WoW: Classic Hardcore

For a while now, I have been playing World of Warcraft Classic Hardcore with the aim of reaching level 60. I must admit, I can almost hear my friends collectively sighing inwardly after reading the title of this blog post, because I have been trying to put my days of playing World of Warcraft behind me. Yet I have had this itch to play the Hardcore version of WoW Classic, just to see if I could do it; to see if I could reach level 60 without dying, and without trading or using the auction house, as a self-found adventurer. And yesterday, after more than 10 days playtime, some heart-stopping moments, and a great deal of patience and planning, I finally achieved my goal and reached level 60.

I first tried WoW Classic Hardcore around this time in 2023, when I wrote my WoW: February Update – Hardcore Challenge post, and later my WoW: March Update when I reached level 42. Since then, Blizzard Entertainment has released dedicated Hardcore WoW servers, and I have been wondering ever since whether I could do it.

For those who do not know what Hardcore is, it is a game mode in which, if your character dies, instead of resurrecting and carrying on, your character dies permanently and you must start again. It is not for everyone because it can be deeply upsetting to lose your progress, but I find it a fun, high-octane challenge which, combined with the self-found adventurer approach, leads to a genuine sense of achievement. I managed to capture the moment I reached level 60 with a screenshot and made a short video.

Now that I have reached the maximum level, the next logical step would be to move into the endgame by completing dungeons, raids, and certain quests to obtain the best items. But I have to admit, I am not that interested. For me, this was always about the journey: levelling from 1 to 60 without dying. Anything from here on is a bonus, and I would not even mind if my character died. I have achieved what I set out to do and do not really see the point in carrying on.

I have to say that during this journey my experience of the classic WoW hardcore community has been a positive one. Everyone I have had contact with has seemed friendly, and I even had a few people message me to congratulate me after reaching level 60, which was a lovely touch. It is almost as if the community is in it together and genuinely wants everyone to succeed. I have no doubt there are bad apples in the community, but generally speaking, it is surprisingly good.