World Of Warcraft Is Getting A New Hardcore Mode
World of Warcraft Classic servers are getting a hardcore mode option that brings permadeath to the MMO for the first time.
Player death is pretty common in MMORPGs; whether you die in Player-versus-Environment or Player-versus-Player setting, the death count is likely to stack up to hundreds, perhaps even thousands. And while most MMOs don’t typically punish players for dying, World of Warcraft Classic has announced Hardcore player realms in which player death is permanent.
According to The Verge, the official World of Warcraft Twitter just announced the introduction of Hardcore realms to World of Warcraft Classic, where every death is permanent. These realms have been added to the public test realm (PTR) for players to explore before their planned release this summer. Characters that have died in Hardcore realms can’t be brought back to life, but they can still remain in the game world as ghosts, communicate with other players, explore the in-game world, and do certain actions such as pass on guild leadership to a living character.
In addition, all Hardcore realms on World of Warcraft Classic will be PVE realms, which means that the typical Horde vs. Alliance PVP won’t be allowed. However, Player-versus-Player will still be an optional feature for those who wish to engage in such activities, fully aware of the stakes.
Blizzard also announced a new Duel to the Death feature that allows players to duel one another, with only one player coming out of the duel alive. Players don’t typically die during Duels, but the new Hardcore feature really implies a fight to the death, and the defeated player remains dead.
There are a few drawbacks, such as fall damage, which hits really hard and can be lethal—unless you’re Divine Shield-sporting Paladin, in which case you’re basically unkillable for the duration of the spell (some eight seconds). So, the new World of Warcraft Classic Hardcore experience is really aimed at players who really know what they’re doing or don’t mind questing through the leveling experience, which can also be quite deadly if you don’t know what you’re doing. And don’t let us start with Raids.
World of Warcraft Classic Raids and Dungeons were some of the most beautifully designed and deadly aspects of the game, and the new Hardcore mode really ups the stakes here. To put things in perspective, one wrong step by the tanking player or the healer, and the whole 25-person raid might die in a matter of seconds. That’s 25 corpses that won’t be revived by the Redemption spell (also a paladin spell). In fact, those 25 corpses will remain in the game world as ghosts that can only talk with the living and explore the game’s map.
It’s worth noting that World of Warcraft doesn’t typically punish players for dying, at least in typical PVE realms in the new expansion. In fact, death is pretty common in raids and typically just involves a reduction in your gear’s durability. The same thing happens in PVE, but players still have to run to their respective corpses, or they can ask the nice Valkyrie lady to resurrect them. The latter eliminates the running but places a resurrection sickness debuff on the player, which can’t be healed.
