World of Warcraft Classic might become even harder, as a hardcore mode has been hinted at. If you die once here, your character will be deleted.
For some, Classic is the “hard” version of World of Warcraft, when “WoW wasn’t so casual yet.” Even though this is often debated, there are some players who find every version of WoW too easy and yearn for a “hardcore” challenge. With only one life, they roam through World of Warcraft Classic and try to reach the maximum level while adhering to certain rules. It now seems that this mode might be officially supported by Blizzard.
What was found? In the game data of Patch 10.1 Glut von Neltharion, some lines of code were found on the PTR that are quite suspicious and should alert Classic fans. It involves a warning that informs players they are about to create a “hardcore” character. Only the warning is currently known, more details are not yet available.
In WoW Classic, fans use addons to monitor their hardcore runs and prove they were “legit.” It seems that this might become a feature of Classic in the future.
Death = Delete
What is “hardcore”? In the context of World of Warcraft Classic, “hardcore” is an extension of the “Ironman” challenge. It’s not just about getting through the game without a single death, but additional restrictions also influence the gameplay. The following rules apply:
- Death = Deletion: If you die, your character must be deleted.
- Only equipment that you craft yourself, obtain through drops, or buy from NPC merchants is allowed.
- Using the auction house is prohibited. Trading with other players is prohibited. Opening bank twinks and player mail is prohibited.
- Resurrections (soulstone, ankh, etc.) are prohibited, as are “divine shield + hearthstone”.
- Dungeons may be completed only once and only with other hardcore players whose level is within the range of the dungeon’s summoning stone.
- No groups may be formed in the open world (except to enter a dungeon directly)
Sometimes there are additional rules, such as buffs from other players being forbidden, and they must be removed immediately – outside of dungeons.
How likely is this? In the past, Blizzard has repeatedly fulfilled small wishes of the Classic community and previously assisted with the “Ironman” challenge and even started the “season of mastery,” which was a kind of “Classic+”. That Blizzard will bring such modes in the future, which probably mean relatively little effort and yet present players with a new way to play the MMORPG, sounds likely.
Why is this on the PTR for Patch 10.1? The data structure of modern “Classic” is heavily based on the current “WoW Retail,” i.e., the Dragonflight variant. Therefore, it occasionally happens that some changes intended for Classic appear in the data for modern WoW. However, it seems rather unrealistic that Dragonflight will receive a “hardcore” mode, as the community for this mode is found more in the Classic area.
As soon as there are concrete plans for this, we will of course report on it.
