As soon as BlizzCon kicked off, the atmosphere in overseas veteran WoW player groups went through the roof. World of Warcraft: Infinite has been officially announced, with the China server launching globally on November 5th. Those who pre-ordered the Celestial Epic Bundle can get early access to the China server Beta test starting October 6th. The test runs until the early hours of October 27th, with a level cap of 30 and character wipes.

The bundle is priced at 388 RMB, with a Heroic Edition at 218 RMB. Some complain it's expensive, while others feel it's worth it just to play the new race early. Everyone has their own way of calculating the value.

But excitement aside, the moment you actually open the China server client, the overseas network will teach you a lesson.

What exactly is Infinite?

Simply put, it's a comprehensive upgrade of the level 60 version. It doesn't use a seasonal system; the level cap is permanently locked at 60. There are no flying mounts, no Outland, and no Shadowlands—it focuses on the original Azeroth map. The storyline follows an 'If' path, which can be understood as a parallel universe TBC story.

The new content is quite rich. The new race, 'Celestial,' comes from Zephyr Isle. It is a neutral race, and players can choose to join either the Alliance or the Horde. They can play as Warriors, Hunters, Rogues, and Druids; Horde players can also choose Shaman, while Alliance players can choose Mage. Druids have a full set of sky-blue shapeshift forms, and there are plenty of customization options.

The race-class combinations have also unlocked many pairings previously thought impossible—Undead Paladins, Dwarf Shamans—combinations that didn't exist in the classic version can now be played.

In addition, there are three new maps plus the Hyjal expansion, several five-man dungeons, three new raids, and one new battleground. There are over 1,000 new quests, a transmog system that can be toggled on or off, and a Hardcore mode is also in the works. What pleases veteran players most is the support for controller operation; WoW finally doesn't have to rely solely on keyboard and mouse.

The overall positioning is very clear—it's aimed at veteran players who love the level 60 version but are tired of various private server modifications. Blizzard promises continuous updates without releasing expansions, keeping the level cap permanently at 60.

The biggest headache for overseas players: it's not that they don't want to play, it's that the latency won't allow it.

Whether you are in New York, Sydney, or London, connecting to the China server often results in latency of two to three hundred milliseconds. You press a skill, and the screen pauses before responding. The worst part is the ping spikes—it might look like 70 or 80 when you first enter the game, but as soon as a raid starts, it jumps to over 200. Your character drifts, and when the raid leader asks in YY, 'Why aren't you moving?', you can only stare at the screen helplessly.

A player on NGA put it very realistically: 'I can tolerate latency up to 250ms, but I can't handle packet loss; once packets are lost, the game is unplayable'. Character teleporting, skills failing to cast, or interrupted spellcasting—this kind of experience makes you a burden to your teammates in dungeons. The issue isn't whether you can connect, but how stable it is once you do.

What exactly does a return-to-China accelerator do?

Many people think that as long as their home broadband is fast, it's fine. In fact, speed test software showing hundreds of megabits of download speed is a completely different matter from whether the game lags. Gaming depends on response time—the round-trip time for data packets from your device to the server.

What a return-to-China accelerator does, simply put, is build a dedicated path for game data, bypassing congested public nodes and taking an optimized route directly to the China server entrance. Only when latency optimization is done right can the responsiveness of your controls return.

But WoW has a unique characteristic—you're not just running game data; you're also running YY voice chat, and game addons are communicating in real-time. If a general accelerator only accelerates the game itself, the voice chat and addons still travel over the public network. If your YY disconnects in the middle of a raid, that's even more frustrating than high latency.

Why do overseas WoW players consider HiCN?

HiCN's reputation in this area has been built up by overseas players bit by bit. In the Asian region, latency to the China server can be kept between 20 and 100 milliseconds, and in Europe, America, and Australia, it's roughly between 130 and 260 milliseconds.

A guy who has been using it for nearly a year in New Zealand mentioned on a forum that after using HiCN to accelerate the China server, his latency stays around 150ms, and watching shows or live streams is also quite smooth.

One detail is crucial. HiCN uses dual high-speed dedicated lines with dynamic backup. It simultaneously accelerates YY voice chat and game addons while you raid, so you don't have to worry about voice chat and the game competing for bandwidth. A friend of mine was raiding in North America when his YY suddenly disconnected; he couldn't hear the raid leader's commands, and the whole group wiped. Anyone who has experienced this knows how bad it is.

Regarding device coverage, HiCN supports Windows, iOS, Android, and router firmware, with one account working across all platforms. This is very practical for international students. You can do dailies on your laptop in the library during the day, use your phone to queue for battlegrounds in the dorm, and switch to a device with router firmware to raid on a big screen on the weekend, without needing to switch accounts or go through any hassle. Mac users can also use the HiCN return-to-China accelerator box to solve this.

Regarding newcomer benefits, HiCN provides new users with 3 to 7 days of free trial time, which is enough for you to test the line performance in your area across different time slots. First-time users on PC will also get 3 days of VIP membership. Try it for a few days, play a few raids during peak hours at night, see if the latency fluctuates much or if YY drops, and then renew once you feel it's stable.

Time to get ready

The dates for the China server wipe-test and global simultaneous launch have been set. If overseas players plan to return, it is recommended to install the accelerator and test the lines in advance, rather than waiting until the day the server opens to queue and adjust your network at the same time. Whether the path from logging in to entering the game is smooth depends largely on whether you have paved the network path in advance.

By the way, after downloading HiCN, enter the code 1124 in the client to receive free membership acceleration time. Go ahead and claim it for backup.