tapping out

[Khatovar]

I've been through the hard core raiding scene, even so far as declining a new job due to its schedule interfering with raiding. What I've learned is if Im in a real guild (not my personal alt guild) and I am raiding, WoW becomes a burden. Suddenly you have obligations to real (wow) people and you have a schedule to maintain or there will be real (wow) consequences.

Exactly. When I was raiding the first time around, it was doing the old school stuff. 5 days a week or so, every freekin' night, "Ardath" had to be there to heal. It went so far that when raid sign-up sheets went up, someone else would put my name in there the second it was posted. It never occured to people that I was a real person with a real life who might not want to be there. I was The Healer...who's gonna raid without The Healer? And I felt guilty saying no because everyone else needed me...or at least they needed "The Healer". I fell into an in-game caregiver role that stuck for ages, into other games and even after I came back to WoW. It became as much a part of how I gamed as anything else.

Multiboxing allowed me to move into a more dominate and independant role, forcing me into taking care of my own stuff instead of looking for stuff to take care of for other people. When I didn't feel like doing something, I could always say "Meh, I'll do it later," instead of feeling obligated to the point of telling myself "Uuughhhh!!! Let's get this over with before someone else needs something and I can get back to the crap I need to do!!!"

With a good chunk of that doormat personality being my own doing, it was often a matter of doing things to "help the guild as a whole". My husband and I "needing" to be overgeared, going out of my way to level tradeskills and farm mats for those extra little bumps up in gearing other people. As I progressed in multiboxing, it became more about only worrying about myself and him. It was a lot less time and effort and a lot more productive guild-wise for me to work on our 10 toons than it was to work on 5-7 individual people.

I still spend just as much time online, logged into a game, but it's not all OCD "need to do this, then I can go do this and then I can work on getting that done...." I get up and do housework, I read wikis, I try to talk myself into working out { :P }, I cook, I talk to my husband while he's at work, I e-mail my family. Gaming to me now is a lot more like soap operas and talk shows to a daytime house wife {3rd shift ftw}. I'm logged in, only half paying attention while I'm doing other stuff.

[Gadzooks]

Great responses here. I'm the same as the rest of you, I find it far more fun now, that I don't have guild/raid responsibilities and drama, and I play a lot less - I also used to spend far too much time logged in to just chat with guildies - nothing wrong with that, but I prefer real live interaction.

But lets be blunt: if you can't control a hobby to the point it effects your life in negative ways, you have a much bigger issue than WoW, and it could be anything that could lead to issues - drugs, women, gambling, wow, whatever.

It's a hobby. That means it is ALWAYS optional. I started MBing so I don't need a guild, raids, or pugs, and I don't care about the end-game rat race.

But - it can be replaced at any time. It fits my life right now. That may change in the future. Who knows? But it's MY decision, and I am in control. If I don't play, I don't get those nagging feelings I used to, wondering how much gold/honor I was losing by not logging in, which led to the decision to break away from that mentality.

[wolpak]

Well, been 5 days, and I already feel liberated. The problem with Wow is that when you aren't playing, you are thinking about playing and making time to play and changing your life so you can play. I don't see how this is avoidable for anyone. It's a shame, because there is a reason why it is so addictive...it is fun. I guess I can't really justify the time put in without any tangible benefits. I mean, what are you really working towards? Eventually you will move on and the only thing you have is the fleeting thought of the "fun" you had. Wow isn't really a game, it's more of a lifestyle.

[Otlecs]

you are thinking about playing and making time to play and changing your life so you can play. I don't see how this is avoidable for anyone

That's really not true for most people.

The only thought I give to WoW when I'm not playing it is that I read these forums (and my guild forums) and maybe email myself a URL when I see something here that I might want to look into more closely from home.

What you're talking about here is a clinical addiction, and I think you recognise that. It's good that you've stopped playing, and I really wouldn't start again if I were you.

FWIW, I see WoW completely differently to the way you do. For me, playing WoW is all about remove-the-brain, totally mindless entertainment.

It's just above watching the television in terms of importance in my life, and frequently falls below that if there's something particularly good on

There is nothing tangible to work towards, nor does there have to be so long as you have a healthy view of WoW as just a fun way to spend a few hours at a time when you have nothing better to do.