Today's hottest game video: WoW Level 70
by Zack Stern 
{ Jan 19th 2007 at 12:15AM }
Just 28 hours after the release of The Burning Crusade, World of Warcraft player Gullerbone snared the touted level 70, the game's new ceiling. But how did Gullerbone do it? An unlimited supply of Chex Mix? Non-stop jungle music? Caffeine injections? We just don't know.
But investigators have discovered a three-minute video showing the process of monster killing and leveling up, today's most-watched YouTube game video. Alas, the investigators couldn't find the 28 hours of time to give back to the player.
See the video after the break.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
traffic @ Jan 19th 2007 12:32AM
get a life
Otsego @ Jan 19th 2007 12:33AM
wow. what a waste of oxygen...
MosquitoControl @ Jan 19th 2007 12:43AM
I have no clue what is going on there.
I just know it's boring.
I'll never understand MMORPGS.
SymetriX @ Jan 19th 2007 1:14AM
ZOMG ITS SO BORING U MUST HAF NO LIFE LOL ROFL!
This coming from people visiting a gaming blog. Get real nerds.
Its a fun game, 8 million people play it.
Don't brag about how much more constructive your time is spent chainsawing people in GoW.
Ace TKen @ Jan 19th 2007 1:19AM
Popular does not mean good. I'm sure Britney Spears last album sold more than your favourite band's last album, doesn't make her good. I've played plenty of MMOs and really do not understand the draw to WoW.
Nad Stretep @ Jan 19th 2007 1:21AM
lol, whats the point of people going for the world record in speed eating or plate spinning? I'm sure that's boring too. The stigma MMOs get is so amazingly pathetic, people will play CS for 600 hours straight and brag but play an MMO for a day and you're freaking leper. Haters need to grow up,
kuri @ Jan 19th 2007 1:29AM
To those confused what/why:
In MMORPGs, the most efficient way to gain levels leans towards AoE grinding. It's incredibly mundane, but saves you the constant footwork (read: waste of time) of getting/turning in quests. The basic idea is: your friends group with you and concentrate all their damage on these monsters, and you all share a portion of the EXP.
The reason that multiple people did not hit 70 is, I would assume, his guild took shifts. Group 1 would work 6 hours, Group 2 would work the next 6, and so on until 70 came.
Congratulations to the guy. He did quite a feat, and probably wanted to stab his eyes out at many times during his camp-tastic campaign (pun partially intended?). Now he just has to get reputation with every faction in Outland, conquer instances, discover zones, and learn professions. Sounds simple, but trust me- they didn't keep millions of people subscribed to WoW because you can max out your character in a week!
Mini-FAQ:
Why not quest?
Questing takes time. You not only need to get the quest (finding the questgiver can be a pain in itself), but also get yourself to the correct area and kill specific monsters. The result is inefficient leveling. When grinding, you go to a monster-dense area with fast respawn rates and don't worry about anything but mashing buttons for hours straight.
Why not dungeon-crawl?
Similar to the explanation above, dungeons might be consistent in terms of monsters and experience, but these monsters are not time efficient. Killing one of these takes 2-4 times as long as a monster not in an instance.
Why powerlevel?
It's their money, they can enjoy the content as they wish. It's not as if now that they're 70 they'll stop playing- there's a whole world they didn't explore yet, and can do so freely and in ways those leveling could not.
How do you organize a whole guild to powerlevel one person?
Well, it takes a dedicated group of people. To them, it's arguable this game's more of a formal job than something they pick up and mess around with. So, when it comes to grabbing people to help you powerlevel to 70, unless you're in a relatively serious guild (and in a high position- they don't just help anyone) this will forever be a pipe dream.
Is this the only way to powerlevel?/This isn't right, there's *this* way to powerlevel!
I'm just illustrating the basics of powerleveling by means of AoE grinding. Each game has its own ways to exploit experience gains. Not everyone does (or can do) it. If being #1 on the level chart piques your fancy, by all means, go search forums on tips on how to efficiently grind. It's not as cut-and-dry as this may sound, if you're looking to truly maximize EXP for time required.
Shibathedog @ Jan 19th 2007 1:35AM
lol i like how everyone who supports wow makes the assumption everyone against it plays shooters and then bashes them.
so far anyway.
micheal82 @ Jan 19th 2007 1:46AM
OMG he has no life
How do you kill whom who has no life
We must unleash it
No! No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Yes we must unleash the sword of a thousand truths and he who has no life will be vanquished.
MosquitoControl @ Jan 19th 2007 1:50AM
I like how everyone that supports MMORPGs has the assumption that their opinion is the only valid one.
I had WOW. For 13 days. Couldn't stand it. Everyone told me it was different than other MMORPGs, and in a way they were right... it actually managed to be even more hands off.
Run up to guy. Get quest to find ten horns. Horns come from 10% of Rhinos.
Run around. Find Rhino. Hit 4. Hit 3. Hit 2. Hit 1. Watch your guy swipe at Rhino for a minute. Rhino dies. No horn. Run around, see other rhinos but people are fighting them already (this was on a new server, too.) Finally find Rhino. Kill it. No horn. Repeat. Find horn. Repeat 10 times. End quest.
Fun? No. No tactics, no strategy, no action, no plot, no goals other than leveling. Just hitting a number key and watching your guy fight for upwards of a minute.
Some people dig it. I don't get it, but fine.
I don't. Yet people here still get all wadded up complaining about those that find it dull.
Vangardt @ Jan 19th 2007 11:07AM
A Gnome? It had to be a Gnome, didn't it?
Anyway, I salute the user/creator for the use of Benny Hill music...not so much the second one.
MosquitoControl @ Jan 19th 2007 1:55AM
"stigma MMOs get is so amazingly pathetic, people will play CS for 600 hours straight and brag but play an MMO for a day and you're freaking leper. Haters need to grow up,"
Because in CS, or Civilization, or to a lesser extent Final Fantasy, you're doing something. There are clear goals and, in FF, there is a clear plot. More importantly, you can tell the good from the not-so-good. Talent and skill weigh into the gaming.
MMORPGs do not incorporate talent or skill. They're merely time played. If Guy A and Guy B both put 10 hours into a MMORPG they'll both be the same level, assuming the spend their time questing and not exploring.
Sure, some people make different decisions to level faster, such as grinding, but ultimately time invested is the greatest determining factor of a users ability in the game.
In non MMOGs this isn't true. Skill, strategy and tactics come into play.
Purple_Haze @ Jan 19th 2007 2:10AM
@5
My favorite bands the beatles so no.
Count Chocula @ Jan 19th 2007 2:15AM
Where is the love?
Lets put all this hostility of video game preferences behind us, hold hands, and sing Kumbaya.
iamblinkin @ Jan 19th 2007 2:18AM
I don't really like to get into these arguments, but are you actually believing that MMOs don't consist of skill, strategy, and tactics? You're telling me that you can put someone who's never played the game on an equally geared character as someone who has been playing a lot and the non-player will have an equal chance to win? Or that you can run into a dungeon and kill everything without thinking about what you're doing, since it involves no skill or tactics?
"...but ultimately time invested is the greatest determining factor of a users ability in the game.
In non MMOGs this isn't true. Skill, strategy and tactics come into play."
What is skill? Or better yet, how do you develop skill. Investing time in something. Not good at basketball? Play more. Not good at PVP on your rogue? PVP more. MMOs might be heavily gear dependent but when it does come down to it they are also very skill dependent, skill being exactly what the Random House Unabridged Dictionary on Dictionary.com defines it as: "the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well".
Red Viking @ Jan 19th 2007 2:20AM
@ 11
I have to disagree about the lack of skill. Yeah, there's alot of questing and grinding which can get boring really fast, but there are numerous dungeons and bosses in the game that you don't even have a prayer of taking on unless you use strategy and work as a team with about 20 other players. And then there's the PvP Battlegrounds and Arena which require the skills that you mentioned, otherwise you'll lose.
Dumdum @ Jan 19th 2007 2:19AM
The only reason I have been playing this game for 2 years is the amazing community
alexanderwales @ Jan 19th 2007 2:21AM
Having played WoW for a long time - three level 60s - I can say this with some small measure of authority; it is not fun. The satisfaction that the game gives you is the same satisfaction that getting a paycheck gives you.
Getting the loot is something that you do for the loot, not something that you do because getting the loot is fun. And what do you do when you have the good loot? You go out and try to get better loot.
Part of the reason that people don't just walk away is that you have lots of friends there; another part is that you have all this loot built up, so it feels like you'd be walking away from something valuable; another part is that the satisfaction is enough for some people, even if there's no real fun. This is what they mean when they say that MMOs are addicting - they all share these things in common.
World of Warcraft is not fun. It's barely even a game.
Jay @ Jan 19th 2007 3:59AM
Skill in an MMORPG is not as important as skill when playing an FPS.
In an FPS, you start off exactly the same as the enemy. Who wins is determined by skill, and a little luck.
In an MMORPG, who would win in a fight is almost always determined by level and items. Sure, there is a little bit of skill in it if the people are the same level. But it can't compare with an FPS.
In an FPS if someone beats you, it is because they are more skilled than you. I like that.
I don't like it how in an MMORPG you get your ass handed to you by some guy because he went and bought the sword of a thousand truths off e-bay.
Red Viking @ Jan 19th 2007 4:37AM
I agree with you, Jay. MMORPGS don't require alot of skill, but there are places and situations where you have to use them. But a MMORPG and a FPS are two completely different genres. A FPS is, by its very nature, a fast-paced game, so skill and luck play a large part in how well you perform. RPGs, on the other hand, are much more slowly paced, so you take your time and get stronger by leveling and getting better gear. That's why PvP combat in some MMORPGs are skewed largely in favor of the guy with the Uber Living Demon Armor of Xanerax, Devourer of Worlds.
Ultimately, it all comes down to preference. Some people like the stat grinding while others prefer skills and it’s perfectly reasonable to see why it can be difficult for both sides to come to an agreement. Just saying that suchandsuch has no life for enjoying that particular aspect of a game is just asking for a flamewar.
Tela @ Jan 19th 2007 4:47AM
@17
It's not the game that's not fun, it's the way people play it. WoW is fun until you get to the raiding grind.
Leveling up with friends, setting challenges for yourself like killing elites and exploring new enclosed areas, going through 5 man dungeons and seeing new content is fun. After you have completed the first raid dungeon on one character you should stop playing until the next expansion because by then you've seen all the game really has to offer. Unfortunately, the majority of players don't seem to understand this and continue raid grinding over and over to watch numbers on their paper doll increase, this is where the game becomes un-fun.
alexanderwales @ Jan 19th 2007 5:23AM
@ 20
Alright, but why then am I playing a game where I have to set meta-goals to make it fun? If the fun comes from hanging out with my friends in the game, why don't I just hang out with my friends and skip the Warcraft part of it? (The obvious answer to this is usually convenience or distance) I can agree somewhat on the five-man dungeons, but those are less fun than they are competence needs fulfillment - this on top of the fact that they make up the minority of actual gameplay (unless you intend to repeat them as your sole source of xp, which is both slow and boring).
On top of this, the actual gameplay isn't fun. It's repetitive as all hell. It consists of pressing about four of the same keys in a predetermined sequence until the mob is dead. In raids it's almost worse, because not only are you stuck in a predetermined sequence of keys, but this sequence is dictated by a raid group and you're only really contributing 1/40 off the manpower needed to defeat the mob/boss - on top of the fact that you rarely see any of the loot.
As for questing, practically all of them are the same. Either kill X mobs, or gather X items by killing mobs, or deliver X to person X, or find X items (which will almost always be surrounded by mobs). As you level, the quests don't change - the numbers do. Unlike a well designed game like Zelda, you don't really get new items or skills that change the gameplay. It's the same thing from level 10 to level 60.
This post is already getting too long, but one last thing regarding skill v. gear: Gear Wins. Do you know how most games increase difficulty? It's not by making the enemies smarter - it's by making them stronger than you. Go into any 10-19 battleground and watch a twink slaughter five or six opponents that are his level. How does he do it? Better gear. How do you get better gear? Spend more time in the game. Not only is this visible in game, but it's the way that Blizzard (and other MMOs) get people to keep playing month after month. Carrot, meet stick.
Tela @ Jan 19th 2007 5:48AM
@21
Your point about pvp is well made and that is why pvp in a game where gear comes into play is completely pointless and I don't participate. You're also right when you say I shouldn't have to set meta-goals myself to have fun. If WoW really was great it would set these goals for me but at the same time the game mechanics are there so I do it for myself and have fun doing it.
WoW is far from perfect but I enjoy the MMORPG genre and there are not a lot of alternatives out there that I haven't also played.
A few months from now when I've completed everything upto the early raiding part of the expansion I'll stop playing and then maybe start again when the next expansion comes out if I haven't found a decent MMORPG alternative by then. That in my opinion is the way to have fun in WoW but I very much doubt many people play that way and I'm sure many will disagree entirely.
Tony @ Jan 19th 2007 5:51AM
World of Warcraft frustrates the hell out of me. Not because of it's gameplay, but because of it's content. A world of Orcs, magical swords and Warlocks is an unimaginative one that will only have true mass appeal if there's a link to common human experience.
Lord of the Rings is a good example of this. It wasn't about a magical ring of evil being dropped into a volcano, it was about the survival of the conscience against temptation. Something we can all relate to in one way or another.
World of Warcraft is sadly all about magical rings and wizards.
David @ Jan 19th 2007 6:24AM
Why do people have to keep saying how bad WoW is? I don't like darts. It's repetetive, dull and all about how long you've been practising. Some people love it, I don't. I generally don't go to darts forums and say how people should stop playing darts and play tiddlywinks instead. If you don't enjoy playing, don't play, but let the people who do enjoy playing it play it. And if someone wants to be the first to level 70, just let them do it, it's their life, they've accomplished something which was important to them, I say "Good job, nice work, not something I would do though" and wish people would stop with the "get a life" comments.
TheDoomer @ Jan 19th 2007 6:54AM
I'm gonna move away from the subject of bashing WoW and stuff, cause I play it. But, how is his interface all.....different?
PurpleSfinx @ Jan 19th 2007 9:03AM
@ David
You are 100% right. Good work, sir.
(I'm not being sarcastic by the way. If you don't like to play WoW, fine. If you don't like me playing WoW, go to hell.)
KC @ Jan 19th 2007 7:32AM
I JUST started playing WOW this week. I got it with Burning Crusade.
I have never played nor wanted to play any MMORPGs before. The only reason I picked this one up was becuase a bunch of my friends play it. I thought it'd be fun to play it with them. And it is. Well, with their new low level characters.
Thing is, the game is VERY time consuming. Like it or not. I play TONS of other games on all platforms, dont favor any of them at the moment. My friends who play WOW however basically ONLY play WOW. And the guild everyone is in seems to have a lot of pressure to level up quickly. My character is currently level 13. And in my 1 - 12 levels I basically grinded. Did boring quests, and rushed to level. After hitting 12, I decided to screw it. I traveled. I didnt push for levels. I talked with people along the way. I have a Dranie character(new to the expansion), and in other areas of the world people stop to talk to me because of it.
I eventually reached level 13 simply from exploring and killing a few enemies. But I have to say, I had a MUCH better time playing the game in that 12-13 level playtime than the 1-12 levels.
I found what I like about WoW. Exploring the huge world. Mining some rocks along the way. Just taking my time. Traversing mountains and rivers. Forests and what not. It's cool. I love the atmosphere. I like how everyone else travels around. I play on a PVP server so when I go into enemy or neutral territory its kind of exciting to make sure I'm not seen by the enemy.
These are the parts of the game i'm enjoying. I'll level along the way, but I want to take my time to do it.
Anway, just my 2cents about WoW.
Its a solid game, and theres a lot to do. The gameplay itself is pretty weak, and it really is all about your gear(and level) when it comes to fighting. Not much skill involved. Bu still, its fun to play with friends, and meet others along the way.
iNZoW @ Jan 19th 2007 8:36AM
I dont understand .. why are you comparing an MMORPG to FPS or any other genres.
Well can i say HALO Sucks because Command and Conquer needs both skills and intilegence to win?
I'm not going deep and talk about what an MMORPG has to offer but i believe some part of it gives a feeling to a player that hes living inside the world. You have your own character, you dress up your character, play with your friends together and chat AND this point grabs the non-gamers attention. [ Most of the guys i met in WoW are adults or even married, while in FPS .. its always teenagers and kids screaming and swear at you every time they kill you, halo 2 anyone? ]
The 2nd point is, the international users who want to play online gaming. They will experince lag, and you never can play with lag in FPS or any time of game. However, so far .. Only Boardgames and MMORPG, dont matter wether you have lag or not. You still can play and kick butt. [ This is 1 of the main reasons why gamers here in kuwait and middle east lost hope for other online games. ]
And ofcourse there are many other reasons, and there are those who like to play MMORPG. But im just saying those 2 points .. add alot of players to WOW.
Ron Smith @ Jan 19th 2007 8:37AM
they should have used Paul Stanley's Live to win instead of the techno music. Also where is the sword of a thousand Truths?
crono141 @ Jan 19th 2007 9:35AM
Once again, joystiqers prove they really don't get it.
Anyone complaining about repetitiveness and gameplay and drop quests doesn't get it.
Its not about hitting level 60 or 70. Its not about getting the best loot. Its not about grinding, or killing the dragon. Or winning in PvP. Its about the experiences you have while doing all these things. The thrill of the challenge going into places you shouldn't be and coming out victorious. Its about socializing with your friends. Telling jokes while running from place to place.
WoW is not a single player game. If all you did was run around by yourself and do drop quests (which EVERYONE hates) then you missed the whole point.
WoW is like a journey. Not a trip, or a plane ride, but a journey. The end is the ultimate goal, but its the journey that you remember, that you experience.
WoW is a hell of a lot of fun. If you didn't have fun, even a little, then you just don't get it.
Boing @ Jan 19th 2007 9:14AM
Wow, the ignorance here is astounding.
I invite everyone who doesn't think that skill matters to put together a party of noobs and enter the battlefields and compete against groups who ARE skilled. If we were to run AV 10 times I don't think that an unskilled party would be able to win once.
What about instances? How long would it take for an unskilled player to get himself (or even his entire party) killed in a place like Molten Core?
I'd rather party with a level 60 mage who built his character from level 1 but is only equipped with blues over someone with level 60 mage that's full of epics that purchased the account off of eBay and has no idea how to play. Believe me, you can tell the difference.
Jimmy Reds @ Jan 19th 2007 9:20AM
Benny Hill music = me marking out
crono141 @ Jan 19th 2007 9:22AM
Joystiq ate my comment.
Suffice it to say, most of you don't get it at all.
Neal @ Jan 19th 2007 9:47AM
Anyone who has enough time to play and be good at WoW needs to get a job.
Wow blows. What a bunch of boring repetative crap.
Tela @ Jan 19th 2007 10:24AM
@34
Your comment is entirely subjective and pointless.
alexanderwales @ Jan 19th 2007 11:31AM
@ crono141
But the drop quests are the game - hanging out with other people is what we call a chatroom. The actual "game" part of Warcraft is what sucks about it - "Its not about hitting level 60 or 70. Its not about getting the best loot. Its not about grinding, or killing the dragon. Or winning in PvP." Yeah, those things are the game. Giving yourself meta-goals and talking with friends? Those aren't part of the game, those are part of what it is to be human.
If you tell me that talking with your friends is fun, and you hate drop quests ... why don't you just hang out with your friends and not do the drop quests? Mostly I think the reason people will abandon real life for a game is that it's easier to like people online, so long as they aren't jackholes. Why? Because 93% of communication is non-verbal, and we tend to assume that people are better than they actually are. It's easier to have internet friends than it is to have them in real life.
So don't tell me I don't get it - yeah, it's fun to be with friends. Big fucking deal. You said it yourself - if World of Warcraft were a single player game, no one would play it, because the actual gameplay sucks. You play because you're using the game as a glorified 3D chat program (that you pay $15 a month for). This is why people tell WoW players to get a life - because they start to substitute a more cozy virtual existence for actual interaction.
And to the guy who said that skill matters - yeah, no fuck someone who just bought their account is going to die pretty quickly. I'm not talking about that guy. I'm talking about the people decked out in Tier 2 armor when I was in my Scholo/Strath blues. They may not be better than me, but their gear makes up for it - by as much as 70%. That means that I have to be doing a lot more damage to the other guy than he has to be doing to me, just to win - and it's the same with instances. Gear allows you to make mistakes. Gear - not skill, gear - allows two people to do a solo Emperor run. It's like comparing someone with a sniper rifle to someone with a bow and arrow - skill difference can only get you so far.
Newmiracle @ Jan 19th 2007 1:11PM
"Non-stop jungle music?"
Boh Boh! Amen, brother. Nice to see some junglists in the gaming community.
WoW is Gay @ Jan 22nd 2007 11:45PM
I cannot believe that people want to play this game. This game just SCREAMS nerd. If you want to have a good time playing with other people on videogames AND you want to keep your pride, then get Gears of War. In fact, almost anything is better than WoW. Hell, Viva Pinata would be better.
Dave @ Jan 19th 2007 1:26PM
Whoever's handing out the stars for this thread needs to add a least some semblence of objectivity to it. Creating new or interesting points of view should be rewarded, not every comment that defends FPS games or downplays the draw of MMOs.
Dracco @ Jan 19th 2007 11:27PM
@23
I have one thing to say to you good sir and that is actually read up on the things you talk about. I'm not only a WOW player i'm also a warcraft junky (yes i do have a life outside of warcraft but i enjoy warcraft the same way a historian enjoys a good library). If you actually read the quest and, lord forgive me for this one, pick up a book about it you will find the background story is rich with struggles that are human and very easy to understand. I'm not bashing your opinion, but please, in the future if you are going to make a comment kno what you're talking about or keep it to yourself. Thank you kindly.
oblivian @ Jan 19th 2007 2:21PM
i agree Dave. And also, there are a lot of great points to this comment section, i keep agreeing with one comment, and then the next counter i agree with that one more. Ill probably post something later on when im not in school b/c i have WoW and i play it and its fun to me.
NeverEnder @ Jan 19th 2007 3:03PM
I was happy to have stumbled onto this post and have alexanderwales say everything that I wanted to say. Also, to people who are pissed that we're having this discussion (David). I don't remember ever coming to a WoW forum. I don't lurk in forums and trash someone's favorite game, but if I see something on a gaming news blog, then I'll put my two cents in. In this case, my two cents is that WoW is for noobs...and it's boring. Get over it.
xSchism @ Jan 19th 2007 5:52PM
You can't say a game is for noobs just because you don't like it, whether a game is good falls to everyone's own opinion, and frankly, seeing as how there are 8 million WoW subsribers, you can't say it's a BAD game, because it's clear there are many people who would disagree with you. In no way am I saying you can't put your "2 cents" in, all I'm trying to get across is that you shouldn't put a game down for a shitty reason like you think it's "boring", at least come up with a few good reasons why it isn't a good game.
Christo @ Jan 22nd 2007 3:37PM
I didn't like wow at first either...I thought it looked dated and boring. Until I played it...don't fool yourself...this is the best game ever. Like liquid heroin :S
Klouptra @ Mar 21st 2007 10:22AM
@ alexanderwales
If you feel the game is not fun, and yet you spend your money making three 60s just so you can get your gear, why don't you sell all your stuff on E-bay and get some of your "wasted" money back?
And about the who 3D chat room thing, that's why people play mmos, to play with other people. If wow were a single player game guess what? I'd still play it. It is a fun game, with or without other people. I wouldn't pay 15$ a month for a single player game, but then nobody else would either.
Everybody who says they hate the game: that is your opinion, you don't like it. 8 million people do like it, so dont try to force your opinion on others. Let people think what they want, it's their money they're spending.
Comparing MMO games to FPS games is like apples and oranges. You can't say "This apple doesn't taste like this orange" cuz DUH, they are different fruits, you can't judge one in context with the other. So stop trying. Please.
End Rambling.
Pyranique @ Mar 29th 2007 4:10PM
The fun in MMORPGs is the long and hard process of leveling/gearing up your hero! This is similar to playing dress-up with a toy doll. Could you find another way for preadolescent/grown men to play dress-up with Barbie and NOT having this be considered a wierd thing!? NO YOU CANT. If 8 million people enjoy playing with dolls... they surely cant be all wrong!
B.T.W. I play on private servers and used a grinding bot to reach lvl 70 while AFK in under 3 months. I skipped the boring part and conserved MY LIFE! However, now I have got to start going to thoses instances and gear-up my doll,... I mean tough hero!