Blizzard Entertainment has launched the World of Warcraft Classic: 20th Anniversary Edition realms, offering players the chance to relive the nostalgic experience of Azeroth while celebrating 20 years of World of Warcraft. These realms cater to each Normal PvE, PvP, and Hardcore gameplay styles and bring fresh economies, new character progression, and quality-of-life features.
Players on these new realms will progress through the Classic Era content phases over several months, culminating in the availability of raids like Molten Core and Onyxia, which open on December 12 PST. For non-Hardcore servers, the realms will eventually progress into Burning Crusade Classic, allowing players to continue their journey into Outland. Blizzard Game Masters will also be active in Anniversary realms for the initial days, interacting with players and contributing to the celebratory atmosphere.
The Anniversary Edition includes features introduced during the WoW Classic lifecycle:
- Chronoboon Displacer for preserving world buffs.
- An updated PvP Honor Ranking system.
- The option to choose between the Classic and newer Guild UI.
- A Looking for Group (LFG) tool for streamlined party creation.
- A new Services chat channel for advertising in-game services.
For Hardcore players, unique self-found options are available, such as restricting trading, mailing, and auction house use. Hardcore realms follow the same Classic Era content progression as Normal realms, with Molten Core unlocking simultaneously. However, PvP Battlegrounds remain disabled in Hardcore settings.
Transfers between different ruleset realms are limited. PvE and PvP characters must remain within their respective realm types, while Hardcore characters can transfer to Normal PvE Anniversary realms. To join the 20th Anniversary Edition realms, players can select the Anniversary Edition tab from the realm selection menu in World of Warcraft Classic.
