Major Burnout on MMORPGs

[OuchMaker]

this has got to be the first time in years that i am no longer involved in a MMORPG...why? Burnout..

i am bored of lvl grinding or boring content...kill after kill after kill....the same thing over and over again in hopes of catching up to the no lifers that have the maximum lvl within 1 week of the games release so that i may actually group up to see the cooler parts of the game...possibly get a decent friggin item....ugh!

the first game in my history was UO (ultima on-line), which i really can't count because i was forced to be a tailor...why? because my PC was a Packard Bell (anyone else remember these pieces of garbage) that had like 300megs of memory on the harddrive...i'm amazed i could even get on the internet with it...anyway, i would be running and see some guy go flying by me because i lagged so much....needless to say i gave up playing

so then comes the big boy EQ (everquest)...i truely had a ball with this game, i'm sure i'm not the only one to have relationship problems because of it...people use to tell me that it was "too good" so they would never play it because they KNEW it would suck up their life...a few years passed and i eventually got burned out on experience grinding for a week for a fraction of a lvl...soloing became too damn hard and playing alts got old...i had 3 accounts at one point and cancelled them all

next came AO (anarchy on-line)...actually played this at the same time i was playing EQ, so 2 EQ accounts and 1 AO account...not sure why i grew bored of AO...but i just did, so i stopped playing

next was SWG (star wars galaxies)...i was so hardcore into this game when it was first released...bought it before it was released, ran home for the multiple hours of updates / server crashes....the game was truely rushed into release...but that didn't crush my will to play on...became a Virtuoso (master musician) within a week, yes this was my "no life" game, had the biggest house, tons of money, venders open in various other players houses for the instruments i made....then i hit a wall...there was nothing more for me to do and an expansion was way off in the distance...i got bored and cancelled my account

EQ2 ... what was i thinking? sure there were some differences, but it became the same lvl grinding bs that EQ was...cancelled

GuildWars...at least it's free and i can still dabble in it if i want to, but it got sooooo tiresome sitting around while groups were put together for the halls and the PvE part of the game just wasn't long enough...i accended 3 characters and helped my friends accend theres as well

CoV (city of villains) I liked the fact that you could pretty much solo all the way to the highest lvl if you wanted to, but there just wasn't enough content...mission after mission was the same damn thing...the best part of the game was how freakin cool my villain looked....and that is pretty much what CoV is about....looking cool...Cancelled

D&D On-line...i am a huge D&D fan and this game just isn't worth the effort...if you're going to call something D&D, makng it D&D...wtf is with the lvling in this game? i don't recall a ranking system in D&D unless it's some variation rule...and no half-orcs? *boggle* cancelled before the trial period was up

so now i am left playing WarCraft3, Counter-Strike and Resident Evil 4

been thinking of either giving SWG a try again now that there have been expansions added or *cringe* WoW...but i am just afraid of my burnout sucking the life out of those as well

has anyone played both EQ2 and WoW that can give me an honest comparison? i really don't want to throw another $60 in the garbage like i did with D&D on-line

[Shadowthorne]

I've Played both Personally EQ2 is exactly as you said the same ol same ol with a new look. It's flipping EQ all over again. and yes i levled into the 50's so i know.

Now WoW is cool, fast after a few hours you feel like you have done something i mean a level or more. Sure it's cartoony but hey less glitches don't need an uber system.

The Opposing factions are actually at war. Nothing made EQ2 feel less like a good evil conflict i mean ya walk into freeport as a good guy they kick ya out whoop de do. WoW is seamless no zoning loading times etc. overall i perfer Wow and ya i was a hardcore naysayer too. seriously get a trial if ya can.

My 2 cp

Shadowthorne

[Nulien]

I think that after playing Everquest, Everquest 2, World of Warcraft, City of Heroes/Villains, and EVE Online, I'm pretty much done with MMOGs for a while. There are SO many good PS2 and X-Box games that I haven't even tried yet, because MMOGs were taking up so much of my time... I need to catch up.

[wiccalight]

I was a SWG fanboi for a long time ( two years) Then they totally revamped the game twice and did away with crafters and entertainers, they are still there but nerfed to no end. Then I played EVE Online, liked it but the flying, and the fact that I play Freelancer killed it for me.
So I'm in the same boat as you Ouchmaker, tired of MMOs, So I got Oblivion and between that and Morrowind ( both on PC) I can have my sandbox style of play.

[hekate]

its wierd readng your thread as barring the COV i follwed near as damit the same path even donw to musician in SWG.

try WOW out i think you will be hooked, be warned it will eat yoru life in the EQ style, that said its got a really nice way of working the leveling system with a good story based quest system.
It has the certain something social and interaction wise that EQ had im sure you know what i mean, well it captures that nicely/

the thing it doesnt have that none of them do now is that real fear of death that we all used to have, i recall with fondness how i would hear a hillgiant coming while my spellbook was up in West commons.
that said it was due to the real risk of any death, looting/decay etc, thats why i think you dont get that edge anymore.

so in summary check out WOW i think you will like it, if possible grab the cds off a mate, all copys come with a guest pass cd key for 10 days and try it out.

[Kallysti]

Nothing made EQ2 feel less like a good evil conflict i mean ya walk into freeport as a good guy they kick ya out whoop de do.


Not anymore, now they kill ya :) A lot has changed but it's still harder to level than WoW (not gonna get into the grind vs. easy levelling thing, heh). But just wanted to point out that a lot has changed /shrug

[OuchMaker]

i'm weak...i picked up WoW

it's taking forever to load, but we shall see if it solves my bordem problem

thanks for the inpute peeps

[Tristate0999]

Just becareful in WoW...even though you don't think you're spending lots of time with the game you really are. They made some huge changes that I wasn't all to fond of so I'm gone, but don't let that change your mind about the game. It's a great game until you get 60, but the good part is...getting to 60 isn't very challenging.

Once you get to 60 you have to make up your mind about what you want to do. There are several grind options you have at 60, and help to fit many play styles.

The raid grind is fun if you like the large battle encounters, but sometimes can be pretty life demanding. Not all raid guilds are like this, but many that I've heard of require you to attend at a certain time and if your late you get docked points and all this other crap. My suggestion is looking around on the forums...I know the WoW forums *shudders*...and see what guild doesn't rely so much on the DKP system. The end game instances are fun, but just be wary that the more established guilds probably won't be taking any new recruits outside of the most needed classes, which changes server to server.

The second grind type, which is THE most demanding grind in the game, is the PvP rank grinding. Take the PvP system with a grain of salt, and in small portions. Play to have fun in this system, and not for rank. You will find yourself wondering what the heck you are doing playing so long for some gear that is more attainable through raiding...only if you can find a guild. The PvP system is fun and I really enjoyed it, but when I started PvPing for rank I really wasn't happy with it anymore.

The third grind is the stepping stone instance grinding. This basically consists of running the 5 man and 10 man instances (Scholo= Scholomance, Strath = Stratholme(sp?), BRD=Blackrock Depths, and BRS=Blackrock Spire), and possibly some of the 20 man instances. These are really fun, but they were changed this patch (1.10) and the cap was reduced by 5 people.

There are also several alternative grinds...like the all important reputation grind. Some of these grinds have quests to go along with them, but the majority are mob driven. It's really good for money making though, and you also tend to run into Chinese farmers while doing this. They're a great source of your daily honor. Generally they will spam the crap outta you once you get into their area with macros of broken english.

So enjoy your stay with WoW, and try to avoid the General and Off-Topic forums and you should be ok...ok try and avoid much of the forums unless you really need answer.

[OuchMaker]

not sure what they changed at lvl 60 that you didn't like, but on an update i read that since you don't gain any more xp that you will now earn more money instead of xp at lvl 60

it's pretty fun so far....lvl 6 in a few hours of play....i like the graphics more than i thought i would, the box made the graphics look more choppy than they really are....i am wondering though if there is a "click the ground to move" option like there was in CoV...will have to look at the options when i get home today

[Tristate0999]

Well I lay out briefly what I didn't like...

Scholo, Strath, BRD - now capped at 5 man
BRS - now capped at 10 man

I have 5 manned and 10 manned these many times; however, now I have no choice but to. I have no idea why they felt that after almost a year and a half that all of a sudden they were going to cap the dungeons. I was part of a small guild that didn't really have the members to do the bigger dungeons, but we could do the little ones. It was especially fun we did a Friday/Saturday night run of all 4 of those instances.

AV rep is no longer spread throughout the whole instance, nor is it spread throughout the whole raid. That means you must engage in combat to gain rep for AV. So, no reason to try to be clever, just sit in the Field of Strife (just a big field in the middle of the zone) and rack up kills. AV was perhaps my favorite PvP instance, and after I tried it several times on the test server I just couldn't take it anymore. The games would last several hours longer than they previously had. Keep in mind before many games could last extremely long, the longest recorded on my server was 12 hours, but they average now about 4 or 5 hours. I never stayed for the whole thing typically, but now it's pointless to even try and win. No one is encouraged to go behind the lines and try and ninja an enemy graveyard, which was my specialty as a rogue.

This really isn't Blizzard's fault altogether, but none-the-less it has driven me to cancel my account. The raid guilds, and most guilds in general. None really want to just stay at the small level anymore, even my guild was thinking about disbanding so they could join a larger guild. The game is all about raiding to do better, and it really is just about the only way to get better gear. The PvP gear is alright, but compared to the raid gear it's a waste of time. Anyway, many of the guilds require you to schedule your night around their raiding schedule, and many of the leaders/officer act like spoiled brats. Making outrageous demands, and often times fudging the DPK so they can get more points than anyone else.

Gear progression...one way and one way alone. Raid, and raid everyday of the week. This is the only path you can take to truly get better gear on a limited time table. You can PvP for gear upgrades...but you're looking at 13 to 15 hours nonstop everyday for several months, maybe more depending on your sever, to obtain the rank 14 gear. So players are forced into the gear progression path that is raiding. Yes you can stay in the in the gear you've acquired from the lower level dungeons, but if you want to try your hand at PvP you'll want to get the raid gear. (Getting crit from auto-attack for 2200 while wearing mail really isn't fun) This actually translates into my next topic nicely...

...Raid timing...Since Blizzard has instigated their raiding schedule because they can't stop players from cascading instances. Cascading is the process where there will be several people from a different guild in another raid, and they will get another unique raid ID. Before that raid ID is about to expire, they will join their guild and raid using that raid ID. This process allowed people to do Molten Core several times in a week, and complete it several times in a week. So they instigated the raid schedule and basically said you're going to raid on our time now. After being in a guild that raided on the weekends, which was my only time I could raid, now started raiding in the middle of the week to raid. I tried to find another guild that raided on the weekend, but the only guilds I found did that raided all during the week as well. So my raiding days were over with.

So these reasons, along with the community and sometimes the CMs(Community Managers), I cancelled my account. I may check back in for the expansion, but it's doubtful. Enjoy the game though. Don't let these reasons sway you from playing the game. Many people like the game, and it really does appeal to many people. So, enjoy your stay and have fun with it.

And I do believe there is an option in interface to change to mouse-click movement.

Yeah that wasn't so brief...sorry

[OuchMaker]

haha, i'm bored at work so feel free to ramble on if you like

i'm not much on raiding so i'm sure it won't bother me

yeah will have to turn that option on then when i get home

[Realmreaver]

I just wanted to have fun with PvE and PvP and WoW post 60 ruined it all.

The GOOD.

-Everything before 60.

-The expansion means 10 more levels to enjoy for cancelling and for those who play the races 70 more levels of enjoyment.

The BAD

-Now quests drop more loot when mobs should drop more loot per kill at maxed level.

-PvP gear is not better than PvE gear. That logic escapes me. If PvE gear is better why PvP for gear? World PvP is none existant and something needs to be done for I'd come back.

-Post 60 a casual has nothing to do but waste time with a complete lack of PvP casual system in place. The current system still requires 'cage matches' and not just people trying to have a fight go on without some uber 'Sandra Dee' lumbering in and ruining it for everyone be it in the instances or the world.

-A game ment for casuals... they should have added 'till 60' then least I have a good idea what was comming down the pipe.

-At 60 the current scenario IS EQ.

[Kikaro]

I just went back to WoW after my time in EQ2. ((Picked up both since launch and canceled WoW when my guild disbanded)) Been with EQ2 since. I made it to 60 then they raised the cap to 70. I got to 61 then realized that nothing was new. It was a new tier which meant it was the same old thing. I got bored. Then I decided to get a Mac ((on its way)) and I would play WoW.

I am very happy with the change. Im only level 31 ((rerolled)) but I am having a blast. I dont know what the level 60 content is like and am taking my time to get there. I hope to be 60 by the expansion. Thats my main goal. Other than that I want to experiance as many quests as I can and just see the world. Im probably one of the few to have as many flight paths as I did at level 10. ((Booty bay, desolace, most of the Kalimdor paths as well)) Just because I love exploring. There is a lot to see here.

I hope you enjoy it.

[Aren31]

I got into the free Planetside reserves trial, can't get above Battle Rank 6, so I don't have many certs to spend, and I can't drive the giant mechs but I have tons of fun not worrying about levels, just choosing a certification load out for the day, and go into combat.

I really like joining Tank squads and taking an hour to fight for a few hundred yards of beachhead so your team can make an assault on an enemy base.

I guess with the pay version, when you can level up a lot higher it might seem different, but since I can't level I just focus on one job, and go kill other players

[umoto]

i gave wow a go. about all i can remember is /duel being spammed at me by hunters who run away while shooting at you and letting the pet bite you. I made a Tauren Shaman and once i had frost shock i owned the hunters who proceeded to cry and whine about me being a cheater with a speed hack. not only that but it seemed the higher lvl people have a nasty disposition concerning the "noobs". kinda the reason i quit ff11 was because of the extreme "elitism"

and oh yeah if you like pvp, this is the game to go with. the pvp on eq2 is a joke. it reminds me of my strategy on age of empires 2. go english, make a pile of archers and lay waste to the civilian population. (basically everyone is a ranger/assassin that hunts people 5-8 levels below them.)

[B_Delacroix]

I want to start this off by saying I hope nothing in this post is taken as a gameA vs gameB attack. It isn't meant as such.

I have played a number of MMOGs. I actually think, perhaps, the heady days of the MMOG are already gone or are numbered. The reason being is a MMOG isn't new anymore. EQ1 set the standard and most everyone since has copied that to be successful. WOW is the pinnacle of that line. I have now developed a different attitude to take toward these types of games and my ability to meet those new goals determines if I stay with a product or not. That new approach is that I play these games as one way to spend time with my friends. Namely my wife and I play to spend time with her sister in Australia. I have done the raid thing, never liked the grind thing and the constant killing had felt like a weak venue to me even from the beginning.

You asked about two specific games. EQ2 and WOW. My opinions on EQ2 are pretty much what you came up with. More of the same with new pictures. Its ok to spend time with but pretty mindless. Lately it seems to be tending more toward the raiding side as was expected even when Sony was selling it as the "casual" version of EQ1.

WOW was a great bit of fun for me up until 60. As has been observed by numerous players, after 60 it becomes EQ. That is the simplest description. It had an interesting story to follow, the world felt as if it had a history and you were part of it. Until 60.

So my advice is to play it until it is no longer fun. Then move on. You have that power and freedom.

Now, I should be getting back to playing halflife2-ep1.

[Kaylen]

So my advice is to play it until it is no longer fun. Then move on. You have that power and freedom.

To add to this: Make sure you know when it's no longer fun, by asking yourself if you're having fun anymore. It's the difference between good memories and bitter resentment.

[Andara Bledin]

So my advice is to play it until it is no longer fun. Then move on. You have that power and freedom.

Absolutely outstanding advice for everybody.

If you can't find a way to enjoy what you're playing, it's time to find something closer to what you want.

[Pendraeg]

Make sure you know when it's no longer fun, by asking yourself if you're having fun anymore. It's the difference between good memories and bitter resentment.

Where where you 8 months ago? Could have used you.

I just stopped wow 3-4 weeks ago. Will start with saying that i think i would have stopped alot earlier if not for my guild, thats the worst part of mmo's: you get attached to teh people youre bleeding in teh sand with. now I will indeed agree wow 1-60 is incredible fun- bit smallish world, but fun nonetheless. My main char was a shaman, I played on a PVP server here in Europe and I'm a PVE player :shock:

Now to the gritty, the post 60 is shi... not as good. Its ok if youre casual, as in dropping by twice a week but for a hardcore raiding guild kinda thing? youre screwed (I have had 18 months off everything due to illness so i had way to much sparetime). I wont say to much about it, I'll just post my to formulas of wow post 60 play-

Time spent grinding to stay in raid condition equals the the time you actually raid + your patience squared- Tblah=TepixL0L+ARRGH^2

and

Grind gear for raid encounter->try to raid, fail miserably-> grind pots and more gear for raid encounter-> grind repair money-> try again->grind more repair money and pots->learn encounter-> grind repair money-> farm encounter(repeat this step minimum 4 months)->goto start, apply to next raid encounter.

The pvp "lveling" is quite similar, since its just grinding in an instance in a slightly different manner.

Bottom line, I'm so fed up with the game that it physically discomforts me just seeing the logon screen.

[Wolf]

I understand everyone's hatered towards the post 60 content of WoW but I mean, do you expect a game to last forever? When games try that (EQ and EQ2) people argue about the constant grind and how long it takes to progress. Think of an MMO like a single player game. Once you've done everything in the game, why stick around? Its simple, you wouldn't. The only difference is the community that is holding you there and that usually isn't a good enough excuse to waste hours sitting there not having fun.

What I used to love about WoW when it started was world PVP. I remember starting a raid that lasted 4 hours between Tarren Mill and Southshore one night, now that was amazing. Nowadays if anyone tries to start anything, a level 60 in full epic will ride through and kill everyone. Or if you kill a member of the opposite faction they'll log onto their epic 60 and hunt you down and camp your corpse, bleh.

I'm on a burnout also, but for me it happens when I become sucessful in a game. I've never played WoW passed 49 becuase well, I hated how my druid always looked like crap in armor, at 42 on my Human Warrior I had no real want of the ugly horse, at 43 on my hunter I just got plain bored (guild broke up, etc), then I decided to remake on a different server and play Horde, so I rolled a Troll Hunter, and at level 24 I had 40g and could really get whatever I wanted (besides overpriced gear at like 200g for people who twink).

In EQ2 I bought a horse at level 22 which I think is pretty amazing since that was my highest level character. It was too easy to get money, all I would do is farm collectables and sell them and as a ranger I didn't even have to kill the mobs, I'd just sneak passed them.

Generally once I get a mount in a game I get bored, I have no idea why, but thats how it goes. Never did get a mount in Everquest though, quit at 37 and countless alts. Ran my own casino before they were outlawed. Lost 4200pp on my birthday to some lady whose husband told her not to come to the casino cause she'll lose all her money and casino's are just stupid. And then get this, he played a little casino game with her and won all the money she just won and laughed at her.

I don't know.... for me I think I need more of a mental stimulation in games. I get tired of

*click MobX*
*send pet*
*hit 1*
*hit 2*
*hit 3*
*Spell 2 is recharged*
*hit 2*
*hit 4*

While the mob mindlessly attacks me and just stands there....

I think what I want is sort of the system that a lesser known game in beta has, Mount & Blade. Where you actually right click to block, and you can choose where your sword is going to come from (above, each side, stab) etc. Although there are no spells in that game it has a great combat system. I also enjoy actually aiming the bow, and depending on where you hit the enemy it deals more or less damage, this is also dependant on what type of armor they have in that part.

I think the only way for a spell casting system to work like that is targetting like a bow. So say Ice Spell X has slows decreases the enemy's movement speed. You'd aim for the legs of the mob and then shoot and if you hit the legs the enemy is slowed.

I just need more interaction with my games nowadays, I need to upgrade my computer to play Oblivion

[DeoFayte]

I just had to add my 2 cents :)

Personally, I like the post 60 in wow. Specifically because there are still things that are accomplishable solo. I played FFXI for almost two years, what killed it for me in the end... was the end game. It was completely geared towards near imposable quests, god fights, etc. I didn't like NEEDing 20+ people to get one piece of equipment. Or even worse, just one of the materials for a single piece of equipment... and it only dropped once a month... and it was barely possible to claim the mob with 200 other people waiting for him to spawn as well. Any of you who have experienced FFXI's end game know I'm not exagerating... *sigh* never did get that item.

At least in wow there's still some grinds that don't require large groups to accomplish. That was one of the major two reasons I was drawn to it. The second? They still have new servers. I can't tell you how nice it is to walk around, or farm, without dozens of chinese farmers/campers... all with gear I may only dream of attaining. (For the record though, I haven't checked on FFXI in ages, they may have new'ish servers by now... I'm not looking back ^^) I started a lil over a week ago on a new server, and I can honestly say when I'm being out farmed, it's by someone who's just as poorly geared as me ^^ and deserves to be there.


Sorry if that sounded more like a rant :P but it's what i get for 3pm in the morning.

[B_Delacroix]

Oblivion was fun.

Dungeons and Dragons Online has a bit of that "right click to block" and attack. You use tactics more in it than just stand and hit buttons 1-4 until the monster is dead. It has other issues, however.

Sounds like its time to get out Rainbow Six and round up my friends for a Tango Down party.