WoW SoD Phase 2 Preview: New Raid, Runes, Gear, PvP & More

Season of Discovery will be going into its second phase as players are brimming with excitement to try out all of the new features in World of Warcraft. Not only will Gnomeregan become the main go-to place to gear up, but players will also have access to brand new runes to explore different class roles and combinations.

Given the major success of Season of Discovery, it is certain that Blizzard has taken the time to adjust and improve certain aspects that were unpolished during Phase 1, so hopefully, fans of the game will have even more fun this time around.

With that being said, we will be taking a look at all of the announced changes coming in SoD Phase 2 as shared by Blizzard, here.

WoW Season of Discovery Phase 2 Gnomeregan Raid

Following the same formula for the Blackfathom Deeps Raid, Gnomeregan will also be a 10-man raid. The instance will include 6 bosses that have been redesigned to fit a raiding experience. A new world buff will also be introduced to the game.

There will be a variety of new items and rewards with even more epic rewards from additional sources beyond the last two bosses of the dungeon. There will also be new class sets to acquire and quests and rewards adjusted for level 40 players.

Players will also gain access to a new profession quest chain so they can craft even better gear and items.

Another important thing to note is that there will be two lockouts on the normal weekly lockout timer at the start of the phase.

This means the first of these raid resets will occur on February 13 and the second will occur on February 20 with the regularly scheduled maintenance. This will allow for leading edge players to get to level 40 and start their hunt in the raid dungeon right away, but also minimizes the number of lockouts missed for those who level more slowly.

WoW Season of Discovery Phase 2 Gnomeregan Raid Loot

Blizzard has also shown some of the items we can expect to see in Phase 2.

Revamped Items

We have also seen a glimpse as to what we can expect from the raid loot as Blizzard has adjusted existing items whilst adding new ones to the loot table.

New Items

Item Sets

Blizzard is also introducing armor tokens to help players who are struggling to collect all of their gear pieces. You will be able to trade these tokens to a vendor to get your desired item.

WoW Season of Discovery Phase 2 Dungeon Updates

It looks like players will also be receiving new skill books. 

These quality-of-life improvements will not take a rune slot and help to address things such as short Aura durations for Paladin Blessings, totem control for Shaman, or even as a part of manipulating combo points for Rogues and the target these are on— and more.

These items will drop from 5-player dungeons.

WoW Season of Discovery Phase 2 New Runes

We are also getting a sneak peek as to what runes we can expect for all of the classes. 

Druid Runes

Paladin Runes

Hunter Runes

Warrior Runes

Rogue Runes

Priest Runes

Warlock Runes

Mage Runes

Shaman Runes

WoW Season of Discovery Phase 2 PvP Updates

Blizzard will also be adding a new PvP event in Stranglethorn Vale called "The Blood Moon". This time around, the devs have modified the event so it can be more easily tracked and allow for more players to participate. 

It seems that the event will take place every 3 hours and the duration will be 30 minutes. Blizzard has also added an NPC that can allow you to opt out of the event, however, you will not receive any rewards and general PvP rules will still apply.

PvP Rewards

Players will also be getting new items they can trade in with a special merchant located outside of the Gurubashi Arena.

New Mounts

Players will also be able to earn two new mounts as both of them will be available to both factions. 

PvP Changes

Blizzard devs will also address the blatant issues with matchmaking. 

While we understand that it can be frustrating for solo players to match against premade groups, we want to be careful about impacting queues. To address this, we are implementing two changes. Players in groups of five or fewer, you will have a higher chance to match against groups of five or fewer.

Likewise, players in groups of six or more will have a higher chance to match with similar groups. 

To account for the potential to create longer queues with this updated matching system, the system will ignore these rules after a period of time should we start seeing these queues impacted. This will then match you with the first available so you can get in and play without waiting too much longer.

Hopefully, this resolves some of the issues players faced during Phase 1 as pre-made groups were ruining the battlegrounds experience for many players.

Ashenvale Updates

Ashenvale will be moving to a 3-hour timer as well with Phase 2. The weekly quest world buff will not apply to players after level 39.

WoW Season of Discovery Phase 2 Profession Updates

Professions will also be getting a lot more love in Phase 2 as there will be up to 20 new recipes for players to discover. The profession cap will be at 225 as all non-gathering professions will be getting their fair share of new items to craft.

New materials will be added as well that players can seek out or trade with others.

Alchemists and Enchanters will also be receiving some new toys to make their gameplay better rather than being glorified buff givers.

WoW Season of Discovery Phase 2 GDKP Runs

Finally, Blizzard is taking a stance on GDKP runs that have been ruining the game for many players and allowing for gold buying to become a staple thus resulting in more botting activity that tarnishes the integrity of the game.

We are experimenting with a new policy which will no longer allow GDKP runs in Season of Discovery. While we understand that there are some benefits for those who find this a convenient way to gain gear, we also recognize that there are concerns surrounding the erosion of traditional guild and social structures that are a part of the spirit of Season of Discovery. 

This is certainly a great step towards making the game more fun as well as encouraging more social interaction. 

WoW Season of Discovery Phase 2 XP Boost

For players looking to catch up with their friends above level 25, we will be implementing a 50% experience buff for players between level 1 and 25. Players will also see an increase in experience gained within the Blackfathom Deeps raid dungeon when it is cleared.

The raid dungeon will still continue to run with the current lockout timer, and players will no longer gain the world buff beyond level 39, however.

Waylaid Supplies will also see an adjustment, we will share more later, but there will be a significant increase in experience gained from them on turn-in.

Summary

Overall, a lot of exciting things for the upcoming release of World of Warcraft Season of Discovery Phase 2. Phase 2 goes live on February 8 at 1:00 pm PST (21:00 GMT) so we can expect hordes of players quickly running to explore and find the new runes. 

The amazing success of SoD has brought about a lot of positive feedback from players as Blizzard is looking towards rejuvenating its glory days of being one of the best gaming companies. We will make sure to provide you with helpful information guides once Phase 2 launches officially.