Bad mouthing WoW

One thing I haven't wanted to do because I think WoW is a good game, is to bad mouth it.

I don't feel like I'm, as Tobold says, one of the "larger number of people played World of Warcraft for several thousands of hours, and burned out...unable to talk in terms of personal choice: For some strange and twisted reason they feel the need to claim that World of Warcraft is a bad game, "dumbed down for morons", etc., to justify that they don't play WoW any more. As they can't admit that they quit WoW for personal reasons"

No, while I don't think I actually left WoW on a great note, I didn't leave WoW because I think its a bad game.

However as I spend time away from it I am left with let's say, a bad taste in my mouth, about it. So much so I started a new blog and ended it almost as quickly as I started it. I wanted to keep this blog "pro wow" in a way. My other short blog was an attempt to put my negativity bias elsewhere.

If you asked me right now if I would recommend the game to someone new, well, I wouldn't. Or maybe I'd suggest they play through it to cap and quit and we all know how well that goes!

A month of no wow

Well here it is, a month of not playing World of Warcraft.

Each time I think about logging in (and this hasn't happened very often) I can't think of a good reason why I should so I haven't.

The reasons I do come up with are for furthering my character which I feel has become pointless. It was always pointless but I didn't mind it before.

Before, the repetitiveness of the entire endeavor was hidden somehow. Now it's uncovered like some hideous secret brought to light. And what is seen cannot be unseen.

This is the part I can't put my finger on. What changed?

And will being away from it for another month, change my mind again? At the moment I don't think so. Time will tell.

Winding down

I can't imagine there is much interest in reading a blog about quitting WoW. But that's what this is now. I've never wanted to be the blogger who just up and disappeared (unless they got kidnapped!) so I hope you don't mind as I continue blogging until finally my last twinkling star of interest in the game burns out.

I'm still surprised by how quick I disengaged this time around, when before it had usually been a struggle. Yes I realize still blogging about WoW and reading other WoW blogs isn't exactly "disengaging" but outside of vacations and the like, this just might be the longest I've gone without playing by choice.

Even as I try to check out my blogroll I find myself disinterested in what I find. This isn't because of the writing (I always enjoy reading my fellow bloggers!) but instead its almost like reading about a game you've never heard of but doesn't sound all that much fun. I don't care about the archaeology profession. And although a month or so ago I was worried about how hard healing would become in Cataclysm, I'm not going to purchase it, so it's no longer an issue I care about.

It's weird. I feel like the someone took a mind-eraser pen and flashed it in front of my eyes.

I recently found a blog about a death knight tank (who weilds the legendary shadowmourne) and I found his blog quite interesting (he's also pro at making gold). Enough so I added him to my blogroll and looked forward to his posts. At the time I found his blog I liked it so much I read through most of it. Now suddenly I can't bring myself to read the rest of his latest post because the words "experience" and "xp" and "spawn" and "loot" and "MMOs" come at me like a frightening, threatening tag cloud.

For some reason I thought I'd still enjoy reading WoW blogs and places like MMO Champion long after I quit playing but it doesn't look like that's going to be the case. :(

A game meant to be played forever nonstop

I was thinking about how in the short time I've been away I've missed out on some things that happened in game. While some things I really didn't care about, others I have to admit, gave me a pang.

With that I realize part of my fun comes from the accumulation of time spent. It's one of the reasons trying to jump into another aged MMO is difficult. If I join Everquest2 right now everyone around me has books with chapters full of experiences, libraries of books for some.



I have/had that in WoW. I've either shared experiences with people I've played with a long time or I am able to nod knowingly when I meet up with players I just met and they discuss old times.

As soon as you take a break from the game you're immediately out of the loop of gathering these experiences. This makes me feel like I should play all the time. Several times through the years I've found good "stopping points". Places where I felt I could say "now that I've done that I can take a break". I've also come back to the game to regret the breaks (missing out on feat of strength type deals). If your fun is a sum of your activities, your only option is to not take breaks!


All I can do is come to grips with no time would be perfect. This time is as good as any. Inevitably there is always a new carrot swinging around.

If I decide to come back again I'm faced with knowing I've missed out on some things I can't replace. It's a disappointing feeling and makes me not want to come back knowing I'll have these gaps. Ironically it works out better for me in the end.

P.S. I've taken the step of actually canceling. Funny thing is, the first time I tried, the site was down for maintenance. But it didn't give that specific message. Instead it said something like "Oops".




As if it were saying You don't really mean to cancel!!!". Undeterred, I was able to log on later and do the dirty deed.

Every time I think I'm out...

WoW pulls me back in.

Well not this time...not yet.

I haven't even "quit" yet. It's not official until until I actually cancel the game and stay away from it for longer than a few days.

But I have taken two steps towards the door. One, I notified my raid group to find a replacement for me and two, I'm not bothering to partake in the Gnomeregan event.

In the past I figured even if I wasn't actively playing I could at least log on and do the random world events that pop up. But all that does is keep you tethered to the game.

*sound of rope fraying*

The Perfect Maelstrom

I imagine my last post was cryptic. I wasn't trying to act like I have some big surprise coming, because I don't.

If it wasn't already evident I plan on taking another break from WoW if not quitting altogether.

It is a result of a perfect storm - the emptiness of our main raid guild (due to summertime), our struggling active portion hitting a brick wall (due to lack of skill), the completion of some items that were on my achievement plate for a while (and the anti-climax that came along with it), my foray into tanking reaching its expected end (I never planned to tank for raids) and the clincher, Real Life rearing its persistent head again.







If things were okay in RL or if I could see some light at the end of the raiding tunnel or if there were some achievements I could get with a reasonable amount of effort I wouldn't even contemplate quitting. But instead all things are present and have me wondering why I haven't already canceled.

4 years ago

Almost exactly four years ago I started this blog to vent and chronicle my time in Azeroth and eventually beyond.

During that time - in no particular order - I've wanted to stop playing, tried to stop playing, stopped playing, wish I hadn't stopped and started playing again. I've had times I kept playing when my posts clearly show I wasn't enjoying it. And I've had times that proved why WoW was so addictive to me - good, simple, clean, fun.

Coming so close upon an blogiversary date (Sept 12 to be exact) this would be an apt time to call it quits. But given the fact that...

A) I haven't canceled my account
B) I've mentioned quitting before only to come back with a vengeance
and
C) Maybe its just pre-expansion blues

I'm not going anywhere yet (to wherever that place is long-time players go when they quit WoW). For one I've got a few things keeping me around. But their hold on me is tenuous.

Oh yeah, I guess the broadaxe fell.