Blizzard is taking a dive into Classic+ content and it looks like WoW Classic's Season of Mastery is almost here. We have a release date and we have most of the information. Here's everything you need to know.
Name Reservation
If you're getting ready for the Season of Mastery, you're going to want to know that Name Reservation is now live and available from now until launch day!
You're only allowed one Name Reservation per Account - no matter what server - so make it count.
Release Date
WoW Classic Season of Mastery will officially go live on Tuesday, November 16th.
Much like all World of Warcraft launches, we expect some technical hiccups on launch day that may slow things down - so players may struggle to see gameplay until late at night on launch day.
Phase Schedule
WoW Classic Season of Mastery will be divided into Phases, this time however these phases will go through all of the WoW Classic content in just one year.
This will be a much faster timeframe than the original WoW Classic launch, and matches with the theme of difficulty and challenge in Season of Mastery.
Here's what the WoW Classic Season of Mastery phase schedule will look like, and our estimates for their release dates:
Phase 1 (Nov. 16 - Jan. 15)
- Molten Core
- Onyxia
- Maraudon
- PvP Honor System and Battlegrounds
Phase 2 (Jan. 16 - March 15)
- Dire Maul
- Azuregos
- Kazzak
Phase 3 (March 16 - May 15)
- Blackwing Lair
- Darkmoon Faire
- Darkmoon deck drops begin
Phase 4 (May 16 - July 15)
- Zul’Gurub
- Green Dragons
Phase 5 (July 16 - Sept. 15)
- Ahn’Qiraj War Effort begins
- Ahn’Qiraj raids open as the war effort dictates
Phase 6 (Sept. 16 - Nov. 15)
- Naxxramas
- Scourge Invasion
Blizzard has yet to reveal the release dates for the WoW Classic Season of Mastery phases, but the company has clarified each will take a "couple months".
Content
WoW Classic Season of Mastery seeks to build on the difficulty of Vanilla World of Warcraft by making some major changes right from the beginning.
These major changes include the following:
- Removal of World Buffs
- Buffs for all Raid Bosses
- Improved Quest and Dungeon Experience
- Faster Phases
With these changes, players will have much more difficult raids in Season of Mastery, with World Buffs now being removed entirely, and bosses having higher health pools, dealing more damage, and in some cases even including new spells/adds.
With faster phases as well, players will also have less time to get all of the necessary gear to clear through the raids of WoW Classic - making the fights even more challenging.