These days, I fire up DNF Mobile and muscle memory takes it from there.

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The other day, I caught myself wondering, "Am I playing on autopilot a little too much?" So I mapped out my brain. I figure most fellow DNF diehards—guys who take their DNF seriously—are probably wired pretty much the same way.

6 AM

That magical time when Fatigue Points refill every day.

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Early in the season, I'd look forward to this so much that I'd wake up right on cue. (I wasn't even this punctual in the military.) It's not quite that bad these days, but my first thought when I wake up on a day off is still, "Food... actually, should I burn through my Fatigue Points first?"

Thursday Maintenance

Elite Dungeons now guarantee at least 1 shiny Epic thanks to a recent patch

Thursday is also known as DNF Day: once maintenance ends, all weekly entries reset. Disaster Dungeons, raids, Elite Dungeons, and Weekly Dungeons—the whole lot.

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Elite and Weekly Dungeons in particular are practically guaranteed to drop Epic gear, with a pretty good shot at Exceed gear too. No wonder Thursday is the day I look forward to most. Every Thursday morning, I can't help thinking, "What's going to drop today?"

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Which brings me straight to the next thought loop.

I want an Exceed piece I can actually use
I'm due for a drop from Elites

The Exceed 엘팅 bracelet that changed my Elementalist's fate

Right up there with Thursday maintenance on the list of things constantly on my mind.

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These days, the drop I'm most excited about is an Exceed piece that's the best fit for my character.

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My main, an Elementalist, lucked out with both the armor and bracelet I wanted, so now I just need the earrings. Every Elite Dungeon run is the same cycle: a hopeful "Will it drop this time?" followed by a disappointed "Nope, not again..."

When should I run Hard 아스마르 this week?

Once I start running the Disaster Dungeon Hard 아스마르, it's fun to get on a roll and keep going. Even figuring out when to run it has become part of the routine.

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If I've got time, I'll head straight into Hard 아스마르 after Elites on DNF Day, but most weeks, I go on weekend evenings. When time's tight, I squeeze all my runs into Wednesday evening. Maybe it's because so many players have day jobs, but that's when it's busiest and easiest to find a party.

Should I get my Male Mage a full set?

This guy's drops are suspiciously good. Please don't do this to me

I've already got plenty of characters to work on, so I was going to take it easy with my Male Mage. Turns out he's more fun than I expected, so now I'm reconsidering.

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My Swift Master in particular has already picked up 2 Exceed pieces, which has me thinking, "Is this a sign I should build him?" Meanwhile, I've got alts who haven't seen a single Exceed piece in 2 months of farming dungeons.

No dev notes today?

The notes for month 2 went up early

DNF Mobile's developer notes give us a sneak peek at upcoming events and updates. With a big update every month, whenever that time rolls around, I find myself checking the official website. "No dev notes today?"

Hope the dev notes for 증명의 전장 go up soon, too

증명의 전장 is due to arrive in month 2, and from what little I've heard, I think they said it was guild content, so I'm looking forward to it. We haven't had new guild content since 몽환의 미궁, and that was a long time ago.

Maybe I'll open some Sealed Locks

This thought sneaks in once I've done everything and I'm just DNF-ing around with nothing left to do. Pull the item of the month from a Sealed Lock and you can get 200,000~600,000 Terra, which is quite the dopamine hit.

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You can collect Keys of Liberation—the keys you need to open Sealed Locks—from daily achievements (quests) and the Mystery Shop. I've spent the past few months building up my stash like a Spirit Bomb, and I think I'm close to a thousand now. The plan is to burn through them as soon as the item of the month changes, and I'm already getting excited just thinking about it.

Wrapping Up

Seeing it all laid out like this, DNF Mobile takes up a pretty big chunk of my brain.

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Waiting for 6 AM, counting down to Thursday, craving Exceed drops. That's the daily routine.

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But I guess that's how I enjoy the game—and why I've stuck with it for nearly 4 years.