One of the most relevant rules for Hardcore WoW is simple: be careful when you go into caves.
In Durotar, just outside of Orgrimmar, is an area called Skull Rock. (Which is also the name of the server I am on. How apt!) It is full of cultists with voidwalker pets and is dangerous enough at the best of times... but this is hardcore. One life. Don't squander it.
Although I don't have any screenshots or video of these events, I had two interesting experiences in Skull Rock.
I went inside, all sneaky sneaky like a rogue should be, and there was a shaman already in there killing things. I moved ahead of him to start tackling the things he wasn't fighting yet, when, BAM! Rarescanner goes off and a level 14 rare starts charging me. I was 11 at the time. I legged it out of there, mid-fight, using Sprint and Evasion to make sure nothing got me... and may have run them onto the shaman.
When I braved the inside of the cave again ten minutes later, the shaman was gone. His corpse wasn't on the ground so I didn't get him killed. xD Whew.
Now there was a hunter in there. He was pleasant enough to chuck me a party invite and together we swept through the cave and killed everything we could. Then we reached the end where there's a guy who drops a quest item. He was 14, we were 11, and he had a voidwalker pet. He was surprisingly easy to kill but his voidwalker was made of sterner stuff. The voidwalker was intent on killing the poor hunter, he had maybe 10hp left, finally I was able to race in front of the voidwalker and gouge him before the hunter could die. Then we killed it. I saved a life!!
Just simple things like that. Exhilarating. This is what makes Hardcore World of Warcraft. High stakes, exciting moments, overcoming deadly moments. WOO! xD
Yesterday I started my adventure in the Barrens. I made it to the Crossroads at bed-time the night before, and the Barrens were quiet and empty. Now it was full of people.
I would like to bring to your attention a feature in the MMORPG "Aeon". The ability to choose the phase you are in. Do you want to see more people, or do you want a lonely experience? Just select your choice on the map and voila! You have what you wish for. Star Wars: the Old Republic had that feature too.
I want an emptier zone, Blizzard. I don't want to see fifty odd people killing all my plainstriders. I want to see... maybe five.
Part of me hopes all these characters die so I can enjoy my solo experience. xD
Instead... I was the one to die. To an unexpected respawn of a very ornery plainstrider just as I killed a raptor two levels higher than me. I was minding my own business, quickly eating some food after a tough fight where I had used my evasive cooldown, when RAWR! Plainstrider attack!
I rogue-sprinted away... but it pecked my troll's head and dazed her, slowing her down, then ultimately killing her.
So ornery. Very plainstrider.
I'm going to try one more time because I'm a sucker for punishment and have already recreated my rogue (I'm currently level 12, so almost where I was haha)... this time I'm recording it so when I inevitably die I can make a compilation video of it. 😁
Woo, inevitable death!
Until next time! 😊⚔️🔥