There are many things to love about World of Warcraft Classic. Whether it's getting nostalgic while listening to the peaceful music of Elwynn Forest, tackling classic dungeons like Sholomance and Stratholme, dueling fellow enthusiasts outside the Ironforge, farming mats for elixirs, getting world buffs, or ....... Soon, however, you will also get the ability to run a dungeon and have your character die a permanent and irrevocable death as a result of a blown pull!

Pretty neat, huh?

The World of Warcraft Classic Hardcore server was announced earlier this year and will go live this week, August 24. With a bit of a fierce permadeath flavor to the world's biggest MMO, the Hardcore server will have no resurrection, no spirit healers, and no mercy. (Plus, your ears could be someone's gem.)

For a while, players on the Bloodsail Buccaneers and Hydraxian Waterlord servers set up their own hardcore challenges, using an add-on that tracks when someone dies, have been keeping up with the leaderboards. Like the time one guy nearly wiped out the Hardcore Guild in a Four Horsemen raid after one of the most intense and lengthy concerts in gaming.

Blizzard released a post at the end of June detailing the conditions of engagement in the official hardcore realm. Here are the highlights:

The coolest part is the introduction of a new feature: actual mortal combat. Named after the orc ritual that determines the leader of a clan, /makgora initiates a duel between two characters, and the duel ends when one dies. If you win, you win a trophy, which can be heard. The number of trophies can be checked by anyone, so for hardcore players, the trophies will have a literal number attached to them. Just make sure that whoever is tanking Zeliek holds no grudges