- Author: Luxrah
- Date: January 30, 2024
- Updated: January 30, 2024
- Expansion: WoW Classic
Blizzard shared some more information about Phase 2 of Season of Discovery today, and included was a preview of the new PvP event in Stranglethorn Vale: The Blood Moon.
This event is essentially a large-scale version of the classic Gurubashi Arena, turning the entire zone into a free-for-all PvP zone. The Blood Moon event will happen on a set schedule every 3 hours and will last for 30 minutes. While it’s active, the sky will turn red, as we saw in an early teaser for the phase. This event is different from Battle for Ashenvale, as there won’t be any objectives. You’ll earn currency directly through killing other players. It also sounds like you will have a debuff if you are in a raid group during this event, encouraging players to PvP in smaller groups.
Players will be able to opt out of the event, but the normal rules on PvP realms will still apply. You won’t be able to earn any rewards if you opt out.
The Chosen of the Blood Loa will also be wandering the zone during the event and will destroy anything in their path. The Phase Two Preview video compared these patrols to the Fel Reaver in Hellfire Penninsula.
The new phase also brings new PvP rewards, which you’ll be able to purchase from a vendor outside the Gurubashi Arena. Examples given are a Mage ring that increases Fire damage by 16 and a 1-handed mace for Warriors. All item rewards from this event will be class-specific. These items also appear to have the Unique-Equipped: Blood Moon (1) tag, which means you won’t be able to equip more than one of these items at a time.
There are two new mounts as well. These are level 40 mounts and look like they will work like any other normal mount (no zone restrictions). They are also faction-agnostic, so you will be able to choose whether you would rather have the cat or the raptor. Both mounts have an appearance that is completely new to WoW, although they are both based on existing models.
The post also mentions new quests to increase your reputation with your Arathi Basin faction. So we can assume that Arathi Basin will indeed be included in Phase 2.
There will be no world buff associated with the Blood Moon event.
The existing Ashenvale PvP event will continue in Phase 2, and will move to a 3-hour timer just like The Blood Moon. The world buff from this event will not work past level 39.
Finally, as promised, the new phase will include changes to battleground matchmaking. The system will attempt to match groups of similar size with each other. Groups of 1-5 will be more likely to match up with other groups of 1-5, while groups of six or more will be more likely to be up against other premades. In order to avoid long queues, the system will ignore these rules if enough time passes.
PvP Updates: Beware The Blood Moon
With Phase 2 of Season of Discovery, we are introducing a new PvP event called “The Blood Moon.” This new event brings with it a bit of mayhem to Stranglethorn Vale and the Blood Moon will shine above the zone casting an eerie red fog on the area. Building on what we have learned from the Ashenvale PvP event in Phase 1, we have created this event to occur on a more predictable timetable so that players can plan for when they are able to take part.
Event: The Blood Moon
When: Every 3 Hours
Duration: 30 minutes
Where: Stranglethorn Vale
During this event, killing players will allow you to earn currency which can be traded for various rewards. While you can still group-up with your allies for the event, the Blood Moon is a harsh mistress and will punish those in raid groups.
For those who would rather live in peace and harmony with the land, you can opt out of the event by speaking with the Zandalari Emissary. You will not be able to earn any rewards from the event if you opt out and general realm PvP rules will still apply.
Unlike in the Ashenvale PvP event, there will not be any PvP objectives in Stranglethorn Vale’s event. You will also need to keep a sharp eye out for the Chosen of the Blood Loa who is more than a force to be reckoned with and will kill all in their path.
PvP Rewards
If you are looking to spend your currency on new rewards, you will want to seek out the merchant just outside the Gurubashi Arena. Players will be able to earn new class-specific item rewards.
TWO NEW MOUNTS
There are also two new faction agnostic mounts that players will be able to acquire by participating in the event. These level 40 mounts also have new appearances.
There are also new quests which will help you earn Arathi Basin reputation. This event will not have an associated world buff.
PvP Updates
Additional adjustments are coming to 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, if you are in a group of six or more, you will have a higher chance to match with groups with six or more. This will help aid in matching more premade groups with premade groups or non-premades with non-premades when possible. 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.
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.
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