With many players considering a switch to ranged builds following the Raptor Strike nerf, it's important to focus on optimizing ranged damage through gear selection. Ranged Hunters are unlikely to receive significant adjustments anytime soon.

While some Best in Slot guides are helpful, others lack context or accuracy, potentially leading to gearing mistakes. Therefore, it's crucial to understand why certain gear pieces are recommended for Ranged Hunters in SoD Phase 2. If you want to get these items faster, be sure to use SoD Gold to equip yourself in advance. This way you can be more confident when completing tasks and killing bosses.

Before You Read

Before we get started, there are 2 things you need to note:

1. It's important to note that melee weaving with either one-handers or a two-hander is currently not viable for maximizing damage output. Consequently, attributes like strength hold no value for ranged builds.
2. It's essential to acknowledge that the game's optimal builds are still evolving, and Sims may not accurately reflect real-world performance. Thus, there's a possibility of future adjustments and refinements.

Let's delve into the gear specifics. We'll begin with an overview of the best-in-slot gear options for Ranged Hunters in SoD Phase 2, followed by detailed explanations for each piece and alternative options if acquiring the best-in-slot items is challenging.

Helmet

For the head slot, acquiring the leather crafted piece, Glowing Gneuro-Linked Cowl, is recommended. Its on-use effect is highly valuable, despite being somewhat time-consuming. Obtaining it should be prioritized after the first run of Gnomeregan.

Until then, Artemis Cowl from BFD can be used as a substitute, especially if the on-use effect of Glowing Gneuro-Linked Cowl is on cooldown and you don't require the hit bonus.

Necklace

For the neck, obtaining the Epic neck (Gnomeregan Peace Officer's Torque & Thermaplugg's Engineering Notes) from Gnomeregan quests is essential. It's guaranteed to drop from the last boss. 

Although there may be significant competition initially, it becomes easier to acquire over time. In the meantime, Sentinel's Medallion from Warsong is a suitable alternative.

Shoulders

Regarding the shoulders, Troggslayer Pauldrons are considered the best in slot. 

Alternatives include Mantle of the Cunning Negotiator from Viscus Fallout and Bonelink Epaulets of Agility, or Revelosh's Spaulders from Uldaman.

Clock

Prototype Parachute Cloak is recommended for the cloak slot. Alternatives include Gryphon Cloak of Agility or Blooddrenched Drape from the STV event, which synergizes well with Exposed Weakness. Aim for a plus three agility enchantment on the cloak.

Chest

For the chest, Blazewind Breastplate from the Tremors of the Earth questline in Badlands is the optimal choice. 

While the tier chest is acceptable, it's not worth sacrificing agility. Aim for a +2 all stats enchantment on the chest.

Wrist

Debates surround the choice of bracers. Options include Forest Stalker's Bracers from Warsong Gulch Exalted or Experimental Aim Stabilizers. 

Considering the bonus from Aspect of the Lion, Gnomeregan Bracers often outperform Warsong Bracers due to their higher attack power. 

However, the crit value from the bonus agility must also be considered. A 1-agility enchantment on bracers is recommended.

Gloves

The glove slot offers flexibility. Ideally, carrying three pairs of gloves is advised. 

Mechanist's Gloves are suitable for mechanical bosses, while Void-Touch Leather Gloves are recommended for non-mechanical encounters. Gauntlet of Divinity serves as an alternative when gloves are on cooldown . 

+5 agility enchantment is preferred for gloves.

Waist

Darkvision Girdle is frequently used for the belt slot. 

However, for those aiming to maximize DPS rankings, Hyperconductive Goldwrap from engineering can be advantageous if the right buff is obtained.

Legs

The choice between Electromantic Chausses legs and Nimble Triprunner Dungarees for the leg slot is subject to debate. 

Considering Aspect of the Lion, forward tier pieces in legs and feet grants a bonus attack power of 57.6 compared to 52 attack power from the tier. Then the consideration arises as to whether you prefer the plus 1% hit chance offered by the tier or the plus 0.7% critical strike chance from the bonus agility of the non-tier option. 

It's important to note that regular bosses are typically of lower level compared to normal boss mobs, so the value of hit chance diminishes slightly in later phases. 

However, the value of intellect should not be underestimated, especially if you can sustain through the entire boss fight without needing to activate Aspect of the Viper.

Boots

Regarding boots, the same principle applies. We should aim to equip either the tier boots known as Electromantic Grounding Sabatons or off-agility boots like Bonelink Sabatons of Agility.

As for the enchantment, while Minor Speed provides significant quality of life improvements, for encounters where you can remain stationary, +3 Lesser Agility would enhance your performance.

Rings

In terms of rings, it's preferable to opt for two rings with a 10 agility bonus each. 

These could be obtained from items like Ring of the Underwood or Marsh Ring of Agility. Suitable alternatives until then include Pretector's Band, Falcon's Hook, or Ironspine's Eye.

Trinkets

For trinkets, the ideal setup involves Avenger's Void Pearl from BFD and Gyromatic Experiment 420b from the final boss in Gnomeregan. 

In the absence of the Gnomeregan trinket, Tigerblood Talisman can serve as a temporary replacement. Additionally, if you possess the Domesticated Attack Chicken, it should be utilized whenever it's off cooldown.

Ranged Weapons

When it comes to the ranged weapons, prioritizing the Epic gun called Thermaplugg's Custom from the last boss in Gnomeregan is essential. 

Before acquiring this, a viable alternative is to use a 3.0 agility gun like Sniper Rifle of Agility or the crafted gun Mithril Heavy-bore Rifle from engineering if other BoE options are not available.

Melee Weapons

For melee weapons, Vanquisher's Sword and Sentinel's Blade are recommended. 

These weapons offer higher attack power compared to off-agility two-handers. Additionally, using two weapons allows for the application of Dismantle to both, as well as the use of Lesser Wizard Oil.

Serpent Sting scales directly with spell power, and Arcane Shot has a spell power coefficient of 43.5 and 140% critical strike scaling, making the acquisition of bonus spell power highly advantageous.

Melee Hunter has emerged as a powerful choice in Phase 2 of Season of Discovery, demonstrating significant strength. Given the absence of any mention regarding adjustments in the latest round of class changes, it seems likely that this playstyle will persist for the foreseeable future. To begin, let's provide a brief summary covering talents, runes, gear & gameplay strategies.

Talents

There are 2 primary build paths for Melee Hunter: one emphasizes pet-focused Beast Mastery, while the other delves into an all-in Lone Wolf Deep Survival approach. No matter which path you choose, you will inevitably need to invest a lot of WoW SOD Gold.

In PvE scenarios, Deep Survival holds an edge in simulation testing and theoretical calculations. However, Beast Mastery performs admirably with current pre-Best in Slot (BiS) gear. Conversely, in PvP environments, despite pets boasting significant damage output, Beast Mastery faces a key challenge: it heavily relies on pets, which can be vulnerable to crowd control effects when major abilities like Bestial Wrath are on cooldown.

Bestial Wrath provides your pet with crowd control immunity, but its cooldown leaves you susceptible to single crowd control effects like polymorph or fear. While the stun it offers is beneficial, its reliance on pets makes it less dependable in the current meta. 

The Survival tree, on the other hand, offers a plethora of valuable PvP abilities that enhance your resilience and diminish the importance of your pet. These include increased stamina, defensive cooldowns like Deterrence, improved hit chance, crowd control resistance, and enhanced trap effectiveness—all highly advantageous in PvP engagements.

Survival presents players with a multitude of beneficial options, necessitating some tough decisions. Due to limited talent points, prioritizing between various crowd control improvements becomes crucial. Players may choose to allocate points differently between talents like improved Wing Clip and trap enhancements based on their preferred playstyle and situational needs. 

While traps are potent tools, they often require setup or the use of Feign Death to be effective. Conversely, Wing Clip offers versatility, enabling players to immobilize flag carriers, enemy melee, and occasionally ranged opponents. Players should experiment with talent point allocation based on personal preferences and playstyle, ensuring essential active abilities such as Deterrence, Counterattack, and Wyvern Sting are prioritized.

Runes

When considering runes for a Melee Hunter build, flexibility is limited, particularly on the right side of the rune tree.

To optimize Melee Hunter performance, prioritizing full melee runes is essential. Both Dual Wield Specialization and Melee Specialist are indispensable for maximizing damage output, leaving little room for deviation. The remaining rune slots present a choice of the best available options. 

However, the chest slot offers the only significant decision point. Here, players must choose between compromising the build to incorporate a pet with Heart of the Lion or committing fully to the Lone Wolf playstyle.

Despite potential concerns about sacrificing pet utility, especially in PvP scenarios, current dynamics suggest otherwise. In Phase 2 PvP, the focus revolves around rapid bursts of damage or swift elimination, where the Lone Wolf approach aligns seamlessly with the prevailing meta. Opting to retain a pet may warrant considering Beast Mastery over Carve, although otherwise, the rune selection remains relatively standard.

Gear

When it comes to gearing, the focus should be on acquiring items with high agility, strength, and attack power attributes. However, special attention is warranted for weapon selection.

For pre-BiS setups, prioritize equipping the Warsong or Silverwing PvP sword in the main hand and the Razorfen Downs quest reward in the off hand. These weapons are easily obtainable and offer superior performance compared to other options until acquiring loot from Gnomeregan, particularly the dual fist weapons. 

Due to the mechanics of Dual Wield Specialization requiring identical weapon types in both hands, it's essential to maintain consistency. While Orcs seeking to maximize their racial bonuses may consider the axes, acquiring them, especially as one is a BoE drop, can be more challenging, making the swords a more practical choice.

For the bow slot, the STV epic (Bloodlash Bow) stands out as the optimal choice due to its impact on proc effects during melee attacks. While primarily functioning as a ranged weapon, its proc effect significantly enhances its utility, making it the top choice among available options. 

For those seeking meticulous optimization, carrying a dedicated ranged weapon such as a standard gun or the Warsong faction reputation bow alongside the Bloodlash Bow allows for macro-based swapping in situations such as being rooted, pursuing an opponent, or kiting. While not strictly necessary, having these options available can prove advantageous.

Gameplay

Now, let's delve into general gameplay strategies.

Firstly, it's crucial to acknowledge that the classic Hunter archetype struggles to adapt as a true melee class. Unlike modern iterations of the Survival spec, the original 2004 Hunter lacks essential tools for close-quarters combat, such as gap closers and reliable defensive abilities. Despite these limitations, the spec excels not only in sheer damage output but also in its unique playstyle reminiscent of Rogues.

In combat, focus on maintaining a dynamic approach, utilizing abilities like Raptor Strike and Flanking Strike to unleash bursts of damage while capitalizing on control tools to dictate the flow of battle. Adeptly navigating multi-target scenarios is a key strength, but exercise caution to avoid overcommitting in open spaces. Embrace your ranged capabilities, strategically deploying abilities like Multi-Shot and stings while positioning yourself for opportune moments to engage in melee combat.

In defensive situations, Hunters shine as vigilant guardians, leveraging utility to support allies and disrupt enemy tactics. Deploy traps and flares strategically, cripple enemy melee threats with Wing Clip, and neutralize key targets with Wyvern Sting—a versatile ability that serves various purposes, from crowd control to damage over time application.

Utilize Feign Death not only to evade threats but also as an interrupt tool against enemy spellcasters. By timing Feign Death to disrupt incoming casts, you can gain crucial advantages in combat. Additionally, remember to exploit aspect shifting to adapt to different scenarios. While Monkey aspect offers combat benefits, Cheetah and Pack aspects provide tactical advantages for mobility and group support, respectively.

Maintain awareness of positioning during combat, maximizing the effectiveness of Dodge and Parry by keeping foes in front of you. Strafing to face opponents may seem unconventional but significantly enhances survivability, especially when combined with defensive abilities like Deterrence.

In PvP encounters, capitalize on disruptive abilities like Viper Sting to drain enemy resources and impair their effectiveness. Target classes vulnerable to Viper Sting, such as Mages, to exert control over the battlefield. Similarly, exploit the utility of Scare Beast against Druids and Shamans, disrupting their strategies and draining their resources even if they manage to evade the effect.

Within this guide, I will present 3 optimal Warlock leveling builds tailored for WoW Season of Discovery Phase 2.

Note that these builds have specific level requirements. If you intend to adopt any of these builds, ensure you have sufficient WoW SoD Gold to expedite your upgrades!

1. Dot And Rot Affliction

Let's begin with the Dot and Rot Affliction build, which is perfect for open-world questing, especially on a PvP server.

Functioning akin to the SL/SL Warlock in The Burning Crusade, this build offers high sustainability with Drain Life, Haunt, and unlocking Siphon Life at level 30. You'll become an unstoppable force with minimal downtime between encounters, likely emerging victorious in most 1v1 situations. 

Not only will you avoid the need to stop for eating and drinking, but you'll also save precious bag space by eliminating the necessity for food and water.

For talents, we'll opt for a standard Affliction spec with a focus on Drain Life. Our selected runes will include Master Channeler, Haunt, and Everlasting Affliction.

While there may be arguments for incorporating some Demonology points for increased survivability and demon utility, it's advisable to plan a respec upon reaching Level 35, as Shadow Mastery is essential for maximizing the effectiveness of our damage over time abilities.

2. Fire Cleave

Shifting focus from open-world questing to dungeon grinding, let's delve into our second build: the Fire Cleave.

Depending on your server's population, open-world questing might prove to be a challenging ordeal, regardless of faction. If maximizing efficiency ranks as your top priority, dungeon farming is likely to offer the fastest route, particularly if you're starting late.

For this strategy to work optimally, you'll ideally want a combination of a Prot Paladin and a Living Flame Mage in your group composition. The primary runes for this build are Lake of Fire and Incinerate, and we'll be employing our standard fire raid spec, enhancing our imp and providing more utility for our destruction spells.

Once your group engages a large pack of mobs, the rotation is straightforward: begin by casting Incinerate for the 25% damage buff, followed by casting Rain of Fire, and then repeat. It's crucial to maintain 100% uptime on your Incinerate buff to ensure maximum damage output from Rain of Fire.

Something to bear in mind: we acquire Hellfire at level 30 and Rank 2 Rain of Fire at level 34, which will significantly enhance our capabilities. Upon reaching Level 30 and learning Hellfire, and once you trust in your group's tank and healer, utilizing Hellfire as your primary AOE damage spell will decimate anything in your path. This operates similarly to our pre-Hellfire rotation, where we cast Incinerate for the 25% damage buff, then Rain of Fire for the Lake of Fire effect, and finally spam Hellfire. With Hellfire being buffed for an incredible 65% increased fire damage and becoming a new ranked spell at level 30, its impact will be substantial.

You can feasibly employ this build up to level 40, swapping out Rank 2 Rain of Fire at level 34 if it proves to outperform Hellfire or if your group struggles to handle the intensity.

3. Shadow Cleave

But hitting level 30 gives us a brand new option and takes us into our third and final leveling build: the Shadow Cleave. 

What makes level 30 so interesting is that not only do we get a new rank of Shadow Bolt at level 28. We can finally reach Ruin in the Destruction tree. This primes us to be Shadow Bolt spamming demons and I am 100% here for it. 

The spec we'll run is a standard Shadow build and the runes we will choose are Demonic Tactics, Shadow Bolt Volley, and Demonic Grace. These runes synergize very well together as Improved Shadow Bolt and Ruin rely heavily on crit. 

The combination of Demonic Grace and Demonic Tactics give us 40% increased chance to crit on top of our base chance from gear. 

So the rotation would go: we would pop Demonic Grace on cooldown, spam Shadow Bolt Volley, and sit back and watch the numbers pop. 

Conclusion

None of these 3 builds consider the new runes introduced in Phase 2. They are solely centered on achieving maximum efficiency up to level 40.

Speaking from personal experience, wandering around early in Phase 1 to collect runes proved to be a significant time sink. In reality, we already possess all the necessary tools to reach the level cap.

WoW Classic Season of Discovery has just come out, and everyone is searching for these new runes to unlock cool new abilities. 

Some of these can be very easy to miss, so I want to go over the first four that you can find as a Paladin in the human starter area. You can all of these runes in either Elwynn Forest or Stormwind. 

1. Crusader Strike

Starting with number one, and that is Crusader Strike. 

Crusader Strike is very easy to get, as it is in your starter area, and you are given it as a quest. Crusader Strike is great early damage, and it also recovers Mana. 

Head to your class trainer. They’ll tell you to go find a stolen libram. Then, head over the river to where the Defias Thugs are in the big vineyard and defeat a bunch of those until they drop the libram. If you have enough WoW SoD Gold, you can equip yourself before fighting. This way you can beat them more easily.

You equip the libram, and it gives you a mini quest to use your seal 10 times. So, cast a seal and then use judgment on 10 different enemies or 10 times, and that will fully charge the libram. 

Then, just use the libram again while it’s equipped, and that will turn into the Crusader Strike rune that you can then equip.

2. Inspiration Exemplar

The next one we need to head into Elwynn Forest itself, and this is Inspiration Exemplar. This is a spell that dispels Fear and Sleep on nearby party members. 

For this, you head over to the hill near Gerrard’s Landing, which is south of Elwynn Forest, and you’re looking for some remains on the ground. These despawn after someone uses them. So, if you head here and you don’t find them, just sort of hang around this hill, and eventually, it’ll spawn. 

Once the runes spawn, you just click on them, and it spawns a portal. Now, for this, you need a second Paladin or apparently a Priest can help as well to help channel this portal. So, once you have a Paladin friend or a Priest friend, you party up, and you channel this portal, defeat the spirit, and you get the rune. 

3. Aegis

Next up is Aegis. Aegis functions as a defensive rune specifically designed for tanks, enhancing both the block value and the likelihood of successful blocks.

To get this, you need to go to your class trainer at level 8 and learn Cleanse. 

Then, head to the Jasperlode Mines. You can do this as part of the quest that takes you there, or you can just head there yourself later on. 

Head all the way to the back. Past all the Cobalts to the back where the Spiders are. 

Once you get to the spider area, you head up the left path, and there should be an Injured Adventurer like a Poisoned Adventurer. 

Now, if he’s gone, someone’s already used it. Someone’s already cleansed him. And if you get there and he’s recovered, someone’s already done it. 

So, you need to wait for like that quest to time out and the adventurer to disappear, and then for him to respawn poisoned. As soon as he spawns, you need to cleanse him, and then he’ll thank you. And that’s when you get your reward. 

4. Rebuke

Next one is Rebuke. This is very good for a Paladin early on. It’s an interrupt for Spellcasting, and it also prevents Spellcasting for 2 seconds, giving us basically two spell interrupts at level 10 with our stun. 

To get this, you head into Stormwind and go to the park section of the map on the top left. Head into the bar here and talk to the Bartender, who will tell you there’s a drunk bothering them and disrupting their business.

Extend assistance as the righteous Paladin you embody, and proceed to the right side upon entering the door. So as you come in, turn right, and that corner of the room is where the drunk will spawn. 

Again, if someone’s already beat him recently, he won’t be there. So, just hang around. He’ll respawn. And then go talk to him, start the fight, and then beat him. 

Once he’s defeated, go back to the Bartender, talk to them, and get your reward. 

If you find someone already fighting them and try to join them, that doesn’t work. You have to talk to them yourself, to the drunk yourself. That’s the only way to pass this.

Now that the WoW Classic Season of Discovery servers have been aligned for nearly a week, more and more people are finally getting to level 25. 

Usually, when we play Vanilla, we just carry on leveling, but with this lower level cap, it’s left many people wondering what do we actually do now. How are we supposed to optimize our characters and how do we progress ourselves? 

Don’t worry! Because I’ve got a concise plan for you to follow.

1. Get An Actual Headpiece

One thing that you want to do straight away, so you don’t look like an absolute idiot, is get an actual headpiece. 

There’s a number of easy options for you. Alliance Warlocks can get a headpiece from the Noble Brew quest. Warriors can do their class quest to get Brutal Armor. The locations will be in Hillbrad Foothills and Razorfen Kraul. 

You can also go for the Humbert’s Helm from Dun Garok Rifleman. Unfortunately, for everyone else, the only real option to go for is a white cloth piece of gear like the Azure Silk Hood, unless you go for Engineering or before you enter Blackfathom Deeps, obviously.

2. Get Your Bags Sorted

Second thing you want to do is get your bags sorted, because at this level, bag space is utterly painful. 

Now, the best bag that you can get at this level is actually from the Darkmoon Faire. So, what I’d recommend doing, unfortunately, you know it’s gone already. But for next month, get farming the materials for Darkmoon Faire Tickets, so that you can get 50 tickets for a 14-slot bag. 

Also, you can go ahead and get 100 tickets and get a bag to resell, because they’re actually selling for about 30 SOD Gold on the Auction House right now. But Dark Moon Fair will also unlock some great loot in the later phases. 

Alternatively, you can farm Fel Steeds in Shadowfang Keep for their bags. And Alliance are very lucky to get 2 good quest options: the Gunnysack of the Night Watch & the Ooze-covered Bag. 

And if you have the gold, obviously, you can just buy a 10-slot bag on the Auction House. They’re looking about 1.5 gold currently as of the time now.

3. Get Fishing Leveled Up

My third biggest recommendation is definitely get fishing leveled up. Fishing is incredibly slept on in the lower levels, and it’s because of trunk farming. 

Basically, there’s these little trunks that you can fish up. As far as I’m aware, this is probably the best way to farm gold at this level, unless some other crazy strategy has been worked out, which I’m sure will eventually happen. 

But they have a very high chance of containing crafting materials that can just be very simply vended or put on the Auction House for a good amount of WoW Classic SoD Gold. 

Besides, you will have a very high chance to get healing potions, recipes, and even more bags. If you don’t need those items, again, you can get a bit of extra gold by putting them on the Auction House. 

You also have a very decent chance to actually get a green item, which can be useful to you (if you actually need the upgrade, or again, get it on the Auction House or even vended). 

4. Make Yourself A Disenchanting Alt

Alternatively, what you can do is to make yourself a disenchanting alt. All you need is a character that’s level 5, and you can just disenchant anything. So, your bank alt may as well have enchanting to make extra gold.

By the way, if you’re still leveling up your characters or started leveling some alts, the fastest way to do it is definitely by getting the RestedXP addon. They have totally updated the guides for SOD, recommending the best runes to get for leveling.

5. Grind A PVP Onto A Rank

Now, you definitely want to at least grind a PVP onto a rank, such as the Sergeant rank, to get the PVP caves that have actually been buffed in Season of Discovery. 

It actually provides a bonus to all of your primary stats. It’s going to be great for Druids as it’s basically like having 2 Mark of the Wilds active at once.

6. Grind Reputation For The Warsong Gulch

I would also recommend grinding reputation for the Warsong Gulch gear, at least to on it. 

You can do this by obviously just queuing Warsong Gulch or by doing the Ashenvale World PVP events, which also gives a juicy amount of gold. 

You mainly go in for the necklace and a ring here, particularly as there’s barely any necklace option at this level and also the ring is one of the only spell power options that you can get at this level. But there are also some really good ranged and melee weapons and also a cheeky healing cape. 

And remember, as we get higher level, you’ll be able to instantly buy the upgrades if you’ve got the reputation farm.

7. Grind Professions

Now is also the best time to start grinding professions while everything is dirt cheap at the Auction House. 

I’ve just grinded my Engineering to skill 130 without Mining once. I would especially recommend use Mining to level up Engineering by the way, because it’s ridiculously overpowered in Vanilla, particularly low level.

8. Form Big Groups

Now is also a time that many people are forming big groups in order to go and get all of the different class runes. For instance, the Warlocks going to get the Metamorphosis rune. 

So, if there’s particular runes that you need, now is the time to do it rather than later when fewer groups are forming.

9. Grind Dungeons

The obvious next step is to grind the dungeons, mainly Wailing Caverns, Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep. 

I would also recommend actually doing this before you hit max level. I actually got all of my Pre-BIS BFD gear before I got to level 25. 

Just remember, if you don’t need the rewards from the dungeon quests, save them to turn them in later when the level cap has increased again, because then you’ll get a big XP boost.

10. Do Higher-Level Quests

Apart from this, you may want to snipe some higher level quests for some good quest gear. 

WoW had made a guide on this. It’s pretty decent to be fair. But one thing they did miss is the battle for the Hillsbrad quest for Horde. You get this really good two hander, actually has a proc on it to do some shadow damage, called the Runic Darkblade. 

I’ve also heard that a few people on the Alliance side are forming groups to go and kill Morbent Fel, as he does reward a headpiece.

In this guide, I will talk everything about raid comps in WoW Classic Season of Discovery. 

Types Of Players 

Before we talk comps, I want to discuss the different approaches to the game. There are really two main approaches. 

The first camp is the one that wants to clear the raid as early as possible. Maybe you want Bragging Rights of being the first guild on your server to clear the new raid, or you might even want to be the next echo and be pushing for World First for all the glory. And then, once that title is secure, you want to clear the raid as fast as you can. To clear the raid quickly, you need to use SOD Gold to buy some good weapons and armor to equip your character!

The second camp has a different goal. This is the average-player camp and they want to clear the raid consistently. They really don’t want to be running back over and over again. They also want to maximize loot drops, so class stacking becomes a less viable option. Even though they’re not speedrunning, they still want raid times to be fast enough so they can fit other things in of the night, like working on more characters.

Whatever your goal is, I’ve created several comps that’ll hopefully get your brain thinking in new ways about Season of Discovery. This does have the potential to be the most broken and fun version of WoW we’ve ever seen, so let’s start thinking outside the box and make some raid comps.

No matter what you decide with a speedrun comp, you are gambling somewhat.

Speedrun Comp 1

Runes have been nerfed and changed several times, so your perfect comp may end up being far weaker than you thought. 

However, we do know a few things about classic that should still be true. Hunters level really fast and they’ll obtain Pre-BIS more easily than any other class. Just look at recent videos of people soloing items like the Furbolg Medicine Pouch at level 25. 

If you want to clear the raid the first week, a Hunter stack makes a lot of sense. They do get new runes like Explosive Shot and Sniper Training for increased Critical Strike as well. Plus, at least 1 Hunter is always required in your raid for Aspect of the Lion, at least if you’re Horde. 

The other required DPS is always going to be a Feral Druid. That way you can get Wild Strikes for Windfury to buff up the tanks and the DPS. 

You might notice that we’re missing a Mage, but Scrolls of Intellect and Sweet Nectar are both stronger, anyway. Plus, I just value the Hellstones and the Ritual of Summoning more in case anybody dies. As for your tank, they could be anything. 

To me, Protection Warrior makes the most sense to spam Sunder Armor with a new Devastate rune. I’m also very sold on double Priest in Phase 1. I do plan for one of them to be Holy while the other one is Discipline, so they don’t overlap too much.

Speedrun Comp 2

For our second speedrun comp, I wanted to make a Warrior stack. 

This comp would be gambling in a different direction, which is directly towards Warriors. They’re simming really well and if those projections are even close to accurate, arms will be so strong. 

Personally, I’m not quite as sold on Warriors until later phases, but I do know some guilds plan to go in this direction.

Balanced Comp 1

Now that we’ve gotten speedrun comps out of the way, I want to talk about balanced comps. 

The first balanced comp is very low risk and it’ll have nearly guaranteed success in the raid. This would also be probably the best comp for maximizing loot since there really isn’t much class overlap. 

Just like before, we’ve got to start with a Druid, who’ll be the off tank as needed and we definitely need a Hunter for Kings as well. 

Then, we just go for a rainbow in terms of glass colors. As an example, I’ve swapped the Warrior tank out for a Shaman tank, though anything could work here like a Protection Paladin. 

The biggest key to this comp is the Balance Druid, who can become a third healer as needed depending on the fight. Plus, a second Druid means 2 Battle Rez, which is fantastic. 

Instead of a two Priest healer comp, I have swapped to a Restoration Shaman as well. My reasoning is that this is the same company that developed Titan Rune Gamma. 

If we’re not getting feared across Blackfathom Deeps during at least two boss fights, I’ll be disappointed. Though that does mean Tremor Totem is a must have.

Balanced Comp 2

Another low-risk balance comp would be to run a Caster stack. In this build, we’re relying on homunculus to provide an over negative 1,000 armor debuff as well as the Demoralizing Shout.

In group 1, that frees up the Warrior to just blast maximum DPS, or it even allows you to do something else entirely, like an Enhanced Shaman. Meanwhile, in group 2, the Elemental Shaman has the ability to bring Shamanistic Rage for Mana regenerated for the whole party, which is stacked with Casters. 

In a Caster stack like this, the Arcane Mage should fit really well, too. They provide near priest level healing over a longer period of time with their high Mana Pool and their Evocation.

The Gimmick Comps

Moving away from realistic to comps, I also wanted to share a few gimmick comps.

The first would be an Affliction Warlock stack based on Master Channeler. My early math puts the base of Master Channeler at over 26 heals per second. All we need to do is add in some tank healing for our main tank Affliction Warlock and everybody else should be relatively self-sustaining.

The second gimmick comp would be a Fire Mage stack. The early math I did had fire mages really blasting. If the additional fights we didn’t see at BlizzCon are really short, this might actually be viable.

Though, no matter which comp you go with, you’re now armed with far more options.

Here, I will lay out my exact plan on what to do first in WoW Classic Season of Discovery: everything from the leveling to the rune collection to the rating and the PVP as well.

Tip 1: Get To 25 Fast

The first thing you need to do is level to 25 as fast as possible. 

Leveling faster means you can unlock the runes faster to play your dream build. It means you can easily avoid ganks on PVP servers as well. And it also means you can access the new BFD (Blackfathom Deeps) raid faster and the new Ashenvale PVP event.

My game plan for fast leveling is to use a speedrunning route. The RestedXP addon on CurseForge comes with a completely free 1 to 22 route. I’ve also modified that route to fit my own plans. Meanwhile, Guidelime has a free route that should be nearly as fast, also on CurseForge.

If you’re used to doing Hardcore routes, there are some things to keep in mind:

First, you’ve definitely got to add in Death Skips during the early levels. Whenever you die, you get placed at the nearest Spirit Healer, which can save minutes of travel time. The consequence is that you have to repair your gear all the time, which is something I rarely did in Hardcore.

Another thing to keep in mind is just because you can die doesn’t mean it’s efficient. You should play similarly to Hardcore, with very careful poles, since dying will set you back minutes each time. Remember that there will be increased mob damage. We don’t know the exact value, but I’ll throw out 30% as a number that might happen.

Tip 2: SoD Professions 

Third, don’t forget to work on your professions as you level. Only in this way will you have more SOD Gold to do more things, such as buying and upgrading equipment.

Mining is the biggest key, since it’s required for both Engineering and Blacksmithing. Meanwhile, I’ll be working on Enchanting and Tailoring early myself, to make Greater Magic Wands. 

Tip 3: Quests Changes 

The other thing to keep in mind is that the quest may change. For example, we don’t know what’ll happen with the Gravestone Scepter quest, since it involves the BFD dungeon. 

I’m also prepared to mob grind if I need to, since that buys me more time to reroute if things are different with the quest. A secret tool for that is a macro that targets and marks any nearby enemies. If you’re playing with a friend, you can have them run a different mark and both of you can mark everything for easy kills.

Tip 4: Rune Collection 

Back on the topic of rerouting, we’ve got to be ready for rune collection as well. 

There were some mentions of at least one rune being available early on, which implies you should be able to get a rune in your starting area. This rune would likely be something useful for leveling, like the infinite wrath rune (Fury of Stormrage). 

I’m prepared to drop everything and go to grab a rune like Mind Sear, since it could save me hours of leveling time. 

Tip 5: Do Some Dungeons

In between leveling and collecting runes, you should also be dungeon blasting as much as you can. 

Pre-BIS farming will be the ultimate key to success in the BFD raid, as well as in PVP. 

If the lockout system is the same as in classic, you should always aim to do the same dungeon multiple times. It’s just more efficient, since you’ve already traveled all the way out there. 

I planned a 4-man RFC (Ragefire Chasm) from 13 to 15, then I’ll be doing SFK (Shadowfang Keep) from 22 to 25.

After hitting 25, it’ll be time for more Pre-BIS farming. That means all the questlines you probably skipped when leveling, like the Paladin questline for Verigan's Fist. This also means more Deadmines, more SFK, and the BFD dungeon if it’s available. 

If the raid’s out right at launch, I’ll be cutting my Pre-BIS farming short to get in the raid earlier. Aiming to hit the first lockout will be key to get ahead on gear.

I definitely want to maximize my odds of getting new loot like the Extraplanar Spidersilk Boots for my Priest. I'll also be doing Ashenvale PVP in Warsong non-stop. 

Ashenvale offers a new PVP event and new rewards from the Warsong vendor. The PVP event will also offer the new Boon of the Blackfathom world buff, which can be saved for rating. There's also a new mount (Trainee's Outrider Wolf) with a 50% increased movement speed just for Ashenvale.

As for the gear rewards, weapons like the Legionaire's Sword are better than Pre-BIS options, like Cruel Barb though I'm personally excited for the Advisor's Gnarled Staff with extra intelligence and stamina.

Tip 6: Make Alts

In between raiding and PVP, I also hope to make several more alts as well.

More alts early means you can take advantage of lockouts and get even more gear and so many specs look really strong and fun at the same time.

With only a level 25 cap, it makes sense to want to try everything out no matter what you try out first!

The drums of war sound again, and the newest experience being added to Classic WoW is the Season of Discovery, a familiar, yet different Classic experience which focuses on exploration, open-world activities, and wild, never-before-seen player progression, with unique gameplay. 

So, in this guide, I will uncover all of the cool new features in this unique Classic experience. Of course, if you want to dominate the entire SOD battlefield, it is very necessary to prepare sufficient WoW Classic SoD Gold!

Different Features

First, let’s start with the discovery aspect of the season. 

All around Azeroth we see our favorite locations, monsters, quests, loot, and experiences, but with some unique twists, like hidden areas, never-before-seen quests, and new monsters. 

New Role-Defining Abilities - Runes

Hidden amongst these little discoveries, you might find the Season of Discovery’s most exciting feature, Runes. 

Runes are items that you can engrave on your armor, which kind of work like a secondary enchantment. These Runes can provide active or passive abilities from future expansions, or entirely new ones that can change the playstyle of your class. 

Some examples include Paladins with Avenger’s Shield, Priests summoning an army of Void minions, or totally role-defining Runes, like Warlocks, Shamans and Rogues now being able to tank, or Mages being able to heal with time magic. 

Also Read: WoW Classic Season Of Discovery Is Awesome! - Overview & Guide

New Level Caps & New End-Game Content

Another core feature of the Season of Discovery is level-banded content. When the servers are first released, all players will have a max level of 25. And then, over time, it will be raised to 40, then 50, and finally 60. 

The unique thing about this is that for each level bracket, there will be new, never-before-seen endgame content that players can participate in. 

For level 25, the Blackfathom Deeps dungeon will be transformed into a 10-player raid, with new bosses, mechanics and loot. 

Each level bracket will have a new raid and is aimed to be approachable to most players, but interesting enough to provide a challenge, with a difficulty akin to the original raids of Classic WoW. 

But when you’re traveling to the new Blackfathom Deeps raid, be careful, as the contested zone of Ashenvale is now rife with conflict. 

New PvP Activities - Ashenvale

Another new feature is Battle for Ashenvale. 

This new feature transforms the zone into a World PVP hotspot, where Horde and Alliance players will battle over territory and defeat enemy warmasters and leaders in something similar to Alterac Valley. 

With this event, you can earn reputation with the Silverwing Sentinels or the Warsong Outriders, and obtain new rewards, like mounts that can only be ridden in Ashenvale, new helms, and weapons. 

Conclusion

This is just a brief summary of the content being introduced in the Season of Discovery, and there will be so much more to explore within the future phases of these seasonal servers. 

Altogether, this experience is about Azeroth being the main character. It’s about exploring undiscovered lands, creating unique builds for your character, battling the enemy faction in World PVP events, and delving into new raids with your guildmates. 

Now is the perfect time to return to the world of Azeroth and explore the familiar, yet different lands, in the Season of Discovery.

Classic Plus, also known as WoW Classic Season of Discovery, will be officially released on November 30. This means there are a lot of new things waiting for us to explore. In this guide, I will mainly discuss the following:

1. Everything about the new 50/50 Forced Faction Balance changes coming in Season of Discovery.
2. All the implications of this change from the PVE scene to the PVP scene.
3. Which faction actually benefits the most from a balance server?

Before you really explore WoW Classic Season of Discovery, you’d better prepare enough SOD Gold, so that you can unlock more unknown progress faster!

Forced Faction Balance Explained 

First, let’s talk about what Forced Faction Balance actually means. 

By now, you may have seen the news that was posted in the WoW forums about the forced faction balance. The short version is that when the developer was developing the hardcore servers, they improved their technology to the point where they can put far more players on a single server. 

So, their idea is to launch Season of Discovery with as few servers as possible. With fewer servers, the idea is that the ecosystem will be healthier and we can avoid having imbalanced PVP servers.

Except the developer knows their player base all too well, they realized that even just having two PVP servers would still create a scenario where one becomes a Hord server and the other becomes the Alliance server. They’re going to try to avoid that very likely and toxic situation by stepping in and doing forced faction balancing. 

Their goal is to get as close to 50/50 balance as possible. At launch, this means a dynamic queue where the faction with greater numbers will be temporarily limited for making characters. Meanwhile, the lesser faction will still be immediately able to create characters.

What Do The 50/50 Servers Look Like?

Though this will just be the first method the developer uses to enforce faction balance, there are some additional methods they may switch to after launch if things get out of hand. So, the first question is what will the 50/50 servers actually look like?

The first result of the forced 50-50 faction balance is that PVP will be a non-stop unavoidable experience. In practically, any neutral zone, like Stonetalon Mountains, there will be players looking to kill you. Flight pass will be camped. Quest will be disrupted and raids will be completely blocked. Then, Ashenvale is going to feel much more like Wintergrasp. There will be non-stop PVP and running back to your dead body. It’ll basically be a replay of Phase 1 of Classic WoW, but with even more PVP. 

If you don’t want to fight players every step of the way in Season of Discovery, this is definitely the time to roll in a PVE server. If you do choose to roll in a PVP server though, you’ll be able to earn much faster Honor for Pre-BIS Items, like the Sentinel’s Medallion. And PVP servers will undoubtedly be the fastest way to earn items, like the Trainee’s Outrider Wolf with 50% increased speed in Ashenvale.

Based on our knowledge of the new PVP servers, we’ve got to start preparing. I’m really looking to farm fast Honor to get all the PVP rewards, so I plan to roll in a PVP server. With proper planning, I hope to turn the PVP servers from a nightmare into a complete gold mine.

The biggest prep you can do is to join a very active PVP guild with planned events. The Guild I plan to join will have hundreds of active PvPers. Then, I plan to bring a 10-man raid group to this PVP guild to get the best of boss rewards. Numbers really do win in classic. And being part of a big and very coordinated PVP guild on your server will be a huge advantage even if you’re mainly a raider.

Raiding Challenges 

On top of prepping your guild situation, you should also make sure to add key items, like the Chronoboon Displacer, to your shopping list. That brings us directly to raiding challenges.

With the 50/50 PVP servers, there will be a huge challenge to just entering the raids. Getting inside Blackfathom Deeps (BFD) is already a challenge on PVE servers, but now you’ll be forced to contend with other players every step of the way.

World buffs will be especially hard to maintain in a PVP environment and there are a lot of new world buffs as well, like the Boon of Blackfathom. That buff offers a 2% crit, 20 attack power, and 20% movement speed bonus. Then, the Ashenvale Rallying Cry offers another 5% damage. 

There are other data mined buffs, which may provide even more stats and they’ll definitely be contested throughout the game.

Horde Or Alliance 

Back to the Chronoboon Displacer, you’ll definitely want to have ready at all times to make sure you don’t lose your buffs on death. This is also where faction choice starts to matter as well. 

Horde players will have a significant advantage in the first phase. They’ve got proximity to both the Ashenvale PVP event and the raid itself.

The primary city for Alliance will be Darnassus, that is only about 5 minutes away from Astranaar, Ashenvale. It’s about the same as a flight from Orgrimmar to Zoram’gar Outpost. But the Horde get not one but two separate flight points in Ashenvale.

To make matters worse for Alliance, Astranaar is way further from BFD than the Zoram’gar Outpost where the Horde can fly in. That means Horde can block access to BFD a lot easier, which will be a huge headache for raiders. 

PVE Or PVP Servers?

That brings us to the ultimate question: PVE or PVP servers?

Alliance players learning about their tactical disadvantage are most likely going to sprint for the nearest PVE server. In fact, my recommendation to the most serious PVE players would be to roll in a PVE server. Leveling will mostly be fine for the first 20 levels. But from 20 to 25, it’ll be a real gank fest, especially in Ashenvale.

Then, the level 25 pre-bis farming will be a big struggle on PVP servers. Dungeons, like Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep, are must do’s for items, like Cruel Barb and Meteor Shard. It’s safe to say these dungeon entrances will have 20 to 30 players outside of them ready to kill. 

You also have pre-bis quest, like The Orb of Soran’ruk. For Alliance, that easy quest is now a nightmare. You’ve got to walk all the way through the Barons to turn it in and this is just the first of four-level roll outs. I can definitely see how hard it’ll be to level and gear up in the level 40 and brackets.

Just imagine a full 50/50 Stranglethorn Vale zone. We haven’t even gotten to the elephant in the room, either. That’s whether the 50-50 servers will actually end up balanced or not.

The big concern is that a 50/50 balance server doesn’t equal 50/50 PVP balance.

After all, a level 5 Gnome isn’t going to be very helpful for getting into your BFD raid. Just compare that to a bunch of level 25 hunters in full BiS. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if even on a 50/50 server it ends up feeling more like 7030, especially if one side has way more active rating and PVP scenes. 

No matter what happens though, we already know 50/50 PVP is going to cause a lot of action in zones, like Ashenvale. I’m personally very excited to get in on the action and I hope you are, too!

We’re excited to announce the arrival of WoW Classic season, the Season of Discovery, set to release on November 30th.

In this guide, we’ll delve into the new content, explore fresh mechanics (e.g. Rune Engraving and class changes), introduce new level-up raids and upcoming world PVP events. 

During BlizzCon 2023 Holly Longdale, the executive producer of World of Warcraft, revealed an exciting seasonal adventure for Wow Classic, known as the Season of Discovery.

This new season brings a plethora of fresh content, encouraging players to engage with the game through creative exploration.

Level Cap System

One notable feature that immediately caught our attention is the introduction of the level cap system. 

The newly introduced level cap system operates in stages, unlocking progressively. Commencing at level 25, the capped periods will incrementally rise, bringing with them new raids, PVP events, and loot opportunities.

The Season of Discovery will be introduced in four-level caps system phases, each featuring level caps, akin to the release of raid tiers in the World of Warcraft Season of Discovery.

As players embark on the new servers on November 30th, they will progress through levels as usual until reaching the initial level cap at 25.

The specific duration between these level capped periods is not firmly established at the moment. The classic developers have provided a general time frame, suggesting it will span a few weeks, but no less than a month and no more than 3 months. 

Level Phase 

Phase 1, maximum level raised to 25. Phase 2, maximum level raised to 40. Phase 3, maximum level raised to 50. Phase 4, maximum level raised to 60.

However, the progression may not necessarily conclude at Phase 4. It wouldn’t be unexpected if they announce additional phases, featuring not only increased levels, but potentially introducing new elements such as maps, additional content, or even a higher level cap.

New League Content

During Phase 1 of the Season of Discovery, where players are limited to level 25, the developer plans to enhance several dungeons, transforming them into new raids.

These raids will initially cater to 10 player groups, featuring added boss mechanics and challenges along with the introduction of new gear. 

However, describing these content editions as new might not be the most accurate term, as they essentially involve upgrades to existing content.

New Raid

The inaugural raid introduced in the Season of Discovery is a revitalized iteration of Blackfathorn Deeps, featuring updated mechanics, more formidable mobs, and an extensive array of new gear for players to enhance their characters. 

If you want to perform well when participating in this raid, it is very necessary to use WoW Classic SoD Gold to upgrade your character and purchase equipment.

Additionally, the classic team has announced the inclusion of a new world buff that players can obtain from the raid.

New Rune Engraving System 

Next up is the PVP event set in the vicinity of the well-known Ashenvale instance.

Here, the Horde and Alliance will engage in intense clashes within the wooded glades of Ashenvale, striving to overcome each other’s battle master and secure triumph.

Participants in this PVP event can anticipate acquiring new loot, including a zone exclusive mount that doesn’t require mount training or be it limited to use within Ashenvale.

It’s important to note that the World of Warcraft Classic PVP ranking system will maintain its existing structure throughout the phases, meaning players won’t progress beyond the rank of Sergeant during the initial level 25 cap.

A significant addition to the Season of Discovery is the Rune Engraving system, introducing new class runes for players. These runes can be unlocked through various means, such as completing discoveries quests, finding them in treasure chests, or uncovering secrets scattered throughout Azeroth.

While the BlizzCon developer panel only provided a glimpse of 3 runes for each class, the actual number may well exceed 100 in total. These class runes are poised to have a substantial impact on every class role. 

Conclusion

All this seasonal content is set to debut on November 30th and notably, there won’t be a public test realm. 

This Innovative approach in the Season of Discovery brings forth enjoyable and novel ways to experience the game, prompting players to venture into uncharted territory and experiment with new gameplay elements. 

The anticipation is high, and we eagerly await the opportunity to witness it in action soon.