World of Warcraft player completes 200-day grind to max level without even setting foot on the game's tutorial island

A World of Warcraft player travels through the starting area, Exile's Reach, using a propeller

(Image credit: Blizzard)

A World of Warcraft player has hit Dragonflight's level cap without leaving the boat that takes you to the starting zone, Exile's Reach.

Reddit user Cheatcho explains on the WoW subreddit that they accomplished the feat by grinding five specific account-wide pet battles, which took over 200 days. It's a time commitment, naturally, though using an area-of-effect spell called Arcane Explosion helps finish off multiple enemies "in a few rounds".

Cheatcho initially hit level 60 not long after the Shadowlands expansion was released (thanks, Icy Veins), as that was the cap at the time when the Exile's Reach starting area was introduced to help onboard new players. According to Cheatcho, getting to the Dragonflight level cap of 70 took 60 days, though only with a time commitment of five minutes each day played.

As for the why, Cheatcho has this to say: "Because it's the ultimate solo-player way to level a character. You never leave the ship. You never defeat another player, dungeon boss, or even group with anyone else. You never die. And because I consider doing it fun."

Hitting the highest possible in an expansion without playing it is something of a favourite when it comes to WoW community challenges. One of the more popular figures over the years plays as a pacifist panda who returns for each expansion to hit the new level cap. Not that they see the new content, mind you, as they don't leave the Pandaren's starting area. To be fair, a life of mining ore and picking flowers sounds more tranquil than the war and politics offered elsewhere in Azeroth.

World of Warcraft's Dragonflight roadmap will deliver "more content to players more often", if that tempts you into leaving the starting area.