When Battle for Azeroth first released back on August 13, it took most players a week or so to level up. It's taken Doubleagent, World of Warcraft's first and only neutral player, a total of 77 days—and I know for a fact that his journey wasn't nearly as exciting.
Doubleagent is a World of Warcraft celebrity. But unlike the mythic raiders and notorious gankers of Azeroth, Doubleagent is celebrated for his steely resolve to level up solely through the paltry experience earned from harvesting the flowers and ore that he finds on the Wandering Isle, which most players typically leave and never return to after reaching level 10.
This is because, in World of Warcraft, the panda-like pandaren race are the only ones that start neutral and can choose to fight for either the mighty Horde or the noble Alliance. Doubleagent never made that choice. Instead, he spent thousands of hours walking the same loop around the Wandering Isle and picking every flower that he found along the way.
When he first reached level 90 in Mists of Pandaria, Doubleagent became a World of Warcraft legend. Each time Blizzard releases a new expansion and increases the level cap, Doubleagent logs back in and grinds for hundreds of hours to level up.
My First Level 120 Neutral! #Warcraft @WarcraftDevs #FortheNeutral - Eagerly waiting for the new expansion, bring it on! pic.twitter.com/HbfLj0NwkdOctober 27, 2018
Last year I interviewed Doubleagent, curious about what kind of man could willingly subject themselves to this kind of torture. It's worth reading the full story because, despite being a pacifist, Doubleagent has managed to unintentionally ruffle some feathers in the community.
That's why Doubleagent unfortunately stopped sharing his total playtime. People were just too critical about how he chose to spend his time. We do know that reaching level 90 took him 175 days worth of playtime, and that was arguably the hardest part of his journey. Looking at his YouTube channel, where he streams his endless loop of flower-picking, it looks like he spent at least another 244 hours going from the previous max level of 110 to the new level cap of 120 introduced in Battle for Azeroth. That adds up to just over 10 days of playtime, which isn't too bad when spread over 77 days.
Still, Doubleagent's perseverance is admirable—and only a little bit odd. Now that he's reached max level and can't earn any more experience points, he'll likely play other characters instead. You know, like a normal person.
If you want, you can watch the exact moment when Doubleagent reaches level 120 below. Surrounded by fans and aspiring neutral pandas, it makes for a fun moment for a guy who plays World of Warcraft a little differently than most.
