At the last minute, this streamer fails a challenge in WoW: Classic. He aimed to reach level 60 without taking a single point of damage.
World of Warcraft Classic is a rather old game, after all, the original version has been around for almost 16 years. It’s clear that many players have experienced everything and are looking for new challenges. The “Iron Man” challenge is an old hat, where one must not die until reaching level 60. But it can get even more extreme. Can one reach level 60 without taking a single point of damage?
The Twitch streamer Stadics wanted to find out – and invested over a week of pure gameplay.
What rules are there? The rules for this challenge were quite simple. The character must not take a single hit that reduces his health points. With many classes, this would be nearly impossible. Warriors and rogues, for instance, have to stay in melee range permanently and cannot complete the challenge at all. It would be possible with the following classes:
- Mages (strong ranged attacks and Mana Shield)
- Priests (solid ranged attacks and Power Word: Shield)
- Hunters (strong ranged attacks and a pet that tanks)
- Warlocks (strong ranged attacks and a demon that tanks)
In the end, Stadics chose the mage, who has a variety of control effects. Frostbolts slow down enemies, Frost Nova keeps foes trapped at distance, and Polymorph turns individual enemies into sheep, while various magic shields absorb damage.
Additionally, other players are not allowed to help in the challenge (“unassisted”).
What problems were there? A whole lot. After all, there are many creatures in World of Warcraft that can move significantly faster than the player and quickly catch up. Moreover, some enemies also use ranged attacks or spells, rendering distance irrelevant.
Moreover, in an MMORPG, there are also many other players interacting with the game world. If another player, for example, defeats enemies beforehand, they could respawn at an unfortunate moment and immediately attack Stadics. This cost him his life in one of his runs when a fresh Murloc charged at him and ended his life right in the forest of Elwynn.
How did he protect himself from damage? To avoid damage, there are several methods in World of Warcraft Classic. These include:
- Keeping melee fighters at a distance. If a melee fighter can’t reach your character, he can never hit.
- Protection spells like the Mana Shield. Physical damage is avoided and the mage’s mana is consumed instead.
- Protection potions provide a shield against certain elements for an hour. For example, Nature damage from poisons can be countered with a Nature protection potion.
- Stunning effects that temporarily disable enemies and thus make them harmless.
So bitterly ends the run: In a small video, Stadics shows the highlights and also the end of his run. His best run lasted a full 175 hours without taking a single point of damage. He reached level 58 and was about halfway to level 59.
His downfall was a member of the Shadowhammer clan in Silithus. These are powerful spellcasters who not only throw fireballs around but also have instant-cast spells. Similar to the mage himself, they can use “Fire Strike” to deal immediate damage – this very damage hit Stadics and his mage Jaina and ended the previously flawless run.
What is Stadics doing now? In his video, the streamer appears visibly frustrated. He reflects on how tough the challenge was. After all, he had to stay fully vigilant for 175 hours, and a single mistake could have ended the run. There were tight moments when he barely activated a suitable shield just in time. That it ended with an instant-cast spell is clearly bothering him.
He will not attempt the challenge again and advises everyone against it. In the future, he will focus on other challenges – such as leveling while wearing a blindfold or never looting anything.
Have you ever tried such a challenge? Or would that be too hard for you?
