AWorld of Warcraftplayer has already hit level 80 onWrath of the Lich King Classic. Less than nine hours after servers went live with the newWorld of Warcraft Classicexpansion, a world first raider was the first to reach the new level cap, though his methods have left some players angry.World of Warcraftraider and two-time world first tile-holder Naowh was the player who claimed the accolade for cruising to level 80. Naowh is a member of Echo, one of themajor world firstWorld of Warcraftraiding guildswho most recently claimed victory over the Jailer inShadowlands.RELATED:World of Warcraft Selling Frostmourne Replica Sword on the Blizzard Gear StoreNaowh reached level 80 on his Paladin in less than nine hoursfromWrath of the Lich King Classic’slaunch. He accomplished this with the help of a couple of friends who would summon him across Northrend for rapid travel, and by farming an Elite spawn who summons an endless army of zombies who give experience when they despawn. He also multiboxed with several other level 1 characters, who he killed off to gain maximum group experience bonuses. This method gave him the near-two million experience an hour he needed to pull off the feat.
While manyWorld of Warcraft Classicfans applauded Naowh on his swift and efficient power leveling process, others spat at his efforts, claiming he cheated to earn the title. They claim that by using the despawn exploit and mob tagging, Naowh, who is primarily a retailWorld of Warcraftplayer, robbed actualClassicplayers of the world first title. Many disgruntled players are calling for Naowh’s title to be revoked, and forBlizzard to ban his accountor server rollback his character to an earlier level.
While multiboxing –running multiple game clients at the same time– is banned in some MMORPGs, it is technically not against theTerms of Service forWorld of Warcraft. Experience-farming exploits are also frowned upon, but the fact this one in particular has not been patched out in over a decade suggests Blizzard does not consider it to be a bannable offense.
At the end of the day, players have been using the method Naowh used for years, and despite mixed feelings on the victory, it is a victory nonetheless. If Naowh’s world first power leveling achievement has done anything, it has highlighted the lingering animosity between retail andClassic World of Warcraftplayers. IfWorld of Warcraftseeks to foster a better community, it would be prudent to address those misgivings, rather than let them fester into toxicity.
World of WarcraftandWrath of the Lich King Classicare available on PC.
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