For those of you who don't know, I used to be in one of the world's best raiding guilds for a couple of years (Risen on Alleria), and it took a lot out of me and eventually I burned out. At the time, I was even working on my Ph.D., so my days were devoted to study and my nights were devoted to raiding, although we would call each other up early in the morning if the world dragons were up to ensure that we had a monopoly on their loot. Believe it or not, much of my time in WoW raiding started as an excuse to do something during the Chicago winters, which I was not accustomed to as a native of the Sun Belt. It was also a way to be sociable in a school environment that is famous in academia for being (perhaps) overly rigorous and competitive and depressing. ("Where fun comes to die.")

At a time when there were no achievements, we did many wonderful things. We completed the first Atiesh, we were the very first guild to figureout Heigan's dance, we were the first guild to figure out how to defeat Vek'lor and Vek'nilash (quite the nub-stopper at the time), we were the first U.S. guild to kill Kel'Thuzad (world second), and many other things. I myself was probably the first person to complete the Netherwind set (or if not, dang close), among some other things. This is not to brag, but it just goes to show that yes, we got that high over being the best and first at everything we could, but after two years, it seemed to me like it would never end. Best of all, we started out as a guild who was just made of good Allerians, and even now I think it's amazing that we did so well before server transfers. My /played time got frighteningly high, so I left. 

I distinctly remember that I hit 70 (about three days behind the rest of my guildmates, all of whom got there in about three days), and I realized that I didn't want to do it anymore. I'd already been lagging behind a bit because I had met my future wife, among other things, and I knew I just didn't want to keep playing for something that, as was said, can't be won, and I CERTAINLY wasn't going to miss a date with this incredible woman so I could make a raid. (As an aside, Risen never really broke up--they just all went inactive and went to Final Fantasy or something. The one character that seems still active in the guild jokes (or not) that they'll be back come expansion, they'll nab all the server firsts, and then they'll quit again. Basically, they believed the game had become too easy.)

I left for an entire year and didn't miss it. There was a weak point when I played on a private server to see what I had missed during a brief period while I was looking for a job, but it didn't last long. (Private servers are GREAT for burning you out of WoW quickly since leveling, acquiring gear, and gaining rep goes much faster.) WoW, I realized had eaten up much of my life since I moved to Chicago. (FYI, I didn't quit my Ph.D. because of WoW--lol.) I found time for my calligraphy and photography again. I started exploring the city again. I realized that here I was in one of the world's great cities, surrounded by areas of stunning natural beauty (up north, anyway), and I started taking advantage of it. I realized that all of this was actually costing me more than WoW did (lol), but I was having a great time. And, of course, I got married. It was such a switch from 2006, which, for many reasons, was largely a severely depressing year for me. Rightly or wrongly, I threw WoW into that mix.

The truth is, though, many of my best friends have come from WoW. I was recently a groomsman for a guy whom I first met in Open Beta. I have a very close friend from Germany (who now lives in London) who used to be a warlock in Risen's rival guild Surreal (now known as Premonition). We'll be staying with him for a day when we go to Europe in June. There are people who I've never met in person that I write very often and keep in touch with on Facebook.  

I came back to WoW because Northrend was the type of landscape I'd always wanted in the game, what with Dalaran, Vikings and all (my real name is Leif, btw), and because I liked the changes to mages. I felt a much better connection with the expansion than I had with TBC. Unfortunately, though, if not at all on the same hardcore level, I found myself almost in the same trap again.

After all these years of playing WoW, I've realized that I like the sense of accomplishment from a game that actually has an ending. After Thanksgiving I bought myself a PS3, and have started to play all these games I've heard about but never got a chance to play. While they do end, yes, there seems to be some excitement that I never get anymore from WoW because each is such a different world and experience. These other games give me a reason to stop playing--there's no "call" after I'm done like there is in WoW. I also like the cinematic aspect of many modern games.

I recently reached one of those burnout periods again after realizing that I'd have to begin gearing up again (and then it will all be worthless again come expansion), and now I'm truly tempted to uninstall it and not come back. That, and I realized that I was sick of some of the pettiness I find in PUGs, especially now that we're open to normal servers for groups. I was sick of so much of the game seeming like a chore at times (although a kind of fun one). This sounds bad, but I also hated feeling obligated at times to a game. I could play one of the PS3 games whenever. Then there is the guilty part of me that says I should be reading more, studying more, photographing more, and making myself a more visible part of Chicago's art scene. But for all that, I love the game--it truly is a world I can escape into. But I think it's time to move on.

If that wall of text didn't crit you hard enough, here's my original emo post from 2006.

For those of you who don't know, I used to be in one of the world's best raiding guilds for a couple of years (Risen on Alleria), and it took a lot out of me and eventually I burned out. At the time, I was even working on my Ph.D., so my days were devoted to study and my nights were devoted to raiding, although we would call each other up early in the morning if the world dragons were up to ensure that we had a monopoly on their loot. Believe it or not, much of my time in WoW raiding started as an excuse to do something during the Chicago winters, which I was not accustomed to as a native of the Sun Belt. It was also a way to be sociable in a school environment that is famous in academia for being (perhaps) overly rigorous and competitive and depressing. ("Where fun comes to die.")

At a time when there were no achievements, we did many wonderful things. We completed the first Atiesh, we were the very first guild to figureout Heigan's dance, we were the first guild to figure out how to defeat Vek'lor and Vek'nilash (quite the nub-stopper at the time), we were the first U.S. guild to kill Kel'Thuzad (world second), and many other things. I myself was probably the first person to complete the Netherwind set (or if not, dang close), among some other things. This is not to brag, but it just goes to show that yes, we got that high over being the best and first at everything we could, but after two years, it seemed to me like it would never end. Best of all, we started out as a guild who was just made of good Allerians, and even now I think it's amazing that we did so well before server transfers. My /played time got frighteningly high, so I left. 

I distinctly remember that I hit 70 (about three days behind the rest of my guildmates, all of whom got there in about three days), and I realized that I didn't want to do it anymore. I'd already been lagging behind a bit because I had met my future wife, among other things, and I knew I just didn't want to keep playing for something that, as was said, can't be won, and I CERTAINLY wasn't going to miss a date with this incredible woman so I could make a raid. (As an aside, Risen never really broke up--they just all went inactive and went to Final Fantasy or something. The one character that seems still active in the guild jokes (or not) that they'll be back come expansion, they'll nab all the server firsts, and then they'll quit again. Basically, they believed the game had become too easy.)

I left for an entire year and didn't miss it. There was a weak point when I played on a private server to see what I had missed during a brief period while I was looking for a job, but it didn't last long. (Private servers are GREAT for burning you out of WoW quickly since leveling, acquiring gear, and gaining rep goes much faster.) WoW, I realized had eaten up much of my life since I moved to Chicago. (FYI, I didn't quit my Ph.D. because of WoW--lol.) I found time for my calligraphy and photography again. I started exploring the city again. I realized that here I was in one of the world's great cities, surrounded by areas of stunning natural beauty (up north, anyway), and I started taking advantage of it. I realized that all of this was actually costing me more than WoW did (lol), but I was having a great time. And, of course, I got married. It was such a switch from 2006, which, for many reasons, was largely a severely depressing year for me. Rightly or wrongly, I threw WoW into that mix.

The truth is, though, many of my best friends have come from WoW. I was recently a groomsman for a guy whom I first met in Open Beta. I have a very close friend from Germany (who now lives in London) who used to be a warlock in Risen's rival guild Surreal (now known as Premonition). We'll be staying with him for a day when we go to Europe in June. There are people who I've never met in person that I write very often and keep in touch with on Facebook.  

I came back to WoW because Northrend was the type of landscape I'd always wanted in the game, what with Dalaran, Vikings and all (my real name is Leif, btw), and because I liked the changes to mages. I felt a much better connection with the expansion than I had with TBC. Unfortunately, though, if not at all on the same hardcore level, I found myself almost in the same trap again.

After all these years of playing WoW, I've realized that I like the sense of accomplishment from a game that actually has an ending. After Thanksgiving I bought myself a PS3, and have started to play all these games I've heard about but never got a chance to play. While they do end, yes, there seems to be some excitement that I never get anymore from WoW because each is such a different world and experience. These other games give me a reason to stop playing--there's no "call" after I'm done like there is in WoW. I also like the cinematic aspect of many modern games.

I recently reached one of those burnout periods again after realizing that I'd have to begin gearing up again (and then it will all be worthless again come expansion), and now I'm truly tempted to uninstall it and not come back. That, and I realized that I was sick of some of the pettiness I find in PUGs, especially now that we're open to normal servers for groups. I was sick of so much of the game seeming like a chore at times (although a kind of fun one). This sounds bad, but I also hated feeling obligated at times to a game. I could play one of the PS3 games whenever. Then there is the guilty part of me that says I should be reading more, studying more, photographing more, and making myself a more visible part of Chicago's art scene. But for all that, I love the game--it truly is a world I can escape into. But I think it's time to move on.

If that wall of text didn't crit you hard enough, here's my original emo post from 2006.

I really liked this blog. I still play WoW and got accepted into one of the better guilds in my server but after 2 weeks of having to sign up for raids, leave my friends to get home and raid and nearly missing coursework deadlines i realised there are people out there far more dedicated to this cause than anyone should be. I like just enjoying some raid boss fight every now and again as well as getting some nice new gear. It is a world where you can get lost and try to hit the most damage is a lot of fun but i could never lose my life to it.

@02sfraser  Thanks! And well, the damage thing was a part of my problem: I kept finding myself falling into the trap of wanting to be the best on my server as far as damage goes, and people would seriously act like I was losing my edge just because my gear was slipping behind because I was trying to limit my WoW time. A nice 10-man guild with a flexible schedule accepted me, but it still was a bit too much. For me, it wasn't worth it, and I'd done the instances so many times that they were a little too familiar.
 
That said, I really liked the design of the Trial--you didn't have to waste ages on trash. I know a lot of people criticized it for that aspect as well, but it certainly didn't marry you to the game.

Great blog esotericus.  I've been playing WoW for almost 2 years on and off now and a lot of the open beta players I talk to are feeling the same way.  They've used defeating the Lich King as their "end of wow."  Maybe now that the Lich King has fallen you can get some piece from World of Warcraft.

I started playing WoW a month ago, and my subscription is over. I'll renew it this summer. But not until classes are over. I liked reading your blog. I always thought that WoW was such a horrible game when so many people blasted it, but its not. Thankfully I can still prioritize.

I stopped playing WoW about a month and a half ago on a temporary hiatus for finals, but I'm not sure I want to go back. I've been able to play many new games during that time, and catch up on some older ones that had fallen by the wayside. Going back now seems futile since I'm waiting for Cataclysm to level my alts, which means all I'll end up doing is grinding gear.
 
I think I've had my fill, at least until the next expansion.

I've actually just gone back to WoW for the simple fact that money's pretty tight presently.  I can't really buy new games, so I've been filling my usual gaming time with leveling up a Shadow Priest and such.  Makes me at least briefly forget that I'm not playing Super Street Fighter IV (though I may unwisely fix that particular problem sometime tonight after checking out TNT).

I deactivated my account a few weeks ago for financial reasons. I only started playing in January, and even then I wasn't totally hardcore about it. Log on, do a dungeon, hit a few quests, level up, etc. It's nice to be able to play such a crazy hardcore game casually.