World of Warcraft: Classic Hardcore
 World of Warcraft Classic: Hardcore | ||||
| Developer(s) |
Blizzard Entertainment Portion of Team 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Blizzard Entertainment | |||
| Platforms | Microsoft Windows, macOS | |||
| Release |
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| Latest release | 1.14.4 | |||
| Genre(s) | Season | |||
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World of Warcraft: Classic Hardcore is the first-ever launch of hardcore realms for World of Warcraft: Classic. It was released on 24 August 2023.[1]
Changes
Death is permanent. Players are unable to return to their corpse to respawn or have a fellow player resurrect them. However, characters that have died can still be logged into for communication and deal with certain matters such as handing over the guild leader title to another member of a guild.
However, dead characters can be moved to a non-Hardcore Classic Era realm by using a provided free Character Move service.
There are some other changes:[2]
- PvP is not the focus of the Hardcore game mode.
- Players will no longer be automatically flagged for PvP upon attacking another player. Additionally, attacking a flagged enemy player won't be possible unless you flag yourself for PvP. However, attacking an enemy NPC from the other faction will still flag the player as PvP.
- Battlegrounds are completely disabled, including battlemasters. War Games are still possible but there are no honor rewards and death is still permanent.
- Quests that flag the player for PvP, such as
[31] The Attack! and [38] The Missing Diplomat, will no longer do so. - Most escort quests will no longer allow the NPC be attacked from the opposing faction.
- Quests that require the death of a player will be designed differently without requiring the player to die or be dead to complete them.
- Most creatures will leash and reset when leaving the area or zone they were engaged in. E.g. Teremus the Devourer is no longer possible to be kited to Stormwind.
- All dungeons have at least a 24-hour lockout timer for players below level 60 and it is no longer possible for level 60 players to do low-level dungeons with players below level 60.
- The group experience restrictions from Season of Mastery is also applied. This prevents power leveling.
- The 32 buff and 16 debuff limits are removed.
- Paladins cannot use their
[Hearthstone] while under the effects of 
[Blessing of Protection], 
[Divine Protection], or 
[Divine Shield], preventing the Bubble Hearth trick. - Shaman's
[Reincarnation] is removed. - Duel to the Death feature.
- No phases, everything from the Molten Core to Naxxramas is available at the start.
- Players in a guild will be notified in the chat ([<Player>] has died at level <player level> while in <zone>.) and at the center of a screen (<Player> has died!) when a fellow guild member has died.
Self-Found Mode
Added on 29 February 2024, Self-Found Mode is for players focused on surviving entirely by themselves.[3]
It can be selected when creating a new character, and prevents that character from sending or receiving mail, using the Auction House, or otherwise trading with other players in any way (including giving or receiving enchantments). These characters will have a special icon on character selection as well as a 
Self-Found Adventurer buff visible to other players.[3]
Self-Found Mode can be disabled by speaking to an Apprentice Watcher in Ironforge, Darnassus, Orgrimmar, or the Undercity, but once disabled it can never be re-enabled on that character.
The checkbox to enable Self-Found mode on a new character.
Icon found next to the character, indicating Self-Found mode.
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Gallery
An unofficial Classic Hardcore Release Map.
Key art (full version).
Videos
References
- ^ This Week in WoW: July 31, 2023. Blizzard Entertainment (2023-07-31).
- ^ Rules of Engagement: Classic Hardcore is Coming to World of Warcraft. Blizzard Entertainment (2023-06-28).
- ^ a b WoW Hardcore Self-Found Mode Begins February 29
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