Enclave, which will increase by 5% every two weeks to a maximum of 25%.
