One piece of new content that some World of Warcraft: Season of Discovery players have been requesting for Phase 4 is a toggle Raid difficulty option. Some have found the revamped level-up Raids too easy and repetitive, and Molten Core is extremely familiar ground for many Classic WoW aficionados. Thankfully, a new Molten Core difficulty system has indeed been included with the release of Ragnaros's lair.

WoW SoD Phase 4 Best DPS Classes Ranked
Best Phase 4 DPS Classes, Ranked

Classes feel more balanced in WoW SoD Phase 4, but when it comes to the best SoD DPS classes, P4 rankings look similar to previous phases.

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In the new SoD version of Molten Core, Heat Levels are a mechanic that allows Raid groups to turn up the heat in the game's first-ever endgame Raid. Depending on which Heat Level you attempt the Raid on, the group will encounter more difficult mechanics, including a brutal minimum Fire Resistance mechanic. This guide explains what each of these new Heat Levels are in Molten Core, the minimum Fire Resist necessary to take on Heat 2 and 3, and how to change MC Heat level while inside the instance.

WoW SoD Molten Core Heat Levels

Bring Fire Resist Gear To Prepare For New MC Mechanics

WoW SoD Molten Core Heat Levels Magmadar Boss MC Heats

At Heat Level 1, Molten Core is practically a normal Raid without special mechanics, borrowing a lot of its new boss strategies from Season of Mastery version of MC.

But at Heat Level 2, some mechanics will instantly kill players without a base amount of Fire Resistance (without buffs), and some bosses gain new mechanics. At Heat Level 3, the Fire Resist requirement becomes significantly higher, bosses keep the new mechanics introduced in Heat 2, and a new secret boss becomes available.

So why would you want to take on a higher-difficulty version of Molten Core? More Loot! At Heat Level 1, each boss drops around four items, the "normal" amount of loot, which includes around two gear tokens. At Heat Level 2, each boss drops an extra piece of loot, and at Heat Level 3, each boss drops up around six pieces of gear – including an entire extra secret boss to get drops from.

Fire Resistance Requirements For Molten Core Heat Levels

Taking on the hardest version of Molten Core requires Fire Resistance gear that can impact your class' effectiveness, making it all the more important to hunt down the best Fire Resist gear SoD has to offer before Raid day.

WoW SoD Best Fire Resistance Gear Blackrock Mountain Molten Core Fire Resist Items
WoW SoD: Best Fire Resist Gear For Molten Core

You will need to stack Fire Resist gear to survive Molten Core, but thankfully, there are a lot of ways to boost your Fire Resistance in WoW SoD.

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  • Heat Level 1: Sweltering Difficulty
    • "Normal" difficulty
    • Required Fire Resist (Base): 0
    • Loot: About three pieces of gear/tokens per boss

  • Heat Level 2: Blistering Difficulty
    • Required Fire Resist (Base): 96
    • New Mechanics for some bosses
    • Loot: About four pieces of gear/tokens per boss

  • Heat Level 3: Molten Difficulty
    • Required Fire Resist (Base): 226
    • Unlocks secret eleventh MC boss
    • Loot: About five

Though the bosses themselves are not necessarily more difficult at higher Heat Levels, your Raid will all have to wear Fire Resist gear to survive instant kill mechanics, which oftentimes takes the place of better gear. You can still put Runes on Fire Resist gear, of course, so you won't lose your new SoD abilities at least. But a lot of the time Fire Resist gear doesn't offer set bonuses, stat bonuses, or special effects – aside from the Molten Core Raid set for each class, which comes with normal set/stat bonuses as well as Fire Resist.

How To Change Molten Core Heat Level

WoW SoD Phase 4 Molten Core Heat Levels Duke Hydraxis MC

To change which Heat Level your Raid is on, simply talk to Duke Hydraxis at the very front of the instance. The version of Duke Hydraxis that stands off the eastern coast of Azshara cannot change Heat Levels, only the version inside the Molten Core instance itself.

Interact with the Duke to see two dialogue options (if you are talking to him while on Heat 1): "Pull Some Troops Back" and "We Require No Assistance, Hydraxis." The first option which calls for a partial withdrawal turns up the difficulty in Molten Core to Heat 2, while the second, bolder statement turns up the heat to Heat 3.

Heat Levels can be changed whenever you like, such as in between bosses, which alters the potential loot drops and mechanics of the bosses you have yet to face. It cannot be changed in the middle of combat, and unfortunately you have to travel all the way back to the start of Molten Core to change Heat Levels.

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World of Warcraft Classic: Season of Discovery
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Released
November 30, 2023
ESRB
T FOR TEEN: BLOOD AND GORE, CRUDE HUMOR, MILD LANGUAGE, SUGGESTIVE THEMES, USE OF ALCOHOL, VIOLENCE (ONLINE INTERACTIONS NOT RATED)
Base Game
World of Warcraft Classic
Developer(s)
Blizzard
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Engine
UNREAL ENGINE
Franchise
Warcraft
Platform(s)
PC