WoW: Season of Discovery Revives 2005 Bug

Summary

• The infamous Corrupted Blood Incident has re-emerged in World of Warcraft's Season of Discovery.
• The Zul'Gurub raid in Phase 5 of Season of Discovery reintroduced the Corrupted Blood spell, leading to chaos.
• Players have recreated the Corrupted Blood Incident by spreading the plague in Stormwind City, echoing the 2005 event.

The Corrupted Blood Incident, one of the most notorious events in the history of World of Warcraft, has unexpectedly resurfaced in the Season of Discovery realms. As players shared video footage of the deadly plague spreading through cities, reactions ranged from amusement to concern, particularly about its potential impact on Hardcore realms.

Originally introduced in September 2005 with Patch 1.7, "Rise of the Blood God," the Zul'Gurub raid was a 20-player instance where players battled Hakkar the Soulflayer, a powerful deity revered by the Gurubashi trolls. Zul'Gurub returned in World of Warcraft: Season of Discovery during Phase 5, released in September 2024. Hakkar's signature spell, Corrupted Blood, inflicts damage over time and can spread to nearby players if they are too close to an infected individual. Typically, the damage from Corrupted Blood can be managed with robust healing from classes like Priests or Paladins.

For nearly a month following the release of Zul'Gurub, Corrupted Blood could affect both players and certain pets and minions, enabling its spread beyond the raid and causing widespread havoc in World of Warcraft. A user named Lightstruckx on the r/classicwow subreddit shared a 20-second video showcasing the Corrupted Blood debuff in action, spreading to players in Stormwind City's Trade District. Lightstruckx used Priest spells such as Flash Heal and Power Word: Shield to survive as the Corrupted Blood debuff rapidly took down other players. This video strikingly mirrors the original 2005 Corrupted Blood Incident, where "pet bombs" were used to spread the plague across towns and cities for almost a month before Blizzard managed to contain it.

World of Warcraft Players Accidentally Re-Create The Corrupted Blood Incident

Some World of Warcraft players have noted that the re-emergence of the Corrupted Blood debuff in Season of Discovery realms indicates an unresolved issue that Blizzard has yet to address. Others expressed worries about the potential for this debuff to be exploited in Hardcore realms, where permanent death is a key feature, forcing players to restart from scratch upon their character's demise.

Despite previous attempts to fix the issue in World of Warcraft, the legacy of the Corrupted Blood Incident persists. With the seventh phase of Season of Discovery scheduled for early 2025, it remains to be seen when Blizzard will resolve the latest outbreak of Corrupted Blood.