One of the things that any MMO player who has been playing for a while can tell you about is burnout. You know, that point in time where you get to where you dread logging into your game of choice. It may be because you've never made it very far and you can't manage to solo content by yourself; it could be because you're not interested in listening to 24 other people bicker about what's going on with loot; it can be just as simple as not being excited or happy to be in that particular world anymore. Whatever the case may be, we've probably all felt it at one time or another.
In my case, I'm burned out on raiding. Of course, it seems to be most all there is to do once you hit endgame in World of Warcraft, so I find myself logging in less and less. Of course, for me, the nice part about this gig is that a whole bunch of other worlds then open up to me to check out, which I find I've been really enjoying. But for today's question, we'd like to ask what you do when you get to the point where logging in feels more like work and less like fun? Do you jump around from game to game, hoping something will take? Do you go outside (gasp) and spend some quality time under that bright fiery ball in the sky? Do you get more reading time in? Do you just keep going because others are depending on you until such a time as you absolutely can't stand it anymore? We're curious. How do you handle the burnout?
Reader Comments (16)
Posted: Dec 11th 2007 8:53AM (Unverified) said
I usually end up switching to another game, or put a pause on MMOs altogether. Sadly, I don't even get to the raiding part of any game before I stop, and when I come back and try to play my old characters, I feel lost, and end up re-rolling. I had stopped WoW one particular time to play Auto Assault, which if not fun, was at least different.
Right now I'm on EQ2 and level 23 after a few weeks. Its pretty interesting, there are relentless quests to keep you busy. I think the small user base is what attracted me. There aren't millions of servers packed with people 24/7
Right now I'm on EQ2 and level 23 after a few weeks. Its pretty interesting, there are relentless quests to keep you busy. I think the small user base is what attracted me. There aren't millions of servers packed with people 24/7
Posted: Dec 11th 2007 8:59AM appsbyaaron said
Burnout is the reason I won't pay-to-play. Every game has a burnout point IMO. I deal with it by trying other games, reading more, watching more tv, talking to my kids, sexing my wife and sleeping.
Posted: Dec 11th 2007 12:29PM (Unverified) said
[Insert obligatory "sexing your wife is what I do, too!" remark *here*]
Four hours, and nobody had made that joke yet? What, are we mature around here or something? ;-)
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Four hours, and nobody had made that joke yet? What, are we mature around here or something? ;-)
Posted: Dec 11th 2007 9:35AM (Unverified) said
I fire up my console for some solo play (hockey, football, Guitar Hero).
I read books. I pretend to write. I make a nuisance of myself in online forums. I wonder which one of my cats left a gift that keeps on giving in the litterbox last night. I do all those little, responsible, adult-type things that tend to languish when the game attains primacy during non-work hours.
I catch up on sleep. That's a biggie.
I log in to solo stuff, or run on an obscure alt, or help somebody out, while still socializing.
Also, I hear tell that there may, in fact, be pictures of (nearly-)naked women, some of them quite fetching, waiting to be seen on the Internet. I might look into that.
I read books. I pretend to write. I make a nuisance of myself in online forums. I wonder which one of my cats left a gift that keeps on giving in the litterbox last night. I do all those little, responsible, adult-type things that tend to languish when the game attains primacy during non-work hours.
I catch up on sleep. That's a biggie.
I log in to solo stuff, or run on an obscure alt, or help somebody out, while still socializing.
Also, I hear tell that there may, in fact, be pictures of (nearly-)naked women, some of them quite fetching, waiting to be seen on the Internet. I might look into that.
Posted: Dec 11th 2007 9:53AM (Unverified) said
Half. Life. Two.
In all its incarnations and glory. And then why I tire of jumping out of my chair when a zombie lurches around a corner (even though I KNEW he was there), I go back to WoW. It's a perfect world.
In all its incarnations and glory. And then why I tire of jumping out of my chair when a zombie lurches around a corner (even though I KNEW he was there), I go back to WoW. It's a perfect world.
Posted: Dec 11th 2007 11:20AM (Unverified) said
I used to burn out in MMOs because I'd be so invested in one character that playing another seemed like a waste of time, but I didn't want to play my main.
City of Heroes changed that. I probably have 3 dozen alts across 4 servers. Some of them are end-game, some in their 30's, some in their 20's or teens, and a good handful of lowbies. All of them are different archetypes and builds, villains and heroes, big beefy guys and little frail ones, my characters run the gamut.
But I only focus on three or four at a time, casually switching between them. Sometimes I don't do missions, sometimes I hunt for badges or craft. I spend a lot of time maintaining our supergroup bases, which is more like playing The Sims than an MMO.
I guess what I'm saying is, the solution for me was playstyle variety, and a very non-committal approach to MMO gaming. If it starts to feel like work, change it up. It's all just for fun anyways. You can't take it with you.
City of Heroes changed that. I probably have 3 dozen alts across 4 servers. Some of them are end-game, some in their 30's, some in their 20's or teens, and a good handful of lowbies. All of them are different archetypes and builds, villains and heroes, big beefy guys and little frail ones, my characters run the gamut.
But I only focus on three or four at a time, casually switching between them. Sometimes I don't do missions, sometimes I hunt for badges or craft. I spend a lot of time maintaining our supergroup bases, which is more like playing The Sims than an MMO.
I guess what I'm saying is, the solution for me was playstyle variety, and a very non-committal approach to MMO gaming. If it starts to feel like work, change it up. It's all just for fun anyways. You can't take it with you.
Posted: Dec 11th 2007 12:01PM (Unverified) said
There's a difference between burnout and disinterest in the content the game has to offer you at your level.
I was off WoW for a while when I hit 70 because I didn't want to spend all my days farming gold for the epic mount to open up the new Ogri'la content. Then after 2.3, I got into the daily cooking quest, BG quest, arena season 1 gear for honor, and the lowered heroic requirements. Now I can't play enough, and doing all that, I'm still slowly getting more gold towards my mount.
I was off WoW for a while when I hit 70 because I didn't want to spend all my days farming gold for the epic mount to open up the new Ogri'la content. Then after 2.3, I got into the daily cooking quest, BG quest, arena season 1 gear for honor, and the lowered heroic requirements. Now I can't play enough, and doing all that, I'm still slowly getting more gold towards my mount.
Posted: Dec 11th 2007 12:26PM (Unverified) said
I hate wow grinding its not fun at all and that new pvp grindfest and so on make me want to stop play the game complete :(
I am looking into Lineage 2 I try LOTR and realy dislike the loading screens and so on it does look like a copy of WOW and I realy not am not big of a fun of LOTR and looking for something new.
Lineage 2 not got any trail I not sure of it will be to much like GW/WOW
I am looking into Lineage 2 I try LOTR and realy dislike the loading screens and so on it does look like a copy of WOW and I realy not am not big of a fun of LOTR and looking for something new.
Lineage 2 not got any trail I not sure of it will be to much like GW/WOW
Posted: Dec 11th 2007 12:34PM (Unverified) said
I pretty much do all of those things you mentioned. I log in now and then, usually to help out someone with something. I go play other games. And, I do RealWorldStuff (TM).
Posted: Dec 12th 2007 12:48AM (Unverified) said
What is this real world you speak of? Do you mean Second Life?
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Posted: Dec 11th 2007 12:44PM GRT said
I also head to the consoles for some single-player, story-driven gaming.
I generally cancel my MMO accounts at the first sign of hesitation to log in. I figure I can always start it up again, and these are games to me, not a lifestyle, so why bother 'forcing' yourself to play?
I generally cancel my MMO accounts at the first sign of hesitation to log in. I figure I can always start it up again, and these are games to me, not a lifestyle, so why bother 'forcing' yourself to play?
Posted: Dec 11th 2007 5:02PM (Unverified) said
Burnout eh? That has to be the worst part about MMO's.
I usually pop in a console game or fool around on forums if I have nothing better to do.
But since I'm mainly a CoX player, most of the time if I can't solo a mission or don't feel like grouping up with anyone for some odd reason, I'll simply create a new character (half the fun being the actual character creation itself).
I usually pop in a console game or fool around on forums if I have nothing better to do.
But since I'm mainly a CoX player, most of the time if I can't solo a mission or don't feel like grouping up with anyone for some odd reason, I'll simply create a new character (half the fun being the actual character creation itself).
Posted: Dec 12th 2007 12:29AM SeanG said
I clone jump back to Empire and run some L4's. Perhaps scan down a Grav hit and do some mining.
Posted: Dec 12th 2007 12:53AM (Unverified) said
Burnout. What to do... What to do. twiddles thumbs. Let's see. I turn to the web, other hobbies, like, reading about MMOGs. haha. I go outside, fly a kite, realize that sucks when I can be a mighty shaman that hurls the magicks, and go back to another MMOG like a sad little puppy. It's a vicious cycle. :)
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