Official Classic Hardcore Rules
On June 28th it has officially been announced: Hardcore realms are coming to World of Warcraft! Following, we summarized the most important rules and as well as further information about the PTR Server!
Death is permanent
Dying in WoW Hardcore is a literal death sentence for your character. You won’t be able to be resurrected by any means, including class-specific abilities.
You keep existing in the world as a ghost to keep communication with your in-game friends, as well as settle your affairs as a Guild Master. However, your character is not lost permanently. You can still transfer it to a non-Hardcore Classic Era realm for free, but your hardcore journey will be done.
PvP Flagging
You won’t be automatically flagged for PvP upon attacking another player. This prevents you from accidentally attacking another player and loosing your progress of your journey just because of this one mistake. To flag yourself as PvP, you’ll have to type in /pvp. Bear in mind that attacking an enemy faction NPC still flags you! So stay clear of those places!
PvP Battlegrounds and Warfare
Battlegrounds are fully disabled, while premade Wargames stay enabled but free of any honor gains or PvP reputations.
Quests and PvP
Quests that previously flagged you for PvP no longer do that. This was never intentionally implemented but resulted out of technical limitations, which do not exist anymore at this point. Also, quests that required you to die can now be completed without dying, obviously.
Area Leashing
Most creatures cannot be dragged out of their area any more by kiting them. They’ll reset when leaving the zone/area they were engaged in.
Dungeon lockout
Blizzard felt that the main experience for hardcore would be to experience adventure in the outside-world of WoW. To keep that spirit, they’ve implemented a 24h lockout for dungeons for players below level 60. This prevents you from hogging those dungeons and forces you to actually take part in the world.
(De)buff limits
The 16 debuff and 32 buff limit has been removed. The only reason for this was the technical limitations.
Nerfing the Paladin
As Shamans will no longer be able to use ressurect, the ability of Paladins to safely cast their Hearthstone while being affected by Blessing of Protection, Divine Protection or Divine Shield feels like an unfair advantage. That is why it is no longer possible.
You or me!
There is a new feature called “Duel to the Death”, which, as the name states, allows you to engage in a duel against another player who also agrees to it. You get various rewards for winning, while losing costs you everything.
Everything unlocked
Every WoW Content phases are unlocked from the start. While you will be able to go everywhere, It is suggested to not do so and continue in caution!
Hardcore PTR Server
The Public Test Realm for Hardcore classic is available since June 29th, capping the possible to reach level to 30. If you want more information on Hardcore, take a look at the Developer Interview issued here.