Eurogamer reports that “Maxime the Frenchman” set out to be the first player to reach level 1,800 in Overwatch and has done just that. Those who reach this level earn the golden portrait frame with five golden stars. That’s a virtual frame, by the way, and not one made of pure gold, unfortunately.
LVL 1800 REACHED ! World First without account sharing ? EU/US/KR First ! 6 months of intensive rush… THANKS EVERYONE ! ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/OnACGvQhs7
— TaZzeRK (@TaZzeRK) November 27, 2016
According to Maxime (aka Tazzerk), he reached level 1,800 by playing Overwatch for 16 to 17 hours on most days. Considering the Earth makes one complete rotation in 24 hours, that leaves seven hours for sleeping and other bodily functions. He claims that he is never tired and that the overall playtime it took to reach level 1,800 was around 1,700 hours (MasterOverwatch reports 1,486 hours). Perhaps he is hooked up to a continuous supply of coffee intravenously.
So what happens now? It’s certainly not game over for Maxime. Once he reached level 1,801, the golden portrait remained but the displayed level number was reset to one. He believes that Blizzard will eventually add platinum and diamond borders in the near future as additional players begin to break through level 1,800 as well.
Maxime’s Overwatch profile can be found here. Roadhog appears to be his favorite with 5,152 games and 637 hours played with this character alone. Following Roadhog is Reaper (2,906 games), Soldier: 76 (1,173 games), McCree (1,146 games), and Winston (518 games). His best win rate is with Genji at 60 percent so far, but he has only played with that character for five games.
Eurogamer previously reported Maxime was the first to hit level 1,000 at the beginning of September. He posted the achievement on Twitter, which displayed his portrait with a silver frame and three silver stars. At the time, he wouldn’t state how he managed to spend 16 to 17 hours per day playing Overwatch. Instead, he said he loves the game and the challenge it brings.
“It’s not my first rush. I really like it. I started the rush when I knew I could be the first,” he told the site. Later he explained that the “rush” meant racing to grab the highest attainable character level in any game, whether it’s Overwatch or other online games he previously played such as Aura Kingdom and Swordsman.
Overwatch landed on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC on May 24. The game is multiplayer only, pitting two teams of six against each other. Currently, there is no known level cap, meaning the door is open for Blizzard to offer additional portraits and perks soon. So far, the company has not officially congratulated Maxime for his achievement.
Now that level 1,800 is behind him, Maxime’s new goal is to make the top 500 during season three of Competitive Play. That begins on Friday, which will see changes to the Skill Rating and Skill Tiers. Blizzard’s Scott Mercer said at the end of October that the team wants to keep things fair for everyone playing this season.
