WoW Classic Hardcore comes to PTR - how to test, changes to gameplay, and more

Blizzard has heard the people's requests - WoW Classic Hardcore is coming. In fact, players can head to the PTR right now and take part in it to see how things play and report any important bugs for fixing. The fan-made hardcore mode was interesting, but this is different. The changes made to the game mode make things more approachable but still offer a significant challenge for all players.

If you want to participate in the PTR and check out WoW Classic Hardcore, here’s what you need to do and know. There are some changes, such as specific abilities no longer being useful, among other changes.

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How to test WoW Classic Hardcore in PTR

The below steps assume you do not have access to the PTR servers already in Battle.net. If you do and want to join, simply click the “Game Version,” select “WoW Classic Era PTR,” and install it. You can log in and make your character on the Hardcore server when it's finished.

How to join PTR in Battle.net

• In Battle.net app, click the icon in the top left, and select “Account”
• When on the Battle.net website, select “Games and Subscriptions”
• Scroll to the bottom to the “Starter Editions & Public Test Regions”
• Click “Create PTR account” next to “Create a Public Test Realm (PTR) account to access new World of Warcraft content before it goes live.”
• Fill in the appropriate information
• Download the Classic Era PTR in the game list of WoW

As you can see, taking part in WoW Classic Hardcore is quite easy. However, you need to subscribe to World of Warcraft if you want to participate in any of the Classic servers. Several streamers were playing the fan-made version, but now there’s an official challenge mode for Blizzard’s hit MMO.

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Differences between WoW Classic and Hardcore

The original version of WoW Classic Hardcore had an addon to get started and had its own rules, regulations, and things to be aware of. However, Blizzard has made their own decisions and gameplay changes to make this mode interesting.

Death is still permanent, but you remain a ghost in case you need to pass on Guild Leadership.

Another useful feature is to turn on Player vs. Player. You must flag yourself via “/pvp.” This ensures people don’t unintentionally flag themselves and get killed. PVP Battlegrounds are also disabled, and so are PVP Battlemasters.

There are premade Wargames, but you don’t gain honor or PVP reputation from them. The old-school PVP quests don’t flag you for PVP either, which is a pleasant change. Additionally, other faction players can’t attack the NPC escort quests, so there’s no griefing.

You can’t leash higher-level mobs and bring them to lowbie areas to grieve and murder players. It sounds like Blizzard put intense thought into WoW Classic Hardcore to make it fair and fun.

Another major change was that all dungeons have a minimum 24-hour lockout. This ensures that Warcraft players don’t just grind dungeons to hit the level cap. The point of WoW Classic Hardcore is that you are experiencing the world with other players - and grinding dungeons is far easier.

Level 60 players can never join a dungeon with a sub-level 60 character. The developers do not want to see people power-leveling low-level characters to give them an advantage in this mode. Speaking of characters, Bubble-Hearth is gone. Paladins cannot just bubble and heart out of danger.

Players can also participate in all the Classic content - it’s not being gated. That means you can go into Naxxramas if you want - but it’s not advisable without a great deal of preparation being done first.

Finally, a new feature was added - Duel to the Death. You can’t accidentally click it - you must type “I Accept” in a box before beginning. As the name suggests, your character dies if you lose this duel.

The game will track the number of Duels you win this way, and you will get a cosmetic buff, “String of Ears.” However, you won't gain the buff if there’s a vast level gap or you’re under level 10.

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Unfortunately, there’s no release date given for WoW Classic Hardcore. You can try it out right now on the PTR if you’re curious to see how it will play when things go live in the future.