How do you kill that which has no life?
For months now, World of Warcraft players have been using a popular addon to create their own Classic Hardcore experience. Despite how well the addon works, fans have been looking for official Hardcore servers. Blizzard announced today that official Classic Hardcore realms are in development, and are coming soon to World of Warcraft.
The ultimate rule of Classic Hardcore is simple: Death=Delete.
New systems and features for Classic Hardcore realms
With how popular the fan-made Classic Hardcore experience has been, Blizzard is taking the new server type very seriously. While it could have just thrown up servers that automatically delete your character upon death, that’s not what it’s doing. It’s taking the opportunity to introduce some new features and systems specifically for this Hardcore ruleset, and that’s great.
First off, while death will mark the end of your character’s Hardcore experience, you’re not forced to delete the character. You will continue to exist in the game world as a ghost so you can communicate in-game with friends and handle some logistical matters such as handing over guild leadership. Furthermore, you’ll have the option of utilizing a Free Character Move service to transfer your dead character to a non-Hardcore Classic server.
Unfortunately, this kind of Hardcore setting naturally attracts griefers. Blizzard is taking some necessary steps to mechanically prevent such activities. For starters, you will not automatically flag for PvP, and must manually type a command to do so. Quests that usually automatically flag the player for PvP will no longer do so. Also, the aggro and leash radius of creatures is a lot smaller. As such, players will not be able to kite high-level monsters to low-level areas and intentionally disrupt the Hardcore experience.
Finally, a fun new system is being added specifically to Classic Hardcore realms. A new Duel to the Death feature will allow players to do just that. Of course, even death via this type of duel is permanent. The winner of the duel will receive a stacking buff called String of Ears. This buff will go up by one each time the player wins a Duel to the Death. Other citizens of Azeroth will be able to view the stack number of your buff to see just how many you have dealt a fatal blow.
I have yet to take part in the fun of Classic Hardcore servers only because I knew official realms were on the way. I’m very excited to jump into these new servers and cry after dying repeatedly before level 20.
