More Players Allowed Does Not Mean Dynamic Scaling
Season of Discovery’s 2024 raid-size discussion involved two different numbers: the group size an encounter was tuned for and the maximum number admitted. A raid described as tuned for 20 could allow up to 40 without automatically adjusting its difficulty for every extra player.
This guide records the published Phase 4 and Phase 5 rules, with a separate label for each release. Use these historical SoD limits in their own context rather than applying them to current Retail raids.
What Happened at Molten Core’s Phase 4 Launch?
Blizzard’s July 9, 2024 Phase 4 notes introduced Molten Core as a 20-player raid, opening July 25. The same notes explicitly gave Onyxia, Azuregos and Kazzak a 40-player entry cap despite tuning them for 20.
PopularTopular’s July 30 report documented players entering Molten Core with more than 20 during its first week, followed by a hotfix enforcing the intended cap. That incident did not establish a general scaling system or a promise to remove every raid’s limit.
Published Group Sizes in Phases 4 and 5
Read the tuning and admission columns separately. The phase label matters: an old Molten Core entry report is not evidence for a later raid’s cap.
| Raid and release context | Intended tuning | Maximum admitted |
|---|---|---|
| Molten Core — Phase 4 launch, July 2024 | 20 players | 20 after the first-week correction |
| Onyxia’s Lair — Phase 4 | 20 players | 40 |
| Azuregos / Lord Kazzak — Phase 4 | 20 players | 40 |
| Blackwing Lair — Phase 5, September 2024 | About 20 players | 40 |
| Zul’Gurub — Phase 5 | About 10 players | 20 |
| Prince Thunderaan / Crystal Vale — Phase 5 | About 20 players | 40 |
The later entries come from the September 24 Phase 5 patch notes. Blizzard’s Phase 5 release overview also explains the extra space in Blackwing Lair and Zul’Gurub. Their September 26 opening was a documented change, rather than a hypothetical future format.
Three Questions for the Person Building the Raid
Can everyone enter? Check the instance cap first. A 24-player guild could fit into Phase 5 Blackwing Lair’s stated limit, but could not use that limit as permission to enter the corrected Phase 4 Molten Core together.
Does bringing more people change the encounter? The Phase 4 notes explicitly say that Onyxia, Azuregos and Kazzak do not scale difficulty or loot quantity with attendance. Extra places therefore should not be advertised as extra drops per boss or automatic proportional difficulty.
Which difficulty rules apply? Group size and optional challenge settings are separate decisions. Molten Core’s Heat system and Blackwing Lair’s dragonflight trials should not be confused with an admission cap. Agree on both the roster and the intended challenge before inviting players.
When a group advertises a “flex” SoD raid, ask what that means: room for extra friends, a particular difficulty option, or genuinely scaling encounters. The name alone does not answer those questions.
