My final attempt at a living Level 80 (WotLK Classic)

Concept

With the announcement of the end of the Wrath of the Lich King cycle of WoW Classic last November, I began to get the itch to attempt a new run at level 80. I envisioned a solo hunter–no pet, no groups, no glyphs, no addons, no re-specs, and no 50% XP buff–who rested in camps and journeyed to 80 without dying. I would take my time, play carefully, and enjoy the world and the Wrath-style game design one final time.

I figured that I had until at least the end of May before a pre-patch would upend everything (combat systems and XP requirements were my main concerns), and that four months of questing several hours per week would give me enough time to complete it under those conditions. On January 24th, I re-subbed and began my journey.

It was a noble idea, but it was not to be.

A week ago, Blizzard announced that the Shattering goes live on April 30th, with Cataclysm Classic following on May 20th. I was busy with work at the time of the announcement. I hit 70 on April 11th, and was excited! Until I saw the news the next day.

I realized then that I had 17 days to achieve 10 levels. It was going to be impossible.

So I compromised. I started logging out in Northrend inns, but kept the Joyous Journeys XP buff disabled. I hit 71 at the end of day Saturday the 13th. 72 came just after noon Monday the 15th. As of this morning, I have 2 weeks to gain 8 levels. I’m on vacation now, and I go back to work on Friday. This pace is unsustainable, and it’s not fast enough as it is.

So here we are…

…and I think I’m going to call it.

The point was to have fun and play the challenge that I set out for myself. I am absolutely not interested in racing to max level.

Play

This was the latest of several runs with a pet-free, permadeath hunter in Classic. In late 2022, I took this Mushan’s predecessor to level 40 in Wrath Classic–my highest ever permadeath character–before losing him to a flight-path-disconnect fall death in Elwynn Forest. In early 2023, I started a few hunters in Classic Era using the Hardcore addon, eventually getting a nelf named Faiv to level 34 before becoming disinterested and un-subbing until this most recent stint. Faiv still exists and is still alive, but I probably will not go back to playing her.

Olmin Burningbeard really wants me to get started down the path of earning a pet of my own. :)

At any rate, playing without a pet has been fun! It requires a LOT of kiting. I decided to spec mainly into Marksmanship for the firepower–I’m currently running 5-55-3 at level 72– and Concussive Shot has been my best friend. Disengage, Feign Death, and Freezing/Frost Traps have saved me many times.

I’ve learned to recognize when an area is a “cave” and make decisions about whether I can handle the area or not. I’ve had to be careful about not falling victim to the quick respawn boss. I’ve abandoned quests that I really wanted to do because they weren’t worth the risk. I’ve made long journeys to areas that were supposed to be level-appropriate–particularly in the original game–and then had to leave when most of the available quests were red.

I’ve also taken calculated risks that worked out, and completed quests that I was surprised that I could complete! For example, soloing Boglash at level 62 without a pet was exhilarating, as was getting the Medium Rare achievement at the same level by accidentally tripping over Bog Lurker and coming out alive.

I’ve escaped several times barely clinging to life.

But I’ve made it, so far.

Closing

I haven’t decided whether I’m going to play in Cata Classic. Part of me wants to, and part of me does not. Perhaps I will pick up this toon and run him to 85 at some point. Or maybe I’ll take Hadlun–my “main” Dwarf Hunter, who I’ve taken to 60 before TBC, 70 and exalted with Shattered Sun before Wrath, and 80 and PvPing early in Wrath–to 85 if they announce Mists of Pandaria Classic at some point.

For now, I am probably not going to be there next month. I’m looking to start a fresh toon on Classic Era and see where that goes. But I think I’m going to give permadeath a break for now.

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Thanks for reading this post by Mushan at Mushan, Etc.

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