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  1. #1

    So I was thinking of my addiction to WoW and I realized the true source of it

    It's the delusion that accomplishing anything hard/easy/whatever is something that I must do otherwise it would be a fault. It's a delusion though because life is filled with hard/easy/whatever tasks to complete (e.g. a task to be good at computer software or building houses or starting a business) so doing something else that is more meaningful/beneficial/complete might be a better investment than a video game that has no real life profit(unless you do it illegally) and you interact with people with a clear distance and with a design that favors farming over skill for most of the time.

  2. #2
    Mechagnome
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    Good for you man, I think a lot of people struggle with getting sucked up in something, be it video games, gambling or even a third thing..
    I had a friend who played LoL and he HAD to have every single skin, so he spent insane amounts of money buying the chests in hopes of getting the legacy skins.

    However I do think most people play because it's a good place to unwind, after a long day of work / stressful day with the family or to just disconnect from their problems in general.

  3. #3
    I think the core of my addiction is "i like playing MMO´s" . And there has never been a game that rivaled WoW in the long term, sure there have been some games that got my attention for few weeks, few months even. But in the long term? No matter how shitty wow is/was, it was always better than anything else on the market.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Mars_Trueskills View Post
    Good for you man, I think a lot of people struggle with getting sucked up in something, be it video games, gambling or even a third thing..
    I had a friend who played LoL and he HAD to have every single skin, so he spent insane amounts of money buying the chests in hopes of getting the legacy skins.

    However I do think most people play because it's a good place to unwind, after a long day of work / stressful day with the family or to just disconnect from their problems in general.
    The design of this game allows that kind of gaming mainly with questing and the automatic dungeon finder because guild raiding can be a gigantic time waster (even if only because even the casual guilds may make wait for an entire evening in a raid). In fact even if you try to be optimal on the automatic dungeon finders you must spend many hours studying and practicing the class.
    I was considering returning to the game just to see BfA and Shadowlands questing and some basic dungeoning and then I realized even entering a levelling 5man of Legion is more investment than I thought because I knew them as a DPS and I entered as I tank and I wasn't too familiar with the a couple of boss mechanics and I realized even that needed studying to play properly.

  5. #5
    The problem is that there are no other gameS like WoW. It offers something completely unique in terms of raid and dungeon design. And no, Final Fantasy is not like WoW. It doesn’t offer the same package.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Rikkuu View Post
    I think the core of my addiction is "i like playing MMO´s" . And there has never been a game that rivaled WoW in the long term, sure there have been some games that got my attention for few weeks, few months even. But in the long term? No matter how shitty wow is/was, it was always better than anything else on the market.
    My initial thought was that under the WoW/MMO addiction there is something more primal, the desire to feel good for accomplishing any task whatsover and this game is filled with tasks. The delusion is that life is filled with tasks as well that you will never accomplish because you have no time to accomplish them all so it's probably better to choose the most beneficial tasks in your life ((it can be a "video game" in that regard) over the tasks of a video game that has no financial benefit (unless you do it illegally) and human interactions are too distant and farming is favored over skill per amount of time.

  7. #7
    Mechagnome
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    Quote Originally Posted by epigramx View Post
    My initial thought was that under the WoW/MMO addiction there is something more primal, the desire to feel good for accomplishing any task whatsover and this game is filled with tasks. The delusion is that life is filled with tasks as well that you will never accomplish because you have no time to accomplish them all so it's probably better to choose the most beneficial tasks in your life ((it can be a "video game" in that regard) over the tasks of a video game that has no financial benefit (unless you do it illegally) and human interactions are too distant and farming is favored over skill per amount of time.
    Yeah, being good at something requires you to put time and effort into it, that certainly also applies to video games.

    I'm not sure what it is you're exactly looking for with that sort of reply.
    Especially in an MMORPG, farming has always been one of the corner stones in design for this game.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by epigramx View Post
    It's the delusion that accomplishing anything hard/easy/whatever is something that I must do otherwise it would be a fault.
    The problem, and why games can be really addictive, is that it's much easier to accomplish seemingly hard things in game than actually hard things in real life. In games you are called a hero and you can save the whole world. In real life you are struggling with understand why your 10 lines computer program doesn't compile while both 12 year olds and 80 year olds can create 20000 lines programs "without a problem" (of course they also struggled a lot, you just don't see that part). And sure, you can say that "but games are not real", but there are parts of your brain which cannot distinct so easily between "real" and "not real". Those parts just saw that "hey, I've got rewarded and praised" vs. "I'm frustrated and I'm struggling". And really pushes the other parts to don't do the latter.

    Quote Originally Posted by epigramx View Post
    I was considering returning to the game just to see BfA and Shadowlands questing and some basic dungeoning
    That's pretty much what I do since WoD. I go through storyline, do all quests, do every dungeon a few times on normal / hc, clear LFR at least once, and do every kind of new features at least once (like island in BfA). Then if I have fun in some kind of endgame content I gear up my character with non-group / random grouped content until there are no huge diminishing returns. If I don't find them fun, or if I get bored with them (like islands in BfA: I had really fun for the first few runs, but realized later there is no real exploring and people just rushing around to finish it as fast as possible) then I start an alt if I feel for it (I like leveling, but it's much more fun if you go through some coherent storyline, so I'm really looking forward to the leveling changes in SL). If any time I get bored I just cancel subscription and come back when I feel for it again or for next patch when there are new quests.

    For example in the latest patch I leveled my cloak to some extent and got some gear from Visions and LFR. But when I realized that I practically can get only 1 loot per LFR wing in best case and that I would need to gear up / practice a lot to do mask runs I just cancelled. Yes, you can have fun like this. And yes, you are allowed to play WoW like this.

    Quote Originally Posted by epigramx View Post
    I realized even entering a levelling 5man of Legion is more investment than I thought because I knew them as a DPS and I entered as I tank
    Yes, that's the main reason why I don't play tanks. Just based on the role, the tank has to have the most priory knowledge about the dungeon. But also WoW have a culture / expectation where the tank has to know everything. So no, I simply skip that, I'm fine reading some books while waiting for LFD as a DPS or Healer.

  9. #9
    Stood in the Fire october breeze's Avatar
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    My addiction to WoW mostly cured by first BFA, second I found a better hobby. I tried to channel my enjoyment into coding and launched my first app couple of month ago. That was such a fulfilling moment and way more satisfactory than winning any loot or item in WoW

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Cathfaern View Post
    The problem, and why games can be really addictive, is that it's much easier to accomplish seemingly hard things [..]

    [..] And yes, you are allowed to play WoW like this.

    Yes, that's the main reason why I don't play tanks.[..]
    Your first problem is solved by breaking down the hard tasks into parts (if the parts are still hard break even them down). You can play WoW casually but I have a hard time doing something partly and I tend to want to be optimal at it (plus the farming can be too excessive even casually sometimes (e.g. I got bored going to 103 from 100 even with heirlooms full). Tanks aren't harder per se but they are socially more sensitive because you will be blamed more for mistakes (and in a high quality encounter a DPS can ruin the whole raid too (especially at end game raids (especially their final boss))).

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by epigramx View Post
    ...might be a better investment than a video game that has no real life profit(unless you do it illegally)...
    This misses the real point of most video games: you should play them to have fun. They should not be exercises in 'real life profit'. The quality of your play is not a reflection of the quality of your character or maturity. Games are for relaxing, socializing (if you choose to do so), and generally escaping the real world for a bit. That's a healthy thing as long as you don't let the game run you.

    I enjoy farming. It doesn't bother me and if it starts to get a little boring, guess what....I stop and either log off or do something else. In social video games, unless you know someone personally in real life, it's wise to keep a bit of distance. That can gradually be reduced over time but need not be.

    It's all about the personal perspective you bring to this game and any other.
    "...money's most powerful ability is to allow bad people to continue doing bad things at the expense of those who don't have it."

  12. #12
    I keep telling myself im gonna stop playing but the competitive aspect of pvp keeps me coming back. Even though most times I leave feeling shitty because I'm not that great lol. Also, the class I like is not really good at pvp for sometime so I play less fun to me classes.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by MoanaLisa View Post
    This misses the real point of most video games: you should play them to have fun. They should not be exercises in 'real life profit'. The quality of your play is not a reflection of the quality of your character or maturity. Games are for relaxing, socializing (if you choose to do so), and generally escaping the real world for a bit. That's a healthy thing as long as you don't let the game run you.
    They can be only for relaxing and it's fine if it's limited that way, but they can also develop skills (e.g. it's pretty clear many raid leaders developed leadership skills with this game).
    I agree with being able to limit yourself on choice but I have a hard time doing something only partly so that's an entire other skill to develop.

  14. #14
    Spam Assassin! MoanaLisa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by epigramx View Post
    They can be only for relaxing and it's fine if it's limited that way, but they can also develop skills (e.g. it's pretty clear many raid leaders developed leadership skills with this game).
    Of course this sort of thing can happen. I'm fairly confident though that if someone is playing World of Warcraft with the idea that doing so will teach leadership skills, that someone is highly likely to be disappointed. Yes, it has happened. Yes, there are even a couple of books about it. No, it's not the main point and it's certainly not why the game was created.

    I sympathize with you on the drive to attain 'completeness'. I beat that by setting small goals and when I got there deciding whether or not I wanted to go on. That way, psychologically you can feel you completed something but are not necessarily driven to play that string out to the end, no matter what. That's a thing that a lot of players have issues with I think. Again, that comes down to whether or not you're running the game or if the game is running you.
    "...money's most powerful ability is to allow bad people to continue doing bad things at the expense of those who don't have it."

  15. #15
    I'm not addicted to WoW, if I was well enough to have a life - I'd give it up instantly.

    Challenge Mode : Play WoW like my disability has me play:
    You will need two people, Brian MUST use the mouse for movement/looking and John MUST use the keyboard for casting, attacking, healing etc.
    Briand and John share the same goal, same intentions - but they can't talk to each other, however they can react to each other's in game activities.
    Now see how far Brian and John get in WoW.


  16. #16
    I don't know if how often I play it would be classified as an addiction, as I can easily drop the game and go a months without it at any given time.

    I do know the reason I always come back tends to stem from time investment. When a character is approaching an entire year of /played, it's hard to just give that up because the game is bad. Sunk cost fallacy and all that, but it's always what brings me back.

  17. #17
    I mean...okay. Not sure what the point of your thread is. Everyone is aware that grinding for years in the game doesn't make money, people do it cause they find it fun. Addictions might be bad for you sure, for many different reasons, but bringing up "no financial benefit" sounds like missing the point completely. Must everything you do in life give financial gain in order to be worth doing? That's an incredibly shallow view on life. Sure, if you indulge in activities that don't earn you money to a point where you cannot make a living it becomes a problem, but judging every activity in life based on "is it profitable" is a really shit take.

    Overall this thread has those hollier than thou vibes, where OP believes to have had some epiphany and an epic realization and is now preaching it publicly. We all have lives and I imagine most of the adults have some kind of a job. What balance we strike between that and our hobbies is our prerogative and our personal thing. People often use this argument with politics, but it fits here even better. I play the game and I come here to read some discussions and take part in them. Not to read someone's opinions on how long I should do things that don't earn me money.
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  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by MoanaLisa View Post
    Of course this sort of thing can happen. I'm fairly confident though that if someone is playing World of Warcraft with the idea that doing so will teach leadership skills, that someone is highly likely to be disappointed. [..]

    I sympathize with you on the drive to attain 'completeness'. I beat that by setting small goals and when I got there deciding whether or not I wanted to go on. That way, psychologically you can feel you completed something but are not necessarily driven to play that string out to the end, no matter what.[..]
    You might be right that leadership skills (or other) might be more beneficial to get it from other channels anyway. Your perspective at limiting yourself is good because you see the big picture of entertainment and then limit it with a system. By the way I can rationalize (in a good way) to not be a farming completionist but I prefer to be optimal on the fighting/encounter aspects of the game and those can have a long road (I was about to stay steep but this game is too farm-y so being steeper would probably be better).

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Azerate View Post
    judging every activity in life based on "is it profitable" is a really shit take
    I did not since that was only one part of three. The other two being that the interactions with people are very distant and the gameplay favors farming over skill excessively compared to the time investment.
    Also you underestimate the first because people have to eat.

  19. #19
    If you are addicted seek help/counseling, no one here (probably) is schooled for that.

    Most people get addicted and forget to eat/sleep/do anything to sustain their life because their psyche tends to that and they will have to find ways to deal with that, i doubt a forum post or your superficial self reflection is enough for that. (If it was, this forum would have quite a few less negative nancys.)

  20. #20
    You should look up dopamine responses as it relates to video games.

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