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I could go on for many more paragraphs than I am here about my addiction to World of Warcraft. Instead I'll give a somewhat brief summary and leave it up to all of you to ask any questions you're curious about.
I played WoW for just over a year. At the end I had three level 80s who were well geared (T10 and better from raids), and two characters between level 60 and 70. I also had a few deleted characters between levels 40 and 60. Overall I had somewhere around 60 days of playtime, or 1440 hours in the year.
I don't consider it an addiction simply because of the reward system in the game itself for putting in so many hours (although it is addicting in that sense). For me it was an addiction mostly because I knew it was heavily interfering with higher priorities in my life yet I still continued to play it. I was ashamed to tell people I played the game and tried to distance myself by saying "I know of people" who played it rather than admitting I played it. I also would even talk about examples of people being addicted to the game, without ever saying I also played the game and was still addicted. I would willingly turn in assignments late (that or half ass them or not do them at all), miss classes, and lose sleep before important days - just to spend more time playing WoW.
After putting in as much time playing WoW as I did, it became even more difficult to fully quit the game. I felt like after spending so much time grinding for better gear and learning the ins and outs of my specs it would be a "waste" to throw it all away now. I had to shrug it off and dump it knowing quitting was for the better in the long run. Now all my characters are deleted, every bookmark and file related to it are off my computer, and of course I am unsubscribed from it.
I feel like a lost a big portion of myself the past year with all the time I wasted playing the game. Now I again can concentrate on what's important for me physically and mentally. It's a relieving feeling being back here again. Though I must admit I still have occasional thoughts run through my mind of starting it up again or contacting Blizzard to have my characters undeleted. I really hope I never do.
 
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Nice one dude. Always a tough thing to put down. You highlighted the reason it's potentially even more psychologically harder to quit than things such as smoking- because you don't build up ANYTHING from smoking other than damage, whereas you do have items which you have gained on which you basically base your entire self-worth and in which you invest your pride. It takes a lot of guts and determination to get out of the loop. Good man.
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If you think that's a lot, I had like 140 days of playtime :s
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I don't understand the whole WoW addiction thing. I guess it's just self control issues.
I've been playing for 5 years now and it's never conflicted with my life. I always read about posts like these and I simply don't understand how it can consume people. It's sad to see players leave especially if they are involved in the community.
If you feel it's best to move on, so be it, but I urge people to try and manage their time a little bit better before leaving a great game altogether.
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Good for you man, I'm glad you got over it. I started up WoW a couple of years ago, luckily I didn't find the game appealing; otherwise I would've never quit. I'm one of those guys that needs to get the best rewards and be the best at what I do in game, much like you did in WoW.
I frown on Blizzard making the game so addictive; they should have incentives to continue playing of course, but nothing that encourages you to play more than a few hours a day max.
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but-but-but-but Cataclysm?
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Heh, I had a stint while in high school where I played a lot of Wow. That was an unfortunate time. However, I am playing now, 3 years later, and I just play to screw around with friends and such. I play probably once or twice a week, and manage to do relatively well for myself. I suppose that just goes to show how much somebody can change in 3 years. 
Perhaps deleting your characters was a wrong move. You could have given it away to a friend or just kept it as is. Often times, WoW isn't the issue at all. I've got friends that thought that quitting WoW would stop their "addiction" and time wasting, but they mostly just got into other games afterwards. The best thing for you to try to do, in my opinion, is to change your outlook on such things, and by quitting WoW, I believe that you have already started doing just that.
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Nice dude!
Now I want to hear if you can stay off it. I have tried many times but it keeps bringing me back I know even after taking all summer off I will be missing class on Tuesday to play the expansion.
I congratulate you on announcing your addiction though and good luck trying not to relapse.
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Just be glad you didnt stay stuck from release to last year. Life is good when you don't play WoW xD
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On December 03 2010 12:00 EtherealDeath wrote:
If you think that's a lot, I had like 140 days of playtime :s
you think 140 is alot? :| that does not bode well for my 315 rofl
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It definitely was a self-control issue more than anything. I just could not stop it. A few times I took days off or a week off playing it, but I always came back to my old ways.
Oh and I know the expansion Cataclysm was coming up soon. The realization that everything I worked for to get to level 80 was going to be obsolete, and that all that time spent really wasn't rewarding in the long run, helped influence my decision to stop the game entirely. The main reason still was how much it interfered with my concentration on my long-term career, as well my personal health. Thankfully I at least have a dog I take good care of that forced me to exercise multiple times everyday, if only just to give him the exercise he needs. But I notice overall I am in the worst physical shape of my life.
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Congrats man. I remember I got the WoW 14 day trial, played for like 20 hours in 2 days, then realized that this would destroy me and deleted it.
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Taking your power supply cord and monitor cable and giving it to a friend is a fantastic way not to play a game for a long period of time! If it feels mighty tempting it would probably be better off removing the computer until you start a new routine.
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MrHoon
10183 Posts
Started playing WoW from release, went to SSC in BC then stopped because my guild stopped and ended my subscription at Wrath because it looked boring
You did well my friend, quitting WoW is a silent accomplishment
But looking at cataclysm these days, I have this sudden urge to play again D:
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The problem with wow is that because it's such a great game, it demands a ton of self-control.
Many people lack that (including me back when I used to play). =/
However you should try to make a serious effort towards better time management and self-control. It'll make you an overall better person and you'll be able to enjoy magnificent games like wow without it negatively affecting your real life.
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On December 03 2010 12:16 JodoYodo wrote:
Congrats man. I remember I got the WoW 14 day trial, played for like 20 hours in 2 days, then realized that this would destroy me and deleted it.
I played the whole trial. Thank god it costs $15/month.
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You'll probably be back but the good news is you probably will see during the coming back month that everything sucks and you're quitting again. I've quit the game several times and came back twice for a longer time and several times for just 1-2 days to realize this game turned into shit.
You described exactly what an addiction looks like, lying to others about it and even making negative points against it while doing it anyway. Good job you quit =)
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I feel you, man. I picked up WoW when I was 15, and played it pretty hardcore for a couple of years. I was never really at the forefront of content, excluding the first few beginning raids of an expansion, but even when I wasn't raiding, I was on the game all the damn time. Though I was dealing with depression and some other issues at the time, I know WoW was certainly a factor in my dropping out of high school. Really regret it now, but I'm moving on.
Obviously you have to have will power to do shit, as some people have mentioned. I can accept that I have terrible self control, but it was difficult. When I was in school, I would log in as soon as I got home, play until bed, then do homework at school in the morning. From morning to bed when I wasn't in school. I managed to take breaks every couple months, but I'd always make my way back sooner or later.
It was pretty much the same when WotLK hit; I managed to get server first rogue/human (but I played on a really scrubby server.) I raided again until right before Ulduar hit, when I was able to quit. I was determined to make it for good thing time. And I was doing really well; I had stopped browsing the forums (I spent as much time on the forums as I did in game... I was often posting on the forums during dungeons and such >_>) and other WoW related sites.
I recently had the desire to play again, and with the TL guild, Cataclysm, cheap copies of the game, and all the other factors, I decided to pick it up again. I'm playing a good deal now, but something has clicked in my mind. I'm wrapping up the semester now, and I'll have about a month of break before the spring semester; I know that during the month, I'll play the absolute hell out of WoW. But I think that when it comes down to it, I'll be able to control myself, and put aside the game to do what I need to do. I'm fine with spending my leisure on the game, as much of it as I have, as long as I don't neglect my school work and other responsibilities. And as long as I continue to enjoy the game.
When I was playing for the second half of BC, I didn't raid, despite that being my favorite thing (I was decked in Kara/Gruul gear, but I quit for a few months, and by the time I came back, the terrible guilds were 1/4 3/6 or whatever the easy bosses in TK/SSC were and the good guilds were in BT... so I couldn't get into guilds that had my raiding friends as the gear difference was huge, or I had to raid with people I didn't like who happened to be bad.) So I basically sat and chatted for months without enjoying the game. Yet I'd still log in every day, for nothing. If I ever reach that point again, I'm confident I'll be able to convince myself to drop the game. But for now, I'm having fun.
I hope that you can reach a similar point somewhere down the line. As long as you play to enjoy the game, and don't neglect responsibilities, WoW isn't all that bad. However, if you don't feel you can do that, I hope you manage to stay away from it. Good luck, man. :D
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I never truly believed how addicting this game was until I started playing it about a year and a half ago.
Some people say you can play this game casually for fun. I just don't believe it. I mean, how can you play a game that literally requires 2+ hours to clean out an instance, or do a flight pattern of 10+ minutes just to get somewhere you want to go, or do quest chains that can last a day or two? You'll never get anywhere if you play this game "casually" for a few hours a week.
A friend got me into it. Got to level 60 in about 3 weeks, started to roll a DK, leveled him up to 70, and realized what a massive amount of time I had wasted in the last month of my life. I had to put it down.
To be honest, the only time I ever had fun playing the game was PKing people @ Stranglethorn, which wasn't very often since doing that often got you PKed pretty fast in return. The rest was like a blur. I remember even specifically never reading the quests, but just using the Addons to get where I needed as fast as I could, so I could level as fast as I could. I didn't know what was going on half the time, except I knew I was following little dots on a map, so I could kill 10/10 Bears, 10/10 Boars, etc. so I could follow the next set of dots to the person I had to give these items too, so I could keep following the next set of dots. During that month, I probably put in about 6-8 hours a day, doing this same routine. I can't believe I found that enjoyable.
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Congrats on doing what you wanted to do and quitting. I don't really understand the negative sentiment many people have against it afterwards. I think part of it is anger at themselves for letting it control them so much. It is definitely powerful enough to hook you and warp your perception of reality, priorities, life, and goals. I'm actually about to get back into it. I think I would raid hardcore if I had the time but I realize that I don't and prioritize accordingly.
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Congrats... glad I never got into WoW, I've read many stories just like yours and have a friend who's quit/gone back several times. I think it's a real problem for a lot of people but they're ashamed to talk about it.
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although i've never played WoW personally, i was pretty hooked to diablo 2. i would easily log in 5-6 hours a day for a full 6 month. i had about 4 accounts full of mules and fully geared high lvl 90 characters. it was hard to put it down since i started off with absoutely nothing and just kept accumulating and mfing and trading. it felt like an accomplishment in itself.
but in any case, i was glad i stopped and a part of a reason why i never played wow, knowing i'd be tempted to play that to death.
it is good hear you to have chosen this path and all the best to you sir.
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On December 03 2010 12:52 Mothra wrote:
Congrats... glad I never got into WoW, I've read many stories just like yours and have a friend who's quit/gone back several times. I think it's a real problem for a lot of people but they're ashamed to talk about it.
a high school mate of mine, very very bright, full scholarship at a private school, picked up WoW during year 12 (last year of high school) and it just went down hill from there. he had so much academic potential and ultimately dropped out of commerce/law degree at uni. it's quite sad =[
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My best friend loves that I play wow. Any time she introduces me to new people, she always goes, "this is my friend PH. He plays WoW. Can't you tell?"
-_-
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After putting in as much time playing WoW as I did, it became even more difficult to fully quit the game. I felt like after spending so much time grinding for better gear and learning the ins and outs of my specs it would be a "waste" to throw it all away now. I had to shrug it off and dump it knowing quitting was for the better in the long run. Now all my characters are deleted, every bookmark and file related to it are off my computer, and of course I am unsubscribed from it.
I played PWI (Perfect World International) non-stop literally 24/7 (1500-2000 hours) for 5 months and leveled an Axe/Fist BM to almost 101 (after that exp to level is astronomical, 6-12 months) in server record time, with the last 10+ levels with special cash shop event exp-multiplying crystals.
I think I spent over 2 weeks busting my ass every single day trying to find anyone on the server willing to do dungeon runs, I was pulling all the mobs 80-90% of the time and I was so good at organizing, leading and doing "runs" I could do it in my sleep. This was also what finally physically and mentally broke me down and I realized I had enough of the game.
I hated it since the 2nd month of playing because of the cash shop system and all the retarded unrewarding useless quests and grinding, the game design was broken, the economy was the WORST I've ever seen in my life, totally fucked up, crazy hard whack, time consuming. And the fact that you would need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to compete against the top cash shoppers in TW and the constant necessity of cash shop items, charms especially in PvP. But that's how they make money and I hated that blood sucking company, the only thing they cared about is leeching as much $$$ out of their players as possible.
I thought it had potential and I sticked to it, quickly found out that 90% of updates are constant cash shop sales fucking up the economy on a weekly basis. I made excuses that I knew so many people in the game and because of my fast progress and reputation I was in the top faction owning 75% of the TW map. Unfortunately this was my first real MMO experience since I heard it was similar to WoW.
I to made the same excuse to myself that you did back then...that it would be a "waste" to leave all that progress behind but honestly the best way is to simply never get to far deep and be sucked into that evil spiral of addiction, it consumes your mind and priorities in life, it's straight damaging to your health. I consciously decided to STOP playing and do something else, get it out of my system and my mind which was consumed by it. Over time my erh...sanity returned and I realized I was wasting my precious time and life on useless virtual progress and "stuff", it was not rewarding or gratifying at all.
I wholeheartedly regretted ever starting to play that game and paying 100$ to that shit company. MMO's suck up infinite time and replace the factor of fun with forced repetition and brain damage. Just compare SC2's game play with any MMO and tell me which one is more gratifying and enjoyable to play?
I've learned to stay away from any MMORPG's and companies that are only interested in making money from their players, never again, oh and I never had an interest for WoW not even back in 05 when like everyone was playing it. I do commend you for quitting, hope you've learned what's best for your life...and you should keep it that way.
Oh and welcome back to life 
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In vanilla WoW, I restarted on a newly released server with a few RL buddies and ended up joining a "hardcore" guild. The guild was competing with one or two other guilds for server/horde firsts in MC, BWL, etc so the guild was basically pushing everyone to raid for a ungodly amount of hours a day in order to be server first. I remember the first day I joined the guild, I got invited to raid BWL and spent literally 8 hours wiping on fucking razergore (and got like... 5dkp). I was too tired/burned out to log on the next day and they downed him within like 3 tries because we were using a shit strat (They got like 20 dkp for downing him... yeah we had a super fucked dkp system).
I think I ended up taking a break from the game for a month because the raiding schedule got too ridiculous. We would literally raid till 5am in the morning EST, which was when my dad woke up for work and he'd go berserk because I would be still up raiding. Anyhow I took like a week off and noticed that I had SOOO much more free time on my hand. I ended up quitting the game all together. I came back in March of this year,. played it for a good 4-5 months and quit again because it was kind of boring. I'll probably pick up cataclysm just to play with RL friends and hopefully do some hard random 5 man heroics together before it gets too easy.
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I just started playing it the other day, I need something to pass the time by until Diablo 3. My brother is completely addicted. There is no way that I can get extremely addicted because I have a full time job and go to school, there is no way i'm quitting either.
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congrats, MMOs are hard as hell to quit. now the hard part is staying away :O i cheer you on fellow quitter of MMO, and hope the best enjoyment of your life and other games you so desire to play to fill the gap.
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for me wow was never super addicting. it was extremely fun no doubt, but my priorities were never mixed up. wow was a really great experience for me, and i quit because my server was meh and my friends had all quit. i've never had to be forcefully made to quit a game in my life ever, all my game quitting experiences are all gradual realizations of how little i enjoyed playing.
it was a good part my gaming career, never had such a wonderfully made game with a decent community (by decent i mean well developed, not decent as in nice and good people)i wish mmos were made up to wow's standards.
one thing that's probably affected me from wow is that over the summer of 09 i played it a ton and because i had a ton of free time i had little priorities. i won't go into a blog but basically it took me some time to realize how little i gained besides temporary pleasure from playing any video game  .
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I played the trial with friends until it ran out and never was sucked in further. I just don't understand the MMO appeal, can someone explain?
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On December 03 2010 12:11 EscPlan9 wrote:
It definitely was a self-control issue more than anything. I just could not stop it. A few times I took days off or a week off playing it, but I always came back to my old ways.
Oh and I know the expansion Cataclysm was coming up soon. The realization that everything I worked for to get to level 80 was going to be obsolete, and that all that time spent really wasn't rewarding in the long run, helped influence my decision to stop the game entirely. The main reason still was how much it interfered with my concentration on my long-term career, as well my personal health. Thankfully I at least have a dog I take good care of that forced me to exercise multiple times everyday, if only just to give him the exercise he needs. But I notice overall I am in the worst physical shape of my life.
Don't think about your time playing wow in that way, yeah a new expansion is coming up and your gear is now worthless but it wasn't a huge waste of time. Aslong as you had fun and created some memories it is all good.
When I used to play I didn't really like the time investment in PvE so I was a huge PvP guy. Going into BG's whenever I wanted to and playing Arena's for 1-2 hours a week was perfect for myself.
If you do plan to go back just have fun.
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On December 03 2010 12:19 ohN wrote:
The problem with wow is that because it's such a great game, it demands a ton of self-control.
Many people lack that (including me back when I used to play). =/
However you should try to make a serious effort towards better time management and self-control. It'll make you an overall better person and you'll be able to enjoy magnificent games like wow without it negatively affecting your real life.
The PROBLEM with wow is that it's such a great game?
I hear this a lot from people and that just seems ass backwards to me.
Why would you hate a game for being good? What about everyone who plays Starcraft here?
As long as you're enjoying yourself, and it hasn't cost you anything serious as far as life progression, no one should regret playing a game of any kind.
Games are meant to be fun and that's all. When did people forget that?
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On December 03 2010 15:01 {Mr.X} wrote:Show nested quote +On December 03 2010 12:19 ohN wrote:
The problem with wow is that because it's such a great game, it demands a ton of self-control.
Many people lack that (including me back when I used to play). =/
However you should try to make a serious effort towards better time management and self-control. It'll make you an overall better person and you'll be able to enjoy magnificent games like wow without it negatively affecting your real life. The PROBLEM with wow is that it's such a great game? I hear this a lot from people and that just seems ass backwards to me. Why would you hate a game for being good? What about everyone who plays Starcraft here? As long as you're enjoying yourself, and it hasn't cost you anything serious as far as life progression, no one should regret playing a game of any kind. Games are meant to be fun and that's all. When did people forget that?
they enjoy it too much but sadly it doesn't loving a game a lot doesn't give you education or money
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I played from vanilla to wrath and clocked in over two years of playing time over three characters.
I still had good grades though so it didn't ruin me but regardless I got so pissed off at wrath I quit in rage after beating Ulduar eighteen hours after release...the game was never the same
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On December 03 2010 15:05 shawster wrote:Show nested quote +On December 03 2010 15:01 {Mr.X} wrote:On December 03 2010 12:19 ohN wrote:
The problem with wow is that because it's such a great game, it demands a ton of self-control.
Many people lack that (including me back when I used to play). =/
However you should try to make a serious effort towards better time management and self-control. It'll make you an overall better person and you'll be able to enjoy magnificent games like wow without it negatively affecting your real life. The PROBLEM with wow is that it's such a great game? I hear this a lot from people and that just seems ass backwards to me. Why would you hate a game for being good? What about everyone who plays Starcraft here? As long as you're enjoying yourself, and it hasn't cost you anything serious as far as life progression, no one should regret playing a game of any kind. Games are meant to be fun and that's all. When did people forget that? they enjoy it too much but sadly it doesn't loving a game a lot doesn't give you education or money
That's very true, but playing a game was never MEANT to give you an education or money.
Would you complain if you devoted a few hours a week to playing chess? Or going hiking? Or going to a play or other entertainment event? Or reading a book?
I understand the value of getting out and doing things, but in the end, anything that's entertainment is just that - - entertainment. It was never meant to be anything more. If it entertains you and you enjoy it, there's no reason to regret it.
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You did well there. Wow is an incredible game, but you need to quit at some point. I played from the Beta untill BC. Quitting was a very difficult decision, but I've never regret it.
You should try to stay away from any kind of information that may remind you off Wow, or you will want to go back.
From the time I quit until now, I've never read any website about Wow. Some of mine friends go back to play Wow even after a year of quitting.
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Welcome back to life.
WoW is so addictive cos you time invested always improves your character. That combined with random low drop rates of good items forces you to replay stuff over and over to progress. Socially once in a guild its fun to play dungeons together.
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I remember when i quit. it was on 13th of the November last year, after 3 and half years i finally said Goodbye. It was nice run. I never got that problems in class i think it even helped me to improve im English a lot. i had amazing times in raids and leveling ? i leveled my rogue and was more than happy. I think that i learn a lot from WoW. when ppl are talking about past and where they were 2-4 years ago i just remember WoW and beautiful times of vanishing death coils. yea i was playing 5-8 hours per day.
I quit so easily i just started play Aion :D Dont worry i quit Aion after 4 weeks too : )
Now when im sad i just watch Eviscirate and The fat cow series.
Addiction to wow helped me more than i could think of.
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On December 03 2010 15:10 {Mr.X} wrote:Show nested quote +On December 03 2010 15:05 shawster wrote:On December 03 2010 15:01 {Mr.X} wrote:On December 03 2010 12:19 ohN wrote:
The problem with wow is that because it's such a great game, it demands a ton of self-control.
Many people lack that (including me back when I used to play). =/
However you should try to make a serious effort towards better time management and self-control. It'll make you an overall better person and you'll be able to enjoy magnificent games like wow without it negatively affecting your real life. The PROBLEM with wow is that it's such a great game? I hear this a lot from people and that just seems ass backwards to me. Why would you hate a game for being good? What about everyone who plays Starcraft here? As long as you're enjoying yourself, and it hasn't cost you anything serious as far as life progression, no one should regret playing a game of any kind. Games are meant to be fun and that's all. When did people forget that? they enjoy it too much but sadly it doesn't loving a game a lot doesn't give you education or money That's very true, but playing a game was never MEANT to give you an education or money. Would you complain if you devoted a few hours a week to playing chess? Or going hiking? Or going to a play or other entertainment event? Or reading a book? I understand the value of getting out and doing things, but in the end, anything that's entertainment is just that - - entertainment. It was never meant to be anything more. If it entertains you and you enjoy it, there's no reason to regret it.
well i believe that your original statement was that if you're enjoying a game then it shouldn't matter, but people are addicted to wow. i don't think you quite understand that. they will drop school/stay home all day and play wow because it is a well made game. yeah they're enjoying it, but if you look at it from our perspective then it is wasted time.
no one regrets playing a game that was fun and didn't cut into your personal time, however they will regret having fun if it cuts into personal things.
maybe you just don't get that people are addicted and they're enjoying themselves TOO much
if i went hiking every day and skipped all my classes just to go hiking and i'm addicted to doing nothing but hiking then yes, it is a problem.
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Wow, 4 days before Cata. That only proves that your serious. Well done mate.
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the game just ain't that great anymore , it's far too casual friendly now
world PvP is dead and the cross battlegroup instance queues mean you hardly even have to explore outside of the cities anymore
dull dull dull
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So many posts here with comments I want to respond to...
RE: "Try to play it again with better time management" - I have attempted that three separate times after taking a break from the game for a couple days or weeks. Within the next couple days of playing the game, I'm back to my old habits. It's very similar to the mental addiction an alcoholic would have from "just trying to drink less".
About the game itself... it never felt very rewarding. It was just so many things I HAD to grind out in order to improve my character. Daily quests and heroics, weekly raids, and so on. All in hopes of getting the drop I want to increase my dps by 1%. And then you have to hope when the drop comes that you win the roll on it. The game became one huge time sinking grind, I knew it, but I still played it. Afterwards I would think "why did I just play 8 hours straight doing that?" and then the next day do the same thing.
RE "leaving one addiction and moving to another" that hasn't been the case with me. There are many things I used to do in my daily life that I had neglected since getting so heavily into WoW. For instance, playing guitar, drums, programming, cooking, Starcraft (I barely ever played it as I got more into WoW), and actually trying hard to do well in school. WoW was such an easy game to play at any time, not having to think about anything as I grind out another repetitive quest, instance, whatever, that it was an easy game to turn to when I had free time. But to this day, I still don't feel like "I'm sure glad I played WoW as long as I did".
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EPT
