Popular Twitch streamer Pokimane has learned the unforgiving nature of Hardcore WoW in a particularly tough way, seconds after referring to it as a “chill game.”
Hardcore is the permadeath offshoot of Classic World of Warcraft, with players killed in the game unable to resurrect their characters to use again. This turns dungeons, raids and the open world into an enthralling fight for survival that can turn against the player at any moment.
Though the earlier levels tend to be more accessible, the extremely low health pool for characters can cause sudden and irretrievable issues. Additionally, there are notorious choke points where many players ultimately meet an untimely end in Azeroth.
Pokimane discovered one such location early in her second foray into Classic Hardcore, with predictably deadly consequences.
Pokimane falls victim to the Harvest Watchers in Classic Hardcore
Anyone who has spent time playing an Alliance character, particularly humans, in Classic WoW, is likely to have come across the Harvest Watchers. These notorious mobs have caused the deaths of many since the game launched in 2004, and the release of Hardcore did little to change that, as Pokimane found out to her detriment.
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The Harvest Watchers are particularly deadly at early levels because they deal significantly more damage than most mobs. Additionally, players accidentally pull the mobs with regularity, thanks to their significantly increased aggro radius, to underline their purpose from a roleplaying perspective.
With Season of Discovery set to release on November 30, the Harvest Watchers will have yet another opportunity to take out unsuspecting players. How those encounters play out will be interesting, particularly with the projected changes to classes, talents and abilities. Whether Pokimane will carry on with Hardcore after this latest setback is unclear, but the game remains popular among many WoW-focused streamers.