Welcome to the Dark Age of Camelot Hardcore Leveling Challenge, a permadeath
challenge where if you die, you delete the character. Bots are not allowed, one
character per person. Characters may be played solo, duo, or trio. Resurrection is not
permitted. /nohelp must be activated.
This community challenge runs on the Official Ywain 1–10 and Gaheris servers. Test and unofficial servers are not eligible.
Questions, comments, or feedback? Reach out in the #hardcore-leveling-challenge channel of the Discord.
Quests
Legacy quests are the only quests permitted. A legacy quest is one given and performed in the Classic, Shrouded Isles, or Capital City zones without the NPC having the yellow DAoC knot (with three dots) above their head. Classic Dungeon Quests are not permitted. Trials of Atlantis, Catacombs & Darkness Rising quests are prohibited. The “Town Quests” are part of the New User Journey and are not allowed. If unsure, ask in Discord before turning a quest in.
Starting out
All characters must port out of the tutorial zone at level 1 without gaining any
experience or performing any quests. Once in your realm’s classic zone you begin
leveling, keeping the quest restrictions in mind. Set /nohelp to remove the ability
for others to heal or buff you, and /roleplay on to flag your character.
Solo rules
| Rule | Details |
|---|---|
| Death = Delete | You only have a single life. If you die you must DELETE the character. |
| Classes & Races | Any class and race. Veteran and Endless Conquest accounts are permitted. |
| No Trading | You may not trade with other characters, including the level 35 and 50 books. |
| Gear & Items | No Bountycrafting. No Artifacts. Other crafts are permitted. Use gear you craft, loot, buy from a merchant, or earn from a permitted quest. No free quartermaster weapons. |
| Battlegrounds | You may enter any battleground but may not quest there. RvR is allowed, but death still counts, delete the character. |
| Skills | Resurrection is prohibited. Otherwise all skills/realm abilities are permitted on Ywain. Gaheris players may only spend earned realm points. No Master Levels. |
| Buffs | Self buffs only. No buff bots, NPC realm buffs, or guild buffs. Realm speed is permitted. |
| Player Interaction | You may not ask others for heals or buffs, but may accept voluntary ones. |
| Grouping & Guilds | No grouping. Stay in the starter guild or be guildless. |
| Mithril / Housing / Mounts | No mithril-acquired items. No housing zones. Mounts allowed if acquired without mithril or trading. |
Duo & trio rules
Solo rules apply except as below.
| Rule | Details |
|---|---|
| Start Together | Duos and trios must start together from level 1. |
| Class Combination | Any combination. Buffs between groupmates are allowed. |
| Stay Together | Stay in the same zone. Where one ports, the others follow. |
| Presence | Be logged in together at the same time (verify with /play). |
| Trading | Only between members of your hardcore duo/trio. |
| Shared Life | If one dies, all are considered dead and must DELETE. |
Went linkdead?
If you go linkdead and die, you still die. If you have an unstable connection, this challenge is probably not for you.
Grats on 50!
Made it to 50? Once there, a hardcore character has three options: (1) preserve hardcore status for future level-50 challenges (don’t talk to the king, take free armor, or activate Champion/Master Levels), (2) retire hardcore status and play normally, or (3) retire the character completely to hallmark the achievement.