For World of Warcraft, there are now several versions of Classic. But what differences exist between Era, Hardcore, Season, and Cataclysm? Which Classic version is suitable for which WoW fan? And what rules apply on the various servers? MeinMMO summarizes the most important information about WoW Classic.
What versions of World of Warcraft Classic are currently available? For fans of nostalgic WoW content, there are currently the following versions of the MMORPG:
- Era servers of WoW Classic
- WoW Classic Hardcore
- WoW Cataclysm Classic
- Season of Discovery of WoW Classic
What all four versions of WoW Classic have in common is: An active WoW subscription is sufficient to access all Classic content. You do not need to own the current expansion Dragonflight (or the upcoming addon The War Within).
Era Servers of WoW Classic
When the transition from WoW Classic to WoW Burning Crusade Classic was on the agenda, Blizzard created the option to transfer Classic characters to the newly created Era servers. This was interesting for all fans of Vanilla WoW who were not interested in the innovations of the Shattered World adventure.
What rules apply in WoW Classic Era? The Era servers remain at the state of the last Classic phase, in which, among other things, the Naxxramas raid opened its doors. There you can experience all Classic content at your own pace. However, it can be tricky to find enough players for raids and dungeons.
New content is not planned for the Era servers of WoW Classic, but Blizzard at least revised the often-criticized PvP honor system in 2023. For example, it is no longer possible to lose your earned rank due to inactivity.
Like WoW Classic, the Hardcore servers were also created through community input.
WoW Classic Hardcore
This is a variant of the Era servers of WoW Classic, which was expanded with Hardcore rules in August 2023. Hardcore means:
- Characters have only one life. If you die, you stay dead. Reviving is not possible. However, you can transfer the dead character to a normal Era server to continue playing there.
- There are special restrictions: Paladins cannot use their Hearthstone while they have Divine Shield or Blessing of Protection active.
- There are duels to the death: With /makgora you challenge another player. The loser stays dead, the winner receives a stack of “Ear Necklace,” a buff that displays your kills.
What about player numbers here? While there are no exact figures, the Hardcore servers are significantly more popular than the regular Era servers. This is certainly due to the special thrill. In June 2024, there was again a raid of max-level characters that was wiped in the Molten Core.
You can check out the Hardcore wipe of the WoW raid here:
WoW Cataclysm Classic
Unlike the static Era servers, the progressive Classic realms have been evolving for years. Following WoW Classic came Burning Crusade Classic, then Wrath of the Lich King Classic. In May 2024, there was finally the outbreak of Deathwing and the launch of Cataclysm Classic.
How does this Classic variant work? The procedure has been similar for years: Blizzard uses the last content patch of an expansion as the basis, as it had the fewest bugs and the best class balance. The major features that landed on the servers during the course of the expansion, however, are unlocked in the Classic counterpart through multiple phases.
The preparatory phase of Cataclysm Classic, for example, brought in the Goblins and Worgen, the profession of Archaeology, the revamped versions of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, and the Transmogrification collection.
The cinematic trailer for WoW Cataclysm Classic creates excitement for more:
At launch, the raids Throne of the Four Winds, Bastion of Twilight, and more followed, along with the leveling phase from 80 to 85, seven high-level dungeons, the PvP zone Tol Barad, and more.
What do the upcoming phases of Cataclysm Classic look like?
- After the recent update “Storm on the Firelands” has been released, the Firelands raid will open its doors on November 8, 2024. You can find more information at worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com.
- In January 2025, the Hour of Twilight strikes (with the Dragon Soul raid and three new dungeons in the Caverns of Time).
Please note that Blizzard reserves the right to make smaller and larger adjustments on progressive Classic servers. As of now, there will be no LFR raid finder in WoW Cataclysm Classic, which was introduced with patch 4.3.
Season of Discovery of WoW Classic
With the seasons of WoW Classic, Blizzard presents you a highly adapted version of Vanilla WoW that follows its own rules and leads you through the various content phases much faster than was the case in Vanilla WoW.
The first Season of Mastery was relatively conservative, with minor innovations in the raid instances of WoW Classic. However, the current Season of Discovery plays out quite differently.
What defines the Season of Discovery?
- The current season of WoW Classic unlocks only a portion of the leveling phase at a time, with each phase bringing its own endgame (with a well-known leveling dungeon that is transformed into a 10- or 20-player raid instance, as well as a special PvP or PvE event).
- With the new class runes and fresh equipment items, the old Vanilla meta is overturned, and there are more classes that can take on healer or tank roles.
What does the further schedule for the Season of Discovery look like? Currently, the season is in phase 5. The schedule for the upcoming weeks reads as follows:
- November 12: The questline “Scepter of the Sandstorms” begins with the regional restarts.
- November 21: The war efforts for Ahn’Qiraj begin worldwide at 21:00 CET.
- November 29: The war efforts end.
- December 4: The announcement of the arrival of Anubisath and the Qiraji warriors begins.
- December 6: Temple of Ahn’Qiraj, Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj, and the Nightmarish Grove will open.
Phase 6 will officially start on November 21, 2024. The questline surrounding the “Scepter of the Sandstorms” can be completed from December 4 to December 6, 2024. What is planned for the upcoming year is currently unclear.
