Are you addicted to WOW?

[Onatha]

Almost all of my friends and some of my family is playing WOW. Naturally we often discuss whether or not we're addicted to WOW. I have yet to hear someone say they are.

WOW takes up quite a lot of my time, but not compared to the amount some people play. I have been playing for 9 months or so now and I still don't have a level 60. My main is level 52. When I press play on that character, 8 days and so and so hours pop up. That's not bad. I can play quite a lot for a week or so, but then I need a break to do other things in my life. I never let WOW come before real life socializing (unless I just don't want to get out of the house, period). I have a son and he always comes first. Even a phone call comes before a dungeon run. So all in all I believe I have a healthy attitude towards it, without actually knowing for sure how I would react if someone said to me: "You may never play WOW again".

Are you addicted? What would be the signs that you are addicted to WOW? How do you prioritize WOW >< Real life?

[DotComm]

Yes, I am, very addicted. My /played is about 60 days, which isn't an awful lot in the grand scheme of things - a lot of my guild mates are over 100 days /played.

When I have some spare time, I play WoW. Evenings, free weekends. I spend most weekends with my bf though.

I play a 60 rogue, my highest alts are 40 and 49. My rogue is in a high end raiding guild, and has a lot of epics. Not trying to boast, just trying to give you an overview of my WoW time. When I wasn't playing for a week, I looked at my guild's DKP tracking site and saw that a sword I wanted had dropped and wasn't given to a rogue. I was livid. My bf was very shocked to see this reaction in me. And I am shocked now, when I look back on it. Now I try to distance myself from the game a little when I'm not playing.

I should be packing right now, since I'm moving house in a couple of weeks. But I don't want to start. When I didn't raid last night I went and did some PvP instead of packing.

I'm not looking forward to going back to university. I know that instead of doing my work, I'll be playing WoW. I'm going to try and do a lot of work on campus though, so that I can't play wow even if I wanted to.

So to answer your question, yes I think I am addicted. No, it's probably not good for me. But I don't want to quit just yet, when the game stops being fun for me is when I'll stop playing. Right now, yes I'm addicted but yes I'm enjoying it.

[snowieken]

Back in college, I had my share with internet and game addiction. I was 18, it was the first time I came in contact with the internet, I discovered IRC, I played on a MUD back then, it were the Quake days.... Basically I didn't go to any class anymore. In those days, the computer labs in university were open 24 hours a day... So me and a couple of friends went to the computers at 3 PM until about 1 AM, when we went and get us some junk food, and then back to the computers again until about 5-6 AM. Then I slept until 1-2 PM and the cycle would repeat. Every single day. It wasn't pretty.

No, I am not addicted to WoW. I am a casual player. Having been there, I think I have automatically grown a bit weary towards game addiction.

[wharoth]

addicted? me? No, i just have to log in every morning before work with the coffee poored up, check auctionhouse, mailbox, and THEN i can go to work.
no, im not addicted!

[Holb]

Well, alot of my friends and I decided to give it a try. I am pleased with
it so far.

[Magikhat]

Im addicted. I raid 5 times a week. I have a level 60 shaman, hunter, warlock, rogue and a mage.

[Naolin]

I would get addicted... if I didn't keep burning myself out by rolling a new class every damn month :p The lack of guild, stability and a character to progress keeps the addiction away.

[Gagzhul]

Well, I would say I find WoW as a fun past time

Its taking me considerable will power to not play more then 3 hours a day lol :P

Am I addicted? No. Would I watch some f-ing stupid reality TV instead of WoW? No

Would I hang out with friends and do stupid 14 year old things instead of WoW? Yes

WoW should be nothing more then something to fill in empty hours. I do that and I still have plenty of fun and enjoyment.

Everything in Moderation.

[rgirty]

I am not addicted to wow. When the server went down last night i just said oh well. I enjoy it and it is fun. I live in a rural area without much other entertainment. I only play 2 or 3 hours a day after my son has gone to bed. If i wasn't playing I would probably be just watching some tv which I do anyway while I play. My wife also plays and we share the same playtime, so it is an activity that we can do together.

We both played EQ before we had a son and I believe we were both addicted to it. We raided every night for 6+ hours a night. I remember being relieved when my boss shortened our work hours giving us friday off. I would often get up around 6 or 7 am and play until at least 2 am on fri/sat. Several times I played for 20 hours+ in one sitting. If my guild leader had not been a psychopath we might still be playing. I'm glad we quit, and now have a different view of wow. We have set rules for playtime and that makes it a lot easier.

I think the thing that addicts most people is the "keeping up with the Johnsons" syndrome. Especially when DKP starts for a lot of people. It is something tangible they can look at and know if they take a night off or miss a raid they are going to be XX dkp points lower than their competition and can't stand the thought of it.

It seems a lot of people are just gathering loot... to be gathering loot, so in turn they can gather more loot. They don't seem like they are enjoying the game anymore and often voice frustration over not getting xx drop. If you get to this point, step back and analyze if you are playing for fun or just on a treadmill.

[Wintrow]

I read the post of the guy that keeps switching to a new class. I myself am also always thrown from one class/race to another. I have 3 priests (UD, Troll and Human) and couldn't decide which one to keep.

I've then started to radicalise my thoughts and made myself cleanup to the point of one char per class and one faction per server. I had also set out to get one char, my first one, NE Druid to 40 so as to experience what a mount is like.

I did that.

Problem is: I keep thinking of WoW. At work I browse the forums. In the car I think out addon-code. At home I am drawn to my computer because watching "normal tv" often sickens me (boooooring, mind-numbing).

I suppose it wouldn't be this bad if there was only WoW, but there are forums, guides, maps, screenshots, addons, chat.

There might very well be too much WoW in the world.

I may not be able to play enough to actually be addicted to the Game "World of Warcraft". But I think I might be addicted to the "World of Warcraft"...

And I just can't get enough.

[eggo]

I'm pretty new to WoW (less than 30 days) and I'm already dreaming WoW :P I think I have a problem lol. I usually get addicted mmo games. Back in Diablo 2 days, pre 1.10, I'd go nuts if I didn't play a day. Even though uni starting in a little under a month, I'm also gonna try to do what DotComm's doing and try to stay off games during the school semester.

[mesonm]

I think the thing that addicts most people is the "keeping up with the Johnsons" syndrome. Especially when DKP starts for a lot of people. It is something tangible they can look at and know if they take a night off or miss a raid they are going to be XX dkp points lower than their competition and can't stand the thought of it.


/agree

I curbed my 'addiction' when I realized I had two level 60's, more DKP than all of the officers, and the last fifteen raids in as many days gave me literally nothing I could want/use/sell/equip, and I had much more than 1000 gold already from selling flask of the titans, and was not scuba diving anymore...

Now, I play maybe twice a week for a couple of hours at most...

[Babobery]

I read snow's post and it brought back scary kind of memories. The first MMO that I got into was everquest which back in the day was nicknamed evercrack. That had me hook line and sinker. When it came to the last 6 months of university I had to uninstall the game in order to be able to study for exams and complete my dissertation.

With WoW there seems to be a lot more casual content so a lot easier to to distance yourself. The only problem is that you need to realise that you will never have the best character, with the best gear and the best skills ever. Because if you even approached that then too much time has been invested lol.

Aside from that I took a couple of weeks off recently and tried logging in yesterday and was a little intimidated, especially since my guild has moved up a level, but looking forward to catching up ;)

[icutyoubad]

I love this game.

I think I could be addicted, but I'm not sure. I recently had to switch to second shift at work, which seriously cuts into my raid time. My guild is clearing BWL for the first time, and I really want to be there, but I just can't. That said, I fully realize that this job is way more important than WoW, and in no way will I jeopardize my career for a video game. I told the GL I can only raid on Saturdays and Sundays now, and that I would understand if he booted me and got another druid. He's cool with it though, so I go to BWL on Satrudays, get my 15 DKP for the instance and my 15 DKP if we killa boss for the first time, then go do ZG on Sundays. In this way, I can still get decent gear.

One poster added that you will never have the best character. I know that, and I agree. However, I would like to experience all the game has to offer. I would like to have 8/8 Stormrage, 8/8 Dreamwalker, etc., just to see what it does. That will take me a LONG time, but that's ok, I'm not in a big rush.

The only thing I can't see happening for me is getting to rank 14 pvp with my warrior. I really don't think I can devote enough time to the game to do that.

Is it possible to get to rank 14 without PvPing for 10 hours a day, 4 months straight?

[Sacroth]

I love these topics.

They always make me feel better about myself and, in this case, my addiction. :grin:

[DarthMuffin]

I can have obsessions, but I rarely get "addicted" to a computer game.

Now, by obsessions, I mean thinking about it everytime, so I guess that's some kind of addiction :P

But the real "problem" with WoW is the monthly fee. For some reasons, I feel like I must play the game when I have free time because otherwise I'd be wasting money.

[icutyoubad]

I can have obsessions, but I rarely get "addicted" to a computer game.

Now, by obsessions, I mean thinking about it everytime, so I guess that's some kind of addiction :P

But the real "problem" with WoW is the monthly fee. For some reasons, I feel like I must play the game when I have free time because otherwise I'd be wasting money.

YES! I know EXACTLY what you mean. And I hate wasting money. I don't understand how some people can pay 15 a month and then play only a couple days a week. That would seriously feel like wasting money to me. Maybe I'm just a scrooge, but I like to get the most out of my money. Like if I go to a fast food joint and order the large size, and I get mediums... well, hell no am I going to just shrug it off. It's not that I don't think I will have enough food, it's all based on the principle that I paid for X, but received Y. If I paid for X, I want to receive f-cking X!

[Onatha]

Heh, people have many fun reasons for playing this game too much.

[snowieken]

YES! I know EXACTLY what you mean. And I hate wasting money. I don't understand how some people can pay 15 a month and then play only a couple days a week. That would seriously feel like wasting money to me. Maybe I'm just a scrooge, but I like to get the most out of my money. Like if I go to a fast food joint and order the large size, and I get mediums... well, hell no am I going to just shrug it off. It's not that I don't think I will have enough food, it's all based on the principle that I paid for X, but received Y. If I paid for X, I want to receive f-cking X!I paid X, meaning I paid to play the game, and I receive X, meaning I can play the game. I never paid to play 24/7. It might come as a shock to you, but some people, like me, do think that a couple days a week (or even less than that) is enough for what they are paying.

To use an analogy comparable to your fast food: an "all-you-can-eat" barbecue rib joint. Granted, it's all you can eat, but if I'm full I am satisfied. Some people eat just one sparerib, some people eat two spareribs, some even four or five (which was the record at the last place I had them), but no one is really going to eat themselves sick just because they paid for it.

Normally I play a couple of days a week and I am perfectly happy with that. It doesn't feel like wasting money at all.

[det]

I show all signs of addiction: Farm/grind during the week, Raid during the weekend. Spend easily 2-6 hours every day...or rather night (as I work) in the game. Plus time on forums.

Then again...my wife/family/friends that don't play WoW easily spend 4+ hours (up to 8 on weekends) in front of the Telly. People don't seem to consider THAT an addiction, rather these same people will scold me for being addicted.

Evil PC games :rolleyes:

....some even four or five (which was the record at the last place I had them), but no one is really going to eat themselves sick just because they paid for it.

I think you will find people DO eat themselves sick because the paid for it. Witness the increasing amount of obese people....

[Naolin]

Then again...my wife/family/friends that don't play WoW easily spend 4+ hours (up to 8 on weekends) in front of the Telly. People don't seem to consider THAT an addiction, rather these same people will scold me for being addicted.

Evil PC games :rolleyes:


yeah that is great. They spend almost every free hour behind the telly and can tell you the story of their favorite serie in detail, but when the word pc game drops your an addict. Double standard in my book.

As long as WoW doesn't conflict with your real life obligations and family life I think it's fine to spend your free time on it.

But with the weather we are having here it's not the time to play WoW :P I wouldn't survive :sunny:

[Xlorep DarkHelm]

Are you addicted? What would be the signs that you are addicted to WOW? How do you prioritize WOW >< Real life?

I think people throw around the word addicted a bit too loosely any more. If you enjoy doing something, and spend any amount of time doing it, the word "addicted" somehow gets attached. Well, I tend to spend a lot of time breathing, I tend to enjoy being able to breathe, so I guess I'm addicted to breathing.

Anyway, I'd say I'm not addicted. I do enjoy WoW, and I like to play WoW. I do use it as a way to "get away for a bit", and just derive some form of entertainment for myself. I don't think that it in any way is what would be considered "addicted" -- I can, and have taken breaks from WoW, to do other things, I don't let it interfere with the important real-world issues around me, and I do know how to take it all with a mediocrum of moderation.

[icutyoubad]

I paid X, meaning I paid to play the game, and I receive X, meaning I can play the game. I never paid to play 24/7. It might come as a shock to you, but some people, like me, do think that a couple days a week (or even less than that) is enough for what they are paying.

To use an analogy comparable to your fast food: an "all-you-can-eat" barbecue rib joint. Granted, it's all you can eat, but if I'm full I am satisfied. Some people eat just one sparerib, some people eat two spareribs, some even four or five (which was the record at the last place I had them), but no one is really going to eat themselves sick just because they paid for it.

Normally I play a couple of days a week and I am perfectly happy with that. It doesn't feel like wasting money at all.

Hey, I hope that didn't sound disrespectful to your type of playstyle. It wasn't meant to be at all. If you are happy with that, great! People like me though I guess just can't be. The all-you-can-eat buffet analogy was a good counterpoint, because when I go to those I certainly stop eating when I'm good and satisfied, but sometimes I do leave feeling disappointed because I feel like I paid too much for the meal. I dunno, maybe it is a condition of growing up poor and now having a career and constant income that makes me want to get the most out of my money (no, this isn't a sob story -- I know a lot of people that grew up less fortunate than me). Then again, maybe it si me trying to rationalize my addiction. Who knows?

If you can play the game a couple days a week and feel like you are getting your money's worth, more power to you!