My time in Azeroth. My Love / Hate relationship with the MMORPG

World of Warcraft's fifth expansion, Warlords of Draenor

"GG WoW, GG"

Azeroth - more importantly my guild, <LIGHTS> - holds a special place in my heart. I have spent countless hours dancing, raiding, pvp-ing, and grinding in the MMO phenominon developed by Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft (WoW). After reading that the newest expansion, Warlords of Draenor (box art seen above), is launching this November, I felt the urge to jump back in. Almost immediately I questioned that thought process. Since then, I have been pondering the urge to come back as well as the reasons to not resubscribe. 

The universe that Blizzard has built holds a lot of memories. Some good, others not so much. When I was injured and couldn't go out on a past 4th of July, I instead watched the fireworks from Booty Bay Harbor. When I was overwhelmed with life, my friends and guild mates in <LIGHTS> made me laugh and felt like I belonged somewhere. Some of the best time spent was just exploring the the massive continents in WoW. Something about flying through Crystalsong Forest, listening to its background music, helped to relieve stress.

Crystalsong Forest

Not all of my time in game has been positive however. I have been called some of the worst things by people with whom I have never met. People, who didn't any older than twelve, have told me they are going to skull f*ck me because they lost a game of capture the flag. CAPTURE THE F*CKING FLAG! I am going to let that sink in a minute... 

I have been kicked out of groups and made fun of for not having a certain level of armor. There were even times I wasn't invited to a group because I didn't have the right achievement. While these times were few and far between, it lessened my love of the game. Mind you, the content was a lot of fun. It was some of the people who made the experience less than fun. I am sure you are asking why I stayed as long as I did (over seven years). It was a mix of guild loyalty, the strive for better gear, and the fact that I had the time payed for already. 

Massively multiplayer online roleplaying games were an addiction of mine. The allure of exploring an always online, persistent word was fascinating. Slashing my way through countless enemies for that next piece of loot was hard to deny. Hell, even the social aspect really drew me in. There was so much content and things to do for a small monthly fee (except in the case of Guild Wars 1 and 2). It was that monthly fee mixed with life that truly pulled me away.

Map of Azeroth (Not including Outlands)

Minutes turned to hours then to days and finally weeks; still I played. I almost lost friends in real life. Relationships came and went. Yet, every day I logged into WoW. I would run what felt like a hundred dungeons, enter a raid and then stand around in the city. It wasn't just WoW. I was also playing Guild Wars 2, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Something, after years of playing almost solely MMORPGs, was changing. 

The allure of endlessly logging in and grinding for something was fading. Soon I found that the only reason for me to log in was to see my friends in <LIGHTS>. As for the other games, I didn't have a guild. They were the first ones I bowed out from. I just wasn't ready to give up World of Warcraft. That day finally came when I was sitting down to look at my finances and to plan my future with my wife. It was then that I saw how much I had spend on WoW alone. $1,500 was spend just on time for WoW. That hit me like a ton of bricks. It was that moment that I decided I needed to step back and take a break. 

I miss my guildmates and the sense of wonder. But, at the same time, I am not sure if I am ready to spend that kind of money on a game again. I guess we will see how I do come November with the release of the next expansion.