Blizzard rolls out crucial WoW Hardcore update that will save hundreds of lives

Die another day.

Crossroads in Barrens in WoW Classic
Screenshot by Dot Esports

The number one cause of death in World of Warcraft Classic Hardcore is fall damage. It happens if you’re too greedy with a jump, and frustratingly often when players are disconnected mid-flight. Now, this is all about to change.

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On Oct. 25, Blizzard Entertainment shared a critical hotfix update for WoW Classic Era and Hardcore realms to stop players dying from fall damage caused by sudden disconnects.

“Added additional protections to prevent some deaths via flight-path disconnects. Now when you take a taxi, a protection aura is placed on you that prevents all damage, your hearthstone cooldown is reset, and your hearthstone spell is insta-cast,” the update reads.

Essentially, Blizzard added two protections. First, you’ll get a protection aura when you take a flight path. On top of this, your hearthstone cooldown resets, no matter if you used it five or 40 minutes ago, and it won’t have cast time. 

WoW characters crying for a dead player
Fall damage is the number one reason of deaths in Hardcore. Screenshot by Dot Esports

This means if you happen to be disconnected mid-flight and log back in to find your character falling, you won’t take fall damage. As a failsafe, if you don’t get the aura, your hearthstone will be off cooldown, so you can use it before you hit the ground to save yourself.

This is an important change for WoW Classic Hardcore as players have been continuously complaining about losing their characters to mid-flight DCs. Few classes have tools to survive fall damage—only Priests, Rogues, and Mages. Others can buy consumables, but only at higher levels.

Thankfully, this update will drastically reduce the number of DC deaths, meaning you’ll longer need to worry about your PC and internet connection letting you down when you thought you were safe. Now, you can sit back and enjoy the view as normal, or AFK while your character flies across the world.

Author
Image of Izabela Tomakic
Izabela Tomakic
Staff writer and World of Warcraft lead
Staff Writer & World of Warcraft lead. Izabela has a long history with writing and games like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Fortnite, and The Sims. Before finding her home at Dot Esports in 2021, Izabela was an English teacher and a freelancer at Hotspawn, GGRecon, and Gameranx. In her free time, you’ll find her writing novels, wandering Azeroth, or inting on Summoner’s Rift.