In news that will be a relief to many, one of the developers behind World of Warcraft: Season of Discovery has confirmed there are contingencies in place to retain the challenge of dungeons in Phase Two.
One of the significant new features introduced to the game in Season of Discovery is the Rune Engraving system, which allows players to augment their armor pieces with new abilities and powers. This has led to some incredibly potent combinations in the open world and instanced content.
As a result, the developer has taken additional steps to balance both PvE and PvP effectively in Season of Discovery. As well as simply buffing general mob damage, there are also new mechanics and abilities to contend with, particularly in the Blackfathom Deeps raid adaptation.
Now, one developer has responded to a fan who was concerned that the difficulty could become too easy in later phases.
Blizzard will continue to address balance in Phase Two of Season of Discovery actively
In a tweeted reply, Senior Game Producer for Classic World of Warcraft Josh Greenfield confirmed that the developer has a significant number of contingencies for the additional powers granted by Season of Discovery.
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Did you feel like outdoor or dungeon content felt negligible from 1-25? I’d be surprised if the answer was yes while leveling. We did quite a bit under the hood to bump up the damage and overall power of the content to compensate for runes. Will p2 dungeons be like mythic+25s?…
— Josh Greenfield (@AggrendWoW) January 28, 2024
As well as confirming that players shouldn’t be able to breeze through much of the game’s content in this phase, Greenfield also specified a more nuanced philosophy behind Season of Discovery. Namely, the new powers on offer are designed to make characters feel more potent, and that’s a good thing for the overall enjoyment of the game.
Though he doesn’t go into detail here, other considerations are likely at play here. The designers of Season of Discovery’s staggered leveling system have created it with the express purpose of allowing those with less time to grind to play with their friends. This philosophy almost certainly applies to gear as well.
With Phase Two of Season of Discovery set to launch on February 8, players won’t have long to wait to see if Greenfield’s words hold true.
