WoW dev confirms Season of Discovery Phase Two Gnomeregan raid changes

Gnomeregan is set to take center stage as the raid adaptation of the beloved dungeon takes the place of Blackfathom Deeps, as the capstone activity in World of Warcraft: Season of Discovery.

For those who aren’t too familiar with the game’s lore, Gnomeregan serves as the capital city of the Gnomes in World of Warcraft. It also happily serves as one of the most iconic and memorable dungeons in the history of the game.

In Season of Discovery Phase One, the developer chose to adapt the existing Blackfathom Deeps dungeon to turn it into a Level 25 raid. This was extremely well-received by players, and Gnomeregan is the next step in that process.

Now, as part of a preview for Season of Discovery Phase Two, Blizzard has confirmed some of the details around what the raid will look like.

Everything we know about the new Gnomeregan raid

Starting with the basics, Gnomeregan will take on a similar format to its predecessor in BFD. The raid will consist of six bosses in total, five of whom are the redesigned originals from the dungeon with one entirely new foe to conquer.

As part of the wider package, there will be new class sets, quests and rewards, all adjusted to suit the level 40 cap for this second phase of Season of Discovery.

There has been significant debate over whether Blizzard should cater to the hardcore player or more casual fans in the release of this phase. As a compromise, the raid will be available at launch to cater to the former, but there will be two lockouts at the start of the phase to limit the amount missed by players who take longer to level.

Blizzard also confirmed some of the changes to the bosses in Gnomeregan as follows:

• Grubbis: New radiation vents may just come into play in this encounter.
• Crowd Pummeler 9-60: This boss has moved to a new part of the dungeon where your encounter will occur on a raised platform before a crowd.
• Mekgineer Thermaplugg: Now has new mechanical suits as a part of his arsenal.

They also showed off some unfinalized gear that should be on offer to players throughout. Though their stats and buffs could change in the interim, it gives a good idea of what players are looking at:

In addition, players looking for a specific item to complete their sets can now convert new armor tokens into one of the pieces they need. This should save tens of frustrating runs in the hope of getting one thing.

That’s everything we know about Gnomeregan in Phase Two of Season of Discovery so far. With more likely to be revealed before release on February 8, there will be some more surprises further down the road.