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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: The curious phenomenon of "reverse burnout"
by Weston Arrowsmith 
May 10th 2011 at 8:00AM
We all hear the stories about people who played World of Warcraft too much and as a result had to stop playing to make the game fun again. I've fallen victim to that myself back in the days of Trial of the Crusader. But lately, I've encountered something that at first makes little sense. The best thing I can call it is "reverse burnout," and it's not from playing too much -- it's from not playing at all.
I admit to being a raider at heart. I love making my gear a shiny shade of purple so that I can join nine or 24 other people as we down the big, bad monsters of WoW together. It was my reason for getting to level 70, and it kept me hooked all throughout Wrath of the Lich King. But since the launch of Cataclysm, my raiding days have just ... stopped. Each guild I've joined on the promise of being able to raid either hasn't raided at all, or they've gone raiding without me. And without raiding, it feels like my motivation to play is gone.
I've gotten all the gear I could get from heroic dungeons and reputation vendors (except bracers, which will never, ever drop), daily quests feel like a chore, and the friends that I have online are off in their own raiding guild that I'm on a waiting list to try out for (they're full on hunters). Pickup raids have proven to be too unreliable in terms of both time and talent as well. It's like one part of such a huge game was the glue that held everything else together for me.
So what do you do when one of your favorite parts of the game becomes off-limits? How do you deal with being bored with WoW -- when you're not even really playing at all?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 6 of 7)
reshiramm May 10th 2011 11:33AM
I actually do a lot more than just one thing while playing.
Roleplaying, Old World raids, gear hoarding, questing, dailies...
I'm pretty much never bored unless I'm in queue while doing some schoolwork on the side.
People who get bored with the game should try something new. I've told a few people they should pick up roleplaying and they haven't complained about being bored since.
Jestin May 10th 2011 11:34AM
Gunstrak, I'm 100% with you on this one - nothing drives me more insane than seeing "someone start a BH" in Trade chat. BH & VoA (when it was still relevant) is literally the easiest thing in the world to set up.
The other raids? I think you need to have the patience of a saint and an extremely thick skin to want to put up with 9 other random (and often volatile) personalities. BH and VoA were easy because it's one encounter, easily completed, and doesn't take longer than 15-20 minutes.
Raid leading any other raid take significantly more effort, and (in my opinion) often isn't worth it. I have the greatest respect for raid leaders because they have to juggle complaints (so-and-so isn't doing enough dps/healing), loot drama, rage quits, explaining fights, differing levels of skill, getting people in vent... the logistics are considerable.
If I had a job that wasn't particularly challenging, or didn't require the same skills, I'd probably be more willing to give it a shot. But the last thing I personally want to do when I come home from work is do... what feels like more work.
Jestin May 10th 2011 11:36AM
*#%@ing comment system, etc etc.
KhazKhal May 10th 2011 11:45AM
I've discovered that WoW only works for me now if the people around me are all having fun and enjoying the content that is available. When that stopped happening, people stopped logging in and I got to the point where I didn't renew my account. First time since I started playing many years ago. It feels a bit weird at first, but several of the people that didn't log into WoW anymore have started to log into Rift instead, making that game more fun and worth playing. This is probably not the solution that you're looking for to keep your interest in WoW, but there is raiding in other places if the people that you enjoy raiding with are there too.
So, find some people to hang out with that are having fun and still logging in. Hopefully those people are raiding too.
JudyBoom May 10th 2011 12:48PM
I PvP. For me, it's FAR more enjoyable to "grind" a battleground than a dungeon or raid since there's a human element involved. You're never just hitting a button rotation, moving in a set pattern, and doing a rinse&repeat formula in PvP since your opponent's movements and attack decisions are always spontaneous and unpredictable.
I used to be a hardcore raider, even as far back as Vanilla WoW & twice-weekly excursions into MC. But Raiding just doesn't hold the same appeal to me as it once did because i've gotten tired of just "learning the right pattern", which gets old and repetitive VERY fast (not to mention frustrating if you have that one guy who DOESN'T know the pattern, forcing everyone to start from the beginning and do it again. And again. And again.)
PvE was always my "means to an end" as far as getting good gear to PvP better in the beginning, but since after BC that's not the case, I have even less incentive to raid.
jarrett miller May 10th 2011 11:59AM
PvP will solve all of your problems. Its very easy to get an arena team together and start playing. Also, get some guildies together and do some premade bg's. Or you can get a group of friends and try out some world pvp. The possibilities are endless.
Eirik May 10th 2011 2:31PM
... unless you don't particularly care for PvP...
Hob May 10th 2011 12:06PM
I love questing and exploring new zones. I have admit that flying in Cataclysm zones was immediately fun, but also immediately a let down... I never realized how much fun I was having *riding* through Northrend until I could finally fly where I wanted to go. (Same for Outland, in the day.)
I've been resurrecting old, forgotten toons; trying new classes and roles; and exploring some of the richest, most interesting zones in the game: Outland and Northrend.
I agree that Cataclysm *needed* to change the vanilla world, but to me it is a terrible bore. I feel like I'm just riding out this expansion with the hope that the next expac is a huge continent with many zones, and you can't fly until close to the level cap. That was what made BC and LK really fun for me.
kenned_1 May 10th 2011 12:07PM
Its funny i feel almost the same way, for me i level a char to 85, get him full heroic gear, and then because i cant really get into any raiding guilds, and i feel like i get stuck and not progressing, i lose interest and make a new char.
teelie May 10th 2011 12:07PM
I've pretty much given up raiding for the forseeable future because finding a good guild/raid is next to impossible for me on the two servers I've got a geared 85 to raid with. I'm not about to server change and potentially blow $25 on another losing server or one where they are doing the content but are stacked up on players waiting in line for a slot already.
For now I've unsubbed and waiting on my existing sub to expire next Tuesday before moving on to other games. I've played since early BC and raided since then as well but the latest content has just not done it for me or the guilds I'm in and I don't want to go through that process of finding another suitable guild anymore. The people I know now, they're nice, they aren't stupid but they're incapable of downing anything but one raid boss in a nonheroic raid and other guilds I've looked at have had the kinds of raiders I despise in them (the arrogant, condescending and egotistical kind who think they're above everyone else ie; typical elitist).
Maybe in a few months I'll be able to come back and find a better organized guild or feel refreshed enough that running the 1-84 content doesn't bore me until I can find a raiding guild that is downing content.
conundrum May 10th 2011 12:20PM
I was a raider in BC and to an even larger degree in Wrath. Cata had the unfortunate coincidence of coming out while I was in grad school. I didn't play the first month, so when I got back and my guild was raiding again and I didn't even have an 85, it was discouraging. I have to figure out my new rotations, learn all the new dungeons that everyone else already has memorized (which then discourages me from doing randoms), re-max my trade-skills... really?
I've recently started playing again and my alts seem far more appealing. Much more straightforward and not a whole lot of skinner box repetition trying to get that one stupid piece to drop.
So yeah, I guess that I played so little that I'm now highly discouraged from playing.
smdrpepper May 10th 2011 12:21PM
Between being busy in real life and general burn out, it is rare for me to play. Plus my nephew is always wanting me to play him on COD. Though I DID brush off my main to get the Childrens Week event and discovered that my guild is mostly inactive. Seems that everyone is kind of bored with the content right now. I even rolled a new toon but still remain kind of bored with it.
Jafis May 10th 2011 12:24PM
I just do other things, not necessarily in WoW. Example: Right now I'm working on a coding project, and occasionally kicking my rear handed to me by little girls in the Touhou Project games.
Occasionally, doing something else leads to not playing WoW at all, as is my current case. I'm sure I'll dive back in eventually, though.
Doc May 11th 2011 5:40PM
Cataclysm has made raiding inaccessible to many small guilds and solo players. Most of my family (wife, two brothers, my 2 sons & daughter,) all raided regularly near the end of BC and throughout Wolk but have not been able to raid at all in Cata. We enjoyed the heroics (far too many times) and new content but eventually decided to close our accounts until raiding is made more available. We want to raid and experience the endgame content and can't because pugs are not a priority for Blizzard anymore.
Since March we have been playing Rift and enjoying the newness of a familiar fantasy themed mmo. No, we are not raiding in Rift yet, but we are having fun together and we don't have the frustration of competing for a raid spot in a guild we don't want to join. Rift is very very pug friendly and encourages pug style game play almost continuously as we level together.
DarkWalker May 10th 2011 1:22PM
This is something I hope more games embrace; encouraging PUGs, and trying to make arbitrary groups of players workable as a party/raid as long as enough players are willing to try the correct roles.
While I like group content, I don't like the required long term commitment to guilds such content often requires. I will only join a guild due to actually liking it's members and wanting to play together; I won't ever join a guild just to do content, I would rather leave the game than be forced into a long term commitment to players I know nothing about.
As a result, when evaluating new games to try out, if some piece of content is not puggable, I will pretend it don't even exist.
Also, I want to play with friends. If I have a group of friends in mind, but can't play together because the party/raid composition is set in stone, I hold that against the game. And, while I will try different specs, and encourage and support friends in doing so, in order to make the group work, having to ask for someone to go level a new character is quite too far for me.
sd_fuller May 10th 2011 1:13PM
Yeah, I have fallen into the same situation to some extent. I like raiding, but want to do it effeciently and can't do it every day. I have joined a few smaller guilds, hoping to grow into a solid group - but they have either decided to raid on days I can't or couldn't get enough people together. There are SO MANY small guilds on my server that it seems like the raiding player base is splintered and making it that much more difficult for people to group up. PUG raids are not attractive because of the long startup time and inconsistent player competencies.
So for me, this has meant leveling an alt to play more solo content. I will run dungeons as I level, but that is about the extent of my group play. I miss raiding with a good group, but would rather not raid than having to deal with the alternatives.
Pantro May 10th 2011 1:16PM
Long live PvP and AH PvP!!! This are the two things I love to do when PvE content progression seems to be a bit slow xD
Bynde May 10th 2011 4:01PM
What's "AH PvP?"
Prissa May 10th 2011 5:42PM
As I understand it, AH PVP is playing the market against other sellers, undercutting, buying low-selling high, etc. When you play the market competitively you come across the same people doing the same thing, and for some people it becomes a 'game' to beat them.
Juzelle May 10th 2011 1:44PM
I'm going through much of the same. Up until last month, I was the GM of a small level 17 guild making its way through raid content. I started hitting a point where I wanted to log out as soon as I logged in for the night.
I finally passed off GM to a friend, and I haven't done much else since. I'v been casually leveling an alt on a friend's server but beyond that I barely play. I wish I had a good solution but I'm pretty much in the same boat.
I think Cataclysm lacked alot of the 'Oomph' we were promised. Sure they did a good job, etc, It just feels.... lacking. I remember they were all like "leveling from 80-85 will be as time consuming as leveling from 1-80" or something and I was all like "YEAH! right on!" & then cata came out and I did 1-85 in 3 and a half days of casual gameplay.
the honeymoon is over I guess?