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General: List: You're Just Not That Into It
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
MMORPG.com's Jon Wood uses this week's list to explore five ways that a player can tell whether or not they're really "into" their current MMO, encouraging players who just aren't that into it anymore to find greener pastures elsewhere.
Sometimes when you're in a relationship, it's hard to let go. It's comfortable, it's safe and whenever you think of letting go all you can think about are all of the good times that you've had together. This is perfectly understandable and it's only human nature, but while it may seem like the right thing to do at the time, the most common mistake that people make is to try and hang on, not because it's good for them, or because they're still having fun, but because it's all they really know.
The bond between gamer and MMO can be a strong one, and it can be difficult to know when enough is enough and it's time to throw in the towel. Stay too long and you risk pain and frustration that could keep you from enjoying another MMO that comes after it. We here at MMORPG.com have been there before, and we offer the following five pieces of advice to help you know when you're just not that into it anymore:
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
A good read. I laughed at a few of the items, laughed because they are so true
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin
i lol'd so hard at the "eyes wandering" section. forget mmos, maybe its time i get a new girlfriend? <.< >.>
Very clever article. It feels kind of sad how true the relationships to MMO's and significant others is close, but awesome at the same time.
I let my eye wonder to other MMO's all the time. Been looking at WoW again and wondering what Cataclysm will do for it.
=O im tellingz joor girlfriend!
#4 definitely explains my situation as of late, especially with my purchase of Aion.
I'm convinced after reading your article that I should leave my wife. Her graphics are dated and the grind just isn't what it used to be. I'm also suspicious that down the road she might even be going free2play. Wouldn't it just figure that I bought the lifetime subscription too... I really wish now that I had just gone with the month to month plan.
One of the better articles. I bet a lot of peeps here go looking at dark and broody guys mainly. Since you mentioned the social aspects so well in the beginning I'd add that to your closing remarks... that one of the most challenging aspects to switching games is getting your buddies to switch also from said game (wow), or having the pain of going solo in a harsh environment.
Try getting all 11 million to come to their senses ?
Its definitely time to move on but the problem is there is nothing to move on to ATM. I sure there are many people like me that have burned through the end games of the good MMOs. I'm waiting for STO and TOR and praying they have some good content that will feel new.
Ultimately waiting for the next MMO in the D&D/EQ mold or DAOC2 that has been rumored
LMAO!!!! Thats gotta be the funniest thing i've read in quite a while!
Well played!
Very good article and dead on true. I was complaining recently about the scumbag Bobby who's running Activision now who owns Blizzard now. Another of the long time members here told me I shouldn't give my money to any of these companies because they were all thieves. I thought about it and decided he was right. I have quit all my online games. I am so sick of grind, grind, grind. Till they can come of with something new, I'm done with playing online mmo's. Seems the only thing they can come up with now is go kill X amount of something/someone. It's either kill something, blow up something or steal something. Boring.
So I'm now waiting for the next best thing like everyone else is. Except I'm not giving any of them my money, lol. I'm currently back to playing my single player games and having fun.
I think a lot more people need to read this article and wake up to reality. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee cuz the toast is on fire. 
Thanks for a good article.
I'm old not dead. (Nov8tr is pronounced innovator)
I thoroughly enjoyed your writing, made me giggle quite a bit. Especially the last picture, it made my afternoon. I've been so burnt out on MMO's recently, jumping ship more and more every day.
Funniest post I've read in ages. Samatman, I bow to your humor and wit.
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. - Marie Curie
Yes im a sexy FEMALE *WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE* night elf, no you can't have me.
That was hilarious! Choked on my subway sammich.
As for MMOs, I'm a Polygomist myself. I have a harem of games that I like to tap from time to time, depending on whim.
_____________________________
Currently Playing: LOTRO; DDO
Played: AC2, AO, Auto Assault, CoX, DAoC, DDO, Earth&Beyond, EQ1, EQ2, EVE, Fallen Earth, Jumpgate, Roma Victor, Second Life, SWG, V:SoH, WoW, World War II Online.
Games I'm watching: Infinity: The Quest for Earth, Force of Arms.
Find the Truth: http://www.factcheck.org/
Good article!
If I was to reference WOW in a relationship was I would say its like finding out your girlfriend got pregant. You rub her tummy, talk to the baby, cuddle with your lady only to find out the baby isnt yours. then you leave discgusted and angry. Thats what i felt like when BC came out for WOW. LOL
(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH dances with hot troll priestess)
All my opinions are just that..opinions. If you like my opinions..coolness.If you dont like my opinion....I really dont care.
Playing: ESO, WOT, Smite, and Marvel Heroes
Well I hate to be repetitive, but THAT ^^^^ was the funniest post I have EVER seen on these forums. LOL!!!
And, in regards to the article. VERY spot on, at least for me. Fantastic analogies all the way around.
I have to say, I've never been a very "monogamous" gamer. I enjoy a lot of different things that no ONE game can usually provide. I just don't think I'm the "marrying kind." However...I am the polyamorous kind! I OFTEN play two or even three games at the same time, and have no problem paying sub fees for all of them, IF....I enjoy them. I spend time with them alternating days. It works pretty well for me, and the games don't usually complain.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
This made my day, LOL
p.s. Maybe you should wait a bit, Your Wallet Entertainment may release a new expansion for your wife soon with exiting content, graphic boost, more eye kandy, better gameplay perhaps?
I'll add #6 - "It becomes a job"
After several years in WoW, I sat down at my computer to log in for my daily raid when I paused and thought "You know what? They won't miss me, I can miss a day, I'll go watch TV". I posted on our forums I was not feeling well and watched TV that evening....and enjoyed it more than I would have raiding.
I was only logging into WoW to do 1 of 2 things: Raid, or grind dailies/farm to prepare to raid. That's it. My "community" was on my local forums, which I accessed from work, and contained a number of people who weren't in WoW anymore. I would come home from work, log into WoW and begin my 2nd job...a job I was PAYING to do.
This is the most common reason I tend to quit an MMO...when I've done all the content, I'm into the repetitive end-game, when my community has moved on to the real world and no longer requires the game to exist, and logging into the game is done out of a sense of duty to the guild, not because I really enjoy the game.
You know I wonder if it's time for me to move on from LoTRO and CoX. I haven't even logged into them in months, the thing is when i do log in i genuinly enjoy myself, just as much as CO if not more, but all my friends are on CO...but then CO is feeling like a grind on my main....but the RP on my alts is amazing...
Oh man....
My favourite thing with MMOs is to play with friends - friends that I know from outside game and the friends that I have cultivated over 4 years of online gaming - so the first part of the article really did apply to me and MMOs fall from grace in my life. As my friends go so too do I. I started Aion with 8 people all from my same town and we would all log in and do campaigns and pvp together and the grind didn't seem so bad. I didn't mind to craft a gazillion food as I know my friends would eat it and it would help us plow through Ice Claw. But slowly the friends started to drop off, until out of the 8 of us only I am left and I was forced to find a new legion. Even in this legion I am still PUGing all the time. I hate having to PUG...but I do it and pray I meet excellent new people. So many have gone back to WoW (but of course to different servers) so if they finally pick one bloody server to go to I may end up back there. *sigh* I am willing to play a game that is not totally for me so long as they are there as you know what, friends make the game good.
My reason #6 for breaking up with an MMO involves F2P MMOs... I quit the whole genre after playing a game 2 years and realizing that I spent thousands of real money on it and giving my head a shake and saying am I really having that much more fun then I would in a p2p to justify the expenses? Answer no. I still miss the guild I ran there for two years though. But not the money I spent. I just know myself and if I wanted it and worked an extra shift I would 'treat' myself. Now I treated myself to a new house and car recently...much better investments.
- Recovering F2Po'holic
Currently Playing: D3-ROS
Previously played: WoW, Tera, SWTOR, TSW, Rift, Defiance, GW2, Aion, LotRO, Rapplez, RoM, Dofus, LC, Requiem, WoKF, PW, etc
Waiting on: Wildstar
So much subliminal "quit WoW and try other games!" messaging, I got a strong feeling all throughout about that. Thing is, people don't really need to be told "you're not having fun anymore, go do something else." If they notice it on their own, they'll do that. If they don't, they must still be getting -something- out of the game and it's not really for anyone else to tell them to stop hanging on. Same with relationships.
Awsome write-up and following posts.
Actually I feel kinda bad because I fit the last section so perfectly and I never knew it. o_O I always quit playing after 30 minutes and take a break to casually looking for a beta testing game to replace it and I never noticed. Thanks for the article btw.
Sometimes it's tricky if you still have friends in the game but you've lost interest in playing. Sort of like getting divorced and still wanting to be friends.