Breakfast Topic: Some day my ding will come
by Jeremy Sites 
Aug 19th 2010 at 8:00AM
Your fingers ache from the constant play while sweat beads down your neck. Your eyes become unfocused, the colors and background blending together until they resemble something akin to a Monet painting. Clicking at a furious speed, you slay mob after mob, all the while watching the XP progress bar as it inches towards your final goal: the level cap. Time flies. You ask yourself, "Has it really been 13 hours? No, surely it couldn't have."
You open the drapes, staring at the stars and moon with a challenging look. Their day, too, will come. No matter. Neither man, murloc, nor the perpetual spinning of the earth about the sun will stop you this day ... er, night. Pixilated blood shoots from your prey. Their cries warm your soul, adding another notch to your symbolic belt.
Then, whether expected or not, it happens. Your character is engulfed a soothing light, and the game changes forever. You've done it. After days, weeks or months of work, you've hit the level cap. You can stare proudly at your once-lowly character and proclaim your might to all of Azeroth. You're the new tough guy on the block, and nothing can stand in your way.
With higher level caps today and a new level cap imminent, it's not difficult to focus on what's to come and forget where we've been. For me, I was a late bloomer, having never hit the previous level caps before the next expansion came out. So when it did happen in Wrath, I remember sitting there, wondering where the XP bar had run off to (I had been used to seeing it for about four years at that point). Then I blurted out to my wife about how exciting it was that I didn't need to log out in an inn for the rested XP anymore. The world was my oyster.
What is your fondest memory of hitting the previous level caps? Did you save a specific quest in order to let it have the honor of rolling your character into the Halls of Epicism? Did you save that moment to share with friends and celebrate with many drinks in Goldshire? Or did you decimate the murloc population, so that their gurgling cries heralded you into the next phase of the game?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Ad134 Aug 19th 2010 8:05AM
My first level-cap ding was level 70 on my Hunter. Once I reached the 99% mark, I abandoned all quests, flew to shadowmoon valley and killed a blood elf NPC. I ran around the house screaming "YES!!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!!!!". I then proceeded to buy my flying mount training, fly up really high, dismount, and die. Best 10 minutes EVER.
SunGod228 Aug 19th 2010 8:44AM
Ahhh, who can forget the BC standard flying mounts. I flew EVERYWHERE even though it was really really really slow...but i flew
bjoker1 Aug 19th 2010 9:55AM
I cant remember the quest, but I ding'd 70 off of a cow back in TBC.... one week later WotLK came out.
Pyromelter Aug 19th 2010 1:12PM
bjoker, i think your comment needs more cowbell
http://www.wowhead.com/quest=10334
On-topic: My first 80 I hit finishing a quest in storm peaks. I took a metric ton of screenshots. Just felt super epic... because it was.
Moonfaxx Aug 19th 2010 1:36PM
@bjoker1
You may be referring to the quest Needs More Cowbell where you have to save Bessy (a spectral bovine).
I hit 80 after saving little Emily's pet bunny, Mr. Floppy, in the quest Mr. Floppy's Perilous Adventure. To this day, I tout that as my epic 80 ding moment. Just me, Mr. Floppy, and his owner Emily. Oh, and the guild informing me I had just missed a server first. Bittersweet. :)
C.Christian.Moore Aug 19th 2010 8:05AM
I didn't play in Vanilla, so my first level cap was 70.
I ran around discovering new lowbie areas until I was 2 exp away from level cap, then waltzed into Stormwind (my first main was an Orc) to ding 70.
It was glorious.
kebosangar Aug 19th 2010 8:07AM
i started playing on feb '08 and dinged 70 on the next june. I set back and relish the 3.5 month effort for 5 min and deliruously chanting 'im 70' over and over again. Then i took my friends for dinner. On me of course.
Scougelord Aug 19th 2010 8:09AM
The actual "dinging" of my first 80 was exciting, I was and am a casual player so it took me quite a while to hit the level cap. I headed to Stormwind and rode around on my mount, thinking I was awe-inspiring, then realised that almost everyone else around was 80 too. The following days were quite enjoyable- I pugged a few heroics (no dungeon finder then!) and explored the world a bit for achievments.
Gamer am I Aug 19th 2010 8:09AM
My memories of hitting the level cap when I first hit it are less epic than yours. I remember I was questing in Netherstorm, and after turning in a quest, I saw that plume of light. As excited as I was, I had a bit of an existential crisis when I did, because I thought to myself, "This is what I have been playing to accomplish. What do I do now?" I thought I could keep questing and enjoy the game that way, but my entire focus had been on hitting the level cap, and every quest I did, I did to further that goal. With that goal behind me, I realized my motivation to play had disappeared.
Of course, I later set the goal of getting epic flying, than getting my Netherwing Drake, so I didn't run out of goals forever, but it was a very dissonant moment. For the first time in almost two years (my horrendous alt-itis coupled with the fact that I didn't think to move around from zone to zone before finishing all of the quests in a zone until after a year and a half of playing meant it took me a while to get there), I had to no reason to keep playing. So yeah, the first time hitting the level cap wasn't really a positive experience. Although, I suppose you could say it was, because I realized then that my motivation to play had to come from within, and I can proudly say, now, that it does.
jealouspirate Aug 19th 2010 8:31AM
My experience was very similar to this. I think the first thing I did after reaching the level cap for the first time was roll an alt. I was just at a profound loss as to what I should be doing. I figured it out eventually, but it was definitely a weird time.
Noyou Aug 19th 2010 8:17AM
The first is probably always the sweetest. I was such a noob when I hit 80 the first time on my paladin. Mismatched gear (it was all plate-but some dps-heals-tanking) foolish philosophies (thinking I could tank heroics with resilience - which was theoretically possible just not optimal or appreciated). I don't have any fond memories of the dinging just relief it was over. I was glad to be able to wear some of the cool 80 purples I had got from WG (at the time it was 200lvl and 213 were just coming out). Back then you had to wait til 70 to fly and it was a tad more expensive so I think in that sense dinging 70 was probably more monumental for me. I also went around and got all the lvl 70 faction gear from the outland factions and used all of it til lvl 80 (crazy I know). Now of course I know exactly what gear to pick while leveling and set my goal for lvl 78 when I can make crafted gear for the toons spec. I am seriously thinking about leveling a second pally (ret/prot first one is prot/holy) and having more fun the second time around and see how it is when you actually know a little more :)
Dillioney Aug 19th 2010 8:39AM
I have one L80, a not very sociable Night Elf Hunter, there were no histrionics when he hit 80 as it was relief more than overwhelming joy when he made it.
He sat under a tree in Elwynn Forest with his pet and had a pint.......happy days......
pancakes Aug 19th 2010 8:18AM
My first level cap ding was purposefully just outside the horde base in SMV (back in the days of flying at 70) so i could buy flying ASAP. I then spent the rest of the day filling in all the blank spots on the map.
Bvannas Aug 19th 2010 8:21AM
On my main I reached level cap twice, once in BC, once in wrath, both at late hours, when it was really just me cheering to an empty guild. It always happens, I try and plan it so I ding 80 at peak times, then I get lost in a quest chain and then to my total surprise Im level 80.
Tim Aug 19th 2010 8:23AM
I truly don't remember when I hit 80 on both my 80's. All i said was, "Ok. What do I do now?" It was cool but that was about it. And both were during Wrath.
blissfire Aug 19th 2010 5:19PM
I don't remember dinging 80 either, I think it was in Dragonblight. I DO remember dinging 70 on a wind serpent in Blade's Edge, mostly because I'd Frapsed it and every once in a while I'll be cleaning out my hard drive and come across that video and go, "Oh, yeah, I remember you, Felsworn Scalewing!"
Krishaa-ah-an Aug 19th 2010 8:27AM
Dinging 60, on my Night Elf priest in an UBRS Raid - Yeah, we used to raid normal instances back then... And we had to walk 5 miles in the snow just to get there! You kids have it too easy nowadays :(
fishbang Aug 19th 2010 11:02AM
Much the same for me. My priest dinged 60 on a 10-man Scholo run, right before Gandling, sometime early in '05. He dropped my headpiece and an epic necklace for me as well.
That also made it my first night in Molten Core. I hadn't expected to feel so far out of my depth, and I nearly choked on the first pull. I adjusted well enough and fast enough, I suppose, and was rewarded with my first piece of tier-1 (bracers) out of the bank that night.
It was a fun day.
musicchan Aug 19th 2010 3:20PM
*shakes cane* GET OFF M'LAWN YOU KIDS!
I'm pretty sure I hit my first level cap (60) in one of the Plaguelands. It was so long ago though that I honestly don't remember where I was or what I was doing. Oops! I believe my husband and I were trying to hit 60 together but our exp was a little off and I might have hit level cap accidentally as I was trying to get away from him so he could catch up. Oh well. The things we do.
I think I hit 70 in Shadowmoon Valley. That time he was ahead of me but we actually managed to get to level cap at almost exactly the same time.
And, uh, I don't remember where we were when we hit 80. Somewhere....around....whatever. Man, I'm getting old. =p
EaterOfBirds Aug 19th 2010 8:27AM
ive ben playing since classic, but 80 has been my first cap (for shame!) got 80 shammy, lock and DK. since doing it a few times i cant see my capping another one this expansion, or at least not going crazy for gear once its done, as ive learned that even after 80 levels, the hard part is after all that ^ ^