Is WoW a "stress increasing" game?

[Deleted]

This is something I talked about with some guildies today:
There always seems to be alot of pressure on players in the World of Warcraft.

From dungeon groups, to Raid teams, to Battlegrounds and arena to guildmembership.
There are expectations to be met and people around to put the pressure on those that dont meet the standards.

Ofcourse you can completly do your own thing and you have the freedom to choose what direction to go, but if you want to play the core gameplay feature mentioned above you can't really go around the stressfull enviromenent and the constant pressure from others it seems.

Do you guys also experience a high/higher stresslevel when you play WoW?
Or do you not experience anything stressfull at all?

[klaps_05]

massive online + team play don't work well if u dont have the time to devote.

[Jessicka]

Depends if you let it be.

[Darsithis]

Absolutely it is, especially if you're failing to either snag an item you want or dealing with a particularly bad group...

Those are the moments I step away and stop playing...or switch to an alt for leveling fun instead.

[Kharli]

In all senses all games are stressful in diffrent ways.

may it be a puzzle you want to complete
etc etc.

[Mad_Murdock]

I'd say if a person just logs in and plays the game and has little to no intereaction with others, it would be fairly stress free.

If you're in a raiding guild, challenge mode group, etc etc, odds are better you're going to find yourself in stressful situations. Basically anything that includes more people will have a chance of being more stressful.

Obviously there are ways to stress out in solo mode as well. But solo mode tends to be a little more controllable than group events

[Razorlor]

I get really pissed doing arenas, and have even had other people quit playing the game over the arguments weve had. PvE though, I'm with a casual guild...so I never really get challenged.

[MistsofBoredom]

Personally I find the most stressful part of the game is that application process to a new guild. Often times it feels very mechanical and a "How can you be a useful tool for us?" thing instead of trying to naturally form friendships.

At one point I tried criticizing a guild master's view on kept asking him critical questions, and he got annoyed at me and told me that's not what an applicant should do, and to just shut up and make myself useful. Pretty sickening experience.

And then you have completely idiotic things like when you're being introduced. For example "Oh hey by the way, if you don't have a thick skin you retard, don't bother joining the guild, you're gonna be made fun off a lot because we want to see if you have a thick skin and can fit in". What is this, initiation to a cult? Just an excuse to be douchebags.

And that's not uncommon as I've seen.

[Deja Thoris]

It's somewhat stressful in that in raid environments you don't want to let your teammates down by derping. It's a healthy kind of stress though, or it should be. If it isn't then you need to do a bit of self reflection (on the sha of pride!)

[Deleted]

The part I use to find stressful is entering a new raid with my guild. Even though I had read up on tactics and such I always had this slight doubt I would fail in some funny way, making myself look stupid. Although, I don't have this problem anymore as I do not raid anymore, even though I miss it at times.

[KennyBoi3]

As a network marketer reflecting on my time spent with the game, I find it stressful in the sense that if I play the game, I'm not getting compensated for my time referring people to play the game. It feels like I waste my time building my future whenever I log in for petty 1s and 0s that give me no real life rewards in exchange. This might seem like a harsh reality, but if you're wondering why all the leaders left the game and the community is a former shell of what it was...it's something to consider. Give your loyal customers a better rewards system than digital perks to supplement their income so they can stay in a comfortable playing environment.

[torment3d]

I've been thinking about this for a little while now before replying and the only thing I can think of that stressed me out over the years was a very select few guildies that were being blatantly carried through HM LK25. I quit raiding at the beginning of T11 and although I miss it, I haven't been stressed out by anything since. PvP doesn't stress me out at all but I spend most of my time in game making my own adventures haha.

[Deleted]

I find MMO Champion more stressful tbh

[Libram]

Depends if you let it be.

I'll go with this one too.
I don't let it bother me for the most part. During any raid groups while in a voice chat, I mute everyone but the leader and the one giving out instructions. Makes things quite peaceful.
Now arenas... Yeah, those I've been avoiding on purpose (unless the only friend I have that does arenas is online.) Picking up trade trash for weekly valor cap and I'll always end up with a screaming dude bro on speed that can't control himself on the other end.

[Elapsed]

Do you guys also experience a high/higher stresslevel when you play WoW?

When I just play and raid? No, it's not stressful at all.

But, as a guild leader of an active raiding guild (we have 4 raids running and a RBG group) Yes, there is much stress I deal with daily. Managing RL and being a guild and raid leader is a balancing act of delegating whatever I can to my officers. I will say the most stressful part is continuing our 25 man raid on a low pop server and keeping the raid populated and running. At this point in the game my 10 man heroic raid is the only stress release I have really. In the 25 man we actually are training raiders at this point, teaching them the basics and trying to keep progression rolling (were now 9/14 normal in the 25 man as of last night)

So yes, but it depends on what roles you hold in your guild.


OH! thankfully we got Flex in 5.4 because now I don't have the stress of running LFR on Tuesdays every week just to guarantee I get kills without 9 stacks of determination. That was a huge stress release

[Thelxi]

Definitely. You could argue any multiplayer game is, but WoW ranks especially high. Missing a week of raiding for example is very punishing for example.

[TheWindWalker]

If you raid in Normal+ and have any concern for progression, yes. Period. If raiding doesn't stress you out at all, you may want to see if you either suck horribly or are some kind of savant.

[Deleted]

Missing a week of raiding for example is very punishing for example.

I didn't even concider this point, but it's a good one.

I think missing a weekly Conquest point cap would stress me to some degree aswell.
The current catchup system luckily does decrease the stress here somewhat.

[Deleted]

Depends on your play style. If you're in a raiding guild, I could see there being social pressure and that adding stress.

[melodramocracy]

Seeing as there's zero risk of loss or setback, no.. this game is not a stressful one. People that get spooled up over losing a match, wipes, etc, must lead amazingly coddled lives outside of Azeroth.