World of Warcraft addiction resurfacing after three months?

[Brennan]

Gahhh... I'm so tempted to go back to WoW. I miss the playing style of the game, for reasons I don't even understand. I mean, I hated the game enough to quit, and it was ruining my grades, but I keep remembering the good times I had with friends on WoW and longing to return. Is it possible for a game to give you Stockholm syndrome?

EDIT: Sorry if this belongs in the Other Games section. I totally forgot that we even had that section. >.>

[Hallavast]

I've been feeling the same way lately. It's wierd. I couldn't even tell you why I want to start playing again, exactly. I guess it's just an "abscence makes the heart grow fonder" kinda thing. I haven't played since new years, and I have a feeling my raiding guild isn't intact anymore (it was falling apart when I left). I really don't want to go back and raid. Pvp is mildly entertaining, but I'm probably undergeared again, and I'd just have to go back and grind all day to compete. I've levelled 3 characters to 80, so I think I've had enough of levelling. I've seen some of the ICC stuff, and I'm not compelled to see the rest of it. There's really nothing for me to do on WoW until the new expansion comes out, but I feel an unexplainable need to go back to the game.

[Brennan]

I've been feeling the same way lately. It's wierd. I couldn't even tell you why I want to start playing again, exactly. I guess it's just an "abscence makes the heart grow fonder" kinda thing. I haven't played since new years, and I have a feeling my raiding guild isn't intact anymore (it was falling apart when I left). I really don't want to go back and raid. Pvp is mildly entertaining, but I'm probably undergeared again, and I'd just have to go back and grind all day to compete. I've levelled 3 characters to 80, so I think I've had enough of levelling. I've seen some of the ICC stuff, and I'm not compelled to see the rest of it. There's really nothing for me to do on WoW until the new expansion comes out, but I feel an unexplainable need to go back to the game.

... I think we have Stockholm syndrome. Like, no joke.

Stockholm Syndrome is when you are kidnapped by someone and held for a long time, usually against your will, but you end up only seeing the good in the person(s) that have captivated you, and often end up loving them. :smalleek: It also doesn't help that I miss all my WoW buddies to death. :<

[Starscream]

I must admit, I'm baffled by WoW players. I got myself a free trial, played it extensively, and simply decided "No, not paying for this."

Don't get me wrong, I love Blizzard. I own all their other games, and am eagerly looking forward to Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3. They are a great company that has never made a truly bad game.

But MMORPGs just don't appeal to me. I have never found one that I could get into. And I doubt I will; WoW is seemingly the best one (it's certainly the most popular by a LARGE margin), and after a couple of weeks I was sick of it and never wanted to play again.

I even borrowed a friend's account once so I could see if much higher level play was more fun. Nope. Sound and fury, signifying nothing. There's something wrong with me, because I actually found it to produce anti-fun. As in after a couple of hours I was so fed up I was actually thinking "Know what I haven't done in a while? Read through my old college calculus textbooks!"

I'm not hating on the game; I don't like country music either and millions of people legitimately enjoy that. More power to them. I just wish I got it. It's like being at a party and everyone's laughing at a joke I don't understand.

[Brennan]

Sound and fury, signifying nothing.

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing." -Macbeth, after the death of his Lady.

Higher education for the win, amirite?

I don't really get it, either. I was glad to be rid of the game... Until now. Three going on four months off of it, and I grow nostalgic for not but the user interface I grew accustomed to. :smallsigh: I don't think I will be going back; the game was awful for my grades and my wallet, but that doesn't help my longing feeling. :<

[golentan]

There are free MMOs, I always recommend seeing if one of them tickles your fancy before WoWing yourself again.

I always hated MMOs, myself.

[Maximum Zersk]

Generally, Free MMOs come in three groups: Some form of money-sucking (such as online shop or subscription), RO rip-offs, or sucky.

[Athaniar]

The only reason that I play World of Warcraft is because I enjoy roleplaying with other players, especially those in my guild. Plus, I like the lore. And environments. And music. And questing. And learning new abilities. And achievements. And occasional dungeon delving with a good group. And general fighting. And all the humorous references. And fun addons. But other than that, I don't like the game.

[Elm11]

The only reason that I play World of Warcraft is because I enjoy roleplaying with other players, especially those in my guild. Plus, I like the lore. And environments. And music. And questing. And learning new abilities. And achievements. And occasional dungeon delving with a good group. And general fighting. And all the humorous references. And fun addons. But other than that, I don't like the game.

This. Definately this.

I used to play WoW tonnes for hours on end, but nowadays it just doesn't click with me anymore. Partly because two people i was really great friends with but couldn't contact outside of the game quit, but partly because the bubble of doing the same "kill X number of Y creature and bring me Z of their fingers" kinda burst. And then sometimes i just get back on for a fortnight and really love the questing and pvp and dungeons again, just like i used to.

Overall, great game, but i fear becoming addicted to it (again)

[Hallavast]

In my experience, the one thing that will make or break the game is the people you play with. If you play with people you can't stand, (this means most pick up groups) then you won't enjoy the game. If you play with a group of RL friends, then it's a blast and a half (that's exactly 1.5 blasts). The game changed dramatically for me when I stopped joining pickup groups and joined my friends' server.

[Reinholdt]

This article (http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html) may explain some things to you about WoW.

Unplugging from WoW can be hard, but it's also probably one of the best things you can do. I speak from experience, having played the game for two years. I wish you luck in staying off.

[Silly Wizard]

Surprisingly, I haven't felt the need to start playing WoW again, and I haven't played since about a month after WotLK came out. Not that it matters- after my guild leader was arrested, his wife (the co-guildleader) pretty much dismantled the guild (no raids! sad face). None of my WoW friends play on the same server anymore, either. I doubt I'll actually play again unless Cataclysm gets superhyped enough before coming out.

[Castaras]

I played WoW about 3ish months, before cancelling. Probably due to the fact I never got the community I was looking for - tried all the types of servers, and nothing really appealed to me. Level 65 DK, level 60 Pally, were fun to play but it's the people that make or break a game for me.

So, back to Anarchy Online I go, heh.

[Makensha]

I went into self imposed WoW exile for three months, came back, realized I was logging on, moving about 5 feet, deciding I didn't want to do anything, and log off, so I one day just logged off and never back on. I haven't felt any pain over the matter. The first time I left, it was a big deal; the second time I realized that I truly didn't care anymore.

[RandomNPC]

[URL="http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html"]

That ruined so many games for me, when I realized I was doing the same thing with a different look to it. I knew it all along, but the elephant in the living room ya know?

I highly sugest that article if you want to break from a game that sucked you in.

[Starscream]

This article (http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html) may explain some things to you about WoW.

Yeah, when I read that my first thought was "Well, exactly!"

Stuff like that just doesn't hook me in, though. No way I'm going to keep pressing a button for twelve straight hours in the hope of getting a pellet. I won't even do things I enjoy for that long.

[Brennan]

Yeah, when I read that my first thought was "Well, exactly!"

Stuff like that just doesn't hook me in, though. No way I'm going to keep pressing a button for twelve straight hours in the hope of getting a pellet. I won't even do things I enjoy for that long.

You have a very valid point. I, myself, quit due to the repetitiveness of the game. I honestly don't want to go back to the game for any one thing. I just feel the... Urge... To go back and meet up with my old friends.

I'm not going to follow said urge, obviously, it's just there. I'm much better off w/o WoW. I'm 40 lbs lighter than I was when I was hooked on WoW, my skin has cleared up, and my grades have gone from F's and D's to A's and B's.

There is absolutely no reason for me to go back, and yet I desire to. Strange.

[Tequila Sunrise]

I kinda miss WoW, but I don't know if I'll ever go back. I finally got to 20th level and got my riding tiger: awesome, getting to and from sites won't take so frickin' long now! Except level 20+ sites are proportionally farther from each other. :smallsigh:

If I ever go back it'll be to join a friend of mine who plays and wants me back.

[Moofaa]

I feel the urge from time to time. Mainly its for the community and informal co-operative play in battlegrounds and 5-man instances that I crave. I only have one really good friend and he hardly plays games anymore aside from axis&allies (I hate board games, go figure). Other people I used to consider "internet friends" have all disappeared or stopped playing games because they did lame stupid stuff like get married or think that watching football and doing other non-gaming hobbies are more important.

I like grabbing a group of people and slogging through an instance. Talking about whatever while beating the challenge. I stopped playing WoW because there were other games I wanted to play (like L4D and Dragon Age) and also because I don't have anyone in RL to share the experience with.

Depending on how many of my old gaming buddies come back to the light(dark?) with Starcraft 2 will determine if I go back to WoW for Cataclysm or not.

[druid91]

Played it once, asked a lot of questions on how everything worked, and promptly declared it a time sink and began thinking of ways they could make it better.

they could make things a bit more player centered. Ticked off at [Insert name of thine foe here]? post a bounty on his head, rig the air ship he is on to crash, blow a building up from underneath him, give you more options than just "find him in pvp and try to get him. this would lead to all sorts of political things"
As hinted at above they could include something of a destroyable environment, the bringe that your crossing could get hit with artillery and start collapsing or maybe a tower is destroyed and falls on a raiding party.
which leads to, temporary constructed environments, maybe you know that the horde is has launched a major assault on [insert name of someplace important hear] so what do you do you build a couple of trenches and walls to keep them out, the speed of the set up could depend o the material used and some sort of construction skill.
And next, don't make it so you have to log on constantly set it up so that you can order your person to go to place A and then it tells you how long that will take in real-time and so you log off and then come back a few hours later to find your guy standing right where you wanted him to go.
Finally make it so that alliances are shifting blurring constantly, make it so that things can go from a perfect victory to a crushing defeat because the enemy got an inside man onto your guild, of course being that inside man should have some dangerous repercussions like the above mentioned bounty hunters.

[Athaniar]

Well, they are going to focus on phased environments in Cataclysm.

[golentan]

Played it once, asked a lot of questions on how everything worked, and promptly declared it a time sink and began thinking of ways they could make it better.

they could make things a bit more player centered. Ticked off at [Insert name of thine foe here]? post a bounty on his head, rig the air ship he is on to crash, blow a building up from underneath him, give you more options than just "find him in pvp and try to get him. this would lead to all sorts of political things"
As hinted at above they could include something of a destroyable environment, the bringe that your crossing could get hit with artillery and start collapsing or maybe a tower is destroyed and falls on a raiding party.
which leads to, temporary constructed environments, maybe you know that the horde is has launched a major assault on [insert name of someplace important hear] so what do you do you build a couple of trenches and walls to keep them out, the speed of the set up could depend o the material used and some sort of construction skill.
And next, don't make it so you have to log on constantly set it up so that you can order your person to go to place A and then it tells you how long that will take in real-time and so you log off and then come back a few hours later to find your guy standing right where you wanted him to go.
Finally make it so that alliances are shifting blurring constantly, make it so that things can go from a perfect victory to a crushing defeat because the enemy got an inside man onto your guild, of course being that inside man should have some dangerous repercussions like the above mentioned bounty hunters.


I read this as "Make it more like EVE without the wage slavery or the economic stuff." Which actually sounds like a pretty good idea, to me, but then again I preferred EVE to WoW (didn't like either, but preferred EVE).

[Innis Cabal]

The only reason that I play World of Warcraft is because I enjoy roleplaying with other players, especially those in my guild. Plus, I like the lore. And environments. And music. And questing. And learning new abilities. And achievements. And occasional dungeon delving with a good group. And general fighting. And all the humorous references. And fun addons. But other than that, I don't like the game.

Thirding this.

I don't log on unless my friends do.


Played it once, asked a lot of questions on how everything worked, and promptly declared it a time sink and began thinking of ways they could make it better.

they could make things a bit more player centered. Ticked off at [Insert name of thine foe here]? post a bounty on his head, rig the air ship he is on to crash, blow a building up from underneath him, give you more options than just "find him in pvp and try to get him. this would lead to all sorts of political things"
As hinted at above they could include something of a destroyable environment, the bringe that your crossing could get hit with artillery and start collapsing or maybe a tower is destroyed and falls on a raiding party.
which leads to, temporary constructed environments, maybe you know that the horde is has launched a major assault on [insert name of someplace important hear] so what do you do you build a couple of trenches and walls to keep them out, the speed of the set up could depend o the material used and some sort of construction skill.
And next, don't make it so you have to log on constantly set it up so that you can order your person to go to place A and then it tells you how long that will take in real-time and so you log off and then come back a few hours later to find your guy standing right where you wanted him to go.
Finally make it so that alliances are shifting blurring constantly, make it so that things can go from a perfect victory to a crushing defeat because the enemy got an inside man onto your guild, of course being that inside man should have some dangerous repercussions like the above mentioned bounty hunters.


No offense, but...you want WoW to be...literal nothing WoW has ever been, ever. Not that any of these idea's are bad per say. But I wouldn't play this game. To much PvP, which quickly (for me) get boring. Also the "log out and wait for my character to do stuff bit." Why bother? I mean, if I wanted a game I only checked up on once and a while I'd play Astroempires or another browser game. Not one I pay 15 bucks a month for.

[druid91]

No offense, but...you want WoW to be...literal nothing WoW has ever been, ever. Not that any of these idea's are bad per say. But I wouldn't play this game. To much PvP, which quickly (for me) get boring. Also the "log out and wait for my character to do stuff bit." Why bother? I mean, if I wanted a game I only checked up on once and a while I'd play Astroempires or another browser game. Not one I pay 15 bucks a month for.

None taken I am kind of suggesting some strange additions to peoples hobby, and the Idea actually came from Astro-empires and the thing is is I saw WoW as an awesome start towards the most awesome mmo ever, the only thing is that it rewards you for grinding as opposed to strategic thinking, ever read the book Epic? Like in that I would want traveling to another city to be a major thing that would take a while.I always thought that in some ways that Astro-empires got the time thing mostly right.
don't read if you don't want spoilers on the book.
Its about a world in which ,to avoid violence and war, everything is decided by your current status in an mmo. the vast majority of players do things the WoW way and simply level grind against progressively higher monsters, the problem with this is that the current rulers are pretty much invincible because if you buy something outside of the game the money goes to them and over the years they have gained epic equipment and such. The main character however is sick of level grinding so he makes a series of throw-away charcters and begins studying a dragon, now only one dragon has been killed in recent memory, and this was by a group of the elite. so anyway he discovers a problem with the dragons attack patterns and abuses this to kill it and take its treasure. then he wins.

[Silverraptor]

Eh. I started to get that feeling. But I found League of Legends instead. It's free and a lot more fun in my opinion.

[Erloas]

Once you've quite once it will be easy to go again. Try it again for another month and chances are you'll find nothing that bothered you before has changed and you'll quit again after not too long and it will be a lot easier to not go back the 3rd time.

[Britter]

Quit a 2+ year WoW habit about 14 months ago, and haven't been back. But the urges are occasionally still there. I think I have had a harder time staying away from MMOs than I had when I quit smoking.

Fortunately, if you stay away long enough, the realization that you are 1) a full expansion behind 2) that you threw away your discs meaning you have to buy it all again and 3) reinstall it all again and 4) PATCH it all again and then 5) download the UI mods you want, well they help you realize the sheer amount of time and money you spent on an addiction.

These days I find myself deeply sad for all the time I wasted on WoW, more often than I find myself missing the game.

[Drakevarg]

I used to play WoW quite often, but then quite when one day I had an epiphany: I wasn't having any fun. So, I quit. Yes, I've had desires to go back and play, but never followed through with it because I knew the same thing would happen. It has its fun bits, but ultimately not enough to compensate for the frustration.

On the plus side, I played on my cousin's account, so the only money I ever played for it was that I was the one who bought WotLK.

So yes, having a sudden urge to go play is understandable. As for the Cracked article, it actually reinforced my love for MMOs, since it pointed out that its attractions were entirely legitimate: it gives me a sense of accomplishment to complete these menial tasks. When they stopped giving me a sense of accomplishment is when I realized that I wasn't having any fun.


Fortunately, if you stay away long enough, the realization that you are 1) a full expansion behind 2) that you threw away your discs meaning you have to buy it all again and 3) reinstall it all again and 4) PATCH it all again and then 5) download the UI mods you want, well they help you realize the sheer amount of time and money you spent on an addiction.

Actually, since your account still says it has the expansions you bought, you can just download them for free of their site. Done it a few times myself. The rest? Yeah, pain in the arse.

[Britter]

See, that shows how long I have been away, I either forgot or my leaving pre-dates the fact they can be downloaded. In that case, just replace "have to buy again" with "wait for the download".

[Indon]

The only reason that I play World of Warcraft is because I enjoy roleplaying with other players, especially those in my guild. Plus, I like the lore. And environments. And music. And questing. And learning new abilities. And achievements. And occasional dungeon delving with a good group. And general fighting. And all the humorous references. And fun addons. But other than that, I don't like the game.

Heh. About sums me up.

I'd gotten tired of the game and stop playing it repeatedly, only to start back up again for social reasons each time. This time around, I'm running a social/RP guild, since the game's mechanics have lost most of my interest.


Played it once, asked a lot of questions on how everything worked, and promptly declared it a time sink and began thinking of ways they could make it better.

It sounds like you'd prefer a PvP-oriented game like EVE better than a more casual, PvE-oriented game like WoW.

Your suggestions basically entail changing WoW's MMO genre, and that's not going to happen.


1) a full expansion behind
Leveling, actually, is fairly easy these days.

3) reinstall it all again and 4) PATCH it all again
The internet installation is actually much faster than the disc installation, and comes with most of the patches you need.

then 5) download the UI mods you want,
This part is annoying and one of the reasons why I use few mods these days.


These days I find myself deeply sad for all the time I wasted on WoW, more often than I find myself missing the game.

IMO, playing a game like WoW is only wasted time if you do it nonsocially - but as a social game, it's possible to make friends and such, which is never wasted time. I spent a lot of time playing the game before I figured that out, but seeing as I learned such a valuable lesson from it, even that wasn't wasted.

[Rutskarn]

I played World of Warcraft for about six months, the latter four of which I was a traveling mechanical squirrel salesman. I would spend far too long sitting in the trade or general chats, hawking mechanized rodents with the tone and character of a greasy, McCarthyist used-car salesman who had exactly the deal to improve your well-being. He ended up making a small fortune, starting a guild, and becoming a C-List server celebrity who would get orders for squirrels out of a blue sky in the (increasingly rare) moments that he was questing.

Then I realized that I hated the actual game part, and canceled my subscription.

Most important thing to remember about World of Warcraft is that the parts that suck you in aren't always the gameplay. If it weren't for the squirrel schtick, and my guildies, I would have quit months earlier.

[Britter]

Regardless of how long or short a time it is to level, you do still need to buy any expansions you don't own and install them, etc. By creating intentional obstacles to returning to the game, I have been able to prevent myself from resuming a hobby that, in my opinion, has absolutely no value beyond wasting time.

Don't get me wrong, the game is well made and fun (again, imo) and I played it for years. But my experience with the social value of WoW is over-all negative. The people and friendships I devoted time to developing were all connected primarily by the game, and without WoW as a common interest, not a single one of the people I spent upwards of 15 hours a week talking to and playing with had any interest in remaining in touch with me after I left the game.

Other people I know have had different experiences with the social aspect of the game, so there is room for social development and lasting friendships and all that. But for me, I can not find anything of value that I have retained from the time I have spent playing WoW. For me, it was a poor investment of time, with no discernable return.

[Indon]

Don't get me wrong, the game is well made and fun (again, imo) and I played it for years. But my experience with the social value of WoW is over-all negative. The people and friendships I devoted time to developing were all connected primarily by the game, and without WoW as a common interest, not a single one of the people I spent upwards of 15 hours a week talking to and playing with had any interest in remaining in touch with me after I left the game.
Well, my advice on that would be, don't raid (which would be my guess - either that or you were on an arena farming team, which is basically the same thing socially speaking).

Raiding includes socialization, but it's socialization in order to facilitate playing the game and its' mindless loot treadmill.

Instead, I play to socialize, with mechanics oriented towards facilitating that socialization.

[Britter]

Your advice is sound Indon, were it not for the fact that I have been away from the game since three months before WotLK :smallamused: And yeah, I did raid, but very casually (Karazahn primarily, which is barely a raid). I mostly enjoyed 5-mans and heroic instances, run by a group of competent people who could have fun, socialize and still manage to avoid wipes while also not taking forever to get through an instance. I disliked the Arena with a passion.

The point I am making is that for me, even the people who I thought I was socializing with were only socializing because we had WoW in common first, and other interests second. Without WoW, there was no common ground. I am talking about people to whom I sent babyshower gifts, knew their entire family on a first name basis, really socialized with. If your experiences are positive, then you have done something more effective in your in-game socialization than I, and that is a good thing. Based on my experience and that of other people I know who play or played, I just don't think that the development of healthy friendshipships within a WoW context is the norm.

[Indon]

Your advice is sound Indon, were it not for the fact that I have been away from the game since three months before WotLK :smallamused:
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to suck you back in (unless I could suck you back in to my guild anyway).


If your experiences are positive, then you have done something more effective in your in-game socialization than I, and that is a good thing.
Well, as with any socialization, an element is meeting a lot of people, because most people you're just not going to click with. That's why gregariousness is so helpful for that.


Based on my experience and that of other people I know who play or played, I just don't think that the development of healthy friendshipships within a WoW context is the norm.
Well, if you ask me, most people don't know how to develop healthy friendships at all. :P

[druid91]

It sounds like you'd prefer a PvP-oriented game like EVE better than a more casual, PvE-oriented game like WoW.


Not exactly, the thing is its easier to do PvP than it is PvE, With PvP you don't have to make npcs that know how to react to things that the players throw at them. The players bring that intelligence with them. Besides I really don't care what they do with WoW any-way its got a decent fanbase who likes the way things are now. Though seeing as multiple people have said something about EVE I'm going to have to look that up.

[Britter]

Well, if you ask me, most people don't know how to develop healthy friendships at all. :P

I think this is a really good point. Socialization is hard enough in the real world. Add the aspect of needing other people to do things within the context of the game and you can end up with some pretty screwed up situations.

[Inhuman Bot]

This article (http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html) may explain some things to you about WoW.

Unplugging from WoW can be hard, but it's also probably one of the best things you can do. I speak from experience, having played the game for two years. I wish you luck in staying off.

Interesting article.

I enjoy WoW, but really, have no trouble quitting when I feel like it.

It stopped being fun for me a few days ago, so I quit my subscription and don't feel any worse for it.

[Vaynor]

I quit WoW about 3 months ago, hopefully for good. Previously I've found that my addiction came in waves; I would get bored of the game after about 5 months and quit for 3-4, then start up again. At this point I've realized that the game is essentially pointless, any achievements you make are soon made irrelevant. I'd rather focus on more tangible accomplishments, such as reading books I've always wanted to, working on my homebrew setting, writing, photography, etc. Much better uses of my time.

[JonestheSpy]

That article about the deliberate addictiveness of MMO's is seriously creepy.

Anyone hear about the couple whose baby starved to death while they were raising a virtual one on a 2nd-Life imitation site? I nearly broke down in tears reading about it earlier this week.

At this point I think there needs to be some kind of law saying online games have to automatically log people out after 10 or 12 hours, and you can't log back in for at least as much time as you were on. I know a lot of people would hate that, but damn, alchoholics hate it when the bars close, too.

[Inhuman Bot]

That article about the deliberate addictiveness of MMO's is seriously creepy.

Anyone hear about the couple whose baby starved to death while they were raising a virtual one on a 2nd-Life imitation site? I nearly broke down in tears reading about it earlier this week.

At this point I think there needs to be some kind of law saying online games have to automatically log people out after 10 or 12 hours, and you can't log back in for at least as much time as you were on. I know a lot of people would hate that, but damn, alchoholics hate it when the bars close, too.

WoW has something like that, in China at least.

I think it's "After X hours, your charcters have a crippling debuff for Y hours"

Trouble is, laws are set by countrie, and different goverments of countries have different veiws, of course.

[Soonerdj]

I quit after I reached 8th on my server (Archimonde) in Ret Paladins. I spent so much time playing, between being a guild leader I had to run 10 mans and 25 mans every week. So 4 hours a night for 3 nights a week in 25 followed by 3 hours for 2 nights in 10 man all in one dungeon. I basically had no life. I'm really glad I quit as well but sad that I never get to talk or see my guildmates anymore.

All in all, Wow probably saved my life back when I was a depressed high school student in a new town and ruined it when I was a happier college student.

If there are any other Archimonde players, do you recall a Retadin named Athiesh or the Guild Serpents or Archetype?

[Indon]

At this point I think there needs to be some kind of law saying online games have to automatically log people out after 10 or 12 hours, and you can't log back in for at least as much time as you were on. I know a lot of people would hate that, but damn, alchoholics hate it when the bars close, too.

If we're going to acknowledge that companies are trying to get their people unhealthily addicted through unethical psychological manipulation, let's just ban them from doing that.

Hell, we might even get an MMO where raiding and grinding isn't so big.

[Philistine]

Not exactly, the thing is its easier to do PvP than it is PvE, With PvP you don't have to make npcs that know how to react to things that the players throw at them. The players bring that intelligence with them. Besides I really don't care what they do with WoW any-way its got a decent fanbase who likes the way things are now. Though seeing as multiple people have said something about EVE I'm going to have to look that up.

On the other hand, balance (for classes, abilities, and items) is a much greater concern for PvP games than it is in PvE; and the complexity of that problem increases exponentially with the number of different mechanics in play. And yet, if the mechanics of different classes aren't different, what's the point of having different classes in the first place?

[evisiron]

I used to be pretty into WoW, and then stopped. After a few months, all my friends were still talking about WoW (and sometimes it was the only topic) an I actually felt a bit homesick for Ogrimmar.

I went back on, though my guild was gone. Without a guild the game was pretty boring.

Remember, it is possible that you miss the friends you played WoW with as opposed to the game. If you have any interactions outside the game, I would say to go with the stuff outside WoW.

[Cealocanth]

Being a dedicated WoW player after since I was eight (I'm 13 now.) You bring up a good question. Personally, I love the ability to become my character. Role Playing is my life and if IFGS is out (which it ususally is) I can role play every day, the character I want to play.

My philosophy is such:
You can easily get two hours of entertainment out of the game every day. At $15 a month, that's less than a dollar an hour. Me, myself, can easily get four hours out of it, so less than $0.20 an hour.

I think it may be the one few times you remember, RPing with friends, raiding with good people, those great accomplishments, watching the WoW around you evolve over the years, that lets you get past all the trolls, jerks, and addiction.

[Quincunx]

@/\: Also agree with this. If you seek satisfaction within the game which isn't part of the game mechanics, you can find it.


Once you've quit once it will be easy to go again. Try it again for another month and chances are you'll find nothing that bothered you before has changed and you'll quit again after not too long and it will be a lot easier to not go back the 3rd time.

I'd second this. Do it on a 'free trial' or a subsidized re-subscription period so you don't have to buy a game card and develop a sense of obligation towards the money you spent. I've seen people dip their toes back into MMOs and quit again, I've seen them sample a second time and come back to subscription, but I haven't seen anyone return to a second addiction. (The sample may be skewed as my guild has a lower age limit of 20 and people switch their addictive behaviors to real life instead.)