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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Will you quit with a bang or fade away?
by Stephen Cheatum 
Aug 7th 2011 at 8:00AM
I always thought I'd go out with a bang, one last hurrah. Perhaps a ride through the Horde capital cities with 39 of my closest Alliance pals, leaving a path of devastation as we destroy anyone who dared get in our way. Maybe I'd take my druid on one last flight from Booty Bay to Light's Hope Chapel, or teleport to the Moonglade and fly down to Un'Goro crater. I'd take in the disjointed, chaotic beauty that is Azeroth one last time.
How did I hang it up? After logging on for a few weeks only for jewelcrafting dailies before leaving for work, I was late one day and skipped my dailies. I never bothered to log back on. After a week, I finally realized I'd stopped playing, went to the forums, and informed my guild leader that I would be removing myself as an officer due to lack of playtime. I hadn't fully decided to quit yet, and then I was cleaning up hard drive space. Five years of patches and expansions had inflated my World of Warcraft folder to almost 35GB -- and with one quick keystroke (and a subsequent confirmation), it was gone.
I was always under the impression that I'd have to actively try to quit, agonizing over the thought of never logging on again. I was wrong. Quitting was just the way life worked out. It wasn't something I planned, it wasn't something I was hoping for, and it's just the way it worked out. And it was one of the easiest things I've ever done.
Would you want to go out with a bang or out with a fizzle? Is there one thing you absolutely must do before you hang it up?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 6)
razion Aug 7th 2011 9:46AM
The bang would not be big, or graceful, if anything.
It would be a personal little 'memento' goodbye to thank the character for all the time it has been with me and all the joy it has brought to my life. This question honestly reminds me of when I retired my druid, Waft, and I honestly think I'd do it similarly. I was just playing him less and less to the point I didn't see a reason to have him anymore--so I deleted him. But before I did, I wanted to be able to remember it.
I dressed him (Waft) down to his RP gear, had him squat down on a signpost outside Orgrimmar, then I mounted up, flew as high up as I could, dismounted, and watched as my druid fell hundreds of yards... and die, impaled on that signpost. The death was meant to signify to me that he was really dead to me, and to represent my commitment to deleting the character for good.
When I go by that signpost on my new main, who has the same name of the deleted druid, Waft, I like to think I can see a troll skeleton hanging over the edge, with a slight breeze blowing by. I'll feel proud, while a little sad, while a little smile tugs at my mouth. I thank Waft's service to the Horde, and will honor his memory in the continuation of my new characters.
DeathPaladin Aug 7th 2011 10:41AM
I'd probably do something similar when I quit, though I do not currently plan on doing so in the foreseeable future.
I'd have to sort of go out with a bang, since the backstory I've built up for my Death Knight is that he is incapable of dying, whether it's due to some outside force or his own twisted soul being unwilling to let go, as a result of what he did while under the Lich King's control. He'd have to perform some act that pays his debt in full, at which point I'd fly him out to the coldest, most isolated point of Northrend and /sleep.
It'd be a very bittersweet ending, since he would only find peace in oblivion. He is so wracked with guilt that he would not even want to see his family, even if they have long since forgiven him. He is on record saying that he would only know peace when he sees only darkness.
Sorcha Aug 9th 2011 8:31AM
Well I wouldn't kill mine (though from an RP perspective if I was to kill my priest she'd drown in the deep pool under Nordrassil) but I'd put them all out to pasture. Before Cataclysm launched I got all my characters dressed up in their most traditional gear for their roles and put them in various places around the world to experience the Shattering. I'd do the same if I quit for good, I think.
My priest would retire, move home to Quel'danas and tend the Sunwell like she did before the Scourge came.
My paladin would patrol Silvermoon and assist in the rebuilding.
My death knight would retire to an isolated spot in the Western Plaguelands and build a house.
My hunter would live out her days in Garadar.
My druid would move home to Grom'grol.
And my warrior would spend the rest of her life guarding the Sunwell as a member of the Shattered Sun.
MH Knights Aug 7th 2011 10:26AM
Most definitely fade out. I got burned out on the Molten Front dailies after unlocking the first vendor and haven't logged in for a week. My play time is limited to about an hour a day on week days and that is barely enough time to get my dailies completed. Running heroics has gotten very stale as well. I have never been in a guild so no drama there.
One day I will log in, clear my mailbox, log out, and cancel my subscription.
Sinderion Aug 7th 2011 10:27AM
I've 'quit wow' many times over the years, at least 4 times. Each time having no intention of going back. None of them being the least bit deliberate, hard, or marked by any significant event in game.
Each time it was not about Wow, it was about life. Not being forced to quit either, just feeling better, and enjoying more out of the game than in. They were all more... just not logging on for months at a time versus deciding to quit. I only even suspended my subscription twice. Again, it was about life being more engaging than wow. The game was eclipsed, not like, put down, or run from.
I've always come back for the same reason as well, the company. The first time i came back was when a long time friend who lived elsewhere suggested we play. The second time began when I was in a situation where I wanted to be more social than circumstances irl allowed. This latest time is similar to that. Once I logged in a few times, and got re-hooked by a few epic drops and some good times with guildies or something, Wow once again reentered the ranks of stuff worth doing/top fun activities in my life.
Nice weather has had an influence probably twice. I'll say that. That being said, I'm currently returning from more of a rarely-logging-on-and-not-raiding-unless-needed type hiatus. Gotta prep for srs raidingz in the months to come ;)
This last time was the closest to going out with a bang that I've had to be honest. I decided to get a Vial of the Sands. 4 Crafting alts (2 dedicated 75's) later, I decided I didn't want to blow the cash on it lol. So no bang, and I'm back... again >.>
:D
Mofogo Aug 7th 2011 10:28AM
Meh, I just quit with a fade away. Was trying to get into a regular raiding guild and for the first four weeks of 4.2 they didn't make their 25 due to it being summer now and either missing healers or tanks. Each night they would break off into the 10 man with their "top" players instead of rotating for experience. No trash farming so others could get Avenger rep, no trade barking for a standin. So I had to go on vacation for a week long cruise, informed them via forums that I would be absent, and haven't logged on since even after I got back. I stopped payment on my account and have no desire to play at the moment.
saxxin Aug 7th 2011 12:31PM
Yeah before I go I will kill the lich king I got started late in the expansion and have been saving that kill for when I decide to leave wrath was just so much better the gear looked great.the story was great.just a whole different feel.
Corbene Aug 7th 2011 10:34AM
I faded out... Its like a few others have already stated, I was only logging in to do my JC dailies, and maybe play the AH a bit. But it no longer made sense for me to pay for just that. So i cancelled my account and moved on...
However, with the excitement SWTOR and D3 now on the horizon, I recently picked up a 60 day card, so that I could "Scratch that Itch" until it comes out.
Jason Aug 7th 2011 10:35AM
I just faded away. I lost my job last year and well that's all I did was wow. I would get up look for work send resumes and then it was wow till I went to bed. I think that really burnt me out.
After finally finding a new job and the hours haven't really let me play I just haven't logged in but a few times in the last four months. I just think the game doesn't excite me anymore. Sad though I have great memories over the years.
exogenesis. Aug 7th 2011 10:37AM
I think when I quit, it will definitely be a fade out. If i were to think about leaving my mark, I would inevitably end up talking myself back into playing again.
Thankfully, I don't think I have to worry about that for a long while - I have so many alts to level up, and still so many goals on my main to hit, and I'm still enjoying it enough to not lose interest.
curzen Aug 7th 2011 10:38AM
played less and less. subscription ran out. bought new PC and didn't bother to copy my wow install over. just check this site every now and then to see if there is anything exciting enough to make me want to play again (nope to that). preordered swtor.
rkaliski Aug 7th 2011 10:56AM
i'm not sure what you would call it, but I have my main and two alts. I consider them more on a very extended vacation now. My main took a tour around the lands that he had traveled and raided then went to a small place in Kalmindor that I've always used as his house. The mage went to ...where else. Dalaran to study being a fresh 85 and the druid went to Winterspring to spend time with friends.
Long before WoW, or even Ultima Online I plaed Microsoft Flight Sim A LOT. I was flying heavy iron all over the country with some aircraft that were pretty complicated. I got tired of it one day and someone introduced me to WoW. About 6 years went by and I have the urge to fly Flight Sim again. Will I want to play WoW sometime? Probably, but under my terms like I play Rift now and possibly the Star Wars Online when it comes out.
Qing Guang Aug 7th 2011 10:44AM
I've been fading for several months now, I think. It's hard to discern for me, because I'll play, then get bored and take a two or three week Guild Wars/League of Legends/Oblivion/Torchlight/Heroes V/etc break, then lose interest in that and come back to WoW. But it seems like I'm taking breaks more and more often.
Raiding, which was a new thing for me, helped hold my interest for a while in May/June, but our guild had a lot of difficulty organizing for raids, and I eventually gave up. Now I'm kind of hiding from the guild by playing Oblivion and Guild Wars - I haven't told them yet that after all the weeks of poor organization or insistence on raiding at really weird times, I've lost interest. I just feel so bad about it, because my IRL friend was so thrilled to have gotten me to come raid with her, and because I worked so hard to level this new character so that could happen.
In the end I think Guild Wars 2 will kill it for me. Well, not kill it, just kind of cut the IV. It'll be the shiny new MMO on the block, the one that fixes some things that bug me, and I probably will just end up not returning from one of those breaks. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can get my friends to join me there, because that's the only thing that I'll really truly miss when I leave (well, I'll miss my characters too, but they'll live on in my drawings).
yateschris3105 Aug 7th 2011 10:45AM
id probably go out with a bang.
tell everyone to go F*ck themselves,then when a gm scomes id tell them the same thing then id go play runescape :P
yateschris3105 Aug 7th 2011 10:46AM
apologies for the cuss word,dont know how to short hand or whatever
etherlithium Aug 7th 2011 10:49AM
I've "quit" a few times over the last few years, and each time I did (swearing it was genuine) I parked my main at the top of the Quel'Danas inn (where you buy the Shattered Sun title) looking out over the ships in the bay, riding the White Hawkstrider and wearing his Sunwell gear. Having started in BC, the Sunwell patch was always the height of that character's progression; I always thought that through Wrath he was just going through the motions (despite personally enjoying it immensely) having seen his people redeemed by Velen. It just seemed right that he should fade out forever in that place, wistfully remembering the height of his achievements...
Sorcha Aug 9th 2011 8:34AM
yes, this.
Aloraesh Aug 7th 2011 11:13AM
I've been fading out since January playing less and less each month although I probably wont quit till I hear more about the next expansion. If its really good I might stay but I think Ill just cancel my subscription. Hopefully swtor will come out this year.
Niennee Aug 7th 2011 11:30AM
I never intended to quit, I just intended to take a bit of a break. I joined just as Wrath had come out, and generally loved it - I had 3 80s - a Hunter, a Paladin, & a Priest. My first was my Paladin - I got it to 80, used it to buy heirlooms for my Priest, then barely played it again. I loved my priest & loved healing through Wrath - it was very challenging in parts, but I was pretty good - though time restraints meant I couldn't raid much, though I did Icecrown a few times and got some nice bits (never did get to kill LK, though). I also loved my Hunter - even more so than my Priest.
Just before Christmas, I ordered a Cata box, but there were dreadful delays with the post, so I had about a month before it came, so I created a Worgen Warrior - I'd tried tanking with my Paladin & with my lvl 61 DK, but I could never get the hang of it - suddenly, though, with the warrior, it all became so natural. By the time my copy of Cata arrived, my Warrior was working through Outland. I tried playing my Priest but I couldn't even keep people alive in Wrath Heroics. I tried playing my Hunter & got it as far as 81, but I wasn't thrilled with the new zones and no matter what I tried & what advice I followed, I was way off the DPS of similarly-geared Hunters in Wrath Heroics / Cata 5-mans. It was a sad time because I loved healing and loved my hunter, but they now felt broken - I no longer knew how to work them, and no amount of play time seemed to fix this.
I carried on with my Warrior, and got it as far as lvl 70. I was still enjoying it, but tanking Wrath 5-mans became such an ordeal as everyone I grouped with was either insanely impatient and/or thought they were still playing their 80s and could faceroll the dungeons. The prospect of doing this for another 10 levels and then doing heroics do get a bit of gear for Cata just made me decide I needed to take a break. I've not deleted WoW, and I even logged on to download the patches the other day, but I have not bought any game time and as much as I miss my Warrior & would love to be able to say "I can tank Wrath Heroics", I'm not sure I could face going back.
DarkWalker Aug 7th 2011 11:31AM
@relmatos:
The original trilogy (movies 4, 5, and 6) is already set "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away".
SW:TOR is set some 3500 years before movie 4 (the Battle of Yavin, shown in that movie, is the year 0 of the Star Wars universe).
So, I guess SW:TOR would most likely be the earlier one :)