A guide to shutting out the world (of Warcraft)
by Amanda Miller 
Apr 8th 2009 at 1:00PM
WoW is a very social game, and you might think that there is no getting around it. Fortunately for those who relish their alone time, there are several ways to minimize contact with other players and have some quiet time. While some people will argue that you should stop playing social games like MMORPGs, there are plenty of solo activities, and if that is what you want to do, more power to you.
Today, I will be answering some reader mail from Heidi who desperately wants some peace and quiet.
Hello, I was wondering if you could give me some help/advise. I'm not the greatest wow player and I'm constantly getting my butt kicked by the opposing faction. I am a level 74 and have only done two instances and I doubt I'll ever do more. I'm a loner when I play so I was wondering if I transferred my character to a PvE realm would I be safer. I've read everything that I can find about this topic but I'm still not sure of the answer. I want to go out by myself and do my quests with out the fear of death from the other side. Also, if I were to transfer how would I know which realm is "quiet". I'm sick and tired of being abused by 12 year old's with nasty attitudes. I just want peace and quiet while I do my thing. So with that said, thank you in advance and hope to hear from someone soon. Take care, Heid lvl 74 troll hunter :)
While Heidi would certainly learn more about the game, advance further, and do things faster if she partnered up with friends and a guild, began running instances and started raiding, it obviously isn't her cup of tea.
Choosing a Realm
If you don't want to be hassled, choose a PvE realm. The opposing faction can't attack you, so you can quest in peace.
You will also want to avoid RP, or roleplaying, servers, because they are quite social. They have strict naming conventions, and all of your conversations must be conducted in character. This might seem bothersome if what you really want is to be left alone.
Next, you will need to choose the specific realm. Look for realms with a low population, but beware that if you are looking at a realm during its off-hours, it may say "low" because relatively few people are on. New servers are a safe bet, although the economy will be a bit out of whack (think about an ultimate Baby Boomer phenomenon).
You might also want to consider the timezone of the realm. If you aren't sure, create a level one character and then look up at your Mini-Map. At the bottom, it will tell you the time. You might want to choose a realm that will be in a timezone where everyone is sleeping (or in school!) when you usually log on.
Adjust your Chat Channels
Now that we've banished the other faction, you'll want to adjust your chat channels so that the "12 year olds with nasty attitudes" can be ignored. Above your chat window you will see a tab named General. Right click on it, then click on Settings.
Simply uncheck the channels that you don't want to experience. I highly recommend turning off General, and many people also turn off Trade and Localdefense, which can be found in the Global Channels section. You can also type "/leave #" to exit a channel. For example, if you're questing and General chat [1. General] is bothering you, type /leave 1.
You will also see a colored box next to channel names. Click these to change the font color of each message. For example, the default text for a guild message is green, but you can change it to whatever you like. I personally like to have Trade and General, but I find them very distracting and annoying. I have both heavily greyed out so that they do not catch my eye. I can refer to them when I need to, but I no longer feel pulled into the conversations.
Make Alts
Alts are alternative characters. They usually aren't your highest level character, and are played sporadically. Create and level them into different zones or even on different servers. This way, if you log on to your main and find yourself overcrowded, perhaps your warlock on another server, or your warrior in the Searing Gorge, will have better luck.
Filed under: Realm News, Analysis / Opinion, How-tos, Guides
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Thander Apr 8th 2009 1:10PM
There are some options for solo play, but I'm kind of wondering why Heidi is willing to pay $15 a month for just solo stuff. There are probably a lot of single player RPGs with a lot better solo experience. Soloing in WoW, you eventually get to the level cap and can't do anything beside dailies and professions. Then, you can make alts but those would probably get boring once you step into Outland and its all the same quests again.
Twowolves Apr 8th 2009 1:17PM
Why play WoW if you play solo? Simple, it's a fun game. I have been playing since August 2005 and I am, for the overwhelming most part, a solo player. I may group up every now and then but I like doing my own thing at my own pace. I know I miss out on cool raid gear this way but that's my choice. I do have an alt in an active casual guild on Borean Tundra, as an experiment on being more social. It's not bad. I still like my small guild of alts on Kael'Thas.
The nice thing about WoW is that it's going to be around for years to come, so there is plenty of time to try different play styles.
Firestride Apr 8th 2009 1:17PM
There are plenty of ways to get your $15 worth. Take your time leveling to 80, then altitis, some PvP, then more altitis, then fall in love with an alt in their 30s and take them to 80, then do some dailies on both your alts, then let your subscription lapse for a couple months, then come back and level a new main on a different server up towards 60, then go back to your original main and farm a bit, then altitis on your two servers, then take your second main up another 10-20 levels, then go back to PvP on your first main, then fall in love with another alt in their 30s and level them up to 70, then let your subscription lapse for another couple months, etc, etc, etc.
Kakistocracy Apr 8th 2009 2:09PM
Hee he, Isn't altitis the inflammation of the alt? "My warlock is on fire!"
I'm not sure I agree with the author's advice to avoid the RP realms, just play a misanthropist with little tolerance for "12 year olds with nasty attitudes", and I would imagine it would work out fine.
Shade Apr 8th 2009 4:17PM
I play the game and raid a lot, run heroics, pvp, you name it - and my roommate decided she wanted to try the game out because I'd tell her what I was doing occasionally, and she'd watch me play every now and again.
She is primarily a console gamer, and plays games like Zelda and Final Fantasy, things with stories and content along with dungeons and the like. She's USED to playing solo, and the thought of playing with other players really didn't appeal to her. But she tried the game out anyway, because she thought it looked pretty neat.
So she had several characters, across several servers, of different races and classes. I don't think any of them got above level 25 before she quit (she just didn't have time to play what she figured would be $15 a month worth of her time), but she really loved the game - not because of interacting with other people - in fact, she asked me how to turn off all those 'silly channels so I don't have to see people blabbing at each other all the time' - but because she liked the quests. She liked reading what the quest givers had to say, and figuring out where to go, and doing what they asked, and getting things back for it.
She didn't run with addons, she didn't run with any quest helpers or mods, she just played the plain old vanilla style WoW. And every time she'd come to me and quietly ask if I knew where something was, or excitedly tell me about the awesome little piece of armor she found, or cheer because she'd beat something that was a whole three or four levels higher than her, I'd be reminded of what the game was like BEFORE raiding, before Onyxia and Molten Core, when I was in the same shoes and looking at the whole thing with wide-eyed wonder and wondering what the next place these people sent me was going to look like. No rush to get to the end of the game, no need to level another alt so that the guild will have x number of y class for z instance, just...wandering around and enjoying the game. Was it worth $15 a month to her? Heck yeah it was, when she had time to play it - it was fun, engaging, the little easter eggs here and there were really funny, and the stories were engrossing. That's how she was looking at the game, and that's how I used to look at it, too.
Sometimes, I really miss it.
niko Apr 8th 2009 1:13PM
Alts are the best way to escape the monotony, if and when you ever get there during your time in the game. Doubly so if you reroll the opposite faction.
If you're just here to play solo, however, I really question your motivation for playing the game in the first place. WoW is an MMO, built to be social and alive. If you are looking for a static game, you might do better by playing something else.
niko Apr 8th 2009 1:19PM
I should also mention that not everyone that plays WoW knows how to put him/herself "out there" for others to interact with. The potential to get into a guild, group, or raid is premised upon this basic requirement to communicate well enough for people to align themselves with you for whatever cause you are pursuing.
However, re-reading the question it seems Heid is asking about PvE realm gankability, and the answer is a sound "no, you won't have trouble with opposite faction if you aren't flagged PvP, no matter where you go".
While RP realms are more social, I have found them to be more grown-up on the whole. Sure, there are always going to be 12-year old players, but you don't find them as much on the RP realms. It's also more casual, so if you don't take the game as serious as some do, you might find more friends on an RP realm than your typical PvP or PvE realm.
Firestride Apr 8th 2009 1:14PM
I'm sure any PvE server will do you fine, but we over at Gnomeregan have a very, very low pop of Hordies, so there are even fewer of us to bother you. Stay out of Trade, though.
John Apr 8th 2009 1:15PM
Transfer to a PVE server if you want a little more peace and quiet.
/leave General
/leave Trade
/leave LocalDefense
Oh and you can leave /yell too I think or turn it off in settings.
Sometimes I just want to get away and play the game without anyone else really bothering me, I play an alt. But some people want to go even further, that's fine. GL in your play.
Gessilea Apr 8th 2009 1:56PM
The funny thing is, all this advice is stuff that I do anyhow, but I don't consider myself anti-social. I just don't like dealing with the general wow population. I belong to a very small guild of just RL friends, and I have a few other friends I sometimes run instances with. I don't pug, I don't do PvP, and I play a lot of alts. It doesn't seem odd or unusual to me at all.
flawedsymmetry Apr 8th 2009 1:15PM
That's one of the problems with WoW. No matter how much time you dedicate into it playing alone, it IS a social game and to advance your character you NEED to do instances, raids, etc.
Brian Arnold Apr 8th 2009 1:18PM
I wouldn't call it a need. If you want to advance your character to the point of being able to do bigger and better raids and instances, you need to do more of those. If you just want to levle up to 80 and make some cash, you can avoid it all entirely.
Back in Classic, I have a friend who leveled up from 1-60 without ever having grouped with anyone but me. He didn't do instances, he didn't raid. He enjoyed himself quite a bit. He didn't like the social aspect.
If you don't care about the stats of the character, so much as just the exploration and storylines, you don't ever have to group up and you can still have a rich gaming experience. It's just a bit counter to the whole idea of the MMO, but it works.
BulletzBill Apr 8th 2009 1:39PM
I wouldn't call that a "problem"..it is an MMO and player interaction and cooperation is one of its most fundamental aspects. WoW just happens to cater to those who like to solo moreso than most games in the genre, so players tend to get a little spoiled.
Drow Apr 8th 2009 2:06PM
No, he's right, you NEED to group up to advance. You can solo level all the way up to 80, 10 times on each server, but it's actually pointless in the end. It is an MMO, and the game is stricly designed for group play. Leveling is one of the slowest, and in times most boring aspect of play. With raids being so easy to get into now, anyone can see it. They put the most effort and most fun into the end game raids/dungeons group events. Even if you do professions alone, there is no point. You will still need to go to the AH or interact (enchanting needs the rods, tailoring needs encanting dust, ect....) with others. And if you gear up with just quests and profession gear, the reason to gear up is to do more fun stuff which, in turn, means grouping.
So yes, you NEED to interact to keep advancing, unless you the person with an army of alts bogging down my server during peak hours lol
Firestride Apr 8th 2009 2:57PM
But the point is that you don't actually NEED to advance. I like to as much as you do, and woot purples and stats and EJ. But it's not hard for me to see how some people won't care about advancing, and can play the game a different way.
Rob Apr 8th 2009 4:03PM
You really dont need to do group quests or instances. There are some in the middle of quest lines, sure; that's annoying. But 90 or 95% of quests are soloable. Also you can always come back a few levels higher and with better gear. Ditto for all the instances, you can go back in a few levels (well probably 10) and solo them.
There is no *need* to do PVP, nor is there a need to raid. I love raiding, and the leveling game is pretty boring to me.
But to say that you absolutely need to be involved in group play, that wow is designed around group play; this couldn't be further from the truth!
Brian Arnold Apr 8th 2009 1:15PM
See, I'd actually recommend an RP server. Yeah, it's a social environment, but you can RP a mute. :D
DarthBunnywabbit Apr 8th 2009 2:33PM
I leveled my druid on a RP server, and avoided most RP interaction by staying in cat form and only saying "meow."
My main is in a busy raid guild and I leveled my druid when I just wanted some peace and quiet. I have to recommend RP servers for that, general chat is moderated and rather quiet, and although the RPers are friendly when approached, they rarely went out of their way to talk to me. I was even briefly in a guild that didn't RP but rolled there just because it was a quiet server. RP servers are great for people who don't want to see a lot of trash talk and Chuck Norris jokes because players are quick to report and moderators are quick to silence anything the least bit objectionable.
Agony Apr 8th 2009 4:19PM
"I leveled my druid on a RP server, and avoided most RP interaction by staying in cat form and only saying 'meow.' "
LOVE IT! Today has been a very tedious, monotonous, pull-your-hair-out-and-curl-up-in-a-fetal-ball-and-cry kind of day that STILL isn't over yet and this comment brought a chuckle. I needed that - thanks, Darth!
vexis58 Apr 8th 2009 4:31PM
Not all RP servers are that into RP. You don't HAVE to RP all the time. I rerolled on Silver Hand a couple years ago, and I really encounter very little RP there. Most people talk the same way they do on a normal PvE server. We tolerate the RPers, but they stay in their taverns in Stormwind and their little RP-guilds for the most part. The overall world here belongs to the non-RPers.
And I can't remember the last time I turned on the Trade or LocalDefense channel. Last time I listened to the General channel was when I was trying to do a group quest in Zul'drak, and I was sure to turn it off again when I was done.
I play this game not because it's a social game, but because it's like the single-player console RPGs I loved when I was a kid, except with enough things to do that it'll keep me entertained after the 40 hours it takes to kill the final boss. I'll raid sometimes, run instances with my little group of friends, but most of the time soloing is what it's all about for me.