World of Warcraft Gets Its First Level 80

Barely more than 24 hours after the release of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, the game has its first level 80 character.

The second expansion to World of Warcraft increased the character level cap from 70 to 80, enough of a leap to keep normal players, and even normal hardcore players, occupied for awhile. But a warlock by the name of Nymh who plays on the French PvE server of Drek'thar is clearly not normal: He hit the level 80 ceiling just 27 hours after the expansion went live on European game servers.

Nymh describes himself as 21 and employed in an interview on MMO Champion, and says he took a few days of vacation so he could spend some quality time with the expansion. Prior to that, he had experimented with different leveling strategies during the Wrath of the Lich King beta, and had come up with a plan he believed would powerlevel him to the top in as short a time as possible. "The biggest problem was to find a spot with enough monsters to grind without too much downtime," he said. "I spent some time on beta servers and eventually found the crypt in Drakil'ji Ruins (Grizzly Hills), I think that's one of the only place in Wrath of the Lich King where monsters repop in about 30 seconds, mobs here are also neutral and it makes grinding a little safer."

Nymh said several players "helped a lot" with his achievement, including a healer named Pavelomm who stuck by him and kept him alive during his quest for level 80, as well as the characters Ardanell, Bro and Zhazha, who traveled to Grizzly Hills to teleport him back to Ironforge so he could train his new spells without losing much gametime.

Congratulations to Nymh on the accomplishment, but I have to admit the whole thing leaves me a little bewildered. Is it possible to really enjoy and appreciate the game when you blow through it at warp nine? To each his own, I suppose.

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Uh... Good for him?

And here I am only halfway to 72. I feel like less of a man.

CantFaketheFunk:
And here I am only halfway to 72. I feel like less of a man.

'Least you can get past 70, I'm not going to be able to afford WoTLK until at least Christmas...

Sorry, say it with me now...

LAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMEEEEEEEEE!

Not WoW players in general, but getting to level 80 in the first DAY of release seems more than a little OCD to me. Then again, I don't "get" WoW anymore.

Whatever floats your boat. Rushing through something new always seemed kind of pointless to me. It's like watching a new movie and skipping 3/4th of it, how could you enjoy it?

I doubt that this guy was attempting to "enjoy it"-- he's got plenty of time to do that... but you only get one chance to be the first person to level 80. Sure, people may make fun of you and call you a lifeless nerd, but he's written himself into the WoW history books and achieved a modicum of fame in the process.

Way to go, French guy. You're a champion among MMOtards (myself included) everywhere.

Isn't this the same guy that changed the lyrics of popular songs Weird Al style and made them into WoW videos?

Never was my thing to race though new stuff, but yay for him none the less

HSIAMetalKing:
he's written himself into the WoW history books and achieved a modicum of fame in the process.

To be honest though, who really remembers the 'first to [anything]' guys? Perhaps the guy/gal doing something noteworthy on my server I'll remember, but not in WoW in general. Then again, I'm probably just not the target audience with these things.

But I forgot, gz to the Frenchie. Didn't mean to downplay your accomplishment.

A French guy was first to 70 in the last expansion right? If WOW can pierce the culturally defensive heart of a Frenchman, then perhaps there is hope for world peace after all.

Now if they only fought in WWII with as much zeal....may be a whole different world.

Oh that is great! He defeated the game in less those two days, now all he has to do is actually go back and enjoy the game now he has hit that lofty goal of being the first to hit 80. Too bad Most will not give a rats butt that he hit 80, I honestly think that it is scary that he grinded to 80. I envision him sitting in a chair eating chessy poofs and drinking Bawls one after another working through the mobs...stopping only so long to get his adult diaper changed out pit crew style, with jack and a team of ten getting him in and out of the AFK pit row in under thirty seconds! Sorry about the NASCAR image folks but I am from the east coast with lots of NASCAR fans who talk about it like their life was actu-ally driving instead of being a fan.

Lt. Sera:

To be honest though, who really remembers the 'first to [anything]' guys?

Yeah that's true. The only WoW 'celebrity' I know is Leroy Jenkins, and what he did was fairly unspectacular (albeit freaking hilarious).

Wow, this is part of the reason I don't play WoW anymore. Heres this guy, and heres me with a lvl 34 after 3 months.

Lt. Sera:

To be honest though, who really remembers the 'first to [anything]' guys?

True, you may not remember him-- hell, I don't remember most of my country's former presidents or my social security number. But you're certainly hearing about him now, and you can bet he'll have his own shiny page on WoWWiki.

That's way more than most WoW players get.

It's nice to see Mr. Nymh accomplishing such a record. Competitive "speed runs" are well known and there are many who do it for fun or bragging rights.

In any case, if Nymh enjoys it (I know I wouldn't); to each his own (pace).

What startles me though, is the role of the support players. They were invaluable, but they can't brag about reaching lvl 80. I guess there still is room for "good samaritans" after all.

I would just be a wee bit concerned about playing 27 hours straight. Somehow it doesn't seem healthy. :p

That seems a bit strange. It took the french Mage who was boosted by his entire guild 28 hours to get to level 70 as I recall. Odd that this guy would manage it in not only less time on the whole (what with more EXP required) but also with less people assisting him.

Still, grats to him I guess. Personally I've never been one to jump for the level cap, but whatever floats his boat.

What's the point in grinding yourself to death anyway. I mean the point of WoTLK is that there's supposed to be new content... He spent 27 hours killing 2-4 types of critters. All bile aside, it is an impressive achievement. A guy like him probably has another 4 chars to do the same thing with. Well I'll say what wow folks usually say - Grats!

Jursa:
What's the point in grinding yourself to death anyway. I mean the point of WoTLK is that there's supposed to be new content... He spent 27 hours killing 2-4 types of critters. All bile aside, it is an impressive achievement. A guy like him probably has another 4 chars to do the same thing with. Well I'll say what wow folks usually say - Grats!

Most of the content will be level 80 stuff, generally. He'll be the first to get set on that I guess. And a 27 hour gaming session isn't really "to death". I've done such a thing before (though not with WoW, it was a number of different games) and I quite enjoyed the experience actually.

mayeb hes trying to get to 80 so he can run all the instances and leave befroe his subscription gets to high :P

but gj, even if it is a little OTT, i no i would rather take my time

Well, now he has THE achievement that no one can get. It's almost like having the AQ mount... but without the mount. However it also travels across servers, and that's pretty darn impressive in the WoW world.

Baby Tea:

Lt. Sera:

To be honest though, who really remembers the 'first to [anything]' guys?

Yeah that's true. The only WoW 'celebrity' I know is Leroy Jenkins, and what he did was fairly unspectacular (albeit freaking hilarious).

Leroy Jenkins. That name sounds very familiar. Who is he, exactly?

Each to their own I guess, but in 27 hrs it's pretty good going.

Amnestic:
That seems a bit strange. It took the french Mage who was boosted by his entire guild 28 hours to get to level 70 as I recall. Odd that this guy would manage it in not only less time on the whole (what with more EXP required) but also with less people assisting him.

Still, grats to him I guess. Personally I've never been one to jump for the level cap, but whatever floats his boat.

It's because he was a warlock and with healer support has literally 0 downtime due to mana thanks to lifetap. The first to 70 was a mage and would have to drink at regular intervals even if he was just tagging stuff and letting his guild do most of the killing.

Chain killing / AoEing lots of mobs as an affliction lock was a well known and popular tactic back when TBC first hit, I'm sure its just as effective in WoTLK if not moreso. Could probably find a youtube vid showing how its done if I cared to look for one.

if thats what makes him feel happy so be it.

L1250:

Baby Tea:

Lt. Sera:

To be honest though, who really remembers the 'first to [anything]' guys?

Yeah that's true. The only WoW 'celebrity' I know is Leroy Jenkins, and what he did was fairly unspectacular (albeit freaking hilarious).

Leroy Jenkins. That name sounds very familiar. Who is he, exactly?

I'm surprised you don't know! Even non-WoW players know!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU

Watch the whole thing to really get it.

LEEEEROY! JEEEEEKIIIINS!

Awesome.

that really doesn't surprise me someone is lvl 80 already

it's always a race and 10 lvls isn't much really

Lt. Sera:
To be honest though, who really remembers the 'first to [anything]' guys?

I dont know, some of my ex's still remember that quite well about me. (PE joke) <.<;;;

tendo82:
A French guy was first to 70 in the last expansion right? If WOW can pierce the culturally defensive heart of a Frenchman, then perhaps there is hope for world peace after all.

Nah they just do it so they can be arrogant about it. "Hoho you silly americans. Once again french superiority wins the day hoho"

backster:
I envision him sitting in a chair eating chessy poofs and drinking Bawls one after another working through the mobs

Wouldn't that be red wine and whatever the hell feet flavoured blue cheese chips they have ?

Okay so apart from smart ass comments I dont have much to add cept.
First to gain another 10 levels... Whoopdefreakingdo.

Calamity:
Isn't this the same guy that changed the lyrics of popular songs Weird Al style and made them into WoW videos?

Not the same guy. Nymh is the French player to 80, Nyhm is the one who does that lyrics youtube videos. Nymh states he travels to Ironforge at times to repair or such, but Nyhm is a blood elf Warlock.

... And Nyhm is American. I thought it was the same person at first, though, too.

*inhales*

NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD!

but in all seriousness: yay? So now this person has no reason left to play the expansion, right? (other than the new class or the new continent, obviously).

Lt. Sera:

To be honest though, who really remembers the 'first to [anything]' guys?

I don't know, really. I guess it depends on the game and the overall canon of the universe. I'm sure the first guy to become a Jedi in that Star Wars MMO a while back was walking around like he was big sh*t for a while. The, er, "fame" will probably wear off in, I don't know, a month at most, but at least he'll have that achievement for the rest of his time in the game.

irishdelinquent:
*inhales*

NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD!

Very well said. We can all learn from this man's sage-like wisdom.

CantFaketheFunk:
And here I am only halfway to 72. I feel like less of a man.

At least you are getting your monies worth out of the game and enjoying what it has to offer.

Lt. Sera:

To be honest though, who really remembers the 'first to [anything]' guys?

What about Neil Armstrong do you remember him?

I feel slightly ashamed that it took me so long to get 61... and then give up.
With a game like WoW i don't really see the point in "beating" it as soon as possible. Surely now he has little to do until everyone else gets to 80 and he can start on the high end stuff. But whatever, it's an achievement I suppose.
=]