Is Season of Discovery WoW Classic+?

After being announced at BlizzCon 2023 on Nov. 3, World of Warcraft Classic Season of Discovery is finally coming to live servers on Nov. 30. The question that’s been on everyone’s mind is whether Season of Discovery is the long-awaited Classic+ mode but I don’t believe this to be the case.

In simple terms, Classic+ refers to the original WoW game that first came out in 2004, and was rereleased in 2019. Unlike the original game, Classic+ is supposed to keep the level cap at 60, keeping the spirit of the game intact while adding additional content like new raids, dungeons, and features. Given the fact that Season of Discovery fulfills some of these criteria, many players are left wondering is the Classic+ we have all been asking for.

Is Season of Discovery the same as WoW Classic+?

Although many fans believe Season of Discovery is the same as WoW Classic+, I’d have to disagree and say it’s not the same version of the game and I have solid reasoning for saying this. 

First of all, Season of Discovery, as the name suggests, is a seasonal server and it’s supposed to last roughly one year, just like its predecessor, Season of Mastery. It’s true Season of Discovery should have three additional updates after the release, but it still isn’t a permanent mode.

Another reason why I don’t consider Season of Discovery to be Classic+ is that it isn’t really introducing a bunch of fresh content. Instead, it’s only reworking the old content into a fresh adventure. It does come with Discoveries and Runes, or new abilities, but there aren’t new zones, dungeons, or raids, just old dungeons reworked into a raid, like Blackfathom Depths. I have to admit Season of Discovery, to an extent, has fresh content, but it’s still not fully Classic+.

So, what IS WoW Classic Season of Discovery?

WoW Classic Season of Discovery is a seasonal server that will last roughly one year. My working theory is that Blizzard is using this as a way to test new features within the environment of WoW Classic and wants to hear the community’s feedback on this before attempting to truly create Classic+. 

Although the changes are quite straightforward, Season of Discovery has received more tweaks than its predecessor.  Besides that, Season of Discovery is a big step for Blizzard, especially because it was announced at BlizzCon 2023. So, hop on the hopium train with me, and let’s hope Season of Discovery is only the beginning of Classic+.