Diablo II Beta News: This is Hardcore

The Diablo II beta has revealed some of the game's new multiplayer features, including a new play mode that offers hardcore gamers a real challenge. Specifically, the aptly-named hardcore mode lets you play Diablo II normally, but with one big catch - should your character die in combat, he's dead forever and gone for good.

Normally, dying in Diablo II has little consequence. Essentially, you just lose a small percentage of your gold. But in hardcore mode, once you die, it's all over. Death caused by server-side lag or client-side hardware problems still mean permanent death in hardcore mode. And yet even though the Diablo II beta is frequently plagued by lag as of this time, and has only been running for several days, already there are numerous high-level hardcore characters. It seems that many gamers are more than willing to accept the challenge and potential consequence of investing time into a hardcore character.

Blizzard will host hardcore Diablo II ladder tournaments to add more incentive to go all the way. Presently, you can create a hardcore character only after you win the first act of the game normally.