Breakfast Topic: One is the loneliest number
by Caleb Scott 
Aug 22nd 2010 at 8:00AM
There is nothing better than sharing a common interest with friends, but what happens when you find yourself alone in Azeroth for long period of time? You and your friends used to spend hours playing together, raiding or simply sharing idle banter in private messages or even the dreaded trade chat. But lately, it seems that you are the only person playing. Your friends, for a multitude of reasons, simply can't find the time to play anymore. Now you're alone in a big world with no one to talk to and nothing to take the edge off the quest grinding. So what do you do?
Guilds: a toon's best friend Whether it's on a RP, PvP, normal or mixed server, a guild can keep you entertained and chatting throughout that hard grind to 80. When you find yourself stranded in an area where there isn't another living soul in sight, it's always good to know that one /g away is a group of people who will, more often than not, love to hear how things are going, both in game and out. It's a warming feeling to see that the minute you log on, another person is there to greet you with a friendly "Hey, _____."
General and trade chat If a guild is not your thing, it's always nice to take a few minutes between quests to sit in a capital city and share in some banter with your fellow players. General chat is full of other players discussing either the game itself, movies, music or a multitude of other topics. Even trade chat can be fun if you keep up with the latest internet memes, though after a period of time, it came become annoying.
Roleplaying: not just for nerds Why not give the RP servers a try? Taking on the actual characteristics of your toon can be a new and rewarding experience for those who have never attempted it, not to mention that it's a great way to meet people and help break the monotony of leveling.
Just remember, in a game of over 11 million players, you're never truly alone. There are many things in the game itself, including other players, that can make being a solo WoW player enjoyable. How do you interact with others when solitude becomes a little too lonely?
Have you ever wanted to write for WoW.com? Your chance may be right around the corner. Watch for our next call for submissions, and be sure to sign up for Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. The next byline you see here may be yours!Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Aracross Aug 22nd 2010 8:05AM
Two can be as bad as one,
it's the loneliest number since the number one.
Jamie Aug 22nd 2010 8:22AM
Tell me about it... I recently decided to make a gnome-only guild called "Gnome Deck Five" inspired by Star Trek, Galaxy Quest, Battlestar Galactica, etc... and it was only me & one other guy who were willing to give it the time.
In the end, I had to call it as people IC thought I was a loon when I told them I was the "Bridge-Commander" Copper Torquehammer of the , from another dimension, sent her against mine & my crew's will by the evil Trogg Brute Enforcer, Flaque Gringlestorm!! I couldn't believe it...
I could have considered adding dwarves (Humans didn't have the capacity to understand galaxynaut engineering in my dimension) but there is a rather hefty tax brace for having a single-race crew and of course Dwarves require bigger toilets, which would not do at all!!
Bleh...
John Doe Aug 22nd 2010 10:06AM
Much much worse than two
One is a number divided by two
Didaxical Aug 23rd 2010 11:25AM
Specifically, one is two divided by two.
RetPallyJil Aug 22nd 2010 8:07AM
Love the graphic.
And I grind rep stuff when I am feeling toon-lonely.
Toothy Aug 22nd 2010 10:02AM
Ditto.
I love a good forgery, but the title should be in Benguiat Book. (yes, I am also a font geek)
Plus, what's up with Alex Keaton - fanboy shoutout there?
Rajinnu Aug 22nd 2010 8:08AM
I know the feeling, most of my RL friends and long term guild friends are gone all together or on hiatus.
I still have trade chat to keep me entertained tho.
Possum Aug 22nd 2010 8:13AM
Oh god I remember those books.
Q. Are you a light sleeper?
Yes: Turn to Page 15
No. Turn to Page 48
*turns to page 48*
You have died.
*facepalm*
Numb Aug 22nd 2010 10:26AM
That series of books there WAS my childhood.
Oh, memories.
Rai Aug 22nd 2010 10:44AM
Q: Your feet are encased in a wave of fire. What do you do?
Move out of the fire: Turn to page 12.
Continue DPSing: Close the book.
ambermist Aug 22nd 2010 11:11AM
No, see, you're doing it wrong. This is how you read CYA books:
Q. Are you a light sleeper?
Yes: Turn to Page 15
No. Turn to Page 48
*turns to page 48*
You have died.
*turns to question and agonizes with self for a moment*
*turns to page 15*
DragonFireKai Aug 22nd 2010 7:21PM
@rai
You clearly aren't reading the shade of aran.
MusedMoose Aug 22nd 2010 8:19AM
I only recently joined a larger guild, and yah, it's great to log on and have people say hi. It's also nifty to have people to run randoms with, among other things. I'm not part of my guild's ICC group - they raid too late for me - but I get to share in their trials and victories along the way.
Not that I mind solo play at all, though. I'm working on the Outland and Northrend Loremaster quests on one of my characters, and that's mostly a solo kind of thing. And I plan to learn how to pet-tank and do a bunch of solo dungeon-running once my hunter hits 85 in Cataclysm.
Scougelord Aug 22nd 2010 8:23AM
A few months ago my Alliance main's guild collapsed. It was a shame as I helped to found it at the beginning of Wrath and had seen the guild grow. It still technically exists but membership has dropped from over 200 to 50 or so, the only ones left are people who have quit WoW. This put me off the Alliance but I then rolled a troll hunter and have since found a Horde social guild that is just as good.
Sorry for the rambling wall of text, my point is that for me the game is all about who I play it with. If I don't have someone to talk to while rep grinding/levelling/doing randoms it's not very enjoyable. WoW is an online game and there's no point paying for it if you don't play with others.
MusedMoose Aug 22nd 2010 8:58AM
I disagree that there's no point in paying for WoW if you don't play with others. Some people may just want a massive world to explore and quests that (almost) never run out, and they may be quite happy with playing alone.
However, I do think that the game is a million times more fun when played with others, to say nothing of how much you miss out on playing it alone. It's good to hear that you found a new guild with people you like playing with; too many people quit when their friends quit. ^_^
Moeru Aug 22nd 2010 11:25AM
WoW isn't expansive enough to justify playing for just the game. People is what's keeping me going.
Gendou Aug 22nd 2010 8:59AM
With school starting up again, Starcraft II being released and the expansion a few months out, it just seems like people aren't bothering to log in anymore. Several people in our guild have let their subscriptions lapse. More and more often, I'll log into the game, only to find the guild completely empty.
Hell, even now I find myself only really logging on to check auctions and blow my profession cooldowns.
Krz Aug 22nd 2010 8:59AM
Roleplaying for nerds?
What planet are you on if WoW isn't automatically for 'nerds'?
But, forget stereotypes and do what you want imo!
Res Aug 22nd 2010 9:10AM
lol @ alex p keaton
Definitely know what you mean, especially nowadays, my relatively small guild is basically a ghost town while everyone waits for Cataclysm. I've very nearly participated in trade chat, but it hasn't gotten that bad yet.
Winter Aug 22nd 2010 9:40AM
After smashing our heads open but not getting more than halfway through ICC, our guild of friends disbanded and the raiders scattered. It was very civil but the feeling was that that team would never make it, and people wanted to reach Arthas before the xpac.
Now everyone else has gotten to Lich King but I can't seem to find a new home with a group that will go the distance -- or they're bored with having done it to death. Thus, what's even lonelier than playing completely solo is playing alone surrounded by the ghosts of friends you don't or can't play with any more.