Summary
- World of Warcraft Classic's Season of Discovery Phase 5 introduces the Crystal Vale raid with Prince Thunderaan on September 26.
- New raids, gear, and methods of acquiring old Runes will be added in the update, as well as secret class-specific items.
- Players can challenge a reimagined version of Prince Thunderaan in the Crystal Vale raid, providing a new take on an iconic WoW encounter.
World of Warcraft Classic just revealed the Crystal Vale, a new raid coming in Season of Discovery Phase 5 in which players can clash with Prince Thunderaan. This raid, along with the Season of Discovery versions of Blackwing Lair and Zul’Gurub, will hit the World of Warcraft Classic servers on September 26.
Phase 5 of Season of Discovery is almost live, bringing with it the second batch of endgame content for the Classic WoW servers. New raids, gear, and methods of acquiring old Runes from previous World of Warcraft Classic Season of Discovery phases will be added in the update, along with secret class-specific items, higher PvP ranks, and more.
WoW: Season of Discovery – Phase 5 Overview (Raids, Runes, & More)
WoW SoD Phase 5 has been revealed, including two new Raids, new Runes to collect, and other Discoveries to make in P5.
However, it seems like Season of Discovery Phase 5 will also include a brand-new take on an iconic World of Warcraft encounter. In a recent blog post talking about the features of Phase 5, World of Warcraft revealed the Crystal Vale, a new single-boss instance where between 20 and 40 players can challenge a reimagined version of Prince Thunderaan, the memorable world boss spawned during the quest to obtain the Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker Legendary weapon. The raid sounds like it will be comparable to Onyxia’s Lair and the raid versions of Lord Kazzak and Azuregos added in WoW Classic Season of Discovery Phase 4.
Crystal Vale Raid in WoW Classic SoD Phase 5
As one might expect, players can obtain an improved version of Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker from this raid, but also some new loot for all classes as well. Fans had previously discovered items related to Thunderaan, including Stormwrath, Sanctified Shortblade of the Galefinder – a one-handed sword that looks like the lower half of Thunderfury – and the Drape of the Windlord, both of which may be among the boss’ drops. This raid can be challenged by all players, regardless of whether they have started the Thunderfury questline.
Prince Thunderaan, and more specifically his iconic blade, make up one of the most memorable memes in World of Warcraft alongside the likes of Leeroy Jenkins and Mankrik’s Wife. For the last 20 years, it has been common practice for players to repeatedly ask one another if someone has said Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker in General or Trade chat. No doubt the influx of Thunderfurys obtained via this new raid will bring a hilarious resurgence of this comedic exchange.
Season of Discovery Phase 5 is set to hit World of Warcraft on September 26, but the experimental Classic realms aren’t finished yet. The Ahn’Qiraj and Naxxramas raids still need their Season of Discovery treatments, and World of Warcraft Classic has teased something big on the horizon as well, so fans can expect at least another phase or two before the end.
