Summary
One of the most notorious moments inWorld of Warcraft, the Corrupted Blood Incident, has seemingly resurfaced in Season of Discovery realms by accident. AsWorld of Warcraftplayers shared video footage of the deadly plague being unleashed in cities, some made light of the situation while others expressed concerns that the bug would affect Hardcore realms.
Originally released in September 2005 with Patch 1.7, Rise of the Blood God, the Zul’Gurub raid was a 20-player instance that saw players fight Hakkar the Soulflayer, a destructive deity worshiped by the Gurubashi trolls. Zul’Gurub returned toWorld of Warcraft: Season of Discoveryduring Phase 5, released in September 2024. One of the spells Hakkar used against his enemies was Corrupted Blood, which dealt damage over time and spread to nearby players if they stood too close to the victim. Under normal circumstances, the damage caused by Corrupted Blood could be dealt with by strong healing from classes such as a Priest or a Paladin.
For nearly a month after the release of Zul’Gurub, Corrupted Blood could target both players and specific pets and minions, with the latter being used to spread the plague outside the raid and cause havoc throughoutWorld of Warcraft. On the r/classicwow subreddit, a user named Lightstruckx shared a 20-second video clip of the Corrupted Blood debuff in action, as it spread to nearby players in Stormwind City’s Trade District. Lightstruckx used Priest spells such as Flash Heal and Power Word: Shield to keep themselves alive as the Corrupted Blood debuff took down several players within seconds. The video is reminiscent ofhow the 2005 Corrupted Blood Incident played outinWorld of Warcraft, as “pet bombs” were used to spread Corrupted Blood in towns and cities for nearly a month before Blizzard succeeded in containing the Corrupted Blood debuff.
World of Warcraft Players Accidentally Re-Create The Corrupted Blood Incident
SomeWorld of Warcraftplayers stated that the return of the Corrupted Blood debuff in Season of Discovery realms was a lingering problem that Blizzard had not fixed. Others stated their concerns over how the debuff could be weaponized in Hardcore realms. UnlikeSeason of Discovery,perma-death is an integral part ofWorld of Warcraft: Classic Hardcore,meaning characters would have to start over after falling in battle.
Despite some fixes that were previously implemented inWorld of Warcraft, the legacy of the Corrupted Blood Incident still lingers. WithSeason of Discovery’s seventh phase planned for release in early 2025, it remains to be seen when Blizzard will fix the latest emergence of Corrupted Blood.
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World of Warcraft is an incredibly successful MMORPG that has been going strong for almost two decades. It’s one of the highest-grossing franchises in history and is widely considered the most popular MMORPG ever made.
