28 hours later, Warcraft gets its first Level 70
by Jared Rea 
{ Jan 17th 2007 at 8:55AM }
Well, that wasn't much of a race. After being on store shelves for little more than a day, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade has gained its first level 70 in French player, Gullerbone.Clocking in at 28 hours, Gullerbone's journey from the lowly plain of mortals known as level 60 to the god-esque status of 70 seems almost disappointing for a task estimated to take most players a few months at the very least. Somewhere, in the halls of Blizzard, someone has slapped their forehead.
For the curious, Gullerbone goes deeper into the method of his leveling madness in an interview with World of Raids. While his act of gaming fortitude is commendable, we're just glad that no babies died in the process this time.
Gullerbone can now look forward to sitting on his hands, waiting for the rest of the folks on his server to catch up so that he can actually do something worth his level. Congratulations!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ToXic @ Jan 17th 2007 9:04AM
I can't get to level 70 I have a life...but I'm glad he was the first to this plateau in the WORLD...of warcraft.
/sarcasm
If you have friends that play WoW and just bought the expansion, prepare to break all bonds with them, if they haven't been broken already.
notsonic @ Jan 17th 2007 9:17AM
i dont think my server has even been up for 28hours since the expansion.
MJ @ Jan 17th 2007 9:30AM
People who play WoW are very sad in deed, it is basically just pong. Always the same action over and over again.
Durg @ Jan 17th 2007 9:24AM
Leveling in WoW is nothing compared to other games. This is partially why it is so popular. You can have a life and still get to level 70 without even paying attention.
Yannkes @ Jan 17th 2007 4:15PM
very cool theme
Great web site,
Best regard from Poland
BlindsideDork @ Jan 17th 2007 9:35AM
MJ
To say that about WoW you have to say the same thing about Halo, Splinter Cell, GTA, and ALMOST every other game. But especially Halo and Splinter Cell goes along with your "anaylsis".
Kriskb @ Jan 17th 2007 9:37AM
Well i can sense this is going to turn into a WoW flame thread. I will drop my two sense in. There is nothing wrong with pong. The only thing that matters is if you ENJOY they game. I doudt 8 mil people play because the game is not fun. I play wow and for reference I played OG EQ for 5 years. I play wow because it is fun and I can play for an hour and accomplish something. You see I have a life (job, wife, daughter) so i need a game i don't have to play 8 hours a day to get 1 bub of freaking xp. /rant off
I think it is riduculess this guy raced to get to 70. Now he will have nothing to do,,, again. I for one am gong to enjoy leveling to 70 and it will probably take me at least 3 months.
Matt @ Jan 17th 2007 9:37AM
The man clearly has no Goddamned life.
Mob @ Jan 17th 2007 9:40AM
"People who play WoW are very sad in deed, it is basically just pong. Always the same action over and over again."
No kidding. And Halo? Same thing over and over. Move around and shoot things. My god, how repetitive. Don't even get me started on Katamari Damacy. You roll. That's it. One single action repeated over and over and over again.
But you know what's the worst? I saw this guy reading a book one time. And all he kept doing was turning the page. What the hell is that all about? For hours at a time. Just turning pages. People are just wierd.
Atilac @ Jan 17th 2007 9:39AM
Do you think he can kill admins and ignore the rules of the world... of warcraft?
Evan @ Jan 17th 2007 9:41AM
I just don't understand it.
jasenj1 @ Jan 17th 2007 9:42AM
Interesting little interview. Essentially a whole guild worked together to help this character lvl up as fast as possible. If only we could apply that sort of teamwork to solving world hunger or some other "noble" cause. I hope that one of the things that grows out of this whole MMORPG craze is that people learn teamwork and group planning in something other than football or soccer or some other sports/physically oriented activity.
jimy @ Jan 17th 2007 9:47AM
no life?
what if your life IS video games? Joystiq writers work around video games, and even in their time off; or while "having a life" as some may call it, they play video games. Every person doesn't have a family to take care of or go out "clubbin'" like everyone with "a life"...
fyi not a WoW fan, just sticking up for the people "without" "a life"
Emceay @ Jan 17th 2007 9:49AM
There's no place for trolls here unless you're darkspear.
Kriskb @ Jan 17th 2007 9:50AM
can you channel this energy to bring my god damn server back up, went down for restart and never came back. Damn it Blizz i need my life!!!
Mogg @ Jan 17th 2007 9:51AM
You mean this guy actually took time from the game to give someone an interview?
Must have been on a much needed bathroom break.
RobotRock @ Jan 17th 2007 9:53AM
"People who play WoW are very sad in deed, it is basically just pong. Always the same action over and over again."
Ok, first off indeed is one word.
Second, since I assume you don't recall, pong is played by moving a paddle up and down. WOW is played by moving around in a 3D world with magic and fighting.
Third, every video game ever made starts you out with a basic set of rules and you do the same thing over and over again (Oh you like Mario? Its just the same jumping action over and over...)
Finally, what do you have against Pong? Maybe not motion sensing, but a great old school virtual tennis.
BlindsideDork @ Jan 17th 2007 9:53AM
#9 Mob
We are on the same page but don't forget the REPETITIVE level design (especially when you go BACKWARDS thru the levels)!
Tom Strong @ Jan 17th 2007 11:10AM
Mindlessness. Get a life.
Kestrel @ Jan 17th 2007 9:54AM
"If you have friends that play WoW and just bought the expansion, prepare to break all bonds with them, if they haven't been broken already."
Roger that.
Joseph Villalobos @ Jan 17th 2007 10:01AM
It must be nice to have that sort of free time!
Pikachelsea @ Jan 17th 2007 10:01AM
Haha, I love you guys coming in here and trying to say that playing Halo or whatever is as repetitive as levelling up in WoW. This guy spent 28 straight hours grinding for XP just to get a freaking number next to his name (wooo, e-penis get). You can try to spin that however you want but it doesn't change the fact that he obviously has no life. You all sound exactly like all the lamers I used to know at PDE (Perfect Dark Elite) who would spend the majority of every single day playing that stupid game so that they could feel like they "achieved" something in life. Know what would be a better way to do that? Try GOING OUTSIDE for crying outloud.
I love games too but to play a single game nonstop ever since it came out and act like that's something to be proud of..? Good grief; get another hobby outside your freaking computer. The only girls you'll ever impress with that "lifestyle" are fellow WoW nerdgirls who probably also weigh 250 lbs and eat chips off their gut all day. Stop deluding yourself into thinking that the depiction of the average WoW "player" (a.k.a. serial grinder) on South Park isn't 100% accurate.
Evan @ Jan 17th 2007 10:05AM
@Mod: "And Halo? Same thing over and over. Move around and shoot things. My god, how repetitive. Don't even get me started on Katamari Damacy. You roll. That's it. One single action repeated over and over and over again."
There's a difference. Some games challenge you to improve your skill. With games like Halo and Street Fighter, you start a match with equal characters, and your own ability to play the game determines the winner. With games like Katamari, each level becomes more difficult but your character stays the same, challenging you to improve your skills. And the Wii makes gameplay even more directly linked to your skill! However, in World of Warcraft the game decides your skill level. You don't need to become better skilled with the mouse. There's never a question of - can I improve and master this game - it's automatic that you will level up and eventually reach the maximum level regardless of your skill.
Martin Austin @ Jan 17th 2007 10:11AM
Wow Pikachelsea, do you have a chip on your shoulder or something? Calm down, r-tard.
Rich @ Jan 17th 2007 10:17AM
28 hours? That's pathetic. The guys at WOW must be kicking themselves. They were carrying on that hitting level 70 was going to take some work and were even hinting level 70 should take almost as long 1-60. With him hitting 70 that fast means, the hardcore "no-lifers" will be all level 70 by friday, the more than casual gamer by the end of the month and the average casual should start hitting it around the middle of Feburary.
If Blizzard keeps up with their promise with a new expansion every year, then after March, there won't be anything for people to do except the same stuff they did when they did when they hit level 60 (except in a different place) for the next 9 months.
Count me out. I already canceled my account and never planned to get the expansion. I have a life and can't raid constantly so there is really no point in playing.
Alex @ Jan 17th 2007 12:50PM
I love how the man accomplishes something and everyone has to take it away from him.
Why do you care what he does with his life?
If he's enjoying it that's all that matters.
baby sea tuna @ Jan 17th 2007 10:18AM
Pathetic. Just pathetic.
Also, Pikachelsea is my new e-hero.
YC @ Jan 17th 2007 10:28AM
What the hell is wrong with our society? I don't believe that such a thing exists as being
addicted to non-narcotics (such as games, sex, your friends, a good book). I think that's
just called enjoying life!
For example: Would we have called Leonardo Da Vinci addicted to science because he spent long 20 hour days cutting up cadavers or studying mechanics?
Would we have called Einstein a hopeless physics junkie?
It's called having a passion. Doing what you love. What's so bad about it?
In this work-obsessed culture we live in, if you aren't working and doing something THE MAN tells you to do, you must be doing something wrong. You don't see clinics popping up for people that work at overtime at McDonalds because they can't pay their bills -- we find it absolutely OK to not see your family most of the week because your job makes you work from 8 till 8, but when a person comes home and wants to spend 3-4 hours doing something they want to do you have people thinking its some sort of a disease.
I don't get it. Where are the priorities? I really am an advocate of being a professional idler and trying to get out of wage slavery. What's so bad about playing a game for 40 hours a week (something you choose to do, and enjoy)? Compare that to working which is something you HAVE to do or else you get evicted by some property owning assholes and end up living on the streets and going crazy!
Mii @ Jan 17th 2007 10:37AM
I met my gay lover through WoW. Now we eat chips off of each others fat bellies and pop each other's zits during reboots and network downtime. We would have sex, but we're just too effen fat to get between each others legs. I like him because his junk can poke through his inguinal fat pad, which is more than I can say about myself! I myself look like a girl down there!! I was offended by the South Park WoW episode...why show the picture. They used excrement humor, when we all know it's best just to strap on a Depends and let loose, it's much easier clean up and you never have to leave the World... of Warcraft.
Jeff @ Jan 17th 2007 10:38AM
"World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade has gained its first level 70 in French player, Gullerbone."
How does one attain level 70 in French? I guess he must have taken a lot of language classes.
"For example: Would we have called Leonardo Da Vinci addicted to science because he spent long 20 hour days cutting up cadavers or studying mechanics?"
We'd have called him a workaholic, yes. And it *is* an addiction.
I think your problem is you're equating the word "addiction" with "dependence". They are two different things. Addiction means you feel compelled to do something, for whatever reason. Dependence means you feel you physically or emotionally cannot do without that thing. It's possible to be both addicted and dependent on something, or just addicted, or just dependent.
It may sound like semantics but it's not. You've probably heard the term "physical addiction" - that's dependence. Regular old addiction is more a question of desire or habit, though, and it is not *necessarily* bad, although the implication is always that you're doing that one thing to the exclusion of the rest of your life, and whether or not the activity is good for you in even moderate amounts.
Yeah, you can tell I had some issues when I was younger. I've been through the program.
Flit @ Jan 17th 2007 10:47AM
I've played with all sorts of players in wow, which is why the guild i'm in is so casual (and why i think this is rediculous). I made it to a whole 2 bubbles in 3 hours yesterday. People who want to grind mobs to level, or raid 7 nights a week, are a different kind of creature, the same kind of people who spend hours perfecting DDR, or playing HALO 2 every night trying to get their rank to 40+.
If you think WoW takes no skill, you haven't played WoW. I've played with people who Wipe every dungeon they run because they are bad players. So there IS skill involved, it's just a different kind of skill than PRESS BUTTON A WHEN THE RECTICLE GOES OVER OTHER PLAYER. The best dungeon runs are when things get crazy and several extra mobs are pulled, and everyone has the skill to pull it off. It gets exciting.
Oh, and this guy is as pathetic as the DDR nerds, halo modders. But hey, it's what he enjoys.
Zatos @ Jan 17th 2007 10:50AM
pssshhh... life sucks, it's just the same thing over and over.
Flit @ Jan 17th 2007 10:47AM
YC: well put. Because I play WoW instead of GoW, somehow i'm pathetic and the xbox fanboys are not? I'm confused.
jerzat @ Jan 17th 2007 11:02AM
Clearly the reviewers never had a chance to level up a character in Final Fantasy XI or any other MMORPG where leveling up is actually even a little bit challenging compared to WoW. Leveling up a character in WoW takes a fraction of the time needed in most other games.
Mii @ Jan 17th 2007 4:34PM
I tried playing DDR with my man in an arcade once...the little asian kids got mad because we broke it. The pads were smoking and crushed--we were sweating after just 10 seconds and had to take a break. So we went home and played more WoW. Oh yeah, DDR is really bad on the Depends...it loosens the legs, our car was really messy after that. We have to take the front seats out and sit in the back. I used to have a 28" waist until my mom bought me WoW for my birthday last year.
JS Beckerist @ Jan 17th 2007 11:21AM
YC:
You are fundamentally wrong in that your examples are of individuals striving to do something productive and help society. WoW Raids do little to put food in the mouths of, well, anyone outside the game...
Joseph @ Jan 19th 2007 9:37PM
Man i wish i had the time to play WOW that long
Aler @ Jan 17th 2007 11:16AM
To all the people that says he has not life he spent 28 hours of his life doing it its not that long lets see in that time. I worked, cleaned my house, made dinner and slept. But this guy for 28 hours got to play games, sounds like he has more fun with his no life then me doing mundane tasks, which I guess is so called "life"
Vidikron @ Jan 17th 2007 11:20AM
I played WoW for a few months after it launched, but I had to force myself to quit. The game is the biggest time waster in the world. I'd play for 4 or 5 hours and realize that I spent most of that time just traveling from point to point. Don't get me wrong, I loved the game and it's highly addictive, but so much time is simply wasted doing nothing. Also, the vast majority of the tasks are the so called FedEx type quests. Go get this item, take this item to this person, etc...
I see people here talking about people addicted to other games. Sure, that is true, but I think there is pretty clearly a much larger percentage of addicts playing WoW than any other game. Also, many seem to be on another level of addiction.
I've got a friend that started the game at the same time I did and he is truly an addict. I won't hear from him for weeks at a time... he'll say he is going to come hang out and never show up and later apologize saying he got caught up in a raid or instance... my friend's and will invite him to a party of some sort and he'll say he can't because he signed up for a raid on his clan's website (yes, a freaking website to sign up for raids). I'll tell him to just skip or tell his clan he can't make it and he'll then say he can't because he is now committed. OMFG. Sure, go ahead, go run that raid for the 100th God damn time and continue to say FU to your real world friends. Now that the expansion is out I imagine I won't be seeing him for several weeks.
I know people who are, or have been, addicted to games like Halo, Unreal Tournament, etc..., but they aren't even close to what I see from WoW addicts. I think that is why the game has such a bar reputation among people who either never played WoW or managed to escape it.
Zzap64 @ Jan 17th 2007 11:22AM
lol, I never tire of these troll comments. One guy enjoys playing the game so much he stays up for 28 hours solid...
"Oh No! How can someone get enjoyment out of something I perceive as a waste of time? Perhaps I'd better utilise my time telling everyone how sad they are and how they have no life for playing WoW. I'll put off doing something worthwhile with my own time to make a snappy comment on joystiq, that'll show those nerds busy enjoying themselves on a game I dont like"
Its funny how geeks can argue amongst themselves as to whos the biggest geek. FFS, games are games, doesnt matter if its a racing game or WoW, your all playing one game or another and if not why the hell are you reading a gaming blog, not to mention taking the time out of your super busy, amazing lives so full of wonder and hot sex with woman to sit and write out a comment on a blog site?
Yes, its very comical to see gaming snobbery at its finest.. "I have more of a life cos I sit at home playing Fifa/halo/PGR/whatever, than these geeks playing WoW just to get a number next to their name."
Just break it down and take a breather a second. Name ONE game that has a real world benefit to playing? One end of level boss that actually materialises something in your hand? Any console that magically spits money from its cd tray? Any wondorous mod that suddenly grants you 3 wishes, a big house, nice car, lots of mates and a girlfriend?
Not one then? So EVERY gamer is basically wasting his or her time for his or her equivalent of a number next to their name? Not even spending that time to read, or learn a foreign language, or make the world a nicer place to live in? Not you though right? Your helping world peace by beating Gears that 4th time in only 3 hours this time... money well spent huh? More time to make snappy comments on gaming blogs instead of getting on with your life and letting others do the same.
If you actually took your heads out of your asses long enough to step back from your world of elitism and "Im better than you cos I play games with a point".. you would see how futile your "amusing" comments are coming from someone who is essentially the same person just playing a different game.
In fact, its great to see tolerance and understanding that people enjoy playing different games and not everybody who plays certain games has "no life" or "no girlfriend".. after all, its only a larger scale of this very same attitude that sends countries to war. But hey, if it makes you feel that little more adequate in your tiny little existence to come on here and act like your so ace because you spend your free time bitching at people for getting enjoyment from something... more power to you! :D
..after all your girlfriend must be really impressed on how you bitch slapped some WoW fans over the internet. I bet she gest all hot hearing about your oh so snappy comeback on joystiq made in anonymity behind the relative safety of your computer. Im sure your parents would be proud that they raised a level headed child who disregards peoples personal opinions as long as it doesnt fit with your ethical view on life. In fact, your so ace, random internet troll, I may just mimic your comments as if their my own across every forum thread/post/blog on the internet and act smug as though Im the first person to say it since WoW came out...
Thanks for the laugh you guys! :D
RUSKULL @ Jan 17th 2007 11:27AM
I'm sure the official WOW forums are filled with people screaming "No Fair!", as they mostly seem to think the point of an MMO is to "finish it". Haha!
David004 @ Jan 17th 2007 11:41AM
Losers: People who play WoW.
Winners: People who make WoW.
Schnozberry @ Jan 17th 2007 11:34AM
People who play WOW are zombified. I lost two friends at work because they play so much it dominates all there conversations and makes them intolerable to be around. One of them has a girlfriend who plays, but she only plays because that's the only time she gets to spend time with him. It's a truly tragic tale.
I think Blizzard needs to do more to encourage a more casual style of gameplay by peanlizing players who play excessively and making it more appealing to players who play casually by giving them an XP Bonus or give them a percentage bonus on rare drops.
OR, they could make servers and seperate them into Casual Servers and Competitive Servers, so Hardcore addicts aren't forced to play with n00bs and casual players can avoid being raped by passers by every 11 seconds.
:( @ Jan 17th 2007 11:39AM
I love how everyone acts like watching cribs, or pounding beers is more meaningful. Also, how everyone uses this "life" concept like there's really something fantastic to do when you're tired from spending all of the daylight at work and you only have 4 hours until tomorrow. Ganking, grinding, whatever you want to call it, is more immediately satisfying than going out somewhere I don't want to go and chasing ass I'm not going to get - or better yet, ass that I have nothing in common with because I like computers & gaming. What? You think I'm gonna hit it off with someone who thinks the Black Eyed Pea's Fergie is the most original and innovative performer of her time? Some folks on here just can't wrap their head around the idea that some people just don't like doing what society considers "normal"
If you're so gung-ho about "life", then wtf are you doing preaching in comments? Shouldn't you be out getting some 'tang? Especially with less competition going around!
LuTze @ Jan 17th 2007 11:42AM
Mmmm. two people you know mean 8 million are the same?
Nice generalisation there..
..and you get bonus XP. The longer your logged out the more "rested bonus" you build up.. kind of like a system to encourage casual play perhaps.
Dont get me wrong I've known people go bad form playing WoW and quit.. Now there just as bad on a different game. Its called an addictive personality and existed in them long before WoW even came out.
You dont even see this kind of trolling about smoking, a truly addictive but socially acceptable past time that will kill you quicker than WoW.
jasenj1 @ Jan 17th 2007 11:47AM
To all those saying WoWers have no life: Toss in football, basketball, and any other pro sport of your choice (and don't forget the fantasy versions of all those things). All that time and energy spent accomplishing NOTHING of lasting value.
Boohoo. We humans have a great capacity to entertain ourselves. After food, shelter, and security are taken care of we start looking for "fun". For some fun is watching big sweaty guys bash into each other, for others it's mashing buttons on a controller, for others it's creating drugs to cure diseases.
Why all the hating?
canebi @ Jan 17th 2007 12:11PM
http://www.darkonthemovie.com/trailers_qt_hi.html
Draw your own conclusions, just know that while playing WoW, you are as awesome as these people.
Sir spongebob @ Jan 17th 2007 12:22PM
#42
What you and many other avid wow fans that are just replying with angry comments because they know every flame made on this thread is justified. All of you need the realize that there is a BIG difference between wow and all other games besides mmo's. The difference is that wow occupys about 99.9 percent more time then anything else. Last time i checked most people havn't spent 40 actuall days playing halo, or gow. Which is about 1000 hours. The sad thing is that 40 game days is actually average. It can get much worse. A person with 3 lvl 60's probably spent upwards of 50-60 game days or 1200-1440 hours. Many have spent more. And its hard to play other games in big time frames like wow. I know i can't play halo for 7 hours straight.
The fact is, that wow takes your life. More so then other games that arn't MMO's. To beat gears or halo campaign it takes about 7 hours depending on skill level. But to do anything in wow it takes much much more. Around 17 days or 408 hours to get level 60 depending on wether you power lvl'd or did other things like pvp or somthing. That to me is just sad. Why waste so much time on one game when you could easily take that time to better yourself or your life in some way. Ie study, read a book, look for a job, go to colledge. Live life in some way. Im not trying to make fun of people that play wow. Because its ok to enjoy life becuase thats what life is about. But time could be spent in better ways. Becuase life goes by fast.
I have a friend who plays wow non stop. And he is a loser becuase of the game. He droped out of school, and all he does is play wow and go to work. It has taken his life and he can't stoped and go do something else for a change.
Also for the person who said this game takes skill, you are wrong. All it takes is knowledge. After that everything goes by easiily. But anyway
/endrant
snoopdiggity @ Jan 17th 2007 1:03PM
I can get from level 1 to level 70 in several minutes, with photoshop. Whose the world's fastest now?
EihBeir @ Jan 17th 2007 12:58PM
This cracks me up. While on one hand, this will be the biggest triumph in this kid's life, the other hand has the Blizzard developers muttering an anti-climatic, "Well....shit."