Phase 4 of Season of Discovery launched July 11, 2024. The notes below cover the PTR changes announced June 28 and updated July 3, 2024.
In the June 28, 2024 Phase 4 PTR notes, Blizzard identified a gap in the Druid boots slot — no compelling healer rune existed there. The answer was Survival Instincts: the rune kept its defensive function and added a 20% bonus to all healing done by spells while active. For pure Restoration Druids this made Survival Instincts a meaningful throughput cooldown layered on top of the existing toolkit.
The same PTR pass included a Wild Growth nerf. Healing output was reduced by roughly 50% with mana cost cut by about 20%. Tree of Life form offset this with a +60% Wild Growth bonus, rewarding Druids who committed to Tree of Life uptime. The same PTR also buffed Feral: Rake and Rip gained 50% more Attack Power contribution, and the Gore proc chance from Mangle (Cat) and Shred rose from 5% to 15%.
Before Phase 4, Earth Shield and Lightning Shield could not be active at the same time. Tank Shamans grouped with a Restoration Shaman had to give up one shield entirely. Phase 4 removed the restriction, letting both run concurrently and expanding the defensive options for Elemental tank builds.
The original Power Surge rune design required using Flame Shock within 20 yards of a target to generate procs — forcing Restoration Shamans dangerously close to melee range in raids. The Phase 4 update extended Power Surge to also proc from Riptide, letting healers generate procs at range without breaking positioning.
The Static Shock rune's two-handed weapon proc rate doubled to 12% (one-handed held at 6%), creating a clear reward for two-handed builds. Shield Mastery was extended to trigger off any shock spell — not just Flame Shock — and its defensive buff was converted from Attack Power to Spell Power, improving synergy with the Shaman's threat and damage profile.
The July 3 PTR update raised the Way of Earth threat bonus from 50% to 65%, strengthening the Elemental tank Shaman's aggro hold. The same update applied a 20-yard range reduction to Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Lava Burst, Healing Wave, and Chain Heal for Way of Earth users — a deliberate tradeoff pushing tank Shamans into melee range rather than kiting at distance.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 against SoD Phase 4 PTR — Maintained by WowCarry's WoW team.
Phase 4 launched on July 11, 2024. The PTR notes covered in this article were published June 28, 2024, roughly two weeks before the patch went live. Phase 4 raised the level cap to 60 and introduced Molten Core as the primary raid.
Season of Discovery entered maintenance mode in April 2025 after Phase 8 (Scarlet Enclave), the final phase. No new SoD phases are planned. Characters remain accessible and the Browse Season of Discovery content content from all eight phases is still completable.
Wild Growth healing was reduced by approximately 50%, with mana cost cut by about 20% to offset. Tree of Life form received a +60% Wild Growth bonus, making the tradeoff favorable for Druids who maintained Tree of Life uptime. Druids outside Tree of Life saw a net healing reduction from Wild Growth.
The original Power Surge design required Flame Shock within 20 yards of the target — too close for a healer to safely operate in raids. Riptide has no such proximity constraint, so adding it as a proc trigger let Restoration Shamans use Power Surge without taking melee-range damage.
Way of Earth is a Shaman rune that adds 65% extra threat to all spells (raised from 50% in Phase 4). Phase 4 also reduced several Shaman spell ranges by 20 yards for Way of Earth users, pushing tank Shamans into close-range positioning. Combined with Earth Shield and Lightning Shield now being non-exclusive, it forms a complete tank Shaman defensive package.
Yes. The same PTR pass buffed Feral significantly: Rake and Rip gained 50% more Attack Power contribution, the Gore proc chance from Mangle (Cat) and Shred increased from 5% to 15%, and the Crusader enchant became usable in Bear and Cat forms. Wild Growth was also nerfed, as covered above.
