Rune Reward Weapons & Special Tribute in Season of Discovery Phase 4
In Season of Discovery Phase 4, there is even more incentive to collect every Rune as some of them come with additional rewards in the form of weapons!
Hammer of the Fallen Thane, is rewarded from A Thane's Gratitude, along with the Shield of Righteousness Rune. Classic players may recognize Hammer of the Fallen Thane as the same weapon wielded by Thane Korth'azz himself.
Meanwhile, Old Guard Retaliator has a very interesting story, having belonged to Azeroth's First Warrior.
This weapon is rewarded for completion of the Fresh Meat Rune. The First Warrior, as described in this Rune's acquisition, is a tribute to former Blizzard Developer, Travis Day.
Travis Day, also known as Indalamar, passed away in 2022.
He was widely recognized within the warrior community for his role in getting Warriors nerfed on Beta, in the coolest possible way.
At the time, Bloodthirst was a buff that activated after getting a killing blow. The Warrior community in general was unhappy and asking for buffs. Indalamar felt that Warriors were strong enough and made the video below to show why.
You can find the original video by clicking here
Warriors were nerfed very quickly after this video, and it remains part of World of Warcraft history.
In Season of Discovery Phase 4, when you are on your journey to collect Fresh Meat, you will see some nods to these events. For example, to obtain Rune of the First Warrior, you will need to kill 5 enemies back-to-back inside Blackrock Stronghold (the video location), this gives you the Rhythm of War buff. Along with the rune, upon completion, you will receive Old Guard Retaliator.
The effect on this sword is Primal Bloodthirst and works in the same way as the original Beta Bloodthirst demonstrated by Indalamar in the video above.
