Since their original launch in 2019, Blizzard’s officialWorld of Warcraft Classicrealms have seen tremendous popularity among new and returning players. Beyond the timeless nature ofWoW Classic, Blizzard has further nurtured the classic player base by offering a consistent slew of new game modes and further expansions. Recently, Blizzard has decided to return to the basics with brand-new realms for both standard and hardcore game modes. While standard realms provide the typicalWoW Classicexperience,hardcore realms make death permanent, presenting a whole host of challenges to overcome in leveling and end-game content.
Fresh realms always generate excitement, with players racing to engage with the timeless world once again. The new realms will unlock end-game content through a phase system, updating the realm with patches which will ultimately lead intoThe Burning Crusade. That is, except for the fresh hardcore realms, which will stay locked toWoW’s original release. Confining hardcore to classic-only realms is a disappointing choice, especially with the constant experimentation and overlapping release time of progressing realms. While this opportunity has been missed with the new batch of realms,TBCwould create a near-endless supply of challenge and fun.
Burning Crusade Deserves A Hardcore Mode In WoW
The Burning Crusade Maintains And Improves Many Of Classic WoW’s Beloved Features
Hardcore, of course, shouldn’t be carelessly slapped into every expansion thatWoWhas released, such as theupcomingMists of Pandaria Classic. There’s a reason for its current confinement:Classicis such a distinct experiencewhen compared to nearly every otherWoWrelease. For instance, leveling is a monumental process, rife with annoyingly low drop-rate quests, frequent traveling, and dated game mechanics. Proficient play andsmart profession usage inClassicare also essential, a far cry fromWoW’s current leveling philosophy. While perhaps not initially appealing, these mechanics created a truly immersive world, supported by the scale of zones introduced inWoW’s release.
World of Warcraft: Why Player Housing Will Change The Game Forever
World of Warcraft: Midnight has recently revealed a long requested feature, player housing, and its inclusion will change the game forever.
Burning Crusade, however, feels like the one exception.TBCbrought forward a variety of much-loved changes, while carrying over many of the quirks that madeClassicso immersive. Previously unplayable classes suddenly excelled, class design had largely improved, and the raiding content was some of the best ever made. While the game-space was certainly more confined, leveling from 60 to 70 is still a long process, preserving constant travel and low drop rates.The amount of content to be gained fromTBCis near endless,with significantly more end-game content to chew through after reaching level 70.
Burning Crusade Hardcore Would Be Brutal
An Unprecedented Hardcore Challenge Awaits Players In The Outlands
Perhaps the apprehension to makeTBChardcore realms stems from its difficulty. Besides the comparablechallenge ofTBCleveling, with even more roaming elite enemies than the already deadly Son’s of Arugal in Silverpine forest, the end-game content has some truly brutal encounters.WoW Classic’s end-game, except for the final Naxrammas raid, includes relatively simple fight designs. While it is undoubtedly an impressive challenge to defeat these raids in parties of all hard-core characters,TBCraids are at another level of complexity and difficulty, and have the potential to wipe out entire groups in the blink of an eye.
Final Fantasy XIV Is Coming To Mobile, Aims To “Recreate The Grandeur Of The Original’s Story & Combat
Square Enix reveals that the ever-popular Final Fantasy XIV is coming to mobile devices and it sounds like an incredibly ambitious port.
With bothClassicandTBCleveling being arduous processes, it also raises the question of player time-investment. Grinding through 50 hours of leveling content is an achievement of itself, and it’s difficult to say whether players would be willing to risk their characters through another 50. There has also been less opportunity to play throughTBCin recent years, meaningknowledge checks and instant deaths would present more of a problem for players entering Outland. Falling deaths would likely see a spike too, withTBC’s introduction of flying mounts potentially killing players in combination with server lag and disconnects.
How Burning Crusade Hardcore Could Work
Blizzard Would Need To Address Concerns With A TBC Hardcore Realm
Extra considerations would need to be made by Blizzard to minimize these concerns.The already included option of free realm transfers for dead characters is a solid first step, but may not be enough solace for the potential deadliness ofTBC. One option is creating ways for players to jump intoTBCfaster, such as with the ability to make level 60 characters from the start. The difficulty here would lie in preservingClassic’s hardcore experience. The previous batch of hardcore realms are perfect options for character transferring solutions, giving players the ability to stay withinClassicif desired.
World Of Warcraft Interview: Celebrating 20 Years Of WoW, Netflix’s The Remarkable Life of Ibelin & What It Means To Leave No Player Behind
Screen Rant talked to Holly Longdale from World of Warcraft about the 20th anniversary and the new documentary, The Remarkable Life Of Ibelin.
Utilizing character transfers in this way would maintain the appeal of fresh hardcore realms, while giving players the option to choose where their adventure ends. Ultimately, brutal difficulty is what hardcore is centered around, andTBCpresents an opportunity to extend that experience to one of the most belovedWorld of Warcraftexpansions. While there may be no current plans for this feature, hopefully Blizzard realizes the major potential of a hardcoreTBCrealm.
World of Warcraft
Created and published by Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft is a long-running massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) that features the lush and expanding lands of Azeroth. Released in 2004, the game has seen a multitude of DLC updates and still sees tons of players logging in each day.
