WoW SoD: How to get the Melee Specialist Rune in WoW Classic Season of Discovery

Hunt down these horsemen.

Image of an Orc and Goblin in WoW SoD.
Screenshot by Dot Esports.

The Melee Specialist Rune is an important Rune for Hunters in World of Warcraft Classic Season of Discovery that to try out a melee instead of ranged build. Much like Lone Wolf from phase one, Melee Specialist is a passive that can completely alter your playstyle.

Recommended Videos

Runes are special items that can provide you with new spells, passives, or unlock entirely new playstyles for the nine original classes. Melee Hunters have existed in retail World of Warcraft since Legion, but you can try out this build in Classic with the help of Melee Specialist.

This Rune requires tons of traveling and teamwork to obtain. If you are looking for the Melee Specialist Rune in World of Warcraft Classic Season of Discovery, this is what you need to do.

Where to find the Melee Specialist Rune in WoW SoD

To get Melee Specialist in World of Warcraft Season of Discovery, you need to collect the Rune of Close Combat. You can obtain this Rune by speaking with the Dalaran Agent at Ariden’s Camp at Deadwind Pass.

This NPC will give you an important item called Ariden’s Sigil. Whenever you or another player in your party has Ariden’s Sigil equipped, you can use to to reveal Dark Riders. To get the Melee Specialist Rune, you need to slay seven Dark Riders.

Where to find Dark Riders in WoW SoD

There are seven total locations where you can find Dark Riders in World of Warcraft Classic Season of Discovery. Dark Riders have been reported by players to scour wide areas, so you will need to keep an eye on your Ariden’s Sigil.

Whenever a Dark Rider is nearby, you will get a buff near your mini-map that will alert you of the Dark Rider’s presence. Dark Riders drop Dalaran Relics upon death that you need to collect to eventually return to the Dalaran Agent. This means that you need to scour through all seven regions to find these tough mini bosses.

A Rogue and Warlock fighting a Dark Rider in Deadwind Pass in WoW SoD
Dark Riders can be difficult to identify, but their spectral form and steed are dead giveaways. Screenshot by Dot Esports.

Dark Riders are level 41 Elite mobs that are extremely difficult to kill for even a five-person party. To take down one of these groups, I highly recommend moving in groups of ten. Given that many, many different Runes in phase two require you to find Dark Riders, recruitment shouldn’t be a problem.

Melee Specialization Rune in WoW SoD, Explained

Melee Specialization is a passive you can unlock from the Rune of Close Combat. This Rune reduces your Raptor Strike cooldown to three seconds and makes the attack instant. Mongoose Bite’s cooldown is also entirely removed while Raptor Strike now has a 30 percent chance to completely skip its cooldown as well.

This is a must-get for any Hunters who want to experiment with melee focused builds, given that it empowers your two best melee abilities.

Author
Image of Blaine Polhamus
Blaine Polhamus
Staff Writer for Dot Esports. Avid gamer for two decades and gaming writer for three years. I'm a lover of anything Souls-like since 2011. I cover everything from single-player RPGs to MMOs.