MGG / Video Games Articles and stories / World of Warcraft /

WoW Race to World First: The Story of Mythic Ny'alotha Progression

WoW Race to World First: The Story of Mythic Ny'alotha Progression
0

The Race to World First has begun in Ny'alotha. With N'Zoth in their sights, the competitors throw themselves into the first pulls in an attempt to claim this most holy of records. From one edition to the next, this race against the clock brings the crowds together, always eager to compete.

WoW Race to World First: The Story of Mythic Ny'alotha Progression

/dbm pull 15. Pre-pots at the ready.

Hundreds rush through the dark corridors of Ny'alotha. All have the same ambition, of reaching the same distant finish line at the end of a course marked out with twelve pitfalls.

There are no lions, wild boars, or cerberuses today, although this test of speed, endurance, and resistance in the face of various traps is very much akin to the Labors of Hercules. For all competitors, the objective is simple — conquer Ny'alotha, the lair of N'Zoth, as quickly as possible.

At the beginning of the race, the different guilds set off with a delay. The American servers kick off with a full night's lead over their rivals across the Atlantic. This oft-discussed delay will quickly become anecdotal.

While European, Asian, and Oceanic servers are still waiting to hit the track, it's not a waste of time. Where the US teams are advancing blindly, their pursuers are observing, calmly. The streams, the chat, and the Discord servers — notes are being taken on the initial tactics, failures, and successes, in the hope of avoiding early mistakes.

Despite an early start, only one US guild in the Top 10 — Screenshot courtesy of raider.io - World of Warcraft
Despite an early start, only one US guild in the Top 10 — Screenshot courtesy of raider.io

Access to the Public Test Realm (PTR) has allowed everyone to roughly discover the first bosses in advance. However, even with this access, the pressure and level of difficulty today makes the actual exercise quite different.

Weapons and armor levels have been carefully prepared, and each competitor has their best-in-slot (BiS) and an item level (iLvL) on steroids in comparison to other, more regular players.

However, these people are getting ready to face (the Old) Gods.

Method's iLvL based on each player's items  — Screenshot courtesy wowprogress.com - World of Warcraft
Method's iLvL based on each player's items — Screenshot courtesy wowprogress.com
Complexity Limit's iLvL based on each player's items  — Screenshot courtesy wowprogress.com - World of Warcraft
Complexity Limit's iLvL based on each player's items — Screenshot courtesy wowprogress.com

While some guilds, such as Method, Limit, or Exorsus, are sponsored by gaming organizations or energy drink brands, they remain few in number.

Blizzard, unlike with their Mythic Dungeon Invitational or Arena World Championship, doesn't promise rewards to the big winners. For players who want to undertake the Race to its fullest, they often have go unemployed or take vacation time off for these periods.

Players compete almost exclusively for glory. This marathon is a score of music played by die-hard enthusiasts who must have total mastery of their subject.

The placement, the rotations, the spells, the order in which the targets have to be focused, the positioning of the boss, heals and mana management, cooldowns, the tanking, the fatigue, the hunger, the nervousness, the pressure — here lies a dozen reasons already that would push mere mortals to fail against what others are undertaking today.

A WeakAura notification seen very often during progress, to chain pulls more quickly - World of Warcraft
A WeakAura notification seen very often during progress, to chain pulls more quickly

Each contestant must recite their part without a single dropped note, at the risk of leading the whole orchestra to wipe.

For the hubbub to turn into a recital, one needs rigor, an ability to learn on the fly, perfect mastery of one's character and the environment, and above all self-control.

This requirement is a must for all members of the roster.

With 20 players and sometimes as many replacements, all must play with heart — sometimes for more than two weeks — and for the love of competition and World of Warcraft.

That's the beauty of progress.

Limit's World Second Kill against Queen Azshara in July

In the previous Race to World First, victors Method contested the final battle a colossal 355 times before tasting success in the winning pull.

A long run can sometimes number more than a thousand attempts across the entire raid.

The number of Method's boss pulls in the Eternal Palace

Faced with sleep deprivation, frustration, anger, tension, and doubt, each roster must remain calm, make the right decisions, and move methodically along their campaign. Victory can be achieved in about ten minutes of pure concentration. If no player makes a wrong note, then the concerto becomes a masterpiece.

It is in the final notes, after several hundred attempts, after each roster recites the same score for hours or even days, that the pressure reaches its peak. At any moment the ordeal could end for any one of the squads, cruelly propelling the other competitors away from the podium's top step.

In that moment, for about twenty warriors, the pressure morphs into howls of joy, tears of relief and fraternal hugs.

All that is needed is for the stars to align... and for the best to win.

0
Benoit Pinot
Tyler

Disons que je chapeaute un peu tout ce qui est World of Warcraft, Dofus et Star Citizen sur le territoire Levalloisien.

More Stories

08:14 WoW Dragonflight: Players finally listened? A roadmap announces 6 content patches for 2023!
10:49 WoW Dragonflight addons: Our selection of the best PvP addons
02:17 WoW Dragonflight Patch Notes: A Massive Balancing Wave Will Happen Soon!
07:46 Race to World First WoW: Raszageth has fallen, Liquid leads the race!
07:21 WoW Mythic Key: How to get one in Dragonflight?
08:24 WoW Dragonflight: A Battle Pass will land soon, you are not dreaming!
08:22 WoW: An army of 300 dogs takes its walk in Valdrakken...
02:06 WoW Dragonflight: 30 minutes to level 70? This player creates the exploit!
10:08 Twitch Drop WoW: Two free gifts to get on Twitch this weekend!
14:35 WoW Dragonflight: If you encounter these bugs, it's "normal" for now!

Recommended

World of Warcraft Shadowlands Review for PC & Mac
Check out the Mount and the Pet for WoW Shadowlands Collector's Edition
WoW: A quarter of a century of Warcraft audio

Discover guides

PvP Vendors and Conquest Points as Currency return with Shadowlands
Ion Hazzikostas on N'Zoth: This should be the last we hear from him...
WoW Mythic Key: How to get one in Dragonflight?