Chapter 655: Max Level is Just the Beginning (Requesting Subscriptions and Monthly Passes)

After a long journey, players who were among the first to enter and spent considerable time playing daily have now reached Max Level.

These players sighed with emotion, noting that unlike other games where reaching Max Level signifies the end, in World of Warcraft, there is still an abundance of untouched content awaiting them.

Setting aside other aspects, the first thing to mention is the side quests across various regions.

The vast world of Azeroth is filled with numerous side quests in every zone, waiting for players to complete and explore.

Among them are quests with excellent rewards and classic Story-driven narratives.

Beyond that, there are the diverse playstyles.

Upon reaching Max Level, players can finally fully experience the attraction of each Class.

This has also given rise to numerous Memes.

For example: "I'm a weapons warrior, fighting relies on spinning my blades, with a cooldown of one and a half minutes—once it's over, I'm doomed."

"Charge + Release Soul"—this is the romance of warriors.

Of course, most players are still busy grinding dungeons to enhance their Combat Prowess.

For a set of equipment, players are willing to grind endlessly.

There's also a persistent issue that spans from the game's start to Max Level:

Gold!

Although the Auction House was later introduced, allowing players to trade with each other—such as purchasing game time cards and having other players pay with gold coins—most players still wouldn’t sell or buy game time cards with gold.

Gold remains a significant problem. Many players save up to buy the 1,000-gold mount, which is no small expense.

At this point, Warlocks and Paladins have it easy.

Their Class quests grant them their exclusive 1,000-gold mounts directly.

This is a major advantage for Warlocks and Paladins, though the required materials are quite expensive.

As for Raid dungeons, they remain accessible only to the top-tier players.

After completing the Onyxia-related quests, many players immediately attempted to challenge Onyxia—only to be thoroughly tormented.

Repeated attempts and repeated wipes made it clear to many that this was likely beyond their current capabilities.

Others, like Molten Core, weren’t any easier. Even compared to the previous life, where voice coordination and Numerical Design observation had made things somewhat more manageable, the game mechanism remained the most critical aspect of World of Warcraft dungeons.

Many Teams attempting early-game progression in Molten Core couldn’t even reach the final boss, often unaware that stacking fire resistance could reduce the difficulty.

As a result, they were swiftly defeated by the two "gatekeeper" bosses at the entrance.

And after finally overcoming these gatekeepers, they realized these foes weren’t even actual bosses.

This was just the beginning of their hardships.

For instance, the five Core Hounds in Molten Core had a special mechanic: they had to die within a limited time frame simultaneously.

Otherwise, they would keep reviving.

Even so, those suffering through these challenges were mostly the elite players in the game.

At this stage, the majority of mainstream players were still tackling dungeons like Stratholme, Scholomance, and Blackrock Spire.

But even these were incredibly tough, often relying on luck—whether the teammates this run were competent enough to clear it, or if the next run’s teammates would be unreliable.

Unlike earlier dungeons, many late-game high-tier dungeons were locked.

Players needed to complete prerequisite quests to obtain the keys to unlock them.

And the process to acquire these keys was notoriously tedious.

Of course, skipping the keys was an option—if you had a Rogue with Lockpicking skill maxed at 300.

Just as Mages who provided food and water were hailed as "Mage Lords" in the early days, Rogues with maxed Lockpicking were guaranteed dungeon invites—as long as they weren’t completely terrible.

They were often respectfully addressed as "Rogue Lords."

The game’s rich content ensured that both elite and Regular players could find unique enjoyment.

In the previous life, countless MMORPGs bore the shadow of World of Warcraft.

Many even attempted to challenge its dominance.

Yet, over a decade later, Azeroth and World of Warcraft remained the greatest MMORPG in many players’ hearts.

This was due to the distinct匠心 of World of Warcraft’s early days.

Despite being an online game, World of Warcraft invested immense effort into its scenes and dungeons during its inception.

For example, Blackrock Depths was crafted into a massive underground dungeon world.

It wasn’t designed purely as a resource-output dungeon. Instead, it featured expansive side quests and numerous routes.

To showcase the Dark Iron Dwarves’ culture and lifestyle, the dungeon was filled with lore and世界观 elements tied to this race.

Players’ complaints about this map and its scenes weren’t about lack of quality, but rather certain细节 oversights.

The biggest issue was the lack of sufficient tutorial, leaving many players lost in Blackrock Depths.

So, like other dungeons, Chen Xu incorporated more引导 content compared to the previous life.

Players uninterested in Dark Iron Dwarf culture could simply grind the dungeon for resources.

Those curious about the背后的故事 and culture could uncover Blackrock Depths’ lore by completing side quests and following small clues.

Efforts were also made to minimize player confusion, with added route markers.

As for version updates, following World of Warcraft’s previous life content—from Classic to Wrath of the Lich King—there was enough material to keep the game updated for two to three years.

Given the current player base and steady influx of newcomers, World of Warcraft could maintain vibrant life energy during this period.

The remaining task was stable Macro, avoiding attention-grabbing antics.

Meanwhile, Chen Xu could temporarily shift his focus away from World of Warcraft, at least without needing to monitor it constantly.

…………………………

At this moment, Song Ren stared at the video Zhang Yi had sent him, his face darkening.

"What the hell? Who recorded this?"

"And what kind of ‘tribute’ is this? If you’re going to pay tribute, couldn’t you use something more positive?"

The video played footage of him shouting before charging into Fuhua Jian’s scene.

Except, in the video, his original line was overdubbed with: "I am Leeroy Jenkins!"

The one-minute clip was bizarrely catchy.

Worse, the video had inexplicably gone popular.

Thankfully, his ID and guild name were blurred.

Otherwise, he suspected his in-game life would’ve been anything but peaceful.

The only downside was the sheer number of people in the know. He had a feeling the nickname "Leeroy Jenkins" would follow him for a long time.

(End of Chapter) <>