LogInBlizzard showed the rules of the realm.
World of Warcraft offers various experiences for everyone, and if the standard version is too easy for you, rejoice! Blizzard is going to launch a Hardcore realm for those who need a challenge on August 24. Featuring permadeath, power-leveling restrictions, and so much more, it will make you want to test your skills.
Of course, the most hardcore feature of the mode is the inability to resurrect your character, even with abilities and spells. You only have one life, so cherish it. And if you lose your hero, you can continue playing it, but in a non-Hardcore Classic Era realm only. Thankfully, the Character Move service is free.
"You will continue to exist in the game world as a ghost to facilitate communication with in-game friends and resolve logistical matters such as handing over guild leadership if you are a Guild Master who has died an unfortunate death at the hands of a Defias Bandit or some other deadly creature."
You can die not only from fighting bosses but also from other players. To prevent unintentional kills, Blizzard introduced manual PvP flagging. You need to type a command to enter the PvP mode, so you can't harm another player by chance. It also affected some quests.
The PvP battlegrounds and Battlemasters are disabled in this realm. You can enter premade Wargames, but you can't gain honor or PvP reputations from them.
Additionally, most creatures will leash and reset when leaving the area they were engaged in. It means you can't kite high-level monsters to lower-level areas anymore. The distance is tricky here, so Blizzard might change it based on the PTR feedback.
If you wanted to roleplay as a dungeon hermit, I have some bad news for you. All dungeons have at least a 24-hour lockout timer for players below level 60. Moreover, level 60 players can't enter lower-level dungeons with players below level 60. Basically, carrying friends who are much lower than you is impossible now.
Another feature many might be happy about is the buff/debuff limit absence. The 16 debuff limit and 32 buff limits have been removed on Hardcore realms as they were originally "a technical limitation in the earliest versions of World of Warcraft".
Blizzard also introduces Duel to the Death. It is exactly what you think it is. You can invite someone to a duel, and yes, death is still permanent in this case. To track your victories, you'll get a cosmetic buff on your character called “String of Ears”.
"Each time you win a Duel to the Death, you will receive a “trophy,” and the stack count on this buff will increase by 1. Anyone who clicks on your character will be able to see what a frightful combatant you are by the number of Ears you’ve collected. There are some limitations to this, however, as you cannot earn the String of Ears buff before level 10, and you cannot earn the buff if you and your opponent are too many levels apart."
Here are some other changes you might find interesting:
- Paladins will not be able to use their Hearthstone while under the effects of Blessing of Protection, Divine Protection, or Divine Shield.
- Hardcore realms will have all the original WoW Content phases unlocked and available right at launch.
- Gameplay, Zone Disruption, and malicious player killing outside of consensual PvP will not be tolerated.
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