So there’s this new Expansion launching tonight…Mists of Pandaria. You may have heard of it. Well, my buddy and guild-mate Ceraphus and I will be racing to 90 together. An absolute MARATHON of epic proportions fueled by Mio, Pumpkin Spice Coffee, Pizza Rolls, trail mix, and our geek-drenaline! Yes we got our wives’ permission for this. Yes we have a plan. Yes we will try to be Dalaran Realm first Death Knight and Hunter. Yes we are complete fools.
We have other guild members equally stoked to begin playing at 3 am EST. I don’t think anyone else has the same commitment to “Play until I hit 90” that we do, but their company whilst on our adventure into Panda-land will be most welcome. As always when attempting such marathon playing times, some simple rules should be followed.
- At least once per hour, do ANYTHING other than sit. Stand, jumping jacks, push ups, even just kneeling while playing is better than sitting non stop.
- Use the bathroom!!! Do not hold it until you are ready to explode. Stop put yourself on follow. Then hit the powder room! It won’t take long and your innards will thank you for it.
- Drink water! Many use energy drinks or soda (not me actually), or coffee, perhaps even alcohol based beverages of some kind…WATER is what you need.
- If you begin feeling shoulder or neck pain, stretch. Don’t wait, don’t just take some Tylenol and hope it disappears….take a moment to stretch.
- If you become so exhausted as to be drooling on your keyboard…take a break. Take a nap. I know it seemingly defeats your overall purpose, but if you are partnering with someone, you will be of no help to them if you are drooling on the keyboard passed out. Better to quickly catch 30-60 min of sleep and get a little recharge.
- Speaking of sleep…sleep BEFORE HAND. Yes, go to bed very early and wake up to start leveling. Get that cat nap in before if you can!
- Use all you little trinkets to your advantage. Empty bags and logs are a no-brainer, but be sure you have your various hearthing/porting goodies. A tabard, ring, cloak, stone, etc. Any and all ways to quickly get back to places. Have your Stormwind cloak that you can use every 60 min? Awesome…set your stone to somewhere in Pandaria and then you can quickly port around without travel time. Mobile banking, Argent Crusadeling, Travelling Tundra Mammoth….all items that can help you speed up your journey to 90.
Remember while some folks will argue against doing this and say you should take your time and enjoy the content, I say I can enjoy it either way. Most folks will take their time on the first toon, but then power level and rush around with subsequent trips on alts through the 85-90 content. Rushing through it now, and then taking my fine time with my alts (advantage of a second level 85 hunter :)) does not detract from my enjoyment of new content to see. Make a choice and be confident that you will get the most out of the game either way.
So in the end, we are prepared. Will we become realm firsts? Who knows, we’ll give it a good try though! Look for us both on Twitter (@Ceraphus and @Quoriwow) to exclaim our victory or heart crushing defeat. See you all in Pandaria!
Surviving WoW with Quori 