Summary
World of Warcraft ClassicSeason of Discovery players may have already discovered some of the Runes coming in future phases. The retro server experience may have just begun Phase 2, butWorld of Warcraftfans have already found hints at what to expect in Phase 3 and beyond.
Season of Discovery isWorld of Warcraft’s most recent experiment that changes the Classic formula. One of the biggest new additions to Season of Discovery is Runes – engravings players can collect and freely apply to gear, unlocking passive and active abilities that can drastically alter how each class plays. Phase 2 ofWoWSeason of Discovery added the second batch of Runesto the game, which are mostly engraved on the Waist and Feet armor slots.
However, someWorld of Warcraftfans have already discovered some Runes that will likely arrive in later phases of Season of Discovery. While uncovering the new Runes from Phase 2,Wowhead datamined dozens of Runesfor the Head and Wrist slots. These Runes are not currently available in Season of Discovery Phase 2, but will likely be added to the game in Phase 3 or later.
Increase damage and reduce the cooldown and cost of Hurricane.
Druid
Helm
Removes Barkskin penalties and lets it be cast on allies and while shapeshifted.
Certain Bear form attacks can reset Mangle, and Cat form attacks can reset Tiger’s Fury
Hunter
Wrist
Consume Frenzy to increase attack speed and grand Focus to pet.
Increase damage of Explosive Shot and all traps.
Mage
Stuns frozen targets, or deals damage to targets immune to stun.
Deals damage that increases subsequent Balefire Bolts, but decreases Spirit and can kill the user.
Damages attackers, increases spell crit chance, and reduces incoming crit chance.
Teleport back to Blink location and reset its cooldown
Blessing of Sanctuary prevents and deals more damage.
Paladin
Holy Light reduces the cast time of the next Holy Light.
Consecration can crit, and several Holy spells get an increased crit chance.
Exorcism and Holy Wrath cooldowns decrease, and Holy Wrath can target any enemy.
Hammer of Wrath cooldown resets when used on low health enemies.
Priest
Spell crits cause Smite, Flash of Light, and Binding Heal to be instant cast.
DoT and channeled abilities can crit.
Warlock
Deal damage over time to nearby enemies and reduce magic damage taken.
Deal damage over time that does burst damage if dispelled.
Increases damage and reduces Disarm duration while wielding a shield.
Warrior
Buff that reduces damage and threat generation of a party member.
Gains a boost to attack power that stacks higher on hits.
Sword and Board
Devastate and Revenge can reset Shield Slam and make it free.
Some of these Runes include iconic abilities players may recognize from retailWoW. Warlocks can get Unstable Affliction and Summon Felguard, as well as Immolation Aura, an ability used by Demon Hunters on the modern servers. Mages, on the other hand, get familiar spells like Molten Armor and Displacement, but also new skills like Balefire Bolt. Both Warlocks and Priests can even get Runes that allow theWoWclasses' DoTsto inflict critical hits – a passive feature that wasn’t added to the game until Cataclysm normally.
As this information was datamined, it is important to remember it is not final. These Runes could drastically change before they are implemented, and some may not be added at all. The Runes that are will likely arrive in Phase 3, but they could technically come in later updates as well after theWoW ClassicSeason of Discovery level capis raised. This list is also not comprehensive, as more engravings will join those that are added, given the uneven numbers and lack of Shaman Runes.
Either way, these new Runes look both powerful and interesting. Each new set of Runes can be applied to additional pieces of gear, further empowering players beyond their normal limits inClassic WoW. Considering how difficult the Gnomeregan andBlackfathom Deeps raids have been inWoWSeason of Discovery, many fans cannot wait to see what challengesWorld of Warcrafthas in store for them once characters can have Runes engraved on the rest of their gear.
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