Twelve challenges, still unnamed

Hardcore won't be available at Forever's launch. When it arrives, PvP Legacy Challenges can't be completed there, so Blizzard plans 12 new Hardcore-specific challenges for its launch, the same count as the 12 points the PvP category offers elsewhere.

That's as far as the published detail goes. Blizzard hasn't named the 12 or described their criteria, and it says more Hardcore-specific challenges and perks will follow in later updates.

Hand-inked illustration of a turning hourglass ringed by twelve small blank plaques, each with a red seal, beside a blue ledger that opens to show a gold check seal.
Twelve challenges announced, none named yet, and a ledger that only flows outward.

Progress flows one way

Hardcore keeps its own ledger. Challenges completed on other rulesets won't show up in Hardcore, but a challenge you earn in Hardcore is granted on every other ruleset too. The non-PvP challenges, such as leveling a class or maxing a profession, can still be earned inside Hardcore.

From Blizzard's Legacy System article and Deep Dive recap. How the 12 Hardcore-specific challenges count outside Hardcore isn't stated.
Challenge earned onCounts in HardcoreCounts on Normal, PvP and Roleplaying
HardcoreYesYes
Normal, PvP or RoleplayingNoYes

Planning before Hardcore opens

If you mean to play Hardcore, expect its Legacy progress to start from zero however much you've earned elsewhere. The upside runs the other way: anything a Hardcore character completes also counts for your other characters, so a careful Hardcore run doubles as account progress.

Death doesn't erase that. A Hardcore character that dies can transfer to another ruleset, including PvP, and Blizzard says progress, collections and rewards from Hardcore can carry into other rulesets.

Still to come

Not yet settled by our sources or tested in game:

  • The names and criteria of the 12 Hardcore-specific challenges.
  • Whether those 12 also award points on other rulesets, as ordinary challenges earned in Hardcore do.
  • Whether Hardcore characters use the same 16-point spending cap and perk trees.

Sources

Beta notes are dated because Forever is still changing.