Let me ask a question: have you died in WoW Classic Hardcore yet? I have and, honestly, it was one of my favorite World of Warcraft experiences to date. Hardcore is about survival, sure, but it’s also about going out in a blaze of bloody glory – or, alternatively, yeeting yourself off of something by accident (guilty, as charged). In the wake of Hardcore’s launch, Blizzard has unveiled some stats about the MMORPG‘s latest mode, and trust me when I say it really, really sucks to be a Hunter.
Blizzard has recorded over 360,000 deaths post-launch, with most of them appearing to happen around Orgrimmar and Darkshore (and Teldrassil, apparently, Night Elves be mad) in Kalimdor, and Westfall, Ironforge, and Tirisfal Glades in the Eastern Kingdoms.
While The Horde seems intent on using Orgrimmar as its battleground, at least the Alliance keeps the fighting a little further from its doorstep. Darkshore and Westfall are level 10-20 areas, so having an abundance of deaths there makes sense given the average level players are dying at is nine.
Tirisfal Glades (my old Forsaken stomping ground) and Ironforge are slightly higher-level zones, so it’s likely more experienced Hardcore players who have been juking it out there – perhaps making use of the new Duel to the Death function. Or, alternatively, that’s where all of the Hunters are, given 32% of all Hunters on the Hardcore realms are now dead. Fs in the chat, friends.
The carnage continues in #WoWClassic Hardcore!
💀 360,000+ deaths since launch
💀 Average level at death: 9
💀 32% of all Hunters in Hardcore are dead pic.twitter.com/5At2wPSN5Q— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) August 29, 2023
That may not be too surprising, though, as the good folks over at Wowhead do place the class at the bottom end of the DPS PvE tier list for Classic. Survival Hunter currently ranks C-Tier with Marksman, whereas BM is lagging at D-tier. Given Blizzard’s focus on making Hardcore PvE orientated to attract more casual players, Hunters struggling isn’t really that much of a surprise.
While I don’t play Hunter, I’m just generally very, very bad at, y’know, staying alive (in videogames, don’t worry). My first (and only) death was caused by yeeting my Draenei Priest off of a cliff face by accident, so I have no right to giggle at the Hunters – but I will, of course.
In the meantime, if you’re hoping to conquer Hardcore we have a WoW Classic Affliction Warlock guide to help you whittle down enemy health bars from afar or, if you prefer to get up close and personal, we have a WoW Classic Death Knight guide, too.