Breakfast Topic: Have you ever taken time off from WoW?
by Josh Rose 
Apr 27th 2011 at 8:00AM
Sometimes people need a break from Azeroth. There are various reasons for it -- real-life issues, lack of new content, boredom, another game you have to try -- but despite the reasons, most of the time people come back. Something about the world or the people in it draws players back to see what is new since the last time they logged in. Sometimes it almost seems that WoW has a pull that is hard to escape, and you find yourself launching the game and putting in your account and password without even realizing you are doing it.
I have never taken a long break from WoW, and I have played since launch. I have taken a week or two off from time to time, but never any of these extended multiple month or year breaks from the game. Perhaps it is being a pretty serious raider that makes me log in nearly every day. Perhaps it is my penchant for being an achievement junkie or the fact I am an altaholic. But for some reason, I cannot seem to avoid the game for any major length of time. My latest break was right before Cataclysm launched, in which I caught up on some other great video games I missed -- but even then, I logged on to check mail and the AH and chat with some friends. And that is what I realized keeps me coming back: the people in my guild and on my friends list; it isn't the raids or the chance at shiny purples, even though I do enjoy that aspect.
So have you taken time off from WoW? How long was your break? What brought you back?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Rezai Apr 27th 2011 8:05AM
Two weeks before Thanks giving two years ago after hitting the wall raiding Ulduar I decided to stop playing and didn't come back until after the new year.
It saved my sanity.
valomer Apr 27th 2011 10:02AM
hmm, Ulduar and sanity...
Coincidence?
http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=63050
Bill Apr 27th 2011 4:18PM
Yeah, I had to take a break from WoW after raiding was getting stressful. So I took a nap. And when I woke up it was Tuesday morning maintenance.
Longest time I ever spent away from WoW.
Andrew R. Apr 27th 2011 8:07AM
I got into WoW while recovering from surgery and then when I was finally released I went through my EMS and Fire training. Both were time consuming and took priority but I still found myself logging in once a week or every other week.
My guildies wanted to know what was happening with my training, if I saw anything cool during my clinicals or if I wrecked the engine. I found myself logging in to do a daily or two but it was mostly to talk to my friends and fellow guildies. I spent 9 months almost every day talking to the same group of people. Not logging in for 6 months straight just wasn't an option when you grow that close to people.
MusedMoose Apr 27th 2011 8:09AM
I took a bit of a break last year, before Cataclysm came out. I'd achieved everything I wanted to on my two main characters, already reserved names for the small army of alts I'd prepared for Cataclysm, saved enough gold and mats so that my future engineer could make a chopper when she reached 80, and basically had nothing left to do. It was kind of nice, actually; I'd been playing WoW exclusively for so long that I'd almost forgotten the simple joys of single-player games. ^_^ I play regularly now, but I still make it a point to play something single-player at least once a week.
cmichaelcooper Apr 27th 2011 8:09AM
3 to 6 months breaks are fairly usual for me. When I get to the point that I can't think of anything to do in the game, or if I'm overly frustrated by certain aspects of the game, I put it down for a while so I can come back in a few months with a genuine desire to play the game.
I don't know if this is normal, but I have taken a long break almost directly after the release of each expansion. I'm not sure why, but I think the major changes in a new expansion overwhelm me, and after I hit the new level cap I tend to disappear for a couple months. Cataclysm was no exception.
Shinae Apr 27th 2011 10:10AM
That's fairly normal, Cmichael. I've spent many patch days in game being rather paralyzed in my play. Not because of lag, but because of feeling overwhelmed. When Wrath came out, I got away from it all by leveling mining in the old world.
I've also seen quite a few of my guildies take breaks over the years, which often happens shortly after they hit level cap.
Namy Apr 27th 2011 11:14AM
I think this is normal too. I had a break after I maxed my main to 85 as I felt completely overwhelmed by everthing I thought I should be doing. I guess I had wound down at the end of Wrath only to be thrown back into the levelling, gearing and grinding frenzy again.
Thinking about running HCs but knowing it might just be 2 hours of wipes. Then worrying about getting my enchanting levelled and oooh I need to start making dreamcloth now for the purple gear, so I need to lvl my tailor to 85 for the recipes but I also need to rep grind for the other bits of nice gear on my main, also mine for the volatiles and do the JC daily (what more nightstones!!!)and now it's time for TB, oh yes I have to do those dailies too, ahhhh!
I get overwhelmed easily lol. In the end I logged off one day and couldn't bring myself to log back in. I started playing again last week and once again I'm hooked. It was nice to have some time away though and now I'm just happy to plod along at my own pace enjoying myself and not fretting!
Swifteye Apr 27th 2011 8:10AM
I've been playing for a little over two years (started about the time the hype for Ulduar was in full swing but it hadn't actually come out yet), and thus far I've never taken a real break. I log on pretty much every day; I think the longest I've ever gone without being online was two days.
Don't get me wrong; I've had stretches of severe boredom with WoW. But I still have lots of good friends, and I log on out of habit to chat with them even if I'm just standing around in a city and don't actually fight/gather/etc. anything for several hours.
My money situation IRL is fairly tight; I'm not starving, the rent and bills are always on time and my WoW subscription has never been in danger of lapsing, but that's just about all the money I have from month to month. So I'm never buying new games, books, going out to movies or bowling or anything like that... I like the fact that WoW will always be there even if I can't afford to go out to a restaurant or the bar; I always have something to keep me entertained when I'm not at work, even if it's just chatting.
To be honest, I'm just not the type of person who "takes breaks" from games... if my history with other MMOs is any indication, I'll be playing WoW for a long while yet, but at the point I finally leave it will be for good, not just a break. All or nothing.
*shrugs*
Superstone Apr 27th 2011 8:11AM
I'm actually currently taking off from Azeroth.
I let the game lapse because I could not afford a newer-ish computer to play the game with any kind of fluidity and it just killed the appeal of it. Plus, I was much more of a PvP-er so, any kind of "omg it was lag!" Was just intensified and it became a hassle to play.
Plus, I got re-interested in my Xbox 360 and got a girlfriend, moved, and started a new job.
RL stuff got in the way. I don't really miss it, but I know that if I could go back and have fun playing the game again, I would be back.
Elmo Apr 27th 2011 8:34AM
Somewhat the same, I got a new job which takes a lot of my time and when I get home I often don't feel like playing.
plus its Champions League week so I definately have to see that instead of raiding. (Barcelona vs Real Madrid =o )
I still log in, but only a few times per week.
Gessilea Apr 27th 2011 9:49AM
Same kind of thing for me, with the added fun that I enrolled in law school two years ago. My first semester I actually still played an hour or so everyday, but since then other things have taken over my free time - primarily a new relationship. I started playing six years ago and with the exception of playing for a few weeks with Cat came out (wee Goblins!) I've been more or less on break for a year and a half now. I fully expect to start playing again this summer, though, when I'm on a more normal schedule.
ejunk Apr 27th 2011 8:12AM
I took a very long break - from just before Ulduar dropped until ~2 months ago.
Curtis Townson Apr 27th 2011 9:41AM
You missed the best raid that Blizzard ever created :(
ejunk Apr 27th 2011 9:43AM
yeah, I know, but it had to be done. I was buuuuuuuurned out. I'm glad I took a break and I'm enjoying the game even more now on my return.
but, you know, everybody knows MC is the best raid Blizzard ever created. ;)
Moonzcar Apr 27th 2011 8:16AM
I actually took a 6 month break, the day of wraths launch. Dont really know why, just stopped logging in.
Then one day i noticed i still payed for it, so logged on. Been playing ever since.
SteveB Apr 27th 2011 8:15AM
I took a year off when I was deployed to Iraq, and then the next year just as I was getting into Ulduar (I was the MT for the #1 horde raiding guild on my server) I ended up getting burnt out at the same time I got a puppy. It took RL friends talking about Cata to get me back in about 2 weeks before it came out.
Ahh how I missed it.
dazziq Apr 27th 2011 8:16AM
I took off a full year. Too much going on with school/career stuff and just didn't even have time to log on.
I made a Cataclysmic return though!
Gendou Apr 27th 2011 8:19AM
When I was in the hospital with a life-threatening condition, I stopped logging in for a month or so.
I still kept up with the guild and WOW Insider and other fansites through a limited internet resource in the hospital.
Roy Apr 27th 2011 8:25AM
Same here. The immersion that this game brings can make you forget you're sick at all - it helps a great deal when recovering.