Arena only#
The server is a pinned version of AzerothCore, the open-source WotLK server, plus the project's own module for fixes and features. It is cut down to what arena needs:
- Four arenas: Nagrand, Blade's Edge, Ruins of Lordaeron and Dalaran Sewers. Ring of Valor, every battleground and Wintergrasp are disabled.
- Arena season 8 rules and rewards.
- No PvE. Every creature and object outside the arenas is removed, and every dungeon, raid and quest is closed. World PvP and the dungeon finder are off. Nothing in the world can affect play.
Instant 80#
Everything that would take a player's time is removed, so the playing field is equal from the first login:
| Area | On this server |
|---|---|
| Spells | Every class spell at every rank from creation. A talent's spell comes with all its ranks once taken. |
| Specs | Dual spec from creation; the trainer is needed only to reset talents. |
| Skills | Every weapon skill, Defense and First Aid at maximum. Cooking and Fishing are removed. |
| Professions | Two, free and switchable, at maximum skill with every recipe and one specialization. Materials are free. Enhancements only a profession grants, such as a leatherworker's Fur Lining, still need that profession. |
| Applied items | Poisons, oils and sharpening stones last until removed. |
| Consumables | Food, bandages, ammunition and reagents work as normal, cooldowns included, but aren't used up. Items the game caps, such as healthstones and mana gems, keep the original rules. |
| Bags | Four Portable Holes from the first login. |
The hub#
New characters start in a small hub, the only place outside the arenas with anyone in it. Everything there is free and sold from menus rather than long vendor lists:
- the arena battlemaster and arena organizer, to queue and form teams;
- a Class Trainer for every class, dressed in that class's tier 2 set;
- vendors for Season 8 gear, gems, glyphs (your own class's) and enchants, with lists trimmed to what your class can use and would want. The enchanter sells every WotLK enchant, told apart from older ones by comparing against the previous expansion's data;
- a Profession Trainer and a Supplier for consumables;
- duels that reset both players, at the start and at the end: cooldowns, health, mana and energy to full, rage and runic power to zero, debuffs cleared; buffs stay.
The hub is currently at the Gurubashi Arena. It is moving to the frozen lake by Dun Niffelem in the Storm Peaks, with vanity vendors, a barber chair and level-80 training dummies.
Who plays on it#
For now, the automated tests: headless 3.3.5a clients that log in, queue, fight and check the results, through the same network protocol as a real game client. Soon, the project's own bots, created when a match forms. The server only listens on the owner's machine; it is not open to the public.