Ask WoW Insider: How do you know when you're addicted?
by Barb Dybwad 
Apr 13th 2007 at 3:05PM
Gather 'round for the weekly edition of Ask WoW Insider, wherein we publish your questions for your peers to answer. This week brings us a bit of Friday levity care of Marlin: My friend came up with his top 10 ways to know you're addicted to WoW. I thought it was funny and figured others could possibly add to the list.Big ups to Marlin's unnamed friend for the list, and now it's time to open the floor to you all to add to it. What are your signs of addiction? Remember people, there are only 12 Steps to recovery -- and if we could only find a tank and a healer we could all get through them together.Top 10 ways to know you play too much World of Warcraft:
- 10. You try to book a vacation in Azeroth.
- 9. You've ever planned to "raid" another department.
- 8. You consider work assignments "quests" and expect items and XP for completing them.
- 7. You have ever challenged a co-worker to a duel.
- 6. You want your paycheck in gold, silver and copper.
- 5. Your character is killed by a higher ranking enemy so you take a week off to "extract vengeance".
- 4. You have ever called in sick because your character died and you are in "mourning".
- 3. You have ever tried "hearthing" to escape work.
- 2. You've ever mistaken your supervisor for a class trainer and demanded new skills.
- 1. You refuse to answer to anything other than your WoW character's name.
Don't forget to send us your questions for next week -- hit us up at ask AT wowinsider DOT com.
Filed under: Fan stuff, Humor, Ask WoW Insider
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Youknowster Sep 18th 2008 2:29AM
Yes this is a great list!
Check out this list too and add / vote up for your favorite ones here!
http://www.youknowster.com/jokes/view/99-you-know-youve-been-playing-too-much-wow-world-of-warcraft-when
Seirye Jun 11th 2009 7:10PM
I've got a few true ones:
-When driving past a busy place, you try to move your cursor over someone to see their name, level, and class.
-When asked why God made something (such as tornadoes, which my little brother asked), your reply is "Crowd Control"--without even thinking about it.
-When you get mad or upset with someone, you imagine yourself using various skills your favorite toon uses all the time.
Lardan Apr 13th 2007 6:04PM
When do you know you work too much?
1. when you make a list of 10 things about a videogame, and 9 of them is workrelated..
soo american
sorry for ot
Todd Apr 13th 2007 3:25PM
11. You've ever taken off work just to play Warcraft
12. You've bought gold through a service
13. You've stayed up longer than 24 hours playing
14. You enjoy maxing out exalted reputation
Avonturier Apr 13th 2007 3:42PM
15. During your day job you plan all kinds of fun stuff to do in Azeroth, but when you log on and start playing, one thing after another turns out to be utterly boring. You continue playing anyway and do so until early in the morning.
Franchi Apr 13th 2007 3:43PM
15. You check the AH at 6 in the morning to see if that mace sold before going to work.
16. You tell your supervisor you can't take any more work assignments as your quest log is full
17. You are running a instance and your wife/gf/bf/parents call and you dont answer and still feel slightly guilty about it.
Samarola of Scarlet Crusade Apr 13th 2007 3:48PM
My guild had one member who was getting off to cook supper for her and her family and said "Ok gotta go get the regents ready." on ventrilo.
BoBoTheChimp Apr 13th 2007 3:55PM
18. Your dog jumps on you when you get home from work and you try to use Thunder Clap to slow her down
doobtray Apr 13th 2007 3:59PM
You tell your supervisor you can't take any more work assignments as your quest log is full,
LOL, awesome
Guernia Apr 13th 2007 4:02PM
True story: I had to attend a free lunch for my Employee of the Year award recently, which was inconveniently situated 45 minutes away at a PITA restaurant. Given the price of gas recently, I was reluctant to drive all the way out there and all the way back.
Suddenly I was struck with the great idea: I could drive out there, and hearth back! Sadly, it took me a few seconds to realise that wasn't actually possible...
Chris M Apr 13th 2007 4:07PM
@7 - Yeah, my mind works like that sometimes too. When I'm really tired, I think about driving somewhere, and sleeping on the way back.
...
Until I realize I can't sleep and drive at the same time.
Anyway- I had a guildmate that quit WOW, and our guild (not an RP server, PVP) held a funeral for her character. Struck me as the most nerdy and WOW-addict-esque thing ever done in WOW, no?
Chris
Yippster Apr 13th 2007 4:27PM
A buddy of mine at work and I have had this exact conversation over email...
If they update the sofware you use at work and you call it a "content patch"
You entertain yourself with elaborate jokes like a wow-sports crossover called "RPG football" where the players where magical sports equipment to boost their performance (i.e. jockstrap of the tiger)
You engage in face to face conversations with people, not hearing what they are saying, and think "sweet they are facing me I could totally get off a gouge"
You consider a day when you spend every waking hour playing WoW a constructive day as long as you make some progress with your character.
When your friends call and instead of actually being happy that you have someone that wants to talk and hang out with you, you get upset because they are interfering with your WOW time.
I don't mind though, most of the time I enjoy being strung out on WoW, except that last one with the friends. Whenever I catch myself doing that it makes me sad, I usually feel really guilty, then like a big fat loser, then I picture myself 2 years from now as the guy from the wow episode of south park, then it becomes a buzzkill and I can't enjoy the game.
I take the occasional week off or what have you, and when I do, this is usually the reason.
Elbows Apr 13th 2007 4:28PM
I'm more interested in the ways you can tell you're actually addicted, some have been mentioned already:
You wake up early to play before work.
You consistantly stay up too late playing.
You miss meals.
Your performance at work begins to suffer.
You lie about how much you play.
You find yourself pretending to be upset about a situation that will allow you to play more when you are secretly happy about it.
Your significant other breaks up with you because you play too much (or has threatened to).
Your dog has gone to the bathroom in the house because you wouldn't go afk to take him out.
You find yourself unable to think of anything else in your life that makes you happy.
You ignore chronic neck and back pain or carpal tunnel syndrome.
Your online life becomes more important than your real one.
Yikes, I think I just depressed myself. I know at one time or another I have been guilty of a few of these.
Nick Apr 13th 2007 4:30PM
18) You constantly read blogs and web sites devoted to WoW.
19) When new patch notes come out you insist on reading the full version rather than the abridged.
Nate M Apr 13th 2007 4:51PM
You start having dreams in which all the people you talk to have giant yellow question marks or exclamation points above their heads - this actually happened to me, even though I wouldn't consider myself addicted yet...
Zinger Apr 13th 2007 5:08PM
I think you're addicted when you AND your significant other both play, get married in real life and also get married IN-game. I'll admit, I attended a WoWedding and feel sorry for myself and the other guildees for partaking in such a pathetic moment.
Hopefully some of you addicts will actually go out tonight. It's Friday.
Tibbsy Apr 13th 2007 5:11PM
20) You "crack out" while at work: you read the WoW Insider, you think about alts that you'll make when you get home and use the talent calculator to construct their builds, you read the WoW Forums and maybe write a post or two, you think about all the instances you'll run soon and look up the loot that the bosses will drop on WoWhead.
21) You tried to install WoW on your work computer to, you know, "manage your auctions" when things were slow.
I swear I'm productive at work! Honest!
Btman Apr 13th 2007 5:41PM
You keep playing the shaman class................................... You guys @ wowinsider... Should lvl a shaman to 70... Play him for a month or two... And tell us of your experiences... As Elemental Or Enhance.. Doing both PvE and PvP... Because resto is fine... Lawl...
Melf Apr 13th 2007 5:47PM
You may be addicted if . . .
. . .on a long drive you try to /follow the car in front of you.
. . . you have criticised World of Wh0recraft for not having the right gameplay elements (race/class combos, class abilities, etc.) in their movies
. . . start "Bedazzling" your clothes in an attempt to improve your stats
Scott Apr 13th 2007 6:16PM
I once knew a guy - this is around 20 years ago - total sci-fi nerd sort, reality-challenged, you know the kind of guy I'm talking about. This guy enlisted in the Air Force.
Some time later, the story goes, he got the boot from the service. The story was a sergeant or whoever - a superior - gave him an order. Supposedly his reply was "Do I get a saving throw?"